Chapter 44: Two Beasts

## Chapter 44: Two Beasts

"Indeed." Ye Chen nodded lightly in response to Xiong Er's question.

Were others to overhear this exchange, they would surely be struck dumb with astonishment. One in the Ning Qi realm, the other merely at the first level of the Ren Yuan realm, yet they dared to contemplate a confrontation with a Zhen Yang realm expert.

Of course, against a high-level Zhen Yang cultivator, these two would have taken to their heels at the first sign. But the burly man's aura, while potent, was remarkably unstable, clearly indicating he had only recently breached the Zhen Yang realm. Against such a newly promoted Zhen Yang, neither Ye Chen nor Xiong Er felt the slightest fear.

"Robbery!" With a wolf-like howl from Xiong Er, that fellow's back foot stomped the earth, propelling him forward like a cannonball.

"Robbery!" Ye Chen echoed the cry, his own wolf-like howl following close behind as he lunged forth.

Upon witnessing this scene, the burly man was momentarily stunned.

*Buzz!*

In that fleeting instant of stupefaction, Xiong Er's wolf-tooth club was already swinging down from above.

"You seek death!" The burly man's face contorted into a sinister grimace as he recovered, flipping his hand to unleash a palm strike. However, in his eyes, the wolf-tooth club descending upon him seemed to swell to five times its normal size. One might mistake it for a great tree hurtling down rather than a mere club.

*Bang!*

Never having anticipated the sudden enlargement of the wolf-tooth club, and coupled with his underestimation of Xiong Er, who was only in the Ren Yuan realm, the burly man was caught off guard. The blow sent him staggering, his entire palm left dripping with blood.

Though he had injured the burly man, Xiong Er himself grunted in pain and was forced to retreat. The burly man, enraged, was about to retaliate when he was met with the sight of Ye Chen, who had just closed in.

"You seek death!" With an angry shout, the burly man pushed forth a palm.

Ye Chen let out a cold snort. With a thought, his true fire surged forth, transforming into a flaming whip in his hand, which he viciously lashed out.

*Pa!*

A sharp crack echoed through the air, leaving a dark blood-streaked mark across the burly man's face.

"True fire?" The burly man was suddenly shocked.

*Roar!*

As the burly man reeled from the shock, a tiger's roar ripped through the air. Ye Chen, having unleashed the Beast Heart Fury Mystery: Tiger Pounce, instantly closed the distance to the burly man's body. He was like a fierce beast descending from the mountains, his movements bizarrely direct and deadly. At times he resembled a ferocious tiger, at others a savage ape, a male lion, or even a grey wolf. He grappled, he struck, he tore, utilizing every part of his body – hands, feet, knees, shoulders – transforming each joint into a fearsome weapon. Unprepared for such a dominant close-quarters killing technique from a mere Ning Qi realm cultivator, the burly man was thrown into disarray.

*Ya ya ya!*

Xiong Er, shouting and yelling, swung his wolf-tooth club and joined the fray, fighting alongside Ye Chen. Together, they harassed and discombobulated the burly man.

However, he was, after all, a Zhen Yang realm expert. Soon, he managed to halt his retreat, fanning out a palm.

*Beng Lei Palm!*

*Dragon Tiger Fist!*

Ye Chen and Xiong Er met the attack head-on.

*Boom!*

Fist met palm, unleashing a deafening boom. The power of the Zhen Yang realm was truly terrifying; the blow sent both Ye Chen and Xiong Er spitting blood and retreating.

"The gap is not ordinary, ah!" Ye Chen sighed inwardly. Despite possessing the strength to fight across realms, facing absolute suppression, he was still outmatched.

"You both must die," the burly man bellowed, enraged at being forced into such an embarrassing state by two mere youngsters.

"Who dies is not yet certain!" Ye Chen retorted with a cold laugh.

"Boy, well done!" Beside him, Xiong Er stood shoulder to shoulder with Ye Chen, giving him a thumbs-up.

"You too, not bad."

"How... how is this...?" Suddenly, the burly man's voice, filled with shock, rang out. His potent momentum rapidly dissipated, and the surging true qi throughout his body calmed completely. Only then did he realize that talismans had been affixed to his body, two of them in fact.

