Song Li scrambled towards Nie Tian.
The Golden Stone Rhino madly chased after her. The gash in its abdomen was so deep that its intestines could be seen.
The beam of golden light extending from its horn began to flicker; it was bright at one moment, but dim the next.
The fluctuations of its life aura had also become very unstable, as if it could drop to the ground and die any moment now.
However, Song Li was still its only target. Wherever she ran to, it chased after her.
Song Li’s alluring figure was the only reflection in the beast’s bloodshot eyes, as if killing her would put its heart at ease.
ZZZZZLA!
One of Shen Wei’s dagger whizzed by and created another slit in the Golden Stone Rhino’s abdomen.
It roared so loudly that heaven and earth started to tremble. Even still, it ignored Shen Wei and continued to charge towards Song Li.
At that moment, Song Li reached Nie Tian’s side and shrank behind him, where she called out with a pitiful tone, “Help me! Li Tian!
“I’ve spent too much of my strength. I’m afraid I can’t even run any more. Li Tian, the Golden Stone Rhino is just on the verge of dying. Strike it hard and finish it off!”
“Alright,” Nie Tian replied.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The Golden Stone Rhino roared as it got closer, the beam of light on its snout becoming dazzlingly bright.
Along with its mountain-like body, an intense bloody aura rushed directly towards Nie Tian.
Hiding behind Nie Tian, the pitiful look on Song Li’s face was already gone.
The look in her eyes was cold and vicious as she secretly stepped backwards.
It was as if she was afraid that Nie Tian would be knocked flying by the Golden Stone Rhino, and that she would be implicated as it happened.
After she put ten meters between Nie Tian and herself, she turned around to make a reassuring gesture towards Shen Wei, a complacent smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.
“It’s over,” she said inwardly.
A cluster of blazing flames was built up around Nie Tian’s clenched right fist. The flames flickered, as if there was more than one type of power within them.
He thought to himself, “This Rage Punch of mine consists of thirty percent of my strength. It’s probably enough to kill this dying Golden Stone Rhino.”
Via his Heaven Eyes, Nie Tian had long since seen through the Golden Stone Rhino’s poor condition. The beam of golden light on its snout couldn’t stop flickering, like an oil-lamp that was burning out.
When the beam of golden light was brightest, Nie Tian jumped backwards and skillfully dodged its first attack.
As soon as the light dimmed, Nie Tian lunged forward at lightning speed and threw his punch towards the Golden Stone Rhino’s head. Like a burning meteor, Nie Tian’s fist met the beam of golden light on the beast’s snout.
Countless sparks sputtered in every direction as the gigantic Golden Stone Rhino’s dashing momentum was instantly stopped!
It was like a charging war chariot crashing into a mountain made of steel. Not only was it stopped, but it even trudged several steps backwards.
As it did, the deep gashes in its abdomen burst open, and its internal organs poured out along with its blood.
BOOM!
Finally, the huge Golden Stone Rhino collapsed to the ground.
As it took its last few breaths, blood flowed out of its foul-smelling mouth like a river.
Just like the light its horn had dimmed, the light in its eyes gradually faded away.
Song Li, who had intentionally distanced herself from Nie Tian, frowned as she looked deeply at Nie Tian from behind, suspicion filling her eyes.
Nie Tian had struck the Golden Stone Rhino right when the light of its horn was the dimmest. The timing was perfect.
Song Li knew very well that when the light was the dimmest, the Golden Stone Rhino was the weakest.
Therefore, she couldn’t be sure whether it was because the Golden Stone Rhino was too weak to withstand any kind of strike, or the might of Nie Tian’s fist strike was so formidable that it instantly killed the Golden Stone Rhino.
Whatever the reason was, the result was that Nie Tian was breathing, and the Golden Stone Rhino was not.
At that moment, Song Li had already hid the coldness in her eyes and filled her face with smiles. She approached Nie Tian like a blossoming flower, saying, “No wonder the Blood Skull made you their guest elder. You’re indeed much better than Yin Tuo and the other two guys. Killing the Golden Stone Rhino with merely one punch! This is simply marvelous!”
“I’m flattered,” Nie Tian said with a fake smile. “Yin Tuo and those guys fought the Golden Stone Rhino with their lives. I just happened to be there when it was weak and about to die.”
Song Li sighed, regret filling her face. “It’s my fault. I got the three of them killed. If I could’ve hung on for a little longer, they’d still be alive.”
“It’s not your fault,” Shen Wei said as he walked up to the Golden Stone Rhino’s corpse. He went ahead and cut off its horn without getting consent from anyone. “We were only able to attack its vulnerable parts because you fought the Golden Stone Rhino head-on. If you didn’t attract its attention for such a long time, how could we have killed it?
“I’ve taken the horn. Song Li, you can have its eyes, skin, and teeth.”
Then, Shen Wei turned to Nie Tian and said with a casual tone, “As we’ve agreed, you’ll have its blood and meat, okay?”
“Yeah,” Nie Tian answered with a smile.
“Great.” Shen Wei nodded as he sighed and changed the subject, “I’ve known Yin Tuo and those guys for years. I’ll take their bracelets of holding and give them back to their kin in Shatter City when we return.”
With these words, he walked to the bodies of Yin Tuo and the two others and stripped them of their bracelets of holding.
