The Treasure Hoarders, seeing a fat sheep, watched him transform into a vicious wolf.
With a single Move, Ryan severely injured their pugilist.
The remaining people came to their senses.
"He's tough! Let's go together!"
Gray light enveloped their bodies; that was a one-star artifact.
Being reduced to Treasure Hoarders, and the weakest group among them at that, their wealth was naturally not much.
The money they robbed and stole, when split evenly each time, wasn't enough to accumulate a set of two-star artifacts.
They worried not about scarcity, but about unevenness.
There was no thought of contributing wealth to single-handedly upgrade one person's equipment and strength to better facilitate future robberies.
Unless everyone upgraded together, they wouldn't buy anything even if they had the Mora.
"Flying Kick!"
"Sweeping Leg!"
"Triple Sweep Kick!"
Moves aren't about being few, but about being practiced.
These Treasure Hoarders had thoroughly researched Cheng Yaojin's Three Axe Moves.
The big-bellied strongman possessed agility unbefitting his physique; his thick fat and powerful legs carried strong DEF and ATK.
Rain splattered, and mud flew everywhere.
Fists and legs clashed.
The green light threads on Ryan's artifact remained undisturbed as he blocked with both hands and retreated.
On his left and right, four people surrounded him, punching and kicking.
As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands, let alone facing a double-digit number of enemies.
But Ryan's physical quality was already much stronger than that of ordinary people.
The DEF of a full set of two-star max-level artifacts was even more powerful, weakening most of the enemy's ATK.
There was also the effect of the rain.
Even if he stood there and let them hit him, it would be painless.
It was only physical ATK, without any element or elemental reactions.
Human fists and feet were too weak.
"I can withstand ten, a hundred hits! But you can't withstand the power of my fists and the power of my artifacts."
Ryan was momentarily at a disadvantage, but he remained calm.
He ignored the others, always picking one person to beat until he was crippled and lost the ability to fight.
"Tai Chi: Double Peaks Piercing the Ears."
Ryan kicked the groin, and as the opponent bent over, clutching his crotch with a distorted and ferocious face, Ryan's fists slammed into his temples, directly causing the opponent's head to go black and him to faint on the ground.
The pain ended, but his head buzzed in his dream, his brain shaking.
"Military Combat Fist: Horse Stance Horizontal Strike, Waist Lock Throat."
"Crotch Kick Elbow Strike, Bow Stance Palm Push!"
He disassembled the Moves of the boxing techniques, taking one or two at a time.
Even if he used them incorrectly and was hit, it was still a combat experience.
Ryan directly regarded this group of Treasure Hoarders as martial Dao sparring partners, constantly verifying the boxing techniques and Moves in his mind.
Crippling and injuring, as long as he didn't kill them.
He unleashed himself, fighting with immense satisfaction.
Every punch connected, blood splattering.
Over a month of training, the two boxing techniques merged and became proficient at this moment.
"Brat, you have no martial virtue!" Another person fell from a crotch kick, his face full of humiliation.
Ryan didn't care in the slightest, striking with his left hand, making the attacking person's nose bleed.
The human body has only a few weak points; whether striking first or defending oneself, all martial arts aim to hit these weak points as quickly as possible.
Therefore, in Tai Chi and Military Combat Fist, there are many Moves for dealing with the groin.
Ryan practiced them with great proficiency.
Next were the chest, waist, ribs, abdomen, head, and elbows, as well as the throat, and the wrists of the hands and feet.
"Damn it!"
The other Treasure Hoarders, watching their brothers fall one by one, could no longer hold back.
Their hearts were filled with rage.
They ran to their cart, one pulling out an iron shovel, another an iron hammer, and the last one pulling out a crossbow.
Ryan's eyes narrowed.
He noticed that the three people next to them also pulled out test tubes of potions emitting red, purple, and blue light.
Fire, Electro, Cryo, or Hydro, four element potions, representing intense danger.
They were the manifestation of Teyvat's most powerful forces.
"Kid, the Treasure Hoarders don't do business at a loss. Seeing that you're someone important, give each of us brothers 100,000 Mora, and we'll let you go."
"Otherwise, these crossbow bolts and element potions don't have eyes. Whether you live or die depends on your own luck."
