Chapter 47: Astonishment

Just as Su Ling took a step forward, an ethereal, vicissitudinous, and aged voice suddenly resonated in the surrounding air.

The voice echoed, but no figure was visible. The owner of this voice was undoubtedly a mighty being of supreme divine powers!

"Su Ling, I still have use for that Song Changjing. As for that demonic ape, deal with it as you please."

Hearing this, Su Ling cupped his fists toward the sky in a respectful salute. As for why he was so courteous—the voice was exceedingly familiar. If nothing else, the elder who had spoken to protect Song Changjing was none other than the Azure-Child Monarch from the apothecary.

As for why the Azure-Child Monarch had suddenly spoken at this critical juncture to ask Su Ling to show mercy to Song Changjing, the original text had already provided an explanation.

It was nothing more than the contention for the future destiny of the human race. In days to come, this battlefield martial artist Song Changjing still had an important role to play and could not be slain by Su Ling at present.

The Mountain-Moving Ape, on the other hand, did not appear to be quite so important. After all, the Mountain-Moving Ape was not of the human race; it was a demonic beast, extremely arrogant, yet its cultivation level could not be underestimated in the outside world.

The Mountain-Moving Ape itself was also the guardian beast of Zhengyang Mountain, and its background was not something ordinary forces could afford to provoke.

Yet in the eyes of mighty beings of supreme divine powers, such matters were mere floating clouds, far less important than Song Changjing's future utility.

"Understood."

Su Ling nodded softly, and the Azure-Child Monarch, who had been paying close attention to this place, said no more. The sense of ethereal surveillance vanished from one spot.

Yes, only one spot, for he knew that ever since this battle began, there had been more than one sense of observation. Su Ling was not the least bit surprised by this surveillance by mighty beings.

Su Ling firmly believed that ever since he descended the mountain, every move he made had been exposed to the eyes of certain individuals. However, constrained by his own insufficient cultivation level, he was still unable to ferret out the true identities of those watchers.

Therefore, with no other recourse, Su Ling could only let those mighty beings observe the situation here.

Yet it was not entirely a case of being powerless to retaliate. After all, the terrifying power he had just displayed—punching Song Changjing and kicking the Mountain-Moving Ape—had also been witnessed by those people.

If the masterminds behind the scenes wished to use him as a chess piece, they would first have to weigh whether their teeth were hard enough not to shatter. If one lacked the diamond drill, one should not take on the porcelain work.

This perhaps could also be regarded as killing a chicken to frighten the monkeys on another level, except that the chickens being slaughtered happened to be Song Changjing and the Mountain-Moving Ape.

As for the intimidated monkey—which could hardly even be called a monkey, yet was no ordinary person—it was truly rather ironic, akin to the sheer folly of a goose feather attempting to crush a giant...

——

Just as Su Ling was filled with emotion, a strange commotion sounded. Looking toward the source, he discovered it originated from deep within the stone statue...

"Oh? Still haven't lost consciousness?"

"Boy, this old man admits, you are strong." A voice like an impending volcanic eruption came rolling over. Hearing this, Su Ling's expression turned subtle.

"But... do not push people too far!"

"Hearing you say that, do you also admit to being a person?"

At this point, Su Ling feigned puzzlement, casually glancing at the gradually brightening purple martial arts true qi deep within the pit of the stone statue's abdomen. This was the final strand of true qi the Mountain-Moving Ape had replenished.

The Mountain-Moving Ape's cultivation would temporarily be free from the suppression of the Heavenly Dao, recovering to its peak state in the outside world. When that time came, it would be the Mountain-Moving Ape's moment for a desperate, life-or-death struggle.

"However, aren't you of the simian race? Why have you suddenly turned into a human?"

"Oh~, I understand. You are demonstrating that you are something neither human nor demon—a monkey calling itself a human. Thinking about it this way, you old ape really know how to gild your own face~"

Su Ling's sarcasm successfully provoked the Mountain-Moving Ape's anger to the bursting point, to the extent that it was ready to raise its fists and start a fight right then and there.

