Chapter 28

"Only one person!" Qin Shuo said to himself in his heart.

Judging from the footsteps of the person coming, there should only be one person.

And the steps were light, landing without sound; it was very likely an Inner Strength martial artist.

He stood up and drew his bow, pulling the horn bow to fullness, aiming at the direction from which the strange sound came.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a square scarf on his head and a long saber at his waist walked out of the forest.

This person was tall and strong, and at a glance, one could tell he was a practitioner.

He had a dark complexion, sharp eyes, and a long, narrow saber scar on his forehead, which added a bit of ferocity to his already tough temperament.

"Stop right there! This place has an owner, and we don't welcome outsiders," Qin Shuo said coldly.

At the same time, he aimed his bow and arrow at the other party, wanting to let him know the difficulties and retreat.

The square-faced man before him didn't look like a good person at first glance, and Qin Shuo didn't want to let the other party approach.

Hearing this, the square-faced man paused, his gaze passing over Qin Shuo and falling on the Fire Yellow Sheep that was roasted golden and oily.

"Such a rich medicinal fragrance, it must be a superior exotic beast without a doubt."

He took a deep breath of the roasted meat aroma drifting in the forest, his face intoxicated, and greedy, hot light appeared in his eyes.

He entered the mountain this time just to hunt exotic beasts.

Now that he had encountered a roasted superior exotic beast, how could he let it go easily?

The kid before him looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed as a hunter, and should just be an ordinary person.

Although the other party was holding a bow and arrow, as someone at Inner Strength Minor Success, why would he be afraid?

Not to mention that the two were more than a hundred meters apart, could the other party hit him?

Even if he could hit him, so what? Could he still hurt him?

After achieving Inner Strength, his strength, speed, and reaction had all far exceeded ordinary people.

The Qin Shuo before him was just a child holding a knife to him, not worth fearing.

So he sneered: "Kid, I want that roasted sheep of yours. If you are sensible, get out quickly, lest you waste your life for nothing."

"Say it again! Stop right there, otherwise don't blame me for being merciless with my arrows," Qin Shuo issued a warning again.

If not necessary, he didn't want to fight with others for no reason.

Not to mention consuming blood-qi and physical strength, he might not even get any benefits, which was purely a losing business.

Therefore, if he could let this square-faced man know the difficulties and retreat, it would be the best.

However, he underestimated the attraction of superior exotic beasts to martial artists.

That rich, clear fragrance of precious medicine, mixed in the barbecue aroma, drifted away, making the square-faced man unable to help but swallow his saliva, his face full of greed.

"Giving you face and you don't want it! Then go to hell!"

The square-faced man's voice suddenly turned cold, his feet stomped heavily on the ground, and he rushed toward Qin Shuo.

"Swoosh!"

The bowstring twanged, the arrow broke through the air, pointing straight at the square-faced man's face.

Since the other party didn't listen to the advice, Qin Shuo naturally didn't bother with nonsense and went straight for the kill.

"Hehe!"

Seeing the arrow flying over, the square-faced man suddenly revealed a ferocious smile.

He saw him twist his waist, actually cleverly avoiding the flying arrow.

Then he raised his hand to grab it, his body turned a circle on the spot, unloaded the force on the arrow, and threw it back at Qin Shuo with his backhand.

Swoosh!

The arrow reflected back at a speed far exceeding the previous one.

Qin Shuo was startled by the square-faced man's method of catching the arrow with his bare hands.

Fortunately, his reaction and speed were not slow either, and he raised his hand to shoot another arrow.

Ding!

The two arrows collided in the air, making a crisp metallic clashing sound.

"What handsome archery."

The square-faced man raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting that this youth, at such a young age, actually had such exquisite archery, so he couldn't help but praise him.

"However, just this little skill is not enough to stop your grandfather me, hahaha."

The square-faced man laughed loudly.

Even if Qin Shuo showed amazing archery, he was still fearless, confident that he could take down this youth and enjoy the roasted meat of that superior exotic beast.

At this time, he was less than thirty meters away from Qin Shuo, and with his speed, he would not give that kid a chance to shoot a third arrow at all.

Qin Shuo also keenly noticed this.

He immediately abandoned the bow, opened the White Ape Stance, and delivered a punch toward the square-faced man who was pouncing over.

Bang!

Fist and palm collided, energy flew, making a dull, low sound.

The square-faced man retreated several steps in a row.

His solid back hit a large tree heavily, shaking the bucket-thick tree, leaves falling, and only then did he stabilize his figure.

"You are also a martial artist?"

The square-faced man was shocked; his right palm felt like it had been hit by a hammer, and there was a slight sound of bone cracking.

He never expected that the youth before him, dressed as a hunter, was actually a martial artist who had achieved Inner Strength.

"Guess!"

Qin Shuo sneered.

With that punch just now, he roughly figured out the other party's strength; it should be Inner Strength Minor Success, and his heart was immediately settled.

He possessed a thousand catties of strength and had successfully cultivated Inner Strength, so unless he encountered a martial artist with Great Success in Inner Strength, he was not afraid at all.

