Five more Rank 2 Demonic Beasts now circled around him, each pair of glowing red eyes glared with hunger.
Just killing one had nearly cost Langtian his life. His body was broken. His legs were wrecked. His sword was shattered.
So how the hell was he supposed to survive five more?
But even then, he refused to fall.
Not without dragging at least one more down with him.
"RAAAAAAARGHHHH!!"
With a defiant roar, Langtian shoved the heavy corpse of the demonic wolf off himself, forcing his shattered body upright. His muscles screamed, bones creaked, but he stood.
He ripped off his blood-soaked robe and tossed it aside.
Beneath, his body was bruised and battered, yet still powerful. His muscles rippled under torn skin, trembling from effort, but holding firm. His breath came in ragged bursts.
And still, he raised his fists. His eyes blazed with defiance.
"No sword? Fine!
"I'll rip your goddamn throats out with my bare hands!
"I'll crack your skulls and paint the ground with your brains!"
He exhaled, grounding himself. The thunder in his chest slowed.
A low growl rumbled from the beasts.
One of the wolves lunged.
It shot toward him in a streak of shadow and smoke.
Fangs wide, aimed straight for his throat!
Langtian moved on pure instinct.
He twisted, bones screaming, and narrowly dodged the killing bite.
The wolf's teeth snapped shut right beside his ear, like two blades missing their mark by inches.
Then, he struck.
Langtian's fist, wrapped in blood and fury, slammed into the beast's skull with a bone-shattering CRACK!
BAM!!!
The sound echoed like thunder.
The wolf's head jerked sideways, jaw dislocated, fangs snapping with a pitiful click.
Blood gushed from its snout as it staggered, dazed.
But Langtian didn't stop.
"HA! HOW DOES THAT FEEL?!"
He roared.
Then charged! His feet barely steady, and slammed another punch into the wolf's eye socket with brutal force!
CRUNCH!
The beast let out a strangled yelp, one of its fangs flying loose from the impact, clattering across the stone like a chipped dagger.
Langtian raised his arm for a third strike—
But then, another wolf blindsided him.
CRACK!
A sickening snap echoed through the forest as his ribs shattered on impact.
His body was sent flying.
WHAM!
He crashed back-first into a thick, rotting tree.
"Blargh—!"
Blood burst from his mouth, splattering the ground in crimson streaks.
Behind him, the tree exploded into splinters, unable to withstand the force of the blow. Shards of bark and wood scattered in all directions.
The wolves circled him again, red eyes glowing through the mist.
Even the one he'd stunned with his fist was already back on its feet, shaking its head and snarling, as if the hit had been nothing more than an annoying itch.
Langtian groaned, trying to rise. His hands trembled against the dirt. His body screamed in protest.
And then, a sharp, stabbing pain tore through his chest.
His breath hitched.
A rib… had pierced something deep inside.
He collapsed again, face contorted in agony.
"Fuck…"
He couldn't move now.
His body refused to respond properly.
And he lay there helplessly, brokenly, bleeding into the dirt.
'Is this it?'
'Is this… how I die?'
Langtian's vision blurred, but his hatred flared brighter than ever.
His lips twisted into a snarl.
"Yan Hao Yang!" he roared, voice hoarse and cracked, but burning with fury.
"Even if I die… I'll come back as a ghost! I'll find you! I'll haunt you for the rest of your miserable life!!"
He forced his bloodshot eyes open and glared at the approaching wolves.
Five of them.
Five demons with fur and fangs, stalking through the mist.
"COME!" Langtian roared. "You bastards—COME EAT ME! KILL ME IF YOU DARE!!"
His eyes blazed with defiance, so wild, so full of fury and madness that the beasts actually hesitated.
One of them even took a step back.
But then… realizing his roar was the cry of a dying man, they moved again.
They closed in.
One of them lunged.
Langtian didn't close his eyes. He just stared forward, teeth clenched, ready to meet death head-on.
Suddenly—
SLASH!!
Something crashed down from the sky, blazing like a red meteor.
A shockwave rippled through the air, scattering mist and dust in every direction.
In a single, devastating motion, the charging beast was bisected cleanly in half.
Blood sprayed into the air in twin arcs as the demonic wolf's body split down the middle, collapsing to the ground with a wet, heavy thud.
"WHAT?!" Langtian's eyes flew wide in disbelief. "A… giant eagle?!"
For a split second, that's what it had looked like, with massive wings, talons, the silhouette of a predator diving from above.
But no.
It wasn't an eagle.
It was a person.
The image had been an illusion, a phantom of sword aura, shaped like an eagle.
The deadly mirage was a result of sheer speed, precision, and terrifying power.
Langtian stared, stunned. His mind reeled.
Who could do this?
Who had strength enough to slay a Rank 3 Demonic Beast with a single strike?
And then it hit him.
That high-speed, sky-diving attack…
The way the blade cut cleanly through its target, without pause…
The soaring aura, shaped like a predator of the skies…
He recognized it!
SKY BURIAL!
One of the legendary techniques from the Eighteen Sky-Hunting Eagle Strikes! It was the signature move of his senior sister, Shangguan Yue Ling!
As the dust began to settle, the figure became clearer.
A woman.
She stood there between him and the beast, tall and commanding, her presence fierce and unshakable.
She wore dark clothes that rippled in the wind. In her hand, she held a massive dao, not made of iron, but carved from white, jagged bone, glowing aggressively with a blood-red aura like hell fire.