Dark Hunting Ground

The night deepened.

After the rain, the Black Wind Mountain Range was filled with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, occasionally mixed with a faint trace of blood.

Chen Chen didn't choose to leave immediately.

He knew very well that the pursuers sent by the Wang Family were far more than just the two he had just encountered. Returning now would be like walking straight into a trap.

The most dangerous place is often the safest place.

This dark forest, a perilous land for others, was a perfect hunting ground for him, who possessed the "God of Slaughter System."

He needed to adapt to this brand-new body, belonging to the Body Tempering First Layer.

He needed to hone his killing skills.

And more importantly... he needed to accumulate more Cultivation Points!

Chen Chen dragged the two corpses into the dense bushes, covering most of the bloodstains with dirt and fallen leaves. After finishing, he gripped the steel knife he had taken from One-Eyed Dragon and, like a true phantom, silently melted into the night.

After breaking through to the Body Tempering First Layer, his five senses had become exceptionally sharp.

The rustling of leaves in the wind, the hooting of an owl in the distance, even the sound of a beetle crawling on the ground a dozen meters away, all reached his ears clearly.

Darkness was no longer an obstacle; instead, it became his best camouflage.

He moved like a patient leopard, patrolling his territory, searching for prey.

Soon, he spotted a lone Tusked Wild Boar.

This was a First-Order Demonic Beast, with tough hide and a ferocious temper. Its pair of curved tusks could easily pierce through iron armor.

If it were the old Chen Chen, he would have had to detour around such a creature.

But now...

Chen Chen lowered his body, using the shadows of the trees and rocks to approach stealthily.

The Tusked Wild Boar was rooting in the mud with its massive snout, searching for edible tubers, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Three meters!

At that precise moment, Chen Chen moved!

His toes lightly touched the ground, and his entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, without making a single extraneous sound.

The steel knife in his hand, infused with that surge of Blood Essence during his breakthrough, seemed even sharper.

He didn't aim for the boar's toughest back but targeted its relatively vulnerable neck.

"Thwack!"

The blade accurately sliced through the thick hide and muscle, embedding itself deeply into the boar's neck bone.

"Roar--!"

The Tusked Wild Boar let out a pained roar, thrashing its body wildly, trying to shake off the enemy on its back.

A tremendous force hit him, and Chen Chen almost lost his grip on the hilt.

But his eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched, and he poured all his strength into the knife, slashing fiercely along with the boar's thrashing motion!

"Screech!"

A wound deep enough to expose bone ran from the boar's neck all the way to its spine.

A large amount of blood gushed out instantly.

[Ding! Killed First-Order Demonic Beast Tusked Wild Boar, gained +2 Cultivation Points!]

The boar's massive body crashed to the ground, twitching a few times before falling silent.

Chen Chen panted heavily, jumping off the boar.

Although he had succeeded in killing it, the process had not been easy. His combat experience was still too lacking.

"Only 2 Cultivation Points..."

Chen Chen frowned slightly as he looked at the system panel.

It seemed that even among First-Order Demonic Beasts, their strength varied, and so did the Cultivation Points they provided. This boar was clearly stronger than the Shadow Cat he had encountered before.

And a martial artist at the Body Tempering First Layer had directly provided 10 points.

Humans were the best "cultivation resources."

This thought flashed through his mind, sending a shiver down his own spine.

But he quickly suppressed the discomfort.

Mercy?

Did the Wang Family show any mercy when they massacred his entire clan?

In this world where people prey on each other, showing mercy to enemies is cruelty to oneself!

For the next two hours, Chen Chen completely transformed into the god of death in the dark night.

He used his keen senses, far surpassing those of his peers, to constantly search for lone Demonic Beasts.

A venomous Green-Eyed Snake died from his precise stone throw.

[Ding! Killed First-Order Demonic Beast Green-Eyed Snake, gained +1 Cultivation Point!]

Three Iron-Backed Wolves, traveling in a pack, were lured, separated, and killed one by one by him, utilizing the terrain.

[Ding! Killed First-Order Demonic Beast Iron-Backed Wolf, gained +1 Cultivation Point!]

[Ding! Killed First-Order Demonic Beast Iron-Backed Wolf, gained +1 Cultivation Point!]

[Ding! Killed First-Order Demonic Beast Iron-Backed Wolf, gained +1 Cultivation Point!]

His combat skills improved at an astonishing rate through repeated bloody battles.

From clumsy and unskillful at the beginning, to clean and efficient later on.

He learned how to use his environment, how to deliver a fatal blow, and how to conserve energy to the maximum extent.

His eyes also became colder and colder, more and more like a true beast.

When the Cultivation Points on the system panel accumulated back to "10," Chen Chen found a hidden cave, preparing for a short rest.

Even a body forged from iron needed to catch its breath after continuous combat.

