Within the mountain forest.
The sounds of collisions rang out without end.
Grass and trees flew everywhere, dirt spraying in all directions.
Trees fell one after another.
Looking around, a clearing had already appeared in the middle of the field.
Every tree, flower, and blade of grass in that clearing had been destroyed and flattened.
One large and one small afterimage were locked in an incomparably fierce, ceaseless clash.
Boom!
At that moment, after separating, the two afterimages slammed heavily into each other once more.
The next second, Fang Hong let out a muffled groan and flew backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He smashed through another two trees along the way.
"Cough~~"
His clothes shredded into strips, Fang Hong braced both hands against the ground and slowly climbed to his feet.
The instant he barely managed to steady himself, his body swayed, and he abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"The gap in strength between Bone Refinement Great Accomplishment and Marrow Refinement Great Accomplishment is still simply too vast."
Fang Hong shook himself, wiped the blood from his mouth, and wore a grave expression.
His opponent truly deserved to be a disciple of the Crimson Spirit Sect. His strength was indeed extraordinary.
Judging from their previous exchanges.
If this Crimson Spirit Sect disciple before him were used as the benchmark.
Then Fang Hong's true combat strength could barely reach the level of a major sect disciple at Marrow Refinement Great Accomplishment.
But even so, his strength was still a notch below this fellow's.
Because of the color of the muscular scales covering his body, apart from several obvious wounds, he did not appear to be in particularly bad shape.
But in truth, his injuries were already far from light.
"If this fight continues, he'll probably kill me before long."
"Looks like I have to truly stake my life on this..."
A fierce glint flashed through Fang Hong's eyes.
Meanwhile, Wu Dongliang, standing opposite him, no longer looked at Fang Hong with the same arrogance and contempt as before.
In its place was gravity and earnestness.
The reason for such an enormous shift in his attitude.
Was naturally because Fang Hong's strength had thoroughly shocked him.
A wandering martial artist who had yet to enter any major sect, a wandering martial artist who was merely at Bone Refinement Great Accomplishment.
Yet once they truly fought, his real combat strength was actually no weaker than Wu Dongliang himself at Marrow Refinement Great Accomplishment.
If Wu Dongliang had not nearly completed Marrow Refinement and been on the verge of tempering his blood.
He might truly not have been this fellow's match!
How could he still dare to look down on an opponent who had nearly killed him several times?
"You seem to be called Fang Hong, right?"
Wu Dongliang spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and looked at Fang Hong gravely.
Although his injuries were much lighter than Fang Hong's.
He actually looked far more miserable.
His body was covered in wounds—fist marks and claw scratches one after another, torn flesh, and flowing blood.
"I admit that I truly underestimated you before."
"I never expected a mere Bone Refinement Great Accomplishment martial artist like you to force me into this state."
"You have every right to be proud!"
Wu Dongliang stared at Fang Hong, killing intent flickering in his eyes.
"But your strength is ultimately still a step below mine, so today, you will die!"
Hearing this, Fang Hong gave a savage grin. "But I think the one who'll die will definitely be you!"
Bang!
Before his words had even faded, both men struck at once.
They suddenly crushed the ground beneath their feet and transformed into two afterimages charging toward each other.
Bang!
The next instant, the two collided once again.
Fists and arms struck together, and a faint crack of splitting bone came from the arm Fang Hong used to block Wu Dongliang's punch.
Yet Fang Hong's expression did not change in the slightest.
Instead, he immediately dropped that arm, while the five fingers of his left hand clawed down viciously.
Those thick fingers, tipped with sharp nails, brutally tore into the muscles of Wu Dongliang's arm.
The pain of nearly having his arm pierced through made the muscles on Wu Dongliang's face twitch.
"You're courting death!!!"
Wu Dongliang's expression turned furious. His other hand grabbed Fang Hong's hand, which was sunk into his arm.
Then he twisted it violently.
