Chapter 224: Chapter 222: Mountain-Moving Annihilation

A sonic boom erupted underfoot. Su Yu’s right leg stomped savagely on the air itself, kicking up a visible white shockwave.

His body instantly blurred into an afterimage, moving sideways to evade the spear’s glint, which struck like a venomous dragon.

The crowd below saw nothing but a blur. By the time they located Su Yu again, he had appeared behind and to the side of Dai Xing as if a phantom.

’What a terrifying Body Technique! He can actually push off the air itself?’

’What kind of monster is this Su Yu! It’s one thing for someone so young to have such overbearing Qi and Blood, but for his Body Technique to have reached this level too... he has no weaknesses at all!’

Cries of astonishment rose one after another from the stands below.

On the stage, Dai Xing’s pupils contracted. His last move was a perfectly timed, all-out strike. The spear shot out like a silver dragon bursting from the sea—a committed attack from which he could not easily recover.

Now, a lethal gale approached from behind him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

But he was, after all, the Dai Family’s spear prodigy, the likes of which appeared only once a century!

In that critical moment, he chose not to turn or dodge. Instead, with extreme decisiveness, he pushed off hard with his feet, using the forward momentum of his spear charge to lunge ahead!

BOOM!

Su Yu’s heavy punch, which had been tailing him like a shadow, slammed into empty air.

The terrifying Ming Jin exploded with a thunderous clap. The violent shockwave ripped through the air, forcefully prying a thick bluestone slab from where Dai Xing had been standing and blasting it into a shower of sharp fragments.

「In the Dai Family pavilion among the spectator seats below.」

Several of the beautiful young ladies of the Dai Family watched, their hearts pounding in their chests. Frightened, they instinctively huddled together, their ample bosoms pressed out of shape in the crush, a detail no one noticed.

"Xing, be careful!"

"That Su Yu’s punches are so brutal! I can’t watch!"

"*Sob*... Make him come down, please don’t let him get hurt..."

On the stage, when experts clashed, there was no room for holding back or for a moment’s carelessness.

Although Dai Xing had used his forward lunge to narrowly evade the fatal blow, he immediately sensed the terrifying aura closing in on him again, clinging like a maggot to bone.

In this crisis, his forward-rushing body became like a greatbow drawn taut in an instant. Harnessing the tremendous torque of his spine, he unified his waist and stance and suddenly twisted to thrust his spear!

"Cold Light’s Return!"

The spear struck before he even turned his head!

With this strike, his Army-Shattering Spear Stance was pushed to its absolute limit. The silver spear moved so fast it seemed to leave a bloody afterimage in its wake.

A single point of cold light, as brilliant as a lone star in the dead of night, exploded in Su Yu’s vision!

Su Yu felt a chill run through his mind as everything before him seemed to slow by half a beat.

’What a move, that Cold Light’s Return!’

The move was already nearly impossible to defend against. Combined with the Spear Stance, it conjured the killing intent of a battlefield. To hesitate for even a breath meant being run through.

But Su Yu was no ordinary person, and his own combat experience was vast.

Faced with such a stunning Spear Stance, the Ape Fiend’s baleful aura, long dormant within him, erupted from his body!

ROAR—

An aura far more violent than the Spear Stance’s battlefield killing intent—a terrifying presence like that of a descending Ancient Fierce Beast—slammed into and shattered the incoming Spear Stance!

’Mountain-Toppling Collapse!’

He muttered the words in his mind, holding back his Qi and Blood no longer.

As the great river of his Qi and Blood surged wildly, his spine snapped straight like a longbow drawn to its limit.

A massive amount of Qi and Blood instantly flooded into his right fist, which was covered by the Profound Silver Flow Armor. A terrifying, blood-red aura faintly coiled around the silver-clad knuckles!

This Ape Fiend aura not only dramatically increased his destructive power, but it could also shock and overwhelm an opponent’s spirit!

Just looking at the fist was enough to make one’s heart pound in terror!

BOOM!

The punch shot out, a straightforward, head-on blow. The air detonated before his knuckles, creating a pale white vapor cone.

The incredibly overbearing Ming Jin detonated in mid-air!

The moment Dai Xing’s stunning return-thrust struck the blood-red fist, it was like colliding with a mountain.

The spear’s shaft, forged from meticulously tempered steel, let out a teeth-grinding screech as it was instantly bent into a dramatic arc.

’Not good!’

Dai Xing’s hand throbbed with excruciating pain, and his heart seized with terror. He had intended to use the same trick again, using the rebound of the spear shaft to launch a "Tiger’s Tail" counterattack to disperse the force.

But why would Su Yu give him the same opportunity twice?

SWISH!

Executing another step of the Seven Fiend Thunder Collapse, Su Yu instantly appeared at Dai Xing’s left.

Another incredibly violent punch, like a fired cannonball, shot toward Dai Xing’s waist!

Dai Xing felt the fist approaching from his side and broke out in another cold sweat. With no time to retract his weapon, he could only awkwardly twist his wrists, bringing the spear’s shaft up horizontally in a desperate attempt to block.

BANG!

The silver-and-red fist, carrying terrifying power, slammed heavily into the spear’s shaft.

Dai Xing felt the webbing of his hands split open as blood sprayed into the air. An overwhelmingly brutish force traveled up the spear shaft and slammed into his arms, instantly numbing them.

His stance broke. Stumbling backward, he took seven or eight frantic steps, his feet gouging deep prints into the hard bluestone slabs.

