Chapter 11: Taking Down the Golden Body
Chapter 11: Taking Down the Golden Body
In the mountains.
A stream.
A fisherman.
A lightweight stream fishing rod lay before Ling Yi. Beside him, an old radio played a classic tune.
The sunlight was warm, the breeze gentle.
The melodious song drifted into his ears, as if wanting to carry the listener across time and space back to the past.
This feeling was very relaxing, very comfortable.
He never thought Gu Tong had such a hobby. Nowadays, besides driving, very few people listened to the radio.
Let alone such an old thing—it was rare, and even its batteries weren’t easy to buy.
Suddenly, the extremely slender tip of the fishing rod trembled fiercely twice.
Ling Yi focused and lifted the rod.
Whoosh!
The thin but tough fishing line made a sharp, taut sound in the air.
Whirring!
The not-very-deep stream water immediately churned.
Water splashed everywhere!
The fish struggled violently, erupting with a tremendous force disproportionate to its size, desperately trying to break free.
But it was like a brief flurry—only fierce at the start, gradually losing strength.
Ling Yi held the bamboo rod steadily with one hand. No matter how the fish struggled, it couldn’t escape.
After a while, the fish finally gave up and was meekly dragged to the bank by Ling Yi.
The next moment, Ling Yi lifted a fish about a foot long, slender and shimmering gold all over, from the clear stream water.
He removed the hook and tossed it into the fish basket, which already held five or six fish of similar size.
Golden Fine Scales, a specialty of Spring City. They contained special spiritual energy within their bodies, which could slowly alter the user’s physique, making them extremely expensive on the market.
This type of fish demanded extremely high water quality and was only found in the mountain streams around Spring City.
Ling Yi stretched lazily and murmured, “The simple pleasures of mountain life… the life I’ve always dreamed of!”
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the dense forest leaves, casting dappled light on his young, handsome face, making it look very carefree.
Just then, a shrill alarm suddenly came from the old radio beside him—
“Warning, a demon beast invasion detected forty miles west of the city. People in the area, please evacuate quickly…”
Fifteen or twenty seconds later—
“Warning, a demon beast invasion detected thirty-five miles west of the city. Please…”
Another roughly twenty seconds later—
“Warning, thirty miles west of the city…”
Within a short minute, warning announcements came one after another from the radio, and they were coming fast!
Ling Yi was a bit confused.
What thing was this fast?
A flying demon beast?
And it seemed like it was heading toward his location?
He stood up cautiously, quickly packing his things.
This demon beast was too fast. If he didn’t want a direct confrontation, it was better to leave early.
Suddenly!
Ling Yi looked toward a direction deep in the dense forest, gently set down the fish basket, and his expression turned serious.
A creature covered in long crimson fur, wolf-like in appearance but tiger-like in size, over two meters long, was now less than fifty meters away from him.
It hid behind a shrub, its cold eyes fixed on him.
It probably intended to ambush him, but being spotted immediately led to a standoff.
A third-tier demon beast, the Crimson Wolf!
But in broad daylight, didn’t it realize how eye-catching its red fur was?
What was it hiding for?
“Unlucky.”
Ling Yi twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered.
He stood motionless, locking eyes with the Crimson Wolf in the forest.
He couldn’t make any sudden moves, or it would be seen as an attack.
He definitely couldn’t turn and run either—that would make the Crimson Wolf pounce immediately.
Facing a third-tier demon beast, even he had to give it his all; the slightest carelessness could mean disaster.
“Since this guy’s been spotted, the City Guard Army should arrive soon,” Ling Yi whispered to himself.
Facing a Crimson Wolf he could usually handle easily, Ling Yi now seemed cautious.
His injuries had mostly healed after treatment with Old Man Chen’s medicine, but the seal on his acupoints remained as solid as ever, impossible to budge.
With the strength of first-tier skill training, facing a terrifying third-tier demon beast, honestly, Ling Yi wasn’t too confident either.
At this moment, the Crimson Wolf seemed to think this lone human would be easy prey. It emerged from the forest and slowly approached him.
Ling Yi watched the slowly approaching Crimson Wolf and spoke in a friendly tone, “Brother Wolf, could we make a deal? No attacking each other, peaceful coexistence, how about that?”
The Crimson Wolf let out a low growl from its throat, its fierce eyes holding a hint of mockery and disdain.
Ling Yi sighed, shed his lazy demeanor, and looked somewhat helplessly at the ever-advancing Crimson Wolf. “Can you calm down? If you really fight me, you’ll die!”
