The nine bone spikes produced a shrieking sound as they hurtled through the air, but the man seemed to have already anticipated this, and he swung his bone sword through the air to deflect the oncoming bone spikes.

A string of loud metallic clangs rang out, and all nine bone spikes were sent flying in different directions, but the giant bone sword in the man's hand was also knocked out of his grasp.

However, the man didn't back down at all, and he stomped a foot down onto the ground, causing the earth to shatter beneath his feet.

The force of the stomp propelled him up into the air, and in the next instant, he had already arrived above the giant tiger's head.

At the same time, the profound acupoints on his right arm began glowing radiantly, and he plunged his arm straight at the giant tiger's forehead.

A loud and gruesome crunch rang out, and his arm was able to pierce straight through the skull of the giant tiger until the entire arm was embedded into the giant beast's head.

The giant tiger let loose an earth-shattering roar, then swayed a few times before finally collapsing to the ground.

Both Han Li and Shi Chuankong's expressions changed slightly upon seeing this, and they exchanged an astonished glance with each other.

While the two of them were confident that they could've also defeated that giant tiger, there was no way that they would've been able to do so with such ease.

Inside the col, a chorus of cheers rang out as the giant tiger collapsed to the ground.

The man who had dealt the killing blow pulled out his arm, and it was covered in blood and intracranial fluids.

With a swing of his arm, all of that was shaken off, and he spread his hand open to reveal a fist-sized beast core that was giving off radiant white light.

A pleased look appeared on the man's face at the sight of the white beast core, and he placed it into a beast hide pouch hanging from his waist.

A young man with an ox horn tattoo on his face retrieved the man's bone sword, then offered it up with both hands as he said with a fawning smile, "Your War Dagger Profound Arts are becoming more and more fearsome, Brother Chen Yang. Even a Sword Scale Tiger can't withstand a single him from you now. At this rate, it won't be long before you accumulate enough accolade points for a four-star badge. I hope you won't forget us when that time comes."

The other men in the group collected the nine bone spikes, then also began flattering their leader.

"As long as you serve me well, all of you will be rewarded for your efforts," Chen Yang promised as he took his sword back, and everyone else hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

"Alright, hurry up and dissect this Sword Scale Tiger and pull out all of the usable star bones, then return to the stronghold. Our hunting trip ends here for today," Chen Yang instructed.

"What about you, Brother Chen?" one of the man asked.

"I still have some matters to take care of, so just go ahead without me," Chen Yang replied as he turned his gaze to the spot where Han Li's trio was hiding.

"He's spotted us! Run!" Han Li immediately said before rushing away into the distnace as quickly as he could, followed closely by Shi Chuankong and Daoist Xie.

The three of them were rushing toward a mountain range up ahead, hoping that the complex terrain inside the mountain range would deter Chen Yang from giving chase.

Chen Yang gave a cold harrumph as he set off in pursuit of Han Li's trio, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye, while the other men in the col looked on with perplexed expressions.

However, they did as they were told, dissecting the Sword Scale Tiger carcass before quickly pulling out four bones that were glowing faintly with white light.

One of the men pulled out a large pouch that he used to store the four bones and the nine bone spikes, following which the group of men departed.

……

Han Li's trio was traversing through the mountain range in an extremely agile fashion, but Chen Yang was significantly faster than them, and the gap between them was rapidly shrinking.

Before long, the two parties were separated by only several kilometers.

Han Li could sense Chen Yang rapidly getting closer, but he remained calm and composed as he said, "It looks like we won't be able to get away."

After exchanging a glance with Shi Chuankong, the two of them suddenly drew to a halt in a clearing.

Shortly thereafter, a gray shadow rushed onto the scene, then stopped not far away from them to reveal Chen Yang.

"Keep going! Why did you stop?" Chen Yang jeered with a mocking sneer on his face.

"We have no intention of causing any offense. We heard the sounds of your battle from earlier, so we were curious and decided to take a look," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Puppet City scoundrels! At least put that puppet away before you try and lie to me!" Chen Yang sneered as he took a glance at Daoist Xie, then pounced forward as he made a grabbing motion with his right hand.