"Tian Ling Curse!" The burly man cried out in alarm, seemingly recognizing the Tian Ling Curse.

"He is in the Zhen Yang realm, two Tian Ling Curses can only imprison his true qi for about one minute," Xiong Er informed Ye Chen.

"Then let us take advantage of his illness and take his life!"

"Let the fight begin!"

The wilderness forest, having just returned to calm, was shattered once more by the wolf-like howls of these two rascals, Ye Chen and Xiong Er.

Seeing the situation, the burly man's expression changed dramatically. He retreated while desperately trying to break free from the imprisonment of the Tian Ling Curses. He knew that if he could just hold out for one minute, he could turn defeat into victory.

However, Ye Chen and Xiong Er had no intention of granting him time.

*Beng Lei Palm!*

*Dragon Tiger Fist!*

Knowing that time was of the essence, neither of them dared to hold back. Powerful secret techniques were unleashed relentlessly against the burly man's body.

*Pu!*

A flash of blood. Ye Chen swung his Chixiao Sword, nearly splitting the burly man in two.

The burly man spat blood and retreated, but before he could stop himself, Xiong Er's club came crashing down.

*Buzz!*

As the wolf-tooth club fell, it instantly enlarged five times, infused with all of Xiong Er's true qi.

"No... no, no..." Seeing the wolf-tooth club descend, the burly man roared in terror. How could he have imagined that he, a dignified Zhen Yang realm cultivator, would be killed by a Ning Qi realm and a Ren Yuan realm cultivator, with many of his secret techniques left unutilized?

But no matter how the burly man roared, at this moment, neither Ye Chen nor Xiong Er felt any pity. Come out to mix, you always have to pay back. To show pity to an enemy is to be cruel to oneself. If they did not kill the burly man, after he broke free from the imprisonment, he would surely kill them. This was the cultivator's world, a cruel one.

*Boom!*

With the fall of the wolf-tooth club, the entire ground trembled.

Once the smoke and dust dispersed, Ye Chen and Xiong Er stepped forward. The Zhen Yang realm burly man was almost completely smashed into a pulp.

"This place is not suitable to stay long."

Both of them acted, taking the burly man's storage bag and thoroughly searching his body for anything of value.

Having finished their task, the two vanished like smoke.

After they left, a purple-robed old man emerged from the darkness of the night.

"He actually possesses true fire." Looking in the direction Ye Chen and Xiong Er had departed, he lightly stroked his beard.

Ye Chen and Xiong Er reappeared deep within the wilderness forest. They each spent an hour recovering from their injuries before taking out the contents of the burly man's storage bag and all the treasures they had found on him.

"Oh my god!"

Suddenly, twin exclamations of surprise rang out.

"As expected of a Zhen Yang realm expert, so rich!"

"The two Tian Ling Curses were not wasted."

"Old rule, split it five-five."

The two huddled together, squatting on the ground to divide the spoils.

Inside the burly man's storage bag, there were over ten thousand spirit stones. It seemed he was also heading to the You Ming Black Market to participate in the auction, but unexpectedly, he capsized in a small ditch along the way.

After the spirit stones, spirit liquid, and spirit grasses – these trivial items – were divided by Ye Chen and Xiong Er, only a ghost-headed broadsword, two ancient scrolls, and a small tripod the size of a baby's fist remained on the ground.

*Buzz!*

Just at this moment, his true fire flickered, causing Ye Chen's eyes to light up. His gaze swept over the two ancient scrolls and the ghost-headed broadsword, finally settling on the small tripod.

This was a treasure!

A sharp glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes.

"I want this broadsword."

"I want this small tripod."

Their words rang out in unison. After speaking, the two looked at each other, a shared understanding passing between them. "Good brothers."

Finally, only the two ancient scrolls remained. Each of them picked one up.

"Han Shan Fist." Xiong Er glanced at the name on the ancient scroll. He then peeked at the one in Ye Chen's hand and asked, "What's that one of yours?"

"What in the world is this?" Ye Chen curled his lip, looking at the ancient scroll in his hand with surprised astonishment.

(End of Chapter)