“Ah... this is bad!”

  As soon as Zhao Heng threw the burning piece of Blood Spirit Wood, the group of youths hiding at the top of the slope realized that things were going awry.

  “Run!”

  Everyone scattered, fleeing in all dires, but the speed of the beasts was even faster.

  They surrouhe top of the slope from all sides, quickly trapping the group.

  The pu smell of the Blood Spirit Wood, bined with the tempting st of the human cultivators' fresh flesh, stirred the beasts into a frenzy!

  “Roar...!”

  A massive gray wolf leaped into the air, its sharp cws slig through the thigh of a disciple, and blood gushed out.

  The intense smell of blood sent the beasts into a frenzy, and they rushed to attack the disciples.

  “Ah...!”

  Screams rang out from all around.

  The eagle-nosed youth and the man quickly snapped out of their initial shod panic. They calmed themselves and shouted.

  “Don’t panic! Everyotack together! Kill these beasts!”

  The two of them, relying on their strength as ninth-yer body tempering cultivators, were the first to strike. They quickly killed several of the beasts, which helped stabilize the morale of the group.

  The rest of the group used all their might to fight the beasts atop the slope.

  During the battle, the two men couldn't help but g Zhao Heng, who, after throwing the Blood Spirit Wood, had turned and fled deeper into the forest.

  The two men were furious, but they had no choice but to suppress their anger ahe others in fighting the beasts.

  The battle sted for nearly half an hour.

  The eagle-nosed youth and the bck, chubby man, as ninth-yer body tempering cultivators, led the group in a desperate battle, eventually killing most of the beasts. The remainis scattered and fled.

  However, they had paid a heavy price. Out of the inal 18 members, only seven remained.

  In addition to the eagle-nosed youth and the bck, chubby man, there were five hth-yer body tempering cultivators, all wounded and exhausted.

  “Finally, we’ve driven off those beasts. That damn brat is too ing. He got so many of us killed. If I catch him, I’ll skin him alive!” the bck, chubby man panted heavily, cursing in anger.

  The eagle-nosed youth also had a dark expression on his face. He hadn’t expected that they had already fallen into Zhao Heng’s trap and suffered such a heavy loss. If Elder Liu found out about this, he wouldn’t escape punishment.

  “Enough talk. Cut off the ears of these beasts a’s track him down. We o find that brat and kill him!”

  The eagle-nosed youth uood that, at this point, only by killing Zhao Heng could they redeem themselves.

  The others uood this as well. They didn’t waste any time resting and immediately followed the dire Zhao Heng had fled.

  Perhaps Zhao Heng thought they were doomed, but during his escape, he wasn’t cautious a behind clear traces.

  When they picked up his trail, the group’s spirits lifted, and they quied their pa pursuit.

  A quarter of an hour ter.

  “Hmm... his footprints have disappeared.”

  The group had chased him deep into the dense forest but found that Zhao Heng’s trail had ended.

  “How is that possible? Could he have flown?” the bck, chubby man muttered.

  Immediately, the seven of them froze and instinctively looked up at the thick opy overhead.

  Just as they did, a rge amount of white ash suddenly rained down from above!

  “Watch out!”

  The eagle-nosed youth and the bck, chubby maed swiftly, dodging the white ash in time.

  But three of the other five were hit directly, and intense pain shot through their eyes!

  “Whoosh...!”

  At that moment, a shadow dashed down from the treetops, nding beside the three men, moving like lightning, striking with deadly speed.

  With swift ahal moves, the masked figure made three killing strikes—an upward swipe, a throat ssh, and a heart strike—all in one smooth, fluid motion.

  The three eighth-yer body tempering cultivators, already wounded and blinded by the lime dust, had no ce to defend themselves against the surprise attack. They were stru their vital spots and died instantly.

  As the dust settled, the eagle-nosed youth, the bck, chubby man, and their two panions, who had retreated to a distance, all focused their eyes on the se.

  Apart from the three corpses, there was anure standing there—a young man in gray clothes, carrying a shield on his back, with his face covered by a cloth and his eyes shielded by two transparent crystals. He looked unusual.

  “Zhao Heng, it’s you!” the five of them excimed in unison.

  “Hmm…?” The young man froze for a moment upon hearing their excmations.

  “Ynized me so quickly?”

  The bck, chubby man angrily retorted, “What nonsense are you talking about? You didn’t even ge your outfit or the ‘turtle shell’ on your back. You think I wouldn’t reize you just because you’re wearing a mask?”

  The eagle-nosed youth narrowed his eyes, his tone cold. “Zhao Heng, I really uimated you. Not only did you dare use the beasts against us, but you eve an ambush here. It seems like you have great fiden your abilities.”

  Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng sighed helplessly.

