Chapter 31

A day had passed, and Xu Dong's training results were quite impressive, managing to crawl halfway through the Despair Path. He finally got stuck between the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth stones. First, the distance between these two points was exceptionally long, reaching an exaggerated five meters. Unless he activated the acceleration skill of his small quick steps, with his current abilities, he absolutely could not cross it. Second, the area of these two stone bases was barely enough to accommodate two toes, meaning he had to land precisely on the tips of his toes to gain any leverage.

Thus, the more he struggled on the Despair Path, the more Xu Dong felt that the senior who had managed to pass it was profoundly mysterious. That person certainly did not have the ability to quickly recover his body through the devouring skill, so to pass this Despair Path, he must have made very few mistakes, far fewer than Xu Dong! What kind of superb skills and body control must that person have had!

It had to be admitted that this senior was undoubtedly a genius!

Failure is the mother of success. From the first step to the twenty-seventh, with Xu Dong's mediocre talent, he had to pay a higher price just by relying on his stubborn determination. Breaking through his own limitations in the waterfall could only come at the cost of pain, not ordinary pain, but the excruciating pain of broken bones and torn flesh.

So far, Xu Dong had suffered sixty-seven fractures and countless soft tissue injuries. To recover, he could only desperately use the devouring skill to obtain life energy for repair. Even so, the mental damage could not be healed by the devouring skill alone.

After a day of effort, the bright eyes of Xu Dong seemed to be covered with a faint layer of gray, dimming. It was almost evening, and he lay limp on the grass, his breathing barely audible. Others might have mistaken him for a corpse.

Beijiao Daxiong lit a campfire nearby, skillfully stirring the dry branches with a stick. Occasionally, a crackling sound came from the fire, and a flame would shoot up, making the fire even more intense. He calculated the time and, without hesitation, slapped Xu Dong on the shoulder, "Xiao Dong, let's go again!"

The eyes that had lost their luster finally flickered with a hint of vitality. Xu Dong sat up, subconsciously pressing his lips together, "So fast? I feel like I just lay down."

Beijiao Daxiong nodded toward the river, "No whining, get started."

When Xu Dong, dazed like a puppet, reached the river, his blurry eyes suddenly widened, and he exclaimed, "By Mondo, it's gotten so dark so quickly? I can't even see the stones, what am I supposed to do?!"

Beijiao Daxiong, sitting by the campfire, carefully roasted his wild boar meat. A drop of fragrant fat slowly slid down the meat, sizzling as it fell into the fire, making the aroma even more intense. The burly man smiled, "You've run at least twenty or thirty times today. Don't you know the path by now?"

Xu Dong felt a slight bitterness, "I can feel it, but without seeing it, I'm still hesitant."

Beijiao Daxiong turned his head and said softly, "If it were me, I'd trust my feelings more than my eyes. What the eyes see can be false, but the feelings honed through countless trials will never deceive you."

Xu Dong pondered for a moment, then his expression turned serious, realizing the truth in Daxiong's words. He took a deep breath, then took a small step forward and leaped. In mid-air, his right foot's toes, still instinctively spread, landed on the first stone base. His big toe and index toe spread to their maximum, accurately gripping the crevice of the stone base.

That was the feeling! Xu Dong's eyes suddenly brightened. Relying on his own senses, he pushed off with his toes and leaped again, landing lightly on the second stone base. It was clear that after a day of intense training, Xu Dong's control over his strength had improved dramatically, and his toe grip had been honed to perfection. From Beijiao Daxiong's perspective, there was a graceful and agile elegance to his movements.

When he quickly reached the sixteenth stone base, a strong impulse surged in his heart. Xu Dong suddenly closed his eyes, inexplicably entering a state of complete focus. In this state, there was no flowing water, only his body and the Despair Path beneath his feet. He "saw" some of the hidden stone bases under the water, a feeling of clarity that was indescribable.

Beijiao Daxiong, who had been closely watching, suddenly stood up, not even noticing the burnt smell of the roasting meat. He didn't know what kind of mystical state Xu Dong had entered, but he suddenly felt a subtle change in the boy's movements—his steps had a mysterious quality, like a gray-tailed swallow cutting through the water, giving a sense of perfect precision.