He tore off the most tender piece of loin from a wild boar, sliced it thin with his knife, and swallowed it raw.

The cold meat slices, carrying the taste of blood, slid into his stomach, quickly turning into streams of heat that replenished his depleted stamina.

Warriors in the Body Tempering Realm had vigorous Blood Essence and could already begin to digest the energy from raw meat.

Just as he was leaning against the cold stone wall, preparing to close his eyes and rest, he heard several people speaking in deliberately hushed voices outside the cave.

"Damn it, this hellhole, can't even see a bird!" a rough voice complained. "The Wang Family is too stingy, giving such a small reward for a good-for-nothing kid. It's forcing us brothers to sneak into the mountains in the dark."

"Shut up, Black Bear! Do you want to attract the Demonic Beasts?" another, relatively steady voice reprimanded.

"What are you afraid of? We have the boss here. Besides, that Chen Family kid was reportedly severely injured. He's probably already feeding the wolves in some corner. We're just here to go through the motions."

Chen Chen's eyes snapped open in the darkness.

Not Wang Family guards.

They were mercenaries!

Desperate men who came for a reward!

The corners of his mouth slowly curled into an icy arc.

Truly... just what he needed when he was sleepy.

He stood up silently, concealing his presence to the extreme, like a rock in the cave, blending into the darkness.

Outside the cave, a group of four people were grumbling as they walked by.

Leading them was a burly, one-eyed man, carrying a huge axe on his shoulder. His aura was steady, clearly the leader of this group.

Body Tempering Second Layer!

Chen Chen's gaze sharpened slightly.

The other three were also at the Body Tempering First Layer, similar to the Wang Family guards he had killed earlier.

He had no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

However, this was his hunting ground.

"Boss, there's a cave ahead. Why don't we go in and rest for a bit until morning?" the burly man called Black Bear suggested.

The one-eyed boss glanced at the dark cave entrance and frowned. "Be careful. Send someone in to check."

"I'll go!" a thin mercenary volunteered, lighting a fire starter and cautiously approaching the cave.

The firelight flickered in the darkness, drawing closer bit by bit.

Chen Chen's heartbeat also slowed, like a hibernating giant python, waiting for prey to step into the trap.

The thin mercenary, holding the fire starter, peeked into the cave.

The firelight illuminated the cave walls, which were empty, with only some scattered stones.

"Boss, it's safe!" he shouted back.

However, the moment he turned around, a figure dropped silently from the darkness above his head!

Chen Chen hooked his feet into the rock crevices on the cave ceiling, descending upside down. His steel knife, like a viper's fangs, precisely covered the thin mercenary's mouth while his other hand gripped the hilt and plunged it fiercely into his back!

"Mmph!"

The thin mercenary's eyes widened instantly, and the fire starter slipped from his hand, extinguishing on the damp ground.

[Ding! Killed Body Tempering First Layer Realm warrior, gained +10 Cultivation Points!]

Chen Chen didn't pause. The moment the body softened, he had already used the momentum to spring back into the shadows of the cave ceiling, the entire process making not a single unnecessary sound.

Outside the cave.

"Monkey, what's going on? Why is the fire out?" The One-Eyed Dragon boss noticed something was wrong and shouted sternly.

There was no response.

A deathly silence.

The faces of the remaining two mercenaries instantly turned grim.

"Damn it, something's weird!" Black Bear cursed, gripping the saber in his hand.

A fierce glint flashed in the One-Eyed Dragon boss's eyes: "Let's go in together! I want to see what's playing tricks here!"

He took the lead, his burly body blocking more than half the cave entrance, and strode in.

Behind him, Black Bear and another mercenary followed closely.

However, all they saw was Monkey's corpse lying in a pool of blood.

"Monkey!" Black Bear exclaimed.

"Watch out above!" The One-Eyed Dragon boss, experienced, instantly realized something and looked up sharply.

But what he saw wasn't an attack from above.

It was...

The cave entrance!

A giant rock weighing several hundred pounds, moved there at some unknown time, was now falling with a whistling sound, crashing down!

It was Chen Chen!

The moment he killed Monkey, he had circled around outside the cave and pushed this rock, which he had spotted long ago, with all his might!

"Not good!"

The One-Eyed Dragon boss's face changed drastically. He wanted to retreat, but the two behind him blocked his path.

He wanted to advance, but the cave was too narrow to completely dodge!

BOOM!!!

The giant rock fell, sealing the entire cave entrance and trapping the four of them in the cramped space.

No, three of them.

The last mercenary, being at the very back, had half his body still outside the cave and was crushed into a pulp by the falling rock.

[Ding! Killed a Body Tempering First Layer martial artist, gained Cultivation Points +10!]

Inside the cave, it instantly plunged into pitch-black darkness.

Only the heavy breaths of the One-Eyed Dragon boss and Black Bear remained, and...

In the darkness, a pair of terrifyingly bright eyes.