Raw Talent!
This evaluation meant that even in a city like Qingshi City, he would be considered a martial arts prodigy!
And through these successive breakthroughs, his martial realm had finally, as naturally as water flowing into a channel, stepped into an entirely new level!
Third Skin Tempering! Skin Tempering Perfection!
He clearly remembered hearing the senior brothers in the Martial Monk Courtyard discuss the differences between the three stages of Skin Tempering.
First Skin Tempering: the skin membrane became tough enough to withstand ordinary blades and swords.
Second Skin Tempering: skin and flesh became tempered and condensed, making ordinary arrows unable to pierce through.
Third Skin Tempering meant abundant Qi and Blood flowing through both inside and out, achieving immunity to cold and heat! He now possessed considerable resistance to both frost and flame!
At this moment, Su Haoran could clearly feel the Qi and Blood within his body churning like a roaring furnace. Even if he stood naked amid ice and snow, he would feel only a trace of chill and would never suffer frostbite.
The temperature of his skin could even shift with his thoughts—gathered, it was like fire; dispersed, it returned to normal.
This was the realm of Skin Tempering Perfection!
In this Chaotic World, such cultivation was already enough to dominate some remote mountain strongholds and carve out a territory for self-preservation!
Most importantly, his vulnerable points... had completely vanished!
Now, there was not a single weakness anywhere on his body!
As long as he wished it, any part of his body could become hard as iron in an instant!
To test the might of this perfected realm, a ruthless gleam flashed through Su Haoran's eyes.
He walked to the corner and picked up a torch that was still burning.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the instinct of all living things to seek benefit and avoid harm. With a thought, his right hand was instantly covered in a black-iron sheen, and then—
He seized the hottest burning end of the torch!
Sizzle—!
A plume of green smoke rose, carrying the stench of scorched flesh!
The blazing flames struggled and leaped violently in his grip a few times, only to be... crushed out by his bare hand!
Su Haoran released his grip and let the charred piece of wood fall to the ground.
He spread open his palm and brushed away the ash. The skin of his palm was still smooth as ever—not to mention a wound, not even the faintest red mark from the burn remained!
Not a hair harmed!
"Good! Good! Good!"
Boundless ambition surged within Su Haoran, and immense confidence filled his chest.
The current him was more than ten times stronger than he had been last night!
If that Ghost Shadow Leopard Cat dared appear before him again, he was confident that within three punches, he would leave it with shattered bones and torn tendons!
Crimson Hair Stronghold!
A cold glint flashed in Su Haoran's eyes. He pushed open the woodshed door and strode outside.
With his perfected Soaring Dragon Startling Swan Art, he could infiltrate Crimson Hair Stronghold, uncover its true state of affairs, then coordinate with the elders' actions to make the stronghold pay a terrible price!
Yet the moment he stepped out of the Labor Courtyard, he sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the temple.
The temple, usually tranquil and peaceful, was now permeated by a suffocating sense of dread and panic.
From time to time, monks hurried past, unable to conceal the anxiety and alarm on their faces.
"What happened?" Su Haoran's heart sank as he stopped a Martial Monk he knew.
"Something happened! Something terrible happened!" When the Martial Monk saw it was Su Haoran, his face turned deathly pale, and even his voice trembled.
"Don't panic. Tell me slowly!"
"It is Elder Hui Jue! Elder Hui Jue and the others... something happened to them!" The Martial Monk panted heavily, his eyes full of alarm. "A pilgrim from down the mountain just risked his life to run back and report that... that the elders' party was ambushed by Crimson Hair Stronghold in One Line Sky Valley!"
Boom!
"An ambush?!" Su Haoran's voice instantly turned icy. "What are the casualties? Where is the elder?"
"I don't know... I know nothing!" The Martial Monk's face was pale. "According to that pilgrim, Crimson Hair Stronghold deployed over a hundred men. They laid an ambush by surprise, then unleashed a rain of arrows! The elder and the others... are trapped inside! Right now... right now, whether they live or die is unknown!"
Whether they lived or died was unknown!
Su Haoran raised his head and looked toward the depths of the Qingyun Mountain Range. His eyes, which had just been gleaming with brilliance after his breakthrough, now held nothing but bone-chilling killing intent!
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Haoran shot out of the temple gates like an arrow loosed from a bow, racing down the mountain.
With the Soaring Dragon Startling Swan Art brought to Perfection, his speed was more than twice what it had been before!
His entire body seemed to transform into a faint wisp of green smoke as he swept through the mountain forest. With a light tap of his toes against treetops and rocks, he would leap more than a dozen zhang away.
The wild wind howled beside his ears, yet it could not stir even a fraction of his Monk Robe.
Along the way, the temple monks saw only a blur as a shadow flashed past. By the time they focused their eyes again, it had long vanished, leaving behind only a few fallen leaves swept up by the fierce wind.
"Th-that was Junior Brother Su?" A Martial Monk rubbed his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
"What incredible movement art! Where is he going?"
No one could answer.
At this moment, Su Haoran had only one thought in his heart—save them!
He knew One Line Sky Valley.
It was the only route from Prajna Temple to the nearby towns. With two mountains standing face-to-face and treacherous terrain between them, it was indeed the perfect place for an ambush.
