Bone Tempering Realm Expert?

He had assassinated three men in a row.

The bandits standing watch in the shadows finally realized something was wrong.

Shouts rang out one after another. Before long, heads swarmed into view, and furious roars echoed from Blackwind Stronghold halfway up the mountain.

I hid myself so well, yet they still found me. Looks like Blackwind Stronghold's leader has some brains.

Seeing the blaze of torchlight halfway up the mountain and the dark mass of people charging downhill, Mo Chen immediately knew he had been discovered.

He sneered and fearlessly ran straight toward the crowd.

"Who's up ahead?"

A group of bandits charged down the mountain path. Upon seeing Mo Chen, the bald giant leading them barked coldly, his gaze sharp.

"Third Dog! I'm Third Dog!"

Mo Chen shouted, rushing toward the crowd in apparent panic. "This is bad! There are government soldiers below! The government soldiers have attacked the mountain!"

"What?!" The bandits erupted in shocked uproar.

"Government soldiers?! How is that possible... No, this is a trick!"

The bald giant at the front was initially stunned, then abruptly came to his senses. His expression changed dramatically.

Yet before the other bandits could react, an earth-shaking tiger roar rang out.

Then, a figure like a rampaging tiger slammed into the crowd.

"Fuck! Kill him! Kill him for me!"

The bald man roared in fury, swinging his massive battle axe with both hands as he chopped toward Mo Chen's back.

Unfortunately, before he could get close to Mo Chen, something whistled through the air, and a figure smashed brutally into him head-on.

"Fuck! You useless lot!"

The bald man cursed as he shoved the corpse off himself, only to witness a shocking sight.

Bodies littered the ground!

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight people had already died.

And wherever Mo Chen passed, he was like a tiger among sheep.

Every bandit before him was as flimsy as paper—one punch meant death, one kick meant crippling injury.

The bald giant was terrified. His throat bobbed as fear rose in his heart. "An expert! He's an expert!"

One man had slaughtered more than half of them in an instant.

Witnessing Mo Chen's terror, the bald giant was scared out of his wits. He grabbed his axe and turned to flee.

"Argh!"

Miserable screams continually rose from the crowd.

In the blink of an eye, no one around Mo Chen was left standing.

On the mountain path.

Mo Chen suddenly stopped punching and looked around in confusion. "That's it? Seriously? There's no one left already?"

He lowered his head for a look.

"Holy shit!" Even he was startled, and he cried out.

After charging into the crowd, he had forgotten everything else, with only killing on his mind.

It was only after he sent the last man flying that he realized no one remained beside him.

One glance showed the ground covered in dead and wounded, cries of suffering everywhere.

Even Mo Chen had not known his combat strength was so formidable. In a mere moment, he had beaten over twenty bandits to death or disability.

Turning his head, he spotted a bald giant fleeing frantically along the mountain path.

Mo Chen was in no hurry. He first swiftly searched the pockets of all twenty-some men, then pocketed the silver and chased after him.

The bald giant had just run into the stronghold when he heard light footsteps behind him. He instinctively turned around to look.

He was instantly terrified out of his mind.

"Who are you? Who the fuck are you?!"

His roar shook the night sky. The bald giant stopped, turned around, and swung his battle axe to meet the attack.

"Who am I? You're not worthy of knowing."

Mo Chen snorted coldly and closed in instantly, with no intention of revealing his identity.

He flung out both arms, hands curled like claws, his body like a starving tiger. He knocked aside the two axe blades and crashed into the bald man's chest.

Mo Chen's fist was like a heavy hammer as it smashed straight into the bald man's face.

The bald man felt his nose bridge crack with a crisp snap. His head jerked back as searing pain struck, and then his muscular body flew backward as though it had been rammed by a wild bull.

Warm liquid sprayed out. The bald man's back slammed viciously into a boulder four or five meters away. His eyes rolled back, his breath stopped, and he died with his head tilted to one side.

"You little bastard, how dare you!"

An enraged shout thundered from within Blackwind Stronghold, its sound rolling like thunder.

Mo Chen turned to look and saw an enormous figure rush out from a tall bamboo-and-wood structure in the stronghold, descending like a small mountain.

A battle axe shining with bright white light came with him.

[Xuanhua Mountain-Cleaving Axe]

[Grade: Second Tier]

[Crafted by a renowned blacksmith of the Martial Suppression Office. After being passed down for two hundred years, it mutated.]

[Equipping Requirement: Bone Tempering Realm]

[Attributes: Shield Breaker, Strength +150%, Effortless Heavy Lifting, Special Bonus: Axe Technique Talent.]

"Holy shit, a second-tier battle axe?!"

Mo Chen's heart jolted, and he hurriedly searched the corpse.

Then.

Almost the instant Mo Chen pulled out the silver and before he could even inspect it, the towering figure, huge as a bear, raised his axe in both hands and cleaved downward.

"Die!"

The silver-bright battle axe tore through the air with a piercing howl, carrying its wielder's fury as it crashed toward Mo Chen.

Mo Chen rolled to the side and dodged it, but the boulder behind him could not. It instantly shattered into pieces, debris flying everywhere.

"Bone Tempering Realm?"

Mo Chen sprang to his feet, narrowing his eyes. A black firewood knife appeared out of nowhere in his right hand.

The newcomer was huge, immensely strong, and brimming with vital blood. His physical strength alone far surpassed Mo Chen's.

With the added boost of the second-tier Xuanhua Mountain-Cleaving Axe, the man's combat power could not be underestimated.

If I want to defeat him, I absolutely can't meet him head-on.

Against ordinary bandits, Mo Chen had enough strength to kill one with a single punch.

But against a Bone Tempering Realm expert like this, his strength was nowhere near enough.

The five stages of body tempering.

Successfully tempering flesh granted the strength of one ox.

Skin tempering strengthened the body's skin defenses, while tendon tempering increased agility and speed.

Upon reaching bone tempering and blood tempering, one could gain two further increases in strength.

At Body Tempering Grand Completion, one could even reach the strength of four oxen, enough to rival a tiger.

Thus, as a Bone Tempering Realm expert, his opponent possessed at least the strength of two oxen.

Adding the man's physique and weapon bonuses, his strength was nearly five oxen—truly boundless force.

If Mo Chen confronted him head-on, he would be walking straight into his own grave.

Fortunately, I have the Human Skin Mask. With its 120% speed boost, I may not be unable to contend with him.

Mo Chen fixed his gaze on the other man and tightened his grip on the Black Iron Firewood Knife. Seeing him swing the axe horizontally once more, he charged forward through gritted teeth.

He was going to gamble again!

"The Black Iron Firewood Knife grants 120% strength, with a special bonus of a one-percent critical hit chance. Then I'll gamble on that critical hit!"

After breaking through to the Flesh Tempering Realm, Mo Chen possessed the strength of one ox.

With the weapon's 120% boost, he possessed more than the strength of two oxen.

If a critical hit triggered as well, he could reach more than four oxen of strength.

And if he also counted the bonuses from Fierce Tiger Fist at Grand Completion, White Snake Nine Transformations Palm, and the Human Skin Mask's speed boost—

Mo Chen felt he had nothing to fear.

He had a chance to fight!

"Kill!"

He took one stride forward—Crouching Tiger Stance, Tiger Sweeps Its Tail, Black Tiger Steals the Heart.

At that moment, his blade techniques fused into his fist techniques.

Because Fierce Tiger Fist had reached Grand Completion, its movements had nearly become Mo Chen's instinct in battle. Using the blade in place of tiger claws, he executed the Fierce Tiger Fist without the slightest hitch.