Half a month.

Passed in a flash.

One afternoon.

Zhao Jianji hurried toward the training room where Wu Dao was in seclusion. He wore a grim expression, as if something major had happened.

WHOOSH—

As he came within a hundred meters of the training room.

A sudden, unnatural wave of warmth washed over him, the heat visibly shimmering in the air. He could clearly see the plants and trees around the training room in the distance withering away.

’Is he trying to become a demon?!’

Zhao Jianji gulped and instinctively froze in his tracks. He didn’t dare take another step forward.

The training room radiated heat like a fiery cage.

It felt as if a primordial flame demon was hiding inside a volcano!

The faint, searing, and violent aura of Qi and Blood made him tremble, feeling as if a giant hand had seized his heart!

He knew Wu Dao had been feverishly practicing some Cultivation Technique lately, though he didn’t know which one.

But no matter what kind of technique it was...

’How could anyone improve so terrifyingly in just half a month?’

’It must be some kind of Evil Skill, right?’

Fortunately,

the terrifying pressure subsided as quickly as it had appeared.

As if sensing Zhao Jianji’s arrival, the heatwave dissipated, the pressure receded, and everything returned to normal.

CREAK—

As Zhao Jianji watched with an anxious gaze, the door to the training room swung open.

Wu Dao’s towering, powerful figure, seemingly cast from steel, slowly emerged.

With every step he took, the green bricks beneath his feet cracked under the unbearable weight, a testament to the sheer mass of his body.

In the light of the setting sun, his exposed, perfectly sculpted muscles reflected a dazzling, indestructible metallic sheen!

’This isn’t a man!’

’He’s a Fierce Beast of tempered steel!’

A primal fear of a superior predator, buried deep in his genes, forced Zhao Jianji to bow his head low, an unconscious gesture of submission.

Haaa—

Wu Dao glanced at Zhao Jianji with dark eyes like polished Fine Steel, exhaled a hot breath, and took a black robe from the rack by the door, draping it over his body.

At the same time,

he mentally opened his attribute panel.

[Physique: Heroic (Great Success)]

[Extraordinary: Essence Devouring Art (69% Potential Release) +

Overlord Whale Fist 220 years (Thunder Listening) +

Giant Whale Skill 250 years (Sixth Layer) +]

[Teleportation Points: 40]

’One month of frenzied training!’

’Nearly twenty million taels’ worth of Elixir Pills!’

’The equivalent of 250 years of bitter cultivation for an ordinary person!’

My Giant Whale Skill has reached the Sixth Layer, increasing my body’s strength by the equivalent of six giant whales. My Transverse Cultivation has passed through the second gate—Qi and Blood Burning Prison!

These skills worked in synergy.

My brain underwent another transformation, greatly enhancing my mental strength.

Combined with the perfect fusion of my Micro Level Overlord Whale Fist,

although I haven’t reached the next realm, my Power has increased by a full 70 years, and I can faintly touch the barrier to the next stage.

The Potential Release for the Essence Devouring Art’s Heroic Domain has also reached the Great Success stage, saving me three hundred Teleportation Points!

Right now, Wu Dao’s

bones were like thirty-times refined Fine Steel!

His flesh, blood, and organs were composed of countless strands of twenty-nine-times refined Fine Steel Wire, making them indestructible!

The scorching Qi and Blood surging within him was as hot and abundant as molten lava!

Indestructible Fine Steel, a Yang Demon walking the earth!

It was no exaggeration to say this described the Wu Dao of today!

However,

Wu Dao was completely calm about this. He had experienced far greater power in his previous life, so his current level was not enough to excite him.

The only thing he felt,

was a desperate urge to vent, to move a body that was starting to feel rusty after a month of no ’exercise’.

Over the past month,

with every advancement, Wu Dao felt a fire ignite within him, but he had nowhere to release it. The pent-up feeling was agonizing.

He had ordered a search for anything unusual throughout the entire county.

Unfortunately, the Human Dao was still dominant in this era. Abnormalities kept to the shadows and weren’t easily found, so the month-long search had yielded nothing.

’Lin Village...’

