Shen Tian immediately sprinted behind a thick concrete pillar on the rooftop, placing the solid structure between himself and the sniper’s line of fire.
Before he could even steady his breathing, a deep, booming laugh echoed from the rooftop doorway in front of him.
A hulking, middle-aged man stepped into the open.
His massive frame radiated brute strength, his white beard contrasting with the battle scars carved across his exposed skin.
It was Skull Crusher—the mercenary Shen Hao’s mother had hired.
Cracking his knuckles with a sound like snapping wood, the giant sneered at Shen Tian.
“I didn’t expect to run into someone so quick on their feet in a place like this,” Skull Crusher growled, his voice heavy and threatening.
“Come out from behind that pillar, kid!
Let’s see if your body is as tough as your speed!”
Hearing Skull Crusher’s roar and sensing the heavy, suffocating pressure radiating from him, Shen Tian froze for a brief moment.
But the shock quickly faded, replaced by a confident grin.
‘Fox Spirit,’ he called out mentally, ‘lend me your power.
I’m going to smash this bastard’s face in.’
In an instant, a thick, ghost-white fog erupted from around the pillar, rapidly spreading across the ruined rooftop.
Hidden high in the trees, the sniper adjusted his scope in disbelief, unable to see through the sudden wall of mist.
Inside the forest, Shen Hao and Yui Ling stared at the tablet screen in utter shock as the camera feeds turned completely white.
Where on earth was this fog coming from?
Skull Crusher narrowed his eyes, staring intently toward the direction where Shen Tian had been hiding—the exact spot where the mist had first started pouring out.
Before he could even process what was happening, a shadow burst through the fog.
BANG!
A bone-shattering pain exploded across Skull Crusher’s face as Shen Tian’s heavy kick landed squarely on his nose.
The sheer force of the impact lifted the giant off his feet, sending his massive body crashing backward onto the concrete.
When Skull Crusher’s colossal body slammed onto the roof, the impact echoed like a heavy sledgehammer striking solid rock, sending small cracks spreading across the aging concrete.
Shen Tian didn’t even bother looking back at the massive body lying on the ground.
He knew with absolute certainty that the full weight of his inner power, delivered directly through that kick, had completely shattered Skull Crusher’s skull.
The brute wouldn’t be standing up ever again.
As quickly as it had appeared, the mystical white fog began to thin out, dissolving into thin air and restoring visibility to the rooftop.
Through the camera feed, Shen Hao and Yui Ling watched in complete disbelief.
A powerhouse like Skull Crusher had been taken down in a single, devastating blow.
Shen Tian stood over the fallen giant, a wide, victorious smirk spreading across his face.
Knowing the sniper would attempt another shot now that the fog had cleared, Shen Tian immediately turned to dart toward the cover of a nearby pillar.
Swish!
Before his feet could even leave the ground, a chilling sense of absolute dread washed over him.
He felt something moving behind him at terrifying speed.
He spun around just in time—only to see a flash of vibrant red hair cutting through the air.
The red-haired assassin lunged from above, her twin daggers glinting dangerously under the light, striking forward with the deadly speed and precision of a strike-ready viper.
Her daggers slashed through empty air as Shen Tian jerked his body back just in time. Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
Sensing an opening, he raised his leg to throw a devastating counter-kick—but a sharp sense of danger flared in his brain.
Crack!
A high-caliber sniper round tore through the air, heading straight for his temple.
Abandoning his strike, Shen Tian twisted mid-air to dodge the bullet, the projectile grazing past his hair.
He planted his feet on the ground, preparing to re-engage the red-haired when From the doorway stepped the middle-aged martial artist, his black traditional robes fluttering despite the lack of wind.
“A cultivator fighting mere mortals…
what a shameful sight,” the man said smoothly, his eyes cold and calm as he locked onto Shen Tian.
“You are still so young.
If you hadn’t crossed the wrong people, perhaps you might have lived a little longer.”
“A cultivator…
How do you know I’m a cultivator?” Shen Tian stared at him in sheer disbelief.
In this mortal world, only a tiny fraction of people knew that cultivation was real—and such individuals were always exceedingly dangerous.
The middle-aged man looked at him with a composed, knowing expression.
“Because I am one as well.
I have reached the Bone Tempering Stage, the very first step of cultivation.
From what I’ve seen of your fight so far, you’re at the Bone Tempering Stage too, aren’t you?”
