If You Live by the Sword, Keep Your Word

Gu Chenfeng shredded the vine net binding the Crimson Flame Giant Bear with his spear.

The next instant, without looking back, he tilted his head and sidestepped.

Whoosh!

He narrowly avoided the club crashing down at his head.

Twisting around, he clashed once more with the Third Boss pursuing him.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Flame Savage Bear had already been driven into a desperate corner.

Yet the great net restricting its movements had suddenly been torn apart.

Although its injuries and the poison had greatly diminished its strength,

it was still a powerful late-stage source qi realm Origin Beast, and its fighting prowess remained ferocious.

The moment it broke free, the Crimson Flame Savage Bear's savagery and fury erupted like a volcano.

"Roar...!"

It roared and swept out a paw.

A three-star meridian-opening realm warrior standing beside it was sent flying, weapon and all.

The man tumbled across the ground, seeing stars.

Before he could scramble up, his vision went black.

Boom!

Both bear paws slammed down, bursting his head and spraying blood and brains everywhere.

"Ah...!"

The bloody, horrifying sight frightened the Four Directions Gate warriors until their livers and gallbladders nearly burst.

But the Crimson Flame Savage Bear did not stop killing. In the blink of an eye, it smashed several more people to death.

It even bit off one man's head, chewed it up, and swallowed it raw.

"Run... run!"

Someone shouted.

Their courage shattered, the warriors no longer dared to attack and scattered in a panicked rush.

Even the three meridian-opening realm warriors fled.

But the Crimson Flame Savage Bear had no intention of letting them go.

Its enormous body exploded into astonishing speed as it pursued them.

A vengeful slaughter unfolded.

Catching sight of this, the Third Boss's face twisted with rage.

This gray-clad man was utterly devious and cunning.

First, he had ambushed them amid the chaos, killing many of his men.

Now he had freed the Crimson Flame Savage Bear, causing even more casualties.

If he failed to kill this man today, how could he answer to the gate master?

"You bastard! I'll pound you into mince and feed you to the wolves!"

The Third Boss mobilized all his blood qi, even circulating his meager reserves of source qi at full force.

After their earlier exchange, he believed he had gauged his opponent's strength.

This man's spear technique was decent, but his strength was ordinary. He had probably only just entered the one-star source qi realm.

With his combat experience and superior strength, he was certain he could kill him.

He let out a furious roar.

A rich yellow glow spread over the Third Boss's palms as he channeled savage power into his spiked club and smashed it toward Gu Chenfeng.

Its force had increased by several tenths compared to before.

The Third Boss was very confident in this strike.

Gu Chenfeng was very pleased with it, too.

Finally, I can cut loose.

The next instant, a sharp gleam flashed in Gu Chenfeng's eyes, and an eerie silver-gray sheen spread across his skin.

As he drove the Iron Elephant Art at full force, Gu Chenfeng's body swelled instantly.

His originally well-proportioned physique became even more imposing than the burly Third Boss's.

"Just what I wanted!"

Gu Chenfeng thrust his spear straight out, meeting the spiked club head-on.

Boom!

Amid the thunderous impact, two tremendous forces erupted.

The Third Boss felt as though his club had struck an iron bull.

The terrifying recoil numbed his hands and sent him staggering backward.

What incredible strength!

Seeing Gu Chenfeng standing immovable opposite him, his skin shimmering with that eerie silver-gray light,

the Third Boss shuddered in alarm.

"You're a Body Cultivator!"

Gu Chenfeng did not answer. His eyes brimmed with excitement and fighting spirit.

"Again!"

He stepped forward, moving like a tiger or leopard, and thrust his spear through the air with a faint whistle.

The Third Boss's pupils contracted. With no time to think, he gripped his spiked club in both hands and met the attack with all his strength.

Boom!

Another thunderous impact rang out.

The webbing between the Third Boss's thumbs and forefingers split open. He retreated hastily, his face filled with shock and fury.

This thrust was even more powerful than the last.

Before he had any time to think,

Whoosh...!

Gu Chenfeng's third thrust came whistling toward him.

Horror gripped the Third Boss, but he could only struggle to block it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He blocked another three thrusts in succession.

The Third Boss had intended to hold out with all his strength, waiting for Gu Chenfeng's power to wane so he could seize a chance to counterattack.

Instead, each of those three thrusts proved stronger than the one before.

When Gu Chenfeng unleashed the final thrust,

"Pfft...!"

the Third Boss finally spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward.

"That felt good!"

Gu Chenfeng had finally unleashed his full strength.

His blood qi boiled and his pores opened, leaving him exhilarated beyond measure.

"Fuck!"

The Third Boss, meanwhile, flew back with his head spinning and his five viscera burning. He was already gravely wounded.

Now he looked at Gu Chenfeng as though he were a monster.

This fellow's strength was inhuman.

More importantly, his opponent had not used any source qi from beginning to end.