A vicious glint flashed in Wu Dao’s eyes. He decided it was time to deal with the "big hedgehog" in Lin Village.

Now that the Potential Release of his Essence Devouring Art had reached Heroic Great Success, future progress would be incredibly slow, even with sufficient resources and diligent training.

Therefore, he needed to hunt a large number of abnormalities to take the attribute panel shortcut, rapidly increase his strength, and establish a firm foothold in Guangqing Prefecture!

And right now,

just to go from Great Success to the Limit within the Heroic Domain

would require a whopping one thousand Teleportation Points!

To accumulate Teleportation Points quickly,

he had to hunt big fish!

Barring any surprises, the "big hedgehog" in Lin Village was likely a very big fish, one dripping with fat.

When he first arrived in Tan County, he had been wary and avoided stirring up trouble.

But now...

A 220-year Overlord Whale Fist at the Thunder Listening Meticulous level!

Heroic Great Success!

A Sixth-layered Giant Whale Dominating Body!

And if I activate my Divine, Ghostly, Celestial Release!

I wouldn’t be so bold as to say I could face an Innate realm master.

After all, the gap in quality is immense.

But against anyone below the Innate realm...

A sadistic smile crept across Wu Dao’s face. He rolled his neck, producing a series of loud, metallic CLANGS, like Fine Steel grinding on Fine Steel. Across from him, Zhao Jianji’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

After he finished dressing,

Wu Dao finally turned to Zhao Jianji, his expression calm. "You look like your ass is on fire. What’s wrong?"

HUFF... HUFF...

Zhao Jianji took several deep breaths, barely managing to acclimate to the heavy pressure radiating from Wu Dao’s body. With a grim face, he said,

"It’s Er Gou. Something happened. He’s lost half his life, almost didn’t pull through."

...

Inside the medical wing of the Martial Arts Hall.

The Instructors and Stewards of the Tan County Branch had all gathered, trembling as they watched the towering figure standing before the patient’s bed.

"Heh."

Wu Dao glanced down at Chen Ergou, who was wrapped up like a mummy on the bed and unconscious after receiving treatment. A chilling smile touched his lips as he turned back to Zhao Jianji. "Who did this?"

’Tan County is my territory!’

’And in my territory, I am the Beast King!’

’To dare harm one of my hounds!’

’That’s a slap in my face, a direct challenge for my territory!’

’And a territorial dispute is a fight to the death!’

"The people... from Lin Village," 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Zhao Jianji said, his head bowed and his voice trembling, finding it difficult to breathe.

"Lin Village?"

Wu Dao ground his teeth.

A month ago,

he had ordered Zhao Jianji to investigate Lin Village. A month was more than enough time to gather the basic information.

In short,

setting aside the "big hedgehog" hidden behind Lin Village,

on the surface, Lin Village

was a large settlement controlled by a single clan, with a population of nearly two thousand. It was run by the clan elders.

In times of peace,

Lin Village had been an unremarkable, ordinary clan settlement in Tan County.

But after chaos erupted in the Dali Dynasty decades ago,

Lin Village began to make a name for itself.

It produced a stream of capable people who were willing to fight and bleed. They came to control various trades and industries, becoming the undisputed underground Overlords of Tan County.

That lasted until the White Whale Martial Arts Hall rose to power and unified the northern part of Guangqing Prefecture.

Only then did Lin Village retract its tentacles. The entire settlement entered a state of semi-seclusion, becoming self-sufficient and extremely xenophobic, cutting off contact with the outside world.

If that were all,

Lin Village wouldn’t be considered anything special; you could just say it was a place that bred talent.

But the strange thing was,

ever since the chaotic era began, anyone who offended the village or tried to oppress them would mysteriously vanish without a trace—no living person seen, no dead body found!

The previous Hall Master of the Tan County branch,

had led his men to Lin Village

precisely because of a land dispute between Lin Village and a noble family from a town under the White Whale Martial Arts Hall’s protection. The day after the dispute, the entire noble household vanished.

But it was a one-way trip.

He, along with the Scribe and two Instructors, vanished inside Lin Village.

