Chapter 43: Annihilation

On the contrary, he could already feel that instead of holding an arm, he was trying to crush the most indestructible artifact in the heaven and earth, which truly baffled him.

"Kid, your body!"

Yuan Zhenye rarely took the initiative to inquire about his enemy's condition in the middle of a battle, and for good reason—Su Ling's displayed strength was simply too bizarre.

Relying merely on a seemingly indestructible physique and a strength capable of rivaling Yuan Zhenye, Su Ling had cleanly and neatly blocked Yuan Zhenye's ambush. The crucial point was that Su Ling even appeared to have energy to spare, which genuinely surprised Yuan Zhenye.

"Too much idle chatter."

Su Ling let out a cold snort, raising his eyes to look at the Mountain-Moving Ape before him, whose physique was as massive as a mountain, showing no fear of its formidable aura.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhenye suddenly flew into a rage, no longer holding back and unleashing his full power.

Accompanied by wisps of deep purple martial arts true qi resembling drifting smoke that raged and vented around his entire body, Yuan Zhenye's momentum soared drastically. The hand that gripped Su Ling's forearm like a pair of iron pliers suddenly exerted force, and muffled sonic booms of compressed air popped continuously in his grip.

Yuan Zhenye vowed to tear Su Ling's arm off with brute force, showcasing a degree of viciousness that was evident to all.

Only at this moment did Su Ling feel a faint, almost imperceptible itch on his forearm. The Mountain-Moving Ape's all-out force, capable of grinding steel into powder, could not even be considered pressure when applied to Su Ling; even the sensation of an ant crawling across his arm would be stronger than this level of force.

"What?!"

Only now did Yuan Zhenye realize that his strength still had no effect on Su Ling whatsoever.

Witnessing this, Yuan Zhenye was struck by a thought that startled even himself: could the body of the kid before him be the hardest celestial artifact in the entire world?

Just as Yuan Zhenye was consumed by astonishment, Su Ling, on the other hand, had somewhat figured out the Mountain-Moving Ape's actual strength.

Su Ling handled the Mountain-Moving Ape with complete ease, not even deigning to look at it directly. His gaze casually swept over the surroundings, and he realized that this was not a good battleground.

After all, the ancient and time-worn sword strip hanging at the bottom of the covered bridge beneath their feet had an immensely profound origin.

If the commotion from Su Ling's battle were to affect this unfathomable old sword strip, while it might not cause major trouble, it would still introduce some lingering future complications.

Moreover, Su Ling believed that even though Qi Jingchun had already devoted all his attention to the collapse of the small town—a matter of supreme importance—

Qi Jingchun would still be able to spare a glance toward Su Ling's direction. Therefore, Su Ling dared not be overconfident, especially since he had made a promise to Qi Jingchun not long ago.

He could not let a battle powerful enough to destroy the town take place within it...

If that was the case, wouldn't the situation be disadvantageous to him? But looking at it from another perspective, since they could not fight within the boundaries of the town, wouldn't changing the battleground circumvent this issue?

After all, Su Ling had only agreed with Qi Jingchun not to fight inside the town, but that did not mean he could not face enemies outside its borders.

If using a strength capable of crushing the enemy to welcome the foe could even be considered an evenly matched battle...

Thinking of this, Su Ling ignored the ugly expression on the Mountain-Moving Ape's face, which had turned almost the color of a pig's liver, and looked up toward the distant horizon.

His gaze pierced past the Mountain-Moving Ape's massive flank, and finally, Su Ling locked onto a more suitable location for battle.

As for where that was, it was naturally the uninhabited 'Immortal Burial Ground' located near the edge of the Lishao Blessed Land...

"I'll just stretch my body a little bit. Mr. Qi won't come out to stop me for this, right?"

Su Ling's slightly hesitant voice reached the ears of the Mountain-Moving Ape before him, leaving Yuan Zhenye thoroughly perplexed.

"Kid, what are you talking about..."

Just as Yuan Zhenye had not yet finished speaking, he suddenly felt an irresistible, overwhelming giant force abruptly erupt from the spot gripping Su Ling's forearm.

With a soft plop, accompanied by a chilling and muffled heavy sound, Su Ling effortlessly broke free from the Mountain-Moving Ape's grip.

Then, with lightning speed, an ordinary fist cut through the air, leaving a residual afterimage and producing a violent whistling sound.

With a thunderous crash, it struck the Mountain-Moving Ape's abdomen, which was covered in pitch-black armor.

With a sharp crack, shattered armor fragments flew in all directions, and Yuan Zhenye's body was hammered by Su Ling's single punch until it bent into a C-shape, his eyes bulging wide with fury.

Accompanied by visible shockwaves appearing beneath Yuan Zhenye's abdomen, he suddenly felt an intense, soul-piercing agony surge from the point of impact like a relentless, continuous tide.

"Cough, cough~!"

With a ferocious and horrifying expression, Yuan Zhenye could not help but open his mouth, spewing stomach acid mixed with blood like a fountain, a truly terrifying sight.

The veins on Yuan Zhenye's face bulged violently. As the intense pain swept through his entire body, the residual giant force remaining on him did not diminish by even half, landing squarely upon his entire frame.

With a deafening crash, Yuan Zhenye was lifted straight off the ground. A circular shockwave suddenly erupted, smashing through a stretch of wooden railings along his path.

His massive physique flew backward at lightning speed, shattering large swathes of forest with trees so thick that multiple people could barely wrap their arms around them.

Yuan Zhenye tore across the sky like a shooting star, leaving behind a harsh, piercing afterimage. The sound of breaking air rang out continuously, sonic booms surrounded his body, and his speed escalated again and again.

Until the sound gradually faded away and his figure became completely invisible to the naked eye in the sky...

"He flew really far..."

Su Ling looked up at the distant, receding figure of the Mountain-Moving Ape in the sky, whistled casually, and without dragging his feet, bent his legs to continuously accumulate momentum before instantly erupting with immense force.

Su Ling exerted fierce strength with his feet, and with a booming explosion, a shallow crater appeared in the spot where he stood, sending wood chips flying.

Su Ling instantly vanished from the covered bridge, leaping into the air to give chase directly after that distant black silhouette on the horizon.

At this moment, the wooden covered bridge swayed violently as if experiencing an earthquake.

Even the old sword strip hanging beneath the covered bridge shook continuously with the vibrations.

Just like green leaves swaying in the wind on a treetop, sword hums resounded like the pleasant chiming of silver bells.

...

On the eastern side of the town, near the ruins of the Immortal Burial Ground.

Thunder rumbled across the sky, and heavy leaden clouds blotted out the sun. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the clouds, seemingly with tens of thousands of lightning serpents galloping relentlessly, creating an extreme sense of oppression akin to dark clouds pressing down on a city.

Accompanied by the continuous crashing of thunder, it was foreseeable that before long, a cataclysmic storm would descend upon this otherworldly blessed land.

Yet at this very moment, a distinct meteorite-like trail slashed a pitch-black afterimage across the sky.

A series of loud explosions mixed with thunder echoed out. In the blink of an eye, that pitch-black figure crashed down violently with a thunderous roar directly beneath a giant stone statue.

Like an exploding missile, Yuan Zhenye blasted the earth beneath him into a crater shaped like a fallen meteorite.

The pulverized, powder-like rubble was instantly blown far away by the shockwave generated by the impact.

Dust filled the sky, and taking the explosion as its starting point, a lead-gray, semi-circular shockwave dome rapidly expanded outward, instantly blanketing the space within a radius of one kilometer.