As he did, Nie Tian watched silently with an expressionless face.
He had observed the team for days before he had demanded to join them. Therefore, he knew that Shen Wei wasn’t that close with them at all.
Shen Wei merely said it so that he would have an excuse to take their gains during this trip for his own.
Nie Tian was well aware of what he was doing, but he pretended he didn’t, and let him have his way.
For one thing, he didn’t attach much importance to those people’s belongings. All he wanted were the Golden Stone Rhino’s blood and meat.
For another, he still needed to figure out the true relationship between Shen Wei and Song Li. Hence, he had to remain silent to keep observing.
Shen Wei glanced at Nie Tian as he took the three bracelets of holding.
Seeing that Nie Tian assumed an indifferent attitude, Shen Wei didn’t have any excuse to say anything else to Nie Tian. Then, he hinted at Song Li that she could harvest the rest of the valuable parts of the Golden Stone Rhino.
Song Li once again sighed over how regretful she was, getting Yin Tuo and those guys killed.
However, as she said those words, she skillfully cut off the valuable parts of the Golden Stone Rhino. Only after that did she turn to Nie Tian and ask after a moment of hesitation, “Are you sure you just want its meat and blood? You’ve made great contributions, and technically it was you who killed it. I’d be happy to give you some of the stuff if you want any.”
Nie Tian shook his head. “No, thank you. I just need its meat and blood.”
“Alright then.” Song Li stepped away from the Golden Stone Rhino and stood next to Shen Wei as she said to Nie Tian, “It’s all yours now.”
Under Song Li and Shen Wei’s strange gazes, Nie Tian smiled as he bent down to slice the Golden Stone Rhino’s meat into pieces.
As he did, he had his back facing the two the entire time, but he kept a close watch on them using three of his Heaven Eyes.
Shen Wei signaled Song Li with his eyes, but Song Li shook her head and objected to his evil proposal.
Nie Tian laughed coldly in his heart, as he had been waiting for them to give in to the temptation to attack him. Once they made the slightest move, he would immediately form his chaotic magnetic field.
However, Shen Wei took Song Li’s advice and didn’t act rashly.
Nie Tian rose to his feet after putting away the Golden Stone Rhino’s flesh and blood in his bracelet of holding. With a casual tone, he said, “I’ve consumed quite some strength, so I’ll find a place to rest and recover. I’ll come back to you when I’m done.”
Without waiting for Song Li and Shen Wei to say anything, Nie Tian walked away.
He left, but his Heaven Eyes didn’t. They still floated above them, and continued to keep a close watch on every move they made and every word they said.
Shen Wei’s face grew long as he let out a snort. “Why did you stop me? Don’t tell me that you’ve developed feelings for him?”
“How can that be possible?! He’s only a kid.” Song Li rolled her eyes at him and laughed sarcastically. “I just think the kid is a bit strange. I can’t tell whether the Golden Stone Rhino was that weak, or his punch was that powerful.”
Shen Wei jeered and said, “He’s only at the early Heaven stage. How powerful he can be? He said himself that Yin Tuo and the other two dumbasses wore out the Golden Stone Rhino’s strength, and it was holding on to its last breaths as it charged towards him. He was just lucky to throw the last punch. Don’t tell me that you really think he is that good!”
“But he’s a guest elder of the Blood Skull after all. The Blood Skull would never give out a guest elder’s identity medallion for no reason. If that punch of his was really that powerful, I say we’d better not provoke him.” Song Li assumed a cautious attitude.
Shen Wei let out a cold harrumph. “Even if he is that good, he’s still only at early Heaven stage. There’s nothing to fear.”
“Alright, alright.” Shen Wei no longer wanted to talk about Nie Tian. He shamelessly rubbed himself on Song Li, saying, “The past few days have been quite stressful. Now that the Golden Stone Rhino is dead, we could use some relaxing…”
With these words, Shen Wei flung Song Li down on the ground and climbed on top of her, as if he couldn’t wait any longer.
The corpses of Yin Tuo and the other two were still yet to be cleaned, but apparently Shen Wei was in no mood to deal with them. He pulled at Song Li’s garments as if he wanted to take her right there, right now.
“Look how impatient you are… God…” Song Li scolded him, but her face was filled with laughs. She held the lapel of her garment tightly with her hands, as if she was playing hard to get.
Shen Wei laughed broadly. “I’ve wanted you for so long. You can’t get away today!”
At that very moment, Song Li slowly removed one hand from her chest, and her green awl suddenly shot out of her sleeve.
PUFF!
In the next moment, the awl pierced into Shen Wei’s neck, and then its sharp tip went out the back of his neck.
Shen Wei’s eyes were bulging and wide open as he stopped breathing, looking extremely shocked and confused.
Loathing filled Song Li’s face as she pushed Shen Wei’s corpse away. “You’re no different from Yin Tuo and the other two, dumbass!”
She rose to her feet and spit on the corpse’s face, saying, “How can I allow a piece of garbage like you to touch me?!”
She bent down to pull her awl out of the corpse’s neck. As she did, she maneuvered her wrist, and the head was severed from the body.
In a location far away, a shudder ran through Nie Tian’s body as he observed them via his Heaven Eyes as he recovered his strength with spirit stones.