# Chapter 49: The Persistent Woodcutter
Anbela City, East District.
Su Xiao leaped between high-rise buildings, tearing open the clothing on his shoulder to reveal a bloody claw mark. This was inflicted by some woman, whose abilities were extremely troublesome.
Because Su Xiao had to leave Anbela City as quickly as possible, he immediately retreated after severely wounding that woman. Judging by the injury, her chances of survival were very low.
A roll of bandages appeared in Su Xiao's hand. His high-speed movement didn't affect his ability to dress the wound.
After hastily bandaging the injury, Su Xiao took out a bottle of No. 1 Potion and drank it. The sharp pain in his shoulder gradually subsided, soon reaching an acceptable range.
Compared to the injury on his shoulder, Su Xiao was more concerned about the light spot on his right forearm. He had tried using Azure Steel Shadow energy to dispel this light spot, but unfortunately, it wasn't possible in a short time. This light spot was rapidly absorbing the drifting energy in the air.
Unless Su Xiao cut off his own right forearm, he couldn't remove this thing within a dozen hours. This thing wasn't purely energy-based; otherwise, it would have been dispersed by Azure Steel Shadow energy long ago.
Ten minutes later, Su Xiao arrived at the edge of Anbela City. Soon after, he left the city. He had already received a message from Bubu Wang — that fool had retreated along the planned route and would rendezvous with him soon.
Arriving at the outskirts near Anbela City, Su Xiao let out a long breath. The plan seemed smooth, but if any single link went wrong, he might not have made it out of Anbela City. There were at least dozens of Sun Kingdom officers inside the city, along with stationed troops.
Only now did Su Xiao have time to check the Reincarnation Paradise notifications.
[Notification: The Hunter has completed "War Personal Main Mission: Deep Into Enemy Territory."]
[Mission Completion: 100%.]
[Mission Evaluation: A+ (Took too long), no additional rewards.]
[You have received Golden Skill Points × 2.]
...
The reward Su Xiao had been longing for was finally in hand. For these two [Golden Skill Points], he first infiltrated Saint Limen Fortress, then risked entering Anbela City, setting up a series of assassination plans.
The ability to prioritize upgrading was naturally Devouring Core. Now that the Blade Demon energy was in a dormant state, this was the perfect time to enhance Devouring Core.
Of course, Su Xiao could only use the [Golden Skill Points] after returning to Reincarnation Paradise. What he needed to do now was to get as far away from Anbela City as possible and quickly leave Sun Kingdom territory. The direction of Saint Limen Fortress was the current first choice.
One hour later, Su Xiao moved through a natural stone forest. He had already sensed someone tracking him from behind. The traps he had set along the way were triggered several times — the loud explosions were the best proof.
Seven hours later, in the wilderness of Sun Kingdom territory, beside a small river.
The sky was just beginning to lighten. Su Xiao took a finger-thick straw from his storage space. This thing had multiple filtration functions that could remove microorganisms and impurities from the river water.
Although he had drunk some water, Su Xiao was still ravenously hungry. High-intensity combat caused him to rapidly deplete the energy in his body. The damn thing was that the emergency food he had prepared couldn't be taken out of the storage space.
After eight consecutive hours of escape, the pursuers behind were still hot on his trail. This made Su Xiao guess who was chasing him. With his speed, an ordinary Sun Kingdom officer wouldn't have been able to follow him this far.
Su Xiao's gaze swept the surroundings. The terrain here was open, with a small river nearby, the ground covered in large patches of cobblestones, and not far away a forest of modest size.
Running all the time wasn't Su Xiao's style. Based on his judgment, even if he returned to Geya Alliance territory, the guy chasing him would still follow. Such a lingering threat clearly needed to be dealt with now.
Su Xiao took out several alchemy bombs and a large amount of miscellaneous items, beginning to set up traps in the surrounding open area.
About twenty minutes later, a travel-worn Buck arrived near the small river.
