After leaving the town, Su Mu not only covered his face with a cloth mask, but also changed into night clothes. He did this to avoid trouble. If the Black Mountain Army learned his identity, the masters in town would inevitably be implicated.
Better safe than sorry.
"That fellow's suspicious. You few, come with me."
As a masked figure emerged from the dense woods, a squad leader wearing armor of finer quality than that of ordinary Black Mountain Army soldiers immediately looked murderous. He remembered that two soldiers had just obeyed orders to go into the woods and kill the few herb gatherers who had suddenly appeared, but the figure now walking out was masked.
Those two had most likely run into trouble.
If this man wasn't one of theirs, then he was an enemy!
The squad leader beckoned, and four or five men nearby immediately turned at his command, pointing their blades toward Su Mu as he approached the battlefield.
"Get him together! Kill him!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The four or five Black Mountain Army soldiers wore savage expressions as their long blades swiftly sliced through the air. Their blades glinted ominously, and before they even reached him, a wave of killing intent swept over Su Mu.
This was Su Mu's first time taking part in a large-scale brawl. With so many people involved, he had to be extremely cautious, even if his opponents were all unranked martial artists—or even ordinary men.
Martial artists were still made of flesh and blood; they couldn't become impervious to blades and spears. Surrounded by trained soldiers clad in armor and wielding sharp weapons, even a Ranked Martial Artist could be hacked to death by a flurry of blades.
"Blades and spears have no eyes."
Su Mu drew a light breath. The strength within him surged, coursing through every inch of his body in an instant and forming a thin membrane of force over his entire body. Now that his Qi Refining was complete, the membrane formed by his force had considerable defensive power.
It was a safeguard to protect himself.
In truth, Su Mu didn't need the membrane to be especially strong. He only needed it to give him a moment to react at a critical instant. After all, in the midst of a melee, even if your senses were keen enough to dodge attacks you could see, once you were fully caught up in the fighting, the roar of battle would severely disrupt your senses. At that point, it would be hard to guard against a hidden arrow.
"These people all deserve to die. Every last one of them!"
Beneath his mask, an unprecedented chill appeared on Su Mu's face. At that moment, anger and murderous intent surged within him, with nowhere to vent. Only a ruthless slaughter could let it all out.
Then slaughter it would be.
Su Mu followed his instincts and entered a state of combat. His eyes narrowed, and the several blades rushing toward him seemed to slow in his gaze. The next instant, he suddenly moved.
Five Animal Frolics, Ape Play.
The Black Mountain Army soldiers saw a figure dart swiftly through the blades before them, agile as an old mountain ape.
"So fast!"
The blades striking from all sides missed. Their stars of death hung high above them, though they remained unaware. Seizing the opening as their swings passed through empty air, Su Mu suddenly stepped forward, fists clenched as he unleashed a flurry of punches with both hands against the four or five soldiers.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Force flooded both his arms. Its ferocity swept away the mist around him in an instant. Su Mu's fists were astonishingly fast; the Black Mountain soldiers could only see him clench them.
Then their faces twisted violently. Almost simultaneously, every one of them took a punch. The force of Rock Shattering Fist passed through their armor and exploded within them. Against Rock Shattering Fist at the great mastery stage, the Black Mountain Army's padded armor was as good as paper.
Crack.
A series of horrifying bone-breaking sounds rang out from the Black Mountain Army soldiers, frozen in place. Blood poured from their mouths, and the next instant their bodies flew backward like torn sacks, crashing heavily to the ground.
Four or five armored soldiers with weapons in hand hadn't even lasted a single round against this masked man.
It was a one-sided slaughter. The two sides weren't even on the same level!
Seeing this, the Black Mountain Army squad leader who had just ordered his men to kill Su Mu swallowed hard. A chill filled his heart. Though he had refined force within him and was a Ranked Qi Refining Martial Artist, he knew full well that he was no match for the masked man before him.
He immediately turned to flee.
But how could Su Mu let him get away? The image of Zhou Shan and the blacksmith masters dying in agony rose before his eyes, and murderous intent surged in his heart. He clenched his fist again and struck through the air.
A fierce wind suddenly rose across the battlefield.
This was Gale Fist, which Su Mu had obtained the night he killed Wu Heng. In ten days, Su Mu had already mastered its basics. The surging wind made the fleeing Black Mountain Army squad leader falter. That single faltering moment sealed his death.
Su Mu used Startled Sparrow Steps, leaping five or six zhang to close the distance between them in an instant. Then he threw a punch.
Thump!
The Black Mountain Army squad leader, a Ranked Martial Artist, stared wide-eyed. He didn't even manage to scream before Su Mu's punch blew his head apart, killing him on the spot.
After killing a Black Mountain Army squad leader with one punch, Su Mu flicked his hand and sent the blood mixed with brain matter flying from his fist.
"Even a Black Mountain Army squad leader couldn't last a single round against him. Who... who is this man?"
"I don't know. I've never seen martial arts like his before... But he's here for the Black Mountain Army. He must have a grudge against them. He's not our enemy. Tell our men not to provoke him!"
