Black Corner Region

Why did Medusa have such strange thoughts?

It was because, these past few days, Medusa had repeatedly pondered why Shi Kang wanted to recruit her.

Logically speaking, even if she successfully evolved and broke through to the Dou Zong realm, she would be nothing special in Shi Kang's eyes.

Then she recalled the appreciation Shi Kang had revealed in his eyes when he first saw her. Medusa had always been extremely confident in her appearance.

Thus, Medusa secretly speculated that Shi Kang had likely taken a fancy to her beauty, which was why he had extended an olive branch and wanted to recruit her.

Otherwise, it was truly difficult to explain why someone who already had two Dou Zun guards at his side would specifically come to recruit a mere Dou Emperor like her.

Well, in Medusa's understanding, she already knew that Shi Long and Shi Fei possessed Dou Zun-level strength.

As for a Half-Saint, that was an existence she did not even dare to imagine.

Before the battle, Shi Kang had instructed Shi Fei to prepare a Medicinal Bath for him early on.

For this trip outside to gain experience, Shi Kang had made thorough preparations. He had brought an abundance of items: all manner of precious materials needed for a Medicinal Bath, pills with various effects, and more.

After all, soaking in a Medicinal Bath after battle allowed the body to absorb energy more efficiently. It was an excellent opportunity to increase one's strength.

In today's battle, Shi Kang had thoroughly unleashed his body's potential, nearly squeezing it to its limit.

Absorbing the energy in the Medicinal Bath now would undoubtedly yield excellent results and greatly benefit both his body and strength. Naturally, Shi Kang would not miss such a good opportunity.

After Shi Long and Shi Fei carefully helped Shi Kang into the medicinal tub, Shi Kang waved his hand and had them withdraw first.

The Medicinal Bath slowly began to take effect. It felt as though pairs of soft, warm little hands were gently caressing every inch of Shi Kang's skin, meticulously repairing and strengthening his body.

That pleasant sensation made the exhausted Shi Kang's eyelids droop, and all he wanted was to get some proper sleep.

However, the tenacity and self-discipline in Shi Kang's bones rose to the surface. Relying on his powerful will, he forcibly overcame his drowsiness and began cultivating in silence.

From this alone, it was clear that there was definitely a reason Shi Kang could be so powerful.

After completely absorbing the energy in the Medicinal Bath, with no one at his side to attend to him, Shi Kang began to miss his little maid, Yue Ru.

Back in the clan, whenever he finished soaking in a Medicinal Bath, Shi Kang would relax with Yue Ru through some exercise. Now that those warm, pleasant moments were no longer by his side, he truly was not used to it.

Shi Kang secretly thought, I should finish things here early and head back sooner...

In truth, this trip outside to gain experience and search for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Material was merely an excuse.

Shi Kang had no intention of staying outside for too long. The Stone Realm had dense Dou Qi, ample Cultivation Resources, suitable sparring partners, and, most importantly, guaranteed safety. It was far better than being outside.

If there were not matters that required Shi Kang to personally step in, he would not even have been willing to come to the Northwest Continent.

In his eyes, the Northwest Continent was a godforsaken wasteland. Whoever wanted to stay could stay.

In any case, he had already made up his mind to settle matters here as quickly as possible and return early.

The day after making up his mind, Shi Kang left the Tagor Desert early in the morning with Shi Long and Shi Fei.

Qing Lin remained temporarily with the Snake People Clan. Shi Kang thought that since Medusa knew Qing Lin was someone he had brought back, she certainly would not let anything happen to her. He was still assured of that.

The three of them were heading straight for Jia Nan Academy.

Not only was Fallen Heart Flame waiting for him there, but so was Zi Yan.

When they passed through the Black Corner Region, Shi Kang suddenly remembered that there was another Heavenly Flame here: Sea Heart Flame, ranked fifteenth, which was on Han Feng's person.

With the mindset that it would be a waste not to take something free, Shi Kang stopped in the Black Corner Region while Shi Long and Shi Fei hid in the shadows.

The Black Corner Region was a place with no rules whatsoever. As long as you were strong enough, you could do whatever you pleased here.

The place was filled with evil, and the ugliness of human nature was displayed here to the fullest. Robbery, murder, even openly committing acts of depravity in the streets—such things were commonplace in the Black Corner Region.

Because Shi Kang walked upon empty air with an aloof, superior bearing, no blind fool dared take the initiative to provoke him and give him a chance to show off by crushing them.

On the contrary, when these people saw Shi Kang, not only did they not dare approach him, they fled far away as if they had seen a ghost, terrified that this Dou Zong powerhouse might casually dispose of them.

After all, in the Black Corner Region, there was no shortage of people who killed for no reason other than the thrill of slaughter.

Seeing them all avoid him, Shi Kang was quite satisfied.

He had deliberately displayed his Dou Zong strength precisely so that these fly-like pests would not come up and provoke him.

While playing weak to crush the strong could sometimes be entertaining, these people were not strong foes at all. They were merely ants.

Showing off before ants was, in Shi Kang's view, purely a waste of time. He had no leisure for that.

At that moment, there was not a single person near Shi Kang. He swept his gaze around, then suddenly raised an arm. A scar-faced burly man in the distance, who had been quietly and slowly backing away, was instantly dragged over by a powerful force.

This scar-faced man should have looked vicious at first glance, clearly not a good person. Yet at this moment, his eyes were filled with fear.

He did not understand why this Dou Zong powerhouse had singled him out. Could it be that he had offended someone he should not have offended recently?

He frantically recalled the bad things he had done lately. Wang Mazi, whom he had killed two days ago? Or that beautiful young girl he had robbed yesterday? The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, feeling that his end was near.

"D-Dou Zong sir, is there some misunderstanding..." The scar-faced man hurriedly tried to explain himself and beg for mercy.

Slap! Shi Kang casually struck him across the face, directly swelling it up. However, Shi Kang had held back. Otherwise, with his Dou Zong strength, a mere Da Dou Shi like the scar-faced man would certainly have lost his life.

The scar-faced man's face swelled up like a large bun. He immediately became obedient, standing there meekly without even daring to breathe loudly.

Shi Kang asked coldly, "Do you know where Han Feng is?" Before coming here, Han Feng had not been part of Shi Kang's plans, so he did not know Han Feng's location. Now, he wanted someone to lead the way.

"Medicine Emperor Han Feng? I know, I know. I'll point the way for you... no, I'll lead you there!" the scar-faced man said hurriedly, secretly rejoicing that this lord was merely asking for directions and that he had not actually offended him.