This battle demanded that both Mad Beast and Tang Jie give it everything they had. As martial cultivators, they both possessed the will to pursue the pinnacle. Faced with the strongest martial cultivators of the present and the past, neither was willing to admit that he was inferior to the other!
Any martial artist who could become an Innate Martial Cultivator was a peerless genius. Many had opened up their own branches of martial arts and mastered techniques unique to themselves. Mad Beast, for example, cultivated the Mad Beast Way, which he had created by imitating demonic beasts.
The method of proving that one was superior to the other was simple: defeat him. Martial artists ultimately relied on strength and let their fists do the talking!
Black energy billowed around Tang Jie's entire body, making him look like an opened gate to hell.
"Mad Beast Way—Lion Tiger Shattering Gold!"
Mad Beast suddenly opened his maw and released a roar like a lion and tiger's cry. Layer upon layer of ripples rapidly spread toward Tang Jie through the air. That roar could shatter even metal into powder!
"Demon Prajna—True Dragon Roar!"
"Roar!"
Tang Jie likewise unleashed a sonic attack. He opened his mouth and issued a heaven-shaking dragon roar, as though true dragons were flying through the void.
"Boom!"
The two sonic waves crossed the extremely short distance between them and crashed into each other. It was like two bombs colliding—they exploded in an instant, thunderous booms erupting through the air.
From the outside, the sight was even more astonishing. The space where Tang Jie and Mad Beast stood seemed to have transformed into a shattered mirror, its surface covered in dense cracks as though it were about to be torn apart completely!
And this was merely a probing attack by both sides.
"Mad Beast Way—Myriad Demonic Beast Spirits!"
Amid the exploding air, blood-red light flashed in Mad Beast's eyes. He drove his true essence to its limit and displayed the martial path he had cultivated with all his might.
Then, dense phantoms of enormous beasts appeared in the air. Their appearances varied widely: there were lions covered in brown fur as sharp as steel needles, ferocious tigers with the character "king" carved into their foreheads and boundless majesty radiating from them, and enormous tortoises as huge as mountains...
Phantoms of all kinds of giant beasts completely covered the nearby void. Ferocious auras spread in every direction, making it seem as though one had entered the Savage Mountain Range, where demonic beasts prowled. At any moment, one might be torn to pieces and devoured completely.
This was Mad Beast's strongest technique. All the various beast-related martial arts he had studied, imitated, and cultivated evolved through artistic conception and true essence, unleashing boundless might!
"Tear him apart!"
Mad Beast roared.
"Roar!"
Every giant-beast phantom let out a roar, and every beast's eyes glimmered with savage light. They seemed to possess true life as they pounced on Tang Jie from all directions!
"Black Level Futu—Second Interstitial Battle Mark!"
The Black Level Futu true essence within Tang Jie's body circulated at tremendous speed, and even the sky seemed to darken. A bolt of lightning struck Tang Jie's body. At once, two golden battle marks appeared on his forehead and hung down from it.
Tang Jie's entire body gleamed with black light, as though he had transformed into a netherworld hell!
"This is... the Tendon Strengthening Classic?"
The black-robed young monk in the distance was astonished by the sight. Tang Jie's Tendon Strengthening Classic followed a completely different path from his own!
As for which was stronger or weaker, only a clash could determine that!
"What?"
Mad Beast's pupils contracted slightly. He saw black light spread from Tang Jie's body. Wherever the light passed, it formed something like a domain. The giant-beast phantoms he had condensed became blank-eyed the moment they approached Tang Jie, losing all their ability to attack.
Whoosh!
The black light even spread over Mad Beast, making his body tremble. He saw a scene of a hell built from mountains of corpses. Countless evil ghosts shrieked and tried to drag him into hell, where they would tear him limb from limb!
At the Demon Suppressing Cave—the place where Bodhidharma had created the Black Level Futu—Tang Jie had gained enlightenment and strengthened the Tendon Strengthening Classic further, allowing the Black Level Futu to reach the Second Interstitial Battle Mark. Its ability to erode an enemy's spirit had increased severalfold. With the slightest carelessness, one would be dragged into hell.
"Hell? Then I'll slaughter hell empty!"
Mad Beast roared furiously. Relying on his invincible martial will, he forcibly broke free of the Black Level Futu's influence. He became like a demonic beast charging at full speed and rushed toward Tang Jie. Every step made the earth tremble violently. His body transformed into something resembling a savage bear, and he struck with a seemingly clumsy but furious palm, carrying thick, crushing pressure!
"Bang!"
To Mad Beast's horror, when his palm struck Tang Jie's chest, it felt as though it had sunk into a black hole. Although the black light covering Tang Jie's body trembled slightly, the attack failed to cause him any effective harm.
