Blood was steadily leaking from Su Han's hands, dripping onto the cold ground.
Yet, a chilling and thin smile slowly spread across his face.
Anyone looking at him could see the sheer agony etched into his features.
He was clearly in deep pain, but that twisted grin never wavered for a second.
Watching that demonic smile, the Level 8 Body Refining leader felt cold sweat break out on his forehead.
He had never imagined facing someone this terrifying in his entire life.
His heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped animal, loud and frantic.
The leader's bravado had vanished; now, his only desperate thought was how to escape this monster alive.
The leader was a veteran of countless battles, and he wasn't about to freeze up now.
He tightened his remaining hand into a massive fist and lunged toward Su Han with everything he had left.
He knew Su Han was critically wounded, his body pushed far beyond its limits.
If he could just finish him off now, he might actually walk away from this bloodbath alive.
But a dark thought gnawed at his mind—if he tried to run, this brainless, demonic beast would hunt him down.
The madness in Su Han's eyes told him there was no escape; it was either kill or be killed.
The leader's own eyes turned a deep, vengeful red as he surrendered to his own insanity.
As that heavy fist swung through the air, Su Han didn't flinch; he met the attack with a strike of his own.
Because the impact was so brutal, Su Han was forced to pivot back, his grip finally slipping from the leader's weapon.
He skidded across the dirt, his bloodstains leaving a dark trail behind as he regained his balance.
Both men stood panting, their gazes locked in a deadly struggle.
The leader was shaking, but he didn't stop, already preparing his next desperate move.
Su Han had a High-Grade Yellow Level healing pill tucked inside his mouth, ready to be swallowed at any moment.
He knew it would knit his wounds instantly, but he hesitated, his mind racing through the battles yet to come.
"Huff... not yet..."
Seeing Su Han stumble back, the leader felt a surge of misplaced confidence and lunged forward with his blade.
Su Han barely managed to twist away, but a sharp "Rip!" echoed as the steel tore through his shirt, leaving a fresh red streak across his chest.
The sting of the new cut added to his agony, but Su Han didn't slow down; he used the leader's momentum against him.
Flickering with 'Shadow Steps', he vanished from the leader's line of sight and reappeared right in his personal space.
"Thud!"
Before the guard could react, Su Han delivered a brutal, low-down kick directly between the man's legs.
The leader never expected such a dirty move, and the agonizing pain made his world spin instantly.
"Argh...!"
His grip loosened, and his weapon clattered to the ground with a "Clang!" as he instinctively reached down to clutch himself in shock.
Su Han didn't waste a heartbeat, driving his Wolf Tooth Dagger toward the man's chest with lethal intent.
"Squelch!"
The leader tried to scramble back, but he was too slow; though he avoided a direct hit to the heart, the blade sank deep into his gut.
A muffled scream escaped his lips as he grabbed the dagger's blade with both hands, desperate to pull it out.
Su Han's expression remained demonic as he landed another heavy kick in the exact same spot.
The leader's eyes welled with tears of pure torment, his strength completely evaporating as his defense crumbled.
"Crack!"
With a cold, steady hand, Su Han twisted the dagger and shoved it upward, piercing the man's heart.
The leader could only stare at Su Han with eyes full of helplessness and terror before the light finally faded from them.
Ding!
"Host has killed a Level 8 Body Refining warrior."
"Reward: 200 Experience Points, 1000 Silver Coins, and a Yellow Level Middle-Grade weapon: The Black Steel Sword!"
Su Han barely gave the notification a glance, his mind focused entirely on his survival.
He let the Wolf Tooth Dagger slip from his bloodied grip and collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving.
"Huff... huff... damn it..."
He didn't waste a second in self-pity; he crawled toward the leader's corpse and began a frantic search.
Tucked away in the man's tunic, he found a small, worn leather bag filled with spoils.
Inside were a jagged dagger, about two thousand silver coins, and a translucent jade bottle.
As he popped the cork, a faint, medicinal aroma drifted into his nostrils, making his weary eyes widen for a moment.
But the spark of excitement died down as he inspected the contents—most were common, low-grade pills.