"Kid, don't be happy too early."

Seeing Qin Shuo looking at him with a playful expression, the square-faced man was immediately angry,

"I see your Inner Strength is thin; you must have just broken through with the help of that superior exotic beast meat, right?"

"This little bit of meager strength also wants to stop your grandfather me; it's simply wishful thinking."

As the words fell, the square-faced man stomped on the ground again, waved his palms, and slapped toward Qin Shuo.

Qin Shuo was happy in his heart.

He had just achieved Inner Strength and was not yet proficient in using it, so he could just use this person as a whetstone.

Then he used his palm as a saber, advanced and punched, and entangled with the square-faced man.

This was his first life-and-death struggle with someone, but he was not panicked in his heart.

Because whether it was strength, speed, or reaction, he was far superior to this square-faced man, and victory was in his hands.

However, he was not careless either; every punch was exerted with full force, beating the square-faced man into retreat.

The square-faced man became more and more shocked as he fought.

This hunter youth clearly had Inner Strength not as deep as his, but his strength was surprisingly large.

And the other party was clearly using him to practice; at the beginning, the use of strength was relatively unfamiliar, often appearing in situations where the fist had arrived but the strength had not.

But even so, he could not resist.

"Innate divine strength! This youth is actually also innate divine strength."

After several consecutive clashes, the square-faced man finally understood where this hunter youth's confidence lay.

Immediately, cold sweat broke out, and beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead.

The other party's Inner Strength cultivation was not as good as his, but that wild force was like surging waves hitting the shore, beating him until he had no power to fight back.

What was even more terrifying was that after only a few rounds, this youth was completely familiar with the circulation of Inner Strength, and his strength immediately doubled.

Bang!

After becoming familiar with the mobilization and circulation of Inner Strength, Qin Shuo no longer held back, and a hand-saber slashed heavily on the square-faced man's chest.

Crack!

The scalp-numbing sound of bone fracture rang out.

The square-faced man flew backward like a broken kite, spraying blood from his mouth, hitting a large tree heavily, his face pale as paper.

"Little brother..."

The square-faced man, who had fallen to the ground with serious injuries, felt miserable in his heart and just wanted to beg for mercy.

Clang!

The sound of a long saber being unsheathed suddenly rang out in the forest.

The square-faced man was scared out of his wits.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, he saw a cold light flash across his neck.

Immediately afterward, his head rolled off his body, dying with his eyes wide open.

Hoo!

After finishing all this, Qin Shuo exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

He endured the discomfort in his heart and began to search the square-faced man's body.

"Actually only a dozen taels of silver." Qin Shuo frowned.

After a fight, the result was only this little harvest, which made him somewhat unhappy.

"Hmm! So hungry!"

After a fight, the feeling of hunger after blood-qi consumption immediately surged into his heart.

"It seems I have to prepare some exotic beast meat jerky when I go out in the future; otherwise, where can I find food after a fight?"

Qin Shuo gnawed on the roasted sheep ribs that were already cooked through, and his thinking began to diverge.

Now that his Inner Strength was achieved, the goal of coming to Wolf Mountain to accumulate blood-qi could be considered over-fulfilled.

Logically, he could prepare to return to Heishui City.

But his strength had soared, and he could be considered to have the power to protect himself in Wolf Mountain; returning just like this, he was somewhat unwilling.

"Stay for a few more days, see if I can hunt another superior exotic beast; even if I can't, I can hunt a few more ordinary exotic beasts to take back."

Finally, Qin Shuo made a decision to stay in the mountain for a few more days to see if he could encounter another superior exotic beast.

Superior exotic beasts are hard to come by.

Although he had now broken through the Inner Strength barrier, his demand for exotic beast meat only increased and did not decrease.

And in this Wolf Mountain, superior exotic beasts were rare, but there were quite a few ordinary exotic beasts, which could just satisfy his need to accumulate blood-qi.

Time flew by for five days.

Qin Shuo entered the core area to hunt exotic beasts during the day and returned to the periphery area to rest at night.

In these few days, he had hunted quite a few ordinary exotic beasts.

There were red-haired wild rabbits, colorful pheasants, and even a crystal snake, all of which became his food.

Under the nourishment of these exotic beast meats, his Inner Strength became increasingly thick and solid.

From only being able to cover his palm originally, it grew to the point where it could cover his entire forearm, a surprising progress.

"It's not all because of the exotic beast meat; the more important thing is the medicinal power of the White Jade Ginseng King I took before," Qin Shuo said to himself.

As he moved forward on the martial path, he increasingly felt the preciousness of that White Jade Ginseng King from back then.

Not only did it give him a thousand catties of strength, but it also laid a solid foundation for his martial path.

"Go deeper tomorrow; if I still can't encounter a superior exotic beast, then I'll go back."

In a hidden cave.

Qin Shuo sat cross-legged in front of the fire, planning his next actions.

"Whew~ bang!"

Suddenly, in the northwest direction of the cave, in the depths of Wolf Mountain.

A signal arrow shot into the sky, blooming into brilliant fireworks in the pitch-black night sky.