Perhaps thinking this human talked too much and was cowardly.
The Crimson Wolf kept pressing forward!
Now only about ten meters from Ling Yi, it was well within the optimal attack range.
Without any hesitation, it lowered its front body slightly, its two strong hind legs powerfully pushed off, and it leaped into the air—
Opening its bloody maw, revealing sharp, glistening fangs, it pounced toward Ling Yi!
It brought with it a gust of wind carrying a fishy smell!
Ling Yi’s body swayed lightly. Stepping with agile footwork, he deftly dodged the Crimson Wolf’s bite. His right hand formed a fist seal and punched straight at the wolf’s chin.
Precise and ruthless!
Thud!
Ling Yi’s fist struck the Crimson Wolf’s chin hard, producing a sickening crunch!
He shattered the Crimson Wolf’s jaw with one punch!
At the same time, using the immense force of the wolf’s pounce, he guided it aside… employing a technique of minimal effort redirecting great force!
The Crimson Wolf’s large body was immediately flung away, landing with a splash in the stream, sending water flying everywhere.
Ling Yi leapt forward. A sharp knife appeared in his palm, and he stabbed it straight into the incredibly hard skull of the Crimson Wolf without hesitation.
The Crimson Wolf’s skull, hard as metal, was pierced by Ling Yi’s knife!
A fierce instinct for survival drove the Crimson Wolf into a frenzy of struggle.
Its immense power was like a heavy-duty truck!
A Third-tier Demon Beast wasn’t exactly rare, but it was enough to threaten the safety of an entire city.
Ordinary people had no ability to resist such a thing.
Without the support of his Acupoints’ power, Ling Yi was flung far away. He landed on the bank, rolling several times before he steadied himself.
Covered in muddy grass…
Ling Yi frowned in disgust.
Fortunately, his knife strike had been perfectly timed. After thrashing wildly in the stream for a while, the Crimson Wolf finally stopped moving.
Ling Yi let out a long sigh of relief. He walked back into the stream and tried to pull the Crimson Wolf’s huge, heavy body out of the water.
He pulled with effort… but it didn’t budge.
Ling Yi sighed in exasperation. Once again, he used the small knife in his hand to cut open the Crimson Wolf’s skull. The incredibly hard skull of this Third-tier Demon Beast was as fragile as tofu before this blade. A triangular cut was made with ease.
Flicking away that piece of skull, the Crimson Wolf’s brain was exposed. Ling Yi lightly tapped the center of the brain with the tip of his knife. A one-centimeter square Demon Beast Core, shimmering like a sparkling ruby, flew out.
Ling Yi picked up the Crystal Core, washed it clean in the stream, shook off the water forcefully, and then stuffed it into his pocket.
Then he stood in the cold stream water, took off his clothes and pants, washed them vigorously with the stream water, wrung them out, put them back on while standing on a rock.
Being soaking wet was very uncomfortable, but it was better than being covered in filthy mud.
He glanced at the Crimson Wolf’s corpse, figuring the City Guard Army would probably arrive soon. He planned to let them take it directly. They could have it for dinner tonight.
Right then, Ling Yi suddenly felt like he was being watched by a fierce beast!
He whirled around. At the edge of the dense woods, less than thirty meters behind him, a very ordinary-looking middle-aged man in gray clothes was watching him with great interest.
“Good knife,” the middle-aged man said.
His voice was somewhat hoarse, and his accent sounded strange.
But Ling Yi’s heart suddenly sank!
He had heard this voice before!
Taking a deep breath, Ling Yi looked at the middle-aged man and said, “You flatter me.”
“Your martial skills are profound, worthy of a master!” the middle-aged man praised again, then grinned. “What a pity…”
As he spoke, he began walking toward Ling Yi.
“What are you…” Ling Yi looked at him, tightening his grip on the knife.
“Stop pretending. You’ve heard my voice. You know why I’m here,” the middle-aged man said, launching an attack directly!
He flew into the air and threw a powerful fist down at Ling Yi!
This strike was far more terrifying than the Crimson Wolf’s attack earlier!
A powerful pressure instantly enveloped Ling Yi completely.
Against an attack of this level, forget about now, even before his Acupoints were sealed, Ling Yi couldn’t have blocked it!
That fearful Golden Body Master who had participated in surrounding his Adoptive Father on Black Mountain had finally tracked him down!
A master of this level was practically invincible in Spring City. So even if Gu Tong and the others arrived now, they would only be coming to their deaths.