By the river was a campfire, and near the campfire was a pile of fish bones. Seeing those fish bones, Buck swallowed. After chasing all night, he was very hungry.
Su Xiao sat by the campfire, holding a skewer of grilled fish. The golden-brown skin oozed oil, making one's mouth water.
"Chased all night, you must be hungry."
Su Xiao took a bite of the grilled fish in his hand, his gaze fixed directly on Buck.
Buck didn't speak. But the next moment, Su Xiao threw the grilled fish in his hand into the river behind him. Buck smiled — this was the "White Ghost" he had come to know through combat. Feeding the enemy was something completely impossible.
Su Xiao stood up, drawing the Dragon-Slaying Flash at his waist. Pale blue energy surged along the blade. This open terrain was more advantageous for him, unlike the previous office, which was well-suited for Buck's hand axes.
Moreover, Su Xiao had arranged some things underground nearby. If they really fought here, it would definitely give Buck a "surprise."
Buck's eyes swept the surroundings. He had already determined that Su Xiao had stayed here for at least ten minutes or more. Engaging Su Xiao in combat at this location was very unwise, especially since the other party had just replenished food and water and was in clearly better condition than him.
Soon, Buck spotted a small forest a hundred meters away. That was his ideal battlefield.
Boom!
Almost simultaneously, the cobblestones beneath Su Xiao and Buck's feet flew up, the high-kinetic stones quickly flying into the distance.
Longsword and hand axe clashed. Just as the blade was about to touch the axe edge, the longsword veered to the side. Su Xiao certainly wouldn't clash head-on with Buck — that would be asking for trouble. He had already experienced Buck's monstrous strength many times.
With a sizzling sound, sparks flew. The blade scraped across the axe edge, slashing straight toward Buck's elbow.
Buck didn't defend at all. He swung his other hand axe, chopping directly at Su Xiao's face. Trading a head for an enemy's elbow — Su Xiao naturally wouldn't make that exchange.
The sharp hand axe slashed past Su Xiao's cheek. He crouched while delivering a side kick aimed at Buck's abdomen.
Before the kick struck Buck's abdomen, his body shifted to the left.
Bang! A shockwave spread. Buck was sent flying by Su Xiao's kick, hurtling straight toward the forest a hundred meters away.
Just as Buck was kicked into the air, Su Xiao's left arm pulled. The tension in his hand caused his legs to sink into the cobblestones. Buck, still mid-air, was forcibly yanked down.
Gravel flew. Buck landed on one hand. Instead of immediately getting up, he swung his axe toward his ankle.
Seeing this, Su Xiao pulled back the Realm Severing Thread, retracting it.
Buck leaped up from the ground. He knew his purpose had been seen through, so he no longer focused on that forest.
The battle between Su Xiao and Buck was a contest of combat intelligence. In terms of raw strength, the two were evenly matched. Their combat experience was also similar. Who would become the final victor depended on who could first seize the other's opening.
Several gold coins appeared in Su Xiao's hand. He tossed them to the ground. Buck glanced at the gold coins with his peripheral vision. Based on his judgment, Su Xiao's action had no direct meaning. It seemed... to be attracting his attention!
The moment this thought appeared in Buck's mind, he intended to leap away.
Boom!
The ground beneath Buck suddenly exploded. Cobblestones carrying immense force shot toward Buck, flames engulfing him.
A sound of cutting came from behind Buck. He had experienced this feeling several times before — his enemy would suddenly disappear, then reappear in some unpredictable position.
The slashing sound came from behind Buck, but he swung his axe toward his side.
Clang! A tremendous force transmitted through Dragon-Slaying Flash. Su Xiao, who had just pierced through space, was sent flying.
Zzz~
The Realm Severing Thread tightened. Su Xiao's left hand, wrapped in a metal bracer, gripped the thread tightly, while the other end of the thread was wrapped around Buck's neck.
PS: (Recommending a friend's book, title: Live Streaming Crushing the Reincarnation World).