Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
In the blink of an eye, they were locked in another fierce exchange of blows.
When the red light faded, Yellow Big Tiger's shattered body lay on the ground, facing the sky. His eyes were hollow, and his once-mighty tiger face wore a wistful expression.
A gaping hole had been torn in his chest, and wounds covered his limbs. A pool of blood spread beneath him, slowly widening.
"So I still couldn't do it..." he murmured. "I still couldn't avenge you."
"You rampaged through human cities, killing and looting. You were responsible for several massacres, so dying in the city shouldn't be something you can complain about, right? You were only paying for the people you killed." Zhao Xing'er put away her bronze staff and looked at him coldly. "If you lose, you have to accept it."
"Ah—" Yellow Big Tiger groaned in pain. "The glory of our tiger demons from Old Bald Top Ravine... I couldn't carry it forward. I'll never get to see our family at its peak. I can't accept this!"
With that roar, the light in his eyes slowly faded.
Yellow Big Tiger, the great demon of the criminal underworld, lay charred, with shattered meridians, wounds all over his body, and hatred in his eyes. He died with an unwilling howl...
His death was utterly peaceful.
At the moment Zhao Xing'er ended the fight with a single staff strike, Yue Wen wasn't idle either.
He had just pushed Zhao Xing'er away when the Rhinoceros Deer brothers' pursuit caught up with him. The two Rhinoceros Deer charged at him with bloodshot eyes, heedless of everything. Their bodies were as hard as steel, and their strength was terrifying.
Being their opponent was certainly no easy thing.
Yue Wen used Dragon Wandering Loose Hand footwork to keep them at bay for a few steps. Seeing that they were closing in from both sides, leaving him no room to dodge, he shot out another Shadow Movement Talisman.
As long as the Rhinoceros Demons dodged the talisman, he could instantly appear behind them and attack again.
But to his surprise, Big Rhinoceros Deer didn't dodge. He simply raised an arm to block it, and the talisman struck his left arm with a clang, embedding itself there. Apparently, he'd realized during their earlier fight that the Shadow Movement Talisman was Yue Wen's anchor for teleporting.
"Get him!" he shouted. "He can't teleport anymore. Use that move!"
Second Rhinoceros Deer leaped into the air and spun around, rotating countless times like a drill before slamming toward Yue Wen!
It was the Rhinoceros Demon brothers' signature secret technique: Golden Head Hammer!
This was their strongest attack, but it came at a steep cost. Once they started it, they couldn't stop, so they rarely used it.
Against formidable opponents like Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er, they had finally stopped holding back. Big Rhinoceros Deer had injured himself to give Second Rhinoceros Deer the chance to land this blow!
As the head hammer spun toward him like a whirlwind, a trace of alarm crossed Yue Wen's eyes. He hadn't expected the two injured Rhinoceros Deer to manage such a powerful attack.
Boom!
The Golden Head Hammer slammed into the ground in the blink of an eye, sending up a towering column of dust.
"Ke ke ke!" Big Rhinoceros Deer laughed triumphantly. "Foolish human! There's no way you survived this time..."
Before he could finish, a crescent of light slashed in from the side.
Zhao Xing'er had just beaten the tiger demon to death with her staff. Hearing the commotion, she saw Big Rhinoceros Deer sneering at the cloud of dust and assumed Yue Wen had been killed. Her brows furrowed, and the red light flared again.
"Boss!" she shouted angrily as she rushed over, sweeping her bronze staff across like a crescent moon!
Seeing that Yellow Big Tiger hadn't lasted even a moment, Big Rhinoceros Deer looked shocked and tried desperately to block her staff.
But a shout from above stopped the blow in its tracks.
A streak of sword light fell from the sky, and at the same time, Yue Wen shouted, "Leave him to me!"
Zhao Xing'er froze in surprise and stopped where she was.