He watched as Xu Dong quickly reached the eighteenth stone base, then in the blink of an eye, leaped over six or seven more, quickly reaching the critical twenty-seventh step. Beijiao Daxiong's heart was in his throat, and he couldn't help but feel a cold sweat for the boy.

At that moment, Xu Dong landed on the twenty-seventh stone base with the tips of his toes, barely managing to grip it with two toes. In that instant, his figure burst forward like an eagle soaring through the sky, a sudden surge of power as if a new force had been injected into his body. With this force, he made a slight preparatory movement and then shot forward, covering the five-meter distance in a flash.

Just as it seemed he would safely pass this critical point, and even Beijiao Daxiong was about to cheer, fate played a cruel trick. A small silver fish, no bigger than a palm, suddenly leaped out of the water, brushing against Xu Dong's foot and disrupting his rhythm. The precise trajectory was thrown off.

Suddenly, a splash was heard! Xu Dong had fallen into the cold river.

Since the twenty-eighth stone base was the closest to the cliff and the waterfall, by the time Beijiao Daxiong reacted, Xu Dong had already been swept away. Without hesitation, Beijiao Daxiong lunged for the rope, grabbed it, and pulled back with all his might!

Misfortune never comes alone. A scream soon came from below the cliff. Given Xu Dong's resilience, it was clear that the injuries he had sustained in the accident were terrifying. When he was pulled to the shore, Beijiao Daxiong was so anxious that his eyes turned red.

Xu Dong's left tibia had a gash, with the white broken bone piercing through the skin, making his leg look like a twisted V. The tibia had likely pierced the major artery, causing a massive flow of blood that couldn't be stopped.

Meanwhile, in a cellar in Beijiao Village.

At the entrance of the cellar, there was a night watchman, the village's Third Uncle. Third Uncle couldn't stay up late, so as soon as it got dark, he wrapped himself in a blanket and fell asleep, snoring loudly. The snoring signaled the three self-defense team members waiting inside the cellar to start their plan. They found the pickaxe hidden in a corner and began to carefully pry open the door.

They had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The first three days, Daliang's parents had been constantly watching them, fearing they would escape, so there was no chance. Now, with only an old man guarding the door, it was the perfect time to act. These three, being the little tyrants of Nanjiao Village, couldn't help but think, "Hmph, you made me suffer for three days. Once we escape, we'll bring our brothers back and see who will be crying for their parents!"

With the tools in hand, opening the cellar's iron lock was a breeze. The old man outside was sleeping like a dead pig, so they had no trouble. After escaping the cellar, the three were overjoyed and ran back without delay.

By the time they returned to Nanjiao Village, it was just starting to get light.

The security officer of Nanjiao Village, Stab, had already risen to practice his daily routine. However, these past few days, he couldn't help but recall his encounters with Xu Dong. A boy who hadn't even grasped the power of a blood flesh armor had managed to toy with him, making him grind his teeth in anger.

At first, he thought this was someone sent by another force to cause trouble, but upon further reflection, he realized this conclusion didn't hold. With their capabilities, sending a first or second-class warrior would be a simple matter. Moreover, there was no reason for other forces to cause trouble.

Thus, the boy must have been some random kid. This realization only fueled Stab's anger, the humiliation gnawing at him, making it impossible to focus on his daily practice.

At this moment, a subordinate reported that the three missing self-defense team members had returned safely.

Stab immediately met with them and began a series of questions. After they recounted the events, a cold and fierce look flashed in Stab's eyes, and he muttered, "What a surprise, it's the people from Beijiao Village! Hmph, you can run, but you can't hide your home. This time, I'll see how you escape!"

The three, who had been imprisoned for days, saw the look on Stab's face and knew revenge was at hand. One of them urged, "Sir, what Beijiao Village did is like slapping your face. Why don't we gather all our brothers and go to Beijiao Village to settle the score?"

Stab smiled coldly, "You're right, we're not to be bullied. If we don't show them our strength, they'll think we're pushovers..."