"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
Watching the flock of birds fly overhead, Yang Zixuan felt a sudden, ominous premonition.
He glanced around and saw that a white mist had crept up from all sides without him noticing. The person he'd been tracking had vanished without a trace.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
Shadows kept leaping through the undergrowth right before his eyes.
"Those monkeys again!"
Yang Zixuan was thoroughly fed up. He'd finally shaken those damn monkeys last time, only to have them hounding him again so soon.
"Roar! Roar!"
That familiar roar echoed through the woods. In the mist, an old ape slowly rose to its feet, glaring at Yang Zixuan.
It was the very same Old Monkey King they'd disturbed last time.
They'd killed plenty of monkeys before, so now that old enemies had met again, their hatred burned brighter than ever.
"You old bastard, the road to heaven was open, but you refused to take it. You've barged into hell with no way out. You're asking to die!"
Four Flying Blades appeared around him. He'd figured it out: unless he slaughtered every last beast, he'd never know a moment's peace.
A man and a monkey stared each other down. In an instant, the sound of blades tearing through the air rang across the forest...
The forest filled with the sounds of slaughter.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, a savage clash had just reached its peak.
"Haah... haah..."
Beneath his labored breathing, Xiong Tao stood tall as a statue. His pale golden Light Armor was spattered with blood—not just his enemies', but his own as well.
A closer look revealed bruises, both blue and purple, across the muscles beneath Xiong Tao's armor.
The bruises ran together in patches, a horrifying sight.
By comparison, Captain Wang was in far worse shape. The disparity in strength was simply too great; no amount of skill could make up for it.
Bright red drops slid down his cheeks and fell to the ground. His left arm hung limp at his side, but his bloodshot eyes made him look like a wounded beast: never advancing except forward, never fighting except to the death!
A cool breeze swept by. A dry leaf snapped underfoot with a crack, and Xiong Tao swayed. Then he suddenly accelerated, whipping a kick toward Captain Wang's chest.
Faced with the attack, Captain Wang didn't dodge. He took the blow head-on. It landed in his abdomen like a thousand-pound hammer, and the sound of cracking bones rang out. Yet he didn't retreat. Instead, he charged forward and, while Xiong Tao was still off balance, landed three punches in quick succession to his stomach.
The punches looked ordinary, but they seemed to ignore his Divine Light Shield. Xiong Tao felt his insides turning over, and blood spilled from his mouth.
With his abdomen burning in pain, he found he couldn't even straighten up.
But the more desperate the situation, the more terrifying Xiong Tao became. Like a bloodthirsty bear, he swung both arms and slammed Captain Wang with two iron fists, one from each side, sending him flying before he crashed heavily to the ground.
Seeing the man finally fall and stay down, Xiong Tao felt as if a great weight had lifted from his body. He was finally relieved. If the gap in strength between them hadn't been so vast, it would've been anyone's guess who'd have won.
He slowly reached out, intending to twist off the man's head and take it home as a trophy to keep.
But just as he bent down, a familiar voice came from behind him.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."
Xiong Tao froze for a moment, then slowly turned around. His bloodthirsty eyes fixed on Xu Tong. "Heh. If I were you, I wouldn't show myself right now."
Then he glanced sideways and spotted Zhou Huasheng. His grin widened. "Old Man Zhou, we've been looking for you for a long time!"
Zhou Huasheng's face twitched. Frightened by Xiong Tao, he hurriedly shook his head. "N-no, this has nothing to do with me. It was him. He did it all."
At that, Xiong Tao turned his gaze back to Xu Tong. Disdain still showed in his blood-red eyes. "I knew you weren't any good, you son of a bitch. You want to take advantage of your grandpa while he's down? You, a piece of livestock?"
"Then what if you add me to the mix?"
As soon as Xiong Tao finished speaking, a figure slowly emerged from the trees. When he saw who it was, Xiong Tao's eyes widened. "You!"
The newcomer was none other than Mad Dog, who had doubled back.
Xiong Tao hadn't expected him to show up at all.
Mad Dog should have been dead. How could he be here?
But he quickly composed himself and continued, "So what if there are two of you?"
Even now, he had reason to be confident. All he had to do was hold on until his boss, Yang Zixuan, returned. Then he could tear the two of them limb from limb.
Yet a strange smile spread across Xu Tong's face. "I think you've got it wrong. I never planned to kill you."
"What do you mean?!"
Xiong Tao froze. Before he could think it through, points of light suddenly shimmered in the air around him. He reached out instinctively, then realized the lights ignored his Divine Light Shield and settled on his skin.
"What is this?"
Xiong Tao looked up in alarm. At some point, a swarm of butterflies had appeared overhead, their beating wings scattering more and more powder.
His heart lurched. A strange, sweet scent filled his nostrils, and his vision suddenly blurred.
He shook his head hard and forced his eyes open. Only then did he notice that Mad Dog wasn't the only one standing beside Xu Tong. Two more people had appeared.
Besides Old Bart, there was also the woman they'd captured: Yang Guanjin.
Yang Guanjin had somehow produced a Bone Flute. She held it to her lips, but no sound could be heard at all. The sweet scent around them grew stronger and stronger.
Just then, Xu Tong calmly took out a bell and gave it a light shake.
"Ding!"
At the hollow, distant chime, Xiong Tao's vision went black. He lost consciousness completely.
"Ha! It worked!"
Seeing Xiong Tao fall to the ground, Mad Dog was so excited he could barely keep from shouting. He rubbed his hands together and pulled out a large knife, ready to step forward and chop off Xiong Tao's head.
A man this strong surely had plenty of top-tier Prop Cards on him. Even if they only took his script points, it would still be a huge profit.
But Xu Tong stopped him with one hand. Looking at Xiong Tao on the ground, he sighed. If Captain Wang hadn't repeatedly dealt him heavy blows, Yang Guanjin's witchcraft alone clearly wouldn't have been enough.
But now wasn't the time to kill him. Xu Tong needed to keep him alive for something more important.
"You're sure?!"
With such a huge prize right in front of them, Mad Dog couldn't accept simply letting him go.
Xu Tong shot him a look, then walked over to Xiong Tao and slowly placed a paper doll on his head. "Sometimes, when you drive your enemy into a corner, you're only driving yourself into one, too."
As he spoke, he shook the bell in his hand and murmured, "Soul Detention!"
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