Big Rhinoceros Deer was focused on the approaching Zhao Xing'er, completely unaware of the silver light falling from overhead! A feint from the front and a strike from behind—an attack that misdirected his attention.
Pfft—
Sword Control Art pierced straight through his crown in an instant!
Yue Wen descended before him, completely unharmed.
"How is that possible..." Big Rhinoceros Deer clutched the Shadow Movement Talisman on his arm. "I clearly..."
Yue Wen showed him another Shadow Movement Talisman. "I never said there was only one."
The reason he'd started out using just one talisman was that this was his first time using the technique in a real fight. He hadn't wanted to use too many and risk messing it up and splitting himself apart.
The image of the little black figures splitting into five groups in the demonstration had frightened him quite a bit.
But once Big Rhinoceros Deer pinned down the first talisman by injuring himself, Yue Wen shot a second into the sky and easily dodged Second Rhinoceros Deer's head hammer.
Shadow Movement Talisman Art was serious overkill against the Rhinoceros Deer brothers.
He'd just been toying with them.
With a thud, Big Rhinoceros Deer finally lost his breath and fell backward.
Yue Wen stepped forward and retrieved his talisman. Then he turned to look as the dust cleared, revealing Second Rhinoceros Deer.
His head and upper body were buried in the rocky ground, leaving only his legs kicking wildly in the air. His short arms desperately tried to pull him free.
That was the drawback of the Golden Head Hammer: using it could easily leave you stuck in a situation you couldn't get out of.
He was still muttering something. His voice came muffled from underground. "Big brother, I'm sure I killed that kid when I hit him. Come pull me out. Oh, you must be busy, fighting that woman with Yellow Big Tiger! Once I get my head out, the three of us can take her on together. We'll definitely kill her! We won't stop until we've planted her head in the ground... Heave-ho!"
With a crack, he finally managed to pull his upper body free after a tremendous struggle.
Then he looked up and saw Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er standing to one side, both watching him with bright eyes and amused expressions.
Yellow Big Tiger and his big brother were lying on the ground nearby. Neither of them looked alive.
Pain, confusion, shock... All sorts of complicated emotions tangled together in Second Rhinoceros Deer's smooth brain, and he froze for a moment.
"Whose head were you going to plant in the ground?" Zhao Xing'er asked with a cold laugh.
"My own," Second Rhinoceros Deer answered in a tearful voice, then turned and tried to burrow back into the hole.
It was a little dark in there, but at least he couldn't see anything. That had to be better than looking up and seeing two great demons.
"Take your life!" Zhao Xing'er sprang into action, swinging her staff down to strike him.
"Xing'er, calm down!" Yue Wen grabbed her around the waist and held her back. Ignoring her legs kicking wildly in the air, he moved her aside. "Leave this Rhinoceros Demon to me."
"Why?" Zhao Xing'er asked, puzzled.
Because you already killed Yellow Big Tiger, and you nearly killed Big Rhinoceros Deer just now. If I didn't hurry up, I'd fight all this time and not get a single Demon Suppressing Coin.
Was I supposed to enjoy fighting evil spirits?
But he couldn't exactly say he was trying to steal the kill. Yue Wen paused, then said, "Weren't you injured earlier? Don't reopen the wound."
Zhao Xing'er had taken a hard punch during her battle with Yellow Big Tiger. Even with the protection and healing of Martial Spirit Red Light, her qi and blood weren't as vigorous as before.
"But..." Zhao Xing'er said. "You're injured too."
Yue Wen had taken a hit earlier, and he did look a little weak.
"I'm fine. Just listen to me." Yue Wen patted her shoulder and walked forward, leaving her behind. Sensing that she still wanted to help, he added, "If you come help me, I'll dock your pay too."
Zhao Xing'er furrowed her brow. The bronze staff in her hand shifted from targeting Second Rhinoceros Deer to the back of Yue Wen's head. She slowly turned it, as if debating whether to swing.
While they were talking, Second Rhinoceros Deer had already run off.
