The King Kong Bear, stimulated by the smell of its own blood, let out another furious roar and charged once more. Man and beast clashed again.
The two-meter-long halberd in Xiao Zhitian's hands became increasingly smooth and natural. From upward thrusts, straight stabs, horizontal sweeps, and vertical chops, he gradually transitioned into hooks, pecks, locks, and slashes. Each movement flowed seamlessly, his mastery rising with every exchange.
At last, the two separated once more.
Xiao Zhitian glanced at his tattered clothes and superficial wounds, then looked at the King Kong Bear opposite him, its fur stained deep red with blood. A trace of boredom surfaced in his eyes.
In the next instant, he vanished.
With a flash, he reappeared ten meters to the side, then suddenly appeared behind the King Kong Bear. Due to excessive blood loss, the beast's reaction had slowed. Lightning gathered on Xiao Zhitian's fist, condensing into the shape of a roaring lion.
"Lightning — Lion!"
The lion-shaped bolt of lightning smashed directly into the bear's heart from behind. The massive body trembled once before collapsing heavily to the ground.
Looking at the fallen King Kong Bear, Xiao Zhitian casually wiped his hand. A Grade Two Blood Coagulation Pill and a Grade Three Qi Recovery Pill appeared in his palm. He swallowed both.
Almost instantly, his wounds scabbed over, and his Dou Qi recovered significantly.
…
Within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, after killing the King Kong Bear, Xiao Zhitian found a nearby water source. After washing the blood off his body, he changed into fresh clothes.
Not far from the water, he discovered a cave. After a brief inspection, he confirmed it was abandoned. He cleaned it simply, then sat cross-legged to cultivate, digesting the gains from the day's battle.
Early the next morning, Xiao Zhitian opened his eyes. Feeling the aura within his body, he clenched his fist.
"I've finally broken through to six-star, and condensed two strands of Ice Fire Lightning. It's much slower than Extreme Wood Lightning… The further I go, the harder it becomes. I wonder when the system will reward me with something to accelerate the condensation."
Stretching his body, he walked out of the cave, confirmed his direction, and slowly moved forward.
"The timing should be about right. Little Fairy Doctor should be preparing to retrieve the treasure from the cave."
Xiao Zhitian could have taken everything himself, but nothing inside was absolutely essential to him. His purpose in coming to Qingshan Town was for the check-in and for Little Fairy Doctor. If she did not descend to explore the treasure, it would lose much of its meaning.
Hehe… those who understand, understand.
Just as he passed through a forest, an angry female voice rang out.
"What do you want to do?"
The voice sounded familiar. Xiao Zhitian moved instantly, appearing ten meters away in a blink. After several rapid steps, he arrived at the source of the sound.
Standing atop a tree, he looked down.
"Isn't that Little Fairy Doctor?"
At that moment, Little Fairy Doctor was surrounded by a young man and over a dozen mercenaries. Outside the encirclement lay more than twenty corpses — the remains of her protectors and members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. The scene clearly showed that a fierce battle had already taken place, and all of Little Fairy Doctor's guards had been killed.
The young man stared at Little Fairy Doctor, who leaned weakly against a tree.
"What do I want to do? Don't you already know?" he sneered. "Where is the treasure? You've been wandering for so many days. I've waited long enough. If you don't speak, I'll kill you right here and see how tough your mouth really is."
"How did you know?" Little Fairy Doctor asked, trembling.
"Hahaha! Your foolish assistant told me everything. A few sweet words, and he spilled it all." The young man's smile turned sinister. "If you still won't speak, then I can only…"
"Tsk tsk. Forcing a beautiful woman in broad daylight… not very nice."
The sudden voice made everyone freeze.
"Who? Who dares meddle in the affairs of this Young Group Leader?" the young man shouted as he turned around.
He saw a youth sitting leisurely on a tree not far behind him.
Little Fairy Doctor, who had been drowning in despair, heard the voice and found it familiar. She lifted her head.
"Is… is it you?"
"You don't need to know who I am." Xiao Zhitian's voice was calm. "Are you Mu Li, the Young Group Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group?"
Seeing the wolf-head emblem and hearing his self-introduction, Xiao Zhitian had already guessed.
"That's right, it's me!" Mu Li waved his hand. "Go! Kill this brat and let him understand the price of meddling!"
He left only two mercenaries behind to guard Little Fairy Doctor. The rest drew their weapons and charged at Xiao Zhitian.
"Kid, keep your eyes open in your next life. Don't run into my blade again," a five-star Dou Zhe mercenary sneered as he rushed forward with a saber.
Xiao Zhitian didn't even look at him.
A deep green, faintly red, two-meter-long halberd condensed instantly in his hand.
With a single casual sweep toward the charging crowd, a streak of light flashed across the members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Pfft!
More than a dozen four and five-star Dou Zhe had their heads severed in an instant. Bodies collapsed one after another.
Xiao Zhitian calmly looked toward Mu Li.
"Young Group Leader Mu Li, your subordinates don't seem very capable. Now… it's your turn."
Mu Li's face turned deathly pale. He knew he had hit an iron plate.
"Sir! I'll give you Little Fairy Doctor! She knows where the treasure is! I have money too — I'll give you everything! Please, just spare me!"
Xiao Zhitian vanished.
The next instant, the tip of his halberd sliced across the throats of Mu Li and the two remaining mercenaries.
Mu Li clutched his throat desperately, blood gushing between his fingers. He pointed at Xiao Zhitian, wanting to say something — but no sound came. Moments later, he collapsed lifelessly.
Xiao Zhitian looked down coldly.
"After killing you, won't everything be mine anyway?"
Little Fairy Doctor, terrified by the hellish scene, collapsed weakly to the ground. Seeing Xiao Zhitian walk toward her, she shut her eyes in fear. But no pain came.
She cautiously opened her eyes and saw Xiao Zhitian standing with his arms crossed, smiling at her.
"You're… not going to kill me?" she asked, trying to suppress her trembling.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have saved you."
After observing him for a moment, she finally confirmed he meant no harm. She extended her hand shyly.
"Then… can you help me up? My legs are too scared to move."
Xiao Zhitian glanced at her hand — slender like a tender shoot, fair like congealed jade. He reached out and grasped it. Her hand felt soft and boneless.
With a gentle pull, she stood up. After he released her, she leaned lightly against the tree, slowly recovering.
A deep Silver
flame appeared in Xiao Zhitian's palm. With a wave of his hand, the flame split into dozens of strands, landing on the surrounding corpses. In an instant, they were reduced to ashes. Another wave of his sleeve sent a gust of energy sweeping the ashes away.
A Qi Recovery Pill appeared in his hand.
"Much cleaner now. Take this — a Qi Recovery Pill."
Little Fairy Doctor stared at the flame he had used earlier, then at the pill in his hand.
"You're an Alchemist?"
"Is it strange that I'm an Alchemist?"
Seeing the triumphant look on Xiao Zhitian's face, the world where only Little Fairy Doctor was injured was achieved. She ignored his self-satisfaction, took the Qi Recovery Pill, and swallowed it directly.
After recovering some strength, she stepped in front of him.
"Why don't you ask me about the treasure?"
"No need. I already know where it is." Xiao Zhitian slightly tilted his head toward the cliff. "Isn't it just beneath that cliff?"
Little Fairy Doctor stared at him in disbelief.
"You… you actually know?"
"There's a lot I know." Xiao Zhitian walked straight toward the edge of the cliff and looked down. Under the sunlight, if one looked carefully, the faint outline of a cave could be seen.
Little Fairy Doctor stared at Xiao Zhitian's back.
Silently, a small bag of powder appeared in her hand.