Poor Bull Tribe Warrior.
While he was collecting edible mushrooms from a mushroom thicket, he was sprayed in the face by a black-ringed snake's venom.
The Bull Tribe Warrior reacted quickly, dodging the venom, but it still landed on his left eye. His eyeball quickly turned to blood, and the venom rapidly spread towards his head.
Shi Lingqing had an effective antidote with her.
When she arrived upon hearing the commotion, she gave the Bull Tribe Warrior the antidote. He wasn't in any danger, but losing an eye meant he lost at least 30% of his combat strength.
The aftermath of the venom's spread in his head made this unlucky Bull Tribe Warrior speak incoherently and his thoughts became confused.
At least another 10% of his combat strength would now be deducted.
Wu Tie stood atop a small hill, silently observing the chaos surrounding Shi Lingqing and her group.
Far away, seven to eight miles away, Luo Lin and his group were also watching. All eight of them were accounted for and present.
"Damn, this Bull Tribe person is really unlucky. Clumsy and ignorant. Doesn't he know that the black-ringed snake likes to hide in mushroom thickets and fern forests to ambush its prey?" Wu Tie sighed, "Fortunately, it was only a black-ringed snake. If it were a black-maned snake, you'd be dead already."
Clearly, this Bull Tribe person's ambush has nothing to do with Luo Lin and his group.
At least Wu Tie couldn't see any connection.
A few miles away, Ding Bei carried Luo Lin and quickly ran towards Wu Tie. Wu Tie heard the commotion, and he tapped the protrusion on his chest with his left hand. His fitted armor squirmed, quickly covering his hands and head.
Ding Bei placed Luo Lin several dozen meters away, and even though Luo Lin had been beaten severely by Wu Tie yesterday and had several broken bones, somehow he managed to make it to Wu Tie's side on his own.
Luo Lin wasn't carrying any weapons, and he patted his waist, indicating that he wasn't carrying that animal skin bag with him, and those two short knives that could spin in mid-air and strike to kill also weren't on him.
Wu Tie relaxed his grip on his spear, and his armor around his head quietly slid open, revealing his youthful face. "Someone said, a warrior never separates from his weapons."
Luo Lin stood ten meters away and sat on a rock, shaking his head. "We are not warriors. We are Mist Blades, ever heard of us?"
Wu Tie shook his head. Mist Blades? He never heard of them.
Luo Lin spat out a breath of air and glanced in the direction of Shi Lingqing and her group, where the injured Bull Tribe Warrior was still howling in agony.
"Our bad luck, eh?" Luo Lin laughed. He looked at Wu Tie with an icy gaze. "We are assassins, killers, bloodthirsty predators lurking in the darkness. To put it plainly, whoever pays, we kill for them."
Wu Tie looked at Luo Lin and pointed to the distance where Shi Lingqing was. "Someone offered you money to kill them?"
Luo Lin shook his head. He looked at Wu Tie and coldly said, "This is personal revenge, it has nothing to do with money... What do you think, what kind of person is Shi Lingqing?"
That question was sensitive for Wu Tie, and his heart skipped a beat. He answered somewhat flustered, "What kind of person she is, how would I know?"
Luo Lin deeply stared at Wu Tie, "Wu Lao Da (Old Wu) said, there aren't many human traces nearby. Here, there's only you?"
Luo Lin said solemnly, "Wearing indestructible ancient armor, wielding a long spear that's astonishingly sharp... It's suspected to also be an ancient treasure."
"Your cultivation base is probably just about consolidating the essence with fresh blood. Just broke through the first level of the foundation stage? You haven't even formed a protective aura?"
"But your power is able to fully suppress me."
"I cultivate the Mist Blade's secret《Mist Shadow Blood Slaughter》, and I'm considered half-step into the profound stage, almost consolidating true energy. Yet, I'm suppressed in power by you."
"Your foundational technique exceeds《Mist Shadow Blood Slaughter》."
"Alone, young, possessing ancient treasures, unparalleled cultivation base... Are you a lucky guy who mistakenly ended up here and obtained ancient legacies?"
Wu Tie was astounded by Luo Lin's words.
He took a few steps back in a daze, staring at Luo Lin.
How did they know so clearly? How did they know so many details? It seemed as if they had seen all of Wu Tie's experiences since coming here.
