Egg

Poor Ox Tribe warrior.

When he went into the mushroom patch to gather edible mushrooms, a Black Ring Snake sprayed him full in the face with venom.

The Ox Tribe warrior reacted quickly and dodged with all his might, but the venom still struck his left eye. His eyeball was swiftly corroded into bloody fluid, and the venom rapidly spread toward his skull.

Shi Lingqing carried highly effective antidote medicine.

She rushed over at the sound and forced the antidote down the Ox Tribe warrior's throat. His life was no longer in danger, but losing an eyeball had cost him at least thirty percent of his combat strength.

The aftereffects of the venom spreading through his skull left the unlucky Ox Tribe warrior talking in a muddled, upside-down fashion, his thoughts somewhat confused.

That would take away another ten percent or more of his fighting strength.

Wu Tie stood atop a small hillock, silently watching Shi Lingqing and the others bustle about in a panic.

Far away, seven or eight li off, Luolin and his group were also gazing in this direction. All eight of them were there, not one missing.

"What an unbelievably unlucky Ox Tribe man. Big hands and clumsy feet—didn't he know Black Ring Snakes liked hiding in mushroom patches or fern groves to ambush prey?" Wu Tie sighed. "Luckily, it was only a Black Ring Snake. If it had been a black mamba, you'd already be dead."

Clearly, the Ox Tribe man's attack had nothing to do with Luolin and his group.

At least, Wu Tie could see no connection whatsoever.

Several li away, Ding carried Luolin on his back and ran swiftly toward Wu Tie. Hearing the commotion, Wu Tie slapped the diamond-shaped protrusion on his chest with his left hand. The close-fitting armor writhed, rapidly covering his hands and head.

Ding set Luolin down several dozen meters away. Luolin, whose body had suffered multiple fractures from Wu Tie's beating yesterday, actually relied on his own strength to slowly walk toward Wu Tie step by step.

He carried no weapons. He deliberately patted his waist, where the hide pouch was absent. Those two short blades that could whirl through the air and pounce upon people to kill them were clearly not on him either.

Wu Tie's fingers around his spear loosened slightly. The armor around his head rippled, and the faceplate silently slid open, revealing his childish face. "An old fellow once told me that a warrior never lets his weapon leave his side."

Luolin stopped ten meters away and sat on a rock, shaking his head. "We aren't warriors. We are Fog Blades. Ever heard of us?"

Wu Tie shook his head. Fog Blades? He truly had never heard of them.

Luolin let out a breath and glanced toward Shi Lingqing's group. The wounded Ox Tribe warrior was still howling himself hoarse in agony.

"Really unlucky, huh?" Luolin smiled, then looked at Wu Tie and said in a deep voice, "Fog Blades... we are killers, assassins, bloodthirsty ones who walk in darkness. To put it even more plainly, whoever pays us, we kill for them."

Wu Tie looked at Luolin and pointed at Shi Lingqing in the distance. "Someone paid you to kill them?"

Luolin shook his head. Looking at Wu Tie, he said calmly, "This is private vengeance. It has nothing to do with money or profit... What kind of person do you think Shi Lingqing is?"

Wu Tie was extremely sensitive to this question. His heart gave a violent leap, and he said in slight panic, "What kind of person she is, how would I know?"

Luolin stared deeply at Wu Tie. "Old Wu said there were not many traces of human activity around here. There is only you here?"

Luolin said gravely, "You wear indestructible Ancient Treasure armor and wield a spear sharp beyond belief... which is also likely an Ancient Treasure."

"Your cultivation is probably only at the stage of having just condensed essence blood into origin? You've only just broken through the first level of Foundation Establishment? You haven't even condensed force energy yet?"

"And yet your strength completely suppresses mine."

"I cultivate the Fog Blade secret inheritance, 'Fog Shadow Bloodslaughter,' one of the finest Foundation Establishment arts. I am already half a step into Xuan Sensing, nearly able to condense Mana. Yet in terms of strength, I was actually suppressed by you."

"Your Foundation Establishment technique surpasses 'Fog Shadow Bloodslaughter' in every respect."

"Alone, young, carrying Ancient Treasures, with an extraordinary cultivation art... you must be some little fellow who blundered into this desperate realm and luckily obtained an ancient inheritance, right?"

Luolin's words left Wu Tie dumbfounded.

At a loss, he retreated several steps and looked at Luolin in panic.

How did they know so clearly? How did they know so much? It was as though they had witnessed every single thing Wu Tie had experienced since coming here.

