Chapter 141: You Disturbed My Sleep

"Little brat, stop running. Accept your death. If you must blame someone, blame the Reaper."

Within the forest, after three days of brewing chaos, the once-tranquil woods were now filled with the echoes of battle. Within a single hour, casualties had mounted steadily. The conflict had swept across nearly the entire forest, leaving behind shattered boulders, ravaged earth, withered vegetation, and broken streams. The entire Lost Forest had become a place fraught with peril.

All of this panic was caused by a single youth. Yet, at this very moment, that youth was fast asleep in a tree.

"Brother Li, you are truly incredible. A single sentence and you had those cowards slaughtering each other."

The root of all this was a declaration Li Jiansan had made earlier: within the Lost Forest, only one hundred disciples from the Imperial City would be permitted to remain; the rest must either flee or be killed by him. It was precisely because of this statement that more than half of the Imperial City disciples in the forest were living in constant fear. He was the Reaper, a devil who killed without blinking; if he said he would kill, he would certainly do it. It was rumored that he hated Imperial City disciples above all else. Consequently, less than half a candle-stick of time after Li Jiansan’s proclamation, they had begun to turn on one another.

"Boom!"

Two bedraggled martial artists—a man and a woman—appeared. The man had the cultivation of the second level of the Foundation Establishment stage, though his features were somewhat unremarkable. The woman was quite beautiful, with large, dark, alluring eyes, but her strength was only at the first level of the Foundation Establishment stage. Among the crowd of martial artists, their strength was merely average. At this moment, however, they were in a desperate state, the man’s body covered in various lacerations.

"Trying to run? Do you think you can escape?" Following a loud shout, three young men surrounded them.

The man looked at the youth before him with trepidation. "Li Gang, the Reaper only seems to have a grudge against the Imperial City disciples. We are not from the Imperial City. Furthermore, we have no enmity with you, so why must you push us so hard?"

Li Gang, the leader, gave a wicked smile. "Heh, we may have no enmity, but it’s just a pity that the little beauty beside you is so lovely. My brothers and I want to have a little fun." In this world, without strength, beauty was the original sin. "Besides, Xu Yan, don’t take me for a fool. Several days have passed; you must have collected quite a few essence cores. If you don’t want to die, hand them over to me now, or I’ll take your life."

Seeing Li Gang’s lecherous expression, Xu Yan’s face flushed red with indignation, and he said firmly, "Impossible! If you dare to touch her, I will fight you to the death!" Xu Yan was an honest person, and he detested lecherous scoundrels like Li Gang above all else.

"Haha..." Li Gang sneered. "You, a piece of trash recruited from outside, want to fight me to the death? I could crush you with a single finger."

Xu Yan and his companion looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, with their strongest being only at the second level of the Foundation Establishment stage. But Li Gang’s group consisted of three sixteen-year-olds, two of whom were at the third level of the Foundation Establishment stage—in terms of cultivation alone, they could crush Xu Yan. Whether it was cultivation or combat experience, the two were far inferior.

Although Xu Yan lacked strength, his eyes were filled with pride. "Li Gang, you are only relying on your numbers. If I had a few more years to cultivate, none of you would be my match!"

Hearing this, Li Gang’s expression turned cold. "What an arrogant little brat. Since you are looking for death, I will grant your wish! Attack! Kill that brat, but remember not to hurt the girl. We can have our fill with her later."

With that, the three of them unleashed fierce attacks and rushed forward. Xu Yan’s expression was grave as he whispered to the girl behind him, "Zixuan, I will hold them off. Take the chance to escape."

The girl, though young, already possessed a graceful figure. Her willow-like hair swayed gently in the breeze, and her watery, wide eyes were full of tenderness. At this moment, however, her gentle gaze was filled with hesitation, and she shook her head like a rattle.

"Heh, you think a piece of trash like you can hold us off? Today, neither you nor that little girl will escape. Soon, I will let you watch with your own eyes as she writhes and poses for us." Li Gang spoke lewdly, his lecherous eyes roaming over Zixuan.

Under the siege of the three martial artists, Xu Yan and Zixuan quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

"Brother Li, that pretty young lady is hurt," a fatty named Zhang Dabao called out to Li Jiansan, who was still in the tree, from under a large tree a few dozen meters away. He sounded genuinely distressed.

Li Jiansan opened his eyes slightly and said indifferently, "Indeed, but unfortunately, she is already taken. What, do you want to play the hero and save the beauty?"

