Chapter 118: You Lecherous Cat

Whoosh! The sound of something slicing through the air echoed sharply.

Zhen Zhuang charged forward as usual, his expression vacant yet determined. Though his physique was incredibly powerful, he had never learned any martial arts techniques. As a result, aside from relying on his raw strength, he had almost no other means of defense or attack.

“Heh!” The owner of the flying knives smirked disdainfully as his blade was about to strike Zhen Zhuang. He prepared to continue his assault on Xiao Yang.

But just as the group was about to pass by Zhen Zhuang, the latter’s massive hand suddenly swung out. One assassin failed to dodge in time and was struck squarely by the blow.

A spray of bright red blood dotted the air.

The assassin collapsed to the ground, motionless.

This sudden turn of events caused the remaining seven assassins to momentarily freeze in shock.

“Anyone who dares touch the young master—die!” Zhen Zhuang bellowed fiercely, lunging at the seven.

In an instant, he pinned down one assassin and delivered a crushing punch.

Thud!

The assassin’s head was crushed like a rotten watermelon, splattering into a messy ruin.

At that moment, the other assassins snapped back to reality. One swiftly drew a dagger and slashed at Zhen Zhuang’s neck with lightning speed.

“What a brute,” he muttered, eyes brimming with wary respect despite his attack landing.

“What are you doing? That tickles,” Zhen Zhuang said, touching his neck and realizing he was unharmed. He then threw another punch.

The assassin stared at him in stunned disbelief, thoughts racing: “Are you some kind of beast disguised as a man?”

His dagger couldn’t even pierce Zhen Zhuang’s skin.

Within moments, three of the eight assassins lay dead.

The remaining five dared not act rashly and retreated with caution.

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Their daggers had been meticulously sharpened before the mission, capable of slicing throats as easily as cutting tofu. Yet now, none could penetrate Zhen Zhuang’s neck.

Retreating further, the assassins glimpsed a pale mark on his neck, a clear sign the blade had grazed him.

“What kind of monster are you? Why is your skin so thick?” a younger assassin asked.

Even most beasts’ hides, though tough, would yield a wound when slashed. But here, their blades failed to cut through human flesh.

“I am your master, Zhen Zhuang!” With that declaration, Zhen Zhuang’s confidence soared.

Xiao Yang, witnessing the scene, was not overly surprised. He muttered quietly, “Truly a beast in human form.”

At this point, Zhen Zhuang’s physical defenses surpassed those of even a renowned martial artist. Unless one wielded a spiritual weapon or was an exceptional martial master, breaking through his skin was near impossible.

Xiao Yang recalled the first time Zhen Zhuang had faced a beast in direct combat. Initially, the creature had overwhelmed him, beating him mercilessly with its claws. Yet, even those savage attacks failed to injure him.

Later, upon consulting the system, Xiao Yang learned that Zhen Zhuang’s sacred body had fully awakened. From then on, until he reached the saint realm, he would encounter virtually no bottlenecks in his cultivation.

Since that day, whenever Xiao Yang encountered beasts at the demon master level, he would send Zhen Zhuang in first. The latter was nearly impervious to harm and it served as excellent physical training.

“Come at me together!” Zhen Zhuang’s fighting spirit ignited as he taunted them with a single pointed finger.

However, the five assassins were specially trained and possessed exceptional emotional control.

“We’re no match for him. Retreat!” one said, turning to leave without hesitation.

They all understood that staying meant certain death. There was no chance of wounding Zhen Zhuang, and prolonging the fight would only doom them all.

Though Zhen Zhuang’s strength and defense were terrifying, his speed was comparatively lacking—on par with others at his cultivation level. For assassins, speed was their lifeblood; each moved far faster than cultivators of similar rank.

But Zhen Zhuang had an ally.

Xiao Yang smiled faintly.

“Think you can run? Not a chance.”

Before Xiao Yang could speak, the Black Ice White Tiger sprang into action, exhaling a frigid breath.

The five assassins immediately felt a chilling cold at their ankles and looked down in alarm.

Their lower legs had been encased in solid ice.

No matter how hard they struggled, they could not break free.

“Anyone who dares touch the young master—die!” Zhen Zhuang roared, delivering a powerful punch to one assassin’s back.

Thud!

The blow chilled him to the bone.

The other four panicked, abandoning attempts to escape and drawing daggers to strike at Zhen Zhuang.

But their attacks merely left shallow scratches on his skin before he swatted them down with a single palm.

Having finished, Zhen Zhuang strode back.

“I’ve killed everyone who offended the young master,” he declared, flashing his teeth in a grim, bloodied grin.

The blood coating him made Zhen Zhuang appear terrifying, causing Xiao Yang some unease.

“Next time, don’t make such a bloody mess when you fight,” Xiao Yang admonished.

“Got it, young master!” Zhen Zhuang nodded eagerly.

The three rested briefly before preparing to continue their journey.

Xiao Yang hoped to reach their destination quickly. If no treasures awaited, he planned to slay beasts relentlessly for several days to boost his strength to around the fifth tier of the martial master realm—enough to handle Zhang Long.

Breaking through to the martial marquis level, however, felt like bullying others.

“Kid!” As they traveled, the Black Ice White Tiger suddenly spoke, catching Xiao Yang off guard. He shot the tiger a sharp glance.

Realizing his mistake, the tiger quickly composed himself.

“Young master, this isn’t the right path,” he said.

The tiger had hoped that if Xiao Yang ignored him, he wouldn’t have to grovel for attention. But the path felt increasingly familiar, prompting a change of heart.

He recalled a critical detail: the path itself was fine, but the river ahead posed a serious problem.

The Beast Wasteland was perpetually dry except for that river, which never ran dry.

Curious once, the tiger had followed the river to its source and nearly didn’t make it back.

That experience taught him that even in this desolate wasteland, there were things to fear.

“What’s wrong? You lecherous cat,” Xiao Yang teased.

Sun Xiaoya blushed and looked away.

The tiger bristled inwardly at the insult. It wasn’t his fault women couldn’t resist his charm and insisted on hugging him. Still, he only grumbled silently, too timid to protest aloud.

“Young master, we can’t go any further,” the tiger said cautiously, glancing ahead.

Xiao Yang grew curious.

“Why not?”

“There’s danger up ahead.”

The tiger’s tone was serious, unusual for him.

“Danger?” Xiao Yang frowned. “Who could be dangerous enough to concern you? Even a demon lord-level beast wouldn’t threaten us here.”

The Black Ice White Tiger shook his head.

“There’s no beasts, but something else. That thing is very troublesome.”

For the first time, the tiger spoke with genuine solemnity.