Leng Fei’s greedy gaze was locked onto the black dragon fish, his trembling fingers about to touch its icy scales.
The very instant his fingertips were about to make contact...
The smile on Su Yu’s face vanished, replaced by an icy killing intent!
"White Ape Extreme Stance - Instant Shadow Thousand Strikes!"
BOOM!
In that instant, Su Yu seemed to transform into a hundred-armed Asura! A shocking, blood-red Evil Qi erupted from his body like a volcano, instantly vaporizing the surrounding mist.
The dual pressure of the White Ape Extreme Stance and the Ape Demon Evil Qi created a dark-red battlefield, trapping Leng Fei, who was right before him!
At that moment, the blood in Leng Fei’s veins seemed to freeze solid.
He never would have dreamed that a mere Flesh Refining Realm Martial Artist—an ant he could crush at will—would dare to launch a surprise attack at a time like this. More terrifying still, how could this aura be so horrifying?
Caught completely off guard, he hadn’t even managed to circulate a single trace of his Qi and Blood before the two terrifying "stances" pinned him in place, rendering him immobile.
In a trance, his mind was dragged to an ancient battlefield, a mountain of corpses in a sea of blood. There, an ancient, furious ape wreathed in endless, blood-red Evil Qi beat its chest and roared. The massive shadow of its fist blotted out the sky as it rained down upon him!
NO!!!
Leng Fei’s pupils shrank to pinpricks as he let out a despairing roar in the depths of his soul.
The next moment, a storm of blood-red fist energy completely engulfed him.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG...
A rapid-fire series of dull thuds erupted, accompanied by the sickening crunch of splintering bone.
Each punch landed with immense weight, carrying a tyrannical energy that tore through everything in its path. It obliterated Leng Fei’s fascial defenses with ease, shattering his sternum and ribs!
Under the rain of fist-shadows, his already grievously wounded body was pummeled and twisted like a broken ragdoll.
"Young Master!!!"
The hunchbacked old servant nearby looked on, his eyes seeming to split with rage. His cloudy old eyes filled with horror and madness as he desperately lunged forward to help.
"Your opponent is me!"
A crisp, cold female voice followed like a shadow. Qian Qinghong’s graceful figure flickered like a phantom. She raised her hands, and two blinding silver glints shot straight for the old servant’s throat!
"Get away from me!" the old man roared in desperation, his withered hands clawing through the air in a frantic attempt to parry.
PFFT!
He managed to block one by sacrificing a few fingers, but the other Silver Dragon Shuttle pierced his left shoulder like a viper, sending out a shocking spray of blood and knocking him back, grievously wounded once more.
Meanwhile, Su Yu’s Instant Shadow Thousand Strikes had already concluded.
Every bone in Leng Fei’s body was shattered. Blood trickled from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. A strange gurgling sound came from his throat as he collapsed like a boneless heap, about to tumble into the churning river below.
Su Yu expressionlessly reached out, grabbed the back of his collar, and held him suspended in mid-air like a dead dog.
"Brother Leng, don’t be in such a hurry to die," Su Yu said calmly. "First, give me that Storage Ring on your finger."
Hearing this, Leng Fei, whose life was rapidly draining away, stared with wide, bulging eyes. His throat had been crushed, and he could only make wheezing sounds like a broken bellows, his gaze filled with endless regret and venomous hatred.
There wasn’t a shred of pity in Su Yu’s eyes. ’This world is survival of the fittest.’
He unceremoniously ripped the Storage Ring from Leng Fei’s finger. After quickly patting him down to make sure there was nothing else, he formed his fingers into a blade and casually swiped it across his throat.
SHLICK—
Blood sprayed out as Leng Fei’s life was completely snuffed out. Su Yu tossed the corpse into the river like a piece of trash, and a wisp of red Evil Qi immediately flowed into his own body.
After absorbing it with practiced ease, he sent a wisp of his Divine Sense to probe the Storage Ring. He felt an invisible barrier blocking his probe. He wasn’t worried, though. With the original owner’s death, this spiritual imprint was already dissolving like melting ice. It would be easy to break through in less than three days.
Tucking the ring securely away, Su Yu turned to look at the other battle.
Qian Qinghong’s attacks were relentless, forcing the exhausted old servant into one desperate defense after another. Just as her elegant hands flew, preparing to slit the old man’s throat with a Silver Dragon Shuttle...
"Qinghong, leave him alive for me!"
Su Yu shot forward like a cannonball, kicking up a fierce wind as he instantly moved to block Qian Qinghong.
Though Qian Qinghong didn’t understand his reasoning, her absolute trust in Su Yu led her to immediately retract her attack. She took half a step back to stand guard for him.
"You little beast, I’ll take you down with me!" Seeing this arrogant Flesh Refining Realm brat dare to face him personally, the old servant felt deeply humiliated. His five withered fingers formed a sharp eagle’s claw and shot straight for Su Yu’s heart.