Upon hearing the words "she is already taken," Zhang Dabao chuckled. "Aha, playing the hero to save a beauty is your job, Brother Li. If you haven't made a move, how could it ever be my turn?" Internally, however, he was cursing, *Damn it, which pile of cow dung did such a beautiful lady get stuck in? What a waste!*

A moment later, Zixuan was clearly unable to hold on any longer.

"Puff!"

Zixuan was struck by a palm from Li Gang and sent flying into the air. The whistling wind lifted her skirt, revealing a pair of slender, fair legs. She then fell heavily to the ground a dozen meters away—the very spot where the tree Li Jiansan was resting in stood.

"Who are you?" Zixuan looked up to see a fatty drooling and asked with extreme confusion. Suddenly, she cried out, "Watch out, run! There is danger here!"

Zhang Dabao squinted and said with a grin, "Brother Li is still resting."

"Didn't I just say..." Zixuan was stunned. *Is this fatty a fool? He’s drooling all over the place, and I told him it was dangerous.* If Zhang Dabao knew he was being mistaken for a fool by a beauty, he would likely have been heartbroken for quite a while.

"Little girl, let’s see where you can run now!" Li Gang rushed over, but upon seeing Zhang Dabao, he sneered, "Brat, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. Get lost, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Bang!"

Li Jiansan gathered his true energy with a wave of his hand. A fierce, sharp blast of energy tore through the air, whistling toward Li Gang with lethal intent.

Boom!

Although Li Gang dodged in time, the power of the energy blast detonating in the air made his expression turn icy. "I don't know who you are, but why do you interfere in my affairs?" Li Gang asked, his tone laced with caution after witnessing Li Jiansan’s technique.

"You are too noisy!"

Li Gang cupped his fists slightly and said politely, "My apologies. As long as you do not interfere, I will leave immediately after I finish my business."

Li Jiansan’s voice turned colder. "Do you mean you still want to keep interrupting my sleep?"

"I beg for your convenience," Li Gang said in a low voice.

"If you don't get lost now, I will kill you!"

This time, Li Jiansan’s voice was infused with terrifying true energy, the thundering sound waves buzzing in Li Gang’s ears. Li Gang’s expression turned ferocious. "Brat, since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, don't blame me!"

"You’re courting death!" Li Jiansan snorted, his figure flickering and vanishing instantly from where he stood.

Zixuan’s eyes could not track Li Jiansan’s movement at all; she only saw him disappear in a flash and could not help but exclaim, "What incredible speed!"

The next second, Li Jiansan appeared before Li Gang, a large hand suddenly clamping onto his throat as a chilling aura erupted. Li Gang was startled by Li Jiansan’s speed; feeling the grip on his throat, he said in terror, "Brat, you... let me go quickly, or my two companions behind me will surely settle this with you."

Hearing Li Gang’s threat, Li Jiansan increased the pressure on his hand and sneered, "I would like to see how you intend to settle this with me." Li Jiansan could snap his neck with a gentle twist, yet it was laughable that he still dared to threaten him.

Li Gang, being choked until he could barely breathe, said in panic, "Don't, don't kill me! If you like the girl, I’ll give her to you!"

"Heh, should I thank you for yielding her to me?"

"I wouldn't dare!" With his life in Li Jiansan’s hands, Li Gang was now as subservient as a lapdog. "As long as you let me go, I will leave at once."

Li Jiansan chuckled. "It is too late for that."

Seeing the icy look in Li Jiansan’s eyes, Li Gang screamed, "No... I have many essence cores here. If you let me go, they are all yours."

"Oh? Then bring them out."

Li Gang hurriedly produced all the essence cores he had; he had no doubt that if he wasted any more words, the youth would kill him without hesitation. After Li Jiansan took the essence cores, he said ruthlessly, "Alright, it’s time for you to be on your way."

Li Gang screamed in terror, "What way? What do you mean? You said you would spare me!"

"When did I say I would spare you?" Li Jiansan asked.

"Didn't you take my essence cores?"

Li Jiansan replied calmly, "I took your essence cores, but you gave them to me voluntarily. Furthermore, I never said that taking your cores meant I would spare your life. So, go to your end in peace."

Li Gang shrieked, "You can't kill me! I am a man of Young Master Yiqiu..."

Crack!

Li Jiansan ignored his words entirely and grabbed his neck, snapping it with ease. It didn't matter who he was; Li Jiansan was a great villain, and keeping his word was not something that existed in his vocabulary.

On the other side, Zixuan was stunned into speechlessness. The person who had been hunting her for days had been killed so easily by Li Jiansan. Who on earth was he?