Killing Intent!

The instant Su Ming lifted his head, bloodshot veins flooded his eyes. Blood-red light flashed wildly over his entire body, bathing the inside of the Fire Lava Cave in a crimson glow.

His body trembled without pause. As his blood coursed through him, his heart pounded faster and faster, as if it were about to burst. His expression grew increasingly twisted.

He was at the most critical moment and could not stop quickly. But Little Monkey's shrill cries and everything that had just happened were perfectly clear to him.

He had watched helplessly as Little Monkey, to protect him, rushed out alone to lead the two outsiders away.

Never in his life had Su Ming been as frenzied as he was now. Little Monkey was his only friend in this forest. Over the years, he had come to regard it as family. Now, fury made the veins bulge across Su Ming's body, and a muffled rumble echoed within him.

The five blood lines that had appeared on his body now blazed with dazzling light. Amid that crimson radiance, the sixth blood line, on the verge of fully coalescing, seemed to struggle as it tried to break free from its cocoon.

"Damn this second layer of Blood Condensation!" Su Ming raised his head and roared, his eyes bloodshot. His previous attempts had been relatively gentle, so even if they failed, they would not harm his body.

But now, Little Monkey's fate was unknown. Every passing breath left Su Ming more frantic. He threw caution to the wind, wildly circulating his blood, heedlessly driving it through his body according to the methods of Barbarian Cultivation and toward the faintly emerging sixth blood line.

With a boom, blood spilled from the corner of Su Ming's mouth. His body trembled, and his face grew somewhat pale. His reckless action was one of the great taboos of Barbarian Cultivation. Those who practiced it, especially in the Blood Condensation Realm, generally had to advance steadily and never act rashly.

The rumbling would not have sounded very loud to anyone outside, but to Su Ming, it was like heaven and earth collapsing. Echoes rang incessantly in his mind.

"Damn it!!!" Su Ming stared fixedly at the cave's exit. It was as if he could see Little Monkey's helpless terror and desperate resolve.

Without hesitation, Su Ming once again circulated all the blood in his body, striking for a second time!

More blood ran from the corner of his mouth, dripping off his chin onto the ground...

A third time, a fourth, a fifth!!

The instant he circulated all his blood for the fifth time, driving it against its natural flow, Su Ming spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned deathly pale, but a murderous intent that blotted out the sky appeared on his face. With blood at the corner of his mouth, he looked all the more grim and chilling.

He sprang to his feet from his cross-legged position. The instant he stood, a tremendous boom erupted within him, and the sixth blood line fully coalesced.

As the sixth blood line formed, an aura completely different from that of the first layer of the Blood Condensation Realm erupted inside Su Ming. His hair stirred without wind, and the six blood lines on his skin darted about as if they were alive!

The second layer of the Blood Condensation Realm!

Before this second layer could fully stabilize, Su Ming swayed and moved at twice his former speed. He snatched up the bow and Bone Horn beside him and shot toward the exit, vanishing in an instant.

He hurried out of the narrow cave. When he emerged, snow was falling thickly in the distance, and the sun was about to set. Dusk had come.

"One at the second layer of the Blood Condensation Realm... one at the third..." Bloodshot veins filled Su Ming's eyes, and a cold glint flashed in them. Though his enemies were powerful, there was no fear in his eyes—only killing intent!

By now, he had long since forgotten his terror. The instant Little Monkey was captured, those two Barbarian Warriors from the Black Mountain Tribe had become his mortal enemies!

Either they died, or Su Ming did!

Even if he was a moth flying into the flames! How could outsiders know the story and fate shared by moth and flame? It was obsession, the struggle of a life—either the flame went out, or the moth burned!

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Ming surged forward at full speed. As a member of the Barbarian Tribe, he had played and gathered medicine in these mountains since childhood. He knew the area extremely well and was adept at finding answers from the faintest clues.

As he raced onward, he watched the ground and quickly wiped the blood from his mouth and hands. A moment later, his gaze sharpened. He spotted a jumble of marks on a patch of withered plants ahead. There, he picked up a broken branch and examined it closely. His killing intent grew stronger. He dropped the branch, changed direction, and flashed away.

Along the way, Su Ming threw everything into running at full speed, pushing his agility to its limits. He found many clues, and even came across a pool of blood.

A few red hairs were mixed in with the blood. They belonged to Little Monkey!

But the blood had already begun to dry. Clearly, his opponent had captured Little Monkey here and left some time ago.

"I can't catch up..." Su Ming's expression darkened. He clenched his fists, and that frenzy returned to his eyes.

