The Might of Innate

BOOM!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the spot where Shen Gongbao and the others had just been standing was struck by a fierce, overwhelming fist imprint, causing that patch of forest to explode on the spot.

Rocks shattered and flew, while dust and smoke billowed into the air!

The surrounding trees, thorns, and wild grasses were all shredded by the terrifying force, leaving a crater over ten meters wide in the ground.

After throwing the punch, Huang Feihu drifted down onto the back of his Five-Colored Divine Ox, gazing toward the direction of Lu Chuan and the others, remaining silent for a long time.

"Big Brother, who was that, daring to ambush the auspicious Chongming Divine Bird?"

Seeing the scene just now, Zhou Ji was both shocked and furious. "Did you kill them..."

"They ran away. The opponent appeared to be a Qi Refiner, though he seemed to have no intention of crossing blades with me."

Huang Feihu shook his head, his expression solemn. "Before my fist force could even reach him, he had already fled using an escape light."

"A Qi Refiner? I wonder which mountain this cultivator hails from."

Zhou Ji said in a deep voice, "It seems someone is intentionally making things difficult for our Great Shang!"

"It matters not who it is. Since the Chongming Divine Bird has been injured and fled, the task of slaying this Zhu Yan now falls upon us."

Huang Feihu turned his head again to look at the mountain peak, which was filled with black smoke and unceasing flames. He shouted, "Army, heed my command! Prepare your bows and arrows. Once I lure it down the mountain, you are to loose your arrows and slay it. Zhou Ji, you and Long Huan remain here to command."

BOOM!

As the words left his lips, he had already leaped from the back of the Five-Colored Divine Ox, spear in hand, triggering a series of sonic booms in the air.

Following that, his figure could be seen in the high sky, trailing a series of afterimages as he vaulted through the air directly from this mountain peak to the one where the Zhu Yan resided.

"What?!"

High in the clouds, seeing this scene of him leaping across the mountain peaks below, the color drained from Lu Chuan's face.

The power of Huang Feihu's punch just now had already shaken his soul, and now, seeing him vault across two mountain peaks through the air left him speechless for a long time.

"How is it?" Shen Gongbao smiled from the side. "Huang Feihu's strength did not disappoint you, did it?"

After leaving that mountain peak earlier, he had not taken Lu Chuan away directly, but instead remained in the sky, using magic to conceal their figures while waiting for a good show to unfold.

Lu Chuan nodded, murmuring, "This innate martial artist is truly terrifying. I can only think of four words: terrifying to this extent, terrifying to this extent..."

"You wicked beast, die!"

Below, following a thunderous roar, Huang Feihu, still in mid-air, poured his true energy into the long spear in his hand. The weapon released a dazzling brilliance, and a heart-stopping, sharp, cold light at its tip thrust directly toward the massive Zhu Yan ahead.

The Zhu Yan had already noticed Huang Feihu's arrival.

Although Huang Feihu's physique was like that of a three-year-old child compared to its own, the blinding cold light blooming from the tip of his spear made even the beast feel a sense of dread.

"ROAR!"

The Zhu Yan opened its blood-red maw and let out a roar, its fiery red fur igniting along with the sound.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It hammered its thick, sturdy fists heavily against the ground, shaking loose massive boulders, and then swung its palms repeatedly to strike them.

Each strike imbued the stones with raging flames, and finally, they rained down upon Huang Feihu like a swarm of locusts.

With a loud shout, Huang Feihu's spear moved like a dragon, instantly transforming into a sky full of spear shadows. He tapped each burning stone, causing them to explode one after another.

Seeing this, the Zhu Yan opened its mouth wide and blew a breath. Suddenly, these exploded fragments gathered back toward Huang Feihu, engulfing and trapping him in the blink of an eye.

WHOOSH!

A final, massive fireball, two or three zhang in diameter, burned fiercely in mid-air.

"Big Brother!"

Behind them, Long Huan's eyes were bloodshot. He let out a roar and raised his halberd, ready to charge forward.

"Don't be impulsive! Let's watch and see!"

Zhou Ji, being more composed, raised a hand to stop him, frowning. "Don't forget, our military order is to remain here, not to go up..."

In mid-air.

"Is Huang Feihu dead?"

Lu Chuan wondered to himself, though he thought it unlikely; otherwise, there would be no Martial Accomplishment King Huang Feihu in the future.

BANG!