With the Black Level Futu reaching the Second Interstitial Battle Mark, his astral force had transformed into true essence. Moreover, because the Black Level Futu cultivated qi, the vigor of its true essence far surpassed that of the Innate Art, making it exceptionally suited to battle.
Even the protective true essence radiating from his body alone possessed defensive power no weaker than the Twelve-Layer Golden Bell Shield. It could even withstand a heavy blow from a powerhouse of Mad Beast's level head-on!
After all, the Golden Bell Shield had only twelve layers and was still at the astral-force stage; it had not broken through its limits. Even though it excelled at defense, it was perfectly normal for it to be inferior to the defense of the Black Level Futu's Second Interstitial Battle Mark, whose power was ten times deeper.
"Arhat Vajra Fist!"
Tang Jie took Mad Beast's punch with his body. Although his chest throbbed faintly, he was not seriously hurt. Without hesitation, he clenched his right fist. He seemed to transform into an enraged Vajra and drove a heavy punch into Mad Beast's chest.
Injury for injury!
Bang!
Mad Beast's previous strength had faded before his new strength was born, leaving him no room to dodge. The punch struck him squarely in the chest. Amid a muffled impact, his burly, little-giant-like body flew backward. He sailed a hundred meters like a kite with its string cut, his feet scraping across the ground and carving two deep trenches before he finally stopped.
Mad Beast cultivated the Mad Beast Way and lived like a demonic beast, eating the flesh and blood of various demonic beasts every day. He was completely a humanoid demonic beast; his strength and physique were comparable to theirs. Yet after taking Tang Jie's powerful punch head-on, fine cracks appeared in the bones of his chest!
Mad Beast was utterly horrified. Ever since his martial arts had reached completion, he had usually emerged unscathed even when fighting Demonic Beast Kings. Yet now, not long after the battle with Tang Jie began, he was already injured.
What shocked Mad Beast even more was that when Tang Jie's fist struck his body, a pitch-black force had entered him as well, making his entire body grow cold and filling him with unbearable pain.
It was the power of the Black Level Futu. After reaching the Second Interstitial Battle Mark, its ability to erode an enemy's spirit and flesh had increased severalfold. If it came into direct contact with an enemy, it could even drive the Black Level Futu into the enemy's body, making him endure the torment of hell until both his mind and body collapsed in agony!
"Damn it!"
Mad Beast had encountered such a strange enemy for the first time. Before he could circulate his energy to force the Black Level Futu out of his body, Tang Jie had already taken a step forward and activated the Great Teleportation Movement Technique. In a single step, he crossed a hundred meters and instantly closed in on Mad Beast.
Mad Beast had no time to force out the Black Level Futu's power. He could only grit his teeth and withstand Tang Jie's fierce assault.
Tang Jie gave Mad Beast no chance to catch his breath. He did not seek to defeat him with a single thunderous strike—that was unrealistic. Instead, he decided to rely on an unending barrage of attacks to send Mad Beast tumbling into hell.
"Seventy-Two Peerless Techniques—Thousand Leaf Hand!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Tang Jie launched a furious assault with the swift Thousand Leaf Hand. His arms seemed to transform into a thousand arms, and the air filled with dense palm prints. They were like scattered leaves, impossible to track, raining down on Mad Beast from above.
Mad Beast displayed a defensive technique from the Mad Beast Way. His thick arms swung as he blocked Tang Jie's palms, while the true essence throughout his body condensed and faintly formed a tortoiseshell.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
In the blink of an eye, the two clashed dozens of times. Mad Beast defended himself airtight, like an ancient tortoise. Even Tang Jie's unpredictable and exquisite Thousand Leaf Hand could not pierce his defense; every strike was blocked.
Yet with every collision, a thread of Black Level Futu power seeped through Mad Beast's protective true essence and entered his body, corroding his spirit and flesh!
Cold sweat dripped from Mad Beast's forehead. Under the Black Level Futu's corrosion, both his mind and body endured tremendous pain. Every second, countless evil ghosts seemed to tear at his spirit; every second, his body felt as though it were being sliced by a thousand blades.
The pain was terrifying. Even if his spirit could bear it, his flesh could not. His body would collapse from the agony, and his spirit would die!
Experts needed to focus all their attention on dealing with an opponent's attacks. How could anyone possibly withstand excruciating pain while dealing with the fierce assault of an equal-level powerhouse?
That was the terror of the Black Level Futu. Fighting against it was practically torture!
Even a powerhouse like Mad Beast, with his formidable body and steadfast martial will, was beginning to reach his limit. He had to resist the torment of the Black Level Futu while facing Tang Jie's unceasing attacks, and the Black Level Futu true essence invading his body continued to increase!
