In the Encirclement, Four Blood Tempering Warriors Slain, the Hardcore Nature of the Grand Protector's Iron Body

"Damn it, Zhang Gou has been gone for a long time this time. I wonder what he's up to. Is it really that hard for three Blood-Tempering Realm peak experts to kill someone who's only in the Blood-Tempering Realm?"

"Hehehe, those guys just love watching people beg for their lives before they die. You know how many people they've offed just to blow off some steam on the way here."

"Those guys are definitely playful, but what about that brat who betrayed his own academy? Are we just going to let him go? Why don't we just kill him off in a couple of days?"

"Black Cloud County is still a place with some order. I've heard there are experts who practice internal energy in that martial academy. I'm afraid of attracting unwanted attention."

"Screw being afraid. Once the boss arrives, Black Cloud County will be ours. Once we finish the tasks arranged by the Extreme Yang Society, we can change our identities and go live somewhere new. We'll finally get to experience the life of a wealthy master. Damn, I'm going to get ten women when the time comes, all with big hips, and they're all going to give me sons!"

"Are you even capable of that? Be careful you don't collapse from doing too much."

"I've been defending the country for so many years, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

"Defending the country, my ass. You were the first to lead the charge in robbing the commoners when we ran out of grain. And when the higher-ups wanted results, didn't you kill plenty of ordinary people and send them up as enemy spies?"

"Everyone does it, why shouldn't I..."

In the courtyard.

A group of men chatted without restraint, their faces occasionally flashing with brutality and mockery. If an outsider were to see this scene, they would likely be scared out of their wits!

Bang!

The kicked-in courtyard gate flew backward. Through the dust-filled air, a youth with a youthful face walked in. He bared his white teeth and smiled gently: "Animals, I've come to ask you something. Are you the ones who sent people to ambush me?"

"The visitor is hostile! Form up, kill him!!!"

The group of men, who had just been drinking and joking, didn't hesitate in the slightest. They snatched up the waist sabers at their feet and charged toward Shi Wen.

Within a single breath, they had formed a formation and surrounded Shi Wen. The gleaming waist sabers revealed a chilling murderous intent; the pitted and scarred blades were clearly used to hacking people often, covered in nicks and notches.

"First, hack off his hands and feet, then ask him who he is!"

Wang San roared, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.

Following his roar, eleven waist sabers slashed in unison toward all the vital points on Shi Wen's body!

Whether it was the two Blood-Coagulation Realm martial artists, Wang San and Zhao Yuan, or the nine Blood-Tempering Realm martial artists, none of them showed the slightest hesitation or restraint, nor did they care if the intruder was strong or weak.

From the very first strike, it was a coordinated killing blow.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit; that was a rule carved into the bones of these border soldiers!

"Well come!"

Shi Wen grinned hideously.

He took a deep breath, and the internal energy within his body surged like a gale toward his limbs and chest. His blood, as vigorous as a mountain stream, rushed through his entire body. His originally thin, bamboo-like frame swelled several times over, his height instantly shooting up to two meters. The knotted, bulging muscles looked as if they had been cast from molten iron.

Under the flickering light of the torches, his body revealed a rust-like luster!

Clang, clang, clang!!!

Eleven waist sabers struck Shi Wen simultaneously, emitting the crisp sound of metal colliding.

The men held their blades against him, yet they only left behind thin white marks.

Even the strike from the leader, the Blood-Coagulation Realm peak expert Wang San, which landed squarely on his forehead, resulted in nothing more than a single bloody scratch.

"What is going on? Can hard-body training really reach this level?"

Wang San's face was full of shock. He could clearly split a fierce tiger in two with a single strike, yet this person had actually withstood it head-on?

He quickly reacted and roared in a low voice: "All hard-body practitioners have a soft spot! Attack the soft spot and we can kill him! The eyes, throat, crotch, back of the head, and groin—use long punches to strike! We will definitely find this brat's soft spot!"

"If you can't find it, just trip him to the ground and then we can kill him!!"

"Do it!"

Zhao Yuan, standing to the side, shouted coldly. He was also a Blood-Coagulation Realm martial artist, and he took the lead in the attack!