"Audacious!"

"Die for this old man!"

Yuan Zhenye let out a furious roar, and a terrifying wave of qi mixed with purple martial arts true qi swept outward, taking the stone statue's abdomen as its center and blanketing a radius of a hundred meters.

The waves of qi spread out in layers, kicking up a massive amount of accumulated dust and debris from the surface that blotted out the sky and sun.

Simultaneously, the vast expanse of thunderclouds overhead exploded with sound, seemingly affected by the terrifying aura erupting from Yuan Zhenye.

Purple thunder pythons as thick as water buckets rolled continuously within the pitch-black dark clouds, thunder rumbling incessantly and echoing far into the distance.

"Hah, what a mighty display~"

Su Ling loved nothing more than a good show and continued to rub salt into the Mountain-Moving Ape's wounds, speaking with blunt candor. This directly drove the Mountain-Moving Ape into a blind fury, wishing it could instantly grind Su Ling into dust!

Just at this moment, the general's statue seemed unable to withstand the Mountain-Moving Ape's terrifying power any longer, its gray body trembling incessantly.

Accompanied by a sharp crack, dozens of fissures split across the surface of the stone statue, rapidly spreading over its entire body.

The next moment, with a loud crash, the stone statue shattered completely, disintegrating into pieces. The fractured debris cascaded downward, churning up billowing clouds of dust.

Thud!

The shockwave of a colossal beast trampling the ground arrived. Within the obscured dust and smoke, a tall, sturdy figure wreathed in purple qi could be faintly seen walking slowly toward Su Ling's direction.

Seeing this, Su Ling was not surprised. After all, the Mountain-Moving Ape had paid a heavy price, and the strange phenomena of these past few days had been bought with its very life.

It could be considered a losing venture, but Yuan Zhenye cared not, nor did Su Ling give it any mind; the ape before him was nothing more than a clown performing on a stage.

The harsh, heavy panting of a massive beast echoed through the air. Su Ling gazed with keen interest at the Mountain-Moving Ape a thousand meters away before him.

"Old ape, I wonder how much lifespan you have left."

"...Enough to kill you!"

Yuan Zhenye let out a cold snort at these words, blowing two streams of scorching purple vapor from his nostrils that bombarded the ground beneath him.

Instantly, they pierced straight through the surface, leaving behind two bottomless, pitch-black circular pits, within the obscure depths of which wisps of purple true qi drifted.

Seeing this, Su Ling raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, not expecting that the Mountain-Moving Ape, having successfully replenished its qi, would possess such terrifying strength.

Yet in his eyes, it was still merely a slightly larger ant. Had he not been concerned that the aftermath of the battle might affect Song Changjing's life, he would never have stayed here to watch the Mountain-Moving Ape build up its momentum.

Yes, the Mountain-Moving Ape was building up its momentum at this moment. Although it had just looked as though it wanted nothing more than to strip Su Ling's tendons and peel his skin, the ape could still maintain its composure. It could truly be said that even when a lion fights a rabbit, it uses its full strength.

Only, this particular rabbit happened to be a terrifying powerhouse cloaked in rabbit skin.

With a mere flick of his finger, Su Ling could grind this overconfident Mountain-Moving Ape into scraps, leaving not a shred behind!

Just then, Yuan Zhenye had finished gathering his momentum. On the other side, Su Ling could also clearly see that the Mountain-Moving Ape had moved quite a distance away from the debris of the stone statue.

"Boy, you..."

Yuan Zhenye wore a ferocious grin on his simian face. Before he could finish speaking, the next instant, a sense of ultimate crisis—so hair-raising that it rooted him in place—erupted from every corner of his body!

Yuan Zhenye could now clearly sense that a fatal crisis capable of killing him instantly was emanating from Su Ling in a continuous, terrifying torrent.

At the same time, Yuan Zhenye wore a look of utter astonishment. Even though he had already placed the utmost importance on Su Ling's strength, it still proved to be a mere drop in the bucket.