Finally, Mad Beast's mind wavered for an instant. In that instant, Tang Jie changed his palm into a fist and drove straight in, striking Mad Beast in the chest. Having been eroded by the Black Level Futu, Mad Beast failed to block it.
"Bang!"
Mad Beast was sent flying again. His body tumbled awkwardly through the air before crashing heavily into the ground, bouncing up, and crashing down once more!
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The process was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones. Even a body comparable to a demonic beast could not withstand repeated heavy blows to the same spot. The bones throughout Mad Beast's chest shattered and caved inward.
Mad Beast relied on a surge of willpower to turn over and stand. He refused to face his opponent in such a miserable state.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
But the moment Mad Beast got up, his face paled and he coughed up a large mouthful of blood. He had already suffered severe injuries!
"You've lost."
Black light gleamed across Tang Jie's body as he spoke coldly.
Mad Beast could not suppress Tang Jie even at the peak of his battle prowess, let alone now that his body had been eroded by the Black Level Futu and the bones in his chest were broken. Under these circumstances, his defeat was certain!
Mad Beast's face twisted slightly, partly from pain and partly from the humiliation of losing to Tang Jie.
Mad Beast had been born as a martial cultivator before the Ten Human Nations had even taken shape. He was more ancient than Bodhidharma and True Man Sanfeng, and had been the strongest martial cultivator of his age. He believed himself inferior to no martial cultivator of the past or future. In his era, no martial artist could withstand even one move from him. He had been undefeatable.
Yet in his first battle after awakening once more in this golden age of martial artists, he had tasted defeat! Tang Jie had beaten him into severe injuries, leaving him almost completely unable to fight back!
Mad Beast gritted his teeth. "I haven't lost... I'm not dead yet, so it doesn't count as a defeat!"
"Go!"
Mad Beast decided without hesitation to flee for his life. It was humiliating, but as he had said, so long as he was not dead, it was not defeat!
Crack, crack, crack!
Something astonishing happened. The ground beneath Mad Beast's feet suddenly sank and became incredibly soft. His burly body drilled rapidly into the rocky ground like a loach.
The Mad Beast Way had been created through research into all kinds of beasts. There were countless creatures in nature with escape abilities, and the Mad Beast Way he had mastered likewise contained various methods of fleeing. He had simply almost never used them before!
"Trying to escape?"
Tang Jie's expression turned cold. Mad Beast had slaughtered countless people. He had killed more than a thousand martial artists in Peerless City and severely wounded Xuan Ye. How could Tang Jie be willing to let him leave alive?
Mountain-Pulling River-Shaking Divine Elephant Fist!
Tang Jie rose into the air, seeming to transform into a giant elephant larger than the sky itself. He raised one elephant foot and smashed it heavily into the ground where Mad Beast had vanished!
"Boom!"
Tang Jie's fist slammed furiously into the earth, like a heavenly god's wrath. The entire sky seemed to tremble. The earth across several square li shook violently, and the ground caved inward around the point where Tang Jie's fist landed.
A huge crater four to five hundred meters across appeared on the spot, as though it had been carved out by a meteorite!
If that punch had landed on flesh, not even scraps would have remained!
But Tang Jie's brows furrowed tightly. "He escaped..."
Tang Jie could clearly sense that his punch had not killed Mad Beast. Mad Beast had swum through the ground as though it were water, rapidly escaping more than a thousand meters and avoiding the blow.
Once one reached the realm of an Innate Martial Cultivator, everyone possessed abilities beyond those of ordinary people. Mad Beast's battle prowess was formidable, and his life-preserving methods were just as powerful. That was why he had once slaughtered on a grand scale without even powerful cultivators being able to do anything to him.
Although Tang Jie was unwilling to let Mad Beast escape, he did not consider it a major problem. Mad Beast was arrogant by nature; even if he sought revenge, he would come openly. Moreover, Tang Jie was confident that he would advance faster than Mad Beast. Since Mad Beast could not defeat him this time, he would have even less chance next time. The gap between them would only grow wider!
Tang Jie's mood was somewhat complicated.
Mad Beast was a martial cultivator born in the ancient era. He had even carried out the astonishing act of destroying Shaolin Temple, shocking the world. Tang Jie had been profoundly shaken the first time he learned of it.
Moro's diary had spoken at length of this mysterious martial cultivator's terrifying might, describing him as nearly invincible.
Yet today, Tang Jie had beaten him head-on until he fled with severe injuries. The progress of Tang Jie's strength could be clearly foreseen!
"Gulp!"
"Terrifying... Too terrifying! Even that vicious man wasn't Tang Jie's opponent? He really is the god of martial arts!"
In the clouds above, several cultivators had been shaken to the core after witnessing the battle below. They could hardly believe that this was a level martial artists could reach.
