C18 Counterattack!

Despite the passing of an entire month, not much had changed in the Level-9 beasts' territory. Chu Zhongtian followed the old secure route and safely arrived at the territory's edge.

Then, he hid on the top of a tree ten meters in height and one meter in diameter. After retracting all his aura, he carefully observed the Level-10 beasts' territory.

Before, he was ambushed here because he didn't scout the path first. They had failed to scout the area and encountered Qi Yiloong and his goons here. This time, he had learned his lesson. So, he first scouted the area from the treetop before deciding on a path to take.

After a half an hour long stakeout, he found a path with no beasts and humans.

After confirming that it was safe, he jumped down from the tree and finally stepped into Level-10 beasts' territory.

Compared to his speed in the Level-9 beasts' territory, his pace in the Level-10 beasts' territory was much slower. Fearing both beasts and humans alike, he had to pay attention to his surroundings at all times and take each step after careful deliberation.

Until he stepped into mid Level-10 beasts' territory, Chu Zhongtian didn't encounter a single living being. Perhaps the beasts had gone into hibernation, and the humans had just left—who knows the real reason anyway?

Chu Zhongtian calculated, 'If the rest of the journey is just as safe, I just might be able to reach Luolin Town before dark.'

After an hour and a half, he was close to low Level-10 beasts' territory. However, his luck had run out.

Ahead him stood not only a mid Level-10 beast but also more than a dozen of cultivators. The Storm Bear was ferocious, and the cultivators were murderous. The cultivators had the bear surrounded; from the looks of it, they were at a standstill.

This standstill was also the reason Chu Zhongtian had no idea about the group. Had they been fighting, he would've noticed the screams and shockwaves. Then, he would've just circled around them.

Chu Zhongtian's impromptu appearance—unexpectedly—not only surprised the cultivator, but even the bear looked a bit puzzled. However, after realizing that he was a mere Level-2 Qi Refiner, their nervous expressions immediately relaxed.

"I'm sorry, I took the wrong path. I'll leave now." One had to follow certain rules while roaming in the Endless Forest. One of them stated: if you meet another human in the Endless Forest—run! After all, one could figure out beasts' behavior for a second, but one could never, even dream about deducing a human's next thought.

After saying that, Chu Zhongtian, obviously, didn't wait for them to agree. He turned around and ran towards the outer perimeter of Endless Forest.

"Chao, go and kill him." So was the lore of Endless Forest... Chu Zhongtian was a mere Level-2 Qi Refiner, yet he was injury-free and strangely clean after crossing Level-9 beasts' territory. And this was his crime. The leader of this human group became suspicious. He suspected that either Chu Zhongtian was under some expert's protection or he was carrying some treasure.

Since he was unsure about Chu Zhongtian, he decided to test the waters. After all, he couldn't just give up this opportunity. So, he sent a loyal Level-3 Qi Refiner to test Chu Zhongtian.

If Chu Zhongtian had an expert protecting him, the group's leader would feel no remorse over losing a Level-3 mob. However, if Chu Zhongtian had a treasure, the Level-3 mobster would definitely offer it to the mob boss, given the mobster's loyalty. All in all, he wasn't afraid that his subordinate would take the treasure for himself.

After rushing a few hundred meters, Chu Zhongtian turned his head and looked behind him. He found that there was a person rapidly approaching him.

Given the distance between them, Chu Zhongtian couldn't deduce his follower's strength for the time being. However, from the speed, he could tell that his follower was stronger than him.

Endless Forest's border was still quite a few miles away, so Chu Zhongtian made a few calculations and came to a disturbing conclusion. Given their distance and his opponent's speed, he was sure that his follower would definitely intercept him before he could leave the forest.

"Gotta go all out!" Initially, he thought he could escape his pursuer if he channeled all his spiritual power to his legs. However, given the current circumstances, he gave up that idea.

To gain the upper hand and leave Endless Forest as soon as possible, Chu Zhongtian did not stop. Instead, he adjusted his pace and changed his breathing rhythm, allowing him to move forward while maintaining sufficient physical and spiritual power.

Over the course of the next half an hour, the distance between them kept getting shorter. Chu Zhongtian turned around and took a look. Now, there was only a distance of ten meters between them, so he could see that his follower was a Level-3 Qi Refiner and a long sword wielder. After ascertaining the threats, Chu Zhongtian's worried mind relaxed a little.

Now, on tp the money matters. Despite being a Qi Refiner's weapon, a single ten times tampered sword was by no means cheap. For example, the steel blade in Chu Zhongtian's hand was worth at least thousands of gold coins in the market.

Consequently, ordinary Qi Refiners found getting their hands on one quite hard. Only those with extremely high talent from the major forces had a tempered weapon while being mere Qi Refiners.

As for why Wang Family's ordinary man—non-trash Zhongtian—had a sword... Well, his family was kinda the biggest seller of weapons, remember? A tempered weapon didn't have the value to them as it did to the others.

In addition, they were going to harvest Yang Fruits from the middle of Level-9 beast's territory, so they had to prepare for the danger appropriately. To encourage that ordinary person, the Wang Family rewarded him with a ten-times-tempered sword.

Eight meters...

Five meters...

Three meters...

Chu Zhongtian, who had been steadily moving forward, suddenly started to accelerate. His actions made his follower believe that this was his one last desperate push for survival. However, Chu Zhongtian's closeness to the Endless Forest's border worried his follower. So, his follower channeled his spiritual power to his legs and increased his speed.

However, Chu Zhongtian was waiting for this very moment. The second Chu Zhongtian's follower channeled all his power to his legs, Chu Zhongtian turned around abruptly. He brandished his sword, used his opponent's surprise to his advantage, and executed the basic saber technique.

The cultivator following him never dreamt that not only would Chu Zhongtian not escape but would actually launch an offense. Right now, most of the follower's spiritual power was gathered in his legs, so he couldn't defend himself in time.

Helpless, he could only raise the iron sword in his hand. He planned to use his weapon to temporarily block Chu Zhongtian's attack and then think of a way to counterattack.

However, his defense was lackadaisical, and Chu Zhongtian's offense was as fierce as it could be.

The difference in strength between them was of a minor level, Chu Zhongtian was using a ten times refined weapon, and his opponent was using an ordinary iron sword. When the two weapons clashed, the ordinary iron sword broke off, and Chu Zhongtian's knife cut across that man's right arm.

Originally, Chu Zhongtian was aiming for the man's head, but after his opponent's weapon broke, he only managed to slash that man's shoulder.

The steel blade was unusually sharp. Let alone flesh and blood, it made quick work of even the iron weapon. The tip of the sharp steel blade cleanly severed his opponent's hand holding the broken iron sword.