However, he had barely steadied himself, the blood still rising in his throat, when Su Yu’s nightmarish figure appeared on his other side!

’So fast! What kind of speed is that?!’

But he didn’t give up. Gritting his teeth, he gripped his spear tightly and unleashed a wide, powerful sweep meant to clear everything around him.

SWOOSH!

He poured all of his just-recovered Qi and Blood into the attack. The power was astounding, and the air shrieked as the spear swept past.

But in the next instant, it hit nothing but air, grazing only the afterimage Su Yu had left behind.

’Damn it...’

Dai Xing’s heart plummeted.

"It’s over."

A calm voice spoke from behind him.

The fist, sheathed in Profound Silver Flow Armor, struck Dai Xing squarely in the back, heralded by a piercing sonic boom.

*PFFT!*

Dai Xing felt as if he’d been slammed from behind by a rampaging Ancient Fierce Ape.

The wisp of Qi and Blood he had struggled to gather was instantly shattered by the violent impact. Agony twisted his internal organs, and unable to suppress his injuries any longer, he spewed a mouthful of coppery blood that stained the front of his robes.

Before Su Yu’s next punch could land, Dai Xing already knew.

’I’ve lost.’

"I concede!"

He shouted without hesitation, raising both hands high. The silver spear fell from his grasp, clattering onto the stage.

Seeing the clash end in a flash with even Dai Xing’s somber defeat, the crowd, after a moment of stunned silence, erupted into a deafening roar.

"Su Yu won again!"

"He’s too strong! Even Dai Xing couldn’t last ten moves against him!"

"A monster! To think the White Ape Martial Arts Hall produced such a monster, it’s unbelievable!"

On the stage, Dai Xing endured the sharp pain in his back and bent to retrieve his spear.

He turned, a complicated expression on his face as he looked at Su Yu. He solemnly clasped his fist and bowed deeply. "Brother Su, your mastery of Martial Arts is divine. I, Dai, am thoroughly convinced of my defeat. However, before I leave the stage, I must be bold and ask: did you use your full strength just now?"

Su Yu calmed his surging Qi and Blood and glanced at him, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

’I haven’t used my Ape Fiend Drumbeat and Ape Shadow Gale combo, nor have I charged Seven Fiend Thunder Collapse to its final stage. Of course it wasn’t my full strength.’

’Not to mention I still have my ultimate trump card, the White Ape Transformation.’

’But a life-saving trump card like that can’t be revealed so easily on a stage like this.’

Seeing Su Yu’s silence—neither a confirmation nor a denial—Dai Xing gave a bitter smile. He understood perfectly.

He clasped his fist again, his tone now laced with awe and admiration. "Brother Su, your foundation is as deep as an abyss. I am utterly impressed! I hope that one day, when my Spear Technique reaches the Great Success Realm, I will have the chance to seek your guidance once more!"

With that, Dai Xing walked off the stage, his steps slightly unsteady, one hand holding his spear and the other pressed against his aching side.

"Oh, Xing, are you alright?"

The moment Dai Xing stepped off the stage, his beautiful sisters swarmed him, their faces etched with worry. They supported him from both sides, their hearts aching for him.

Seeing his pale face and the blood at the corner of his mouth, a few of the more softhearted sisters started to cry. "*Sob*... Our Xing is so powerful, and yet he was defeated," one lamented through her tears. "What kind of monster is that Su Yu?"

At her words, the other women fell silent.

The eldest sister, Dai Xin, stood behind the group, silent. Her captivating eyes were fixed on the figure on the stage, a peculiar glint deep within them.

’What a handsome and peerless talent,’ she thought. ’If only I were a few years younger, I’d love to have a match with him!’

With Dai Xing’s dejected departure, Su Yu once again stood alone on the vast white stone stage.

He made no move to celebrate, simply standing there in silence.

But to the Martial Artists below, that tall, slender figure was so imposing it felt hard to breathe.

「In the distance, within the Thousand Mechanism Tower’s pavilion.」

Lü Guandu clicked his tongue in amazement.

He excitedly flipped open a gold-trimmed book. On the page containing information about Su Yu, he solemnly added a heavy new annotation:

"This young man’s comprehension of Martial Arts is astonishing! He has already cultivated multiple Cultivation Techniques to the Great Success Realm, and his combat foundation is unfathomably deep. At only twenty years of age, he can be ranked directly among the top one hundred on the Qing Province Martial Arts Latent Dragon Rankings!"

「In the Spirit Snake Martial Arts Hall pavilion.」

Xu Xianzhou stopped fanning himself. He stared fixedly at Su Yu on the stage, his expression turning exceptionally sour.

After starting to speak and stopping himself several times, he finally let out a cold snort. "So a phoenix really can fly out of a chicken coop. But compared to the rest of Qing Province, he’s nothing special."

"Who else wishes to offer their guidance? Please, come up to the stage!"

On the stage, Su Yu calmed the surging Qi and Blood in his body. His clear voice once again rang out across the entire plaza.

The vast plaza fell silent.

After he had crushed three great experts in a row—Sun Yan, Bai Zhang, and Dai Xing—no one else dared to challenge him.

Seeing no response from below, Su Yu slowly turned, his profound gaze landing directly on the high platform.

There, Qin Fangqiong was holding her teacup, looking at Hong Jingtian with a triumphant smile.

"Hall Master Hong," Qin Fangqiong said, slowly taking a sip of tea. "My disciple, Su Yu. His aptitude should be acceptable to you all, yes? Given his potential, are there any further objections to the White Ape Martial Arts Hall joining the five-hall alliance?"