Luolin looked at Wu Tie with certainty. "Did you see that one among my brothers who likes using a chain blade—Qiao?"

Wu Tie looked over. A chain blade was an unusual weapon: a sickle with a one-foot-long handle and a blade around two feet long, with several meters of fine iron chain attached to its handle.

When they fought yesterday, Wu Tie had paid close attention to this unusual weapon.

Its wielder was a pale-faced young man, somewhat handsome, with a faintly effeminate air about him.

"He... deduced it?" Wu Tie closed his faceplate again, enclosing his entire body in armor. Only then did he feel a measure of safety.

"We spent the whole night searching everything within two hundred li." Luolin smiled softly. "Qiao judged that you have probably been here for less than a year."

"The traces were few, but the clues were obvious. Qiao is the strategist of our squad. Since childhood, he has been very 'clever' and 'cunning.' He excels at this sort of thing." Luolin smiled softly. "So I came specially to pay you a visit."

Wu Tie interrupted him. "What are you trying to say? You have more people, so you can suppress me?"

Luolin fell silent for a while. Then his tone suddenly turned incomparably stiff and cold. "If your family had been killed, and killed with the most cruel methods, what would you do?"

"Take revenge!" Wu Tie's eyes burned, and he shouted without the slightest hesitation.

"I am taking revenge!" Luolin looked at Wu Tie with icy eyes. "Shi Lingqing is the true culprit who killed my younger sister. Why are you stopping me? Because she is beautiful?"

Wu Tie's heart fell into turmoil, and he wanted to say something.

But he could not say it.

Deep down, he agreed with Luolin. If one's family had been killed, revenge had to be taken. Moreover, Old Tie had instilled in Wu Tie the belief that revenge must mean cutting down every last one, uprooting the grass and tearing out the roots.

Old Tie had never been some kind-hearted fool!

Much of what he had instilled into Wu Tie were extremely extreme, extremely dangerous ideas of slaughter.

But from the depths of Wu Tie's heart...

Regarding Shi Lingqing... Wu Tie's voice trembled slightly. "She is the true culprit behind your sister's death? Perhaps you have it wrong?"

Luolin gave Wu Tie a deep look. "There are eight of us. We can rotate in three shifts. You are alone; your stamina cannot compare to ours. We are Fog Blades. We are skilled in every method that can make someone die."

"In a direct confrontation, killing you might cost us dearly. But if we use other methods..." Luolin stood up with difficulty and walked toward Ding step by step. "Qiao asked me to bring you a message... we do not want to be your enemy, but do not overestimate yourself."

Wu Tie's face flushed, then burned with unbearable shame and anger.

He clenched his spear and abruptly took a step forward. Luolin had already spread his hands and smiled at him. "What? You want to kill an unarmed enemy?"

Wu Tie's step froze. He looked at Luolin, his thoughts tangled like a ball of hemp, not knowing what to do.

Luolin smiled. He lightly returned to Ding's side. Ding shot Wu Tie a fierce glare, then carried Luolin away at speed.

Once Luolin and Ding had gone far away, a Metal Spider lightly scurried out of a fern grove, and Old Tie's stiff voice rang out.

"Little rookie, a few words, and they had already investigated your background clean."

"But this isn't your fault... compared to you, these little fellows are far more professional."

"What should I do?" Wu Tie looked helplessly at the Metal Spider. He knew Old Tie was watching him through it, though he had no idea how.

"Make your own decision," Old Tie said. "Ask your heart. Do you believe Luolin's words, or do you choose to help Shi Lingqing?"

"Humans are social intelligent creatures. You must learn how to deal with your own kind." Old Tie chuckled. "Grandpa can teach you many things, but there are many things you cannot learn from me."

"Grandpa is only an Ancient Divine Weapon, not a human." There was a trace of delighted gloating in Old Tie's tone. "Besides, this is a rare chance for a trial... those pitiful Giant Hippopotamuses and Gray Rock Lizards can no longer pose any threat to you... from today onward, sleep with one eye open..."

"Learn properly how to deal with people!" Old Tie laughed. "During this process, Grandpa will not remind you or help you. Use your own wisdom to resolve this matter... though Grandpa does not believe there are even a few drops of wisdom in that little head of yours."

The Metal Spider retreated.

Wu Tie kicked a rock in irritation.

Did Old Tie mean that Wu Tie was stupid?

Gritting his teeth, Wu Tie suddenly leaped into a glide and sped toward Luolin's group. He landed on a small mound a hundred meters away from Luolin and the others, then once again issued them a stern warning in a fierce voice.

