3: You are the challenger.

The cold flying dagger piercing through his chest didn't feel good.

"Thud."

"I almost let you get away."

As Zhou Yan fell, Zhou Pi finally caught up. Looking at the dying Zhou Yan, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I didn't expect you to have hidden strength. If you had recovered to your peak, you might have caused me a lot of trouble."

"But even at your peak, I would still win."

"You can enjoy the last few seconds of your life here."

After speaking, Zhou Pi picked up the flying dagger that had fallen to the ground and walked towards the town, eventually disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

In the clearing, the recent battle made the forest even more eerie in the dead of night. After a long while, a voice broke the silence.

"Ugh—ha!"

The dying Zhou Yan miraculously recovered his vitality, taking a deep breath to relieve the lingering fear of his near-death experience.

As he disengaged from combat again, Zhou Yan, who had only 2 HP left, quickly recovered to 12 HP, finally clinging to life.

In fact, with only 2 HP left, Zhou Yan's ability to run and jump wasn't affected, but that ranged attack was too overpowered—fast and high damage. If he took another hit, he would most likely be finished.

So, out of helplessness, he chose to exit combat mode and, instead of returning to story mode, directly reverted to his Physical Body state.

Although the Silver Edge had pierced his chest, it had pierced his game mode body and did not actually affect his Physical Body.

Upon returning to his Physical Body state, he was merely on the verge of death, just like in the dungeon before, and his entire body ached.

After Zhou Pi left, Zhou Yan immediately entered combat mode. Because the enemy had left, he automatically switched back to story mode after a certain period of no combat.

"This bug saved my life again," Zhou Yan sighed in relief. Honestly, the taste of near-death was not pleasant.

"Hahaha."

"Zhou Yan, oh Zhou Yan, I knew you had a trump card. I guessed there must be something going on for you to run for so long with such severe injuries."

"Sure enough, that 'Baga' thing you just mentioned must be your trump card, right?"

Zhou Pi, who had supposedly left, reappeared in front of Zhou Yan.

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Yan first broke out in a cold sweat, secretly lamenting how careless he was not to even pay attention to the mini-map.

But there was nothing he could do; after all, he was on the verge of death and was momentarily immersed in the joy of surviving, making it hard to react.

However, after hearing Zhou Pi's words, Zhou Yan, for some unknown reason, overcame his fear and subconsciously touched his philtrum, feeling a tickle.

"Damn it, you're endless! You almost changed my nationality too. I'm going to explode on you!" Zhou Yan, who had been suppressed all day, finally couldn't take it anymore.

In his previous life, he had died from stress. Coming to this world, he experienced double suppression, both physical and mental. Even with a System, it gave him a bunch of buffs that made him uncomfortable everywhere.

Since they didn't want him to live, then no one should live!

Zhou Yan lunged like a ferocious tiger, unleashing a 'Double Wind Piercing Ears' move, intending to smash Zhou Pi's head directly.

But he was currently blinded by rage, unable to recall some memories related to Martial Skills. He was relying entirely on muscle memory and Physical Body strength to forcefully execute this awkward move.

Facing this, Zhou Pi merely dodged without counterattacking, but his evasion was extremely agile, like a special footwork, making each dodge effortless and graceful.

If he was somewhat impulsive just now, after a few consecutive Wild Punches missed, Zhou Yan calmed down and began to analyze his options. It was then that he discovered something different.

[Elite Monster: Zhou Pi]

[Rank: Body Tempering Triple Layer]

[HP: 69/100]

Status: Weakened Vitality (Due to significant loss of vital Qi and blood disrupting his internal circulation, attack power -25%, stamina -25% for a short period. Status duration: 1:42:2)

"Good heavens, no wonder someone with Zhou Pi's personality isn't finishing me off and isn't even fighting back. So this is what he was waiting for?"

Zhou Yan now understood. Zhou Pi had always been very cautious. His Silver Edge move must have been executed in a special way that damaged himself.

Because Zhou Yan's condition today was too strange, he was afraid Zhou Yan still had a trump card, so he hesitated to use that move. After using it, he was worried that if his weakened state was discovered, he would be counter-killed, which is why he pretended to leave to trick Zhou Yan into revealing his trump card.

But this isn't a solution either, is it? He still can't win.

Looking at Zhou Pi's mocking expression, it was clear that the other party also realized Zhou Yan had figured it out.

But this was an open scheme; no matter what, Zhou Yan still had to fight him.

Seeing the other party's expression of, "You finally figured it out?" and an air of having everything under control, Zhou Yan grew increasingly irritated.

"Used up your trump cards, have you?" Zhou Pi taunted, confirming that Zhou Yan, in his current state, hadn't used any more trump cards, so he likely had none left. He stopped dodging and threw a punch in return.

The punch whistled through the air, just like the one that had previously smashed into the ground. Although its Aura was somewhat weaker than before, it was still not something he could withstand.

"Ding! Given that the player has not opened the combat tutorial for a long time, to ensure the subsequent game experience is not affected, the combat tutorial will now automatically begin."

Hearing this sound, Zhou Yan's mind went blank, and he frantically complained internally, "Damn it, don't mess with me! I'm fighting for my life here, don't hijack my account!"

