“Roar!” Amid the piercing howl of the black panther, it struck the ground with one paw, sending the nian steel flying, then turned its blood-red eyes toward Zhang Wen with a sinister glare.
This beast’s intelligence was clearly not low. Although Zhang Wen’s unexpected attack had injured its abdomen, it had not inflicted serious damage. After knocking away Zhang Wen’s weapon, it still had ample strength to retaliate and show Zhang Wen the might of the forest’s king!
A low, menacing growl rumbled forth, accompanied by the beast’s pungent, blood-smeared breath. Thick, viscous blood dripped from its wounded belly, staining the yellowed leaves a deep crimson.
As the black panther spread its wings, preparing for an unknown attack, Zhang Wen simply smiled calmly and slowly raised his left hand.
The beast’s crimson pupils suddenly trembled. Somehow, Zhang Wen had seized its tail.
During their brief clash moments ago, Zhang Wen had not only slashed the panther’s vulnerable belly with his toe but also grabbed its long tail in the process.
For the first time, the jungle’s king of beasts showed fear in its eyes, facing an enemy it could not comprehend.
But before the panther could react, Zhang Wen struck first.
The ultimate realm of Spring Water Determination was无情—relentless and unyielding, like an endless spring river flowing with the highest form of softness and indifference. Like rivers rushing toward the sea, any enemy daring to attack would be overwhelmed by the force of countless waters surging forth!
A roaring, surging ocean of power!
Zhang Wen suddenly moved, defying the strange double gravity and the thin air. His left hand jerked sharply, unleashing a burst of silver battle energy.
Along with it, the panther’s whip-like tail was blown apart midair, erupting in a spray of blood. The severed tail writhed and twitched as it hit the ground.
At the moment the panther let out a shriek of unbearable pain, Zhang Wen’s figure had already ghosted onto its back. His legs, like tough ropes, tightly coiled around the beast’s body. His left hand gripped its neck while his right hand clenched into a fist, charged with concentrated battle energy, and struck toward the panther’s waist.
No matter the feline—be it tiger, leopard, or wolf—they all shared a common weakness: the waist. Sever its spine there, and even a dragon would be forced to the ground.
“Boom!” Zhang Wen’s fist smashed into the panther’s thick waist bone. The collision of battle energy against hard bone emitted a blinding silver glow. The panther roared furiously, twisting its head to bite off Zhang Wen’s skull.
What tough bones this beast had!
Zhang Wen couldn’t help but feel some alarm. His punch could easily pierce rock or steel plates. Even a top-tier physical martial artist would be unable to withstand it, yet the panther only showed pain without serious injury. His hand was already numb from the impact.
The panther thrashed violently, trying to throw Zhang Wen off, its sharp fangs nearly closing around his head.
“Boom!” Zhang Wen’s second punch struck like lightning, landing on the same spot. This time, he used the Phoenix Eye Fist!
His right hand’s index finger protruded slightly, striking the panther’s spine with the second knuckle. He channeled all his battle energy into that single point using Spring Water Determination.
A flash of white lightning erupted at the point of contact, and countless waves of energy surged into the panther’s body.
“Crack! Snap!!” A series of terrifying popping sounds followed. Starting from the tailbone, a long section of the massive beast’s spine shattered inch by inch. With a deafening roar, the panther hurled Zhang Wen off its back.
After rolling on the ground and standing back up, Zhang Wen saw the grotesque black panther lying motionless, blood trickling from its nostrils. It was clearly beyond death.
Zhang Wen finally exhaled in relief. That creature had been no easy opponent. If this had happened outside the forest, it might have been manageable, but within this primeval jungle, his speed and strength were significantly hindered. Without his sword, defeating the beast with just his fists had been no small feat.
He glanced at his right index knuckle, which was bruised and scraped. It would likely affect his swordplay.
After catching his breath, Zhang Wen stepped over the scattered dead leaves, heading to retrieve his nien steel, when suddenly a chilling sense of danger surged from his spine. Instinctively, he threw his body forward, and just before hitting the ground, he pushed off with his toes, launching himself like an arrow.
“Shishish!!”
Several faint sounds followed. A sharp silver thread nearly grazed Zhang Wen’s back, leaving a trail of blood. It sliced through a row of thick trees ahead of him, then silently retracted.
“Boom…” A second later, those trees were severed at the waist. Their upper halves crashed down toward Zhang Wen like a collapsing wall.
Only a hair’s breadth away—had he been half a second slower, he would have been the one cut in half!
Under double gravity, Zhang Wen’s speed was already compromised. This sudden ambush was completely unexpected. With an unknown assassin behind and falling trees in front, amidst the thunderous crashing sound, Zhang Wen’s body was buried beneath countless massive trunks.