Clearly, he had misjudged him again.

His cultivation is definitely higher than mine. He's toying with me on purpose-he wants to torture me to death!

Whoosh!

The spear's whistle pierced his ears like a demonic shriek, rapidly drawing closer.

"Again!"

Gu Chenfeng's blood qi surged, and his fighting spirit had reached its peak. Why would he stop?

"Again, my ass!"

The Third Boss jolted and flung out a handful of lime mixed with poisonous powder.

It checked Gu Chenfeng's thrust, and he scrambled up and ran.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Gu Chenfeng darted aside to avoid the powder, then gave chase, moving even faster than the Third Boss.

As he ran, the Third Boss repeatedly scattered lime and poisonous powder...

Yet the distance between them kept shrinking.

The Third Boss finally panicked.

"I'm the Third Boss of the Four Directions Gate! Our gate master is a source sea realm warrior.

"If you'll spare me, we'll wipe the slate clean!"

Completely unconcerned by his threat, Gu Chenfeng sneered.

"If you live by the sword, keep your word. You said you'd kill me, so why are you running? I haven't even used my big move yet."

Gu Chenfeng genuinely wanted to test the first level of the Tiger-Subduing Spear Technique's ultimate move on him.

Seeing Gu Chenfeng drawing closer, and feeling his injuries becoming impossible to suppress,

the Third Boss gritted his teeth, untied the bundle on his back, and hurled it behind him.

"Take these spiritual materials and banknotes! Just spare me!"

The Third Boss did not expect his opponent to actually let him go.

He only hoped to delay him for a moment and find a sliver of hope for survival.

A dense patch of brush lay ahead. If he could get inside, his chances of escaping would increase dramatically.

To the Third Boss's delight, the bundle he had thrown really worked.

The fellow behind him actually stopped instead of pursuing him.

Strangely, though, he did not pick up the bundle either.

Instead, he stared at him with a peculiar look.

A trace of horror seemed to lurk in his gaze.

The next instant, the man actually turned and ran.

The Third Boss froze for a moment.

Thud...!

Suddenly, the ground shook violently.

Then,

"Roar...!"

an earth-shaking roar erupted from the dense forest ahead, stirring up a fierce, rank wind.

Sensing something amiss, the Third Boss abruptly looked ahead again.

In that instant, his eyes widened as he witnessed a sight he would never forget.

It was a giant bear shining silver all over, several dozen feet tall and as massive as a small mountain.

It leaped high out of the forest, its enormous body blotting out the setting sun as its roar crashed like thunder.

Even more terrifyingly,

a dazzling red light shone inside the monster's gaping, blood-red maw.

The next instant, it spewed a scorching pillar of flame several feet across.

The pillar of flame swept over the Third Boss in an instant, engulfing him.

The intense heat rapidly charred his body. Before he could even scream, he had been blasted into ash.

"Hiss...!"

At that moment, Gu Chenfeng was sprinting desperately with his spear over his shoulder.

Glancing back at the scene, he could not help sucking in a sharp breath.

While pursuing the Third Boss, he had suddenly noticed birds and beasts fleeing the forest as a terrifying presence approached.

That presence was so powerful that it made his hair stand on end, leaving him feeling utterly unable to resist.

Thus, Gu Chenfeng had immediately chosen to flee.

Now that he had seen the silver giant bear spew a pillar of fire and kill the Third Boss in an instant, his heart pounded even harder.

What level of Origin Beast is that?

The beast resembled the Crimson Flame Savage Bear from earlier, but it was several times larger.

Moreover, even at its peak, the Crimson Flame Savage Bear's fur had only shimmered faintly with silver. Why was this fellow's fur entirely silver?

Could it be... a mutated Origin Beast?

Those words suddenly sprang into Gu Chenfeng's mind.

Ancient texts had recorded it.

Once an Origin Beast mutated, its fighting prowess and potential could no longer be measured by ordinary standards.

Run! Get out of here!

That was the only thought in Gu Chenfeng's mind.

Although he could match, or even defeat, low-star source qi realm experts,

this Mutated Giant Bear was definitely not something he could handle.

It was most likely a source sea realm Origin Beast, or even stronger.

Gu Chenfeng fled with all his strength, but only a few breaths had passed.

"Whoosh...!"

A fierce wind howled above his head.

"Boom!"

An enormous creature crashed down like Mount Tai bearing down on him, blocking his path.

"Roar...!"

Amid the earth-shaking roar, Gu Chenfeng caught sight of it.

The mutated Crimson Flame Savage Bear stood in his way, its eyes blazing blood-red.

Red light flickered once more inside its furiously gaping jaws as it prepared to unleash a devastating strike at him.

Gu Chenfeng's heart sank, and he abruptly tightened his grip on his spear.

"Roar...!"

At that hair's-breadth moment between life and death.

A roar rang out in the distance, interrupting the Mutated Giant Bear's attack.