The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

The black bear looked back and saw a person leaping into the air, the butcher knife in his hand gleaming silver in the moonlight, like a crescent moon slashing down at him.

"Pfft—!"

The sound was not like the clang of metal on metal, nor like swords piercing flesh, but more like a scalding hot axe cleaving into a block of frozen butter.

Dull, sticky, yet so crisp it makes your scalp tingle.

Shen An's figure passed the black bear and landed heavily on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The black bear remained frozen in place, still in that turned-back posture.

one second.

two seconds.

Then, to everyone's utter astonishment, a perfectly smooth diagonal line appeared on the black bear's head, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, running from its left temple to its right lower jaw.

Immediately afterwards, half of his skull, along with an eye and half of his nose, which was wearing a look of astonishment, slid off and fell into the fire with a "thud," where it was instantly engulfed by the flames.

Red blood and white brain matter, like spilled tofu pudding, gushed from the huge wound, drenching the campfire. The flames suddenly shrank by half, hissing loudly.

The eerie smell, a mixture of burnt odor and meaty aroma, became even stronger and more nauseating.

The black bear's massive body, like a sack with its bones removed, collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, and remained motionless.

A knife.

Just one cut.

The scene fell into absolute silence in an instant.

"Who...who is this?" Li Donglai's throat was dry. He looked at the figure standing with a knife, wondering what had happened.

"He...he actually has such high martial arts skills?" Lin Zhennan was struck dumb. He recalled the time when he rescued the boy from the river, and compared it with the sword strike in front of him that was like a demon god descending to earth. His mind was in complete chaos.

Shen An was also somewhat emotional. The move "Mountain Collapse and Mountain Fall" that he had specially optimized before was not used to finish off Tian Boguang, that lecherous thief, with a heavy sword. Instead, he used a pig-slaughtering knife to kill this man-eating beast.

It wouldn't be considered a disgrace to this move.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

The deathly silence was broken by the polar bear's heart-wrenching roar, like that of a wounded beast.

He stared at his brother's corpse, his pale eyes instantly filled with bloodshot veins, his reason swallowed up in an instant by endless grief and madness.

Decades of companionship, decades of sharing life and death, his brother, his only family member, was chopped up like firewood right before his eyes!

"You little bastard! I'll make you pay with your life! I'll chew you up, skin and bones!!!"

The polar bear, as if possessed, threw off his baggage and grabbed the heavy staff he always used to carry his luggage! The staff was made entirely of refined iron, with a sharp crescent blade at one end and a shaft as thick as a child's arm at the other, weighing over sixty pounds. It was a fierce and incomparably powerful heavy weapon in itself!

In his opinion, the kid only succeeded by sneaking up on the enemy.

When it comes to true strength, he, a polar bear, roams the northern deserts, confident that no one can match him!

He roared, raising his staff with both hands and smashing it down on Shen An with the force of splitting Mount Hua! He wanted to use the purest and most absolute power to crush this enemy who killed his brother, along with his knife, into pieces! He wanted to see that ridiculous butcher's knife shatter inch by inch under his divine power, and to see the bones in the other's arm break in response!

"clang--!"

A piercing clang of metal rang out!

Immediately afterwards, there was a crisp "snap" sound!

The inferior butcher knife, unable to withstand the weight of the iron staff, snapped in two the instant it collided with it! The broken blade spun out and flew deep into the mud in the distance.

"Hahahaha! Die!"

Upon seeing this, the polar bear revealed a wildly joyful and ferocious smile.

He seized the moment when Shen An's strength had waned and his weapon was gone, and with a flick of his wrist, the heavy staff, accompanied by a tearing sound, slammed down on Shen An's head once again!

He could almost see the gruesome sight of the other person's brains splattering open!

However, the expected scenario did not occur.

Faced with this deadly attack, Shen An neither dodged nor evaded, but instead suddenly raised his hands!

"Buzz—!"

There was no crisp, metallic clang, only a muffled hum, as if a giant bell had been forcibly silenced!

