"Grandpa, this person..."
Guo Shiwen slowly walked to the armchair just three zhang away from Li Hai, quietly sized him up for a few moments, then turned to Guo Shiwen and asked, "Is this the Blood Food for this time?"
"That's right."
Guo Huaijin nodded slightly, "Good grandson, the time has come. You should quickly take your supplement. Don't delay your illness."
"Okay."
Guo Shiwen nodded.
Then he turned around and took out a foot-long hollow copper tube from a wooden box held by a subordinate, and walked step by step towards Li Hai.
But Li Hai, who was tightly bound to the Bloodwood Stake, looked at the sharp copper tube in Guo Shiwen's hand that was getting closer and closer, yet showed no fear and even grinned.
"Closer, a little closer, a little closer."
He murmured with downcast eyes, his grin widening.
Thump~ Thump~ Thump~
Guo Shiwen's footsteps drew closer and closer.
He finally arrived in front of Li Hai, expressionlessly picked up the copper tube, and slowly pricked his chest.
And the moment the skin on Li Hai's chest was pricked and touched by that cold copper tube.
He suddenly looked up, staring directly into Guo Shiwen's astonished eyes, and abruptly activated the System deeply hidden within his soul.
He instantly propelled the Tiger Claw Knife Fist, which had been in his skill bar for a long time, from zero to the sixth level... max level.
Thus, Li Hai's personal interface, which was originally unremarkable, changed to—
Master Name: Li Hai
Rank Realm: Zhengchuan Martial Arts → Vigorous Body Circulation, Bloodline Divine Power → Low Grade
Skills Possessed: Five Animal Qi Gong, Tiger Claw Knife Fist, Devouring Blood Burning Heart
Trait Entries: 【Strong Soul Level 1】 【Fingernail Level 1】 【Berserk Level 1】
Strongest Fragments: None
And when all these data manifested on Li Hai's true Physical Body layer.
His slender body, only 1.6 meters tall, suddenly expanded like a balloon, and as his entire bones wildly vibrated and stretched, he abruptly grew to 1.95 meters tall, with his entire body covered in robust and hard muscles.
Not only that, the originally transparent and fragile fingernails at the tips of Li Hai's ten fingers also strangely elongated, transforming into sharp, grayish-white hooked claws similar to those of Sabretooth in the X-Men live-action movie.
At the same time, the layers of hemp ropes tightly binding Li Hai were also forcibly broken by his bulging, strong muscles after he completed his on-the-spot upgrade, turning into a messy pile of hemp fibers on the ground.
As for Guo Shiwen, who was stunned in place by this sudden change, he regrettably lost all chances of escape.
He was seized by the neck by Li Hai, who had broken free, and lifted three feet off the ground like a chick.
And Guo Huaijin, who was dozens of meters away and suddenly sensed Li Hai's explosive and violent Qi changes, also changed his expression, then pushed off the ground with his feet, carrying layers of afterimages and fierce winds, and suddenly pounced towards Li Hai's location.
The next second, the two people with the same martial arts and the same Realm... clashed head-on without reservation.
Roar!!
Accompanied by deafening air explosions and tiger roars, Guo Huaijin seemed to have been violently struck by some immense force, and his entire body stumbled and flew back to his original position.
"How is that possible?!"
With a face full of shock, anger, and disbelief, Guo Huaijin, suppressing the surging Qi and Blood within him, stared at Li Hai, who had already changed his appearance, a dozen zhang away, and roared in disbelief, "Why do you possess my unique skill? And you've mastered it so perfectly!"
"Hahahahaha~"
Li Hai, in the distance, used Guo Shiwen as a shield, vaguely covering his upper body, and laughed loudly, "Guo Laogou, why so much nonsense? You just need to know that this little bastard's life or death is entirely up to you right now."
"Are you trying to use Shiwen's life to buy yourself a way out?"
Guo Huaijin said without hesitation, "Good! Alright, you put him down, and I'll allow you to leave this place."
"Old dog, you're trying to fool a big idiot."
Li Hai, with his head and neck hidden behind the semi-conscious Guo Shiwen, sneered, "I dare say, as soon as this little bastard leaves my hand, there will definitely be a dozen or more bullets heading for my head, right?"
As he spoke, he subtly glanced around at the dozen or so armed house guards standing in twos and threes beside and behind Guo Huaijin.
These people had all raised their firearms and were pointing them at Li Hai from a distance.
And Li Hai could clearly feel a subtle, almost imperceptible stinging sensation emanating from all the positions on his body that were being pointed at by those muzzles.
The saying goes, 'not even a feather can be added, nor a fly can land; others don't know me, but I alone know them.'
This was the specific manifestation of the danger perception ability that a Martial Artist gains upon advancing to the Vigorous Body Circulation Realm, appearing on his robust Physical Body.
This ability could also be called Martial Artist's Instinct or Martial Dao Heart's Eye.
It was precisely this ability that made Li Hai clearly aware of a fact.
That is... although his body was no longer afraid of ordinary inferior swords and knives, it was still insufficient against a volley of gunpowder firearms.
If there were only two or three clustered gunmen, Li Hai was confident he could quickly deal with them by dodging and rushing.
But there were a total of twelve or thirteen guns on the scene, scattered in various directions throughout this large courtyard.
This was simply impossible to deal with; he could only find a way to temporarily retreat.
Furthermore, Li Hai's keen ears faintly heard the sound of footsteps, fast or slow, converging from various directions outside the courtyard.
It was obvious that these people making the footsteps were all Guo Laogou's subordinates.
And how many guns were hidden among these people was an Unknown.
Seeing the situation subtly heading towards a stalemate, Li Hai's expression turned cold, and he immediately pinched three fingers of Guo Shiwen's left hand and pulled hard.
"Ah!!!"
Accompanied by splashing blood and a shrill scream, those three fingers were cruelly torn off by Li Hai on the spot and casually thrown at his feet.
Under the excruciating pain of 'ten fingers connected to the heart,' Guo Shiwen, who was already on the verge of unconsciousness, instantly woke up and began to convulse and wail, tears streaming down his face: "Ah ah ah Grandpa save me! Save me!"
"Wah ya ya ya!!"
And Guo Huaijin, shocked by this scene and hearing his grandson's mournful cries, was immediately consumed by anger, and with bloodshot tiger eyes, he roared hysterically at Li Hai from a distance, "Little beast! I won't let you die so easily!"
"Still so arrogant at this point?"
Li Hai was very surprised, "Guo Laogou, don't you know who holds the initiative now, hmm?"
As he spoke, he unhesitatingly reached out and grabbed the two remaining fingers on Guo Shiwen's left hand, and pulled hard again.
"Ah ah ah!!"
After a piercing scream, Guo Shiwen actually fainted from the pain.
"Beast! Beast!"
Guo Huaijin roared to the sky, then said with a ferocious face, "What exactly do you want?!"
"I have two demands."
Li Hai sneered coldly, "First, have every single one of your lackeys smash their guns, and second, you personally lead the way and escort me out of this place."