"Third Brother!"
A rush of hurried footsteps drew near. A tall, slender man wearing a Leopard Mask darted out from the shadows of the trees. Seeing his companion lying dead with his eyes wide open, he couldn't help letting out an enraged cry of shock.
I have to avenge Third Brother... But anyone who could kill him in such a short time is probably stronger than I thought.
All I need to do is hold him off until Big Brother arrives. Then we'll butcher him!
The Leopard Scoundrel's thoughts raced. He had plenty of experience killing people; dozens had fallen to their combined attacks. He immediately made his decision, placing his right hand on the hilt of the long saber at his waist and drawing it with a sudden jerk.
Shing!
Amid a fine metallic scrape,
a flash of cold light appeared. The blade streaked across the sky like a ribbon of white, letting out a sharp whistle as it came crashing down toward Su Mu. Before it even reached him, its edge seemed to bring a gale sweeping across his face.
This man may not have reached the ranks, but he's close.
Su Mu instantly gauged the strength of the man before him. The force flowing through that strike was no trifling matter.
In truth, Su Mu's judgment was exactly right. The Leopard Scoundrel was indeed extremely close to becoming a true Ninth Rank Qi Refining Martial Artist. He had once attempted to refine his strength, but his poor aptitude had held him back, and he had failed at the final hurdle. Even so, his strength far surpassed that of an ordinary unranked martial artist.
Su Mu hadn't let his guard down even against the previous man, whose strength was far below that of the man in the Leopard Mask. Facing a scoundrel who had cultivated force, he was even more cautious.
With his Five Animal Frolics nearing perfection, Su Mu's senses were far keener than those of an ordinary person. The ability to anticipate an enemy's moves gave him an immense advantage in battle. In his eyes, the long saber slicing through the air seemed to slow.
In this dense forest, Bird Play was difficult to use. Su Mu immediately took a deep breath, channeling his qi, blood, and force into his feet as he stepped forward.
Five Animal Frolics: Deer Charge!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The long saber came down like a gale and its edge cut across Su Mu's body, but a look of surprise flickered across the gloomy face beneath the Leopard Mask. The blade hadn't met the resistance of flesh. He took a closer look.
His strike had missed. It had cut through nothing but an afterimage.
"Not good!"
The moment he realized it was only an afterimage, the Leopard Scoundrel felt a gale suddenly bearing down on his side. He whipped around. At some point, a nimble figure, swift as a deer weaving through the forest, had rushed close, dragging an afterimage behind him.
Tiger Shakes the Mountain Forest.
A low tiger's roar pierced his ears like a pair of steel blades. In the brief instant of disorientation that followed, the star of death appeared before him. In the last moment of his life, the Leopard Scoundrel seemed to see the lethal claws of a fierce tiger lunging at him.
Thud!
A claw slammed into the Leopard Scoundrel's temple. The instant it struck his head, it made a crisp crack, mingled with the fine crunch of breaking bone.
His flesh was mangled where the blow landed, and his skull caved in. The scoundrel's brain rang as if struck by a heavy hammer. His features twisted sharply beneath the mask, and his eyes bulged, instantly bloodshot, as though they would burst from their sockets the very next moment.
The Leopard Scoundrel couldn't even let out a final scream. Blood poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he died on the spot. His body crashed to the ground, sending fallen leaves scattering through the forest.
Tiger Subduing Fist was a top-tier Ninth Rank martial art from Vajra Temple, one of Qingyun County's five great powers. A bodhisattva could lower their gaze, but could also glare with the wrath of a vajra. This martial art imitated a tiger demon's brutal fighting style, focusing on killing and aiming to strike an enemy's vital points with a single, fatal blow.
On top of that, Su Mu had become a Ninth Rank Qi Refining Martial Artist. When he threw a punch, force followed. A mere mortal body could smash rock to pieces.
The Leopard Scoundrel's split-second judgment had been entirely reasonable. His hands were stained with blood, and he had abundant experience killing and fighting enemies. It was only that he had badly misjudged Su Mu's strength.
Perhaps the Five Animal Frolics created by Divine Physician Hua Tuo had been nothing more than a simple health exercise in his previous life. But in this life, in Su Mu's hands, it was no ordinary health exercise. With force behind it, Tiger Play and Bear Play could be used to attack, Deer Play and Bird Play could serve as agile movement techniques, and Ape Play was effective for both offense and defense.
