Chapter 250 - 249: I Don’t Need to Practice Martial Arts
Chapter 250: Chapter 249: I Don’t Need to Practice Martial Arts
"Arrogant!"
The Tiger Demon let out a low growl, but faced with the descending blade, it wisely retreated.
As it dodged the young man’s vicious slash, it twisted its body, sweeping its fleshy wings forward.
WHOOSH!
Instantly, the area within ten feet was thrown into turmoil as it kicked up a storm of sand and stones.
The fleshy wings, glowing with a blood-red edge, swept toward Wu Chen’s head, threatening to slice the young man in two.
...
Wu Chen wasn’t surprised that his slash had missed. Seeing the streak of crimson light smashing toward his head from the left, he had no time to retract his blade and immediately bent his arm to shield the side of his head.
BANG!—
The moment he raised his arm, the bloody streak descended. The impact produced a dull thud.
Tempered by the Cold Qi Body Refining Skill, Wu Chen’s physique was far from ordinary.
He not only blocked the Tiger Demon’s strike with ease, but his body didn’t even sway.
However, the force from the Tiger Demon’s wing was immense. The blow sent Wu Chen sliding two feet sideways, the raw power churning up the earth beneath his feet.
’This Tiger Demon is several times stronger than the Ape Demon I encountered in Hidden Wind Valley.’
’Its strength must be close to ten thousand jin!’
Wu Chen’s expression grew grim as he felt the tingling numbness in his forearm.
This was the first time he had ever faced an enemy with such a powerful aura and nearly ten thousand jin of force.
’But since you’re here, don’t even think about leaving!’
Seeing the Tiger Demon’s attack fail and that it was preparing to retract its wing for another strike, Wu Chen had no intention of letting it go.
"How about you get a taste of mine!"
Wu Chen was, of course, referring to his strength. He clamped his five fingers onto the wing before the Tiger Demon could retract it. Without much apparent effort, he held the wing fast, preventing it from moving an inch.
For a moment, the stalemate made it seem as if time had frozen.
’...A member of the Human Race?’
The Tiger Demon stared at the slender hand gripping its blood-red wing. No matter how much strength it exerted, it couldn’t pull the wing back. A hint of disbelief appeared in its tiger eyes.
Its strike had no effect.
And now, half of its body was immobilized.
’Who’s the real demon here?!’
Wu Chen had no time for its shock. The instant he caught the wing, he viciously swung the ink-black blade in his right hand at the immobilized limb.
"You dare!"
The Tiger Demon’s eyes blazed with fury. It swept its other wing at Wu Chen, ready to trade an injury for a kill.
But it was too late.
SCHLICK!—
As Wu Chen’s blade fell, another huge gash was torn into the fleshy wing.
’I wonder if these two gashes will be enough to keep this Tiger Demon from flying.’
Wu Chen’s biggest worry was that it would flee if it couldn’t win. He had no time to dwell on it, as the whistling wind of an attack from behind rushed toward his head.
It was the Tiger Demon’s other wing.
This time, Wu Chen didn’t raise his arm to block. Instead, he twisted his body abruptly and shot out his hand.
BANG!
Wu Chen’s fingers precisely caught the descending wing, stopping it in its tracks. A faint pang of pain shot through his palm.
Even he couldn’t help but grimace as nearly ten thousand jin of force concentrated on a single point.
...
Ignoring the pain in his palm, Wu Chen didn’t slash at the captured wing this time. Instead, he vaulted up and landed on the ten-foot-long wing.
Without pausing, he moved again, reaching the joint where the wing connected to the tiger’s back in the blink of an eye.
SWISH!
The ink-black blade swung in a wide arc, beginning to slice along the base of the Tiger Demon’s wing.
At the same moment, the aura of the Armor Forging Realm erupted from Wu Chen’s palm. A biting cold qi coated the blade, forming a layer of white frost.
The already sharp weapon became even more deadly.
