Chapter 58

"Feeling okay?" Hu Gao was a bit curious about what it felt like to be a blood slave.

Guo Dewen's expression changed, frowning, biting his lip, and lowering his eyes. After a long while, he managed to describe his feeling in one sentence.

"I want to eat you, but I'm afraid it will upset my stomach!"

As soon as the words were out, Guo Dewen realized there was something wrong with what he said and looked at Hu Gao with some fear.

"You're cursing me!" Hu Gao, however, laughed. He could see that Guo Dewen was indeed more fearful, and found his words quite amusing.

"I don't have the patience to play games with you. I'll ask you some questions now."

"Speak freely!" Guo Dewen answered straightforwardly, seemingly sensing that Hu Gao had no intention of further tormenting him.

"First, tell me about the Guo family."

Although Hu Gao was a descendant of the Hu family, he was very clear about his own situation. He was alone and still very weak, though he had extraordinary talent and astonishing cultivation speed, and a powerful divine beast by his side. However, he was still far from being able to compete with the top forces in Ningcheng. Therefore, he planned to cultivate his own power base, which would make things much easier for him in the future.

Initially, he didn't want to target a large family like the Guo family, but since Guo Dewen had come to him, he decided to give it a try. He planned to plant a pawn in the Guo family and, if the opportunity arose, bring the Guo family under his control to develop his own strength.

"Our Guo family is now lagging behind among the four major families. My grandfather is already very old and his strength has not improved. My father and others are still far from reaching that level. When my grandfather's time comes, our Guo family might even lose its status as one of the four major families."

"Hmm, I didn't expect the Guo family to be the weakest among the four major families."

Hu Gao was somewhat surprised. He had known that Ningcheng had four major families besides the Hu family, but he didn't expect the Guo family to be the weakest. If he brought the Guo family under his control, he wondered if the other three families would target them.

Sigh, I hope it will be beneficial for me in the end, otherwise, it would be a waste of effort.

Hu Gao had no choice but to take it step by step. After all, he was still very weak and couldn't afford to rush things.

Hu Gao then asked Guo Dewen more about the Guo family and gained some understanding of the other three major families. Unfortunately, it was best for him not to expose himself too much, as there were too many experts in the four major families. Any slight movement on his part could easily be detected.

Seeing Hu Gao in deep thought, Guo Dewen didn't speak but glanced at the other three companions lying on the hillside, feeling a sense of sorrow.

The three of them had died, and that was the end of it. Unlike him, they didn't have to live as someone else's blood slave, losing their freedom and dignity. Moreover, the three of them had left him with a problem to handle.

"Don't be sad, they won't die."

Hu Gao's words interrupted Guo Dewen's thoughts.

"What?!" Guo Dewen was startled, and a mix of regret, fear, and other negative emotions flooded his mind.

"I don't like killing, so they are still alive. I also don't like trouble, so you became a blood slave."

Hu Gao looked at the expressive Guo Dewen, ignoring his thoughts, and continued, "There's one more thing."

"What is it?" Guo Dewen felt a chill in his heart. He didn't understand whether Hu Gao's decision to keep the three alive was out of kindness or had some ulterior motive. The Land Rover was easier to deal with, but the two from the family were...

Now, Hu Gao had something else to ask him, and Guo Dewen felt like a frightened bird.

"During our fight, I felt you were wearing some kind of inner armor, right?"

"Yes!" Guo Dewen was relieved to have worn the armor, or he would have suffered more than just skin and flesh injuries from Hu Gao's punches. However, Hu Gao's next request made Guo Dewen's face turn sour.

"Wearing inner armor is bad for cultivation and can easily lead to dependency. Take it off and let me keep it for you."

"..."

Guo Dewen felt a sudden disdain, but quickly suppressed it. His earlier comment about "upset stomach" wasn't a curse but a genuine feeling.

Fear of someone who could kill you can lead to many concerns.

"This inner armor is a middle-grade human treasure, which even a ninth-stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist would find hard to break. It was a gift from my grandfather last year."

"This inner armor is quite good, able to withstand the attack of a ninth-stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist. Hehe, a good thing..."

Hu Gao almost without thinking, immediately took off his shirt and put on the inner armor in front of Guo Dewen, not feeling the least bit embarrassed. This thing was definitely a treasure. During the fight, he had been exhausted, and now he understood why it could even withstand the attack of a ninth-stage martial artist. No wonder it was so powerful.

