"I cannot flee! Nor can I escape!"
Ning Beichen quickly assessed his current predicament. Since ancient times, it had been said that in a narrow path, the brave would win, and Ning Beichen now faced such a desperate situation.
"I am a Grandmaster, the pinnacle of human martial prowess. I refuse to believe I cannot deal with two spiders."
Ning Beichen was furious, utterly enraged.
If he were defeated by a human, Ning Beichen would accept it, for there were always those stronger than oneself, and he could only blame himself for overestimating his abilities.
However, to die at the hands of two spiders was something Ning Beichen could never accept.
"You beasts! You want to kill me? I'll fight you to the death!"
Ning Beichen pulled out another axe from Shen Zongting and charged headlong towards the spiders ahead, a powerful Grandmaster aura erupting from him.
"Die!"
Ning Beichen no longer cared about fancy moves or techniques. He wielded the axe and hacked wildly at the spiders.
Faced with Ning Beichen's furious and unhinged assault, the blood-red spiders were actually suppressed for a time. Ning Beichen even managed to chop off one of the blood-red spider's legs with the axe.
However, after severing the spider's leg, the axe blade from Shen Zongting was still full of nicks and could no longer be used.
Ning Beichen threw the blunted axe, it landed on the blood-red spider, and he spat on it.
"What kind of 'divine weapon' is this? It can't even kill a spider."
Ning Beichen was deeply dissatisfied. He had been so pleased when he collected Shen Zongting's weapons, only for them to be like this.
"Roar!"
The blood-red spider, having lost a leg, also became frenzied. It pursued Ning Beichen with insane attacks, appearing as if it were immortal and indestructible.
Each attack from the blood-red spider caused immense tremors, like the world was collapsing.
If it were just one spider, Ning Beichen might have fared better. The problem was that two were attacking him simultaneously, which made his situation incredibly difficult.
Cornered and facing attacks from all sides after numerous battles, Ning Beichen began to sustain injuries, particularly a long, piercing wound on his lower abdomen that stained the ground red with his blood.
All the weapons in Ning Beichen's hands had shattered, even his compound bow was gone. In essence, he had no weapon left on him.
At this point, Ning Beichen had no retreat.
Either he would kill these two blood-red spiders today, or he, the freshly minted Grandmaster, would become food for the two blood-red spiders. There was no third option, unless a miracle occurred.
However, Ning Beichen never placed his hopes on ephemeral miracles. The only person he could trust was himself.
His wounds were painful, and blood continued to flow, but Ning Beichen paid them no mind. If he could not defeat these two blood-red spiders today, nothing else would matter. What were wounds and bleeding then?
"What is a Grandmaster?"
Suddenly, a voice appeared in his mind.
"Master!"
Ning Beichen's face lit up with joy, and he shouted urgently.
"Master, is that you?"
"A Grandmaster's strength lies within himself, not in his weapons. No weapon is mightier than the self. You are the one who wields the weapon, not enslaved by it..."
"Remember, humans are the spirit of all things. Strength comes from within. Cultivators cultivate their own bodies. Do not invert the natural order!"
"Fear is also your strength!"
"..."
The voice in his mind did not respond to Ning Beichen; it was merely a passage of words, as if it had long been imprinted in Ning Beichen's mind and activated automatically at the right moment.
Yet, these words struck Ning Beichen's heart like the ringing of the dawn bell, clearing his confusion. Things that had previously eluded him, things hidden behind a veil of darkness, gradually became clear.
"My own self is powerful. Strength comes from within myself. I had it backward."
Ning Beichen murmured to himself, his eyes shining brightly, as if reborn.
Suddenly, a vast power surged through Ning Beichen. Yet, from the outside, he appeared more ordinary and unadorned. But Ning Beichen knew he was fundamentally different.
"Returning to simplicity. So this is the true realm of a Grandmaster?"
Ning Beichen slowly raised his head to look at the blood-red spider in front of him, then took a step towards it.
For some reason, as Ning Beichen approached, the blood-red spider sensed a danger that had never existed before.
But no matter what, the blood-red spider could not be intimidated. It brandished its two sharp forelegs and ferociously stabbed towards Ning Beichen.
Yet, Ning Beichen completely ignored its attack.
As the blood-red spider's forelegs stabbed down from above, Ning Beichen merely took a single step forward and effortlessly dodged the spider's strike.
The blood-red spider appeared incredibly astonished.
This had never happened before. Previously, Ning Beichen had great difficulty even evading its attacks, which was why he had been so badly wounded.
As if disbelieving, the blood-red spider continued to attack the human ant that dared to provoke it with frenzied assaults.
However, what made the blood-red spider's heart palpitate was that no matter how it attacked, Ning Beichen could dodge with ease, as if he could see through its attack patterns.
Soon, Ning Beichen reached the blood-red spider's front.
The blood-red spider did not panic excessively, for this human ant was incapable of harming it.
The reason it had lost a leg to this ant earlier was because the ant had employed a method of mutual destruction to achieve it.
Therefore, the blood-red spider did not believe Ning Beichen could engage in mutual destruction with it multiple times.
Ning Beichen stood before the blood-red spider and did not use any weapons. With a simple punch, he struck the spider.
Just as the blood-red spider was about to reveal a mocking and disdainful expression towards Ning Beichen.
A surge of vast power entered its body through Ning Beichen's fist. The blood-red spider's hard-earned defense began to crumble before this punch, unable to withstand it for even a second.
Ning Beichen's power raged wildly within the blood-red spider's body. Everywhere it passed, everything turned to dust. The blood-red spider could not resist Ning Beichen's strength at all.
With a "bang!"
The blood-red spider's abdomen burst open, its internal organs spilling out as thick, viscous blood.
Immediately after, the blood-red spider's body turned into a pile of rotting flesh and collapsed before Ning Beichen.
"Such terrifying punching power!"
Ning Beichen looked at the blood-red spider he had killed with a single punch and was even shocked by himself.
However, Ning Beichen quickly regained his composure and turned to face the blood-red spider behind him.
The blood-red spider behind him was not foolish. It had survived in this place for so many years and had already developed a certain degree of intelligence.
Seeing its companion in front being killed with one punch by Ning Beichen, it dared not contend with him any longer. It hurriedly scrambled up the wall, attempting to flee.