Ryan unhurriedly reached into his backpack, pulling out an exaggeratedly shaped, exquisite crossbow, and the wu feng sword, filled with Killing Intent and stained with the blood of Hilichurls.
"You guys, are you trying to fight me to the death?"
His questioning tone carried arrogant confidence.
Blue ripples appeared in the puddle beneath his feet, allowing him to leave the muddy, slippery ground and step onto the thin surface of the water.
"Are you ready to face… half of your deaths… or… all of them?"
His heavy clothes, which should have been soaked, fluttered in the cold wind, as if bathed in bright sunshine, remaining dry and light.
The forest green light on the crossbow and Ryan's bizarre state left the Treasure Hoarders momentarily speechless.
Humans are not monsters; they are beings who weigh pros and cons, and they value their lives.
As new recruits to the Treasure Hoarders, they only had seven potions, and each one was hard-earned.
These single-use items cost Mora every time they were thrown.
If thrown without a return on investment, it would be better not to throw them at all, but merely use them as a deterrent.
"Brother, how about we make a deal? We're almost starving. How about you give each of us 50,000 Mora? No… 30,000 Mora will do!"
Seeing Ryan raise his crossbow, aiming it at him, the Treasure Hoarder who spoke slightly dodged, shifting his feet, and haggled.
"Get lost! Not a single Mora!" Ryan roared.
"Hand over the element potion formulas, and I'll let you off the hook!"
The Treasure Hoarders' faces fell. 'You brat, you want to rob us back, do you?'
"This time, we've fallen! Brothers, let's not go for a lose-lose situation!"
Ryan moved, seeing one person seemingly preparing to harm his two horses. He shot an arrow, hitting him squarely in the abdomen.
With a whistle, the horses, which had been untied earlier and were sheltering from the rain in a wooden shed, were very clever and immediately galloped away into the distance.
The man among the Treasure Hoarders holding the crossbow also shot an arrow, but it missed!
Ryan rolled to the right.
Unexpectedly,
the Cryo and Electro potions exploded violently right in front of him.
A layer of Frost formed on the ground, and white ice spread up his legs.
Purple lightning, accompanied by flashes, followed the ice and the water, transforming into a paralyzing current that caused numbness and pain.
Ryan didn't utter a sound; the DEF of his artifact was penetrated, but his powerful will and strong body allowed him to quickly recover from the paralysis.
His body's immune System began to reject the power of the elements.
The Frost was shattered by immense force, and a warm flow of blood coursed through his numb and Frozen legs, soothing his nerves.
"How is that possible?"
Seeing the combined effects of Electro, Hydro, and Cryo elements, resulting in Superconduct, Electro-Charged, and Frozen, yet Ryan did not lose his mobility, all the Treasure Hoarders were greatly alarmed.
"A two-star max-level or a three-star artifact?"
Ryan's face was ashen. He shot his crossbow and swung his sword.
One shovel scooped up mud, and a large hammer swung down.
The water on the ground propelled Ryan's body, sliding past the mud, and striking the large hammer.
The rain was healing him.
Throughout Teyvat, there was life force everywhere.
Water is the source of life!
Ryan's adrenaline surged; the greater the crisis, the stronger his power.
The stagnant, almost slow evolution, surged again.
The protection of the spring water and the immune System, circulatory System, hormonal power… seemed to begin to combine.
Becoming nourishment for evolution.
Or rather, a part of it.
The River of Life grew stronger, stirring up surging waves.
Layers of power pressed out through his fascia and muscles.
The strongman wielding the hammer was sent flying three meters away by the force transmitted through the thin sword blade.
Piercing metallic friction sounds produced sparks and scratches.
"Monster!"
"Retreat!"
Either pained by their last remaining potions or having judged that they couldn't defeat Ryan, the Treasure Hoarders shouted, throwing out smoke bombs one after another.
Dense, grayish-white mist, under the night and rain, obscured all vision.
Ryan could only hear the panicked footsteps, growing fainter and fainter.
When the mist dissipated, two people lay on the ground, hit by arrows, two were unconscious, and one was limping…
Those who were awake looked grim; their brothers were too disloyal.
At least carry us away!
"Speak! How can I spare your lives?" Ryan pressed the tip of his sword against a man's throat, cutting his skin.