Pursuit

The Winged Snake King landed on the ground and burst into terrifying speed, gradually closing in on Chen Daolin.

Chen Daolin didn't dare stop. A Beyond War God had always been synonymous with invincibility, its strength far surpassing that of a God of War. Though Chen Daolin had great confidence in his own abilities, he still wasn't sure whether he could stand against a King Level Monster that had surpassed the God of War level.

"Run first. If I can't get away, then I'll fight!" Chen Daolin gritted his teeth. No matter what, he wasn't going to give up.

In the distance, Ji Xuan stood atop a mountain, watching Chen Daolin being hunted by a King Level Monster. Her expression grew anxious, but with her abilities, getting involved would only mean throwing her life away. Her heart urged her to help him, while reason told her she couldn't go. The conflict tormented her.

"Alin, you have to survive." Ji Xuan's fingers tightened around her sword hilt until her knuckles turned white. She couldn't calm herself. "If you die, I'll cultivate until I surpass the God of War and avenge you."

At that moment, a breathtaking scene was unfolding in the nameless mountain range. A gigantic blue snake wound through the mountains at lightning speed. Compared with the tiny human ahead of it, the snake was enormous. When Chen Daolin looked back, it already blocked half the sky as far as he could see. An overwhelming pressure bore down on him, as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth splitting apart, making it hard to breathe. It was the difference in their levels of life, the suppression of a "higher being" over a "lower being."

Chen Daolin felt as if a thousand-pound boulder were pressing on his chest, leaving him unable to catch his breath. Everything around him seemed to slow. Only the enormous blue serpent, as vast as a mountain range, remained crystal clear. His mind raced as the muscles and bones throughout his body crackled. His eyes reddened. He opened his mouth and suddenly roared, "Fuck you—"

Black Flowing Light rapidly spread over his body, turning him into a "black man," with only his eyes and nose exposed. His eyes bloodshot, he gripped his spear and charged head-on at the blue serpent before him, like some primordial beast.

As a mocking glint appeared in the Winged Snake King's eyes, a spear shadow rapidly expanded in its vision.

A deafening crash rang out as the spear in Chen Daolin's hands collided head-on with the Winged Snake King's enormous head. The tremendous force made the air around them ripple like boiling water, sending wave after wave of violent shockwaves in every direction. The nearby cliffs shuddered, countless rocks and clouds of dust came tumbling down, and dense cracks spread across the hard rock face. The spectacle was terrifying.

Amid a roaring gust, a figure shot out like a cannonball, slammed into the mountainside, then bounced to the ground and landed on one knee. Behind him, a vast shower of rocks and dust cascaded down.

A pair of calm eyes appeared beneath the black protective membrane. Chen Daolin felt a little more at ease. His blood and qi churned, his arm trembled, and his palm was numb, but he had just faced that terrifying King Level Monster head-on and met its attack.

The blue serpent, more than two hundred meters long, swayed its head in the air before finally stopping. Feeling a faint pain and dizziness in its head, the Winged Snake King abruptly lowered it. Shock showed in its eyes. Its direct attack had actually been blocked by a tiny human?

How was that possible!

The Winged Snake King flew into a rage, even angrier than when it had learned its underlings were dead. Feeling that its dignity had been insulted, it hissed and charged at Chen Daolin again.

Its enormous body surged toward Chen Daolin like Mount Tai bearing down on him.

Chen Daolin roared. A sharp aura burst from him in an instant, and his muscles swelled outward until he looked like a demon of bulging muscle. His face flushed as he gripped his spear in both hands and dodged the Winged Snake King's collision. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he swung the spearhead toward the serpent's scale-covered body. Sparks burst with a clang. The spearpoint met tremendous resistance, blocked by the Winged Snake King's incredibly hard scales, before finally piercing them with great difficulty.

Chen Daolin's heart skipped. He moved and leapt backward. The spot where he had stood exploded, and the Winged Snake King's furious assault followed right after.

"This King Level Monster's defense is absurd!" Chen Daolin was shocked, but he didn't let up. He darted around the Winged Snake King at astonishing speed, weaving from side to side and looking for chances to land a sneak attack with his spear.

The Winged Snake King roared furiously without pause. The human hopped around it like a grasshopper, constantly leaving wounds on its body. They were insignificant against its enormous frame, but the Winged Snake King felt utterly humiliated.

It was a King Level Monster, for heaven's sake. How could it be unable to deal with a mere human?

