Do I Have the Ability to Never Get Hurt?

"Now!" Xu Yuan's heart tightened. He drew three iron needles from his pouch with his left hand and channeled Soul Power into his fingertips.

The three needles shot out in a triangular formation, their angles treacherous. They were aimed at the Nether Wolf's left eye, throat, and front leg joint.

The needles shrieked through the air. Sensing danger, the Nether Wolf lifted its head and tried to dodge.

But Xu Yuan had timed his Hidden Weapons perfectly, striking in the instant it turned.

There were two soft thuds. Two of the needles had hit their marks.

One grazed its left eye, drawing a string of blood droplets; the other pierced its front leg joint.

The Nether Wolf howled in pain. The instant its balance faltered, Xu Yuan closed in.

His right hand flashed to the dagger in the side pocket of his bundle. Using the momentum of his charge, he thrust the blade toward the Nether Wolf's neck, its edge glinting coldly.

The strike was swift and vicious. The dagger plunged precisely into the softest flesh beneath the wolf's neck.

The Nether Wolf's body stiffened. The ferocity in its eyes faded at once. It struggled to fling its neck about, but Xu Yuan held its head down with all his strength.

Xu Yuan twisted his wrist, churning the dagger halfway around inside the wolf's neck before yanking it free.

Blood gushed out, splattering half his sleeve and filling the air with a heavy, rank stench.

The Nether Wolf's body twitched a few times, then finally went limp. Only its limbs kept kicking, moving without thought.

Panting hard, Xu Yuan let go and stepped back. He watched the corpse on the ground slowly lose its warmth, his heart still pounding wildly.

In that instant, he had struck almost entirely on instinct, without the slightest hesitation.

"Decisive enough." God King Tang San's blue phantom drifted over, his gaze falling on the Nether Wolf's corpse. "But you're still too clumsy with a dagger. You could have chosen a more treacherous angle. If you'd stabbed its heart, it would have bled less and taken less effort."

"Yes." Xu Yuan replied, wiping the blood off the dagger with a cloth before slipping it back into his belt. "That was my first time killing a Soul Beast with a dagger."

God King Tang San gave a slight nod. "Real combat is the best teacher. Remember how this feels. A Soul Beast won't give you a second chance. Showing mercy to your enemy is cruelty to yourself."

He paused, then continued, "Though this Nether Wolf is only a Ten-Year Soul Beast, its speed makes a good point of comparison for you. Your Hidden Weapons and footwork worked well together just now, but you were a little too hasty in finishing it off."

Xu Yuan nodded and continued walking with God King Tang San.

The deeper they went into the forest, the damper the air grew, heavy with the mingled scent of decaying leaves and vegetation.

The branches of ancient trees crisscrossed overhead, nearly blocking out the entire sky. Only scattered patches of light slipped through the leaves, casting swaying shadows on the ground.

After about an hour, the vegetation ahead suddenly grew unusually dense.

"Stop." God King Tang San's blue phantom halted abruptly, the blue light around him dimming slightly. "There's a Soul Beast up ahead that's perfect for you."

Xu Yuan immediately held his breath and activated his Purple Demon Eye to look ahead.

It was a plant about as tall as two people. Its main stalk was thick as an old vine, covered in layers of green leaves. The edges gleamed like jade, and each leaf cradled a translucent dewdrop that refracted the sunlight into a rainbow halo.

"It's a five-hundred-year-old Green Leaf Silk Vine." A hint of delight crept into God King Tang San's voice. "It has extraordinary vitality. For a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, it's an excellent choice for a Soul Ring."

Xu Yuan's thoughts stirred. He flicked two iron needles from his left hand—not at the Green Leaf Silk Vine's main stalk, but at its dangling roots.

The needles shot through the air and were just about to hit the roots when the Green Leaf Silk Vine seemed to sense them coming. Several roots at its outer edge suddenly coiled like spirit snakes, catching the needles with pinpoint accuracy.

With a light squeeze, the needles snapped into several pieces and fell to the ground.

"What a fast reaction!" Xu Yuan thought in surprise, then launched into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

He darted forward like a ghost. His right hand's dagger gleamed as he feinted toward the main stalk, then flipped his wrist and slashed at a thinner root off to the side.

But the instant his dagger touched the root, Xu Yuan felt as though he'd struck a bolt of brocade stuffed full of air.

The blade bounced away with ease. The root was completely unharmed and lashed out in response.

Xu Yuan crashed hard to the ground with a loud thump.

But to his surprise, he was completely unharmed.

Could it be that he had the ability to never get hurt?

God King Tang San noticed it too, but didn't pay it any mind.

He'd tested it several times before and had assumed it was one of Xu Yuan's special abilities.

Xu Yuan got up and brushed the fallen leaves from his clothes.

He looked up at the Green Leaf Silk Vine. The plant still stood quietly in place, its roots swaying gently.

God King Tang San's blue phantom drifted to Xu Yuan's side. His gaze settled on the Green Leaf Silk Vine's layers of leaves as he slowly explained, "Its defensive core is the air sac node three inches below the main stalk. Those roots may look soft, but they can only absorb force because the node supplies them with energy."

Xu Yuan drew a deep breath and activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track again, circling the Green Leaf Silk Vine like a spinning top.

He deliberately slowed down, keeping his eyes fixed on the base of the main stalk. His Purple Demon Eye worked at full capacity as he tried to spot the so-called air sac node.

"Whoosh—"

A root suddenly lashed at him from behind, its rush through the air aimed straight at his back.

Xu Yuan was ready. He shifted his step and narrowly dodged it, only to be clipped on the shoulder by another root right behind it. He staggered into an ancient tree.

The moment his back hit the trunk, Xu Yuan smiled instead.

Just as he'd thought, he really did have the ability to never get hurt.

"Every time the node pulses three times, the surrounding roots react half a beat slower," God King Tang San said at just the right moment.

Xu Yuan seized that half-beat. He kicked off the tree trunk and shot toward the Green Leaf Silk Vine's main stalk like an arrow loosed from a bow, stabbing three inches below it.

"Pfft!"

The dagger sank in about an inch before getting caught fast in a layer of tough fibers.

The Green Leaf Silk Vine seemed to be provoked. All its roots went berserk at once, lashing in from every direction like frenzied whips and engulfing Xu Yuan completely.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Several muffled impacts rang out in succession as multiple roots struck Xu Yuan at once. He was flung away like a rag doll and slammed hard into the ground.

Xu Yuan still wasn't hurt. It was as if the Green Leaf Silk Vine were attacking empty air.

Lying on the ground, Xu Yuan felt the soft layer of decaying leaves beneath him and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The roots had clearly struck with enough force to split the air, yet when they landed, they felt as light as feathers. They didn't just fail to hurt him—they didn't even hurt at all.

Xu Yuan simply stopped struggling. He rolled aside to avoid several roots curling toward him, then even reached out and patted one of the thickest.

The root seemed to freeze in confusion, as if wondering why its prey wasn't afraid to die.