NOVPUB[The situation is somewhat dire.] Chen Xi watched Sunx Ce’s Army, which was already gradually organizing a counterattack, and the waves of Sunx Ce’s reinforcements surging out of Lujiang City with a bit of a headache.
"Xingba, quickly dispose of those two guys!" Chen Xi ordered his own soldiers to assemble while shouting at Gan Ning.
"Alright!" Gan Ning responded without looking back, knowing that even though Sunx Ce and Zhou Tai were injured, it was definitely not as simple as just saying he would take them down. However, he liked pushing limits.
"Die!" Gan Ning gathered all his Inner Qi that was hovering around his figure back to himself. While that layer of protection made it difficult for ordinary attacks to break through and harm him directly, it also meant that his own attacks couldn’t reach their maximum output.
In the next moment, a layer of azure-green Inner Qi manifested sharply on the great sword in Gan Ning’s hands and on the Horizontal River Iron Chain, continuously shining with an absolute edge.
Sunx Ce also silently mobilized the scarce Inner Qi left in his body to form a layer of golden armor over himself, and a golden blaze attached itself to the Long Spear as well. As for Zhou Tai, at that moment, he seemed possessed by a fierce god, with black flames flying off his body, and a layer of pitch-black fire formed on the great sword.
"Seems like you guys aren’t very compatible!" Gan Ning laughed loudly, and without caring about anything else, leaped into the air and shot towards Sunx Ce like lightning, believing his own short-term Explosive Power was definitely greater than that of a horse. To kill the two in front of him, he had to be faster than them.
"Kill!" Zhou Tai’s low chant came as he swung his great sword towards the direction Gan Ning was shooting in, cutting in three directions, blocking Gan Ning’s options to evade forward, backward, upward, or downward. At the same time, Sunx Ce also thrust with his spear, displaying none of Zhao Yun’s ornate spear techniques, only endless tyranny!
Gan Ning chopped through Sunx Ce’s Qi Force with his sword, and the Horizontal River Iron Chain in his left hand slithered like a python through the gaps between the three strikes, stabbing towards Zhou Tai’s forehead, while his body followed the trajectory of the chain and shot out.
When Zhou Tai knocked the Horizontal River Iron Chain away, Gan Ning had already leaped beyond those three sword lights. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest by the iron chain’s tip rebounding back towards him. With a slight flick of his left hand, the iron chain wound around Gan Ning’s body.
As the Horizontal River Iron Chain wound around him, Gan Ning’s left hand was finally freed. In the next moment, he clenched the great broadsword in both hands and chopped viciously at Zhou Tai. The strongest strike he had been brewing, carrying the azure-green Light Blade and his descending speed, chopped harshly at Zhou Tai.
Actually, when Zhou Tai saw Gan Ning wrapping the Horizontal River Iron Chain around his body, he knew that things were bad. But in a split second, even more so, he realized that evasion was impossible. Going all out in, a do-or-die attack, he summoned all his Qi Power and erupted all his Inner Qi, striking hard at Gan Ning.
"Boom!" A series of thunderous roars followed. The ground where Zhou Tai had been standing seemed like it had been struck by a meteorite, raising a mushroom cloud, while Sunx Ce charged towards Zhou Tai before the dust cloud could even rise.
"Shh!" The sound of the air tearing apart. Gan Ning, his complexion slightly pale, leaped out of the dusty area; his great sword was gone. Following close behind, a gust of wind swept past.
"Zhou Youping, you underestimated me," Gan Ning said, looking at Zhou Tai in the crater with a tinge of shock.
When Chen Xi looked towards the crater, he saw that most of Gan Ning’s great broadsword’s blade had been chopped into Zhou Tai’s shoulder, while Zhou Tai’s great sword was split in two— the hilt was in his right hand, and the tip was in his left. Zhou Tai himself was buried from the waist down into the earth.
"Youping, are you alright?" Sunx Ce suddenly noticed that Zhou Tai, standing beside him, seemed taller by a section and more robust as well.
"It’s nothing, just a minor wound." Zhou Tai carelessly tossed away the Broken Blades in his hands, then leaped out of the large pit with Sunx Ce, paying no mind to the Great Broadsword still stuck in his shoulder.
"Minor wound..." Sunx Ce’s eyes twitched as he spoke. Such an injury wouldn’t heal in less than a month even with Inner Qi Separation, but it was such a relief that Zhou Tai was alive; Sunx Ce had never lost an acquaintance in battle before.
However, at this moment, Sunx Ce finally confirmed that Zhou Tai had indeed grown taller—if he used to be eight feet tall, now he must have been well over ten feet.
"An Undying Monster?" Chen Xi silently observed Zhou Tai. This guy seemed to be the most vivacious monster of the era, taking dozens of hits and still standing, still able to fight as evidenced by the man before him.
"Crack!" Zhou Tai directly pulled the Great Broadsword out of his shoulder bone, and a massive amount of blood spurted from the enormous wound. But shortly after, it seemed to be suppressed, and dark Inner Qi burst forth from the wound. Zhou Tai, as if nothing had happened, swung the Great Broadsword a couple of times.
Gan Ning clenched his Horizontal River Iron Chain, ready to battle Zhou Tai again at any moment, but before they could resume their deadly struggle, Sunx Ce’s Army from Lujiang City had already charged out under the lead of Cheng Pu, Ling Cao, and others.
"Xingba, it seems we’re out of luck, let’s go." Chen Xi turned his horse and beckoned to Gan Ning.
"Zhou Youping, I’ll leave my Great Broadsword with you for now; next time, I will definitely take it back," Gan Ning said to Zhou Tai with a cold laugh, not waiting for a response before disappearing beside Chen Xi in a few flashes.
"First, attend to the rescue of our soldiers. I had already ordered people to prepare at the Yangtze River," Zhou Yu said quickly, seeing Ling Cao and the others looking to pursue. 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
"Youping, are you alright?" Sunx Ce asked, patting Zhou Tai’s back.
"I’m fine for now, but I’ll be in trouble soon. This kind of technique allows one to recover beyond their peak level even when severely injured. My body may be strong, but the cost..." While speaking, Zhou Tai collapsed to the ground, his body that once rivaled a bear’s now shrank, and blood from his wounds spurted out ceaselessly.
"Quickly, save him!" Sunx Ce shouted. He knew it couldn’t be that simple; these ultimate techniques were never reliable, especially the ones that seemed too good to be true!
"Pfft!" Gan Ning spat out a mouthful of blood, wiping his mouth with the back of his right hand. "Zhou Youping, that guy’s brute strength is terrifying!"
"You didn’t see how huge he got just now. He grew by a third in height and expanded in size. It would be strange if his strength didn’t increase. I guessed you were knocked out by him, and it turned out to be true. You should take some medicine later; don’t leave any hidden injuries," Chen Xi sighed, having suspected that things weren’t looking so good when Gan Ning had leapt back from the smoke.
"I was planning to chop him in half, but I misjudged the situation. His Great Sword absorbed most of the impact, and the Inner Qi as well. I could only wound him like that, and then he struck me with his palm on my chest, sending me flying. That ultimate technique is really not weak. By the way, why did you call him an ’Undying Monster’?" Gan Ning said with a wry smile, holding the horse’s reins, surprised that Zhou Tai had blocked his strongest blow.
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
