"Y-Your Excellency..." Lu Li reached both hands behind his back and gripped the herb basket tightly, looking terrified that someone might snatch away his precious herbs.
The black-robed man saw this and sneered. Without another word, he threw a punch at Lu Li.
His fist came wrapped in a gust of wind, its Skin-Refining Realm strength on full display.
Suddenly, Lu Li's hands shot out. His sleeves flicked, and wisps of white powder billowed from them, quickly spreading through the air.
The black-robed man was a seasoned fighter. The instant he saw Lu Li reach out, he understood what Lu Li was doing and immediately shut his eyes and held his breath.
"Kid, I've killed more people than you've eaten bowls of rice."
"That little trick of yours is nowhere near enough to take me down. Dream on!"
"You country bumpkin. You're sharper than the other herb gatherers, at least. You know a few cheap tricks."
The black-robed man sneered again and again, looking down on Lu Li.
He kept charging forward with his eyes closed, his fist cutting through the clouds of white lime dust as it went straight for Lu Li's face.
Seeing him close his eyes, Lu Li's killing intent surged. He sank his strength into his dantian, and his blood and qi surged in an instant. The great dragon along his spine seemed to come alive.
As Lu Li poured his strength into both fists, the great dragon along his spine unfurled, as if it were about to soar into the sky.
This punch contained tremendous power. The rolling thunder it unleashed roared deafeningly, drowning out even the howling wind and snow.
The black-robed man was lost in the joy of crushing Lu Li with a single punch.
Then he suddenly heard a mighty gust of wind. It whipped his hair about and made his face sting like it was being pricked by needles. He couldn't help wondering what was happening.
What was that sound?
The next moment, he heard a sharp crack.
Then came a stabbing pain in his arm.
His body flew backward against his will, a long, anguished "Aah!" tearing from his throat as he crashed into a tree.
The tremendous force left a human-shaped dent in its trunk.
He jerked his eyes open and struggled shakily to his feet.
His fist had split open at the web between his thumb and forefinger, and every knuckle was shattered, leaving his hand a bloody mess.
Worse, the flesh of his arm had been torn open, the wound deep enough to expose bone. It looked like a split bamboo stalk.
He tried to move his arm, but a piercing pain shot through him. He couldn't lift it at all.
One punch, and his arm was wrecked!
And that was with Lu Li holding back.
Lu Li had heard that there might be other herb gatherers on the mountain who had encountered this man, so he had left him alive to interrogate him.
Otherwise, he would have killed him with that single blow!
Having landed his strike, Lu Li didn't pause for a moment. He pressed the attack at once.
The black-robed man was horrified. He hastily dodged to the side, barely avoiding Lu Li's punch.
Lu Li's fist smashed into the tree behind him.
The tree shook violently, nearly splitting apart as snow scattered everywhere and a tremendous crash rang out.
The black-robed man was relieved. While Lu Li's first burst of strength had faded and he hadn't yet gathered his next, he quickly launched an attack of his own.
He practiced the Flying Swallow Fist, a style that prized speed above all else. His fists were as fast as lightning.
But when they struck Lu Li, it was like hitting an iron plate.
He heard another crack, followed by a fresh burst of pain. It felt like his knuckles had broken again.
"How did you temper your body until it was this solid?"
"How is that possible?"
Still shaken, the black-robed man stared at Lu Li's absurdly youthful face. He couldn't believe someone so young could have such formidable martial cultivation.
Lu Li's eyes were cold as ice as he fixed them on the black-robed man.
In an instant, every hair on the black-robed man's body stood on end. He felt as though heaven and earth around him had frozen solid.
His own body seemed to freeze along with them. He couldn't move at all.
All he could see was Lu Li's fist growing larger and larger before his eyes.
"Ah..." The black-robed man flew through the air again and crashed to the ground. His cheek was caved in, and his nose was broken. He looked wretched.
He struggled to open his eyes. Lu Li was striding toward him, fist still raised, and terror seized his heart.
If he took one more punch, he was done for!
"Young hero, please spare me! I know a place full of precious herbs!" His pupils quivered violently as he begged in a hoarse voice.