Mastering a martial art took years of effort, sometimes even longer, and a person's energy was limited. Most of the powerful enemies the Leopard Scoundrel had faced before knew only one martial art. Even those who cultivated other techniques had only reached the beginner level.
The moment he judged Su Mu by the standards he used for ordinary people, his fate was sealed.
Though Su Mu had only just become a Ninth Rank Qi Refining Martial Artist, he possessed the nearly perfected Five Animal Frolics and the advanced top-tier Ninth Rank martial art, Tiger Subduing Fist.
"Only one left..."
After going all out, Su Mu had killed two scoundrels in succession. He had no chance to catch his breath before several heavy footsteps rapidly approached.
Whoosh!
A piercing sound suddenly rang through the forest.
A burly figure, as hulking as a bear, emerged from the shadowy trees. He wore a Black Bear Mask. This man was the eldest of the three. Seeing his second brother lying in a pool of blood, the Black Bear Scoundrel's eyes blazed with fury beneath his mask. He swung a fist as big as a clay pot straight at Su Mu.
"Die!"
His punch tore through the air with a mournful howl. He truly seemed like a black bear roaring.
Ninth Rank Qi Refining Martial Artist!
Su Mu's heart tightened. His eyes narrowed slightly behind the White Fox Mask, his expression more solemn than ever. The fight ahead would be a hard one. His opponent was no weaker than him—in fact, he might be stronger.
The Black Bear Scoundrel had been roaming this desolate mountain region for three years. All three brothers were wanted criminals, listed on the government's wanted notices. As the eldest, the Black Bear Scoundrel had entered the Ninth Rank Qi Refining realm three years ago, and his Savage Bear Fist was ferocious.
Fierce Tiger Pounce!
Daring not to show the slightest carelessness against the Black Bear Scoundrel, Su Mu immediately drove the qi and blood in his body into his arms and unleashed a killing move from Tiger Subduing Fist.
Boom—
The two flesh-and-blood fists collided violently, and a tremendous boom erupted across the scene. Their forces clashed, the shockwave making both their robes billow wildly with a series of sharp snaps.
The shockwave spread out, sending leaves and dust swirling around their feet.
"I'll butcher you!" the Black Bear Scoundrel snarled. His bear-like body charged forward with the force of a small mountain crashing down, pressing down on Su Mu as his fists hammered out one after another. He truly fought like a raging bear.
Su Mu was no less fearless. His fists became tiger claws. In this kind of close-quarters brawl, Deer Play and Bird Play were hard to bring into action, so he used the versatile Ape Play with his footwork to attack and defend against the Black Bear Scoundrel.
The black bear and the tiger in the forest fought tooth and claw.
Crack!
The two clashed hard once more. Su Mu grunted and realized something was wrong. A strange force had invaded his body, leaving his arms numb and aching. He immediately used Deer Play to retreat and open some distance.
This scoundrel's force is strange—and stronger than mine. I can't let this turn into a drawn-out battle, or I'll definitely lose!
Seeing Su Mu retreat, the scoundrel, transformed into a savage bear, roared, "You scoundrel, don't you dare run!"
Su Mu shook his arms, easing the numbness, and narrowed his eyes.
If this drags on, I'll lose. Then I'll make him submit through sheer force!
Su Mu took a deep breath. His flesh and muscles tightened as he pushed the Five Animal Frolics, already on the verge of perfection, to its absolute limit. His arm muscles tensed, their powerful contours standing out in sharply defined lines.
At that moment, Su Mu's face flushed behind the White Fox Mask. It was a sign that he had driven his qi, blood, and force to their limit. After cultivating Tiger Subduing Fist, Su Mu had realized early on that unleashing Tiger Play and Tiger Subduing Fist at the same time could produce astonishing power.
But there was a price to pay. Under Twin Tiger Stack, he could only throw three punches. After that, his arms would remain weak and limp for quite some time.
With a powerful enemy before him, this was the only way Su Mu could think of to defeat him. He immediately abandoned the more agile Ape Play, letting his sharpness show as he switched to Tiger Play.
Tiger Play, stacked with Tiger Subduing Fist.
Roar!
In the Twin Tiger Stack state, Su Mu launched a fierce punch. The tiger's roar rose from its usual low rumble to a higher pitch, and took on a trace of majesty.
Twin Tiger Shocks Bear!
