Eternal Evil Emperor

The sun was gradually setting in the west.

Although Anlan Mountain stretched thousands of miles, the section within Yangshuo City wasn't very high. With Xie Tian's speed, it took him roughly twelve hours to approach the mountainside, moving intermittently, and the Dragon Leopard Wood in his backpack had already been reduced by twenty percent.

For him, who was severely lacking in primal energy, mountain climbing was also a highly effective form of cultivation—cultivating not only his frail body but also his scarce experiences and the timidity of someone new to the world.

No one knew how fast Xie Tian's heart was beating, not even Chen Qin, who had followed him and possessed the strength of the seventh level of the Savage Force realm. He could only see the calmness and steadiness that Xie Tian exhibited.

Of course, the main reason Xie Tian walked so slowly and steadily was that he needed to conserve his energy.

Thus, shocked by Xie Tian's composure, Chen Qin, who had caught up earlier, didn't dare make a move, even though Xie Tian seemed utterly depleted of primal energy. He wouldn't dare to, not until he had figured out the real situation.

Xie Tian had also noticed the person following him. He didn't know why the other had ill intentions toward him, but he could sense hostility with the first layer of the Xie Emperor's mental method, the Slight Success of Xie Kill.

With the Slight Success of Xie Kill, not only could he sense the people or objects around him, but more importantly, he now had a photographic memory. The four salted vegetable books that had been burnt were the best evidence of this.

As he ascended the mountain, the excited voices of Martial Artists or the agonizing howls of beasts were commonly heard. Of course, the roles could reverse, such as the screams of humans or the bloodthirsty roars of beasts.

When Xie Tian saw a motionless corpse about ten yards off the mountain path, he stopped in his tracks for a few moments, then veered off the path toward the corpse.

"Stop!" Chen Qin gestured to halt the group's advance, his eyes scrutinizing Xie Tian's every move.

This was Xie Tian's first encounter with death; the body had no breath, it was ice-cold and utterly still. Sensitive to primal energy, he noticed the residual energy in the corpse dissipating rapidly.

It was as if he saw his own future. His heart tightened, and to resist the fear, he wasted some of his primal energy, took a few deep breaths, and then squatted down.

He removed the protective armor from the corpse. On the chest of the armor, the clear imprint of a row of beast claws was visible. Its defense was greatly diminished, but Xie Tian didn't care and put it over his neck. He picked up a long sword from the ground, inspected it, and immediately discarded it because it was bent, and more so because he didn't know how to use it.

Whatever he deemed useful, he took from the corpse, either wearing it, pocketing it, or stuffing it into his backpack. In no time, the body was stripped bare; Xie Tian had changed into a new attire.

Just as he contemplated whether to waste some energy to dig a hole and bury the corpse that had brought him some good fortune, footsteps drew near. Xie Tian turned around to see a ragged young Martial Artist entering his view.

The young Martial Artist had eyes full of undisguised greed. What ignited his intense desire wasn't the tattered protective armor, but rather the egg stashed into Xie Tian's backpack, who looked almost lifeless.

"Hand over that egg, sever one of your arms, and I'll spare your life!" The young Martial Artist's blood-stained broadsword created several cold, glittering sword flowers as he stepped closer to Xie Tian menacingly.

Xie Tian trembled, stepping back twice before standing firm.

"You want to kill me."

"Hand over that egg, sever one of your arms, and if you say one more word, you die!"

"You want to kill me."

Xie Tian shook and took another step back.

"See that? Facing a Martial Artist of the fifth level of the Savage Force realm, he has taken two steps back, moving past the corpse to avoid any mishap during the fight." Chen Qin's eyes flashed with insight as he shared his astute judgment with the disciples behind him without thinking, "The second step he took cleared the half-man-high green stone behind him, leaving room for maneuvering. When the fight starts, he could use the stone to block the opponent's sword!"

With this analysis, the disciples of the Chen family suddenly had an epiphany. Those who had previously thought Xie Tian retreated out of fear involuntarily shrank their heads, filled with immense admiration for Chen Qin. This was true sagacity.

However, Chen Qin had guessed wrong. Xie Tian's first retreat was due to the fear he felt at the sudden danger. He had never fought in his life, let alone in a life-or-death duel. The second time was because Xie Tian felt that stepping back once more left him with nowhere else to go.

"Die!" A flash of his blade came down from above, and with the sword wind on his face, Xie Tian involuntarily shut his eyes, the fear that he had forcefully suppressed suddenly burst forth, quickly occupying his mind.

I'm going to die...

As this thought emerged in his mind, his eyes were already half-closed, and just as they were about to completely shut, something jolted him, and his eyes suddenly widened!

"Golden Snake emerges from its hole!"

The young Martial Artist, who had widened his eyes in anticipation of seeing the cripple split in half, suddenly saw a flash of golden light before his eyes. The next moment, he felt lighter, a pain in his chest, and a warm gush of blood surged to his throat uncontrollably.

Spurt!

Thump!

"What... what kind of move is this?" Chen Qin could hardly believe what he was seeing!

How had Xie Tian's body become so flexible, sliding along the edge of the blade like a snake, approaching the young Martial Artist?

The right fist that thundered out, why did it triple accelerate mid-way, making it impossible to defend against?

What kind of strength was hidden in that seemingly frail body to blast a Martial Artist at the fifth layer of brute strength four to five Zhang away?

What was the cultivation of Xie Tian, who appeared to have lost all of his primal yang on the surface?

