Black Beast

The village was called West Mountain Village, and there was an inn at its entrance.

The owner was a round-faced man. The moment he saw Sun Yong, he came out to greet him warmly.

Before long, a waiter led everyone inside.

After traveling all day, everyone was rather tired. Once they had eaten, they went to their rooms to rest.

Yet Jiang Che could not quite fall asleep.

From time to time, television dramas he had watched in his previous life flashed through his mind.

In such scenes, the inn was usually a shady establishment, so he felt somewhat nervous and did not sleep soundly.

But Omen had not activated.

The next day, everyone packed up and set off again.

Seeing the two dark circles beneath Jiang Che's eyes, Sun Yong shook his head and said,

"Brother Jiang, this inn has specialized in receiving escort caravans traveling from Abyss-Facing City to Hengsha City for many years. It's perfectly safe."

Jiang Che smiled awkwardly. It seemed he had worried too much.

As they traveled farther and farther from Abyss-Facing City, the roads became less easy to traverse than before.

The wildly overgrown weeds and shrubs along the roadside stood half a man tall, making it difficult for the carriages to pass.

Everyone drew their blades and cleared a path.

They trudged onward with great difficulty.

Fortunately, before sunset, they reached another village, where there was also an inn.

This time, Jiang Che dropped straight into bed and slept soundly.

The night passed without incident.

On the third day, with Hengsha City close at hand, everyone was in good spirits, and people chatted and joked from time to time.

Sun Yong's expression relaxed as well.

Suddenly, Jiang Che's face changed.

[Omen] had triggered!

He felt a sense of danger from the side, sharp enough to prick his skin!

"Watch out! Danger!" Jiang Che shouted.

Everyone was instantly startled and looked to either side, but they saw nothing.

"Where?"

"I don't see anything!"

Sun Yong was also somewhat puzzled.

But soon, a black-furred wild boar the size of a calf, black smoke rising from its entire body, slowly emerged from the grass beside the road!

Its tusks were sharp as blades, and its eyes glowed with a dim green light as it stared fixedly at the group.

Everyone was startled and backed away.

"A Black Beast!"

Sun Yong shouted. He immediately dismounted and stepped forward to meet it.

At the same time, he was shocked by Jiang Che's sharp instincts.

It was Jiang Che's first time seeing a Black Beast, and his heart skipped a beat. But he did not hesitate, immediately following Sun Yong forward.

Only he and Sun Yong were Martial Artists in the convoy. If anyone else went up, they would merely be throwing away their lives.

"In a moment, I'll attack from the front. You look for a chance to strike its flank from the side. That is its Life Gate!

"But if there's truly no opportunity, don't force it. Black Beasts are vicious. Once we start fighting, I won't be able to look after you!" Sun Yong said gravely.

"Understood."

Sun Yong let out an angry roar. His body abruptly swelled by a full circle, and his skin took on a faint red hue!

It seemed to be a body-tempering technique!

Jiang Che had heard his master speak of such people. They were strong and tough, but their movements were not nimble enough.

His master did not think highly of this type of martial art, believing its practitioners were all big, dumb brutes.

But Jiang Che was rather interested.

After all, there had been a saying in his previous life: one force could overcome ten techniques.

So long as one's strength was great enough, one could smash bricks with brute force and need no techniques or moves at all!

Sun Yong charged straight at the Black Beast, driving a fist into its enormous head.

The Black Beast shuddered from the blow and took half a step back.

"Well done, Chief Escort Sun!" everyone cheered.

Having driven back the Black Beast, Sun Yong's confidence surged. He threw punch after punch, battering it into continual retreat!

"Chief Escort Sun's cultivation... must be at the peak of the Ox-Hide Realm!"

Jiang Che was secretly alarmed.

"Good!"

"Chief Escort Sun is mighty!"

Seeing the Black Beast forced back again and again, the crowd's cheers grew louder.

The Black Beast seemed to have been Enraged. It began letting out low growls, while its nostrils continuously snorted vapor.

Sun Yong smashed another heavy punch into its head, but this time it did not budge in the slightest!

The color of the Black Beast's body gradually began to turn bluish, and its skin took on the texture of stone.

When Sun Yong's fist struck it, it felt as though he had hammered a rock!

Not good. How is this a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast?!

Sun Yong was shocked.

By all rights, a Black Beast of this level would not casually emerge during the day!

Its hind legs kicked off the ground, and it charged forward with explosive force!

