Chapter 59

Seeing it was Bu Li, Wan Wan immediately activated the纹刻 (tattoo). A flash of light, and his entire body seemed to be enveloped in a grayish hue, as if he had turned into a rock. He raised his hands in front of his neck, blocking Bu Li’s dagger.

Both of them saw their opponent at the same time. Wan Wan had seen the mirage of Bu Li’s battle with Yang Canning, and Bu Li, through Hu Wu’s explanations, was already familiar with all the stronger young members of the legacy clans. Wan Wan’s tattoo beast was a rock beast, not the king of rock beasts, but it had reached the fourth rank. It not only had extremely high defense, but before activating its innate ability, it also had high agility. Otherwise, Wan Wan wouldn’t have been able to approach Bu Li.

Thoughts flashed through their minds. As soon as they met, Wan Wan had already channeled his soul power, activating the rock beast’s power to envelop himself in a rock-like defense. Even the wound on his left shoulder, pierced by an ironwood arrow, turned gray and stopped bleeding. However, his movements were somewhat restricted, clearly indicating that in this form, Wan Wan had lost his agility and was focusing on enhancing his defense, waiting for his companion’s help.

Undoubtedly, this was an extremely correct choice. Being caught off guard by Bu Li and suffering a severe injury, he would then face a close-quarters combat no less intense than a tattoo battle, and there was also that sleazy black bear hiding somewhere. Not to mention, Bu Li hadn’t even used his own tattoo yet.

A smile flickered across Bu Li’s lips. His tattoo technique hadn’t reached the soul-infused level, and he didn’t even know what the old vine’s ability was, let alone use the tattoo beast’s power to enhance himself like Wan Wan. However, Bu Li’s advantage lay in the dagger in his hand, which looked gray but could cut through anything.

As Wan Wan’s movements slowed, Bu Li didn’t change his approach, and the dagger stabbed directly into Wan Wan’s palm.

A soft “pfft” sound, and the gray on Wan Wan’s hand trembled slightly, the damaged area quickly covered by the nearby gray aura, and a tiny wound healed immediately.

Bu Li had intended to test it. If the dagger could break through Wan Wan’s tattoo defense, it would be like a child holding a treasure in the God’s Legacy Mountains, where anyone could see it through a mirage, making it highly coveted.

However, Bu Li’s previous assumption was incorrect. The dagger only broke through a bit of soul power and didn’t destroy it like it did in Bai Ling Town.

Disappointed but relieved that his rash action hadn’t caused any irreparable consequences, Bu Li hesitated for a moment and then retracted the dagger.

Bu Li twisted his ankle and rammed his shoulder into Wan Wan’s head. This was a passive defensive mode, and Wan Wan naturally knew that the rock beast was most effective when used in coordination or against an opponent with similarly high defense and low agility. Bu Li, however, was agile. On the Heavenly Gift Platform, he had faced Yang Canning, who was enhanced by the agility of a mountain leopard, and still held his own. Now, Wan Wan could only endure Bu Li’s attack and wait for his companion’s support.

Bu Li’s shoulder hit Wan Wan’s nose. Even with the rock beast’s defense, the impact on a vulnerable part of the body still caused Wan Wan to feel a sharp pain. His head tilted back slightly, and Bu Li raised his right knee, aiming for Wan Wan’s groin.

If the opponent was a girl, most men would hesitate and avoid attacking certain areas, like the chest or groin. But to Bu Li, there was only life and death, no distinction between men and women. If he let these thoughts bind him, wouldn’t that be foolish?

Bu Li’s knee hit something like an iron pole, and Wan Wan was directly knocked away. Although not seriously injured, he was both ashamed and angry, and a flush was visible under the grayish defense.

Bu Li, having landed a successful hit, didn’t stop. A yellow-green light appeared on his body, and vines emerged from the fallen leaves, one wrapping around the slowed Wan Wan, and another suddenly appearing from the ground to entangle the young man who was flanking Bu Li from behind.

Without pursuing, Bu Li retreated, and in a split second, he drew a crossbow with his left hand, not even looking, and fired an arrow at the person chasing him.

Bu Li’s arrow didn’t aim at the person but predicted the direction the young man would dodge the vine. His ten years of jungle hunting experience were fully displayed. The crossbow, powered by a mechanism, wasn’t particularly fast, but the position was extremely uncomfortable.