Lu Li's fist stirred the black-robed man's hair. It stopped barely an inch from his face.
"Speak," Lu Li said coldly, without a trace of feeling.
The black-robed man trembled and hurriedly blurted out a few phrases in an unfamiliar tongue. Lu Li could barely understand him.
Just as Lu Li furrowed his brow, about to ask what he meant, the earth suddenly trembled. A tremendous commotion sounded in the distance, as if some colossal creature were smashing through everything in its path.
In the space of a single breath, a White Tiger, three zhang tall, leaped into view.
Blood dripped from the corners of its mouth. Its jaws were crimson, with scraps of flesh still caught between its teeth.
It snorted white vapor, claws bared and killing intent surging. Its blood-red eyes locked onto Lu Li, filled with savage brutality.
The black-robed man burst into laughter and hurriedly rolled away, putting distance between himself and Lu Li.
"Kid, you dared humiliate me like that. I'll kill you!"
"Even though I've subdued this White Tiger and weakened it considerably, it's still at the Flesh-Refining Realm. Anyone with ordinary skills at the Flesh-Refining Realm will end up as its feed."
"You're finished!"
He muttered a few more words, and the White Tiger let out a deafening roar before charging straight at Lu Li.
A streak of white flashed by as one of the tiger's barrel-thick forelegs swept down at Lu Li.
Its claws were as sharp as arrows, glinting coldly as they slashed toward him.
Lu Li's pupils contracted. Feeling the White Tiger's strength, he didn't dare take it lightly and hurriedly dodged.
Bang.
The tiger's claw struck the ground, carving five deep furrows.
"A normal tiger couldn't possibly grow this big. Is this a demon?" Lu Li thought, watching the White Tiger warily.
"I've heard demons are savage and brutal. Now that I've seen one for myself, they really are extraordinary."
"But it's astonishing that someone can control a demon. I'll have to question him properly later and learn how to control one myself," Lu Li thought.
The White Tiger's attack missed. It roared furiously at the sky, then charged at Lu Li again.
Lu Li snorted. He casually snapped off a tree about ten meters long and swung it down at the White Tiger.
The tree was about three zhang long and four or five inches thick. It must have weighed at least fifteen hundred pounds, yet he swung it with ease, making it whistle through the air.
The White Tiger yelped in pain, its head spinning as its legs wobbled.
Lu Li roused his blood and qi, summoning all his strength. Veins bulged across his arms and forehead, and his muscles rose like mountain ranges.
With a roar, he swung down at the White Tiger with all his might.
The White Tiger was still hurting from the first blow. The world spun around it, and it could barely get its bearings.
Even demons, with their thick hides and flesh, weren't made of iron. It would take them a moment to recover their senses.
Lu Li's full-force strike slammed into it again.
A muffled thud rang out. The tree in Lu Li's hands snapped, scattering splinters everywhere.
The White Tiger's head split open, and it howled in agony. Lu Li clearly saw the redness in its eyes fade a little.
It seemed that after taking this beating, even its eyes had grown slightly clearer.
Lu Li leaped up and landed on the White Tiger's head. His fists came down like a furious storm, raining blows on its wounds and making it howl in pain.
The White Tiger tried to fling Lu Li off, but he clung tightly to its fur. His hands were like iron pincers, gripping it firmly.
Not only did it fail to throw him off, but its fur tore open, exposing the flesh beneath.
Unable to break free, it bent its forelegs and lay down. Then, to Lu Li's surprise, it pressed its two front paws together and raised them high, letting out a soft whine as though begging for mercy.
Lu Li froze and studied the White Tiger beneath him.
At that moment, the White Tiger raised its head to look at him, too.
Their eyes met.
Lu Li saw that the redness had disappeared from the White Tiger's eyes, replaced by clear eyes as deep as a pool.
Tears shimmered around them, like those of a wronged house cat.
Lu Li could see that when it realized he wasn't going to hit it, it let out a very human-like sigh of relief.
"Has it gained intelligence?"
What happened next amazed Lu Li even more. The White Tiger pointed a paw ahead, pleading with its eyes as if asking him to follow.
"It really has gained intelligence!" Lu Li exclaimed in astonishment.
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