Chapter 43

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The mountain wind blew, whistling and bringing a chill.

The grass swayed with the wind, like waves undulating and stretching far away. The red-spotted leopard remained motionless, and Chen Zong seemed to have turned into a statue, with only his hair and the corners of his clothes fluttering in the wind.

As time passed, Chen Zong became increasingly calm, entering a state that defied description. It seemed as if the entire world had been reduced to just himself and the red-spotted leopard before him, with everything else disappearing.

The figure of the red-spotted leopard in front of him seemed to grow larger, filling Chen Zong's eyes.

Facing a beast for the first time, even a low-grade first-level beast equivalent to the fourth level of the Blood Qi realm, Chen Zong did not dare to underestimate it. This was not a sparring match but a life-and-death battle; the slightest mistake could mean death.

The red-spotted leopard moved, transforming into a bolt of lightning, swiftly covering several meters. It raised its sharp claws, tearing through the air with a ferocious and ruthless intent, aiming for Chen Zong.

It sensed danger from this human, but also temptation, the temptation of blood qi. Devouring the opponent would surely make it even more powerful.

The claws gleamed with a cold light, sharp to the extreme, like meteors from the sky, aiming to pierce Chen Zong's eyes. The chilling cold made his blood qi slightly sluggish.

"Amazingly fast!" Chen Zong was surprised. This speed was faster than any fourth-level Blood Qi realm opponent he had faced.

He activated the Fierce Tiger Technique, and the aura of a tiger suddenly burst forth from his body, accompanied by a tiger's roar, which startled the red-spotted leopard, making it mistake the human for a tiger-like beast.

Using the Blood Qi power of the fifth level, Chen Zong's arm strength was instantly increased by two thousand pounds, reaching an astonishing three thousand pounds.

Not only his strength but also his speed was enhanced.

His right hand instantly gripped the sword hilt, drawing the sword out of the scabbard like a bolt of lightning, the light resembling a crescent moon.

The Sword Drawing Stance!

The sword, like a crescent moon in the sky, was incredibly fast, slicing through the air in front of him. The speed of the sword was much faster than the red-spotted leopard, and the timing was perfect.

The precious iron sword once again proved its sharpness.

Chen Zong felt the sword cut through something, and a strange sound echoed. A splash of crimson appeared before his eyes, and a figure fell.

With a thud, dust flew up.

Blood dripped from the sword, and with a light shake, all the blood on the blade was flung off. Chen Zong's gaze then fell on the red-spotted leopard before him.

A huge gash was cut into its neck, almost completely severing it. Despite the severe injury, the red-spotted leopard was not yet dead, its body still twitching and struggling, as if trying to get up.

"Truly astonishing vitality," Chen Zong couldn't help but think, a surge of excitement welling up from deep within.

Below the red-spotted leopard's wound, a pool of crimson blood was shocking to see, the pungent smell overwhelming. Nearby, drops of crimson blood fell like a curtain onto the sandy ground.

Looking at the dead red-spotted leopard and then at the sword in his hand, he felt no discomfort, but rather a sense that the sword had truly been sharpened.

"At first, I thought that after the sword was polished, it was sharpened. Now I realize that that doesn't count as true sharpening," he murmured to himself, his expression a bit dazed. "Only when it draws blood is it truly sharpened."

"The sword is a tool of slaughter, its sharpness, straightness, and resilience. A sword that hasn't drawn blood is nothing more than a decoration, no matter how good it is."

The sudden clarity made Chen Zong feel as if he had grasped something, yet he also felt as if he had grasped nothing.

"No rush, no rush. Since this feeling has appeared, it will eventually be captured by me."

He said to himself, grabbed the red-spotted leopard's hind leg, which weighed several hundred pounds, and carried it back to the base courtyard.

"Brother Chen Zhong, today we have beast meat to eat," Chen Zong said with a smile.

"Such a large leopard, this is... a red-spotted leopard, right? One strike to kill, Brother Chen, your sword skills are impressive," Chen Zhong said, coming out and looking at the dead red-spotted leopard, suddenly startled and then exclaiming, "It seems that Brother Chen's strength is enough to sweep through most fourth-level Blood Qi realm opponents."

Chen Zhong didn't know that Chen Zong was already at the fifth level of the Blood Qi realm.

The two began to divide the tasks, fetching clear water from a nearby stream, skinning, washing, and removing the useless parts, separating the bones and meat. They set up two large iron pots, spread the skin to dry, and cut the meat into pieces, placing them in one of the large iron pots, adding some dried herbs less than ten years old, and cooking them over a high flame.

The bones were placed in another large iron pot with an appropriate amount of water to boil into bone gel.

For warriors, the flesh of beasts is a great supplement, and vice versa. The best way to consume it is raw, but neither Chen Zong nor Chen Zhong had such a habit, preferring to stew it for a better taste.

This stewing took two hours before a rich aroma began to waft out, but it wasn't enough. They reduced the flame to medium and stewed for another two hours, then to a low flame for one more hour.

