"Kid, stop running. You can’t outrun me!" the old man said sinisterly.

"Who are you? Why are you chasing me?" Jiang Che asked in a low voice.

At this point, he was prepared to enter his Black Abyss Form at any moment.

Conveniently, there was no one else around, so he wasn’t afraid of exposing himself.

Besides, even if he couldn’t kill his opponent, he could at least escape. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

But before his Transformation, he planned to get some information out of the man first.

"Kid, I sense the aura of the Black Abyss Flesh on you... so it was you who killed the Blood Sacrifice? But you’re only at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm. I’m very curious how you managed that. Care to tell me?" the old man said, a note of amusement in his voice.

This man was none other than Sacrificial Envoy Li, who had been tracking him all this way.

"What is this Black Abyss Flesh you’re talking about? I don’t understand," Jiang Che said, feigning confusion.

Inside, however, he was reeling.

’Black Abyss Flesh! He’s from the Blood Spirit Sect!’

"Still playing dumb! That Black Abyss Flesh is useless to you, so hand it over. If I’m in a good mood, I might even give you a quick death. But if you don’t cooperate..."

Sacrificial Envoy Li slowly closed in, and Jiang Che felt an immense pressure bearing down on him.

"And if I don’t cooperate... what then?" Jiang Che asked, his expression one of pure curiosity.

Seeing that the boy showed no signs of fear, a flicker of doubt crossed Sacrificial Envoy Li’s mind.

’This kid is a little strange... Could there be an ambush?’

He stopped in his tracks and glanced around.

But there was no sign of anyone else.

"Hmph, you’re quite the actor, kid. Forget it. I’ll just kill you first and search your body. It amounts to the same thing!"

Sacrificial Envoy Li suddenly shot his hand out, clawing at Jiang Che’s head.

But the expected scene of his claw crushing the boy’s skull never happened.

Sacrificial Envoy Li found his hand caught in a death grip.

He looked closely and saw a large, black-gauntleted hand gripping his own, their fingers interlocked.

He looked up and found that the boy from before was gone.

In his place stood a brawny Martial Artist, over two meters tall and clad entirely in black armor!

’What the hell is this thing?’

He was horrified and tried to snap the Black Armored Martial Artist’s hand with all his might.

But he found the hand didn’t budge an inch!

Not only that, but the large, black-gauntleted hand was squeezing his fingers with crushing force.

An excruciating pain shot through him.

In a panic, he swung with his other hand.

But an immense force suddenly erupted from the hand holding him. He felt himself being lifted into the air before being slammed violently onto the ground.

BOOM!

A huge cloud of dust billowed up, and a crater was smashed into the ground.

’What kind of monstrous strength is that! Is he even human?!’

The world spun as Sacrificial Envoy Li’s head reeled.

He could tell his opponent was definitely not a Force Integration Artist.

And yet, his own strength was no match for him at all!

In other words, this person’s raw physical strength alone surpassed his own, and he was a Martial Artist at the Peak of the Iron Skin Realm!

’What kind of freak is this?! And where did that kid go? Don’t tell me... this thing *is* the kid?’

His mind reeled with shock and confusion. He had no idea what was happening.

However, he was a Martial Artist at the Peak of the Iron Skin Realm, after all. Such minor damage was practically negligible to him.

He circulated his Qi Blood, sprang to his feet in an instant, and drove an elbow into Jiang Che’s chest.

This elbow strike was his signature Ultimate Technique. He had killed no fewer than ten experts at the Peak of the Iron Skin Realm with this very move!

Just as he expected, the elbow struck the Black Armored Warrior’s chest, instantly caving it in. The sternum was clearly broken.

"I don’t know how you managed that, but if you think you can fight me, you’re still..."

Before Sacrificial Envoy Li could finish, he saw that the Black Armored Martial Artist seemed completely unfazed. A fist instantly shot out and slammed into his face.

The punch sent him stumbling to the ground once more, his head smashing into the dirt and digging out another crater.

He was baffled.