“Hahaha… Andre, you’ve finally met your end!”
From the swirling dust and debris, three figures emerged from the shadows of a large bush.
The first was a bald, short, fat man holding a fishing rod. The silver thread that had attacked Zhang Wen moments ago was attached to his rod.
An Infinite Arena warrior, nicknamed “High Pole,” his weapon was a fishing rod. By channeling battle energy into a single thread, he could kill silently and invisibly. His level was Saint Peak.
From the other side emerged a thin man with slanted, triangular eyes. If the fat man resembled a meatball, this one was like a bony stick. His nickname was ironically “Macho,” because his weapon was a massive cleaver, taller than a man and weighing two or three hundred pounds. Yet, he carried it effortlessly on his shoulder, walking on the soft, leaf-covered ground without sinking even slightly.
The last to emerge was a woman with an androgynous appearance. She wore a black tailcoat styled for men. Without the curves of her chest, her plain, featureless face could easily be mistaken for a boy’s.
She carried no weapon in her hands.
Yet both High Pole and Macho seemed to deeply respect this androgynous woman.
“Queen, that guy should be half-dead by now, right?” High Pole nodded toward her.
“Not yet,” the androgynous woman, called Queen, lightly dusted off her tailcoat. Her short, neatly tied hair gave her a clean, youthful appearance. Shaking her head, she continued, “Be careful. You all know how formidable Silver Fox Andre is. That guy is too cunning. We need to be cautious and slowly close in.”
“Ha! Queen, you’re too careful. With our combined strength, we could take on Silver Fox head-on. That guy’s fame has never been about brute force!” The bald man scratched his oily, shiny head.
Queen’s expression darkened instantly. Already cold when expressionless, her face now seemed to freeze over with frost.
“Do you want to die, High Pole?”
The latter flinched, shivering as he swallowed the rest of his words.
Macho remained silent throughout, following them like a shadow.
The trio moved silently, closing in on the area where Zhang Wen was buried under the trees. Eventually, they formed a five-meter diameter encirclement. Within this range, they ensured their own safety while preparing for any sudden counterattack from Zhang Wen.
Queen gave High Pole a glance. The short, fat man nodded, swung his fishing rod, and channeled his battle energy into the thread. A long silver line shot out, hooking the pile of massive logs and lifting them one by one.
The battle energy skillfully manipulated the logs, lifting them off the ground.
If any academy teachers witnessed this, they would be stunned beyond words. It was practically a textbook example—no, even more perfect than textbook examples. The Empire’s application of battle energy was still at a rudimentary stage, and such clever techniques were extremely rare.
One by one, the towering trees were lifted. Finally, a large human-shaped hole was revealed in the ground, but Zhang Wen was nowhere to be seen.
Expecting many possibilities, they never anticipated this outcome. High Pole was stunned, and Macho’s slanted eyes gleamed sharply.
Most terrifying was Queen, whose face darkened to the point of dripping water.
“Behind us!” As Queen spun like lightning, her hands clapped together, unleashing a golden fan-shaped arc of energy.
The air split apart with a terrifying explosion, as if the entire space had been sliced open by invisible force.
Coincidentally, at that very moment, ten meters behind Queen, a large hole burst open in the thick layer of dead leaves, and Zhang Wen leaped out. Just moments before, he had protected himself with battle energy and cleverly used the thick leaves to hide his escape. He had originally planned a counterattack, but the moment he emerged, he encountered a deadly golden light.
It wasn’t just light—it was sixteen rotating golden cards, each with a razor-sharp edge spinning with enough force to slice through the hardest alloy. Infused with battle energy, they radiated a scorching, sun-like heat.
Zhang Wen could faintly sense a dangerous aura from them—destruction!
Above, below, left, and right were all filled with this invisible force. This attack was unavoidable—he had no choice but to take it head-on!
Fortunately, he had already retrieved his Steel of Remembrance. His classical Chinese longsword suddenly erupted with dazzling starlight, aiming directly at the golden arc.
This time, he held nothing back, fully unleashing the power of a level beyond Saint. It was an explosive attack.
It seemed like just one strike, but the sword tip vibrated like a bee’s stinger, piercing sixteen times in an instant. Missing even one meant instant death from a single card!
Usually, Zhang Wen followed the Spring Water Determination method, quietly concealing his strength. Only in life-or-death moments like this did he unleash his full power. A calm river surging into a tidal wave—devouring everything!
“Boom!!!”
The dazzling starlight collided with the golden arc, creating a ripple of blue battle energy. Within dozens of meters, all standing plants were instantly flattened. A circular clearing was exposed, bare and empty.
After the brilliant light and shockwave faded, Zhang Wen was thrown backward ten meters by the invisible force. As his vision cleared, he was surprised to find himself already surrounded by the three bizarre figures.
