Fang Mushan stared intently at the hulking man before him, who stood over six feet tall with knotted muscles, a trace of envy on his face.
For someone's Realm to improve so drastically in such a short time, causing such a physical transformation, there was no other possibility but possessing True Blood.
"To think that someone with True Blood is actually a servant of the Jiang Family. What an absolute joke."
Fang Mushan slowly sat down, watching Xu Yunfan, who was busy admiring his own body.
Xu Yunfan said, "Is it possible that I'm just extremely talented, and that's why my Cultivation speed is so fast?"
From the corner, Li Haomiao scoffed.
"If you didn't have True Blood, you would've been killed in that cave by Jiang Yu and her ilk."
Xu Yunfan's mouth twitched. He really didn't know that True Blood provided such a massive boost to one's Martial Arts path. While it provided cover for his "system," it also piqued his curiosity.
'If just a sliver of True Blood allowed me to reach Great Mastery in a month, then what kind of Cultivation speed do those with nearly pure True Blood possess?'
"True Blood... is it really that powerful? To be able to reach Great Mastery in a martial art in such a short time?"
His expression was incredibly complicated. Everyone in the Jade Capital said he was exceptionally talented, strong enough to lift a cauldron, but compared to someone with True Blood, the difference was like that between the clouds and the mud.
A Martial Artist with ordinary talent would need to spend at least ten to twenty years of bitter effort to cultivate a relatively simple External Martial Arts to Great Mastery.
Even if Xu Yunfan was on the verge of achieving Great Mastery of External Cultivation, tempering the body isn't an overnight affair. While achieving Great Mastery of External Cultivation causes a qualitative transformation, that process still requires time.
Unlike Xu Yunfan, who was still relatively thin when he went into the cave but came out a hulking man over six feet tall.
Looking at that body full of corded muscle, he looked nothing like someone who had suffered in Ninggu Tower.
Li Haomiao took it all in and shook his head. "True Blood defies logic. It's a good thing he only has a sliver of it. If he were a pure-blood, in one month... he might have even been able to cultivate Qi."
Fang Mushan asked, "How do you know?"
Li Haomiao glanced at him and slowly closed his eyes. After a moment, as if remembering something, he said, "My surname is Li."
At first, Fang Mushan didn't think much of it, but then his expression froze. Just as he was about to ask a question, the sharp, crisp sound of a branch snapping suddenly came from outside the cave.
SNAP!
Fang Mushan shot to his feet, his expression grave.
"The early warning was triggered."
Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow and slowly straightened up.
'Animals aren't careless enough to step on branches. A sound like that was most likely caused by a person.'
The art of hunting involved extremely clever placement of such warning devices.
"Damn it!"
Lord Xuu looked at the broken branch under his foot, his face grim, and spat fiercely.
He hadn't expected them to set such a clever trap.
He turned to look at Yang Gan beside him. The way the man was looking at him like he was an idiot was really starting to piss him off.
"Lord Yang, should we still check this hole?"
Yang Gan snorted. Just as he was about to speak, his pupils trembled slightly.
In that instant, a thick, powerful hand burst out from the ground and, like an iron pincer, clamped firmly around Lord Xuu's ankle.
Down in the cave, Xu Yunfan met the utterly astonished gazes of Fang Mushan and Li Haomiao with a slightly sheepish look on his face.
"I deliberately dug the ground thin up there. I figured if some heavy prey stepped on it, they might fall right in, and we'd have something to eat."
'Anyone who could stumble into a trap like this without noticing must not be very strong.'
As he spoke, Xu Yunfan lowered his stance, his bare toes digging into the earth as his heels sank into the mud.
A vast power surged up from the ground like a tidal wave, rushing through his thighs and waist, all the way to his arms.
The muscles on his outstretched arm bulged, and green veins popped out like little snakes.
Driven by his surging qi and blood, his skin even began to take on a faint coppery sheen.
BANG!
Lord Xuu barely had time to look down before the ground beneath his foot gave way, revealing a large hole. He was pulled down by an irresistible, powerful force, with no time to react at all.
THUD!
Lord Xuu was slammed heavily into the ground inside the cave. A stifling pressure built in his chest, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood with a "PTUI."
His eyes flew open. Enduring the intense pain, he tried to draw the Longsword at his waist. At the same time, his right leg shot out like lightning, striking from a vicious angle toward Xu Yunfan's ribs in an attempt to force him back.
If Xu Yunfan retreated, this Lord Xuu with the handlebar mustache would have seized the opportunity to escape his dire predicament.
'Should I grab his attacking leg, or should I step forward and block with my knee?'
A thought flashed through Xu Yunfan's mind: neither option was good. If he tried to block the attack, he would give his opponent an opening to counter.
'This Lord Xuu's ability to react is truly vicious!'
Xu Yunfan steeled himself. 'I should be able to take it.'
The Copper Body Skill also had the effects of Body Refining and the strengths of Horizontal Training.
He ignored the attack completely, letting the man's right leg slam heavily into his ribs.
CLANG!
A dull thud, like metal striking metal, rang out.
Lord Xuu's face instantly turned deathly pale. A sharp pain shot through his shin, and he cried out involuntarily.
"Horizontal Training?!"
Before he could finish his sentence, a large hand shot out like a dark cloud blotting out the sun, covering his face and completely blocking his vision.
Xu Yunfan squeezed his five fingers with brutal force. The muscles in his forearm bulged, and veins strained as if they would burst through his skin.
CRACKLE!!
Before the stunned, dumbfounded eyes of Li Haomiao and Fang Mushan, Xu Yunfan crushed this Lord Xuu's head into a pulp, silencing him forever.
Xu Yunfan straightened up, looking through the hole he'd just created to meet the gaze of Yang Gan, who was standing at its edge.
He could clearly see the disbelief and shock in Yang Gan's eyes.
He knew this young man. The one who had stood silently in the corner of the mine that day was now standing tall and proud, having dragged Captain Xuu Yun, who had achieved First Level Great Mastery, into a pit and killed him with lightning speed.
"Cross Training Skill?"
Yang Gan spat the words out coldly. He truly hadn't expected that the person he had dismissed as a nobody would now be standing before him with a Horizontal Training Body at the First Level Great Mastery.
With Xuu Yun dead, the remaining twenty-odd soldiers were consumed by rage. Drawing their weapons, they prepared to charge.
By now, Fang Mushan had already leaped out of the cave. He charged the formation alone at incredible speed. He ducked in close, and with a single lift of his arm, sent a soldier flying high into the air.
His physical strength was truly terrifying; a mere flick of his arms could easily knock over a spirited stallion.
The soldiers who had been drawn in and charged forward were proving to be no match for Fang Mushan.
Fang Mushan's movements were swift and fierce. He closed the distance and, as easily as taking something from a pocket, snatched a Long Spear from a soldier's hands.
In an instant, the aura around him changed completely. He was like a dormant beast finally baring its fangs, his killing intent now fully revealed.