Chapter 32

Panting, panting.

A young boy stumbled out of the woods, his expression clearly panicked and bewildered, like a frightened little animal, his movements desperate and uncontrolled. Beijiao Daxiong noticed that one of his shoes was missing, and his bare foot was bloodied and torn from the rocks and twigs on the ground.

The boy's face was wet, and considering his swollen red eyes, it was clear that the moisture came from the tears streaming down his face. Although Beijiao Daxiong had only known him for a short time, he could see that the boy was usually a very resilient person. For someone like him to be so terrified and in tears, something extremely serious must have happened.

The boy was none other than Dalang.

When Dalang saw Beijiao Daxiong, the courage that had sustained him seemed to vanish, and he fainted, his eyes closing as he fell to the ground.

Beijiao Daxiong, shocked, rushed over to support Dalang, carrying him to the campfire and giving him water and pressing his philtrum. It took great effort to finally bring Dalang back to consciousness.

When Dalang woke up, he saw Uncle Daxiong and immediately grabbed his arm, struggling to pull him away. However, Beijiao Daxiong, who weighed nearly two hundred pounds, was far too heavy for the young boy to move. Despite this, Dalang, as if possessed, continued to pull with all his might, clearly having lost his mind.

Suddenly, Beijiao Daxiong roared, "What happened!"

The roar was like a splash of cold water, instantly snapping Dalang back to reality. He stiffened, tears streaming down his face again. After a while, he sniffed and turned to look at the mountain-like constable, trembling as he said, "Uncle Daxiong, something terrible has happened. Sir Cidao has come to Beijiao Village..."

From Dalang's broken and panicked words, Beijiao Daxiong finally understood what had happened. The day after the three self-defense team members from Nanjiao Village left, a group of people suddenly arrived in Beijiao Village. There were only ten of them, but their leader was Cidao! Who was Cidao? He was a First-Class Armored Warrior, an Awakened One according to the classification system of the Central Continent.

Beijiao Village was full of the elderly, the sick, and the weak. Even ordinary strong men could easily dominate, let alone an Awakened One far superior to the average person. Without much resistance, the self-defense team from Nanjiao Village stripped Beijiao Village of everything, showing no mercy and committing a brutal act.

First, they loaded the stored food onto carts and took it away. In Beijiao Village, food was life, a necessity for surviving the winter. Losing their stored food meant they would starve when winter came, and they might not survive the season. Many villagers resisted, but the self-defense team from Nanjiao Village, being much stronger, brutally beat them down.

Next, Dalang's parents, who had fled from Nanjiao Village, were soon targeted. Dalang's father was beaten until blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and his mother was slapped until her face was swollen and her lips were bruised. If they hadn't sent Dalang to find Xu Dong, the young boy would have also been beaten severely.

At this point, the intelligent Dalang knew the intentions of these people—they had come to seek revenge.

In fact, such incidents were not uncommon in the Central Continent. In a feudal society, the central government had very little control, and the city lords generally only maintained order within their own cities, rarely interfering in the affairs of the villages under their jurisdiction. This was why there were constables. Unless the incident was extremely serious, even if reported to the city, it might not be handled.

Moreover, Cidao represented not just Nanjiao Village but also the backing of a larger force, making them even more brazen.

Hearing this, Beijiao Daxiong's teeth clenched, his eyes red with anger, and his body trembling. He forced himself to calm down and asked, "What about Shengnan?"

Dalang, now more composed, thought for a moment and said, "I haven't seen Sister Shengnan. It seems she and Fatao ran off somewhere..." He looked around and then, with a tearful voice, added, "Where is Dongzi? They came for Dongzi. If he doesn't show up, my parents will be killed."

Mentioning Xu Dong, Beijiao Daxiong fell silent, his expression changing, but he remained quiet. If Dalang were good at reading people, he would have noticed the subtle signs on his face.

To be honest, Beijiao Daxiong had never met anyone as "terrifying" as Xu Dong.

Why use the word "terrifying"? Because Xu Dong was incredibly harsh on himself, treating himself as if he were not human. On the first night, he had already walked half the path of despair and even entered a state of enlightenment, but a critical moment of unexpected failure led to his failure.