They seemed completely unaffected by the previous explosion.
This showed that their strength was not to be underestimated.
Zhang Wen adjusted his breathing, letting his battle energy flow rapidly through his body according to Spring Water Determination, reaching his optimal state. At the same time, he used words to buy time.
“You three…”
“Silver Fox Andre, have you already forgotten your old comrades?” High Pole sneered, flicking his fishing rod. “Back in the Infinite Arena, you always overshadowed us. Weren’t you arrogant enough back then?”
Macho remained silent, his slanted eyes flashing with hatred. He suddenly swung his massive cleaver at Zhang Wen, who narrowly dodged. A red arc of battle energy erupted, carving a five-meter-deep, twenty-meter-long trench in the ground!
This thin bamboo-like body concealed unimaginable destructive power. What alarmed Zhang Wen most was his strange strength. Wielding a cleaver taller than a man, with a metal blade half his height, it was hard to imagine the strength required to swing it with one hand.
Yet in Macho’s hands, the cleaver was as light as a toothpick. He swung it as if it weighed nothing, bringing it back to his shoulder in an instant, as if he had never even swung it at all.
But among the three, the one who made Zhang Wen most wary was still the woman. Though her appearance revealed nothing, from her previous attack alone, her strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Saint.
“If I told you that you’ve mistaken me for someone else, would you believe me?” Zhang Wen gave the trio a bitter smile. This was another downside of being mistaken for Andre. Since being mistaken for that dead man, he had seen no benefits, only a growing list of enemies. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had been cheated.
“Bullshit!” High Pole narrowed his small eyes, scratching his shiny bald head. “Andre, we’d recognize you even if you turned to ashes! That hellish stench from your body—my nose never forgets it… Besides, someone already told us you…” He stopped abruptly after receiving a glare from Queen.
Zhang Wen felt a bit surprised. The way they spoke sounded oddly familiar, like something he had said to Melissa before.
He smirked. He couldn’t explain it. They were determined to believe he was Andre. This was a lifelong black mark he had to bear. Andre was dead, yet he had left behind a mountain of debts. Facing such a situation, all Zhang Wen could do was silently curse in his heart.
Queen stepped forward, her left hand opening to reveal a golden card spinning eerily in her palm, emitting a sharp whistling sound.
“Silver Fox Andre, do you remember me?” As she spoke, her plain face began to shift and change, eventually revealing a seductive, fox-like visage.
“Do you remember when we first came to the Infinite Arena to compete for rankings? You told me we’d build our own legacy together… but you, you sly fox, not only deceived my body but also tried to take my life. In the end, you took all the rewards…无情—cruelty and indifference—that’s what you taught me. I’ve remembered it all my life.”
Zhang Wen was speechless. What could he say? They were convinced he was Andre. This was a black mark he had to bear for life. He never imagined that even after Andre’s death, he would inherit such a pile of trouble. Faced with this situation, all Zhang Wen could do was silently curse in his heart.
Tears streaked down Queen’s delicate, pale face as she sweetly smiled, “So the moment I crawled out of my grave, I vowed that no matter how far or how long it took, I would drag you down with me…”
Before her words had finished, a golden card shot forth from her left palm, radiating blinding light. At the same time, eight more cards flew out from her right hand and sleeves, forming a deadly spiral with various bizarre and sharp angles, slicing toward Zhang Wen like dancing冥蝶, weaving a net of death!
At the same time, High Pole’s fishing line and Macho’s cleaver attacked from two other directions.
Three simultaneous attacks left Zhang Wen no chance to dodge or use his speed. In this split second, his expression turned rare and serious. His entire body erupted with dazzling silver starlight. With a flick of his wrist, his right sword countered, its tip striking the side of Macho’s descending cleaver.
“Clang!” Sparks and electric arcs burst forth like a firework.
Amid the screeching metallic clash, Zhang Wen’s sword bent at a terrifying angle under Macho’s immense strength, nearly snapping. But as Zhang Wen twisted his wrist, the sword moved like a puppet on strings, redirecting Macho’s cleaver to block Queen’s nine cards and High Pole’s fishing line.
“Hey?” Macho uttered his first sound of surprise, finding it hard to believe that his immense strength could be redirected by such an unremarkable thin sword.
“Macho, what the hell are you doing?!” High Pole’s fishing line was instantly deflected by Macho’s heavy cleaver, bursting into a flare of battle energy.
At the same time, Queen’s nine golden cards deeply embedded into the cleaver’s surface. Had it not been for the cleaver blocking them, Zhang Wen would surely have been dismembered by those spinning cards.
Macho grunted, not explaining. Following the golden battle energy from Queen’s cards, his thin arm suddenly bulged with muscle, revealing a bodybuilder-like right arm. This was an eerie sight, considering the rest of his body remained as thin as a skeleton.