Just how strong was he...

...

Chen Qin, whose mind was occupied by countless questions in that instant, didn't see what happened next, nor did he see the scene of people bending over to vomit behind him.

"Why do you want to kill me?"

Xie Tian forcefully suppressed the trembling in his body, walked over to the side of the young Martial Artist who was seriously injured and dying, and opened his mouth quietly.

"That, that egg... it's worth a fortune..." The young Martial Artist was so scared that he thought he was going to die, he had mistaken Xie Tian's silence for weakness, only now did he realize that such silence was probably the calmness of a killer, he had provoked someone he shouldn't have.

Xie Tian nodded, indicating that he understood, then sat on the young Martial Artist's stomach, and with punch after punch, blood splattered gruesomely for twenty breaths before it came to an end.

Shaking the blood off his fist, Xie Tian began to search the Martial Artist's body, and at this moment, the Chen family Disciples began to vomit; they couldn't believe how vicious Xie Tian could be—why pulverize his opponent's head when he was clearly severely wounded and dying?

Unfortunately, they didn't know that this was the first time Xie Tian was being targeted for murder, and also the first time he had killed someone. Before this, he had only happily cultivated within closed doors at a grand residence, a blank slate, he was frightened.

Because he feared death, when the Martial Artist's blade fell, he closed his eyes awaiting his death, but when he truly grasped what death meant to him, he knew he couldn't die, and he began to struggle desperately!

Xie Tian, who had never sparred with anyone, subconsciously chose the first move of the "Golden Snake Skybound Fist" from the second book— he didn't know if this move would help him avoid the Martial Artist's blade, whether he could hit the Martial Artist, whether the Martial Artist would die—all was unknown.

Because of the unknown, his fear was even greater.

By sheer luck, he severely wounded his opponent, averting a deadly peril. It was precisely because of this outcome that he understood much and gave rise to many doubts, while doubts could only be answered by learning.

Thus, he had asked the Martial Artist why he wanted to kill him. After comparing the Martial Artist's answer with the sensation of killing, he understood that even if he gave up the egg and then severed his own right arm, the other party would still kill him.

Why?

Because he was the weak, and the strong kill the weak with no need for reasons.

To him, this was the most critical doubt, and now that he had his answer, he needed to become stronger. Only by becoming strong could one avoid being killed by the strong and continue on.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to waste his precious primal yang, while tasting the fear and disgust of killing, and with his fists pounding on the Martial Artist's head, he carefully felt the taste and temperature of the blood, keenly sensed the changes in the Martial Artist's primal yang, attentively listened to the fading breaths of the Martial Artist, and diligently learned how to become stronger...

This is the heart of the strong, despite fear, still bravely moving forward.

After looking deeply at the bluestone that witnessed his first killing, Xie Tian set off on the road again, and Chen Qin also awoke from his endless doubts, and upon waking, he smelled the pungent stench rising from the ground.

People recounted in turns, plunging Chen Qin into a deep abyss of fear; he was fifteen this year, at the seventh layer of brute strength cultivation, one of the top five young talents of Yangshuo City, having witnessed the death of dozens and killed four himself, yet even so, he was afraid.

Because of fear, he paid more attention to Xie Tian, so the purpose of his continued pursuit was no longer to seek an opportunity to assassinate Xie Tian but to understand as much as possible about this violent genius of the Xie family.

The disappearance of hostility made Xie Tian glance back at Chen Qin, then continue his trek up the mountain.

"What a terrifying gaze..."

Xie Tian had departed some time ago, yet Chen Qin still stood in place motionless as if those lifeless eyes were still there before him; he didn't read any emotions from those eyes, just indifference.

Such indifference terrified Chen Qin, he didn't know what Xie Tian's glance meant, whether it was a warning to himself, or warning him...

"Chen brother, are we still following?"

"Let's go back, and wait for him in the town!"

Chen Qin turned and left without hesitation, he realized he was genuinely afraid, not just of that lifeless gaze but more so of Xie Tian's continued journey— the summit of the Anlan Mountain's waist was the graveyard of all Martial Artists of brute strength cultivation.

The moment Chen Qin and his party disappeared from view, Xie Tian suddenly fell on the ground, his complexion quickly turning deathly pale, his body cold, convulsing continuously; just one punch had exhausted eighty percent of his primal yang, and he was on the verge of death.

But within his dying eyes, there was no panic, just a trace of relief—he had successfully scared off the group behind him who wanted to kill him.

Slowly turning over, he took out a piece of dragon leopard wood and swallowed it with difficulty; when the excruciating pain surfaced in his body again, Xie Tian stood up, relying on the pain to cultivate the Primordial Yuan method.

The Mad Old Man couldn't help but click his tongue and sigh when he saw this scene; a green youngster just starting out could show such performance, completely beyond his imagination, he understood clearly that Xie Tian had been afraid all along, but what was fear for Xie Tian?

It was to be overcome, to be conquered!

And during this series of breathtaking events, Xie Tian exhibited a full range of exceptional perceptiveness and wisdom, which was what the Mad Old Man valued the most, it's just a pity, there was a fatal flaw in Xie Tian.

"Ah, with only two and a half months left, can you find a way to survive..."

When his primal yang was copious within his body again, Xie Tian who had finished cultivating, shouldered his backpack, looked up at the mountain, where a large protrusion at the waist of the mountain was his destination, Beast Cliff.