Apart from adjusting the flame, the two continued to practice.

"What a good smell, what are you cooking?" Chen Waixiu came over, sniffing and asking.

"None of your business," Chen Zhong said coldly.

"Oh, that's... the skin of a red-spotted leopard. Is the pot filled with the meat of a red-spotted leopard?" Chen Waixiu's eyes lit up.

In the clan hall, they could also eat the flesh of beasts, but the meat sent from the mountains to the clan hall would inevitably lose some freshness and was limited in quantity.

"Get lost," Chen Zhong, who detested Chen Waixiu, immediately drove him away. Chen Zong also had no good impression of this person.

"You two are so boring. A red-spotted leopard is so big, you can't possibly finish it all. Besides, as clan members, shouldn't you share a little with me?" Chen Waixiu, with a thick skin, quickly approached the iron pot, about to lift the lid. A sharp, cold light flashed before his eyes, making him shiver and quickly retreat.

"Chen Zong... what do you mean? Are you going to kill me just for a bit of beast meat..." Chen Waixiu said with a stern voice.

"Shameful," Chen Zhong said disdainfully. "If you want to eat beast meat, go hunt it yourself."

"It's just a bit of beast meat, I don't even want it," Chen Waixiu, embarrassed and angry, pretended to turn away and suddenly kicked a stone, sending it like a meteor toward the iron pot, intending to knock it over.

If he couldn't have it, neither would they.

"You..." Chen Zhong didn't react in time.

But a flash of sword light shattered the stone, turning it into fine particles, some of which reflected back and hit Chen Waixiu, causing him pain.

"Chen Waixiu, you really deserve a beating," Chen Zhong, furious, rushed over and threw a punch. Chen Waixiu ran away.

"I can hunt beasts too," Chen Waixiu shouted as he ran.

"A despicable person," Chen Zhong didn't chase after him but said disdainfully.

"Never mind him, the stew is almost ready. Let's eat, Brother," Chen Zong said with a smile, not taking Chen Waixiu to heart.

Lifting the lid, an indescribable rich aroma filled their nostrils, making their mouths water.

The broth had very little oil, with large chunks of beast meat floating, very tempting. The other iron pot was still boiling, extracting the essence from the bones to form a gel.

The two began to eat.

After removing the unwanted parts and bones, the remaining meat weighed over a hundred pounds, enough for the two to eat for two to three days.

Next, they took turns patrolling the surroundings.

Chen Zong's range of movement grew wider, and the probability of encountering beasts increased. After the first battle and drawing blood, he no longer felt nervous when facing beasts, even medium-grade first-level beasts, and could fully utilize his strength to fight.

However, a medium-grade first-level beast, equivalent to a fifth-level Blood Qi realm warrior, was more powerful than an ordinary fifth-level Blood Qi realm warrior. The first time, Chen Zong had to use all his strength to kill it, and he was also injured, mainly due to his lack of experience in life-and-death battles with beasts.

As he engaged in more and more life-and-death battles with beasts, Chen Zong felt that his sword seemed to become sharper.

He knew it was just a feeling; the sword remained the same, unchanged. What had changed was his mindset and will.

A month had passed since he arrived here. During this time, Chen Zong had killed eight low-grade first-level beasts and three medium-grade first-level beasts. He was no longer the novice he once was.

"I feel that I am about to grasp the essence of the True Sword Eight Stances," Chen Zong said as he walked out to continue patrolling.

Each life-and-death battle with beasts had contributed to his growth in various aspects.

He delved deeper.

Suddenly, Chen Zong was locked by an overwhelmingly terrifying aura, making him shiver.

"What a terrifying aura."

"This aura is definitely stronger than a medium-grade first-level beast. Could it be a high-grade first-level beast?"

If it was a high-grade first-level beast, it was hard to say whether it was good or bad luck.

The stronger beasts near the mine had either been killed or driven away, and the most common were low-grade first-level beasts. Sometimes they would encounter medium-grade first-level beasts, but high-grade first-level beasts were rare.

A chilling sound followed, as if coming from deep within the throat, like rolling thunder, rushing into Chen Zong's ears.

Chen Zong's eyes focused, emitting a sharp light, staring in the direction of the sound. From behind a tree that two people could barely encircle, a figure slowly emerged.

It didn't look particularly large, about 1.8 meters long without the tail, and less than a meter tall, with a green body, smooth and glossy fur, and a strong, agile appearance.

Its green, luminous eyes were cold, cruel, and cunning, making Chen Zong instinctively feel uncomfortable. Its exposed fangs gleamed with a terrifying cold light.

Its back was slightly arched, like a spine protruding, as if made of steel.

This was a wolf, a large green wolf.

"Ironback Green Wolf... a high-grade first-level beast..." Chen Zong whispered, took a deep breath, and activated the second level of the Fierce Tiger Technique, accelerating the flow of blood qi, increasing his strength, and emitting a tiger-like aura, as if a tiger's roar echoed.