Mountain Boar's Great Strength! Black Wind Stockade's Guards!

After checking his mountain hunting gear, picking up his ancestral hunting knife, slinging the Beast Hide Great Bow over his back, and hanging a quiver of arrows at his waist, Su Mo once again entered Qingliang Mountain.

This time entering Qingliang Mountain, Su Mo planned to kill another wild beast, both to acquire its innate traits and strengthen himself, and to obtain enough meat to prepare for winter.

Inside the mountain, heavy snow filled the sky, and the cold wind howled like a mad dragon, whipping up countless snowflakes.

In Green Wolf Ridge, wolf howls and roars rose and fell in succession. A ferocious green wolf suddenly burst out from a bush, turning into a green blur as it pounced, sending gusts of wind scattering in all directions.

The moment he saw the green wolf charging at him, Su Mo's Beast Hide Great Bow bloomed. A birchwood arrow shot out, tearing through the air. Before the green wolf could dodge, a spray of blood exploded from its body.

Then, the green wolf's body was pierced clean through by the arrow, flying back five or six meters before crashing down.

Clearly, killing a green wolf was now extremely easy for Su Mo. His archery, having reached minor success, meant that any living thing within twenty meters couldn't withstand a single arrow from him, even if the green wolf was fast, it still couldn't escape.

This time, he hadn't stumbled into Green Wolf Ridge by accident. He had deliberately entered it to test his strength by killing a green wolf.

Back then, facing a green wolf had put immense pressure on him, but now he killed one with ease!

After hunting this green wolf, Su Mo went to check the animal traps he had set earlier in the mountain to see if there was any catch.

When he had entered the mountain before, he had set three traps. The first and second traps had yielded nothing. After resetting them, Su Mo went to check the third trap.

But as he approached the third trap, Su Mo's expression instantly turned serious. The good news was that the third trap had caught something. The bad news was that the third trap had caught a big fierce beast.

Roar!!!

A mountain boar, over two meters in size and covered in black bristles, had its hind leg caught in the trap. But what made Su Mo's eyelids twitch was that this boar, revealing arm-thick, sharp tusks, actually snapped the trap off its right leg with a pained grunt.

Normally, any ordinary beast caught in his trap would be done for on the spot, unable to break free, only waiting to die.

But this massive boar? Not only had it broken his trap, but it also seemed uninjured. Its thick skin and tough flesh made Su Mo even consider retreating.

This boar was too fierce. Going head-on didn't seem like a good idea.

Just as Su Mo was about to retreat, the massive boar seemed to have already spotted him. It charged at him like a small mountain. If he were hit by this enraged boar, even Su Mo wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Su Mo moved, leaving a blur in the snow. Having fused the [Swift Sprint] trait of the green wolf and the [Swiftness] trait of the gray rabbit, he could now dodge the boar's attacks without much effort.

As Su Mo dodged, the boar's massive body crashed directly into a tree trunk as thick as two arm spans. In an instant, wood chips flew everywhere as the tree was smashed clean through by the boar, flying over ten meters away. Such immense strength was terrifying.

Su Mo decisively widened the distance. His fingers brushed over the quiver at his waist as he drew his bow and nocked an arrow, aiming at the boar. With a whoosh, the arrow shot out, striking the boar's body directly. Pig blood seeped out.

The boar still charged, roaring and ramming, as if this couldn't kill it. Su Mo understood that it wasn't his archery that was lacking, but the arrows themselves. Though the arrowheads had pierced the boar's skin, they were stuck fast by its thick hide and fat, unable to go deeper.

Even though blood was flowing, it only made the boar more frenzied and ferocious. Several nearby trees and stumps were smashed to pieces by the boar's rampage. It kept trying to ram Su Mo, but his movement speed was too fast; the boar simply couldn't catch him.

Using the ancestral hunting knife in close combat would clearly struggle to harm this boar. So, Su Mo continued to keep his distance and attack from afar. Arrows shot out one after another, striking the boar.

One of the boar's eyes was shot out, blood streaming down. Its body was covered in arrows. Even with its thick skin and tough flesh, it couldn't help but let out continuous pained squeals.

