"Kid, you're not all that special after all!"
Zhang Sheng seemed to be gaining the upper hand, wielding his steel saber with increasing confidence, his attacks becoming more ferocious.
"Have a taste of my blade too, how about that!"
He raised his long saber high and brought it down forcefully.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Amid the crisp sounds, Wu Chen blocked four consecutive strikes.
The force capable of cleaving through iron transmitted through the saber's hilt, numbing his arm and causing his tiger's mouth grip to tingle. Blood surged through his internal organs, bringing a sweet metallic taste to his throat.
Seeing the blood at the corner of Wu Chen's mouth, Zhang Sheng knew victory was just ten strikes away.
He couldn't help but sneer: "Kid, so this is all the skill you have, yet you dare interfere in others' business?"
"Now, kneel down and call me grandfather, begging for mercy, then cripple one of your arms. If you amuse me enough, I might spare your life!"
"..."
Wu Chen remained silent, focusing only on blocking with his saber.
Facing Zhang Sheng's provocative taunts, he seemed not to hear them, maintaining his composure without losing focus.
However, watching Zhang Sheng's skillful bladework, his eyes grew serious:
"Someone with actual saber technique foundations is indeed different. With roughly equal cultivation realms, he still has the upper hand over me."
"But the stronger you are, the better the rewards when I defeat you, right?"
Through their brief exchange, he roughly understood that Zhang Sheng's martial prowess was similar to his own, with comparable strength and footwork—they were evenly matched.
Zhang Sheng's only advantage came from years of martial training, with a few crude but effective saber techniques at his disposal and more weapon experience.
This gave him the advantage in armed combat, making it difficult for Wu Chen to close in.
"But you see..."
Facing another incoming blade strike, Wu Chen no longer blocked directly. He dodged aside, using the opportunity to wipe away the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb:
"You're only about as good as the old me."
"But now..."
He gazed coolly at his status panel, where the proficiency indicator had just stabilized.
[Spirit Snake Steps: Great Success (300/300)]
[Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer → Body Tempering Realm Sixth Layer]
A familiar warm current surged within his body as his cultivation advanced another step, his strength suddenly increasing by fifty kilograms.
At the same time, the surging blood that had been disrupted from enduring seven or eight saber strikes settled back to normal.
Simply put,
He was fully recovered!
"What's wrong, run out of strength?"
Seeing Wu Chen dodge instead of directly blocking his next few strikes, Zhang Sheng, who had firmly held the advantage, intended to throw more taunts.
But when he saw Wu Chen's still-calm eyes, an inexplicable unease rose in his heart.
It was as if his opponent had become a different person in that instant.
"Hmph, trying to act mysterious? Take this!"
He struck fiercely, with even more power than before, trying to suppress the strange anxiety in his heart.
Facing Zhang Sheng's fierce attack, Wu Chen's technique remained unchanged, simply raising his saber to meet it.
In the blink of an eye, their figures crossed.
Clang!
The blades collided without flourish, sending sparks flying amid the metallic ring.
This was Zhang Sheng's all-out strike, a blow meant to ensure victory!
He had clearly seen blood at the corner of Wu Chen's mouth earlier, indicating that Wu Chen was nearly spent, at the end of his rope.
Even if Wu Chen had been holding back, Zhang Sheng believed this strike, if not enough to cut him down, would at least make him reconsider the wisdom of continuing to fight.
But when he felt the tremendous force transmitted through his saber hilt, Zhang Sheng's eyes widened in shock as he cried out:
"How is this possible!"
"His strength..."
The counterforce traveling up the saber hilt instantly numbed half of Zhang Sheng's body.
Moreover, under the impact of the powerful recoil, he was forced to retreat more than ten steps, crushing countless dry grasses before he could finally stop.
Zhang Sheng's right hand trembled uncontrollably, no longer able to grip the saber.
The tiger's mouth of his palm had split open to the bone, blood seeping out and dripping continuously from his fingertips.
It was a pitiful sight.
"How is this possible!"
"How is this possible!"