  “Gentlemen, I didn’t want things to turn out this way. Elder Liu pressured me relentlessly and was determio kill me. I only did this to protect myself. I hope you two senior brothers will show mercy.”

  The eagle-nosed youth snorted coldly. “It’s too te to say anything now. You’ve killed so many of our people. Elder Liu won’t spare you.”

  Zhao Heng’s gaze flickered slightly.

  “So, you all still refuse to let me go?”

  “Heh... What do you think?”

  The bck, chubby man sneered, and together with the eagle-nosed youth and the two other panions, they closed in on Zhao Heng.

  Seeing this, Zhao Heng’s expression darkened slightly, but a strange smile appeared at the er of his mouth.

  “Hmm, it’s almost time.”

  “Hmm...? What are you talking about?”

  The group was momentarily stunned.

  The moment, Zhao Heng suddenly sprang into aoving like a leopard, charging straight for the two eighth-yer body tempering cultivators.

  Although Zhao Heng’s attack was sudden, the two men were not like the previous three. They had already prepared for su ambush.

  Both reacted in an instaher striking back or raising their arms to block.

  However, just as the two men gathered their internal energy to ter Zhao Heng’s attack, they suddenly felt a dizzyiion in their minds. Their limbs became weak and powerless, and they realized that they had lost a signifit portion of their strength.

  This sudden ge was so ued that the two men didn’t have time to respond. Zhao Heng had already appeared in front of them like a hungry tiger poung on its prey.

  “Crack! Crack!”

  Two chilling sounds of bones snapping echoed as Zhao Heng twisted the necks of the two men with ease, killing them almost without resistance.

  “What!”

  Seeing this, the eagle-nosed youth and the bck, chubby man were both shocked. Just as they were about to move, they suddenly felt an odd sensation in their bodies. Their muscles felt weak and soft.

  “You... you poisoned us!”

  Zhao Heng casually dropped the two dead bodies and turo look at the eagle-nosed youth and the bck, chubby man. He smiled smugly. “Looks like you two senior brothers are indeed quite intelligent.”

  “When did you poison us?” the eagle-nosed youth asked, his voice cold.

  “Heh... When I spread the lime dust earlier, I also added a little colorless, odorless Softening Powder. How’s the effect?”

  “That’s impossible! You were in the same area, why didn’t you get poisoned?” the bck, chubby man barked in disbelief.

  Zhao Heng chuckled.

  “Because I was wearing the mask.”

  His mask had already been soaked in water, which protected him from inhaling the lime dust. As for the transparent crystals on his eyes, they were specially made goggles to prevent the lime from getting into his eyes, allowing him to execute his surprise attack.

  “If you two still have any questions, feel free to ask. I’m happy to answer.”

  The bck, chubby man was about to retort, but the eagle-nosed youth’s eyes suddenly fshed with murderous i.

  “Stop wasting time. He’s trying to buy time ahe poison take deeper effect. We o end this quickly and kill him!”

  The bck, chubby man shuddered as realization hit. He finally uood Zhao Heng’s sinister plot.

  “Despicable bastard, die!”

  With a roar, the bck, chubby man surged forward, his internal energy boiling and suppressing the effects of the poison. He charged toward Zhao Heng, unleashing a barrage of lethal strikes.

  Despite having just fought the beasts and now being affected by the Softening Powder, the bck, chubby man was still a ninth-yer body tempering cultivator. In his rage, his attack was so powerful that even an average eighth-yer body tempering cultivator would struggle to defend against it.

  He was fident that Zhao Heng would not be able to withstand his onsught.

  However, in the face of the bck, chubby man’s strikes, Zhao Heng merely narrowed his eyes. His body tensed and then shot forward like an arrow, meeting the attack head-on with fists and palms.

  “Boom! Boom! Boom!”

  Fists a collided, each strike creating a dull thud. The two fought fiercely, her giving way. The battle was intense, with both sides seemingly evenly matched.

  However, Zhao Heng’s attacks were increasingly vicious and ing. His strength seemed to grow as the fight tinued, and he gradually began to gain the upper hand.

  “You... You’re also a ninth-yer body tempering cultivator?” the bck, chubby man gasped in disbelief.

  The bck, chubby man’s face twisted in shock, struggling to prehend what was happening.

  Zhao Heng, in response, gave a low ugh, his movements swift and precise. “It seems you’ve uimated me. You’re not the only oh a few tricks up your sleeve.”

  The two tiheir fierce csh, the sounds of their strikes eg in the dense forest. Each blow was met with the same iy, but Zhao Heng’s relentless speed and agility allowed him to steadily gain the upper hand.

  “Your body is still too slow,” Zhao Heng taunted as he dodged a powerful blow from the bck, chubby man, stepping in closer with eaent. He seized the opening and nded a decisive strike to the man’s abdomen, sending him stumbling back.