Unfortunately, the System ignored Zhou Yan's mental storm and directly pronounced the final judgment.

"Ding! Combat Tutorial activated. Tutorial 1: Evade."

Zhou Pi's punch was about to finish off his good cousin, but he actually dodged it.

Normally, this would be nothing—he'd just throw another punch. But Zhou Yan's current expression was terrifying, making Zhou Pi somewhat fearful.

If a person's face is expressionless and their eyes are dull, ordinary people would say they are lifeless and lack vitality.

Zhou Yan's state was exactly like this: his eyes were cold like a machine, even more terrifying than the Zhou Family's Dead Warriors. He no longer showed any emotion when looking at Zhou Pi, as if fighting Zhou Pi was simply how it should be.

"Playing tricks, die!" Zhou Pi suppressed the fear in his heart, intending to completely shatter Zhou Yan's facade with brute force.

"Ding! Combat Tutorial 2: Perfect Evasion."

Unlike the previous punch, this one not only missed, but the opponent's footwork became even more exquisite. It was clearly just a normal dodge, yet the pressure it brought was no less than facing the Major Achievement footwork used by the elders of his clan.

Zhou Pi was about to say, "What exactly..." but before he could finish, Zhou Yan, who had just dodged an attack, instantly teleported in front of him with incredible speed and delivered a heavy blow to his temple.

"Critical hit! -20!"

[Zhou Pi HP: 49/100]

This powerful punch made Zhou Pi's ears ring. Before he could react, another punch struck his face.

"Ding! Combat Tutorial 3: Pursuit Attack."

A punch landed on Zhou Pi's face, sending him rolling three times on the ground until he hit a tree and stopped. This punch wasn't painful, only causing a slight nosebleed.

Just as he was about to get up, Zhou Yan instantly teleported in front of him again with incredible speed and delivered another punch. This punch was twice as strong as the previous one, directly shattering his abdomen and sending him flying further away.

"-12, -24."

[Zhou Pi HP: 13/100]

"Ding! Combat tutorial has ended. For subsequent content, please click to view it yourself."

Control of his body returned to Zhou Yan. Because of the forced entry into the tutorial animation, Zhou Yan once again disengaged from combat, allowing his injuries to improve further.

[Zhou Yan HP: 22/100]

Looking at Zhou Pi's HP, which was almost the same as his own earlier, their conditions were worlds apart.

Zhou Yan stood upright in front of Zhou Pi, while Zhou Pi was unable to get up.

The nearly empty HP bar reflected Zhou Pi's dire state. He wasn't a Cultivator, and his Body Tempering cultivation wasn't too high. Already weakened, he was now barely clinging to life.

In the time it took Zhou Yan to watch a 3D animation, the situation completely reversed. This kind of deus ex machina operation was simply illogical.

What? You're saying I'm the one without logic? Then never mind.

Zhou Yan spoke to the battered Zhou Pi who had fallen.

"Well done, Zhou Pi, I will never forget you."

With that, Zhou Yan viciously kicked Zhou Pi's head, dealing 6 points of damage.

"What's going on? When AI hits the head, it's always 10+ damage. Why am I so unlucky?"

Unfortunately, Zhou Pi couldn't hear the last complaint. When his HP reached 13, he was already nearly unconscious.

These last 6 points of damage were the straw that broke the camel's back, causing him to completely go into shock.

The remaining 7 HP also began to drop rapidly, losing one point every two or three seconds on average. The 7 HP was gone in no time.

Zhou Pi completely became a cold corpse.

"Loot acquired: Silver Edge (Tier 1), Silver *25, Unknown Cultivation Technique *1, Shattering Stone FistSkill Book *1, Water StriderSkill Book *1, Spirit Stone *1, Rejuvenation Pill (Tier 1) *1."

"Wow, a golden drop!"

It's an elite monster, so the drop rate is incredibly high. Zhou Yan didn't even have time to look at the other items, immediately focusing on the Rejuvenation Pill in his inventory. He took it out and consumed it directly.

Rejuvenation Pill: +50 HP

Additional Effect: Removes one negative status (only effective for Qi Refining and below Realms)

Description: Said to be an item given by a certain Qi Refining Cultivator to encourage their juniors.

The Medicinal Pill went down, and its effects immediately spread throughout his body. As the negative buffs disappeared, his HP recovered. Even if Zhou Yan were to exit story mode now, he would feel his entire body filled with power, no longer in pain.

And the cultivation that had disappeared due to the special status officially returned as his status recovered.

Due to the previously activated story mode and the influence of negative buffs, Zhou Yan didn't have a good understanding of his own strength. Now that everything had improved and he felt the explosive power within him, Zhou Yan felt he could now punch through a tree.

Enjoying the rare leisure, he looked up towards the east, where a faint fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.

The corpse before him, the power within his body, the System with infinite possibilities—yesterday was over, tomorrow was promising.

"Ding! First time defeating an enemy stronger than yourself, you have obtained the title [You Are The Challenger (Normal)]."

(Tier 1 = Qi Refining, Tier 2 = Foundation Establishment, and so on)