Su Yu’s expression was as tranquil as a deep well. With a shift of his feet, he initiated his attack with a "White Ape Seeks the Way."
His fist struck like a dragon!
Dense, blood-red Evil Qi coiled around his arm once more. His White Ape Extreme Break Stance descended with the weight of a mountain, instantly cutting off all the old man’s escape routes.
BANG!
With a muffled thud, how could the old servant, already a spent force, possibly withstand such power? His eagle-claw hand shattered instantly. As if struck by lightning, he staggered backward and spat out a large mouthful of black blood mixed with visceral chunks.
Giving him no time to recover, Su Yu changed his fist to a claw and moved like a shadow.
"Wind-Rending Claw!"
SHRRRIP!
Amid the piercing shriek of displaced air, Su Yu’s hand, like five sharp steel knives, easily sliced through the old servant’s throat.
Another stream of red Evil Qi rose from the old man’s corpse and flowed into the space between Su Yu’s eyebrows, like rivers returning to the sea.
Hooo...
Su Yu slowly closed his eyes, savoring the feeling.
The "Ape Demon Evil Qi" within him, once almost ethereal, had now grown to the size of a small mountain after devouring so much Evil Qi. It floated and sank above his Dantian!
It seemed to be hibernating in some hidden, mysterious space within his body.
To test its power, Su Yu’s eyes snapped open, and he threw a punch toward the open river!
BOOM!
The Ape Demon Evil Qi surged forth, solidifying into a tangible, blood-red fist of energy. The violent shockwave actually carved a vacuum tunnel through the river, several dozen feet long! A full second later, the parted waters crashed back together with a mighty SPLASH, throwing up a curtain of mist.
Su Yu withdrew his fist and nodded in satisfaction.
After this bout of killing and absorption, the power of his Ape Demon Evil Qi had advanced by leaps and bounds. It was now only a sliver weaker than his "White Ape Extreme Break Stance," a technique he had spent numerous Breakthrough Points to master!
’The potential of this Trait is truly terrifying.’
’Now, with two stances bolstering me and my ever-deepening physical foundation, I could even crush a genius at the early Muscle Forging Realm!’
Nearby, Qian Qinghong stared at the channel his punch had carved in the river. Her rosy lips parted into an alluring "O," her beautiful eyes wide with shock.
’Did Brother Su have another epiphany?’
’That last punch seemed to combine both of his stances. Its power was enough to startle even me.’
’Does that mean... I might not be his match anymore?’
’A prodigy! A true prodigy!’
’Mastering two stances at the Flesh Refining Realm, each more tyrannical than the last... What were all those people stuck at this realm their entire lives supposed to think?’
"Qinghong, what are you staring at? Come get your spoils from the old man’s body," Su Yu said, turning his head and chuckling, breaking her out of her stupor.
Qian Qinghong snapped back to reality. Without any pretense, she skillfully knelt and began to search the old man’s corpse. She quickly found over a dozen high-denomination silver notes and several exquisite medicine vials.
She uncorked a vial and took a light sniff. A look of delight immediately spread across her pretty face. "This is good stuff!"
She casually pulled open the collar of her black, tight-fitting top and stuffed the silver notes into her deep, alluring cleavage.
The corner of Su Yu’s eye twitched, and a strange expression crossed his face.
’Why do all these well-endowed women like to use that spot as a storage pouch? My senior sister does it, and now Qinghong, too... Don’t they find it uncomfortable?’
He cleared his throat, pushing aside his distracting thoughts. "Qinghong, I got a Storage Ring off of Leng Fei. Once we get back and break the Divine Sense barrier on it, we’ll split what’s inside. I have no use for the ring itself, and you happen to need one, so it’s yours."
"For me?" Qian Qinghong’s pretty eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. "That’s wonderful! Seeing you ridiculously fortunate people all wearing Storage Rings, I was starting to think these treasures were a dime a dozen!"
After they finished collecting the loot, Qian Qinghong’s joyful expression turned serious. "Brother Su, we’ve already caught a black dragon fish and come into this windfall. Our haul has far exceeded expectations. Should we head back now?"
Su Yu slowly shook his head. "Qinghong, that Xue Kuang attacked us earlier. Don’t you want revenge?"
Hearing this, Qian Qinghong broke into a brilliant smile. "I was thinking the exact same thing! Xue Kuang must be pretty badly injured himself right now. Let’s go pay him a visit!"
Facing an expert of Xue Kuang’s caliber, Qian Qinghong showed not a trace of fear. Instead, her eyes blazed with fighting spirit and excitement.
Seeing her reaction, the admiration in Su Yu’s eyes deepened.
They were determined to be the fisherman who reaped the rewards today!