The heavy iron staff, weighing over sixty kilograms and carrying immense force, came to an abrupt stop less than three inches from Shen An's head!

It was forcefully...grabbed by a pair of hands, a pair of hands that didn't look much stronger than an average person's!

How is that possible?!

The polar bear's ferocious grin froze instantly, replaced by endless horror and disbelief.

His face flushed red, and he exerted every ounce of strength he had, trying to press the staff down or pull it back. But the staff seemed rooted to the ground in his opponent's hand, remaining completely still! His terrifying strength, enough to shatter stone tablets, was laughable like a child's in front of his opponent!

Is this even human?

Immediately afterwards, the polar bear saw a mocking smirk appear on the other's lips.

Want to outstretch your strength with me? (Laughs)

Shen An himself found it hard to keep a straight face and couldn't help but laugh.

The polar bear's already shaky composure crumbled instantly at that relaxed smile.

Just then, Shen An made a move.

He suddenly exerted force with his hands gripping the staff, and the muscles on his arms bulged instantly, with veins bulging like dragons!

"rise!"

A low growl came from his chest!

To everyone's utter astonishment, Shen An lifted up the enormous body of the white bear, which weighed over two hundred pounds, by grabbing his staff!

The polar bear was suspended in mid-air by its own weapon, its limbs struggling in vain, its eyes filled with endless despair and fear.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

Li Donglai, Lin Zhennan, and everyone present stared blankly at this scene that seemed like a god or a demon, their minds completely blank.

Shen An made no unnecessary movements, but used all his strength to slam the Zen staff in his hand—along with the white bear strung on it—down onto the ground!

"boom--!!!"

A deafening roar!

The sound, mixed with the muffled thud of refined iron hitting the ground and the teeth-grinding "crack" of human bones being instantly crushed into powder, formed a primal and bloody symphony of death!

The ground was smashed into a huge crater, and dust flew everywhere.

The white bear, who had been so arrogant just moments before, was now a limp, twisted mass of rotting flesh at the bottom of the pit. Blood and foam mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed from his mouth and nose. His body twitched twice before falling completely silent.

The riverbank fell into a deathly silence once again.

Shen An stood between the two corpses, slowly straightening up, somewhat stunned.

He just wanted to try it out, but he didn't expect to actually succeed.

Is 150 jin of power in the first level of the "Lapis Lazuli Body Sun King Mantra" a bit too much?

The monk's staff weighs over 60 jin (approximately 30 kg), and the polar bear weighs over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), totaling over 300 jin (approximately 150 kg).

It seems that his own strength of over 100 jin plus the 150 jin strength boost is enough. But that's definitely not the case, as the polar bear also has its own strength at play.

When testing strength before, it was against inanimate objects like stone locks.

When it came to Tian Boguang, Shen An's understanding of his sins remained only on paper, and he never truly felt them.

The scene of these two guys roasting Gundam fragments over a fire was truly shocking.

It is not surprising that the Buddha would display the fierce wrath of Vajra against such cannibalistic demons.

Shen An had a premonition that the breakthrough to the second level might lie in this.

Li Donglai was the first to react. He waved to his men, signaling them to put down their weapons, and then cautiously, with a mixture of awe and trepidation, walked toward Shen An.

"This...young hero..." Li Donglai clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice hoarse.

"Li Longtou, go and rescue the people from Fuwei Escort Agency first." Shen An waved his hand, looked at the bound escorts, and then glanced at Lin Zhennan.

Lin Zhennan was still standing there, stunned.

He looked at Shen An, with only one thought swirling wildly in his mind.

So that's what people with high martial arts skills are like.

The polar bear had just unleashed a furious attack; if it were me, I doubt I could have stopped it, let alone caught it.

With just this one blow, I'm afraid my brains will splatter out.

What role could his family's martial arts, which he was so proud of, and his exquisite moves, play in that life-or-death struggle?

How did my grandfather's martial arts skills, which were renowned throughout the martial arts world, become like this when they were passed down to me?

So all these years of wandering the world... haven't I...

Lin Zhennan dared not think about it anymore.