"Ha-ha…"

Streams of blood gushed out from the neck of the headless stump.

​​

Red Dog was not dead yet.

In his horror, he covered his neck in horror and pushed his head down. It was a final attempt to rely on his own life force to heal the wound.

Xu Xiaoshou was stupefied.

Was this the life force of Sovereign Stage?

The violent giant and the explosive gesture failed to kill him.

The Passive Fist that shook the skies and 10 miles of the earth also failed to kill him.

Now that he was beheaded on the spot, was he able to defy the odds and survive?

Xu Xiaoshou swore that this was the most determined person he had ever seen.

In the past, he thought that as long as he had the ability, the Sovereign Stage would be the same level as the Grand Master and the Innate Stage cultivation level.

After his encounter today, he had to revisit his original assumptions. Red Dog's terrifying resilience shook him down to his bones.

Moreover, this was the combat power that Red Dog exhibited after he missed his shot and was the underdog.

If he could recover, even if he fought back twice...

Would he still be alive now?

"You are struggling in vain."

The scruffy-looking man looked at his actions and shook his head helplessly. His fingers flicked twice once more.

The two were several feet apart.

At this distance, coupled with the man's warning, Xu Xiaoshou knew he was about to attack.

At this moment, Red Dog could not react in time.

With two slashing sounds, one of his arms and the other half-broken leg were chopped off.

The body, the head, and the limbs were all scattered individually.

This time, Red Dog could no longer hold on.

He was dismembered.

His head could no longer sustain the gushing force of the blood and was pushed away.

"Donglulu–"

Red Dog's head rolled on the ground several times. His lips squirmed as if he wanted to say something.

But no one could hear it.

His eyes were still as big as saucers until his imminent death.

He had already thought of all the ways he could have salvaged the situation, even during the times he had missed his aim and was delayed by his opponent.

He had to kill Xu Xiaoshou no matter what. It did not matter how many Sovereign Stage cultivators from Tiansang City came after him. He was confident that he could make a clean escape.

Now, none of that was needed. It was futile.

'Where did this guy come from...'

Red Dog's doubts, along with his fading soul, departed from this human world.

He did not get an answer in his final moments.

Yet, he did not even notice it at all.

…

Gulp!

Xu Xiaoshou swallowed nervously.

"Is he dead?"

Xu Xiaoshou's condition was not much better. He was on the brink of death and paralyzed. Even so, he failed to kill Red Dog.

Two fingers…

And he was dead…

He looked at this scruffy-looking man, and the horror in his eyes was no less than when he first saw Red Dog.

This guy…

If he remembered correctly, right before he met Red Dog, he was so engulfed in his thoughts that he knocked a man over.

'In this world, people cannot possibly have the same cultivation, hair, dirty clothes, sack, and look like two peas in a pod!'

Xu Xiaoshou panicked.

This man turned out to be a big boss.

Simply put, with the man's ability, he could not possibly allow himself to be hit.

At that time, his presence must have been intentional.

But, what for?

Xu Xiaoshou pondered it carefully. He vaguely recalled that this man seemed to have called out, "You went in the wrong direction," right after he left.

In other words... Was he there to send him a sign?

Had he not noticed it?

Then…

"Are you here to save me?" Xu Xiaoshou instantly looked woeful and excited.

Regardless of whether he was here to save him or not, if he did not get into this man's good books right now, he might end up like Red Dog.

'Two fingers...'

'Oh my God!'

'He killed a Sovereign Stage with two fingers!'

'Was it because Red Dog was too weak, and his body was dismembered?'

'That's impossible!'

Xu Xiaoshou knew that if that psycho Red Dog did not die, it would only take a short time before his physical body could recover.

But he was now dead.

Even Red Dog's Sovereign Stage cultivation base was no match for those two fingers.

This was absolutely terrifying.

The scruffy-looking man dragged the gunny sack and slowly walked toward Xu Xiaoshou.

He let go of the sack and squatted before him.

Xu Xiaoshou finally had the chance to examine this big boss up close again.

