134: Chapter 134 The Discovery of Wang Shouyi

The moment the Pill Furnace fell, everyone in the dense forest held their breath simultaneously.

That was not a technique an Alchemist should have—Wang Shoudong hooked one hand onto the furnace ear, swung the crimson Pill Furnace weighing over a thousand catties over his head, and smashed it straight down at the Armored Rhinoceros King.

Clang!

The rhinoceros horn snapped completely, and rhinoceros blood gushed forth.

The Armored Rhinoceros King roared and lowered its head to gore him, but Wang Shoudong flipped his left hand and casually tossed out a pitch-black Medicinal Pill.

The moment it collided with the rhinoceros king's forehead, it exploded with a roar, the flames carrying a wave of Qi that blasted the rhinoceros king's massive head to the side.

Wang Shouyi was pushed back two steps by the Qi wave, completely oblivious to a piece of gravel shattering against his forehead.

He only stared wide-eyed at the figure standing motionless amidst the explosive smoke and dust, his lips twitching several times before he squeezed a distorted voice out of his throat: "The hell kind of Alchemist is this?"

"Wang Shoudong, have your fucking studies gone astray?"

Clang!

Another furnace smashed down.

The Armored Rhinoceros King's lower back spine emitted an unbearable cracking sound, and it shrieked as it turned its head to bite.

Wang Shoudong tossed another exploding pill into its mouth, a muffled sound bursting from deep within its throat, dislocating its lower jaw and charring its tongue black.

Clang!

The third furnace snapped the left front hoof.

Clang!

The fourth furnace shattered the shoulder blade.

Every time the Armored Rhinoceros King resisted desperately, he would first disrupt it with an exploding pill, followed by another smash of the furnace.

This was repeated over a dozen times, until that Tier 2 Yao Beast completely lost its breath, until its skull was more than half caved in from the smashes.

"What are you all standing around for? Help saw off the rhinoceros horn."

Wang Shoudong released the furnace ears, his tone indifferent, no different from when he told his brothers to pass a bowl of water while recovering from his injuries back at Lotus Pier.

Dan Linger poked half her head out from behind Wang Shoudong, her eyes shining as if they concealed two stars, her hands clasped together, sweet enough to draw out threads.

"Senior Brother Wang is so amazing!"

"I said Senior Brother Wang is the most amazing!"

"Back during the Sect grand competition, they all laughed that Alchemists aren't good at combat, that's just because they haven't seen Senior Brother Wang smash furnaces!"

Several Wang family Disciples nearby looked at each other in dismay.

The youngest clan brother quietly tugged at his elder brother's sleeve and asked in a low voice.

"Do Alchemists usually fight like this?"

That elder brother looked at Dan Linger's slightly flushed little Face from admiration, then looked at Wang Shoudong's white robe stained with beast blood, fell silent for a long while, and slowly shook his head.

...

When the group walked out of the Wanshou Mountain Range, the setting sun had already dyed the distant mountains a dark gold.

The young people in the team looked at the Storage Pouch in their hands, their Faces filled with uncontrollable excitement.

Although the harvest this time was just so-so, taking it out to show off really gave one Face.

The Cultivate resources given by the Wang family to their clan Disciples every year were already more than this.

The youngest clan brother walked while counting on his fingers, his eyes getting brighter the more he calculated.

"One Tier 2 Armored Rhinoceros King, one Tier 1 Peak Armored Rhinoceros, plus several Tier 1 Yao Beasts hunted along the way—going back this trip, the Merit Hall alone will take forever just to count."

"Thanks to Brother Shoudong, otherwise it's hard to say whether the few of us could have come out in one piece."

Wang Shoudong walked in the middle of the team, holding Dan Linger's hand, and only smiled upon hearing this.

The white robe stained with rhinoceros blood on his body had already been changed, turning him back into that gentle and jade-like dashing gentleman, except that the hem of his clothes was still stained with a few withered leaves, and his boot soles still carried uncleansed rhinoceros blood.

All the way out of the mountain range, he picked the most important experiences of his ten years in the Lingdan Sect to tell his brothers—how he spent three years doing odd jobs under Dantuzi to learn basic skills, how he was accepted as a Disciple by exception due to his fire-control talent, and how he used exploding pills to forcefully blast his way into the top ten in the Sect grand competition.

Speaking at the height of their enthusiasm, several Wang family Disciples listened with glowing eyes and repeatedly asked questions.

The youngest clan brother held it in for a long time before finally unable to help himself, approaching Wang Shouyi and asking in a low voice.

Wang Shouyi's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help laughing out loud.

"When Sixth Grandpa passed away, I wasn't able to return before his spirit platform to fulfill my filial duties."

Wang Shoudong's voice dropped lower, and he tightly grasped Dan Linger's hand.

"These ten years, I wanted to come back every year."

"Revered Master said Alchemists fear having attachments in their hearts the most, but this attachment of mine, I've held onto it for ten full years."

Wang Shouyi was silent for a moment, then heavily patted his shoulder, the force being much lighter than the punch he gave him in the dense forest just now.

"Sixth Grandpa was very peaceful when he left."

"His greatest wish in this lifetime was to see the Wang family prosper."

"You returning after completing your studies at the Lingdan Sect is the best comfort to him."

Dan Linger felt Wang Shoudong's fingers tighten slightly, so she also squeezed back hard.

She didn't speak, only quietly looking at the slightly red eye sockets of this man, a never-before-seen certainty suddenly surging in her heart.

She grew up under Dantuzi's knees since she was young, and around her were countless sycophantic distant relatives, giving gifts during festivals and New Year just to squeeze a few more Medicinal Pills out of Grandpa's hands.

When the Wang family's offering of fifty thousand Spirit Stones was delivered to the manor, the way those people looked at her changed from 'another distant relative coming to beg for food' to 'can we rely on this girl to get more benefits from the Wang family side?'

She hated those gazes, hated their greasy, gleaming smiles while exchanging cups at Grandpa's birthday banquet, and hated even more when they gossiped behind backs calling the Wang family fools.

But at this moment, she stood among a group of Wang family Disciples covered in blood and carrying Yao Beast corpses, listening to them chatter away calculating the Merit Hall's inventory, listening to Wang Shouyi express concern for his younger brother in a cursing tone, and hearing the third brother quietly lighten the force of his shoulder pat when Wang Shoudong's eyes turned red—she suddenly felt very envious.

She thought, this was probably the kind of home she had always wanted—not scattered sand scheming individually, but gathering together to become a single rope.

Wang Shouyi suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze falling upon a hurriedly traveling figure on the mountain path ahead.

That figure was slender and tall, dressed in green robes, with lotus patterns embroidered on the lapel, speeding towards the direction of the Wanshou Mountain Range, raising her hand to wave vigorously at them from afar.

He grinned, took two steps forward, and shouted at the top of his lungs toward that figure.

"Isn't that eldest sister? Eldest sister! We are here! Shoudong is back—"

Before his voice fell, Wang Shoudong abruptly pressed down on his shoulder.

That hand which was still trembling slightly just moments ago was now as steady as a rock, its force neither heavy nor light, yet it instantly made Wang Shouyi check his steps.

"Hush. Silence."

Wang Shoudong's gaze crossed over Wang Shouyi's shoulder, landing at the end of the mountain path dyed red by the setting sun behind Wang Qingyan, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Something is wrong."