"If you have no regrets dying, then go ahead and die!"
Just as the fat warrior was about to plant his lips on Luo Bing, a frigid voice suddenly rang out.
The fat and thin warriors had been consumed by lust, their blood running hot, but the moment they heard another person's voice, they sprang to their feet like startled birds, every hair on their bodies standing on end.
The fat warrior shot upright. Before he could even make out who was speaking, a fist came hurtling toward him. Holy energy surged across the knuckles, concealing a feriously powerful technique. It swelled before his eyes, blotting out every sliver of light.
The fat warrior wanted to dodge, but found that no matter what he tried, he couldn't escape it. The opponent's cultivation was clearly far above his own…
BOOM…
A muffled impact rang out, accompanied by the fat warrior's shriek. His corpulent body hurtled backward, and while still midair, his entire head burst apart like a smashed watermelon, red and white matter spraying in every direction.
"Ahh!" The thin warrior screamed at the sudden turn of events, but before he could recover his wits, his companion had already perished before his very eyes.
He hurriedly looked up. A broad-shouldered, disheveled warrior with long, wild hair had appeared before him at some point. The man looked as though he had just come from a fierce battle—his body was drenched in blood, half his face was swollen and bruised, and his eyes were so bloodshot they were downright unsettling to look at. One of his eyes had gone completely white, with not a trace of black remaining, sending a chill straight through the thin warrior's spine.
"Wh—who are you?!" The thin warrior's spiritual sense swept over the newcomer and discovered the man actually possessed Void King Realm Third-Stage cultivation. His heart sank immediately.
He and the fat warrior were only at the first stage of the Void King Realm—two minor stages below this opponent. Even though the wild-haired brute didn't look like he was in peak condition, judging from the sheer force behind the punch that had obliterated the fat warrior, the thin warrior knew he was no match either.
"The one sending you on your way!" The wild-haired man let out a cold snort. His tower-like frame gave a slight sway, and he vanished from sight.
The thin warrior cried out at once: "Friend, let's talk this through! We have no grudge against you—why resort to violence straightaway?"
Even as the words left his mouth, he summoned his defensive Artifact without a heartbeat's delay. It materialized as a barrier of light that shielded his entire body.
The wild-haired man's voice suddenly came from behind him, cold as the grave—like the call of death itself: "What is there to say to scum like you who bully the helpless? Go die!"
As the words fell, a cleaving saber appeared in his hand. As Holy Energy flooded into it, the blade let out a roar like a tiger's, and a massive phantom tiger head materialized along its edge. It opened its jaws wide and lunged at the thin warrior.
The thin warrior's face drained of color. "I'll take you down with me!" he bellowed.
Though his cultivation was two minor stages below his opponent's, he believed that if he truly fought with his life on the line, there was still a sliver of hope for escape. The fat warrior had been killed in a single punch only because he had been caught off guard—his Artifact had never even been summoned.
Now, with his defensive Artifact shielding him, there was no way he would be killed in one blow.
But events unfolded far beyond his expectations. The great saber cleaved down with the unstoppable force of a tidal wave, tearing through his defenses as though they were nothing and continuing onward to slice across his body without a trace of its momentum diminishing.
"Im… impossible!" The thin warrior stood rooted to the spot, staring down at the massive wound that ran from his shoulder all the way down to his abdomen. He looked up at the wild-haired man and rasped: "You're a Dao Source Realm powerhouse?"
In that fleeting moment, he had unmistakably felt the overwhelming pressure that only a Dao Source Realm martial artist could exert. And the great saber in the man's hand was clearly a Dao Source-grade Artifact—which was how it had shattered his defenses and dealt him a fatal blow so effortlessly.
"A man about to die—why bother asking?" The wild-haired warrior snorted coldly.
The instant the words left his mouth, blood erupted from the thin warrior's body like a geyser. His entire form split clean in half, all of his internal organs laid bare.
The air reeked of blood.
Luo Bing lay on the ground, her entire body trembling violently. Her beautiful eyes were wide with horror, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. She turned her head and retched.
She had grown up sheltered and pampered—she had never witnessed anything so ghastly and brutal in her life. The sheer visual horror of it shattered her composure in an instant.
She vomited until there was nothing left but bile before she felt somewhat relieved. Then, her face paper-white, she turned to look at the wild-haired man, her expression one of overwhelming gratitude. She asked in a trembling voice: "Are… are they dead?"
The wild-haired man gave her a cold glance. For reasons unclear, a flash of undisguised disgust passed through his one good eye. He made no move to answer, only letting out a faint snort as he sheathed his long saber.
Then he walked over to Luo Bing and tapped several points on her body with his finger.
Her sealed cultivation was instantly released. Holy Energy began to flow through her meridians once more. She rose unsteadily to her feet and cast a fearful glance at the mutilated corpses of the two warriors beside her, only to quickly look away, clapping a hand over her mouth as she retched again.
The wild-haired man said nothing. He simply stood where he was, watching with cold, detached eyes.
After a long moment, Luo Bing finally lifted her head and gazed at the wild-haired man: "Thank you. Thank you so much…"
She repeated her thanks over and over, every word sincere and heartfelt.
After all, if the wild-haired man hadn't appeared when he did, what awaited her would have been a fate too horrible to imagine. She had never faced a crisis like that, and even in that desperate moment, she had clung to the fantasy that someone might appear to save her.
Someone actually had come to rescue her. Though he looked rather frightening—his features fierce and grotesque—for some reason Luo Bing didn't feel all that afraid of him. His broad, iron-tower-like frame actually gave her an inexplicable sense of security, and she couldn't help but think that sheltered beneath such a sturdy wing, perhaps she would never have to face misfortune again.
It was a feeling her own father had never given her—nor had Qiu Yu, ever.