Just as the two were speaking, a burly man of nearly the same height had already stepped out from the doorway. He had a tiger-like back and a bear-like waist, his whole body knotted with muscles. His eyes were like copper bells, radiating a cold, fierce light.

　　"Are you Adam Carter?"

　　Adam Carter sneered and did not answer—what a pointless question. Hadn’t he been talking with Eric Bennett for so long? Did this man not know he was Adam Carter?

　　As for the strength of the man before him, he was extremely wary. He, too, was at the Bone-Refining stage, his skin a dark bronze with a metallic sheen. At first glance, it was clear that his cultivation was an external hardening technique.

　　His skin was like steel, able to withstand blades and weapons.

　　In addition, there were three more Bone-Refining martial artists, now appearing on the rooftops to the left and right. One wielded twin sabers, another held a hooked chain.

　　Behind him, another figure appeared—short in stature, each hand gripping a battle axe.

Chapter 3: Desperate Outlaw

　　Adam Carter recognized all three; they were somewhat famous in the North City. The three major leaders of the Green Robe Hall: "Green Hook" Edward Lewis, "Axe Butcher" Henry Ford, and "Wind Blade" Jack Grant. All were Bone-Refining stage martial artists, and none were weak.

　　If it were one-on-one, Adam Carter would have the upper hand. But if the three joined forces, he would have no choice but to flee in panic.

　　He didn’t care much about the latter two; the Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Fist had a matching "Dragon Walk, Tiger Step" technique. Its speed in dashing and maneuvering wasn’t top-tier, but in the city’s complex terrain, it could truly shine.

　　For seven years, Adam Carter had relentlessly trained in sprinting through dense forests, confident that his escape skills were second to none among Bone-Refining peers!

　　So among the three, he only truly feared "Green Hook" Edward Lewis; that hooked chain in his hand was best at entangling and capturing. Once caught, there would be no chance of escape.

　　But what he feared most was still the nine-foot-tall burly man before him.

　　This man was named Harold Stone, the leader of the Green Robe Hall. He cultivated the external hardening art "Golden Armor Profound Gang," which was the perfect counter to his own fist techniques, and the main reason he had recently been forced to flee like a stray dog. This man had reached the Bone-Refining stage at twenty-two, and had spent another twenty years cultivating the Golden Armor Profound Gang, reaching the pinnacle of this external art.

　　With two more layers of iron armor on his body, it was said that even a first-level Qi-Refining cultivator’s full-force weapon strike could not harm his skin in the slightest. That was how he could dominate a whole street in the North City.

　　If not for the Green Robe Hall overstepping their bounds and pushing too far, Adam Carter truly did not want to make an enemy of Harold Stone at this critical moment of breaking through to the Qi-Refining stage.

　　Even counting himself, his group only had two Bone-Refining stage members. To fight these people head-on was simply not worth it.

　　"My younger brother Bruce Stone—was he killed by you, Adam Carter?"

　　Apparently not expecting Adam Carter to answer, Harold Stone's eyes flashed coldly as he gave a sinister smile: "I saw his corpse. He was struck seven times by the Dragon-Subduing Fist. Most of his bones were shattered. His whole body was ruined, not a single piece of flesh intact!"

　　"Enough with the nonsense!"

　　Adam Carter flipped his hands, pulling out a pair of gauntlets from his sleeves and putting them on. They were made of gold thread mixed with spider silk, with protruding spike blades at the knuckles. They could withstand weapons and also break through armor and shatter bones!

　　That Bruce Stone had died under the blows of these gauntlets. In addition, he fitted iron bracers onto both arms, also able to resist weapons.

　　Since he was going to turn against the Green Robe Hall, how could he not be prepared? These gloves, called "Armor-Piercing Spikes," were a low-grade spiritual artifact he had acquired by chance, spending all his brothers’ savings at a high price—something many cultivators didn’t even have.

　　But whether they could break through Harold Stone's "Golden Armor Profound Gang" was still unknown.

　　In the past ten years, he had been through no less than thirty armed fights, several times on the brink of death—he could barely be considered a battle-hardened veteran.

　　So even though he knew he was likely doomed this time, he felt no fear at all. On the contrary, the ferocity in his bones only grew more unrestrained, his fighting spirit burning ever brighter.

　　Someone who licked blood from the tip of a blade every day—how could he care about his own life?

　　He, Adam Carter, was a desperate outlaw. Even a cornered dog would leap over a wall—how much more so for him?

　　Since death was certain, then today, no matter what, he would drag a few down with him—let them go to hell together with Adam Carter!

　　But strangely, as he focused his mind and readied himself, the decayed sword of unknown origin on his back suddenly began to heat up inexplicably.

　　In just a moment, it became scorching hot. Who knew what strange tricks this demonic sword was up to now?

　　But Adam Carter knew that at this moment, he could not afford the slightest distraction. Though he found it odd, he had no time to worry about it for now.

　　Harold Stone's gaze was momentarily drawn to the gold-threaded gloves in Adam Carter's hands, but after a brief pause, he paid them no mind. His fists clenched tightly, cracking audibly, and the words he spat out seemed to come from the depths of the underworld, his cold laughter unceasing.

　　"A spiritual artifact, is it? No wonder you’re so bold! My brother’s life—how miserably he died—you, Adam Carter, clearly don’t care. But as his elder brother, I cannot ignore it. These days I haven’t slept a wink, every day imagining the agony my brother suffered in his final moments! Fortunately, Heaven has eyes and will not let the enemy go unpunished. Today, I, Harold Stone, will crush every bone in your body, Adam Carter! I’ll chop every piece of your flesh to feed the dogs! You’ll beg to live, but won’t be able to—you’ll beg to die, but won’t be allowed—"