I Grind to Martial Saint

Dark clouds blotted out the sky as a cold rain drifted down.

BOOM!!!

A ghastly white serpent of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating a gray-white building.

On the top floor of this building, a figure holding an umbrella gazed out at the gloomy, rainy scene, coughing from time to time.

"Master... we've lost contact with Lao Liu and the others."

A masked man in black stepped out from the shadows, cupped his fist, and reported.

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... To fail even when hunting a mere Ding Zihu..."

The umbrella-wielding figure's tone grew harsh.

But his body seemed truly weak; the moment he got agitated, he began to cough violently.

"Master, please don't get worked up!"

The masked man in black said hurriedly.

The umbrella-wielding figure took a deep breath. "Send Liu Shisan... You must get the Black Phoenix Pearl back for me!"

"Yes!"

The masked man in black cupped his fist and turned to leave.

After going downstairs, he wound his way through numerous gloomy buildings.

Finally, he arrived at a courtyard.

Within this courtyard was a small lake.

Despite the rain, a man in a Conical Hat and a Raincoat was still sitting by the lake, leisurely fishing.

The masked man in black came up behind him but didn't dare disturb his fishing, so he just waited quietly.

After a while, the man suddenly whipped his fishing rod.

A large fish leaped from the water's surface.

The man placed the large fish into a bamboo basket and said flatly, "What is it you want from me this time?"

"Something happened to Lao Liu... The Master wants you to retrieve the Black Phoenix Pearl."

The masked man in black said respectfully.

"The Black Phoenix Pearl... You people really believe that legend?"

Liu Shisan scoffed.

"But for the Master, it's a glimmer of hope, after all," the masked man in black said mildly.

"A useless struggle."

"Tell the Master... after this job, we're even."

Liu Shisan stood up, dusted off his rear, and disappeared into the drizzle, carrying his basket.

...

「Over a month later.」

Han Yuan and Ding Zihu finally arrived at the foot of the Taicang Mountain Range.

The Taicang Mountain Range was considered the central region of Nanwu Province, and the Government Office's influence here was practically nonexistent.

Within this Taicang Mountain Range, there were no cities or towns, only tribes living deep in the ancient forests.

"So this is Taicang Mountain, the place that drives so many Abnormal People mad... It really does look strange."

Ding Zihu muttered to himself as he gazed at the mountain range before them.

Even though it was broad daylight, the Taicang Mountain Range was still shrouded in white mist, with the faint outlines of massive, dark shapes showing through.

They looked like demons with bared fangs and brandished claws.

But in reality, they were just towering, ancient trees.

"Let's go in and take a look. Be careful."

Han Yuan also felt there was something odd about the Taicang Mountain Range.

In a primitive place like the Taicang Mountain Range, there were naturally no mountain paths; you just had to walk right in.

The moment they stepped inside, the light dimmed completely. Dark green, towering trees were everywhere, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of dead leaves. Strange sounds echoed from time to time.

Ding Zihu took out his Compass to get his bearings, only to find that it was malfunctioning.

"Han Yuan... If you're really set on finding someone, I think we should first find a local to be our guide."

Ding Zihu suggested.

"Mm... Let's see if there are any tribes nearby first."

Han Yuan nodded.

This Taicang Mountain was just too vast. Searching aimlessly was out of the question, so getting help from a local tribe was a good idea.

The two of them began walking through Taicang Mountain.

They had only walked a few hundred meters when Ding Zihu felt he had stepped on something and looked down.

SWISH!

A grayish-white python suddenly leaped from the pile of dead leaves, bared its fangs, and lunged at Ding Zihu.

Just as Ding Zihu was frozen in fear...

A large hand grabbed the python and casually flung it against a large rock on the ground.

BANG!

The grayish-white python's head instantly shattered into pieces.

"Holy shit... This Taicang Mountain is crawling with venomous creatures and fierce beasts."

Ding Zihu exclaimed in alarm, looking at the python's corpse.

"Be careful."

Han Yuan said flatly.

"Right."

After that experience, Ding Zihu once again took out his Eight Trigrams Mirror and hung it on his chest.

'With a Dharma Artifact protecting my body, I won't be afraid even if I'm attacked again.'

The next section of the path was extremely steep.

After climbing for more than an hour, they finally reached the summit.

However, they didn't have that feeling of standing above all the other mountains.

Instead, they saw even more towering, densely packed peaks, reaching into the clouds.

"So this is the Taicang Mountain Range..."

"There's always a taller peak beyond the last."

Ding Zihu shook his head as he looked on.

WHOOSH!

A streak of white light suddenly shot toward them from a distance.

The arrow was incredibly precise, aimed straight for Ding Zihu's eye.

But after his previous encounter, Ding Zihu was on high alert.

The moment he heard the sound of something cutting through the air, he immediately raised the Eight Trigrams Mirror on his chest!

SHIING!

The Eight Trigrams Mirror also shot out a ray of golden light, which collided squarely with the incoming arrow.

POOF~

The arrow exploded into a ball of fire in mid-air.

Han Yuan's gaze sharpened, and he instantly locked onto the opposite mountain peak.

A boy of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a Beast Robe and with some kind of mysterious pattern painted on his face, was hiding behind a large tree.

He seemed to sense Han Yuan's gaze, but instead of being afraid, he even made a provocative gesture.

He was on a peak over a hundred meters away from Han Yuan's, so he thought the other party was completely helpless to do anything to him.

Han Yuan smiled. His legs pumped rapidly, and when he reached his maximum speed, he leaped into the air, soaring toward the opposite peak.

He flew like a human cannonball; a distance of over one hundred meters posed no difficulty for him at all.

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