Among the dozens of useless pellets, he found only four Yellow Level Middle-Grade healing pills.
Without hesitation, he tossed all four pills into his mouth and swallowed them in one gulp.
He could already feel a faint warmth spreading, but he had no time to sit still just yet.
Working against the clock, he dragged the leader's heavy body toward the thick brush.
One by one, he hauled the other four guards, piling them atop the first five he had hidden earlier.
He frantically kicked dirt over the fresh bloodstains, his movements blurred by the urgency of the mission.
Once the evidence was buried, he retreated behind the massive tree, vanishing back into the shadows.
Closing his eyes, he leaned against the rough bark and focused all his intent inward.
He began to circulate his energy, forcing his blood to absorb the medicinal power of the pills to knit his broken flesh.
Su Han knew he was dancing on the edge of a razor. Time was slipping through his fingers like sand, and every passing second increased the risk of someone stepping out from the mansion or arriving from the main path.
If the internal routine was missed or if a patrol found the posts empty, the alarm would be raised instantly. He had to heal as much as possible before those inside realized something was horribly wrong.
The 'Bone-Numbing Powder' had kept the area silent, preventing any screams from echoing, but the metallic clash of weapons and the heavy thud of falling bodies might have traveled further than he hoped.
Even though the mansion was a fair distance away and there were no signals of movement yet, Su Han remained on high alert. He leaned against the tree, his breath shallow, forcing his body to mend itself.
He was realistic about his situation—those four Middle-Grade Yellow Level pills weren't miracles. They would take at least fifteen to twenty minutes to circulate through his system, and even then, he'd only be back to seventy or eighty percent of his full strength.
One High-Grade Yellow Level pill could have brought him back to a hundred percent in half the time, but he refused to touch it. He knew the real monsters were waiting inside—three powerful members of the Ling Clan.
These three were two levels higher than him, sitting at the peak of Level 9 Body Refining. According to his mission, he had to eliminate them all.
If he ended up facing all three of these experts in a single, desperate brawl, that High-Grade pill would be his only lifeline. He had to save it for that final, bloody struggle.
Su Han's heart hammered against his ribs as fifteen minutes blurred past.
The medicinal energy finally settled, and he felt about eighty percent of his strength return.
He exhaled a long breath of relief, opening his eyes to a silent night.
No one had emerged from the mansion, and no reinforcements had arrived from outside.
He wasn't finished yet; he crawled over to the nine remaining corpses he hadn't searched.
Every single resource was a potential lifesaver in the coming bloodbath, especially since he only had one High-Grade pill left.
Quickly, he gathered a pile of storage bags and weapons in front of him.
Most were mediocre—Yellow Level Low and Middle-Grade gear that didn't interest him much.
Among the loot, he tallied about nine thousand silver coins and several bottles of Body Refining and Healing pills.
The Body Refining pills were useless to his unique cultivation system, but his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"I could give these to Chu Yao... find her a decent martial art technique to go with them."
If not her, they would fetch a handsome price on the black market; he wasn't about to throw away money.
More importantly, he found eleven Middle-Grade Yellow Level healing pills among the stash.
The quantity was what mattered; he swept everything into his System Store with a flicker of his mind.
Su Han stood up, his gaze fixing on the mansion's heavy entrance, his eyes turning cold and sharp.
He began to move toward the gates, every sense heightened, watching for any hidden threats.
The main gate was eerily quiet; the long hallway beyond it was completely deserted.
He stepped inside cautiously, his boots making no sound on the polished floor.
The path eventually branched into three directions—left, right, and straight ahead.
He paused at the crossroads, his mind calculating the layout of the estate.
Straight ahead likely led to the meeting hall, where those three Level 9 experts would be lurking.
Chu Yao wouldn't be kept in such a public place; she would be hidden somewhere more private.
After a moment of cold deliberation, he decided to trust his gut and continued moving straight toward the heart of the mansion.
"The hallway was silent, but the stench of death followed Su Han inside. Three Level 9 experts were waiting in the shadows—would his next step be his last, or the beginning of a massacre?"
"Enjoying Su Han's rise to power? Make sure to add this to your collection so you never miss a breakthrough!"