SQUELCH!—
The blade descended.
The formidable flesh and bone of the Demon Race offered no resistance; the blade flashed through the meat.
PLOP!—
As if slicing through tofu, Wu Chen felt no strain at all. The Tiger Demon’s ten-foot-long wing was severed at the root, falling to the ground as a limp lump of dead flesh.
"AWOOOO!—"
Excruciating pain shot from its back, and the Tiger Demon let out a bloodcurdling roar.
An invisible ripple spread out, shaking one’s very soul.
’The Innate Divine Abilities of the Demon Race?’
As the Tiger Demon’s howl continued, Wu Chen felt a sharp, needle-like pain between his eyebrows.
The pain wasn’t unbearable, but he didn’t know if it would affect his Martial Arts foundation. So, as soon as the roar began, Wu Chen leaped back, putting about thirty feet of distance between himself and the Tiger Demon.
At this distance, the stinging pain in his brow subsided slightly. It also ensured that if the Tiger Demon made any other moves, he could intercept it immediately.
AWOOOO!—
The tiger’s roar continued, piercing the quiet wilderness. It was still clearly audible in the town ten li away.
"What’s going on!"
"Is that a tiger’s roar?"
"Sounds like it to me!"
"And it’s coming from the south of town... Isn’t that where they found the missing people’s clothes during the day? You don’t think this roar has something to do with that, do you?"
...
Having seen no sign of an intruder all night, the Guards had grown drowsy as the hours crept past midnight.
But the sudden, soul-shaking roar jolted everyone awake, instantly dispelling their sleepiness.
Chattering amongst themselves, though no one knew exactly what was happening, they all had a general idea.
The group whispered to each other for a long time, but no one dared to go to the locust tree to investigate.
’This roar... something seems off...’
At the gate of his residence, Master Liu was also awake.
But he was, after all, the head of a wealthy household, and his temperament was steadier than most.
Although his face had paled with obvious panic when he heard the roar, he still managed to discern something within the sound.
’The roar seems to hold a note of pain.’
’Could it be that someone is fighting the vicious tiger, and winning?!’
Master Liu’s eyes lit up. As he wondered which hero might be ridding the people of this menace, he suddenly remembered the two young men staying in his side courtyard.
He summoned a servant and sent him to the side courtyard to check. When the servant returned, he confirmed that the two men were not in their rooms.
’It seems they must be the ones fighting the tiger.’
’But... whether it’s them or not, I can’t just stand by and do nothing.’
’If I can offer some help and ensure the tiger is slain, it will eliminate a future threat.’
...
Master Liu had no grand ideas about ridding the people of a menace; he simply didn’t want to leave such a huge problem for himself.
After all, he was the one with the largest estate and business in town. If he worried about personal losses now and the tiger wasn’t put down, the consequences would be far worse if it later attacked the town proper. The potential loss would far outweigh any gain.
"Everyone, over here! Assemble!"
After some thought, Master Liu began to rally his men. Lured by the promise of a hefty reward, the Hunters who had been reluctant to venture outside the town gradually grew excited.
When the price reached five hundred taels of silver,
the fifty-odd Hunters and Guards began shouting and clamoring, vowing their loyalty to Master Liu!
...
「Outside the town, under the old locust tree.」
’Wait, did I... forget something?’
Amidst the tiger’s roars, Wu Chen rubbed his stinging brow while watching the massive Tiger Demon. Then, a thought suddenly struck him.
He felt that he had been overthinking things.
Even if this roar truly did damage one’s spirit, soul, and Martial Arts foundation, what did that have to do with him?
He didn’t need any of those things for his training!
’Scaring myself for no reason!’
Wu Chen grinned. He lowered the hand that had been rubbing his brow, and his gaze turned cold as he watched the roaring Tiger Demon.
"Shut up!"
As the word left his lips, Wu Chen strode forward. His ink-black blade sliced silently through the night, chopping down viciously toward the massive tiger’s head.