At this critical moment, Ling Yi shifted his feet in a specific footwork pattern. Enduring the terrifying Domain Field projected by the Golden Body Master, he desperately dodged to the side.
Whoosh!
A terrifying blast of wind rushed toward his face. Ling Yi’s body was directly hurled away.
Where the blast passed, trees snapped, earth and stones flew, and the stream’s flow was severed!
Ling Yi’s body tumbled several times in the air before landing over twenty meters away.
Staggering, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
But what shocked and confused him was that the force sealing his Acupoints inside him had vanished without a trace in that very instant!
His power had mysteriously… suddenly returned at this moment!
Not far away, the middle-aged man’s punch had missed. A fierce gleam flashed in his eyes. He leapt into the air again, formed a fist seal, and pounced toward Ling Yi.
At this moment, a slightly lazy, clear, and cold female voice suddenly echoed in Ling Yi’s mind—
Great dreams are reluctant to wake, one sleep lasts a million years.
Awakening from dreams to ascend, far from the ties of the mortal realm.
Ling Yi, whose nerves were already stretched taut, was almost disturbed by this sudden voice.
Relying on instinct, he subconsciously moved his feet in the footwork pattern, dodging the middle-aged man’s attack once more.
This time, however, it was an evasion powered by his restored Second Order, eighth level strength!
“Huh?”
The middle-aged man let out a surprised exclamation.
Although he still couldn’t sense any Spiritual Energy fluctuations from Ling Yi, this dodge… was easily over ten times faster than before?
The clear, cold voice in Ling Yi’s mind also let out a soft sound of surprise.
“Ah!”
Ah, my foot!
Ling Yi was almost scared out of his wits by the voice in his head. What the heck was this?
Could it not be so startling and jumpy?
The middle-aged man, sensing something was wrong, was now on high alert. He charged at Ling Yi again.
“Step to Kaiyang, Tianji, Tianshu positions!”
The clear, cold voice in Ling Yi’s mind spoke extremely fast.
Ling Yi stumbled, nearly messing up his footwork under the influence of the voice.
At the same time, he angrily roared in his mind, “Are you crazy?”
Following the footwork pattern, avoiding another fierce punch from the middle-aged man, Ling Yi turned and ran!
He couldn’t win at all; what was he waiting for if not to run?
The middle-aged man grew frantic too. His head was about to split trying to figure out how this kid had suddenly regained his power?
He had been clearly struggling just moments ago when killing that Crimson Wolf…
But that didn’t matter. No matter what, he had to die!
The middle-aged man chased after him at a frantic pace, closing the distance significantly in the blink of an eye.
The terrifying pressure from the Golden Body Master almost suffocated Ling Yi!
The clear, cold voice in his mind quickly sent another thought—
“Listen to me if you want to kill him, otherwise we’ll both die!”
“Are you that stone?”
“You’re the stone! Is this the time to discuss this?”
The transmission of thoughts was far faster than spoken words. While running for his life, Ling Yi communicated with the thought in his mind.
Just then, the middle-aged man finally caught up.
Swinging his arm, he threw another punch… aiming squarely at Ling Yi’s back.
That suffocating sense of oppression arrived instantly!
“Yuheng, Tianji, Tianxuan!”
The thought urgently transmitted itself.
Ling Yi gritted his teeth. Following the direction of the thought in his mind, he quickly stepped to the Yuheng, Tianji, and Tianxuan positions.
What happened then stunned him!
He suddenly found himself behind the middle-aged man!
Ling Yi didn’t even understand how it happened before the thought came again in his mind—
“Stab his Gate of Life Acupoint!”
Ling Yi raised his hand and stabbed with the knife—
Thud!
That impossibly sharp small knife stabbed hard into the middle-aged man’s Gate of Life Acupoint.
At the same time, the thought in his mind spoke again: “Tianquan, Tianxuan, Tianshu positions…”
“Ah!”
A shrill scream erupted. The middle-aged man twisted his body, unleashing a surge of immense power. With all his might, he drove his right elbow backward toward his attacker, but hit nothing.
Ling Yi stepped on the Tianquan, Tianxuan, and Tianshu positions, instantly circling from behind the man to a spot sixteen or seventeen meters away.
The middle-aged man’s eyes seemed about to burst. He let out a roar at Ling Yi like a lion or tiger, trying to give chase, but a torrent of blood gushed from his mouth.
He staggered a few steps, then tumbled headfirst to the ground.
Ling Yi stood there in a daze, his scalp numb, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his legs trembling slightly.
Looking at the blood-stained knife in his palm—
“I killed a Fourth-Order Golden Body?”