’Didn’t his chest cave in? How can he still throw a punch?’

He immediately leaped up and dodged to the side.

He then saw the Black Armored Martial Artist’s caved-in chest popping back into place at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within a single breath, it was completely restored.

Sacrificial Envoy Li’s eyelid twitched. This was becoming a real headache.

Even with all his worldly experience, he couldn’t fathom how the boy had suddenly been replaced by a Black Armored Martial Artist.

He secretly took out his Soul-locking Worm, only to see it fly straight toward the Black Armored Martial Artist before him.

"So you *are* the kid from before?!" Sacrificial Envoy Li exclaimed in astonishment.

He couldn’t comprehend how the boy had donned a full suit of armor in a mere instant.

Or where the armor had even come from.

And why, after putting on the armor, the boy’s strength had suddenly skyrocketed!

But he had no time to dwell on it. The Black Armored Martial Artist charged, and he was forced to parry hastily.

They exchanged blows for several rounds, and with each passing moment, Sacrificial Envoy Li grew more horrified.

He could sense that this Martial Artist’s Qi Blood was not particularly strong.

His strength and durability were close to, or perhaps even surpassed, his own.

But because his Qi Blood was lacking, his attacks lacked finishing power, making it difficult to inflict serious damage on him.

His own killing blows, however, frequently managed to grievously wound the creature.

But the terrifying part was that no matter how severely he injured him, the man would recover completely within a few breaths!

Sacrificial Envoy Li grew more and more frustrated with every exchange. A moment of carelessness allowed the Black Armored Martial Artist to land a blow on his ribs, and he instantly felt them fracture.

He quickly suppressed the injury with his Qi Blood and lashed out with a vicious sweeping kick.

The kick snapped the Black Armored Martial Artist’s lower leg, bending it at a ninety-degree angle.

But to his horror, the Black Armored Martial Artist before him simply grabbed the leg, wrenched it straight, and stomped his foot.

It was completely healed!

Seeing the Black Armored Martial Artist charge again, Sacrificial Envoy Li could only continue to defend.

He couldn’t help but think, ’If only I still had some poison on me.’

This thing was impossible to take down. Maybe poison would work.

However, he wasn’t skilled with poisons. The packet he had before was a gift from Lotus.

Unfortunately, his target hadn’t fallen for the trap, and a few passersby had died instead.

’This won’t do. He’s a monster. If this keeps up, I’ll be the one to fall!’

After taking a few more minor injuries, Sacrificial Envoy Li’s thoughts turned to retreat.

His opponent could recover from any wound in an instant.

But he had to endure his own injuries. If this dragged on, he would surely lose!

Sacrificial Envoy Li’s mind raced. He decided to retreat and get help from Red Tiger and Lotus.

But just as he made to leave, the Black Armored Martial Artist seemed to guess his intentions.

It lunged forward, wrapping him in a bear hug from behind. Its arms squeezed with crushing force, as if trying to flatten his ribcage.

Enraged, Sacrificial Envoy Li thrust his hands upward and broke free.

They fought for another dozen rounds.

The surrounding trees were all toppled, and the ground was pockmarked with countless craters.

’Maniac! He’s a complete maniac!’

More than once, Sacrificial Envoy Li tried to flee, but he was dragged back every time.

Meanwhile, his own injuries continued to mount.

Though none of the wounds were severe on their own, the accumulation of internal damage was becoming too much for his Qi Blood to suppress.

His opponent, on the other hand, seemed to grow more ferocious, more excited with every blow!

Despair began to set in for Sacrificial Envoy Li.

Blood began to trickle from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

His hair was a mess.

His right arm was now connected by little more than a flap of skin, the bones within completely shattered.

His left knee was bent backward at an unnatural angle, and he was beginning to sway on his feet.

"Monster..."

Sacrificial Envoy Li muttered.

Meanwhile, an unparalleled sense of exhilaration filled Jiang Che’s mind.

He only wanted to kill, to engage in a frenzied slaughter.

’Kill! Kill! Kill!’

That voice in his head had returned.