"Gwah!" The Winged Snake King raised its head and let out a piercing, shrill cry. A hazy blue glow emerged from its huge body and spread in every direction like a rising tide. Chen Daolin, moving at high speed, felt the air around him grow heavy in an instant. Layers of invisible force pressed in on him, making his body feel heavy and sluggish.

"What's happening? What kind of power is this?" Chen Daolin felt as if he had fallen into a swamp; every movement took tremendous effort. Staring at the hazy blue glow surrounding the Winged Snake King, he was astonished. "Wait, is this a King Level Monster's ability?"

A trace of fatigue showed in the Winged Snake King's eyes. This ability had awakened when it entered the King Level Monster tier. It could control the energy of the wind to accelerate, or use it to restrain opponents within a certain area. Of course, the larger the area, the more energy it consumed. And if its opponent was too strong, the ability wouldn't do much.

The Winged Snake King glanced down at the human, a vicious glint flashing in its eyes. Its huge tail instantly blurred, tore through the air, and slammed into the slowed Chen Daolin. He barely had time to raise his spear in front of him before the Winged Snake King's tail struck. An overwhelming force traveled through the spear, sending him flying far away like a kite with its string cut. He smashed through who knew how many trees before crashing onto a meadow hundreds of meters away. His muscles ached all over, and his internal organs felt as if they had been knocked out of place. His blood and qi churned without end, and both hands felt as if they no longer belonged to him, completely numb.

"Cough..." Chen Daolin's chest felt terribly constricted. He coughed, and only then did he feel a little better.

He climbed to his feet and found that, although he'd taken a blow from the blue serpent's tail, he didn't seem to have suffered much damage apart from feeling uncomfortable.

"So I'm a monster too, huh." Chen Daolin was a little dumbfounded.

But when he thought about the fivefold defensive boost from his King Kai Fist and how the Black God Set could offset ninety percent of the impact, he realized that the remaining ten percent was spread across his whole body. It wasn't strange that he'd blocked the Winged Snake King's attack with only minor injuries.

With a God of War's physical abilities, injuries like these healed quickly.

Only then did Chen Daolin realize that, in terms of sheer power, he could just about fight the King Level Monster before him.

But the King Level Monster's special ability kept him on the back foot.

After his initial excitement, Chen Daolin thought calmly.

"My chances aren't good. I'd better run. I can come back for payback when I get the chance."

The Winged Snake King saw Chen Daolin get back up unharmed and looked astonished. Then it flew into an even greater frenzy.

I'll kill you!

The Winged Snake King's enormous, winding body launched one violent attack after another around Chen Daolin.

Chen Daolin darted away at high speed, shooting upward like an arrow. After dodging one of the Winged Snake King's attacks, he leapt onto a nearby hillock, turned around, and sprinted away.

The Winged Snake King froze for a moment, its eyes turning bloodshot. It pursued him without a second thought, smashing who knew how many hills and forests as it went and carving a deep trench through the ground.

Chen Daolin remained calm. He knew there was still a gap between him and the Winged Snake King. He could fight it, but with his chances so poor, why battle an opponent who was clearly stronger than him?

He also knew that the Winged Snake King wouldn't have an easy time killing him. The Black God Set's defense was simply too powerful, blocking ninety percent of the Winged Snake King's attacks. Without it, Chen Daolin's own defenses, even boosted by the King Kai Fist, wouldn't have been enough to withstand the monster's terrifying strength.

"Good thing I have the Black God Set." Chen Daolin felt fortunate that he'd agreed to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's conditions and left the Black God Set behind. Otherwise, he'd be in trouble today.

"Now I need to find a chance to shake this King Level Monster. But it's faster than me." Chen Daolin felt a headache coming on.

He couldn't beat it.

And escaping would be difficult.

Chen Daolin couldn't help remembering the high-level Beast General Level Golden Leopard he'd encountered back when he was in the Training Camp. It, too, had been stronger and faster than him.

But the King Level Monster before him was even more troublesome: it had boundless strength, lightning speed, astonishing defenses, and a special ability. Chen Daolin had suffered setback after setback.

The Winged Snake King quickly caught up with Chen Daolin, but after a brief exchange of blows, Chen Daolin turned and ran again.

Without using that blue energy, the Winged Snake King found it difficult to keep Chen Daolin from getting away.

The two fought as they ran. Before long, a blanket of white mist appeared ahead.