After sending Ye Zhen flying with a single slap, the Blood Qi Puppet slowly rose from the mound. Its Beast Hide armor was rusty and caked with dirt, and it gave off a faintly oppressive aura. A silver-white badge at its waist stood out as it stared at the five team members nearby.
Liu Qing'er looked tense. "Everyone, be careful! This Blood Qi Puppet is no ordinary opponent! Its Beast Hide armor is clearly much better than what the others wore, and the badge at its waist looks like silver. It's finer and higher-ranking than the bronze badges we saw before."
Fang Xiu's expression was even graver. "Even that chuunibyou Ye Zhen got slapped so hard he coughed up blood and went flying. This thing is incredibly strong. It might already be close to a Transformation Boxer like our master!"
Wang Xiaoai's face changed slightly. He went on guard and asked in a low voice, "That's trouble. Do we fight or run?"
Before they could decide, the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet charged. It covered the dozen or so meters between them in barely two breaths, bearing down on them with a fierce gust of wind and terrifying pressure.
Wang Xiaoai took a deep breath, then let out a low shout and drove his Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt to its limit with his Internal Force. His muscles swelled, and he charged like a bull.
Bang!
The dull collision stopped the charging Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet in its tracks. The impact turned Wang Xiaoai pale, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Its strength was even more terrifying than he had imagined. He was muscular to begin with, and with Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt, he could unleash nearly a ton of force in an instant. Even so, the collision drove him back several steps.
Wang Xiaoai growled, seized both its arms, and grappled with it.
"Move! I can only keep Dragon's Roar Iron Shirt up for thirty seconds! If we can't take it down, run!"
At his shout, Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, and Li Xingming immediately unleashed their full strength and used the killing moves from their respective fist arts.
Fang Xiu rushed two steps to Wang Xiaoai's side and leaped into the air. Like a crane diving for prey, she used the force of her descent to drive a Wing Chun Phoenix-Eye Fist into the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet's temple with a muffled thud.
Liu Qing'er shed all trace of her delicate heiress demeanor. Circling to Wang Xiaoai's other side, she followed with a killing move from the Snake Form of Xingyi Fist. Her Viper Flicking Tongue drove a fist straight at the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet's other temple.
A ruthless look crossed Li Xingming's face. He sprang off Wang Xiaoai's back, leaped into the air, turned, and hammered a fist into the back of the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet's head.
All three had struck at full strength with their killing moves, making the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet shudder. An ordinary Blood Qi Puppet would already have had its head smashed apart. But this one's flesh was tough, and its skull was as hard as steel. Even a hammer might not have broken it.
Fang Xiu went pale. "No good! Its body is too hard! We haven't reached Hidden Strength, so we can't drive our Internal Force inside and destroy the part of its brain that controls its movements!"
Liu Qing'er's expression changed. "Then what do we do now?"
The Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet flung both arms outward with tremendous force. Wang Xiaoai could not hold it back and was hurled away. Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, and Li Xingming had no time to react before its arm swept toward them. They managed only one step back before the blow struck. All three grunted and went flying.
Seeing his teammates knocked away, Ye Zhen's eyes widened. He scrambled to his feet and lamented, "The times are against me, and my steed will not run! My strength could uproot mountains, my spirit outshine the world! Who would have thought that I, Ye, a peerless talent, would fall here? Fate is cruel! Take another Swimming Dragon Bagua Palm!"
With that gloriously overdramatic cry, Ye Zhen used the Nine Palaces Step and charged the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet in grief and fury. Watching from the side, Gu Chen's opinion of him improved a little. The guy was always spouting pretentious nonsense and practically begging to be punched, but he was decent enough. At least he had not taken this chance to run.
"Leave it to me to draw it away! You're injured, so stay back!"
Gu Chen grabbed Ye Zhen, whose dramatic despair had driven him toward a suicide charge, and flung him aside. Then he rushed the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet and wound around it like a bird in flight. With punches, leg sweeps, and moves that turned its own force against it, he kept it firmly occupied.
Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, Li Xingming, Wang Xiaoai, and Ye Zhen stared in amazement as Gu Chen ran circles around the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet. His intricate grappling and masterful punches and kicks had tied down a creature of terrifying strength with a body as hard as iron.
"Is this what they mean by using a little force to deflect a thousand pounds?" Li Xingming murmured, his eyes shining as he watched Gu Chen fight.
"Those purple-red grass fruits growing on the mound are unusual! They should have some remarkable medicinal effects! Pick them later!"
After calling out the reminder, Gu Chen drew the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet farther inside as he fought. With a body at the level of Core Condensation Gang Qi and a mind that had reached Seeing the Divine through Shattering the Void, he could handle a Blood Qi Puppet made from a corpse with ease, even while showing only the strength of Manifesting Strength.
It was like a bull charging blindly. No matter how powerful its body was, it could do nothing against a master bullfighter except be led by the nose.
As the Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet moved away, Ye Zhen, Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, Li Xingming, and Wang Xiaoai all let out long breaths of relief. Soon, stinging pain spread through their bodies. That puppet's casual blows had left them badly hurt.
Admiration showed on Wang Xiaoai's face. "As expected of Boss Beichen, the most well-hidden member of the Group Chat!"
"His grappling is masterful, and his fist techniques are top-notch. He's incredibly strong!" A strange light flashed in Fang Xiu's eyes as she spoke.
Ye Zhen snorted, looking unconvinced. "As expected of someone I, Ye, have acknowledged! Not bad!"
Li Xingming looked at the purple-red grass fruits growing on the nearby mound. "Boss Beichen said these fruits are unusual. Should we pick a few and try them?"
The five exchanged glances. In the end, they could not resist the enticing fragrance. They carefully picked a little and took a bite. Warmth immediately spread through them, easing the pain all over their bodies. Their eyes lit up.
"These really are rare medicinal herbs! Pick them, quick!"
The five hurried to pick every last one and put them in the bags they carried.
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