The closer he came to One Line Sky Valley, the more the faint smell of blood spread through the air.
Su Haoran's heart kept sinking, but his speed increased by several more degrees.
Soon, he discovered the first traces in the grass beside the road—several broken arrows, their arrowheads gleaming with an eerie blue poison, while the shafts bore the flame insignia of Crimson Hair Stronghold.
Drops of blood speckled the ground, though not in great quantity, along with chaotic footprints left behind by a fierce battle.
"It was a fight, not a massacre." Su Haoran's gaze sharpened, and his heart settled slightly.
If it had been a one-sided slaughter, the scene would never have looked like this.
This meant Elder Hui Jue and the others had put up an effective resistance and successfully broken out of the encirclement!
He continued following the trail.
Along the way, he found more clues: severed ropes, torn corners of clothing, and the corpse of a Crimson Hair Stronghold lackey. A fist mark sat between the corpse's brows, the entire skull caved in. Clearly, he had been killed in one blow by an incomparably fierce fist technique.
Arhat Fist!
Su Haoran's spirits rose. This was undoubtedly Elder Hui Jue's handiwork!
It seemed that although the elder and the others had been ambushed, their fighting strength remained. They were retreating while fighting!
Following the intermittent bloodstains and signs of battle, Su Haoran traveled through the mountain forest for nearly one incense stick. Finally, from a concealed mountain hollow, he heard suppressed, ragged breathing.
His figure flashed, and he landed soundlessly at the entrance to the hollow. Elder Hui Jue was sitting cross-legged upon a boulder, regulating his breath. His face was pale as paper, and the Monk Robe around his left arm was stained red with blood. Clearly, he had suffered a serious injury.
Behind him stood another seven or eight Martial Monks. Every one of them was wounded and dispirited, yet their eyes, whenever they looked at Elder Hui Jue, were full of admiration and reliance.
"Elder!" Su Haoran called softly as he hurried forward.
"Su Haoran?" Elder Hui Jue abruptly opened his eyes. Seeing who it was, he was first startled, then immediately frowned and shouted, "What are you doing here? Nonsense! Go back at once!"
"Elder, the temple already knows you were attacked. I came to support you." Su Haoran spoke in a low voice, his gaze quickly sweeping over everyone's injuries as the killing intent in his heart intensified.
A Martial Monk with one arm broken gave a bitter smile. "Junior Brother Su, we accept your goodwill. But Crimson Hair Stronghold is determined to take our lives this time. The pursuers are right behind us. Coming here alone will only mean throwing away one more life."
This man was Wujing, who had sparred with Su Haoran during the previous assessment.
At this moment, not a trace of arrogance remained on his face. There was only the exhaustion of surviving a calamity and concern over whether they would live or die on the road ahead.
Elder Hui Jue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning Qi and Blood, and said in a grave voice, "Haoran, listen to me. All three bosses of Crimson Hair Stronghold have come out. I only managed to lead them out of the encirclement after taking a palm strike from Xiong Ba.
"That Xiong Ba has already reached the Bone Forging Realm. He is not someone we can contend with. Your movement art is exceptional, so leave quickly. Return to the temple and report this, so the Abbot can prepare early. That is the proper course!"
He thought Su Haoran had arrived early by relying on his movement art, unaware that Su Haoran's strength was already nothing like before.
"Want to leave? Not a single one of you is leaving today!"
Just then, a vicious laugh came from beyond the forest.
Swish, swish, swish!
More than a dozen figures sprang out from the woods, completely surrounding the mountain hollow. Every one of them held a bow or crossbow, poison gleaming on the arrowheads as they aimed into the hollow.
At their head stood a man with a long scar across his face. He was one of Crimson Hair Stronghold's minor leaders.
Looking at Elder Hui Jue's bloodless face, he laughed smugly. "Hui Jue, you bald old donkey, you can certainly run! But you took one of our First Boss's Tablet Splitting Hands, throwing your Qi and Blood into disorder. How much fighting strength do you have left now? Brothers, loose the arrows and send them to the Western Paradise!"
Elder Hui Jue's expression instantly turned incomparably grim. He struggled to his feet and shielded the wounded disciples behind him, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes.
"Haoran, Wujing! Protect your senior and junior brothers and leave first! This old monk will hold them off!" His voice was hoarse, but it carried an authority that could not be questioned.
Grief and despair filled the eyes of the Martial Monks.
Hold them off? Against this forest of poisoned arrows, how could he hold them off? He was clearly prepared to die!
"Elder..." Wujing and the others' eyes nearly split with rage.
Yet before Elder Hui Jue had finished speaking, a figure moved even faster than he did!
"A pack of chickens and dogs, and you dare wag your tongues here!"
A cold shout rang out like thunder exploding on level ground!
Su Haoran stepped forward, actually charging straight toward the dozen or so powerful bows and crossbows aimed at him!
"Courting death!" Seeing this, the Scarface leader was delighted rather than angered. He shouted sharply, "Loose the arrows! Shoot him into a pincushion!"
Thrum—!
The vibrations of bowstrings joined into one continuous sound. Dozens of poisoned arrows tore through the air with piercing whistles, raining down upon Su Haoran from all directions!
Before you continue