"I don't care who you are or what reasons you have. In any case, this is my territory. You are not allowed to make a move here." Wu Tie made a threatening sweep with his hand. A fist-sized stone abruptly rose from the ground, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle as it shot away.

With a whoosh, the stone almost grazed Luolin's cheek before smashing heavily into a stone stalagmite behind him.

The stalagmite, thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, was blasted open with a foot-square gap. Shards of rock flew everywhere, making for a terrifying sight.

"If you dare make a move, don't blame me for being too ruthless." Wu Tie swept his spear, then performed a backward aerial flip and lightly glided far away.

Luolin, Old Wu, and the others looked gloomily at the shattered stone stalagmite.

When Wu Tie controlled dozens of stones to strike wildly, the display was imposing, but its destructive power was limited.

But when he used all the power of Control Heaven and Earth to control just one stone, that stone's individual destructive force became terrifying. At the very least, Old Wu and the others knew that if Wu Tie caught them off guard and landed a hit, they would suffer severe injuries at best.

"A troublesome brat. But if he is alone... he is no great threat."

With his chain blade resting on his shoulder, pale-faced and effeminate Qiao smiled softly. "As long as we plan it well, eliminating Shi Lingqing will not be difficult... especially since I have become interested in the ancient inheritance this little fellow obtained."

"What do you brothers think?" Qiao looked at Old Wu, then Luolin, then glanced at each of the other young men. "Judging from his appearance, he is only eleven or twelve. At the first level of Foundation Establishment, he can suppress Third Brother, who is nearly breaking through the Foundation Establishment realm. Heh, are you interested in that inheritance?"

Old Wu, Luolin, and the others exchanged looks, then all smiled excitedly.

Luolin had deliberately gone to visit Wu Tie just now in order to probe out his background... and now they were certain that Wu Tie was the only lucky one in this strange realm. He had no other clansmen here.

If that was all, dealing with Wu Tie would not be difficult.

"Then we'll do it. Qiao, you'd better make the plan meticulous." Old Wu smiled softly, smiling very happily.

Over the following days, Shi Lingqing's group encountered endless trouble.

All kinds of strange poisonous insects continually attacked her guards, and several bizarre accidents also occurred.

Two more Human Race guards at Shi Lingqing's side were bitten by venomous spiders. Though they took antidote medicine in time, they still lost most of their combat strength for a short while.

Another Ox Tribe warrior went to the river to fetch water and somehow disturbed a giant Water Python. It struck him with its tail and nearly broke his spine. Under his companions' cover, the Ox Tribe warrior managed to escape back, but there was no hope of him fighting again within a month.

Shi Lingqing's group became shrouded in gloom. If this continued, all of them would perish here.

Wu Tie watched quietly for several days, and he too felt that something was wrong. That day, after eating and drinking his fill, he finally came to Shi Lingqing's wooden shed and looked at the unlucky guard whose toe had just been bitten by a Little Flying Snake.

"You've been rather unlucky these past two days," Wu Tie said stiffly as he looked at Shi Lingqing.

Shi Lingqing's little face was somewhat wan. The injuries from the Blood-Scarred Fang-Breaking Snake's ambush days ago had likely not yet healed, and there was always something slightly strange about the way she walked.

She looked at Wu Tie pitifully and said in a low voice, "Young master, these are not accidents. This is clearly the work of that pack of black-hearted, vicious-handed... fiends..."

Shi Lingqing suddenly began to cry. Two streams of clear tears flowed down her cheeks. "They, they, they used such shameless methods to massacre more than a hundred members of my Shi Family in Thousand Fish City... over a thousand Lineage warriors were all poisoned through the water supply, then slaughtered to the last man overnight!"

Wu Tie swallowed.

Over a thousand Lineage warriors?

What kind of powerful Lineage was the Shi Family of Thousand Fish City... At the Wu Family's peak, they had only a little over fifty qualified Lineage warriors.

Wu Tie wanted to say something, but he had no experience comforting girls. He stood there like a wooden stake. At that moment, everyone heard heavy footsteps coming from afar.

The young man carrying a longbow from Luolin's group came howling through the air on a gust of wild wind. He screamed hoarsely, "Monster!" and shot past Wu Tie like a wisp of smoke.

Before Wu Tie could figure out what was happening, a huge bluish-green egg the size of a washbasin smashed heavily into him, shattering with a smack.

Wu Tie was not wearing his helmet, and egg fluid sprayed all over his head and face.

The ground trembled slightly, then the vibrations grew stronger and stronger.