Seeing Su Mu charge into the battlefield like a ferocious tiger about to devour its prey, even the Qingyun Army soldiers were unnerved. Several Qingyun Army platoon leaders hurriedly told their men not to provoke this fiend.
The herb gatherers still hadn't left the woods. Every one of them was terrified—some slumped to the ground, others stood frozen in a daze. Only one man was different: the elderly leader, a bamboo staff in hand, watched the figure fighting on the battlefield, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He etched that figure deeply into his memory, then calmly roused the others. "This place isn't safe. Everyone, leave at once."
"Ah, right. Let's go! We have to get out of here!"
Coming to their senses, the herb gatherers fled through the narrow path Su Mu had pointed out.
At the heart of the battlefield, the black-armored giant from the Black Mountain Army was now the one growing anxious. The masked man who had suddenly charged into battle was a massive unknown, and the scales of victory, which had been tipping toward the Black Mountain Army, had now turned against them.
The man in black struck with ruthless force, ignoring the Qingyun Army entirely. He seemed to have gone berserk, focusing solely on slaughtering the Black Mountain Army.
In just a short while, nearly twenty Black Mountain Army soldiers had fallen to the man in black. The damned Qingyun Army had noticed, too, and had even begun working together to drive the hard-to-crack opponents toward Su Mu.
Su Mu turned away no one, taking them all on. Each one only took a punch to finish off.
Blood for blood, repaid tenfold—that was no empty promise!
"Scoundrel, get out of my way!"
The black-armored giant swung his fine iron baton viciously at Qian Wu. Qian Wu wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he smiled and gripped his long saber in both hands to meet the blow.
Clang!
Sparks flew, and dust billowed half a man's height around their feet as metal crashed against metal with another deafening clang.
The tables had turned.
Now it was Qian Wu who stood his ground, calmly holding the black-armored man off. He knew full well that as long as his Qingyun Army soldiers helped the masked man in black slaughter the remaining Black Mountain Rebels, they would win the battle!
Thump!
Flesh and blood burst through the air as Su Mu killed another man with a punch. At the same time, he watched the black-armored giant and Qian Wu fight from the corner of his eye. His extraordinary comprehension allowed him to quickly discern the giant's martial arts while fighting other men.
Su Mu still hadn't used his true killing move. He was saving it all for this man.
"The black-armored giant—the one Uncle Li said smashed through the shop's front door... He's the one who killed Master Zhou."
"Don't rush. You'll be next."
Su Mu had gone red-eyed with slaughter, murderous intent undisguised in his gaze.
The black-armored giant felt the black-clad man outside the fight staring at him, along with that intense killing intent. Confusion and unease filled his heart. As far as he knew, he had never provoked this fellow.
"This can't go on."
When the black-armored giant saw another of his men killed by the man in black, he flew into a rage. His tiger eyes widened as he let out a furious roar.
"Anyone who stands in my way dies!"
The muscles in the black-armored giant's arms bulged slightly. He lifted his fine iron baton and swung it down at Qian Wu with the force of Mount Tai bearing down. Qian Wu knew something was wrong, but he had no choice except to brace himself and meet the blow.
Clang!
After taking the strike head-on, the force and blood within Qian Wu's body churned violently, and he let out a muffled groan. The long saber in his hands couldn't bear the pressure; it snapped in two from the impact.
The force unleashed by the two men sent the broken blade shooting outward, killing a Black Mountain Army soldier and a Qingyun Army soldier who were fighting nearby.
The black-armored giant was named Hong Shan. He had been born with strength far beyond that of ordinary men. As a youth, he had studied under a wandering swordsman. Later, he had claimed a mountain and become the leader of a band of robbers. After that, to evade the authorities, he had joined the Black Mountain Army and become a centurion.
Though he had only undergone First Bone Forging, his heavy fine iron armor and immense strength let him briefly fight Martial Artists who had undergone Second Bone Forging.
After knocking Qian Wu back with a single blow, he gave him a cold glance and abandoned the pursuit, heading straight for Su Mu.
These men were his former subordinates from his days as a bandit. Most of them had shared life and death with him. Seeing nearly twenty of them killed by Su Mu made his eyes bulge with fury.
"Get out of my way, all of you!"
The black-armored giant's iron armor weighed over a hundred jin. As he strode toward Su Mu, it rang with heavy clanks, and the ground trembled with every step.
Scrape!
The fine iron baton dragged along the ground with an ear-splitting metallic screech, sending sparks flying.
"You deserve to die!"
The giant charged like a raging black bear. In the blink of an eye, he was upon Su Mu, swinging the fine iron baton he had dragged along the ground in a mighty circle before bringing it down with the force of ten thousand jun.
The gale stirred up by the baton roared like a wild beast, leaving the other fighters nearby momentarily dazed.
Even Qian Wu, watching from the sidelines, was shaken by the sheer weight of the strike. His arms went numb, and he cried out a warning in desperation.
"Hero, look out!"
Before you continue