Finally, when its strength was exhausted, the boar unwillingly collapsed slowly.

Su Mo estimated this boar weighed over three hundred jin. It was truly ferocious.

If any other hunter had encountered this boar, they would have been in serious trouble. A single hit from it would break their body, crushing their internal organs to pulp.

At this moment, the Ancient Profound Pearl inside Su Mo emitted a golden light. This light was no longer faint but had become crystalline and bright. Inside the pearl, a phantom of the mountain boar was roaring and struggling, trying to break free from the pearl's restraints.

With a thought from Su Mo, the boar's phantom was ground down and devoured by the runic marks on the surface of the Ancient Profound Pearl. Then, that familiar warm sensation appeared, enveloping his entire body, flowing through his limbs and bones. This warmth was far stronger than that from the green wolf and gray rabbit.

At the same time, he gained two innate traits from this boar.

Seeing these two traits, Su Mo's eyes went wide.

[Thick Skin and Tough Flesh], [Great Strength]!

As the warm current flowed through his body, these two boar traits began to be integrated and mastered by Su Mo. Instantly, his physical body was greatly strengthened. His blood and qi surged violently. This meant Su Mo's physical toughness was visibly improving, and at the same time, a surge of immense power emerged within him, vast and profound.

The warm sensation faded.

Su Mo's skin and flesh were now extremely tight, like leather, bursting with abundant vitality. Ordinary punches and kicks would find it hard to harm him. Then, he picked up the Beast Hide Great Bow, applied a little force, and the bowstring drew taut, the bow bending like a full moon. This Three Stone Great Bow was now fully drawn.

Before, he could at most draw four-fifths of the bowstring. After all, this was a three-stone bow. But now, he drew it completely.

Even so, Su Mo felt this wasn't the limit of his strength. His power was now very great.

"These two traits from the boar have greatly increased my strength. [Thick Skin and Tough Flesh] gives me extremely dense skin and muscle, greatly boosting my physical defense. [Great Strength] massively increases my overall power. Not only can I easily draw the Beast Hide Great Bow, but even..."

As he spoke, Su Mo walked over to the boar's corpse. He bent down, used both hands to lift the three-hundred-jin boar onto his shoulders, then reached out with his right hand, grabbed the green wolf he had killed earlier, and carried it in his hand.

"Stop! Put down those two pieces of game!"

A voice suddenly rang out.

Just as Su Mo, carrying the green wolf and boar, was about to leave Qingliang Mountain, with snow and wind howling, five uninvited figures appeared on the snowy path ahead.

These people were dressed in black clothes, with black cloth wrapped around their heads. Some held Wolf Tooth Clubs, others carried broadswords or choppers. Each had a fierce face and a murderous glint in their eyes, staring openly at Su Mo.

Su Mo recognized their attire. They were Black Wind Stockade Gang Members. These were people from the Black Wind Stockade. Previously, the original owner of this body had been beaten severely when he encountered Black Wind Stockade people while hunting in Qingliang Mountain. His hard-won prey was stolen, and he was left to starve to death in this harsh winter.

Moreover, every year, the Black Wind Stockade would come down the mountain to demand taxes from the surrounding villages, robbing the villagers of their grain and the hunters of their game. If they didn't get what they wanted, they would even forcibly take women and children from the villages. Their evil deeds made one wish they could be cut into a thousand pieces.

But the Black Wind Stockade was very strong. It was said there were Martial Artists stationed there.

"Did you not hear what I said? I told you to put down that game."

Among the Black Wind Stockade bandits, a bearded man wielding a large saber saw that Su Mo had yet to put down his prey and barked out a harsh reprimand. This bearded man with the saber was the leader of this group.

Earlier, the bearded man hadn't paid much attention, assuming it was just two large game animals. But when Su Mo drew closer, he noticed the man was carrying a Mountain Boar and a Green Wolf on his shoulders—extremely ferocious beasts of the mountains. The Mountain Boar, in particular, could already be called a Fierce Beast, one that only a Martial Artist at the Body Tempering Realm could kill.

Could this man be a Martial Artist? The bearded man felt a flicker of doubt.

