42: Borrow a knife

Stones rolled down the hillside. Inside, Li Canglan was dizzy and disoriented from the shaking.

Eventually, Li Canglan couldn't even be bothered to steady himself. Whenever he saw an opportunity, he would grip his battle blade and slash out.

He refused to believe that with the Raging Wind Thunder Eagle mark—granting him Dual Cultivation of lightning and wind—and having absorbed so much energy, he couldn't outlast this rock.

But clearly, the rock had also set its mind on attrition. It understood humans well, having devoured many Demonic Beasts and Martial Artists. It knew these fellows had limited stamina—not enough to compete with its noble Stone Man race!

Fighting consumes energy! Don't look at how this guy is currently swinging his blade with such vigor. It won't be long before he's exhausted, lying on the ground, cursing up a storm!

So, it just needed to hold on. Once this human was devoid of strength, it could easily devour him. Being struck by the blade was painful, but it would be worth it for a full meal. Furthermore, it could sense that this human's blood energy was incredibly rich. It might just allow it to Breakthrough its current bottleneck and become a genuine Two-star Stone Man!

Man and stone, they fought on like this.

On the hillside, a middle-aged man wearing a martial arts robe was leading a group of youths to encircle several black bears. "This is an Ironback Bear."

The middle-aged man in the martial arts robe dodged the Ironback Bear's attack and continued explaining, "This adult Ironback Bear can reach the strength of a One-star Late Stage."

"If you encounter an Ironback Bear alone in the wild, don't hesitate—just run away! Unless you have companions to help each other, you will absolutely not be a match for an Ironback Bear."

Most of those youths were in their twenties. Being able to become a Martial Artist at this age already put them ahead of more than half the population.

A few minutes later, the middle-aged man killed the Ironback Bear, panting heavily. As the heavy thud of the body hitting the ground echoed, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He was a Martial Artist instructor from the Zhenhai Martial Arts Academy, with strength at the One-star Peak. Killing an Ironback Bear, with its thick skin and armor-like body, was no small feat.

Fortunately, besides claiming the Materials from the Ironback Bear, he could also collect a tidy fee for taking these academy students out of the city. Many students who had just become Martial Artists dared not venture out alone, yet couldn't find peers of similar strength. They would request an instructor from the academy to lead them so they could adapt to the environment outside the city as quickly as possible.

However, at that moment, a rumbling sound came from above. The tremors, like those of an earthquake or landslide, caused everyone's expressions to change slightly. They quickly looked up and discovered a massive rock rolling down from the mountaintop.

"Run!" The instructor's expression changed drastically. No matter how strong a Martial Artist was, they weren't made of iron! A rock this big, rolling down from the summit with such immense momentum—even if someone were made of iron, they would be flattened on the spot!

These students were also Martial Artists; although their escape was frantic and ungraceful, no one was injured. Bang! Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, the rock suddenly exploded. A battered and bruised figure, looking quite disheveled, leaped out from inside the stone.

"Holy crap, is Journey to the West actually realistic?" A Martial Artist student exclaimed, staring in shock at Li Canglan as he leaped out of the rock. Everyone else present was dumbfounded. Even the instructor, who considered himself well-traveled, was completely bewildered. What kind of scene was this? He had never seen it before! No, wait—at least he'd seen it on television!

Li Canglan had not yet recovered from his dizziness and rolled down the mountain. The next instant, an even more unexpected scene unfolded. The shattered rock fragments converged into a core. The debris gathered back together, forming two arms and two legs.

"Is this a Stone Man?" A student stared blankly at the instructor, "Instructor, what... is this monster?" The instructor's face turned grim; if you ask me, who should I ask? The Stone Man didn't speak; it simply ignored these people and, with massive strides, chased after Li Canglan. In an instant, the man and the Stone Man disappeared from sight.

"Instructor, can we go watch?" a student asked with hopeful eyes. Everyone had a curious nature. But he wasn't stupid; a Stone Man that even the instructor didn't recognize must be terrifyingly strong. If they chased after it, they might have the life to watch, but not the life to leave! The other academy students were equally eager to try. Those who could become Martial Artists had all fought their way up. There were very few law-abiding fellows among them.

"Fine... but you must be careful and absolutely not act recklessly!" Everyone quickly gave their word and scrambled to give chase. Their group of over a dozen Martial Artists was such that even ordinary Demonic Beasts wouldn't be foolish enough to look for trouble with them.

Li Canglan curled his body and rolled down the hillside. Once he reached the gentle slope, he slowly decelerated. Lying on the ground, Li Canglan looked up at the sky, feeling countless stars spinning before his eyes.

In the bushes, an Iron-Spine Wolf drooling with saliva stared intently with its green eyes at Li Canglan lying in the distance. Its experience in slaughter allowed it to sense that this person's blood energy was extremely chaotic and weak. He would make an excellent dinner!

"Awooo!" The Iron-Spine Wolf let out a joyful howl and pounced swiftly toward Li Canglan. Its blood-red maw snapped toward Li Canglan's throat. With just one bite, it could kill this human before it!

Li Canglan shook his head. Already feeling irritable, he reached out to his side but couldn't find his battle blade. "Sigh, the blade is gone; how annoying." He pressed two fingers together and swiped through the air. Boom! An unarmed Thunderbolt Slash, strengthened by the Eight Directions Thunderclap, instantly sliced through the Iron-Spine Wolf's throat. Blood bubbled and flowed continuously. The Iron-Spine Wolf collapsed to the ground, dead as a doornail.

"Hoo..." Li Canglan slowly stood up and exhaled a breath of stale air. Having rolled who knows how many times inside the Stone Man, the feeling was simply too unbearable. He never wanted to experience it a second time in his life. He took a few deep breaths and slowly calmed down.

Just then, with a loud bang, the Stone Man leaped high from the hillside and crashed down not far from Li Canglan, smashing a huge circular pit. The Stone Man swung its massive fists and charged at Li Canglan.

Li Canglan's eyes narrowed, and he turned and ran! He had lost his battle blade while rolling down the hillside earlier. Now that he only had his Physical Body, only a fool would use their fists to go head-to-head with a Stone Man!

The Stone Man was heavy; it couldn't catch up based on speed alone. After running for a while, Li Canglan suddenly turned and ran back up the hillside. Li Canglan quickly put distance between himself and the Stone Man. For it, this was equivalent to climbing a mountain with a heavy load! How could it possibly outpace Li Canglan, who was nimble and enhanced by wind element?

Not long after, that group of academy students appeared in Li Canglan's line of sight. His eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Everyone, might I borrow a blade!"