Chapter 11: Counterattack

Branches of trees swayed, but every time they sent people to search, they found nothing, not even a trace of Shi Yan.

"Expand the search area!" Mo Yan Yu gritted his teeth and shouted, "Spread out, with this place as the center, search thoroughly! As soon as you see anyone, immediately release the blue smoke signal, and I will arrive immediately!"

The martial artists of the Mo family responded in unison.

"Will there be any trouble at the Earth Dragon?" Karu frowned, worried, "My medicine bottles are all there. If that kid goes there to cause trouble and destroys my medicine bottles, it will be a big problem."

"Master, don't worry. The Earth Dragon is guarded by Qiangsen and seven martial artists. Qiangsen has reached the Third Heaven of the Later Heaven Realm, and that little thief is no match for him," Mo Yan Yu said proudly.

Karu nodded, saying no more.

The Mo family's search party spread out further, the distance between people growing wider. Each martial artist had a blue smoke signal, so they didn't need to worry. As soon as they spotted Shi Yan, they could release the blue smoke and rest easy.

One martial artist walked with a grim face, muttering to himself, moving through a patch of shade. He would look up at the ancient trees from time to time and glance around at the surrounding shrubs.

After three days of searching, they hadn't seen Shi Yan at all. Given that Shi Yan was just a small martial artist in the Later Heaven Realm, these people didn't believe he would dare to stay nearby. They assumed he had left long ago, so they all felt resentful about the search, thinking it was a waste of time.

As this martial artist walked under the dense branches of an ancient tree and instinctively looked up, a sudden wave of murderous, icy, and evil aura descended from above. Shi Yan's figure suddenly appeared, pouncing like a hungry wolf, and kneed him in the face.

"Bang!"

A powerful force surged, and the martial artist's face was covered in blood as he fell backward, tears and blood mixing in his eyes, blinding him.

Holding a dagger, he swung it wildly, shouting, "Here! He's here!"

Just as he was about to release the blue smoke signal from his left hand, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. Unable to bear the pain, he loosened his grip, and the blue smoke signal was snatched away.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Shi Yan's expression was cold, his eyes turning a dark red, filled with murderous intent. He moved swiftly around the martial artist, dodging the wild swings of the dagger while kicking him repeatedly in the head.

Essence energy surged through his legs, each kick as heavy as an iron hammer. After just five kicks, the martial artist was lifeless.

Shi Yan stepped forward, taking the dagger from the martial artist's limp hand and calmly slicing his neck.

Invisible currents of energy, mixed with fear, anger, and other emotions, flowed out of the martial artist's body and quickly entered Shi Yan's acupoints. In just a few dozen seconds, the martial artist was drained of all his essence, becoming a shriveled corpse.

Shi Yan frowned, searching the body. He found a bag of food and over thirty purple crystal coins, which he took without hesitation. Then, he left, moving through the forest like a ghost, quickly disappearing.

This was his first time killing, but he felt no fear. He remained calm throughout, feeling a sense of satisfaction and release with each powerful kick to the martial artist's head. It was as if he was born to be a warrior, destined to take lives in battle.

The pleasure of killing was something he enjoyed immensely. He felt a sense of release, as if the pressure of the past few days had suddenly been lifted when he cut the man's throat.

Shi Yan knew this was wrong. He understood that something was wrong with his body. A normal person would not be so calm and composed during their first kill, nor would they feel such a euphoric high.

The energy from the martial artist's body flowed into his acupoints, and the urge to kill resurfaced in his heart. After a short while, a strange energy infused his essence, making it even more refined and powerful.

This was a tangible benefit!

For five consecutive days, Shi Yan moved like a ghost in the forest, striking from the shadows. Each attack was swift and decisive, and he always killed his targets before they could release the blue smoke signal.

In five days, three more martial artists were killed. Each time Mo Yan Yu and his team discovered the bodies, they found them shriveled and drained of all essence and blood.

Mo Yan Yu grew increasingly anxious and restless. He and Karu searched the forest, hoping to find Shi Yan. They began to sense the danger.

The first dead martial artist had a mangled face and head, with signs of a struggle.

The second and third dead martial artists were ambushed from behind, stabbed several times in the chest and abdomen, but there were also signs of a brief struggle.

The fourth dead martial artist was cleanly decapitated, with no signs of a struggle.

From the four dead martial artists, it was clear that Shi Yan's killing techniques were becoming more proficient. The forest seemed to be his stage, where he skillfully used the terrain to hide and hunt like an experienced hunter.

The deaths of the four martial artists made the others uneasy. Mo Yan Yu and Karu began to take the matter seriously, ordering the other martial artists not to act alone but to move in pairs. This way, if one was ambushed, the second could immediately come to their aid, preventing a silent and swift kill.

In the dense, dark forest, high up in a tree, Shi Yan sat cross-legged, hidden among the leaves, watching the distant figures moving below.

They've learned, Shi Yan thought coldly, knowing that a one-hit kill would now be more difficult.

He didn't rush to act. After observing for a while, he noticed that after losing four martial artists and now moving in pairs, their search efforts were no longer comprehensive. They were not heading in his direction but searching in other directions.

Confirming that they wouldn't come his way soon, Shi Yan closed his eyes and focused his essence. The essence energy from the people he had killed, which had not dissipated immediately, was absorbed by his acupoints and purified, then returned to his body, increasing his essence by more than double.

With a thought, the flow of essence energy accelerated, clearly more powerful, surging through his veins like lightning, from his abdomen to his right arm. As the essence energy reached his arm, he held his breath, focused, and suddenly exerted force!

The essence energy in his arm suddenly surged like a wild horse, rushing toward his index finger!

"Zzzt!"

A faint silver smoke emerged from his index finger, making a strange sound in the air. The smoke didn't coalesce but quickly dissipated.

Shi Yan suddenly opened his eyes, his dark pupils gleaming with excitement.

Essence energy overflow!

This was a sign of the Third Heaven of the Later Heaven Realm. After this period of intense training, he had finally advanced to a new level with the help of the strange energy returned by his acupoints.

Although the overflowing essence energy was not yet condensed and could not form a luminous arc, from now on, he could inject essence energy into weapons and directly damage an enemy's internal organs. This indicated that he was gradually mastering the use of essence energy.