Luo Lin confidently looked at Wu Tie, "Among my brothers, did you notice the one who likes to use a chain blade?"
Wu Tie looked over. The chain blade was a peculiar weapon, a blade that had a handle one foot long and a blade that was about two feet long, connected to the handle by several meters of thin iron chains.
Wu Tie was quite interested in this peculiar weapon when he fought them yesterday.
The one using this peculiar weapon was a pale-faced, somewhat pretty youth with a slightly sinister demeanor.
"It's him... Deduced it?" Luo Lin closed his faceplate again, covering his whole body with his armor. Only then did he feel a sense of security.
"We spent the entire night searching everything within 200 miles. Qiao is the strategist in our small team, he's always been 'clever' and 'cunning' ever since he was young. He excels in these areas." Luo Lin chuckled softly, "So I came here especially to visit you."
Wu Tie interrupted Luo Lin, "What exactly do you want to explain? There's more of you, and you think you can overpower me?"
Luo Lin fell silent for a moment. His tone suddenly became extremely stiff and cold, "If your family members were killed, and you were killed in the most brutal way, what would you do?"
"Seek revenge!" Wu Tie's eyes welled up with heat, and without hesitation, he declared loudly.
"I'm seeking revenge!" Luo Lin looked at Wu Tie with cold eyes. "Shi Lingqing is the real culprit who killed my younger sister. Why do you want to stop me? Because she is beautiful?"
Wu Tie's heart surged with confusion, unable to find the right words to say.
Subconsciously, he agreed with Luo Lin's point of view. If family members were killed, revenge must be sought. Moreover, Lao Tie had instilled in Wu Tie the ideology of ruthlessly exterminating enemies and leaving no room for weeds to survive.
Lao Tie was never a kind and good person!
A lot of what he taught Wu Tie were extremely radical and dangerous notions of killing.
But deep down in Wu Tie's heart...
Toward Shi Lingqing... Wu Tie's voice trembled, "She is the real culprit who killed your younger sister? Perhaps... you guys have made a mistake?"
Luo Lin deeply looked at Wu Tie, "We are eight people. We can rotate in three shifts. You are alone, and your energy cannot compare to ours. We are the Mist Blades, experts at all methods that cause death."
"In a direct confrontation, we want to kill you, or we have to pay a hefty price. But if it's other means..." Luo Lin stood up with difficulty and took a step toward Ding, "Have Qiao let me tell you this... We don't want to be your enemies, but don't overestimate yourself."
Wu Tie's face turned red, and he felt both embarrassed and annoyed.
He tightly gripped his spear and took a step forward. Luo Lin had already returned to Ding's side, and Ding glared fiercely at Wu Tie before quickly leaving.
Once Luo Lin and Ding were far away, a metallic spider quietly ran out from a clump of ferns, and Lao Tie's rigid voice sounded.
"Rookie, they've figured out everything with just a few words."
"But this isn't your fault... These little guys are just much more professional than you."
"What should I do?" Wu Tie looked at the metallic spider in bewilderment. He knew that Lao Tie was using this spider to keep an eye on him, but he didn't know what method he was using.
"See what your own judgment is," Lao Tie said, "Ask your own heart. Do you believe Luo Lin's words? Or do you choose to help Shi Lingqing?"
"Humans, socially intelligent beings, you must learn to interact with your kind." Lao Tie laughed a little, somewhat gleefully. "Grandpa can teach you many things, but there are many things that you can't learn from me."
"Grandpa is just an ancient divine weapon, not a human." Lao Tie's tone carried a hint of mischief. "Besides, this is a rare opportunity for a trial... Those pitiful river hippos and gray rock lizards can't pose any threat to you... From today on, sleep with one eye open."
"Learn how to interact properly with people!" Lao Tie laughed, "During this process, grandpa won't remind you or help you. Use your own wisdom to solve this matter... Although, grandpa doesn't believe there's much wisdom in your little brain."
The metallic spider retreated.
Wu Tie kicked a rock in annoyance.
Was Lao Tie saying he was stupid?
Gritting his teeth, Wu Tie leaped into the air and quickly dashed towards Luo Lin and his group. He landed on a small mound a hundred meters away from them and sternly issued a warning towards Luo Lin and his group.