Moreover, Bu Li’s quick draw was extremely fast, without even a moment of thought, relying solely on years of experience and the subtle “feeling” in life-and-death battles.

The young man suddenly felt a gust of wind pass by his nose, carrying a faint scent of Qing Luo grass. Just this moment of hesitation was enough for his ankle to be tightly wrapped by the vine.

Bu Li threw Wan Wan to the side as if he had forgotten about him. His body, like a large bird, flew backward. In mid-air, he put away the crossbow and dagger, and his back, now a full moon, was drawn with an ironwood arrow, which gleamed black like the fang of a fierce beast.

Wan Wan, in a mix of shame and anger, steadied himself and noticed that Bu Li had abandoned him to attack his companion. This was clearly a tactic to test his speed and determine that he couldn’t pose a fatal threat in a short time. Wan Wan felt a surge of joy; this was exactly the result he wanted.

A silver ring on his finger was a treasure his clan had obtained from a merchant, capable of temporarily increasing agility. Even with the rock beast’s power reducing his speed, as long as he infused soul power into the ring, Wan Wan could become light and agile again. This would undoubtedly be a fatal change in the battle.

Despite being humiliated by Bu Li, Wan Wan remained resilient and didn’t use the ring. Finally, the best opportunity arrived, at least in his view.

As he infused soul power into the silver ring, his body suddenly relaxed. Just as he was about to change his speed, a powerful impact hit him from behind, striking his head.

Even with the rock beast’s defense, the blow was extremely painful. His body rolled forward, and another hit landed on his head. Da Hei had somehow sneaked up behind Wan Wan, and Bu Li, knowing Da Hei was there, completely ignored the slow-moving Wan Wan. In Bu Li’s eyes, once Wan Wan was enveloped by the rock beast’s light, everything was set. The only uncertainty was whether the person chasing him was Chu Zhongze. If it was Chu Zhongze, Bu Li would turn and run without hesitation.

Although Chu Zhongze’s pride would likely prevent him from ganging up, Bu Li still cautiously considered this possibility. Seeing that the person wasn’t Chu Zhongze, Bu Li finally felt relieved and, in a split second, signaled Da Hei to attack.

Da Hei’s palm struck Wan Wan’s head repeatedly, giving him no chance. Even with a body as hard as iron, the blunt force from Da Hei was no problem. He would either knock her out or kill her! The strong impact left Wan Wan disoriented, nauseous, and unable to stand.

As Bu Li retreated, his movements remained steady, without any deviation. He drew the ox horn bow, placed the ironwood arrow on the finger guard, and infused a bit of his soul power into it. Then, he released the arrow.

The scene seemed to slow down in Bu Li’s eyes. He hadn’t used soul power for the previous arrows because he knew exactly how much he had. With many more battles to come, Bu Li was cautious with his soul power. This time, with two tattooed warriors attacking him, Bu Li aimed for a one-shot kill.

The action played out frame by frame in Bu Li’s mind. The ironwood arrow slid along the finger guard, and a weak soul power entered it. The finger guard, for a moment, seemed transparent, and the soul power was clearly visible, moving like a fish.

The empty finger guard amplified this soul power, and a shadow appeared inside, somewhat blurry, as if the soul power wasn’t strong enough.

The ironwood arrow continued to slide along the finger guard, and the moment that seemed to last forever was a new experience for Bu Li, almost mesmerizing. The shadow in the finger guard finally found an outlet and entered the ironwood arrow.

The entire arrow became restless as the shadow infused it. Bu Li clearly felt the ironwood arrow gain a soul, restless like Da Hei being disturbed during mating. This feeling was vivid in Bu Li’s mind.

Roaring and raging, the speed enhancement from the finger guard made the ironwood arrow even faster, and Bu Li couldn’t believe it was his own arrow.

Bu Li didn’t see what the shadow on the ironwood arrow was. The scene and time returned to normal, and he didn’t see the arrow’s trajectory. A large blood splatter appeared on the opposite side, like a fountain.

The young tattooed warrior who had teamed up with Wan Wan didn’t even have time to activate his tattoo power. His upper body was directly shattered, turning into a rain of blood.

At that moment, not only Bu Li but even Da Hei was stunned, his hand pausing, almost letting Wan Wan escape. If not for her dizziness and disorientation, the outcome would have been uncertain.

The ironwood arrow didn’t stop, like a rampaging black dragon, disappearing into the forest.

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