Especially from above, the battlefield had been reduced to a ruined wasteland. Tang Jie's punch alone had left a fistprint hundreds of meters across in the ground—a level of destruction that even the spells and divine arts of many cultivators could not produce!
"He won. Just as I expected, that man who calls himself Mad Beast is an Innate Martial Cultivator too, but I felt that his strength was rather ordinary."
A burly Daoist more than ten li away spoke. During Tang Jie and Mad Beast's battle, he had already felt that Tang Jie had the greater odds of victory. And so it had turned out.
"Martial arts... aren't necessarily stronger simply because they're more ancient. Later generations absorb the experience of their predecessors and create stronger martial paths. That is only natural!"
The black-robed young monk beside him nodded as well.
The development of martial arts was like the development of technology: the more it advanced, the stronger it became. It was no surprise that the martial arts created by later generations, who absorbed the experience of those before them, would be more profound.
Mad Beast's era had been extremely ancient. Though the Mad Beast Way he created possessed unique qualities, in some respects, only he had cultivated and studied it. It had not yet reached perfection and was somewhat crude!
"I have yet to ask your name, Daoist brother." The black-robed young monk withdrew his gaze and looked at the burly Daoist.
"My name is Wu Changkong," the burly Daoist replied.
"This humble monk is named Maha." The black-robed young monk pressed his palms together and introduced himself as well.
"Hahaha! Meeting is fate, and I can hardly wait any longer. Come, let's go somewhere else and have some fun!"
The burly Daoist laughed heartily, crimson flames gleaming in his eyes as he stared at the black-robed young monk.
Wu Changkong had only just met the black-robed young monk, Maha, but he could sense that Maha's cultivation was unfathomably deep. He had already been unable to hold himself back.
"Excellent." Maha rose as well, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
Both were the strongest martial cultivators of their respective eras, and both cultivated the finest martial arts. They had never existed in the same age, but now that they had gathered together, they had long been eager to determine who stood higher!
The two rose and headed into the distance, vanishing from the area.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
A thousand li away, in a barren mountain, Mad Beast stopped. He gasped for breath and sat cross-legged, circulating his energy to expel the Black Level Futu that was corroding his body and spirit.
As the Black Level Futu's power was expelled, the twisted expression on Mad Beast's face eased slightly.
"That Tang Jie's strength is indeed terrifying. Even I lost to him. His greatest advantage is that strange power capable of eroding an enemy's spirit and flesh. If I can deal with it, I may not be unable to defeat him!"
Mad Beast treated his injuries while recalling the battle, wariness showing on his face.
Tang Jie's Black Level Futu had been too terrifying, completely suppressing Mad Beast. Mad Beast immediately began considering a way to break it. Losing was not frightening; what mattered was summarizing the experience and finding a countermeasure to use in the next battle!
Mad Beast believed that one day he would defeat Tang Jie. This was the confidence he had developed after living alone in the dangerous Savage Mountain Range for so many years since childhood.
"Who?"
As Mad Beast treated his injuries and reflected on the battle, summarizing his experience, his beast-like instincts seemed to sense something. He shouted angrily and was about to enter a combat stance.
But a pair of palms had already pressed onto his shoulders. A powerful suction force surged from them, making Mad Beast grunt. He felt the strength within his body being drawn away without end. His entire body went limp as though electrified, unable to summon even the slightest strength.
"Who... who are you?"
Mad Beast was horrified. He struggled desperately, but he could not even move a finger. The palms pressing down on his shoulders released a suction force that caused the true essence within him to surge outward endlessly, like water rushing from a breached dam.
"Despicable... despicable villain!"
Mad Beast's eyes were filled with fury and unwillingness. His opponent had taken advantage of his severe injuries and ambushed him while he was treating himself. It was utterly despicable!
"Damn... damn it... I never thought I, Mad Beast, would die at the hands of such a despicable villain... My path of martial arts... has finally reached its end?"
No matter how furious or unwilling he was, Mad Beast could not resist the sensation of his strength rapidly draining away, like someone losing too much blood. It was the feeling of death, and he knew he was about to die.
He had not died a glorious death in battle against Tang Jie. Instead, he was dying at the hands of such a despicable villain!
Tears slid from the corners of Mad Beast's eyes. He was unwilling and sorrowful. He was unwilling to fall here, and sorrowful that after pursuing the higher realms of martial arts for a thousand years and waiting for countless more, all his efforts had come to nothing!
Like all the other martial artists, he had fallen by the roadside. In the end, he would turn into a handful of yellow earth, remembered by no one. That was the greatest sorrow.
Plop!
Mad Beast crumpled to the ground, already dead. Every bit of strength within his body had been drained away!
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