"I don't care who you are or what reason you have. In any case, this is my territory, and I won't let you lay a hand here." Wu Tie waved his hand menacingly, and a fist-sized stone flew off the ground at great speed, emitting a sharp piercing sound as it flew out.
With a 'swish', the stone barely grazed Luo Lin's face before hitting a rock formation behind him, smashing a square foot-sized indentation. Fragments of stone flew, and the momentum was quite terrifying.
"If you dare to make a move, don't blame me for going all out." Wu Tie swung his spear forcefully, retreated several dozen meters backward, and landed with ease.
The faces of Luo Lin, Wu Lao Da, and the others turned dark as they stared at the broken rock formation.
When Wu Tie controlled dozens of stones to attack, although the sight was spectacular, the actual damage was limited.
However, when he used his 'Control Universe and Galaxies' power completely to control only one stone, the single-target destructive power of that stone became extremely terrifying. At the very least, Wu Lao Da and the others believed that if they were hit by Wu Tie's surprise attack, they would suffer at least severe injuries.
"A tough brat, but if he's alone... it won't be of much use."
Chain Blade rested on his shoulder, looking extremely pale, with a gloomy and eerie aura radiating from him. Qiao chuckled softly, "As long as the plan is good, killing off Shi Lingqing won't be difficult... Especially because there's one thing, I'm interested in this little guy's ancient inheritance."
"What do you think, brothers?" Qiao looked at Wu Lao Da, Luo Lin, and the other young men one by one. "Looking at his appearance, he's only around eleven or twelve years old. His foundation is the first level of the foundation stage, and he can suppress Lao San (third oldest) whose foundation is about to break through the foundation stage. Tsk, with this inheritance, are you interested?"
Wu Lao Da, Luo Lin, and the others exchanged glances and simultaneously burst into excited laughter.
When Luo Lin personally went to visit Wu Tie, it was to figure out Wu Tie's situation... Now they were convinced that this strange land only had Wu Tie as its beneficiary. There wasn't anyone from his tribe here.
Dealing with Wu Tie wouldn't be difficult as a result.
"Then let's do it. Qiao, you have to plan it well." Wu Lao Da chuckled softly, very happy.
Over the next few days, Shi Lingqing and her group faced constant troubles.
Various strange and rare poisonous insects attacked her guards, and there were several peculiar accidents as well.
Two human guards around Shi Lingqing were bitten by venomous spiders. Although they promptly took antidotes, they still lost most of their combat strength within a short period of time.
Another Bull Tribe Warrior who went to the river to fetch water somehow disturbed a giant water python. He was whipped by its tail and nearly had his spine broken. With the protection of his companions, he managed to escape, but it would be at least a month before he could fight again.
Shi Lingqing's group became filled with despair. They could see that if this continued, they would all be wiped out.
Wu Tie silently observed for a few days and also felt that something was amiss. On this day, after having his fill of food and drink, he finally made his way to Shi Lingqing's wooden shed and looked at the unlucky guard who had just been bitten by a small flying snake.
"You've been having a rough time these past few days." Wu Tie looked at Shi Lingqing and spoke matter-of-factly.
Shi Lingqing's face was quite bleak, probably because the wounds from the bloody tooth snake's ambush a few days ago hadn't healed yet. When she was walking, her steps always had a peculiar feel.
She pitifully looked at Wu Tie and softly said, "Young master, this isn't an accident. Those unscrupulous... villains, they are the ones who... massacred hundreds of the Shi family's Bull Tribe people in Qianyu Town... Over a thousand family warriors all extorted by them overnight!"
Wu Tie swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Over a thousand Bull Tribe people?
The Shi family of Qianyu Town was an extremely powerful family... At the peak of the Wu family's strength, there were only a little over fifty qualified family warriors.
Wu Tie wanted to say something, but he had no experience comforting the opposite sex. He stood there like a wooden stake.
At this moment, they all heard the distant sound of heavy footsteps.
Among Luo Lin's group, one of them with a longbow on his back rushed over with a roaring gale. He shouted "there's a monster!" and swiftly passed by Wu Tie.
Wu Tie hadn't figured out what was happening, but a fist-sized green egg heavily smashed into his body, shattering upon impact.
He wasn't wearing his helmet, so the egg's fluid sprayed all over his head and face.
The ground lightly trembled and then shook more and more violently.
(End of the chapter)