An Unnameable Thing, Heavily Wounded!

Roar!

Across the Wilderness, smoke and dust billowed.

Countless monsters appeared on the horizon, each with horns growing from its head, blades extending from its long legs, and scales covering its body.

Wherever they passed, the ground sank, mountains collapsed, and rivers churned with blood.

The ground trembled as waves of roars rang across the Wilderness. Monsters within a hundred li went berserk, and countless martial artists failed to react in time, crushed into bloody mud on the spot.

"Beast tide, it's a beast tide! Everyone, run!"

"Ahhh! Somebody save me! I don't want to die!"

"Wah wah wah--!"

"A small-scale beast tide has erupted near Tai Xuan Lake. A High-level Monster riot is suspected. Federal Martial Masters are on their way. Martial artists, hold on!"

The Wilderness, peaceful only moments ago, suddenly grew restless.

In the blink of an eye, it became a battlefield, with blood qi soaring to the heavens.

Bang!

A bloody blur tore through the void and slammed heavily into the ground. The impact shattered the broken walls within several meters and sent the fragments flying in all directions, driving back the monsters that pounced forward like locusts.

Lu Xuan had exhausted all his strength, yet still could not escape before the beast tide arrived.

Old and new wounds covered his body. They split open as he ran, and the blood flowing beneath the beasts' razor claws was no longer warm. Instead, it was cold to the extreme.

This was a sign of severe injury.

Without timely treatment, he would die sooner or later.

Pain, palpitations, weakness... All kinds of emotions intertwined, dragging his already feeble spirit steadily into the abyss. His limbs turned icy cold, and his blood qi weakened.

Yet the monsters showed no sign of stopping.

"Roar!"

A beast-armored rat leaped onto his shoulder, its pointed snout and claws stabbing into his flesh.

Before Lu Xuan could counterattack, more beast-armored rats climbed onto his body one after another like ants scaling a tree, their claws—sharp as scalpels—slicing apart every inch of his skin.

In an instant, Lu Xuan was submerged beneath the tide of rats.

"Phuh! Phuh!"

Lu Xuan spat mouthful after mouthful of blood. The Ghost-faced Monkey mask on his face was gnawed apart, revealing his true features beneath. He let out a tragic laugh. "I still haven't received the Future Mail after all this. Could it be my turn to write it?"

"No!"

"I can't die yet!"

"I haven't seen my parents wake up. I haven't seen my sister become a Martial God. I still have powerful enemies to kill..."

"They're waiting for me!"

"I can't fall here!"

But what could I do?!

Lu Xuan roared, but the blood-qi shield protecting his throat had already been destroyed.

He only felt a chill around his neck.

I'm going to die!

Did he still have any tricks left?

No!

Lu Xuan had already used every means at his disposal. He had nothing left.

The Bronze Gourd had not produced any spirit liquid. His blood qi was completely exhausted, and his Mental Power was on the verge of drying up.

"Ahhh--!"

Lu Xuan drained the last trace of blood qi from his body, and terrifying blood qi tore apart the beast-armored rats closing in around him.

Blood sprayed like a fountain, splattering across his mangled body.

"I'm going to die...?"

The stench of blood and gore invaded his nostrils.

Lu Xuan was utterly drained of strength.

His knees crashed into the sticky fluid where blood and water mingled. The bones and tendons of his hands, white as jade roots and taut as broken branches, hung limply as blood poured onto the ground. The surrounding area was littered with the severed limbs of monsters, as horrific as hell itself.

It wasn't only him.

The martial artists who had failed to flee before the beast tide arrived—

At this moment, there were countless people in worse shape than Lu Xuan. Some had even been crushed into bloody mist on the spot.

But the beast tide did not stop because of that.

Instead, it grew even more ferocious, sweeping across the Wilderness like a surging river.

Drip! Drip!

Drops of blood fell from Lu Xuan's chin.

Beneath the broken mask, his vision grew blurred.

In a daze,

a Big Eyeball appeared before him.

Its pupil contained an endless starry sky, while countless tentacles covered the layer of flesh surrounding it.

Lu Xuan had seen it before.

When he had absorbed the Qi and Blood Golden Elixir for the first time, this Big Eyeball had appeared. He had even suspected that the Qi and Blood Golden Elixir he swallowed had come from this bizarre creature.

As its gaze swept over him,

the creature rotated that eyeball as well. Then its pupil contracted violently, locking onto Lu Xuan.

"A peeper...!"

Suddenly,

Lu Xuan sensed a fog that defied description coiling around the Big Eyeball.

This was Mental Power!

Under his horrified gaze, the Mental Power gathered into a single point and shot toward him.

"Ahhh--!"

Although Lu Xuan's aura had completely vanished and he was about to be torn apart by the monsters, a thread of invisible pressure blossomed from his mind, spreading out like a vast sea pressing down over the surrounding area.

The monsters that had gone berserk under the control of the High-level Monster's mind instantly regained consciousness.

"Roar--!"

Several High-level Monsters threw their heads back and roared.

They had always used humans as pawns. They had never been used as pawns themselves, and fury surged through them in an instant.

But almost immediately,

an even more domineering and terrifying Mental Power swept over them.