To this day,

the White Whale Martial Arts Hall headquarters has yet to provide a proper explanation.

Although Zhao Jianji and his men had investigated for a month,

Lin Village’s extreme xenophobia, combined with the fact that the clan had once been prosperous and still had many masters guarding it,

meant that every visit ended in failure.

Er Gou’s predicament this time

was most likely because he had relied on his Light Body Skill to sneak into Lin Village, where he violated one of their taboos.

Or rather...

a secret!

"Did Er Gou say anything when he returned?"

Wu Dao’s expression was impassive.

"Yes."

Zhao Jianji nodded hurriedly. "When Er Gou returned, he was nearly unconscious. He only managed to say two things—

The first was ’Stone God.’

The second was...

’He will die after dark.’"

’Stone God?’

’Die after dark?’

Heh...

’Do they really think they’re King Yama?’

Wu Dao’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at the sun, now fully set on the western horizon, and a savage grin spread across his face.

...

「Night fell quickly.」

The moon was bright, the stars were few, and a refreshing summer breeze was blowing.

The Tan County Branch was deathly still, the silence broken only by the occasional chirp of a cricket.

The moonlight was eerie and cold.

It filtered through the window lattice, illuminating Chen Ergou’s twisted, terrified face as he lay on the bed, clearly in the throes of a nightmare.

The area around the sickroom was devoid of any human presence. No one stood guard, and the main gate was wide open, as if the day’s events had already been forgotten.

WHOOSH—

At a certain moment,

a sudden, unnatural, and chilling wind gusted in through the gate. The grass and trees in the courtyard bent low in its wake, and the last of the cricket chirps vanished.

On a night in the dog days of summer,

the temperature plummeted as the ghostly wind blew in, and a layer of white frost even formed on the leaves of some plants.

SNAP!

The very instant that ghostly wind appeared,

a hundred meters from Chen Ergou’s room, in the darkness, Wu Dao—who had been resting with his eyes closed—snapped open eyes that were darker than the night itself. He rolled his neck, producing a metallic CLANG.

After reaching Heroic Great Success,

his Spiritual Perception had already broken past the hundred-meter limit. Every blade of grass and every slight movement within the medical compound was clearly imprinted in his mind.

Naturally, he had noticed the strange, gloomy, and cold wind, as well as...

the ’little darling’ hidden within it!

WHOOSH—

In the courtyard outside the sickroom,

the ghostly wind passed through, leaving a trail of chilling frost in its wake.

Finally,

the ghostly wind coalesced into a twisted, blurry human figure just outside the sickroom door. The figure fell to its knees and began to kowtow bizarrely toward Chen Ergou inside.

If one looked closer,

one could see that this figure, flickering in and out of existence like a bad signal, was actually a young man.

But

his appearance was utterly horrifying.

Tears of blood streamed from his hollow eye sockets, and his mouth was stretched wide as if wailing and pleading. The top of his forehead, his Heavenly Spirit Cover, was shattered, with blood gushing forth like a fountain. The knees of both his legs were a bloody, mangled mess.

His tragic and terrifying appearance easily brought a certain story to mind—

He had suffered a great injustice in life, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

In the end...

he kowtowed a thousand times,

bashing his head open.

He knelt until his knees were ruined,

cried until he had no tears left,

and begged until his voice gave out...

but no one listened, and he died filled with hatred!

His boundless resentment transformed him into the life-reaping Fierce Gu he was today!

THUD. THUD. THUD—

The sound of kowtowing was abnormally loud, echoing clearly in the dead of night. In just a few moments, the black blood flowing from the bizarre youth’s head had flooded the corridor outside the sickroom.

That black blood,

as if possessing a will of its own, slowly coalesced on the floor into a shadow that matched Chen Ergou’s form.

The bloody shadow writhed, slithered under the crack of the door into the room, and crept like a snake toward the bed, where Chen Ergou’s face grew paler by the second.

THUD. THUD. THUD—

The kowtowing outside grew more rapid and louder, and the silent wails became ever more mournful.

Inside, the shadow had already climbed onto the bed and was just about to merge with Chen Ergou.