The leopard that suddenly sprang out, its two ivory fangs protruding, its amber eyes fixed on Ye Chen, filled with caution and greed. It had been hunting here, but unexpectedly smelled a strong scent of blood, instantly delighting it. Following the scent, it rushed over, only to encounter Ye Chen. It immediately leaped out, afraid this human would escape.

A chilling light flared in Ye Chen's eyes. Without pausing for even a fraction of a second, he shook his arm, and the blood-red battle saber in his hand swept down in a crushing blow, carrying immense force. Before the leopard could pounce, it saw the strike that came like a thunderclap from a clear sky. Its small eyes bulged, the ferocity on its face transforming into sheer terror. With a mournful howl, it scrambled backward.

With a chuff, the blade light cleaved down across the leopard's forehead. Its retreating body instantly stiffened. Before it could even collapse, Ye Chen reached out and snatched it up, opening the Rune Space and tossing the carcass inside.

Then, Ye Chen closed the Rune Space and continued running forward. The entire act of killing the leopard had taken only 0.3 seconds; everything was as swift as lightning.

Not long after running, Ye Chen suddenly heard a hissing sound of water ahead. His heart stirred, and he rushed forward, finding a vast lake. The water murmured as it flowed, filling him with great joy. He rushed toward it, intending to wash the bloodstains from his body by the shore, preventing trackers from following his scent of sweat and blood.

This reservoir was named Zhuwo Reservoir, also called Pearl Lake, built in 1958. Originally, after Ye Chen charged down from Jiulong Mountain, he had run continuously, passing through Miaofeng Mountain, Sanjian Shangweidian, Zhangjiashan, Shanshen Temple, Jiuhegou, and other places, unknowingly arriving at the dam of this reservoir.

The scenery of Pearl Lake was superb. Opposite lay majestic, soaring mountains, and the lake water was clear, a stretch of jade waves. Along the shore were foundations of bluestone, and a large expanse of maple trees, resembling a secluded, tranquil valley—peaceful and pleasing.

But Ye Chen had no time to admire it. He stepped onto the bluestone and approached the water's edge. The immediate shore was clear and shallow, but moving just a bit further revealed an inky blackness, as if below lay an abyss thousands of feet deep, chilling the heart. Before he could get close enough to wash, he saw a large mass of dark shadows swimming up from the water, terrifying to behold. Saber-shaped dorsal fins broke the surface, rushing toward him like speedboats.

Ye Chen frowned. If he killed these fish-monsters, he would surely leave more bloodstains; but if he didn't kill them, he couldn't clean himself. While he hesitated, another second passed, adding to the time spent running—only three seconds remained.

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and resolutely gave up on entering the water to clean. Once dragged in by these fish-monsters, his weight would quickly drag him down. In a lake this size, who knew what terrifying beasts might dwell within. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly spotted a collapsed section of a nearby bridge pier. He was secretly startled; for the pier, built so sturdily, to be destroyed, it must have encountered some monstrous attack.

He looked across at the mountains opposite, took a few steps back, and then suddenly charged forward, leaping into the air toward the distant mountains. Without the bridge supports, those pursuing him would have to take a long detour to reach the other side, unless they were flea-supermen or frog-supermen capable of jumping directly across. By the time the others arrived, his Superman Mode would have expired, leaving them at his mercy.

"Two seconds."

Ye Chen, suspended in mid-air, glanced down and saw many fish-monsters surfacing in the water below. They had human-like heads, gills on their cheeks, small eyes, and sharp teeth. Their arms resembled human ones, though much more robust and covered in scales, with four sharp, blade-like claws.

Ye Chen watched the opposite shore draw nearer, gradually relaxing. Just then, the jade-green lake surface beneath him rapidly darkened, as if something from the depths was surging upward with immense speed, covering a vast area. Ye Chen was startled and quickly gripped his blood-red battle saber, focusing his gaze. The lake water surged upward like a fountain, the spray falling away to reveal an enormously large mouth lunging toward Ye Chen, like that of an alligator.

"Mutated monster!" Ye Chen gasped internally. Seeing the maw capable of crushing a building, he swiftly swung his arm like a whip, hurling the blood-red battle saber toward the opposite bank. The momentum propelled his body forward even faster. As the huge mouth closed around him, the light above his head dimmed, and he vanished.

With nothing to push against in mid-air, Ye Chen was hit by a wave of stench. He immediately kicked out, sweeping the blood-red battle saber horizontally. With a chuff, he tore a line of light through the pitch-black space. He quickly reached out and ripped this opening wider, scrambling through it. He instantly found himself descending just a few meters from the lake's edge; if he had fallen into the water, he would have been instantly surrounded.

In that split second, he thrust off the lower jaw of the maw he had torn open, his figure bursting upward like a great roc spreading its wings, descending toward the opposite bank. All this occurred in a mere instant—a single second.

With a loud boom, water splashed as the huge-mouthed monster retreated into the lake. Blood spread out, dyeing the jade water red, but the terrifying mouth did not reappear.

Cold sweat beaded on Ye Chen's spine. Had his reaction been a fraction slower, his fate would have been tragic. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he didn't pause; his figure moved, rushing toward the distant mountains. He reached the Eastern Ridge near the Bijing Temple just as the final second of his Superman State dissolved. The antennae on his forehead retracted into his body, and his immense strength receded like ebbing water.