Yet Fang Hong seemed utterly unconcerned about his own left hand.
As Wu Dongliang twisted his arm apart, Fang Hong suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist, inner force surging wildly.
The Zhongping Spear—king among spears; the point at the center was hardest to guard against!
His arm became the spear shaft, his hand blade and piercing fist the spearhead. His punch shot forth like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, like an azure dragon probing with its claw!
The killing move of the Zhongping Spear Art—Solitary Goose Startled Swan!
Wu Dongliang's expression changed drastically in an instant!!
His pupils were immediately filled with terror!
Instinctively, he tried to retreat and evade, but his arm was held fast in Fang Hong's thick five-fingered grip.
The next second.
Crack, splurt!!
As Fang Hong's left forearm was twisted apart and warped like a twist of dough.
Fang Hong's palm also plunged deep into Wu Dongliang's chest.
"Urgh..."
Blood ran from Wu Dongliang's mouth as he looked in disbelief at Fang Hong's arm embedded in his chest.
"Looks like my feeling was right. The one dying really isn't me!"
Fang Hong grinned viciously. The hand lodged in Wu Dongliang's chest twisted sharply before he yanked it back out.
A great amount of blood, along with countless fragments of heart flesh, splashed out together as he withdrew his hand.
His left shoulder jerked, driving his left hand into a shake and breaking free from Wu Dongliang's hands, which had twisted his left forearm apart.
Only then did Wu Dongliang suddenly collapse to the ground, utterly losing all signs of life.
Fang Hong looked at his left arm, which was nearly twisted into a spiral, and coughed violently as well.
He spat out another mouthful of blood.
During their earlier battle, Fang Hong had already noticed it.
This Crimson Spirit Sect fellow was indeed powerful, with varied combat methods, and was far stronger than Fang Hong.
But there was one thing.
Perhaps it had something to do with his status as a major sect disciple.
Or perhaps he simply had enough confidence in his own strength.
He lacked that fearless ruthlessness—the willingness to fight to the death and be cruel to himself.
Whenever he encountered a situation where he might be injured, he would always choose to save himself first and avoid getting hurt.
Or perhaps he had never doubted that he could kill Fang Hong.
So he likely felt that taking an injury just to kill Fang Hong was not worth it.
Such a fighting habit might amount to nothing under ordinary circumstances.
But when life and death truly hung in the balance, when it came time to fight with one's life.
That habit became exceedingly fatal.
Fang Hong had just exploited precisely that habit.
When Wu Dongliang tried to free the arm Fang Hong had seized, Fang Hong had paid the price of having his left arm twisted apart to launch a brazen fatal strike.
Only then had he killed his opponent in one blow!
Sometimes, one had to be ruthless not only toward one's enemies, but toward oneself as well!
Rustle, rustle, rustle~~
At that moment, a burst of rapid footsteps suddenly sounded from the nearby woods.
Fang Hong's gaze instantly swept toward the source of those footsteps.
"How is that possible?!"
"Mr. Wu... Mr. Wu is actually dead?!"
As the footsteps drew closer, two swiftly approaching figures soon appeared in Fang Hong's sight.
They were none other than the Liu Chengyun and Liu Chengfeng brothers, who had pursued him and only arrived belatedly now.
The moment they saw the scene ahead, both cried out in shock.
Their faces were filled with stunned disbelief.
When they saw Fang Hong's inhuman appearance, their hearts skipped a beat, and fear surged within them.
But once they saw Fang Hong's injuries clearly and sensed his weak, chaotic aura.
Both their expressions changed at once.
Taking in the shift in their expressions, Fang Hong bared his bloodstained teeth in a savage grin.
"Liu Chengfeng, it seems you truly have a death wish."
"I spared your life a few days ago, and you're already so impatient to come deliver yourselves to me again?"
Fang Hong licked his lips. "Believe it or not, even heavily injured, with one hand given to you."
"Still, killing you would be as easy as turning over my hand!"
Before you continue