A deeply satisfied smirk formed on the martial artist’s face.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve fought someone at my own level.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he lunged forward at blinding speed.
Gathering his inner qi, he hurled a devastating Iron Palm strike straight at Shen Tian’s chest, the air whipping furiously around his hand like a gale.
Instead of dodging, Shen Tian narrowed his eyes, channeled his own energy, and threw a counter-palm strike head-on.
BOOM!
The collision of their palms triggered a violent shockwave of pure energy that rippled through the air, cracking the concrete floor beneath their feet.
But anyone looking closely could see that Shen Tian’s raw power was rapidly overwhelming the middle-aged man’s technique.
Seeing the martial artist get pushed back, the red-haired assassin seized the opening and darted in from the flank, her twin daggers gleaming as she aimed for Shen Tian’s vital organs.
Noticing her approach in his side vision, Shen Tian instantly unleashed a surge of hidden force through his palm.
He blasted the middle-aged martial artist backward, used the momentum to leap backward into the air, and delivered a brutal, heavy kick straight into the red-haired girl’s stomach.
CRACK!
A spray of blood erupted from her mouth as the sheer kinetic force sent her flying uncontrollably across the rooftop, crashing right over the edge of the building and falling into the dark forest below.
Regaining his balance, the middle-aged martial artist readjusted his posture—his feet tracing the defensive lines of an Aikido rectangle—and lunged toward Shen Tian once more.
What followed was a ruthless exchange of martial prowess.
Palms slammed, fists collided, and heavy kicks cut through the air as both fighters pushed their physical limits.
At this point, their strength seemed completely equal, neither yielding an inch.
Crack!
Once again, a sharp, familiar sense of deadly danger flared in Shen Tian’s mind—the sniper was locking onto him again.
A wave of pure rage surged through Shen Tian.
He couldn’t afford to waste any more time dragging out this battle.
‘Fox Spirit,’ Shen Tian commanded mentally, ‘I can’t drag this fight out any longer. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Use the power of your fog to finish off this old man and take down that sniper in the trees.
I’m going straight after Shen Hao to end his life.
Find me his exact location.’
Deep within his consciousness, a soft, seductively sweet female voice echoed back, dripping with playful intent.
“As you wish, my dear friend…
I shall personally clean up these two pests.
Go ahead and take care of Shen Hao.”
Once again, a thick, white, mysterious fog surged forth, rapidly shrouding the entire dilapidated building and the surrounding forest.
A sudden, piercing surge of pain shot through Shen Tian’s right shoulder.
A blinding white radiance burst through his torn sleeve, the heat so intense that the fabric scorched and charred instantly.
Beneath the burnt clothing, the ink of his tattoo began to glow with a terrifying luster.
It was a intricate, golden-black tattoo of a Nine-Tailed Fox—and right before his eyes, the tattoo’s eyes flickered, moving as if the beast trapped under his skin had just awakened.
WHOOSH!
A beam of pure, brilliant white light erupted from his shoulder, shooting straight across the rooftop and slamming into the ground right in front of the middle-aged kung fu master.
As the blinding aura slowly dissolved, the temperature on the rooftop plummeted.
Standing before the terrified martial artist was a colossal, majestic white fox—standing a towering four to five meters tall.
Six magnificent, snow-white tails swayed rhythmically behind her, fanning out like an divine cloak.
Around her neck hung an ancient, glowing crown carved from unknown, glowing runes.
On the tablet screen, Shen Hao’s camera feeds turned completely white.
Frustration and a sudden knot of anxiety gnawed at his chest.
Snapping the tablet shut, he turned to Yui Ling with a grim expression.
“We need to get out of here right now.
I don’t think we can stop Shen Tian like this.”
Yui ling looked at him with trembling eyes, fear clear on her face.
“Bu-but what if he tells your father that you were the one who ordered this attack?
What will happen to us?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!” Shen Hao snapped, his voice tight with desperation.
“Right now, Shen Tian is thoroughly enraged.
If he finds us, he will kill us without hesitation.
We have to run!”
He took a deep breath, trying to process the nightmare unfolding before them.
“A monster who can’t be put down by guns, who can defeat high-level martial artists effortlessly, and who dodges high-caliber sniper rounds like child’s play…
If an insane creature like that finds us, we won’t stand a single ghost of a chance.
We need to leave now!”
Without waiting another second, Shen Hao grabbed her hand and rushed toward the black SUV hidden in the shadows of the trees right behind them.
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