The men understood immediately. They all erupted with their full blood energy, unleashing killing blows with their proficient military long-fist techniques, slamming them into the iron-tower-like youth.

Bang, bang, bang!

Fists slammed into the flesh, yet they produced dull, thudding sounds, leaving only white fist prints on his body.

With the two Blood-Coagulation Realm martial artists and nine Blood-Tempering Realm martial artists erupting all at once, the terrifying, immense force could have shattered mountain rocks several meters thick. Shi Wen's body was shaken, swaying like a lone boat tossed about in a storm!

"Heavenly Spring Treading!"

Shi Wen's legs crushed the blue bricks, sinking deep into the ground.

His previously swaying body stood as immovable as an old pine tree rooted in the earth!

Ignoring the dense barrage of fists raining down on him, he exhaled a long breath. His vigorous internal energy and rolling blood energy surged forth. His entire right arm suddenly thickened by more than double, with distinct, detailed muscles bulging out. His palm, looking as if it were cast from molten iron, erupted with terrifying, immense force, the heavy power causing the very air to explode with a crack.

"Taibao Shaking Mountain!"

This palm strike shot out, the powerful wind of the blow carrying a thick, metallic stench of iron.

Facing this strike from Shi Wen, the Blood Tempering martial artist failed to react in time.

His entire body flew backward as if struck by a cannonball; his chest exploded, and the scattered chunks of flesh and gore drenched the man standing nearby.

"Lion Closes Mouth, Yama Beckons!"

A muffled thunderclap erupted on the flat ground. Shi Wen twisted his waist and pivoted his hips, drawing power from his feet to tear the necks and shatter the skulls of the two stunned Blood Tempering martial artists!

A bloody wind stirred, and blood rained down.

He lunged at the nearest Blood Tempering martial artist, leaping to deliver a knee strike that killed the man instantly, forcibly tearing through the encirclement!

In just a few breaths, he had brutally slaughtered four Blood Tempering martial artists.

His methods were extremely cruel!!

Even though this group of border soldiers killed without blinking, they had never witnessed such a scene!

"Old Dog, Stone, Gou Danwa, Quan!!!"

Wang San and Zhao Yuan's eyes were split with rage. Their peripheral vision caught the faces of their brothers—who had lived and died together—lying on the ground with eyes wide open in death, surrounded by minced flesh.

They felt as if their hearts were dripping blood.

Why!!!

They had struggled so hard to escape from that place, only to die in a hole like this?

Wang San's body trembled with fury, a savage and crazed expression appearing on his face. "Kill! Kill him!!"

"Black Tiger Long Fist!"

Wang San roared, his eyes fierce. The muscles of his upper body knotted and bulged as drops of blood energy exploded into his arms.

His entire form resembled a ferocious tiger; with every pounce, swipe, and shear, he was rigid, fierce, and brutal!!

He vented his rage viciously upon Shi Wen!

On the other side, Zhao Yuan also erupted like a tiger, transforming into a flickering black shadow. His arms, acting as claws, tore toward Shi Wen's waist and ribs, his fingertips gleaming with sharp, bloody light. The blue bricks beneath his feet had already been ground into countless fragments!!

The two Blood-Coagulation Realm martial artists launched a desperate, suicidal assault, accompanied by five battle-hardened soldiers at the peak of Blood Tempering who were attacking with their lives on the line.

The ferocious, military-style slaughter left him in a sorry state before his new strength could arise.

However, to Shi Wen's surprise, the blood energy these two Blood-Coagulation martial artists unleashed upon him did not cause the terrifying destructive power he had imagined.

Compared to the explosive effect contained within his own blood energy, the explosive effect in theirs.

Seemed far too weak.

By the time the blood energy attached to their fists pierced through his skin and flesh to transmit into his body.

The damage caused was significantly reduced.

Meanwhile, the restorative properties of the Taibao Hard Qigong were running continuously, allowing his injuries to heal at an incredible speed. While he looked ghastly on the surface, he had not actually suffered any fatal damage.

What was going on?