His face was handsome. Even if it was covered in dirt, it could not conceal the spiritual aura glowing from within.

The big scar on his neck was so rugged that it was the ultimate statement of a man's beauty. It was a badge of honor from his countless battles.

Even his four fingers looked so cute. The sword cognition attached to them was simply...

Hmm?

Sword cognition?

Xu Xiaoshou finally realized what the problem was.

Among the people he knew, only a few of them comprehended sword cognition.

Even in his recollections, there was only one person who could fit the bill.

"You."

His pupils dilated in realization. "You are..."

"Who am I?" The scruffy-looking man smiled.

"…"

Xu Xiaoshou was horrified and thoroughly shaken.

He carefully looked at the cultivation level of the man. It was Acquired Stage.

He gazed at the man's eyes again...

They were hazy…

Ordinary…

Undistinguishable…

It could be said that any random person on the street who was drowned in the turmoil of life would have such a pair of soulless eyes.

But…

There was one exception.

'Is it the masked man?'

Xu Xiaoshou did not dare to speak as he was afraid of dying.

He exclaimed it in his heart, and it was as shocking as it seemed.

The masked man also had such eyes.

He practiced swordsmanship as well. He also comprehended sword cognition.

Furthermore...

Xu Xiaoshou secretly glanced at the man's four fingers from the corners of his eyes.

'No thumbs?'

He recalled stabbing the masked man's heart with Hidden Bitter when he first encountered this guy at Goose Lake.

At that time, his opponent clapped the sword with both hands instead of gripping it.

This detail was still crystal clear in Xu Xiaoshou's memory.

During their fated second encounter, he tackled the masked man and exchanged blows with him.

He had very flat palms with no irregular surfaces at all. It was just like the thumbs were gone.

That detail was also etched in his mind.

In the past two encounters, this guy was fully armed and covered from head to toe. What was that for?

Was it to cover up the recognizable scars on his neck and the broken fingers on his hands?

Xu Xiaoshou's mind buzzed without warning. He felt that the universe was playing a tasteless prank on him. It was far too scary.

Did this man have his eye on him?

…

"The masked man?"

He knew that by saying this name, he would appear to know too much. It was likely to increase the probability of his imminent death.

Xu Xiaoshou could not hold himself back, and he exclaimed it out loud.

"Masked man?" The scruffy-looking man repeated his words with a strange expression flashing on his face.

"You have identified the wrong person."

"It does not matter who I am. The important issue on hand is..."

He paused and pointed at Xu Xiaoshou's body. "You are dying."

"Hmm?"

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou realize that his time was about to run out.

He regained his senses. The weakness in his body overpowered him, and his eyelids fluttered close.

"I can save you."

The man spoke with a smile.

Xu Xiaoshou wanted to speak but was so frail that he could not muster the energy to utter a sound.

He desperately tried to keep his eyes open, even for a little bit.

The world flickered. It was bright and then dark for a while.

The extents of his line of sight narrowed and shrank a little. Suddenly, everything turned gray.

'Help me?'

'Then you should hurry up! If you dawdle any longer, I will really die!'

Xu Xiaoshou was so weak that he was unable to complain. However, the man was not in a hurry and seemed to be waiting for him to close his eyes.

After waiting for a long time, he finally sighed, "Not bad. His life force is rather strong to have lasted so long..."

"But his strength is still too weak!"

He tilted his head and muttered to no one, "Your training method is too slow."

After he spoke, he took out an ancient book, which was as thick as the width of a palm, from his spatial ring and slammed it in front of Xu Xiaoshou.

The impact sent smoke and dust flying.

The man smiled and said, "Do you want to live? Do you want to become stronger? When you encounter this kind of Sovereign Stage power again, can you make your kill with one move?"

"Come on, just blink your eyes, and all this will be yours."

"Of course, you cannot regret your decision if you dare to close your eyes."

Xu Xiaoshou almost spurted out a mouthful of blood and passed out on the spot. However, he kept his eyes wide open.