Like Me

The wind scattered, the forest fell silent, and a thick stench of blood spread through the air.

Su Bo sheathed his sword and stood still, his body swaying slightly as the tension abruptly drained away.

The high-intensity, lightning-fast battle, coupled with the burst of mental power, had utterly exhausted him. A hollow weariness surged through every limb and bone.

He slowly exhaled a breath of foul air, yet a bright gleam flashed in his eyes.

Wind-Treading Step [Mastery (3125??/4000) Practice ten times daily; can be perfected in three years]

Luminous Sword Art [Mastery (2222??/4000) Practice thirty times daily; can be perfected in seven years]

Bixi Divine Intent [11.6%]

Looking at the data on the status panel, as well as the profound mysteries and truths of martial arts constantly surfacing in his mind with the increase in proficiency,

the progress in his martial arts delighted Su Bo even more than killing two wolf demons.

"OOOOHOOHOO~~"

"Rustle, rustle..."

"Woooo~~~!!"

Before he could celebrate for even two minutes, faint roars rang out from the depths of the dense forest, accompanied by the terrifying commotion of demon beasts charging and crashing through everything in their path.

Su Bo did not hesitate. His sword flashed, and with two swift slashes, a spray of blood mist burst forth.

The chests and abdomens of the Windsplit Wolf king and queen were cut open, their hearts picked onto his blade. Once he had finished, Su Bo turned and ran.

The terrifying aura faintly emanating from deep within the forest made his scalp tingle.

Following the route along which he had been pursued, Su Bo sprinted at full speed. With the qi and blood within him somewhat depleted, he flipped his hand and took out a pitch-black Myriad-Weight Stone.

The moment the Myriad-Weight Stone touched the two wolf demons' hearts, they shriveled and weathered into dregs in the blink of an eye.

The essence blood contained within the hearts of those wolf demons—comparable to the fifth and fourth refinements of the Fleshly Body Realm—was devoured completely by the Myriad-Weight Stone.

Once he had completed this process,

Su Bo's nearly depleted body began to greedily absorb the blood essence within the Ten-Thousand-Jun Bloodstone, refining it to replenish his own consumed qi and blood.

At the same time, it strengthened his qi and blood, and his power rose at a staggering pace.

The stone had been lent to him by that unscrupulous principal of his. Yes, lent—once he completed the Starry Sky Trial, he would have to return it.

"What a stingy, miserly cheapskate..."

Above the stars, Situ Ting stood carelessly atop an asteroid, his gaze dark as it fell upon another asteroid not far from him.

Two martial artists clad in Martial Alliance uniforms had their powerful auras firmly locked onto him.

"You two have watched long enough, haven't you?" Situ Ting said, somewhat impatiently.

"Situ Ting..." One man's wary voice condensed into a thread and pierced through the vacuum. "What you have done violates the rules!"

"By Martial Alliance decree, you are forbidden from leaving Red River Star for one hundred years..."

"Bullshit Martial Alliance decree! I'm not even part of your Martial Alliance, so why the hell should I obey its orders?" Situ Ting's fury erupted at once.

The power of three divine abilities transformed behind him into a blazing, majestic sun.

A scorching aura instantly engulfed hundreds of miles of starry sky. One asteroid after another melted into magma in an instant, flowing through space.

The starry sky for hundreds of miles became Situ Ting's domain alone.

The expressions of the two Martial Alliance martial artists changed drastically. Their divine abilities emerged in turn: one domain dense with thunder, the other a domain of towering waves.

They formed behind the two men, shielding them from the great sun divine ability and the magma filling the heavens.

"Situ—" The martial artist whose divine ability had become a thunder domain was about to speak.

The other, whose divine ability had become a watery marsh, stopped him with a bitter expression and looked toward the great sun formed from Situ Ting's divine ability.

Vaguely, deep within that great sun, they seemed to see a gigantic vicious bird.

Golden feathers, standing upon three legs, eyes like blazing suns...

The fourth realm of martial arts—Dharma Manifestation!

The divine bird—the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

The martial artist with the thunder domain immediately did not dare speak further. He turned his head away, a trace of jealousy flashing deep in his eyes before swiftly being concealed.

Situ Ting had already been stronger than him to begin with.

And now, that murderous brute's strength had advanced yet again. He was actually about to break through into the Dharma Manifestation Realm.

If they dared clash with Situ Ting here today, then this day next year would most likely be the anniversary of their deaths.

If they provoked a Dharma Manifestation Realm martial artist and were killed, even the Martial Alliance would not seek justice for them.

The Martial Alliance recognized only a martial artist's strength!

"Situ Ting..." The martial artist with the watery marsh divine ability slowly drew his marsh domain back into his body.

"The two of us have no intention of becoming your enemies. We are merely carrying out orders to inspect the Trial Star. What you did..." The watery marsh martial artist's gaze fell upon the Trial Star.

At a glance, it landed on Su Bo, who was running for his life.

"You have a problem with it?" Situ Ting snorted coldly.

"If you do, say it. I'm listening..."

Deep within the scorching great sun, the faint outline of the Three-Legged Golden Crow stirred lightly, as though it were about to break free from the sun and fully manifest in reality.

This frightened the two Martial Alliance martial artists so badly that even their hearts trembled.

When a Dharma Manifestation emerged, heaven and earth changed—it was no joke.

Once Situ Ting's Dharma Manifestation broke free of that great sun, it would mean that he had successfully broken through to the Dharma Manifestation Realm, while they would undoubtedly be burned to ashes.

It was only a task to patrol the Trial Star. Neither of them wished to die in such a muddled fashion.

The two swallowed and exchanged a glance.

In the end, the martial artist with the watery marsh divine ability spoke in a low voice. "The Starry Sky Trial began three months ago. Throwing him onto the Trial Star like this..."

"With his talent, comprehending Divine Intent in the Fleshly Body Realm, qi and blood comparable to the fourth refinement of the Fleshly Body Realm, and martial arts at least at the Mastery stage—let alone on Red River Star, he would be a top-tier prodigy even on other great stars."

"If he dies on the Trial Star because of this, aren't you afraid..."

Every year, when the Starry Sky Trial opened, its first three months were known as the calm period.

During these three months, the Martial Alliance allowed the martial arts prodigies from each great star to desperately improve their strength before venturing onto the path of trial.

With the talent of those martial arts prodigies, combined with the incomparably dense heaven-and-earth essence on the Trial Star,

one could imagine just how terrifying and earth-shaking the changes in their strength would be after three months of cultivation.

Even the very worst among them would likely have reached at least the fourth refinement.

And they would not be ordinary fourth-refinement Fleshly Body Realm martial artists. They were martial arts prodigies from their respective great stars; fighting across one or two minor realms was as easy for them as drinking water and eating meals.

Situ Ting slowly withdrew the great sun of his divine abilities. No longer looking at the two of them, his gaze settled upon the Trial Star.

Watching Su Bo flee for his life through the forest, he said with a faint smile, "Mere mediocrities. Even if they have three more months than my student, they will still become his stepping stones."

"Just as..."

"I did back then!"

No, he was even a hundred times, a thousand times, perhaps ten thousand times more terrifying than I had been!

Situ Ting understood Su Bo's talent all too well. It was simply heaven-defying, not at all a talent that a normal human could possess.

Not to mention that Su Bo might carry dragon blood within him—that would be even more terrifying.

Among the Pan-Human Federation's human martial artists of the Human-Dragon Lineage and Dragonkin Lineage, which one was not a peerless prodigy?

Their bloodlines were simply too scarce, and their temperaments far too proud. They disdained fighting for power and profit; otherwise, they would have long since become a major force within the Federation.