All of the air within a radius of several hundred feet rumbled violently, forming white air currents that were visible even to the naked eye.

The white air currents converged to form a giant white hand that was over a hundred feet in size, and it came swooping down upon Han Li's trio.

Han Li was rather perplexed about what Chen Yang had just said, but in this situation, he had no choice but to retaliate, and all thirty-six of his profound acupoints lit up as he threw a punch up at the giant white hand.

At the same time, Shi Chuankong drew his black saber before slashing it upward, instantly releasing a black saber projection amid an ear-piercing screech.

Two resounding booms rang out as a huge hole and a long gash were inflicted upon the giant white hand, causing most of it to explode, but a small part of it still survived and grabbed onto Daoist Xie before returning to Chen Yang's side like lightning.

Chen Yang was rather surprised to see Daoist Xie being captured by him without putting up any resistance, while Han Li pounced at Chen Yang before launching both fists at his chest.

Shi Chuankong also sprang forward through the air, arriving on the other side of Chen Yang before slashing his saber down toward Chen Yang's shoulder like lightning.

In the face of their attacks, Chen Yang remained completely unfazed as he lashed out with both arms like lightning, with his left hand meeting Han Li's fists, while his right swept toward Shi Chuankong's black saber.

Two bursts of tremendous force erupted out of his arms, and a thunderous boom rang out as Chen Yang's left arm clashed against Han Li's fists.

Han Li immediately felt a burst of searing pain shoot through his fists, as if the bones in his hands were about to break, and at the same time, he was sent flying back like a cannonball.

Simultaneously, all of the profound acupoints on Chen Yang's right fist began glowing radiantly, making his arm resemble a divine weapon, and as soon as his right arm clashed against Shi Chuankong's black saber, the latter was instantly snapped into two with a faint crack.

Shi Chuankong was astonished to see this. The black saber was a graded devilish treasure that had been refined using exceptional materials, yet it had been snapped as if it were nothing more than a twig!

Chen Yang's right arm continued to sweep from left to right, swinging toward Shi Chuankong's chest as fast as lightning.

Shi Chuankong let loose a loud roar as he stomped a foot down onto the ground to send himself shooting back in retreat, and at the same time, over forty silver profound acupoints emerged over his chest and abdomen, while a thick silver film of light appeared over his entire body.

This was none other than this True Extreme Film, and in contrast with Han Li's smooth True Extreme Film, this one was riddled with spikes like a hedgehog.

Chen Yang paid no heed to Shi Chuankong's spiky True Extreme Film as he slammed his right arm into Shi Chuankong's chest, and the True Extreme Film was torn apart with ease, while Chen Yang's arm remained completely unscathed.

Immediately thereafter, a resounding boom rang out as Shi Chuankong was sent flying back through the air, then slammed heavily into a nearby mountain face to create a huge crater.

A long gash had been sliced into the True Extreme Film in front of his chest, and a wound so deep that bone was visible through it had also been inflicted onto his chest.

This wasn't a particularly severe injury for Shi Chuankong, so he was able to instantly spring back to his feet, but there was an alarmed look in his eyes, and he didn't dare to unleash any further attacks.

Han Li's expression also darkened slightly upon seeing this.

Even though he had only made contact with Chen Yang's left arm, the force of the clash had left his entire body feeling numb, and even now, he was still feeling a little dizzy.

After forcing back Han Li and Shi Chuankong, Chen Yang took a glance at the snapped black saber in Shi Chuankong's hand, then turned his gaze to Daoist Xie before finally turning his attention to the blood on his right hand.

He briefly sniffed at the blood on his hand, upon which a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.

Han Li took a glance at Daoist Xie to discover that the latter was laying on the ground in a completely still manner, seemingly having had some type of restriction placed upon his body by Chen Yang.

A determined look appeared in his eyes as he took a deep breath.

No matter how formidable Chen Yang was, he couldn't leave Daoist Xie behind.

He clenched his fists tightly as the thirty-six profound acupoints on his body began to glow radiantly, and at the same time, a giant golden ape projection appeared around him before fusing into his body.

A layer of thick golden fur instantly appeared over his skin, and at the same time, he transformed into a giant golden ape that was several dozen feet tall in the blink of an eye.