The Yunlu Mountain Range was vast, and the Martial Artists who entered it scattered in all directions. Lin Yun's group of three, however, walked through the woods at a leisurely pace.
"This is just the periphery. The Demon Beasts have basically all been killed off. We'll have to go deeper to find any," Lu Bingning explained to Lin Yun as they walked.
Lu Bingning had been to the Yunlu Mountain Range before. Thinking that this was Lin Yun's first time, she explained various things about the mountain range to him along the way.
Lin Yun was very grateful. Regardless of whether the information was useful, her kind intentions alone made him think, 'She's a really good person.'
As Lu Bingning and Lin Yun chatted, Lu Tao sulked ahead by himself. He couldn't stand listening anymore; his sister, who had always been so cold and elegant, seemed to transform into a different person around Lin Yun.
The three of them walked for about an hour. At that moment, thanks to the extraordinary Perception Power granted by cultivating both the War God Technique and the Demon Emperor Technique, Lin Yun was the first to detect danger.
A Demon Beast. They had encountered their first Demon Beast.
"Lu Tao, stop! There's danger," Lin Yun called out, noticing that Lu Tao was still completely oblivious.
However, Lu Tao completely disregarded Lin Yun's well-intentioned warning. Instead, he retorted, "Danger? We've barely entered the Yunlu Mountain Range. There isn't even a ghost here. If you're scared, you can just go back."
With that, Lu Tao took two more steps forward before turning to face Lin Yun. "What danger? If there's really any danger, I'll call you my brother-in-law from now on."
Lu Tao was being incredibly cocky, but the words had barely left his mouth when, from the bushes less than ten meters in front of him, a tall, sturdy black shadow shot out and lunged straight for him.
Faced with the sudden attack from the black shadow, Lu Tao froze in terror. One second he was making a confident promise, and the next he was under attack.
Just as the black shadow was about to reach Lu Tao, in the nick of time, Lin Yun arrived and threw a fierce punch at it.
Having successfully blocked the shadow, the three of them could finally see it clearly. It was a Sharp Claw Wolf, a Tier One Demon Beast with strength equivalent to a human in the Opening Realm.
"Remember what you said earlier. You two, stand back," Lin Yun said to Lu Tao with a smile, his back to him and Lu Bingning.
Hearing this, Lu Tao lowered his head in embarrassment. This was a huge loss of face. He then shot a vicious glare at the Sharp Claw Wolf. 'It's all this beast's fault! Of all the times to appear, it had to be right now.'
'Great. Didn't I just sell myself out? Am I really going to have to call Lin Yun "brother-in-law" from now on?'
"Lin Yun, let me help you," Lu Bingning said with concern, seeing that Lin Yun intended to fight the Sharp Claw Wolf alone. It was common knowledge that at the same Realm, a Demon Beast's body was stronger than a human's.
"No need. It's just a Tier One Demon Beast. I can handle it," Lin Yun said confidently, smiling at Lu Bingning.
A Demon Beast's body was very strong, but Lin Yun's wasn't weak either. After more than ten years of tempering with Elemental Power, Lin Yun was confident he could completely dominate this Sharp Claw Wolf in terms of physical strength.
"Come on, let's see what you've got," he said to the Sharp Claw Wolf with a slight smile, turning his head.
Demon Beasts possessed intelligence, though it was naturally far inferior to that of humans. Seeing Lin Yun's provocative gaze, the Sharp Claw Wolf let out an angry roar and charged at him.
"Good timing! Tiger Roar Fist!" Facing the ferocious Sharp Claw Wolf, Lin Yun shouted and met its charge with the Tiger Roar Fist.
For a moment, the sounds of a tiger's roar and a wolf's howl echoed through the forest, as if a fierce tiger and a lone wolf were locked in a deadly battle.
The Tiger Roar Fist, in Lin Yun's hands, was brimming with power, while the Sharp Claw Wolf's claws were incomparably sharp. In this fight, Lin Yun was determined to test the limits of his physical body, so he refrained from using any Elemental Power.
"Freak... Savage... To actually fight a Demon Beast with pure Physical Strength," Lu Tao muttered under his breath from a short distance away, watching the battle.
But as expected, his words had just fallen when Lu Bingning slapped him on the head again. "What did you say? If you had a body that strong, would you call yourself a freak?"
Scolded by Lu Bingning, Lu Tao instantly wilted. 'My sister is a lost cause,' he thought. 'She sides with Lin Yun in everything. Is there even a place for her own little brother in her eyes anymore?'
The battle continued, and the sounds of Lin Yun fighting the Sharp Claw Wolf attracted passing Martial Artists, who stopped to watch. Many were astonished by Lin Yun's physical body. They could tell that even now, Lin Yun hadn't used a single shred of Elemental Power.
"That body... it's even stronger than a Demon Beast's."
"You don't know who he is? He's Lin Yun, the only son of our Iron Gate Pass's Grand General, Lin Xiaotian. You could call him a genius with an unparalleled physique."
Some of the Martial Artists from Iron Gate Pass swelled with pride. Lin Yun's physical body was the strongest they had ever seen. In terms of pure Physical Strength, perhaps not even a Martial Artist at the Seventh Layer of the Opening Realm would be his match.
"Hmph, just a brute. Martial Artists fight with Elemental Power. No matter how strong your body is, you won't amount to much." Hearing the people from Iron Gate Pass praise Lin Yun to the heavens, some of the outsiders felt displeased.
Lin Yun didn't hear any of their discussions. At this moment, he was completely immersed in the excitement of his battle with the Sharp Claw Wolf.
"Awesome! You're a worthy opponent." Dueling with the Sharp Claw Wolf, Lin Yun felt exhilarated. Unlike humans, Demon Beasts relied on absolute strength, which was exactly what Lin Yun wanted right now.
In contrast to Lin Yun's excitement, the Sharp Claw Wolf was finding the situation unbearable. If the wolf could speak, it would have already cursed Lin Yun's entire family tree.
Lin Yun, who could have easily won, was instead fighting it using only his physical body. Moreover, he was treating it like a Trial Stone, deliberately avoiding its vitals with every move.
With a high-pitched howl, the Sharp Claw Wolf became completely enraged. Disregarding Lin Yun's attacks, it charged at him, looking ready to take him down with it.
"Come on. It's about time to settle this." Facing the enraged Sharp Claw Wolf, Lin Yun pushed his Tiger Roar Fist to its absolute limit. The sound of tiger roars rose and fell, each punch accompanied by a roar that echoed through the woods.
He knocked aside the Sharp Claw Wolf's claws with a single punch. Lin Yun's Tiger Roar Fist was like an unstoppable force, viciously striking the wolf's head. With that single blow, he sent the Sharp Claw Wolf flying.
Pressing his advantage, Lin Yun pushed off with his legs, quickly catching up to the Sharp Claw Wolf, which was still flying backward through the air. He threw another punch, slamming the wolf straight into the ground.
After taking successive heavy blows, the Sharp Claw Wolf was on its last breath. However, Lin Yun, still in mid-air, didn't hold back. With a final blow, he smashed the Sharp Claw Wolf's head to pieces.
Three punches—three punches using only Physical Strength—were all it took to kill a Tier One Demon Beast. The surrounding Martial Artists now looked at Lin Yun with a new sense of gravity. His combat prowess was truly formidable.