With a flick of his wrist, the 300-pound cleaver spun in his hand like a toy, its wide blade striking toward Zhang Wen like a frying pan as he rapidly retreated.
In that instant, the speed he displayed even surpassed Zhang Wen’s!
Zhang Wen’s heart skipped a beat. He had no idea where that dead Andre had picked up such troublesome enemies. There was no time to complain now. His battle aura flared again.
Twisting his waist, he dove into the ground faster than the cleaver could strike. The ground was already soft with dead leaves, and channeling battle energy into his feet allowed him to burrow instantly.
“Damn, that kid wants to dig underground again!” High Pole’s sharp voice cried out. His fishing line and Queen’s flying cards attacked simultaneously, slicing through the ground.
“Boom!!” Macho’s cleaver slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and debris.
But Zhang Wen had already slipped away like a fish through the underground.
The three watched in frustration as a slight bulge in the dead leaves slowly moved away.
“You can’t escape,” Macho said coldly, his triangular eyes burning with hatred. He shifted the cleaver to his left hand and raised his right fist.
Queen and High Pole seemed confident in him, watching with interest instead of chasing Zhang Wen.
Macho’s right arm, already abnormally thick compared to his thin body, swelled even more as he clenched his fist. Clearly, he was using a special technique to channel his battle energy into his muscles, amplifying his strength.
Any Saint-level warrior possessed unique techniques.
With a roar, Macho’s fist slammed into the ground like a thunder god’s hammer, sending a dazzling arc of battle energy underground toward where Zhang Wen had vanished.
A few moments later, dozens of meters away, a violent explosion erupted from underground. Zhang Wen’s body was blasted out like popcorn, flying through the air with smoke and debris.
“I got this!” High Pole excitedly slapped his bald head. With a flick of his wrist, his fishing rod shot out an almost invisible thread toward Zhang Wen midair.
At the same time, Queen sneered coldly, her fox-like eyes flashing with murderous intent. She held a golden card between her right index and middle fingers, pressed against her cheek. With a burst of blazing golden battle energy, she launched it toward Zhang Wen.
The card spun through the air, its sharp edges glowing with a diamond-shaped battle aura. It split into two, then four, finally becoming sixteen cards arranged in an arc, all shooting toward Zhang Wen. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t possibly dodge them all.
“Andre, accept your fate. This island is under the Infinite Arena master’s barrier. Right now, you’re suppressed by the gravity field, and you can only use less than sixty percent of your strength…”
Queen declared Zhang Wen’s fate. But the next moment, her alluring eyes widened in shock.
The three attacks suddenly collided with a massive energy shield manifested from psychic energy. In a red ripple, they all shattered and vanished together. Taking the opportunity, Zhang Wen landed steadily after several flips, his sword raised defensively toward Queen and the others. But his gaze was fixed in another direction.
Who had helped him in such a dangerous moment?
Queen, Macho, and High Pole’s furious gazes also turned in that direction. Just when they were about to finish off Andre, someone had intervened. It was infuriating.
“Who dares to interfere with our affairs?”
The explosion of battle energy sent leaves and debris swirling. From the misty jungle, a graceful figure gradually emerged.
It was a woman. Not just any woman, but a young, beautiful one.
She had wavy, dark golden hair cascading down her back. She wore a rare, dark purple qipao-style long dress. Her narrow waist accentuated her curvy hips. Her long legs peeked from the dress slit with each step, revealing glimpses of white skin.
Her full, shapely chest swayed enticingly like elastic water balloons, creating rhythmic waves.
Any man witnessing this sight would likely lose his eyes, wishing to fall into the deep cleavage between her breasts.
But what captivated people most was her cold demeanor, like an icy rose. Yet her eyes held an alluring, seductive charm. This contradiction not only enhanced her allure but also made her seem like a wild rose—cold on the surface but burning with passion beneath. She was the kind of woman that stirred a man’s desire to conquer her.
At this moment, the mysterious woman held a small folding fan in her right hand as she approached Zhang Wen.
With a flick, the fan snapped open, covering the lower half of her face from the nose down.
“Queen, High Pole, and Macho—you three want to touch my man? Did you ask for my permission?” Her gentle, seductive voice made the faces of the three turn extremely grim.
Their bodies involuntarily trembled as their eyes fixated on the image on the fan.
It was a crimson scorpion!
“Red Scorpion Woman, Syrrena!” Queen’s pupils contracted like needles. “The Infinite Arena’s… Fifth Overlord!”
“Andre… So you really had an affair with Syrrena. That’s why you abandoned me back then, right?!” Queen’s seductive eyes burned with fury, glaring at Zhang Wen.
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