Sure enough, after trapping Huang Feihu like this, the Zhu Yan relaxed slightly.

But the very moment it relaxed, that massive fireball exploded from the center with a loud bang.

PUFF!

Amidst the sky-filling flames that were too bright to look at, a cold, sharp light flashed by, piercing into the Zhu Yan's thick, burning fur, and searing blood began to flow out.

Yet, Huang Feihu could not bring himself to be happy.

Because as his spear pierced the Zhu Yan's chest, one of the beast's thick, powerful arms had already seized the weapon in his hand.

Before the Zhu Yan, Huang Feihu's long spear looked like nothing more than a chopstick.

"Roar!"

The Zhu Yan let out a thunderous bellow, its other fist crashing down toward Huang Feihu.

Left with no choice, Huang Feihu was forced to abandon his spear and retreat, spinning backward to dodge the blow and landing three zhang away.

"Is Huang Feihu going to lose?" Lu Chuan whispered to himself.

"Lose? Disciple, that is not necessarily the case. An innate expert of the Martial Way is essentially the pinnacle of humanity, possessing an incredibly formidable physical body."

Shen Gongbao chuckled, "With Huang Feihu and his three thousand Flying Tiger Army here today, the outcome is still hard to predict. The most spectacular part is yet to come; you had better keep your eyes peeled and watch closely."

Lu Chuan remained silent.

"What, are you still sulking with your master over the matter of the Chongming Bird?" Shen Gongbao smiled faintly.

"No!"

Lu Chuan shook his head and said, "I just couldn't quite wrap my head around it, but I'm fine now that I've thought it through."

If he had to choose who to support in the battle between the Zhu Yan and the Chongming Bird, it would undoubtedly be the Chongming Bird.

He loathed the Zhu Yan.

Not only was it an ancient beast of ill omen that symbolized disaster, but it had also shattered his evasion technique just moments ago, causing him to plummet from the sky and nearly lose his life.

Conversely, the cry of the Chongming Bird was clear and righteous, breaking through the Zhu Yan's terrifying roar. Otherwise, Lu Chuan believed he might have been shaken to death by the tidal wave of sound while still in mid-air.

"The world is about to fall into chaos, and the fate of Yin Shang is at its end. How could a single Chongming Bird possibly protect it?"

Shen Gongbao shook his head, "King Zhou is tyrannical, doting on the demonic concubine Daji and slaughtering ministers and commoners alike; Heaven no longer blesses him.

If the empire of Yin Shang were a palace, the civil and military officials would be the beams and pillars supporting it. If the empire were a ship, the ministers would be the planks, oars, and sails. If King Zhou insists on tearing out his own beams and planks, how much longer can Yin Shang possibly last?"

"Is that your justification for wounding the Chongming Bird?" Lu Chuan asked calmly.

"Ahem, well... your master only intended to force it to leave. The appearance of the Zhu Yan signifies that disaster is inevitable; it is not something the bird can prevent."

Shen Gongbao coughed dryly and said, "Besides, I had no intention of taking its life. Otherwise, do you really think it would have had a chance to escape once I made my move?"

"Prevent?"

Lu Chuan's expression softened slightly, and he added, "Isn't the Chongming Bird a divine creature that specializes in subduing demons and monsters? I get the feeling it came here to subdue the Zhu Yan, not to protect the Yin Shang empire at all!"

"Perhaps, but it is no match for the Zhu Yan. If the battle drags on, its defeat is only a matter of time; it might even exhaust its divine power and perish."

Shen Gongbao said righteously, "By wounding it while its divine power was still intact and it still had its protective aura, I forced it to flee for its own good. You could even say I saved its life!"

Lu Chuan was stunned.

I have never seen such a shameless person in my life.

Lu Chuan immediately muttered to himself, thinking how he could wound someone and then righteously and confidently claim to have saved their life.

What an absolute absurdity!

The Chongming Bird and the Zhu Yan were, respectively, an ancient divine bird and an ancient beast of calamity.

No matter how one looked at it, they were opponents of the same caliber, and their battle just moments ago had been a stalemate...

Forget it, just watch the show! Lu Chuan thought.

However, since the Chongming Bird was not in mortal danger, he felt much less guilty.

After all, it was he who had goaded Shen Gongbao into attacking, which led to the bird's injury. It was just that Shen Gongbao's mind was as cunning as a demon's, and he never played by the rules, making him impossible to read.