Guo Dewen couldn't bear to watch and turned his head away, truly worried that he might lose control and attack Hu Gao.

"It fits quite well."

Hu Gao, after putting on the inner armor, felt it and nodded in satisfaction.

This thing was indeed a treasure for him now, at least he felt it was more useful than the Shadowless Sword.

Although he had a jade pendant to heal quickly, the injuries he had suffered in recent days had been very painful. Who would want to get hurt for no reason? It wasn't painless, was it?

Now, with the defensive inner armor, even if he got hurt in the future, it would be much better.

Unable to bear seeing Hu Gao fiddle with the armor that still carried his body heat, Guo Dewen tried to divert Hu Gao's attention. "The one lying on top is a Land Rover, not from my Guo family. He has quite a few treasures on him."

Hu Gao, hearing this, was delighted. "Go and get them for me!"

"Yes!"

Guo Dewen took the order and went to retrieve the items. Hu Gao watched as Guo Dewen walked to the Land Rover, stood there for a moment, said something, and then raised his Flame Lance, thrusting it into the man's forehead.

Indeed, he was ruthless!

Hu Gao laughed as he watched Guo Dewen return and present the items he had found.

Unlike what he had expected, the Land Rover didn't carry many items: some gold coins, a treasure sword, and a pair of wrist guards.

The sword was a high-grade human treasure, but Hu Gao didn't care for it. He already had the Shadowless Sword, and this broad and heavy Yanling Sword wasn't suitable for him. However, he didn't give up on it.

"Keep this sword for me for now. When we return to Ningcheng, you can give it back to me. These gold coins are a reward for you. It's not easy to come out here."

"Thank you!" Guo Dewen managed to say with difficulty, originally hoping to use the sword to get back the Shadowless Sword, but...

Hu Gao was interested in the wrist guards, which were of a lower grade than the Yanling Sword, being a middle-grade human treasure that could increase the user's strength.

Seeing Hu Gao put on the wrist guards and test their power by swinging his fists, the rapid punches made a loud sound in the air and left a large dent in a boulder, shattering it into pieces.

Guo Dewen once again felt relieved that he had worn the armor earlier and was also pained. He couldn't understand what kind of monster this sixth-stage Condensation Shadow Realm Hu family descendant was, so young yet with such powerful punches.

When Hu Gao struck the boulder, it was clear that his punch carried the sweeping force of the Pure Clear Palm, the concentrated inner strength of the Cangshan Finger, and the explosive external strength of the Rock-Crushing Cotton Fist!

"These wrist guards are made from the leg skin of a Rock-Leaping Giant Rhinoceros, which has tremendous explosive power and can leap on rocks. Wrist guards made from the skin of a Rock-Leaping Giant Rhinoceros can increase the wearer's strength by half a percent normally, and by one to three percent when activated with essence energy."

"You know quite a lot."

Hu Gao tried different essence energies to activate the wrist guards, finding them quite suitable for him. Although they were a bit hard to control, once he got used to them, the three percent increase in strength, combined with his two types of strength, made him feel quite excited.

Guo Dewen sighed. "These wrist guards were taken from me two years ago by this Land Rover. They were part of a complete set, made from the skin of the same Rock-Leaping Giant Rhinoceros, including wrist guards and foot guards. Unfortunately, my grandfather only managed to buy a pair of wrist guards."

No wonder!

Hu Gao understood. "I thought he was your friend. So, have you thought about how to explain today's events to your family?"

"He was a friend, but for you, he will be my target for revenge." Guo Dewen nodded in agreement with Hu Gao's idea.

"That's your business. You did well!" Hu Gao retracted his fist, showing a row of white teeth in a smile of approval.

"Hu Gao, are you going to enter the Dragon Armor Mountains?" Guo Dewen asked.

Hu Gao was indeed heading in the direction of the Dragon Armor Mountains.

Guo Dewen was quite worried about Hu Gao going to the Dragon Armor Mountains. There were too many beast monsters there, with first-stage beast monsters everywhere and even second-stage beast monsters in the outer regions. Generally, martial artists below the Body Transformation Realm would not enter the Dragon Armor Mountains alone.

"Ha ha, don't worry. I, Hu Gao, am not that easy to die." Sensing Guo Dewen's thoughts, Hu Gao smiled faintly, brushed his sleeves, and turned to leave.

After a few steps, Hu Gao suddenly turned back and said to Guo Dewen:

"Come on, call me master!"

This...

Ha ha, feels good!