Though Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er were injured, Second Rhinoceros Deer was in worse shape. He'd been hit by Zhao Xing'er's hammer, stabbed by Yue Wen's sword, and then left dizzy and disoriented after his head hammer.
Knowing the two terrifying humans would kill him if he stayed, he took advantage of their conversation to sneak away. After a few steps, he broke into a full sprint!
That woman hadn't caught up with him earlier. She wouldn't catch him this time either, right?
That was what he thought.
But just as he was about to enter the forest ahead, he spotted a curved, blade-like talisman pinned to a tree trunk.
A Shadow Movement Talisman.
Second Rhinoceros Deer was startled. Wasn't that...
In the next instant, a purple-black shadow flickered, and Yue Wen appeared where the talisman was.
"Not so fast!" he shouted, sending his flying sword after him.
"Roar!" Second Rhinoceros Deer let out a furious roar and raised his hammer again. Faced with life and death, he unleashed all his strength.
I've spent so long tempering my body in the Wasteland Zone, and I've fought countless battles. My whole body is harder than steel.
You think you can stop me?
Whoosh.
A streak of silver light pierced Second Rhinoceros Deer's throat in an instant!
Yue Wen calmly lowered his two fingers, raising his wrist as a stream of light returned and coiled around it like a bracelet. A wisp of white spiritual energy streamed from the tip of the sword.
The Gold Medal Killer Rhinoceros Deer brothers had met their end.
The moment Second Rhinoceros Deer fell, a wisp of golden smoke entered Yue Wen's body. Together, the brothers had earned him eighty-two Demon Suppressing Coins!
In terms of a single opponent, they were the strongest evil spirits he'd ever slain.
All he could say was that Yellow Big Tiger had come to kill him with bad intentions, but things had worked out well in the end.
It was a pity Black Tiger had escaped. Still, it would take decades of cultivation before he amounted to anything, so Yue Wen wasn't worried about him coming back for revenge.
Yue Wen looked at Zhao Xing'er and reminded her, "When the company asks about it later, don't mention the details of this fight. Just say they were a few ordinary evil spirits. The Tiger Head Gang's revenge should be over. Bringing up how they infiltrated the place would only interfere with the livestream... and delay us from making money."
"Okay." Zhao Xing'er nodded, then asked, "Why do I feel like you've gotten stronger again?"
It wasn't just Yellow Big Tiger, his enemy, who'd felt that way. Zhao Xing'er, his companion, had noticed it just as strongly.
A few days ago, when they'd fought several tiger demons in the basement, Yue Wen hadn't been as strong as he was now. He also hadn't had this ability to shift his position instantly.
The Yue Wen before her felt like a stranger.
"Heh." Yue Wen smiled faintly. "I had a small breakthrough after yesterday's arena match."
"Huh?" Zhao Xing'er exclaimed in surprise.
In fact, that was a real thing for Unity Realm cultivators.
The Immortal Gates generally sent their disciples out to gain experience when they reached the Third Realm because Unity Realm cultivation was about bringing one's essence, energy, and spirit into harmony. And battle was what helped speed up that process.
After several intense fights over the past few days, Yue Wen felt that his essence, energy, and spirit had finally come into perfect harmony, without the slightest flaw.
This realm was generally known as the Great Perfection of the Unity Realm.
But it was easier said than done. The harmony of one's essence, energy, and spirit had to be honed and explored through battle after battle. Sometimes, reaching perfection was like shaving down a piece of software one cut at a time. You kept getting closer, but there was always some tiny gap left, and it took a long time to understand how to close it.
Zhao Xing'er herself had been waiting to advance in the Third Realm for months. She'd fought several battles recently, but had made little progress.
Seeing Yue Wen reach perfection so casually after just a few fights left her incredulous.
Was he kidding?
Could a breakthrough really be that easy? Were you the immortal physique, or was I?
Could it be... that I was stupider than my boss?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
Before you continue