Sun Yong hurriedly raised both arms to block, but the impact carried crushing force, instantly sending him flying!

Thud!

Sun Yong slammed heavily into the ground, sending dust billowing into the air.

Two bloody holes had also been gouged into his arms, and blood flowed without stopping!

The Black Beast retreated again, scraped its hind hooves against the ground, then charged once more!

Sun Yong had only just climbed up and had not yet steadied himself when he saw the Black Beast rushing at him again. His expression changed at once.

He hurriedly rolled aside, barely avoiding the attack.

Without pausing for even a moment, the Black Beast rammed toward him again!

"Not good!"

Seeing that Sun Yong was no match for it, the escort guards turned deathly pale.

If even Chief Escort Sun could not withstand it...

They could not help looking toward Jiang Che, who was far smaller than Sun Yong.

Jiang Che stood completely still, as though he had been frightened senseless!

This is the end!

Despair filled everyone's hearts.

Sun Yong could not help looking at Jiang Che as well, hoping he would come to his aid.

But to his disappointment, Jiang Che showed no sign of moving at all!

Sun Yong's heart instantly turned ice-cold.

Sure enough, a brat whose feathers haven't even grown in is unreliable!

Jiang Che, who appeared to be standing there blankly, had already entered the Flow State.

At that moment, all his senses were focused entirely on the frenzied Black Beast.

He carefully observed every burst of its muscles, every shift in its center of gravity, and every detail of its movements.

At the very instant Sun Yong could no longer rise, the Black Beast exposed a tiny opening as it committed itself fully to attack!

"Now!"

Jiang Che brought his hands together in a circle and used the first move of the Layered Cloud Fist, Cloud Rising.

After briefly gathering momentum, he sprang forward and unleashed the second move, Wave Stacking.

His fist force flowed without end, its power like ocean waves piling up layer upon layer.

After the force had stacked to the ninth layer,

Jiang Che used the third move, Rock Crushing, striking the Black Beast's heart beneath its side ribs with a single punch!

Boom!

In an instant, the Black Beast seemed to lose all strength. It swayed, then crashed to the ground!

The entire scene fell silent.

Sun Yong still maintained his blocking posture, standing there dumbfounded, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The other escort guards also stood with their mouths wide open, unable to believe what they had seen.

As they looked at the handsome young man standing beside the corpse of the enormous Black Beast boar, a sense of absurdity welled up in their hearts.

"Brother Jiang, that was miraculous!" someone suddenly shouted.

Then everyone came to their senses and crowded around.

They checked whether the Black Beast was truly dead while thanking Jiang Che.

The joy of surviving a calamity spread through the crowd.

Sun Yong also got to his feet.

The wounds on his arms gradually stopped bleeding.

This was the powerful recovery ability of body-tempering techniques.

"Brother Jiang, Sun owes you a life!"

"It was all thanks to Chief Escort Sun holding it off from the front. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found an opportunity to strike," Jiang Che said seriously.

That was the truth. He did not possess Chief Escort Sun's powerful physique; one hit might have been enough to finish him.

Sun Yong looked deeply at the handsome young man.

So young, yet so powerful, and not arrogant in the slightest.

This boy's future accomplishments will be beyond measure!

He sighed inwardly, ashamed of his earlier contempt.

"Do you know that this was a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast?" Sun Yong asked gravely.

"A Stone Skin Realm!" A commotion ran through the crowd.

The way they looked at Jiang Che now carried not only respect, but also a trace of fear.

"So that's why."

Jiang Che suddenly understood.

He had been wondering—wasn't it said that Ox-Hide Realm Black Beasts possessed only brute force, knew no techniques, and were inferior to Martial Artists?

Yet this Black Beast had beaten Sun Yong, who was at the peak of the Ox-Hide Realm, until he could not defend himself!

So it had been a Stone Skin Realm beast!

"In other words... I just killed a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast with one punch!"

Jiang Che finally gained a rough understanding of his actual combat ability.

"Oh, right. This thing is a treasure!" Sun Yong suddenly said with a smile as he looked at the enormous Black Beast boar corpse on the ground.

"Oh? How so?" Jiang Che asked.

He knew that Black Beast meat contained large amounts of toxins and could not be eaten directly.

Only the offspring produced from crossbreeding with ordinary wild beasts would have reduced toxins in their bodies.

Since it could not be eaten, what other use did a Black Beast corpse have?

Could he be referring to its hide and tusks?