The village was named Xishan Village, and there was an inn at its entrance.
The owner, a round-faced man, greeted Sun Yong familiarly as soon as he saw him.
Soon, an attendant ushered everyone inside.
After walking all day, everyone was a bit tired. Once they finished their meal, they went to their rooms to rest.
But Jiang Che couldn't quite fall asleep.
Scenes from TV shows he'd watched in his past life kept popping into his mind.
This kind of setup was usually a trap in those shows, so he was a bit nervous and couldn't sleep soundly.
But his Omen never triggered.
The next day, everyone packed up and set out again.
Seeing Jiang Che with dark circles under his eyes, Sun Yong shook his head and said:
"Little Brother Jiang, this inn has been catering specifically to Escort Teams traveling from Lin Yuan City to Hengsha City for many years. It's very safe."
Jiang Che gave an embarrassed smile. 'It seems I was overthinking things.'
As they got farther from Lin Yuan City, the road became less traveled.
Overgrown weeds and shrubs on the roadside were half a person's height, making it difficult for the carriages to pass.
Everyone drew their blades to clear a path.
The journey was an arduous trek.
Fortunately, they reached another village with an inn just before sunset.
This time, Jiang Che fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow and slept soundly.
The night passed without incident.
On the third day, as they neared Hengsha City, everyone was in good spirits, chatting and joking from time to time.
Sun Yong's expression also relaxed.
Suddenly, Jiang Che's face changed.
[Omen has been triggered!]
He felt a sense of crisis that pricked his skin approaching from the side!
"Watch out! Danger!" Jiang Che shouted.
Everyone was startled and looked around, but they saw nothing.
"Where?"
"I don't see anything!"
Sun Yong was also puzzled.
But soon, from the tall grass beside the road, a black-furred wild boar the size of a small calf, wreathed in black smoke, slowly emerged!
Its tusks were as sharp as blades, and its eyes glowed with an eerie green light as it stared intently at the group.
Everyone was shocked and quickly fell back.
"It's a Black Beast!"
Sun Yong shouted, then dismounted and moved to face it.
At the same time, he was shocked by Jiang Che's sharp intuition.
Seeing a Black Beast for the first time, Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't hesitate and immediately followed.
'Only he and Sun Yong are Martial Artists in the group. The others would just be throwing their lives away.'
"I'll attack from the front. You look for an opportunity to strike its flank—that's its vital point!
"But don't force it if you can't find an opening. Black Beasts are ferocious, and I won't be able to protect you once the fight starts!" Sun Yong said in a low voice.
"Understood."
With a furious roar, Sun Yong's body suddenly seemed to swell, and his skin took on a faint red hue!
'It seems to be Iron Body Skills!'
Jiang Che had heard his master talk about it. People who practiced these skills had great strength and could take a beating, but they weren't very agile.
His master didn't think highly of such skills, considering their practitioners to be nothing more than lumbering oafs.
But Jiang Che was somewhat interested.
After all, there was a saying in his past life: brute force trumps all techniques.
With enough power, you could send a brick flying—no need for any fancy techniques or moves!
Sun Yong charged toward the wild boar Black Beast and slammed a fist into its massive head.
The Black Beast staggered from the blow, taking a small step back.
"Way to go, Escort Sun!" the men cheered.
Seeing the Black Beast retreat, Sun Yong's confidence surged. He threw a flurry of punches, forcing it back again and again!
'Escort Sun... he must be at the Perfection of the Bull Skin Realm!'
Jiang Che was secretly shocked.
"Yeah!" "Escort Sun is mighty!"
Seeing the Black Beast continuously forced back, the crowd's cheers grew louder.
The Black Beast seemed to have been enraged. It began to let out a series of low growls, snorting from its nostrils.
Sun Yong landed another heavy punch on its head, but this time, it didn't budge an inch!
The color of the Black Beast's hide gradually began to turn greyish-green, its skin taking on a stone-like texture.
When Sun Yong's fist struck it, it felt like hitting solid rock!
'This is bad. How is this a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast?!'
Sun Yong was horrified.
'Logically, a Black Beast of this level shouldn't be out and about during the day!'
It kicked off with its hind legs and charged forward violently!
Sun Yong hastily blocked with both arms, but the impact was immensely powerful, instantly sending him flying!