  The bck, chubby man gasped for breath, his face turning pale from the poison and the impact of Zhao Heng’s strike. He attempted to retaliate, but his movements were sluggish and uncoordinated.

  Zhao Heng smirked, eyes gleaming with fidence. “You’ve been poisoned, and your body’s too weak to keep up with me. It's over.”

  Before the man could recover, Zhao Heng darted forward like a striking snake. With a quick twist, he grabbed the bck, chubby man’s arm and s with a loud crack. The man howled in pain, but Zhao Heng was merciless. He moved swiftly, delivering a series of precise strikes to vital pressure points, immobilizing him pletely.

  The eagle-nosed youth had been watg the battle closely, his face growing darker with every passing sed. His eyes narrowed, calg his move. He knew he couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer.

  “Zhao Heng!” the eagle-nosed youth shouted, his voice sharp and filled with malice. “You won’t get away with this!”

  With a swift movement, the eagle-nosed youth lu Zhao Heng, but Zhao Heng was already prepared. He spun around, using the momentum from his previous attack to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick that sent the eagle-nosed youth flying backward.

  The eagle-nosed youth gritted his teeth, struggling tain his footing, his hands shaking with rage and frustration. The poison was clearly taking its toll on him as well, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to retreat. With a growl, he forced himself bato position.

  “Yoing to pay for what you did!” he snarled, but his voice cked the same fidence as before.

  Zhao Heng’s expression remained calm, almost amused. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his breathing steady despite the intense fight. “It’s too te for you, senior brother. You should have knower than to challenge me.”

  Without warning, Zhao Heng charged forward, his body moving with incredible speed. The eagle-nosed youth barely had time to react as Zhao Heng closed the distaween them.

  The battle betweewo was like a storm, their movements fast and brutal, but Zhao Heng’s precision and deadly efficy quickly wore down the eagle-nosed youth. With every strike, Zhao Heng seemed to anticipate the eagle-nosed youth’s move, dodging and tering effortlessly.

  In the end, with one final, decisive blow, Zhao Heng struck the eagle-nosed youth across the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. The youth coughed up blood, his face twisted in pain, and his body went limp, uo tihe fight.

  Zhao Heng stood over him, chest rising and falling with trolled breaths. His eyes were cold, devoid of any sympathy.

  “You... you won,” the eagle-nosed youth gasped, blood dribbling from his mouth.

  Zhao Heng crouched down, his voice low and deadly. “This is the price you pay for uimating me. Now, it's over.”

  With that, he finished off the eagle-nosed youth, ensuring no one would be left standing in his way.

  The silehat followed the fierce battle was deafening. Zhao Heng stood amidst the fallen bodies, his expression grim. The once-boisterous and bloodthirsty group of martial artists had been reduced to a few lifeless corpses scattered across the ground.

  He wiped the blood from his hands, his breathing slow and trolled as he surveyed the age. His eyes flicked over the remaining bodies—those of the bck, chubby man and the eagle-nosed youth—and a faint smirk curled at the er of his lips.

  The poison he'd secretly introduced had worked perfectly, weakening his oppos, and his strategy had paid off. His swift strikes had dismahem piece by piece, their bodies too frail to keep up with his relentless assault.

  "Such a waste," Zhao Heng muttered under his breath, gng at the dead bodies of the remaining disciples. "But necessary, I suppose."

  With his mission plete, Zhao Heng turned his back to the se of destru and began walking toward the deeper forest, his steps measured and steady.

  The poison in his enemies’ bodies was desigo weaken them gradually, and the final blow had ehat even if they had any residual strength, it was now gone. His mind was already focused on his steps, pnning the path ahead. After all, there were still other dangers waiting for him in the wilderness, and he couldn’t afford to drop his guard just yet.

  With the battle over, the forest grew eerily quiet again, the only sound the faint rustling of the trees in the wind. Zhao Heng’s mind was now rag with thoughts of what had just occurred. He had pyed his hand expertly, using the forest and the poison to his advantage, but now that the immediate threat was ralized, he o focus on surviving the rest of his journey.

  It wasn’t long before he reached a clearing, where he stopped and took a moment to catch his breath. His body was bruised, and the wounds from the earlier fight would tention soon. However, he still had time before he could afford to rest.

  His focus shifted to the deeper part of the forest. Somewhere beyond the trees y his goal, a pce where danger lurked, but also where he could find the step in his path. Zhao Heng khat his survival depended on his ability to remaiep ahead of everyone who wanted him dead.

  As he tinued walking deeper into the woods, his thoughts turoward the future—toward those who might still be waiting for him. There were still enemies out there, lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment. But for now, Zhao Heng would keep his cool and move forward, knowing that every step he toht him closer to his ultimate goal.

  [--------------------------------------------]

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