"They're from the Black Mountain Tribe. They'll definitely return to the Black Mountain Tribe... If so, there's a shortcut from here to their territory!" Su Ming turned and took a step. His agile figure disappeared into the snow-covered forest.

"Faster!!" Su Ming raced through the forest like a flying shadow, but it still felt too slow. As he ran, a line of footprints trailed behind him across the snow. Just then, as he leapt and came down again—

The snow in front of him suddenly gave way. A small beast that looked like a fox, but was covered in snow-white fur and had antlers atop its head, leapt out of the snowdrift. It was so fast that, in the blink of an eye, it came snarling toward Su Ming.

"Diao Li!" Su Ming did not slow down. As the little beast sprang from its hiding place and lunged at him, he abruptly raised his right hand and punched forward with a thunderous blow.

Had this been the old Su Ming, the punch would not have been strong enough. But now, he was a second-layer Barbarian Warrior of the Blood Condensation Realm, with six blood lines. His surging blood gave him not only several times his former speed, but several times his strength as well.

His punch landed squarely on the Diao Li. The beast shrieked, its eyes narrowing as it twisted in midair to dodge. But Su Ming slammed forward, and his left hand somehow produced Bone Horn. As he brushed past the beast, Bone Horn ripped its body open.

Blood sprayed across the snow. The little beast shrieked and writhed on the ground, staining a broad patch crimson.

Swift and decisive, Su Ming stopped and glanced down at the dead Diao Li. His gaze flickered as he crouched, raised his right hand, and took a deep breath. He circulated the blood in his body, and blood-red light instantly shone from him. He seemed to merge with the bloodstain on the ground, while six blood lines appeared on his skin.

He slowly placed his right hand on the freshly killed beast. A strange light glimmered in his eyes. One of the blood lines on his body twisted oddly, then seemed to extend, creeping down Su Ming's right arm and into his palm before flowing into the beast.

The dead beast's body suddenly trembled strangely. Its fur fell away, and its body withered at astonishing speed, becoming a skeleton in the blink of an eye. At the same time, wisps of white vapor rose from it, gathered together, and took the shape it had had in life, though blurred, as if a gust of wind could scatter it.

This was Su Ming's first time using the Spirit Devouring Barbarian Art. The cultivation method he had obtained described the technique in detail. Usually, one needed time to nurture one's essence before devouring, but Su Ming had no time now. He opened his mouth wide and sucked in the beast-shaped white vapor. At once, it broke apart into wisps and was drawn into his mouth.

Su Ming's body shuddered. He could clearly feel that he had gained some extra strength, but it was fading rapidly. It would probably return to normal before long.

He dashed away, making the most of the time and speed, and this time he was a little faster than before. With each flash, he moved faster still, like the wind.

The wind howled past his ears. There was only one thought in Su Ming's mind: catch up, intercept the other men, and save Little Monkey.

As for how, he was no reckless fool. He had already made preparations.

Half an hour later, the extra strength in Su Ming's body had long since dissipated, but it had saved him some time. At last, he arrived outside Black Flame Peak, near the Black Mountain Tribe's territory.

There was a small mountain here, shaped like a mound. From its summit, one could see quite far; the view was relatively clear.

As he approached, Su Ming's eyes turned sharp. He stared fixedly toward Black Flame Peak in the distance. Before long, two figures came into view at the far end of his gaze, moving at great speed. One of them was carrying the motionless Little Monkey!

Su Ming stood there and took a small bottle from inside his robe. It contained a single red Medicine Stone. After making sure there was no blood on his hand, he removed the Medicine Stone and gripped it in his palm.

This Medicine Stone was his trump card!

Breathing evenly, he held his bow, his eyes utterly lifeless. The two figures in the distance drew closer and closer. They were now less than a few miles away, close enough to notice each other.

Both men were broad and muscular. The burly man carrying Little Monkey wore only a thin hide in the winter cold, his upper body bare. Waves of white vapor rose from him, as if the sheer force of his blood could melt the winter chill.

Su Ming glanced at him once, then fixed his gaze on the other man. He was just as burly and carried several long spears on his back, but was somewhat shorter. Yet Su Ming could faintly sense that the man's blood was far more powerful than his companion's—indeed, far beyond anything Su Ming could compare with.

This was a strong opponent!

Su Ming's pupils contracted, but he raised the hand holding his bow and pointed it at the burly man.

As Su Ming looked at him, the burly man also spotted Su Ming. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and his expression turned slightly savage.