THUD!
Sun Yong crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Two bloody holes were pierced through his arms, and blood flowed endlessly!
The Black Beast backed up again, pawed at the ground with its hind legs, and charged once more!
Sun Yong had just scrambled to his feet and hadn't yet regained his balance when he saw the Black Beast charging again. His face paled.
He quickly rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The Black Beast didn't pause for a moment and lunged again!
"This is bad!"
Seeing Sun Yong being overpowered, the Darts Masters' faces turned deathly pale.
'If even Escort Sun can't hold it back…'
They couldn't help but look at Jiang Che, who stood to the side, looking much smaller and thinner than Sun Yong.
But Jiang Che was standing completely still, as if he were scared stiff!
'We're done for!'
Despair filled everyone's hearts.
Sun Yong couldn't help but look at Jiang Che, hoping he would come to his rescue.
But to his disappointment, Jiang Che showed no sign of moving at all!
His heart instantly went cold.
'Just as I thought, you can't rely on a wet-behind-the-ears kid!'
Jiang Che, who appeared to be standing idly by, had actually already entered the Heart Stream State.
All of his senses were now completely focused on the rampaging Black Beast.
He carefully observed every flex of its muscles, every shift in its center of gravity, and every detail of its movements.
At the very moment Sun Yong could no longer get up, the Black Beast, in its all-out attack, exposed a flaw for a split second!
'Now!'
Jiang Che brought his hands together in a circle, executing the first form of the Cloud-Stacking Fist, "Cloud Flow."
After briefly gathering power, he leaped forward, unleashing the second form, "Overlapping Waves."
The fist's momentum was continuous, its Strength layering like ocean waves, one on top of the other.
After finally stacking the Strength to the Ninth Layer...
Jiang Che used the third form, "Rock Collapse," to land a punch right on the Black Beast's flank, over its heart!
BOOM!
In an instant, the Black Beast seemed to be drained of all its strength. It swayed for a moment, then collapsed with a crash!
The entire scene fell silent.
Sun Yong was still frozen in his blocking stance, staring blankly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The other Darts Masters were also gaping, unable to believe what they were seeing.
A sense of absurdity washed over them as they stared at the handsome youth standing beside the corpse of the giant wild boar Black Beast.
"Brother Jiang, that was incredible!"
someone suddenly shouted.
Then, the others snapped out of it and crowded around.
They checked to see if the Black Beast was truly dead while thanking Jiang Che.
A joyful mood of having survived a disaster spread through the group.
Sun Yong also got to his feet.
The wounds on his arms gradually stopped bleeding.
This was the powerful recovery ability of Iron Body Skills.
"Brother Jiang, I owe you my life!"
"It was all thanks to you, Escort Sun, for holding it off from the front. Otherwise, I would never have found the right moment to strike," Jiang Che said earnestly.
It was the truth. He didn't have a body as tough as Escort Sun's; one hit might have finished him.
Sun Yong took a deep look at the handsome young man.
So young, yet so powerful, and completely without arrogance.
'This young man's future is limitless!'
He sighed inwardly, feeling ashamed of his earlier condescension.
"Do you realize that was a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast!" Sun Yong said grimly.
"Stone Skin Realm!" A stir went through the crowd.
The gazes they directed at Jiang Che now held not only respect but also a trace of fear.
'No wonder.'
It dawned on Jiang Che.
'Weren't Bull Skin Realm Black Beasts supposed to have nothing but Barbaric Power, lacking techniques and being weaker than a Martial Artist?'
Yet this Black Beast had beaten Sun Yong, who was at the Perfection of the Bull Skin Realm, to the point where he couldn't defend himself!
So it was a Stone Skin Realm beast!
'In other words... I just killed a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast with a single punch!'
Jiang Che finally had a rough understanding of his own combat ability.
"By the way, this thing is a treasure!" Sun Yong said with a sudden laugh, looking at the massive wild boar Black Beast's corpse on the ground.
"Oh? How so?" Jiang Che asked.
He knew that Black Beast meat contained a large amount of toxins and couldn't be eaten directly.
Only the offspring from crossbreeding with ordinary beasts had reduced levels of toxins in their bodies.
'Since it's inedible, what other use could a Black Beast's corpse have?'
'Could he be referring to its hide and teeth?'