Chapter Fifteen: Rescue

Gradually, Qin Lang’s mood grew increasingly anxious. He had been in the Tianshan Mountains for over half a month but still had not found the Ice Blossom. The one-month deadline was fast approaching, leaving less and less time for Yun’er.

“It seems I must speed up the search!” Qin Lang resolved silently.

Although this meant exposing himself to more monsters, Qin Lang was willing to risk everything to save Yun’er.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, an angry roar echoed from several miles ahead. The invisible sound waves spread through the air, shaking countless snow pines violently, causing a flurry of snowflakes to fall.

The piercing sound made Qin Lang’s ears throb painfully.

“It’s an Ironwall Snow Ape!” Qin Lang immediately identified the source of the sound.

To roar so recklessly, this Ironwall Snow Ape must be at least a second-level monster, possibly even higher! Qin Lang wondered what had provoked such fury in the beast.

As he pondered, three disheveled figures stumbled and fled from the distance. Behind them, a towering, snow-white giant ape nearly three meters tall chased relentlessly. The heavy thuds of its impact shattered massive snow pines along its path.

The force was tremendous—anyone struck by it would surely be broken and killed.

The distance between the three figures and the Ironwall Snow Ape rapidly closed until the beast caught up.

“Huh?”

Qin Lang’s eyes fell on the fleeing trio, and to his surprise, he recognized them.

They were the same guards who had earlier bid farewell to Xue Qianyao—a burly man accompanied by two strong companions.

At the same time, the three men noticed Qin Lang but had no time to greet him.

“You two run! I’ll hold it off!” the burly man, covered in blood, gritted his teeth and pushed the two others away. Then, he turned to face the charging Ironwall Snow Ape.

“Big brother!” the two companions shouted in alarm, unable to stop him, forced to watch helplessly as the burly man confronted the beast.

“Kill!” The burly man swung his large blade at the ape’s lower abdomen. The blade shimmered with spiritual energy, exuding a terrifying aura.

Qin Lang instantly judged that the burly man’s strength was at least the peak of the ninth martial stage, making his strike extremely powerful.

Yet, the Ironwall Snow Ape blocked the blow with a massive, blackened arm as thick as a water bucket.

“Clang!”

The blade struck the ape’s arm with a metallic clang, like hitting iron.

A faint, nearly invisible scratch appeared on the arm.

Despite this being a peak ninth-stage martial artist’s powerful strike, it caused no real damage to the Ironwall Snow Ape.

“What formidable defense!” Qin Lang thought in awe. Though the ape was only a second-level monster, its defense was astonishingly strong.

However, Qin Lang noticed the ape’s abdomen was deeply reddened, blood flowing copiously and staining its path.

Clearly, this was a wounded second-level monster.

“Damn!” The burly man sensed danger after his blade was deflected and tried to use the blade’s recoil to step back, but the ape swung its other arm in a wide arc, aiming to crush him in half.

In a hurry, the burly man dodged sideways and raised his blade to block the attack.

“Clang!”

The ape’s arm struck the blade with tremendous force, sending a numbness through the burly man’s arm. The skin between his thumb and forefinger split open, blood flowing freely, and his blade was knocked flying.

“Wah!” The burly man spat blood as the impact sent him hurtling more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground, unconscious.

Clearly, the Ironwall Snow Ape’s strike had severely wounded him.

“Roar!” The Ironwall Snow Ape bellowed like a moving mountain and charged toward the fallen man, raising its massive fists to smash down mercilessly.

The force of a blow like that would undoubtedly turn the man into a bloody pulp.

“Big brother!” the two companions’ eyes reddened with desperation. Severely injured themselves, they were powerless to help, forced to watch helplessly as the Ironwall Snow Ape prepared to kill their brother.

At that critical moment—

Qin Lang acted decisively, stepping forward without hesitation to rush to the unconscious man’s side.

Had the Ironwall Snow Ape not been injured, Qin Lang would never have dared to attempt a rescue.

But now, its wounds had slowed it down. Employing the perfect Dragon Dance step, Qin Lang believed he still had a chance to save the burly man.

Seeing Qin Lang coming to aid their brother, the two companions showed no joy, only worry.

After all, their own strength was at the ninth martial stage, and even uninjured, they might not have saved him. Qin Lang, at only the seventh stage, was even less likely to succeed.

His effort could fail to save their brother and even cost Qin Lang his own life beneath the ape’s devastating fists.

“Whoosh!”

Qin Lang unleashed the Dragon Dance step to its fullest. Like a swimming dragon, he swiftly reached the burly man, lifted him up, and moved to the side.

“Bang!”

The Ironwall Snow Ape’s massive fists slammed down where Qin Lang had just been, sending shockwaves through the ground. The spot where the burly man had lain was crushed into two pits over a meter deep.

It was easy to imagine that had Qin Lang been slower by even a fraction, he would have been smashed into a pulp.

Shaken by the ape’s tremendous force, Qin Lang gritted his teeth and doubled down on the Dragon Dance step, dashing back to the two companions and handing over the burly man.

“How could he be so fast!” the two companions exclaimed in astonishment as they took their brother.

Qin Lang, merely a seventh-stage martial artist, had astonishing speed surpassing theirs by far.

Moreover, the movement technique he had just used left afterimages—clearly a high-level martial technique.

“Thank you, Brother Qin Lang!” The two thanked him repeatedly, snapping out of their shock.

If not for Qin Lang risking his life to save him, their brother would have surely died beneath the Ironwall Snow Ape’s fists.

“Roar!”

Enraged at losing its prey, the Ironwall Snow Ape bellowed fiercely, blood-red eyes fixed on Qin Lang as it charged wildly.

How dare such a weak seventh-stage martial artist ruin its plans!

Resentful to the core, the Ironwall Snow Ape locked its target on Qin Lang, determined to fight to the death.