Chapter 277: Chapter 232: Superpower, ’Vine Control

Unlike the flat terrain outside the other three city gates, the area beyond this particular gate of Dongwu City was quite different.

As Lin Li gazed into the distance, he saw that the terrain in the northern region outside Dongwu City rose and fell, rugged and uneven.

Patches of dense groves were scattered nearby, and farther in the distance were many low hills.

According to the intelligence he had gathered, a seemingly endless forest lay beyond those hills.

There’s an old saying: mountains may look close, but they’ll wear out a fast horse. Even though the low hills in the distance seemed quite close...

For an ordinary Cultivator to actually reach those hills, it would take at least an hour and a half to two hours, and even then, they would just barely make it.

Therefore, reaching the supposedly endless forest behind the hills would take a considerable amount of time.

However, Lin Li had no intention of following the other Cultivators from Dongwu City into the forest to search for Spirit Plants or hunt Mutant Beasts for profit.

He had left the city simply to see if this northern region was more dangerous than the wilds of Blue Star.

’I’ll make that closer hill my destination and turn back once I reach it.’ Lin Li selected a nearby hill and began to advance toward it.

Usually, when Cultivators from Dongwu City headed for the same hill Lin Li had chosen, they would proceed cautiously, taking over an hour to arrive.

But Lin Li was not nearly as cautious as the other Cultivators from Dongwu City.

After picking his destination, he simply broke into a full sprint.

He was so fast that he would likely reach his destination in just half an hour.

...

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

The rolling wilderness was covered in dense, man-high weeds.

A figure sprinted across the wilderness, the tall weeds rustling finely as they brushed against his speeding form.

After breaking through to Second Order High Rank, Lin Li’s strength had soared. At full speed, he was now even faster than when he rode his motorcycle.

Of course, this didn’t mean he would stop using his motorcycle for transport from now on.

Sprinting on his own two feet, after all, consumed stamina, whereas riding a motorcycle did not.

’Although the motorcycle is a bit slower, it doesn’t drain my stamina or tire me out. As long as there aren’t any emergencies, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the motorcycle and go a little slower...’

A little over twenty minutes later, Lin Li was about to reach the hill he had chosen at the start.

Sprinting at full speed, he arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Staring at the hill, now close at hand, Lin Li realized it had looked much, much smaller from the gate of Dongwu City than it did up close.

’This hill must be at least five or six hundred meters tall! That’s much higher than I first estimated...’ As he was about to reach his destination, Lin Li gradually slowed his pace, muttering to himself as he looked at the hill right in front of him.

’Aren’t there supposed to be a lot of active and dangerous Mutant Beasts in this region north of the city? How have I run all this way without encountering a single one?

Was I running too fast? Did the Mutant Beasts hiding in the shadows not have time to react before I blew past them?’

BOOM...

Just as Lin Li was wondering why he hadn’t been attacked by a single Mutant Beast during his sprint, a loud explosion suddenly rang out from the foot of the nearby hill.

The earth-shattering blast immediately captured Lin Li’s attention.

After a few seconds of thought, he sprinted toward the source of the explosion.

...

At the foot of the hill, a man in black and a man in white were locked in a ferocious, life-or-death battle.

Surrounding the site of their clash lay the bodies of several other figures, all dressed in black.

A closer look would reveal that each of these figures in black had a bloody hole in their chest, and all of them were devoid of life.

CLANG CLANG CLANG...

Two Spiritual Longswords, each glowing with a faint golden Spiritual Light, clashed violently. The sound of ringing steel was accompanied by a shower of orange sparks erupting from where the blades met.

After exchanging over a hundred blows, the two Second Order Middle Stage Cultivators had each managed to inflict several minor wounds upon the other.

BANG.

The two exchanged a palm strike, sending a shockwave rippling outward. They were both forced back six or seven meters, panting heavily as they stared daggers at one another.

The fight appeared to be a stalemate, but in truth, the man in white was slightly superior in strength.

The man in white, whose strength was greater, was the first to steady his breathing. "Just hand that thing over," he said, trying to persuade the man in black, "and I can let you walk away with your life."

"Fuck! You killed so many of my men, and now you’re telling me to hand over the item and you’ll let me live? Do you take me for a fucking idiot?!" the man in black spat, his voice ice-cold. He didn’t believe a word of it.

At the same time, he was growing anxious. ’After that exchange, I know I’m no match for him,’ he thought. ’If this keeps up, I’m almost certain to lose.’

"My reinforcements will be here soon. I’m being merciful and giving you a chance to live. Don’t throw it away."

"That thing you’re holding is precious, I know, but you only get one life. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good."

"I’ll give you thirty seconds. Live or die. Think carefully," the man in white continued his methodical persuasion, putting on an air of benevolence.

If the man in black hadn’t personally witnessed him ruthlessly slaughter so many of his people, he might actually have been fooled by this hypocritical display of mercy.

"..." The man in black remained silent. Though he didn’t believe a word, the situation was not in his favor.

Hearing this, he fell silent. ’He’s right,’ he thought. ’The item in my robes is precious, but when faced with death, nothing is more precious than my own life!’

’But I went through hell to get this thing. I can’t just hand it over. I can’t accept that.’

The man in black raised a hand to his chest, feeling the small wooden box inside his robes as he wrestled with the decision.

The thirty seconds the man in white had given him passed quickly. Just as the man in black was about to announce his surrender, the situation suddenly changed.

The man in white, whose face had been a mask of benevolence moments before, suddenly burst out laughing. His voice dripped with scorn as he spoke to the man in black.

"Idiot. Did you really believe I’d let you leave alive? How pathetic. A pig-brained fool like you deserves to die here today."

"Huh?!!!"

Before the man in black even had time to get angry at this sudden betrayal, his Perception flared, sensing something wrong in his surroundings. His expression changed drastically. ’Shit! I’ve fallen into this bastard’s trap!’

The moment the man in white finished speaking, the man in black realized the truth. The so-called thirty seconds to make a decision had just been a stalling tactic, buying time to use some kind of special technique.

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...

The two were surrounded by thickets of tall grass. Suddenly, the grass began to stir without a breeze, making a noisy rustling sound, as if many people were hiding within.

SWISH SWISH SWISH...

Hundreds of finger-thick, emerald-green vines shot out from the dense grass, swarming toward the man in black, whose face had turned pale with shock.

"You despicable bastard...!" the man in black roared in fury at his opponent, rapidly dodging the green vines that tried to entangle him.

...