The searing pain from the wounds all over his body caused him to turn his head to the sky and shout as loud as he could. This was the first ti he had felt such great pain—it was so intense that the thought of wanting to be dead crossed his mind.
Trying his best to understand what was happening, he slowly looked at his body. He saw his arms covered in black spots and bite marks, causing his eyes to tremble. Then, as he gazed at his chest, he almost passed out.
He could see his rib bone poking out from his chest, with blood continually gushing out.
"Argh! Sh*t!" Don cursed, trying to ease his pain using the surrounding Unrefined Qi—a simple healing treatnt that ca along with the Essence of Fighting.
He took a couple of deep breaths while the Unrefined Qi slowly eased his wounds. However, as he tried his best to stay alive, the hair all over his body stood on end. His instincts—honed during this short but brutal ti fighting—told him that another danger was coming his way.
Looking up, he saw a giant fireball heading straight for him. His eyes widened. Don tried to dodge, but the pain and injuries prevented him from even taking a step, causing him to fall to his knees instead.
Seeing that the attack wasn’t going to stop, ti seed to slow down.
And in this slowed world, Don recalled his life—from the mont he was born, to the mont he t his master and was accepted as a disciple. Happiness and sadness ca, fleeting and fast. Then the mories led him to his current situation.
A smile appeared on his face as Don accepted his fate.
At least I’m not going to die without achieving sothing, Don thought as the fireball closed in on him.
However, just as he was about to close his eyes, he noticed that the giant ball of fire wasn’t actually landing exactly on his spot. The attack flew over his head, exploding a dozen ters behind his back, causing a small mushroom cloud to rise into the sky.
Don glanced behind him, then turned to face the one responsible for the attack.
A humanoid monster, standing at least ten ters in height. The beast was muscle-packed, its hard shell like that of a scorpion—black and glinting. It had flaming red hair, waving like ocean waves on top of its... skull. The skull resembled that of a human, full of cracks with fire flowing from them. Fire burned in its eye sockets, staring at Don Blanc coldly.
The beast’s lower body was just like its upper part—covered in an exoskeleton like that of a scorpion.
"A lich-type monster?" Don muttered, recognizing the kind of monster in front of him. It was a powerful creature with strength equivalent to that of a Core Creation Cultivator and above. But Don was only at the Foundation Building Stage. Against this monster—one that could rival even the Mayor of Belthias City—he was no match at all.
"So even if its previous attack failed... I will still die," Don let out a heavy sigh as he accepted his fate once more. And when he thought about the information about monsters that ca with the Essence of Fighting, Don had to prepare himself for an excruciating death at the hands of a lich. "They’re known for torturing their prey. They’ll even torture an insect. How despicable."
Knowing this, it was better to die by his own hands rather than in the lich’s. With that in mind, Don raised his hand. He paused for a mont, then determination flashed in his eyes.
"I won’t die without a fight," Don muttered, his eyes glinting with fighting spirit. Although he had already accepted that death was inevitable, he still wanted to fight—he wouldn’t give up. If all else failed, he could end his own life before the lich-type monster got the chance. "Yeah... I can do that."
With this newfound resolve, Don gritted his teeth, enduring the pain coursing through his entire body as he stood up.
He took a deep, heavy breath before starting to walk toward the monster.
At first, he limped—but as he drew in more and more Qi from the surroundings, the pain began to fade and strength returned to his limbs. His pace quickened. Montum built. Then Don began running, pushing his body with everything he had.
The Essence of Fighting moved on its own, strengthening Don’s body. His speed surged as he pushed past his limits.
"Argh! Take this!" he roared, pulling his arm back, clenching it into a fist, and launching his body toward the monster! The world blurred around him—then in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of the lich’s face!
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Don smashed his fist into the lich’s skull!
The mont his Essence-strengthened fist collided with bone, a loud cracking sound echoed.
Hearing this, Don’s eyes lit up with hope. "Did I—?"
But his excitent was cut short.
The ten-ter-tall lich opened its mouth. Sparks crackled in front of it—and then, a small ball of fla ford.
"Oh... I f*cked up," Don muttered.
Pain suddenly shot through his right fist—it wasn’t the skull that cracked. It was his hand. Bones shattered and twisted, the damage climbing up his entire arm.
A high-pitched whirring sound roared from the lich’s mouth. Standing directly in front of it, Don’s hearing vanished. Then, the whirring was drowned out by a blinding white light.
"I’m really about to die," Don said quietly, about to close his eyes—when suddenly, a hand reached out through the light. It grabbed his arm, and before he could process it, his body was hurled into the sky.
He flew out of the blast radius and caught a glimpse of the ten-ter lich spewing white flas across the distance—incinerating hundreds of monsters trying to cross the gorge.
"Eh? Master?" Don muttered, spotting his Master floating in front of the lich. But before he could see anything else, his body slamd into the forest, crashing through massive trees and boulders.
Don vomited blood each ti he collided with sothing. Only after his limbs were broken did the crashing stop.
He landed on a patch of grass, tall trees swaying above his blurred vision.
"I’m... alive..." Don whispered, chest heaving as he fought the drowsiness. After spitting out one final mouthful of blood, he passed out—not without repeating his words once more, "I’m... alive..."
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