Logically, failing at the brink of success is often the most demoralizing, and the injuries Xu Dong suffered were severe enough to make him want to give up. Beijiao Daxiong had even prepared a speech to boost his morale. However, to his surprise, after recovering a bit, Xu Dong eagerly resumed his efforts.

It was like a piece of red-hot iron, hammered and then immediately thrown back into the fire to be forged again!

For two days and two nights, Xu Dong worked tirelessly on the crucial twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth stone bases. By the end, he seemed almost mechanical, automatically running to the shore to continue after being pulled out of the water. In such a state, even the toughest iron would be forged into steel, and Xu Dong's success was inevitable.

After breaking the speed limit, the silent Xu Dong produced the divine fruit representing the power of speed, then turned and entered the forest, not reappearing until now.

As he was thinking, a long whistle suddenly sounded from the nearby forest. The whistle was not particularly shocking, and it didn't startle many birds. However, it gave a sense of continuous vitality. The whistle lasted for a full minute before gradually fading, and Beijiao Daxiong's expression relaxed.

Even Dalang sensed something and couldn't help but exclaim, "Was that... Dongzi? Did Dongzi become a First-Class Armored Warrior? That means we have two Awakened Ones?"

The power of Armored Warriors was deeply ingrained in people's minds. While the details might not be well-known, even rural children could describe the general concept.

Typically, Armored Warriors were divided into:

- First-Class Awakened Ones, whose inner strength had awakened.

- Second-Class Forgers, whose inner strength was rapidly advancing.

- Third-Class Wanderers, who could control their inner strength freely and were capable of adventuring across the continent.

- Fourth-Class Reborn Ones, whose physical strength had undergone a qualitative leap, even allowing for limb regeneration.

- Fifth-Class Judges, legendary figures said to control the elements and possess immense power. "Mondo" in everyday language was a powerful Judge.

In Dalang's eyes, Forgers and above were only heard of in stories; he had never seen one. However, he knew what the lowest rank, Awakened Ones, meant. If a village had an Awakened One, it would rarely be bullied by other villages. If it had two Awakened Ones, it could almost walk with its head held high!

Thus, when Dalang realized that Xu Dong had become a First-Class Awakened One, his excitement and agitation were immense. His only thought was, "We have two Awakened Ones, so my parents will definitely be saved!"

Xu Dong soon appeared before them, and Beijiao Daxiong, from the moment he saw him, stared at him up and down. Dalang, though not knowing the external signs of an Awakened One, was filled with admiration and hope.

After a few seconds, Beijiao Daxiong finally asked softly, "Xiaodong, you don't seem to have changed much, just more energetic..."

Xu Dong also inwardly sighed. After becoming an Armored Warrior, he finally understood the nature of power and some of its principles. The divine fruit contained powerful life essence, and to become an Armored Warrior, one must absorb enough of this essence. Therefore, those with strong life essence are more likely to benefit from the divine fruit, which is the principle behind breaking through the barrier and absorbing the fruit.

When the inner strength reaches a certain level, it triggers latent genes, leading to the growth of a powerful biological armor, the origin of the flesh armor. From what Xu Dong knew, when the genes of people on the Central Continent were activated, they often developed magical body armor or higher-level bone armor.

However, Xu Dong's biggest problem was that he was an "outsider" from another world, lacking the genes necessary to develop biological armor. Even if he underwent some form of transformation, these genes were still incomplete.

The most direct manifestation was that Xu Dong could feel the strength within him and even trigger the flesh armor, but he could not control it, losing the ability to enhance his strength. In other words, unless something unexpected happened, he would remain at the level of a First-Class Awakened One for the rest of his life.

Seeing Dalang, Xu Dong's mind raced, quickly connecting the dots to the only possibility. Without explaining to Uncle Daxiong, he glanced at Dalang, "They really came?"

Dalang, with red eyes, nodded, "Sir Cidao specifically wants to kill you. If you run, he will kill everyone in the village, and... my parents. Dongzi, please..."