“Wait!” 

“Xiang Ning, what is it?!” 

At the very last moment, a gesture from Xiang Ning attracted everyone’s attention. Xiang Ning’s weapon, the Devourer, seemed to understand its owner’s intent as a grayish black goo slithered out of the attachment and wrapped around his entire body. Those who saw the time he had risked his life fighting the Simian Sage half a year ago understood that the bioweapon was protecting him. 

The layer of goo wrapped him in a sphere so he was protected by a very hardy layer. At the time, if Fang Rou wasn’t present, they might not have been able to bring Xiang Ning back. 

Many people privately heaved a sigh of relief. 

However, the group of thirty martial artists couldn’t stay back any longer. Even Sect Master Qiu screamed at the heavens, veins popping on his face. The grief and frustration pierced through the entire battlefield, which fell into a brief silence. 

When the Blizzard Fox’s paw was about to hit the group of thirty martial artists, a silhouette clad in long gray and black robes suddenly appeared. The audience could see a corner of the person’s face, but it wasn’t clear, as if it was concealed by a layer of mist. 

He held a sword in one hand that was only about the width of two fingers but 1.5 meters long. There was a ball of flesh attached between the blade and hilt like a beast core, and upon closer inspection, blood vessel-like structures pulsed on the ball. 

No one knew who he was, or how he had suddenly appeared, but they knew there was hope. The mystery man had answered their prayers. The man raised and struck with this peculiar sword. The moment it touched the fox, the sword shattered and the fox’s paw seemed to explode, spraying flesh and blood everywhere and leaving a large crater in its limb. 

“Reforge!” The few fighters near the mystery man heard him mutter. 

“What just happened? Why’d his weapon explode?” 

“And I’m pretty sure it only touched that animal, but it exploded. From what I see, that wound is at least a meter wide and thirty centimeters deep!” 

“What the hell was that? I didn’t see any bombs attached to his weapon.” 

“I know that skill! It’s a martial skill that hurts the enemy at a great price to the user. Only a dual cultivator can use it. It’s very difficult, and apparently, less than a thousand people in this world can use it. It’s one of the most difficult skills to master in the world.” 

“It’s a skill used to save one’s life. Used at the very last moment, the user destroys his own weapon in exchange for several times more damage!” 

Sect Master Qiu was ecstatic when he saw the explosion. “It’s called Reforge! The name comes from the saying that, although the weapon is destroyed, as long as the person is still alive, a weapon can always be reforged! He’s a powerful master!” 

That was Sect Master Qiu’s direct conclusion. Not just anyone could use Reforge on this scale even after learning it. The previously seen effect only came from achieving the Awakened stage, and the process involved destroying countless weapons. The expensive resources used were also the reason so few people could master this skill, but every person who could was a powerful master. 

The thoughts only took three seconds, and during those three seconds, the mystery man’s weapon restored itself, as it was a bioweapon. He slashed again, this time causing a second explosion at the joint of the fox’s leg and forcing the fox to fall to its knees in pain. 

“Go now,” the mystery man said in a low voice. 

“But—”

“Go.” Although the voice was calm, there was an unstoppable force in it. 

The thirty martial artists looked toward Xiang Ning, but they heard Commander Lei Runyun’s voice in their earpieces. “Leave him there, his bioweapon will protect him. This isn’t the time for heroics! If you get eaten by the Blizzard Fox, not only will the people here die, but all of our previous efforts will be wasted!” 

They all clenched their jaws, then turned to escape. 

The mystery man heaved a sigh of relief. At least the weaklings were gone, now he could focus on the fight. He didn’t strike the fox again and just slowly retreated backward. It looked like he was escorting the departing fighters. Sect Master Qiu approached, wanting to get to know him. If only he could see the face, either he would recognize the person or he could go back and find out. 

But when he arrived, Sect Master Qiu sensed that, although the person was powerful, he had a strange and chaotic aura. The mystery man wasn’t as powerful as he thought; his aura was definitely not one belonging to a tier seven Sect Master. Only… about tier six, nine-star. 

But that was enough. The Blizzard Fox wasn’t in prime condition, either. 

When they both were about to fight, the Mystery Man suddenly stopped, then turned and ran to his left at great speed. Sect Master Qiu noticed and was about to say something when he heard a voice from his earpiece that stunned him. 

“Little Qiu, you should get back. If you don’t get treated now, your injury will become irreversible. Losing a tier seven Sect Master over a filthy animal is so not worth it.” 

Whoosh. Whoosh. 

Two silhouettes descended. The leading one was an elderly man with white hair, while the other was a middle-aged woman. Although they both wore simple traditional Chinese robes, they had a noble, aristocratic aura to them. 

Sect Master Qiu looked at the old man, trembling with emotion. “Old Zhao! Sister Xuan.” 

“Alright, alright, it’s time for you to go back.” Old Zhao, the old man, waved him off. It was indeed Uncle Zhao, the man who watched Xiang Ning grow up from his workshop in Marsh City. 

He looked at the grayish black ball that wrapped around Xiang Ning. “Little Xuan, could you take a look at that? Leave the animal to me.” 

“Yes, Old Zhao.” The lady he called Little Xuan nodded, then bounded for Xiang Ning. 

Old Zhao looked at the Blizzard Fox without emotion in his eyes, a knife slowly levitating behind him. The fox’s pupils shrank, then it turned and ran. 

The audience was stunned by its behavior. No one knew who the man was, but if Sect Master Qiu was so respectful to him, he must be some big shot. They all relaxed, knowing that there was hope for Xiang Ning. If this man could scare the fox into running away, that meant their idol was safe. 

As their minds trailed off, the audience’s eyes widened suddenly because… the knife shot out and the tier seven Beast King’s head fell to the ground. 

It was an instant death. 

MC used shadow clone jutsu!