The Black Bear Scoundrel met his attack head-on and felt Su Mu's punch suddenly grow terrifyingly heavy. His body staggered, forcing him back five or six steps before he finally steadied himself, leaving several footprints inches deep in the rough forest floor.
What terrifying strength... Had this guy been hiding his power before? He doesn't seem like someone refining his strength for the first time!
Feeling the pain in his arm, the Black Bear Scoundrel grew afraid, his heart full of shock.
"Again!"
Su Mu fixed his gaze on the Black Bear Scoundrel, sweeping his eyes over the vital points all across his body. His potential was now as high as 9 points, and he was about to break through his limits and advance to the next level of comprehension. Such powerful comprehension could be used for blacksmithing or martial arts cultivation—and in a fight as well.
Their exchange just now had already given Su Mu a rough understanding of the Black Bear's moves.
Su Mu threw another punch. The Black Bear Scoundrel crossed his arms in front of his chest to block it, but this punch carried even greater force than before. It left the scoundrel's arms aching and numb.
The scoundrel's fear deepened. At that instant, Su Mu keenly spotted an opening in the Black Bear Scoundrel's defense.
Found it!
Like a tiger fixing its eyes on its prey, Su Mu bent his back slightly, then stamped down with both feet. Dust and fallen leaves flew half a meter into the air as he lunged at the Black Bear Scoundrel, force surging through him.
Vajra Tiger Subduing!
He threw two punches at once, one aimed at the heart and the other at the face.
The Black Bear Scoundrel had just barely blocked Su Mu's second punch. He was staggering, caught between the exhaustion of his last move and the recovery of his next. His expression changed dramatically. He tried to defend himself, but his body wouldn't obey.
He could only watch as a pair of ferocious tiger claws grew larger and larger in his pupils.
Crack, crack!
Two punches landed hard on the Black Bear Scoundrel. Though his strength had been refined and his flesh was far stronger than an ordinary person's, even he couldn't withstand Su Mu's ferocious blows.
Two crisp cracks rang out. The mask on the Black Bear Scoundrel's face shattered into countless pieces. His nose broke, and his skull cracked apart.
The punch that struck his chest shattered his breastbone, caving in his chest.
Ugh!
The Black Bear Scoundrel's face twisted violently. He spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of his organs, his fierce eyes wide and his face filled with terror and unwillingness.
The three brothers had been notorious throughout this region. They had killed and robbed many times, but they had always acted with caution, never making a move recklessly. Instead, they had divided their roles clearly: the third brother would test the waters first, and they would attack only if they judged themselves likely to win.
But why was he the one who had to die?
This guy had only refined his strength for the first time. He was weaker than him, while he was already close to refining his strength a second time and had even used some Hidden Force without holding back. So why had he lost?!
He couldn't accept it!
The Black Bear Scoundrel stared fixedly at Su Mu with his wide-open eyes, as though he wanted to remember his face. At last, his pupils widened and clouded over. Blood flowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as his hulking body crashed to the ground like a small mountain.
In the desolate mountains beneath the night sky, the battle between the vicious bear and the ferocious tiger ended with Su Mu's victory!
Hiss—
After killing all three men, Su Mu's arms hung limply at his sides. He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, then panted heavily. After a moment, he vigorously shook his arms. Only then did the needle-sharp pain in them gradually give way to returning sensation.
That's a hell of a rush... Twin Tiger Stack puts too much strain on the body. I can't use it lightly again unless it's a critical moment. Still, it worked... This place isn't safe to linger in...
Su Mu didn't waste any time. He immediately searched the three corpses, and soon found several Silver Notes on the dead Black Bear Scoundrel.
These are... Silver Notes?
Su Mu's eyes lit up. He was a little astonished. Each of the notes was worth a hundred taels, and this man had a full three of them.
That's three hundred taels... They say murder and arson put a golden sash around your waist...
Su Mu then searched the other two corpses thoroughly, finding another Silver Note worth fifty taels and three to five taels in loose silver. All told, he had more than three hundred and fifty taels.
"I should go."
Su Mu tucked the Silver Notes into his clothes. He ignored the corpses on the ground, turned, and quickly disappeared into the barren forest.
Before long, wolves and wild beasts in the mountains followed the smell of blood to the blood-soaked grove. Before dawn, the three corpses had been gnawed to nothing, vanishing from the world without a trace.
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