The Black Wind Stockade had long grown accustomed to robbing the prey of nearby hunters, and they never imagined a lowly Hunter could have any connection to the lofty Martial Artists.

"Damn it, our boss is talking to you, can't you hear?" But just as the bearded man hesitated, one of the Black Wind Stockade bandits beside him couldn't hold back any longer. He roared in anger, raised his Wolf Tooth Club, and stepped forward to beat Su Mo to death.

Su Mo dropped the Mountain Boar and Green Wolf heavily to the ground without a word. He raised his Beast Hide Great Bow, drawing it taut like a full moon in an instant. A Birchwood Arrow shot forth, and with a single arrow, that Black Wind Stockade bandit had his head blown apart, blood splattering everywhere in a crimson spray.

Before the remaining Black Wind Stockade men could react, Su Mo nocked another arrow and drew again. Arrows flew out in succession, cutting through the air, and in an instant, the snow was stained red. The bodies of three Black Wind Stockade bandits were pierced through by Su Mo's Birchwood Arrows, collapsing weakly into pools of blood.

They didn't even have time to run.

Of the five Black Wind Stockade bandits who had blocked the road, only the bearded man remained. His expression was grim; he hadn't expected this Hunter's arrows to be so fast. In the blink of an eye, the man had shot all his underlings dead with such brutal efficiency.

Su Mo fired another arrow, intending to finish off the bearded man, but to his surprise, the bearded man raised his saber and slashed out, deflecting the arrow. However, the bearded man's body shuddered violently, and he stumbled back several steps.

It felt as if Su Mo's arrow was incredibly heavy, so heavy that even blocking it with his saber took immense effort.

Su Mo was surprised, as if he hadn't expected the bearded man before him to block that arrow. After all, that same arrow could have killed a Green Wolf outright, fused as it was with the Great Strength trait of the Mountain Boar, making its force unmatched and ferocious.

The bearded man's face was solemn, and a storm raged in his heart. He was on the verge of becoming a Martial Artist himself! He had tempered and honed his flesh and skin for years and had practiced the Basic Saber Technique for twenty years, reaching the Mastery Realm.

With the Basic Saber Technique at the Mastery Realm, the bearded man believed he could face some newly initiated Martial Artists without losing.

But now, the hand gripping his saber trembled violently, and blood even seeped out. It was clear that blocking Su Mo's earlier arrow had nearly drained the bearded man of all his strength.

With a shwoosh!

Su Mo raised his Beast Hide Great Bow and fired another arrow. The moment it shot forth, the air screamed, and the falling snowflakes were torn and shredded apart. The terrifying power it unleashed was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

Seeing this, the bearded man's face changed drastically. He hurriedly raised his saber to block, but if he could barely withstand the previous arrow and was knocked back several meters, how could he possibly stop this one, which Su Mo had fired with a bit more seriousness? The bearded man roared, swinging his Basic Saber Technique in an attempt to block this overwhelmingly powerful arrow.

This arrow sent the saber in the bearded man's hand flying, then struck his right leg. Blood sprayed as the bearded man screamed in agony. The severe injury left him barely able to stand, and he collapsed into the snow.

With its thick and domineering Great Strength, Su Mo's arrow had pierced straight through the bearded man's leg bone. Even after years of tempering his flesh and skin, such an injury was too much to bear, and he lost all ability to resist.

"I heard there are Martial Artists in your Black Wind Stockade. Are you one?"

Su Mo stepped forward, looking down at the bearded man, who was bleeding profusely and lying helpless in the snow, and asked slowly.

He had deliberately aimed that arrow off-target. If he had wanted to kill the bearded man, it would have hit his head, not his right leg.

"I'm not a Martial Artist!" The bearded man, already terrified out of his wits by Su Mo, his face pale, shook his head repeatedly in denial at the question.

If even a non-Martial Artist could block one of his arrows, what would a real Martial Artist be like?

At that moment, Su Mo realized that Martial Artists were strong—he was no match for them yet!

But what the bearded man, driven by fear, didn't mention was that with his Mastery Realm Basic Saber Technique and his years of tempered and honed body, he could actually face some newly initiated Martial Artists without losing.

He just happened to run into Su Mo.