His stamina was severely depleted, leaving him weak. Seeing no monsters around, he sat down in a clump of grass, gasping heavily. He tore open the blood-stained beast-hide armor he wore, used the blood-red battle saber to dig a pit, and buried it.

Shedding the armor, Ye Chen stood completely naked. His physique was balanced, the lines of muscle exquisitely graceful. In broad daylight, outdoors, Ye Chen felt no shame, his expression placid. Naked, he continued running. Not long after, he encountered a zombie-man sitting by a rock face, continuously gnawing on something.

"Roar!" The zombie-man noticed the disturbance and turned its head toward Ye Chen. Its pale green eyes radiated violence and savagery. In its hand, it held nothing less than a human palm!

However, three fingers had already been chewed off, leaving only two.

Ye Chen's eyes turned cold. Before the zombie could lunge, he hooked a stone on the ground with his toe, grabbed it, and tossed it, exploding the creature's skull to avoid getting blood on himself. He walked over and stripped the tattered suit jacket and patched denim trousers from the zombie, putting them on. Although the fit was slightly off, they were adequate to cover his shame.

Just then, Ye Chen suddenly felt a dizzying sensation in his head, staggering, nearly falling. The strength in his limbs seemed sucked away, leaving them sore and weak. His heart tightened: "Not good, the Qi energy is deviating from its established path in my body."

Generally, when people reached Level 100, they would find a secluded place to slowly recuperate, meditating to smooth the flow of Qi energy through their meridians. At this stage, when full strength was at its peak, it was easiest for the Qi energy to follow the wrong pathways—mildly resulting in weakness in the limbs and confusion, severely risking fatal internal rupture.

Ye Chen had intended to escape and then find a place to temper his Qi energy, but before he could temper it, this energy had already become unstable, likely due to the intense exertion during the confrontation at the lake. He gritted his teeth, opened the Rune Space, and commanded Xiao Hei to come out and guard him.

Hei, controlling the Level 300 Blood-Toothed Tiger, walked out of the Rune Space. Ye Chen mustered all his strength and leaped onto its back, then closed the Rune Space. Weakly, he commanded, "Go forward, find somewhere secluded." He then slumped onto the tiger's back, feeling his entire body burn as countless streams of energy clashed within him, tearing his meridians in agony.

Even with Ye Chen's composure, cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He used his powerful willpower to control a small stream of Qi energy to act as a traffic controller, ordering the remaining energy streams back to their original positions. This process was excruciatingly slow; rushing it could have the opposite effect, trapping the internal energy in a worse state.

By the time the Blood-Toothed Tiger carried Ye Chen to Bijing Temple, it had killed several zombie-men wearing tourist attire encountered on the road. Xiao Hei was shocked, having never seen Ye Chen so vulnerable. A thought flickered in the tiger's eyes, and it couldn't help but harbor malicious intent.

"This scourge is only this fragile now; it's the perfect time to strike!" Xiao Hei felt an intense surge of excitement. If he could kill Ye Chen, he could dispatch a Xiao Hei Beetle to possess his body and call him 'Boss' every day.

Thinking of this, its blood boiled as if envisioning immense treasure, and its eyes gradually filled with ferocity.

Arriving at the temple grounds, the Blood-Toothed Tiger found an open space and gently lowered its side, allowing Ye Chen's body to slip off. His eyes were tightly shut; he appeared to have fainted.

Hei rejoiced inwardly, thinking, "Hmph, little fool, you’ve fallen into my Black Lord's hands. Once I kill you and devour your memories, I’m sure to find the solution—hehe. Then I’ll have you following my Black Lord's heels every day, calling me Boss ten thousand times daily, ha ha…" Thinking this, a triumphant smile spread across its face.

It raised a tiger paw and brought it down toward Ye Chen's head. This strike was fierce, possessing the power to shatter gold and break stone. The eyes Ye Chen had kept closed suddenly snapped open. A flicker of killing intent ignited as he stared at the Blood-Toothed Tiger and sternly demanded, "What are you doing?"

The words were like a sudden clap of thunder, causing the Blood-Toothed Tiger's body to jerk involuntarily. Its claw stopped mid-air. The authority Ye Chen had accumulated over time immediately took effect. Xiao Hei looked at Ye Chen’s chilling, icy eyes and thought, I’ve already started; he’s out of his Superman state, what do I have to fear from him? With this thought, fierce light surged in its eyes, and it declared haughtily, "What am I doing? Of course, I'm killing you to find the solution! Your Black Lord has grand ambitions; how could I remain your subordinate? I will conquer the world, conquer the Earth, ha ha ha…"

"Are you tired of living?" Ye Chen’s eyes were icy.

Hei laughed coldly and struck out with its paw. A fierce light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. He raised his hand to meet the attack. The surging Qi energy within him seemed to find an outlet, enveloping his hand and slamming into the tiger paw. With a bang, Ye Chen was sent flying backward, crashing into a wall, causing the entire wall to collapse.

Hei, however, shrieked and cried out in pain, "That hurts!"

Ye Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, wiped it away, and stood up from the ground. He opened the Rune Space and sharply commanded, "Get back in there!" Xiao Hei looked at the terror in Ye Chen's eyes and hesitated. Just as it was about to decide, one of the cannon barrels on the spacecraft within the Rune Space locked onto it. Xiao Hei's heart skipped a beat, and it quickly begged for mercy, "I was wrong, Black Lord—no, Xiao Hei begs Boss for forgiveness! You are magnanimous, handsome, dashing, and overwhelmingly charming to countless young ladies…" A