He stared blankly, unable to comprehend what had happened.
He couldn't understand how his opponent had suddenly gained such immense strength out of nowhere.
If you had such formidable power, then why did you struggle so much earlier?
Who were you spitting blood for?
Being taunted without retort, who was that for?
Enjoying the act?
If you had shown this strength earlier, wouldn't I have fled long ago?
Zhang Sheng's fighting spirit had completely vanished, replaced by thoughts of escape.
The moment this idea formed, he sprung off his toes, hooked up his fallen steel saber from the ground, and grasped it.
He leapt backward, intending to dash into the depths of the tall grass, using it as cover for his escape.
Wu Chen naturally wouldn't give him the chance to flee. While Zhang Sheng was still immersed in shock, he had already deployed his Great Success-level Spirit Snake Steps, silently closing the distance.
They were now only four or five steps apart.
Although both had mastered the Spirit Snake Steps to Great Success, Wu Chen's forward movement was clearly faster than Zhang Sheng's retreat, and his movements were more unpredictable.
Wu Chen wasn't accustomed to using a saber and worried about it getting stuck in bone again, so he simply sheathed the weapon.
He skillfully avoided Zhang Sheng's weak, powerless blade strikes, then closed in like a hunting leopard. His right fist carried tremendous power as it shot forward.
The White Ape Boxing at Great Success level struck out, creating a whistling sound as if tearing through the air.
Zhang Sheng felt a powerful force coming straight at his face. He wanted to dodge but it was too late.
Thud!
The fist smashed into his face with a muffled sound.
Under the heavy impact, Zhang Sheng's face caved in, his body flying high into the air. Blood and broken teeth sprayed out together. After hitting the ground and rolling several times, he lay motionless.
Wu Chen cautiously delivered two more sword strikes, confirming the man was certainly dead before beginning to loot the spoils.
He had hoped to find saber techniques among Zhang Sheng's belongings.
But after searching both corpses, Wu Chen only found three dry, hard barley cakes, several small porcelain bottles containing medicinal powders, and two water pouches that were nearly empty.
Beyond these, there was nothing else—no martial arts manuals that he had been hoping for.
This left Wu Chen somewhat disappointed.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Wu Chen finally walked over to Liu Wei, who was collapsed on the ground. He waved his hand in front of the dazed girl's eyes.
Seeing her expressionless face, he pondered for a moment, organized his words, and then asked gently:
"Are you there?"
"..."
At his gentle words, Liu Wei gradually came to her senses, her gaze slowly focusing.
Seeing the unfamiliar face before her, she showed fear and instinctively tried to flee.
But as she rose, her eyes caught sight of the corpses of Zhang Sheng and Zhao Shi ten feet away, and she suddenly realized.
She had been saved!
And her savior was the young man standing before her.
"Thank you, sir..."
"Save your thanks. Your father is waiting for you."
Seeing she was unharmed, Wu Chen waved dismissively, gesturing for her to follow as he turned to leave the tall grass field.
...
Rustle! Rustle!
Rustle! Rustle!
Shortly after the two had left, the tall grass deep in the field began to sway, the dry yellow vegetation shaking at a rapid frequency.
Something was moving under the cover of the vegetation.
Then,
Several figures emerged from the shadows of the grass, moving on all fours and emanating a foul stench.
In the sunlight, their true appearance was revealed.
Sharp, uneven teeth, long inverted eyes, bodies covered in tattered clothing.
These were monsters of unknown classification.
They had been dormant in the deep grass, awakened by the sounds of Wu Chen's fight, then drawn to the scene by the thick smell of blood.
The green pupils in the inverted triangular eyes of these creatures swayed left and right, searching for any hidden dangers in the surroundings.
After confirming the direction of the blood scent and ensuring there were no hidden threats, the monsters emitted excited growls:
"Woo woo!"
"Woo woo!"
With joyful sounds, the creatures swarmed toward the bodies of Zhang Sheng and Zhao Shi. They hunched their heads, buried them in the corpses' chests, and began feasting with great gusto.