Humans and monsters alike began slaughtering one another as though they had gone completely mad.

As for Lu Xuan, the source of the Mental Power, no one dared approach him in the slightest.

He simply knelt quietly in the pool of blood, his vital signs flickering faintly.

A beast tide had erupted in Satellite City No. 6.

Martial artists from all over Jinling City rushed there.

For some unknown reason, the originally small-scale beast tide developed into a medium-scale one. Three Awakened Level monsters fought at the edge of Tai Xuan Lake.

This beast tide lasted for several whole days.

The Federation dispatched four Martial Masters before they could finally suppress it.

"Ah..."

In the darkness,

Lu Xuan slowly awakened. His head throbbed abnormally, as though someone had driven two steel nails into his temples and was endlessly stirring them.

In his daze, firelight swayed and figures moved, while sighs of grief rang without end... It wasn't until the flames roasted his cheeks until they were scorching hot that he suddenly opened his eyes.

I'm still alive?

The air, mixed with the stench of blood and filth, invaded his mouth, making him cough involuntarily.

"Cough cough..." His throat felt as though it were being scraped by a knife.

Lu Xuan rolled over and nearly fell from the bed, but fortunately, a large hand caught him.

His gaze traveled up the arm.

A somewhat familiar face was reflected in Lu Xuan's eyes.

A bald head, a scar... He swallowed and rasped, "Scarhead... Uncle?"

That was right.

The man before him was the captain of the martial artist squad Lu Xuan had encountered on the hovercar while heading to the Wilderness.

"You really are restless, kid."

Scarhead helped him sit upright and shook his head. "You just woke up and already wanted to run out of bed. You can count yourself lucky to have clawed your way back from that beast tide alive."

"I... Heh heh, thank you for saving my life, Uncle."

Lu Xuan wanted to say something, but in the end, he only gave a bitter laugh and thanked him.

"Hey, why aren't you thanking us?"

A female martial artist with a ponytail approached carrying roasted meat and water. She pouted petulantly. "We saved you too."

"...Huh?"

Lu Xuan hesitated, not knowing what to call this group.

"My name is Ma Tao." The ponytailed woman handed him the food and water, then pointed toward the other members of the martial artist squad and introduced them one by one:

"That aloof-looking girl is Wang Dongyun. Those two who look very alike and are wearing mechanical armor are brothers, Zhao Wu and Zhao Wen. And the last one, that sissy, is Zhang Wei."

The others cast their gazes over one after another.

Only Zhang Wei delicately raised a finger in a floral gesture and let out an affected hum. "Who are you calling a sissy? You tomboy!"

Lu Xuan thanked them one by one.

It wasn't that he lacked human feeling.

This martial artist squad had already been kindhearted, and on top of that, they had saved his life.

He could not neglect the proper courtesies.

"Eat something first and recover. We still don't know your name, do we?" Scarhead asked.

"Lu Xuan."

When it came to his saviors, Lu Xuan did not conceal his identity.

"That's not a good name. Your life was hanging by a thread..." Scarhead nodded, then continued, "I advise you to change it quickly. And next time, don't go taking risks alone."

"..."

Lu Xuan did not answer.

He ate while circulating his blood qi to inspect his body.

He discovered, to his surprise, that although his blood qi had been severely depleted, his martial foundation had not been damaged. Not only that, he had broken through from a Fifth-order martial artist to a sixth-order one.

His injuries had also recovered substantially.

Looking up at Scarhead and the others, he understood. They must have paid a heavy price to make him swallow some kind of special spiritual treasure, which was why he had recovered so quickly.

Yet everyone kept silent about it.

Moved to tears by their character, Lu Xuan also admired them utterly.

He hurriedly got out of bed and thanked them.

"Thank you, everyone. Lu Xuan is deeply grateful."

"Martial artists out in the world should help one another."

Scarhead laughed heartily. "As long as you're fine. We've already sent your location to the federal rescue team. They'll be here shortly to take you back to Satellite City No. 6. Once you return this time, don't come out this way again."

"This kid has seen how terrifying a beast tide can be."

Lu Xuan no longer responded coldly. Instead, he replied warmly, "I definitely won't come this way again."

"That's for the best." The others wolfed down meat and laughed. "A talent like you is a future pillar of the Federation. You can't afford to have anything happen to you."

After chatting for a few moments, everyone became familiar with one another.

Not long afterward,

the federal rescue team arrived and took Lu Xuan away.

Before leaving,

Lu Xuan looked toward Uncle Scarhead. "Uncle, let's exchange contact information. Once we're back in Jinling City, we'll get together again."

When it came to his savior, he had nothing to hide.

Of course,

except for his identity as the Ghost Face Martial Artist.

Scarhead laughed heartily. "Sure. Once we get back, we'll make you pay for a feast."

The two added each other on their martial artist accounts.

Then Lu Xuan left with the rescue team.

Scarhead waved with a smile until the rescue team disappeared from sight. He sat back down beside the fire, glanced over the cheerful members of his squad, and silently lowered his head.

At his feet,

a battered Ghost-faced Monkey face stared up at him.

Taking advantage of the others' inattention, he picked up the Ghost-faced Monkey face and tossed it into the fire.