Rescue

BOOM!

The Water Spirit Spear collided with the beast's hooves. Sun Ze was sent flying by the brute force of the Ox-Lion, only coming to a stop after slamming into a large tree, a trace of blood staining the corner of his mouth.

"Brother!"

Seeing this, Sun Yan let out an involuntary shriek. She rushed to Sun Ze's side, asking with concern, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Sun Ze shook his head slightly, wiped the blood from his lips, and let out a sharp breath. "I'm fine. I didn't expect the Ox-Lion's strength to be this immense; I could barely hold my ground."

"Why don't we just run?"

Although Sun Yan's cultivation had reached the early stage of the Earth Origin Realm, it had been force-fed to her through medicinal herbs. She had never experienced a real battle, and she was already uneasy. Seeing Sun Ze sent flying by a single strike from the Ox-Lion only deepened her panic.

"Cousin, I will go and distract this Ox-Lion. You take the opportunity to grab the Strange Hundred Fruit."

Sun Ze was unwilling to leave empty-handed. A plan formed in his mind, and he spoke to Sun Yan.

"Ah, I... I have to go? I'm too scared..."

Hearing that Sun Ze wanted her to retrieve the Strange Hundred Fruit, Sun Yan recoiled, her voice trembling.

"Cousin, don't worry, it will be fine. I won't let the Ox-Lion hurt you."

Sun Ze felt a bit helpless at Sun Yan's cowardly display, so he could only offer her some comforting words.

"Then... then you must protect me well, okay?"

Sun Yan knew she was timid, which was why she had come out with Sun Ze—to build up her courage. Hearing his guarantee, she gathered her resolve and spoke cautiously.

"Rest assured, leave everything to me."

Sun Ze stood up and patted his chest, promising her.

With Sun Ze's assurance, Sun Yan clearly felt better, and her expression was no longer as panicked.

"ROAR!"

The Ox-Lion watched the two chatting and grew even more furious. It moved with lightning speed, charging straight toward Sun Ze.

"Cousin, now is your chance!"

Sun Ze roared, grabbed his Water Spirit Spear, and engaged the Ox-Lion in combat.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Sun Yan quickly ran toward the Strange Vermilion Fruit, hoping to seize the Strange Hundred Fruit while the beast was occupied.

The Ox-Lion quickly sensed Sun Yan's movements and turned around, intending to kill her. But Sun Ze would never let it succeed; he lunged forward to intercept.

The Ox-Lion had no choice but to fight Sun Ze again, yet its peripheral vision remained locked on Sun Yan. Seeing her getting closer and closer to the Strange Hundred Fruit, the Ox-Lion flew into a total rage. It poured all its strength into a brutal charge against Sun Ze.

"Oh no!"

Facing the Ox-Lion's ferocious assault, Sun Ze's expression shifted. He hurriedly unleashed his most powerful martial art to defend himself.

BANG!

The moment the Ox-Lion collided with him, Sun Ze felt as if a massive mountain had slammed into him at full speed. Even with all his strength, he could not block it.

As expected, Sun Ze was sent flying once again, snapping dozens of trees before finally coming to a halt.

"Pfft!"

Unable to hold it back, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Sun Ze nearly lost consciousness, but thanks to his iron will, he managed to swallow some healing pills before blacking out, which helped him recover slightly.

After knocking Sun Ze away, the Ox-Lion turned to attack Sun Yan.

"Cousin!"

Watching the Ox-Lion close in, Sun Yan trembled all over. She felt as if she had been frozen in place, unable to move, and could only let out a shrill scream.

However, it was already too late for Sun Ze to intervene; he could only watch the scene unfold helplessly.

"Cousin, use your martial arts to defend!"

Sun Ze shouted in desperation, hoping Sun Yan could survive this ordeal.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated her courage. At this moment, Sun Yan couldn't even bring herself to move—how could she possibly find the courage to unleash a martial art?

Seeing the Ox-Lion closing in, Sun Yan couldn't withstand the immense pressure and fainted from sheer terror.

The Ox-Lion didn't care whether she was conscious or not; it charged forward regardless.

"Cousin!"

Watching Sun Yan about to be killed by the Ox-Lion, Sun Ze let out a roar, but it was to no avail.

In this moment, Sun Ze felt regret. He regretted being greedy for the Strange Hundred Fruit, and he regretted even more letting Sun Yan go to retrieve it. If not for that, perhaps this tragedy would never have happened.

But at this critical juncture, a figure moved as fast as lightning. In an instant, the person bypassed Sun Ze and appeared before the Ox-Lion, throwing a single punch.

The Ox-Lion was caught off guard and was flipped onto its back by the sheer force of the blow, letting out a pained howl.

Sun Ze's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the scene as if he were dreaming.

"Tch, what a tough body. My hand actually hurts."

Lin Ge shook his numb hand and muttered to himself.

Having been flipped onto its back—a situation it had never encountered before—the Ox-Lion roared again. It gathered all its strength and charged at Lin Ge, aiming its most lethal horn directly at him.

Facing the full-force strike of the Ox-Lion, Lin Ge remained calm as water. The sword qi within his body rapidly condensed at the tip of his right index finger, and then he flicked it lightly toward the air. A flash of sword light streaked past, carrying an incomparable sword momentum that directly severed the horns of the Ox-Lion!

Following this, Lin Ge did not give the Ox-Lion a chance. His figure flashed suddenly, arriving before the beast, and with majestic sword qi once again condensed in his right hand, he threw a punch.

A massive explosion rang out, followed immediately by a gale that blew in all directions, kicking up dust and forcing Sun Ze, who was standing to the side, to squeeze his eyes shut until the wind finally ceased.

"No... no way!"

Upon opening his eyes again, Sun Ze revealed a look of utter disbelief.

He saw that the Ox-Lion, which possessed strength comparable to the peak of the Earth Origin Realm, had been punched clean through the stomach by Lin Ge. It lay on the ground, motionless, as a vast amount of blood flowed out, staining a large patch of land red.

"This level is still not enough; I need to hone my skills further."

Lin Ge glanced at the dead Ox-Lion and couldn't help but shake his head, clearly still dissatisfied with his own power.

With those words, Lin Ge slowly departed under Sun Ze's gaze; he did not even spare a glance at the Strange Hundred Fruit nearby, simply vanishing from Sun Ze's sight just like that.

"He... he didn't come for the Strange Hundred Fruit?"

Staring at the disappearing figure of Lin Ge, Sun Ze looked at Sun Yan lying on the ground and hurriedly stood up to shake the unconscious girl awake.

"Cousin, Cousin."

Sun Yan slowly opened her eyes and, seeing Sun Ze's anxious face, asked in a daze, "Brother, what happened to that Ox-Lion?"

Hearing this, Sun Ze glanced at the Ox-Lion with its body pierced through, his own body trembling slightly as he said, "It was killed by someone."

"Killed!"

Sun Yan was slightly startled; she slowly stood up and saw the dead Ox-Lion.

"Ah..."

After a sharp scream, Sun Yan fell back into unconsciousness. Helpless, Sun Ze had no choice but to store the Strange Hundred Fruit into his Universe Bag, then carry Sun Yan on his back and leave the forest.