Great Collapse Fist

"Eat your fill at noon, rest here at night, and when you see tomorrow's sun, it means another day has passed!" Tang Yu said to Fang Zheng as he held a gazelle's hind leg and took a vicious bite, chewing in great mouthfuls.

As dusk fell, the sun quickly set. After putting out the fire, Fang Zheng rested first while Tang Yu kept watch. Only by taking turns resting could they maintain their stamina.

"Moo..."

Suddenly, a deep, powerful sound came from the dense mountain forest.

"That's the call of an Ironback Divine Ox!" Tang Yu's expression changed when he heard it. Ironback Divine Oxen were Level Two mutant creatures, weighing up to a ton. Their entire bodies were as hard as iron, especially their four hooves and their five-foot-long tails. Their iron hooves could crush through an inch-thick steel plate, while a sweep of their tails could snap trees as thick as bowls. Their ferocity was obvious.

But that was not the main point. The main point was that Ironback Divine Oxen usually appeared in herds. At the least, there would be dozens; at the most, hundreds or thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands. If one encountered them, even an expert with a genetic count of five or six hundred could be worn to death.

"Brother Tang, what's going on?" Fang Zheng had already awakened from the rising and falling sounds without Tang Yu needing to call him.

"It's nothing. They might just be passing by. Don't panic!" Tang Yu did not think he could be that unlucky. He had encountered the Bona Golden Ape as soon as he landed, then a giant crocodile while crossing the river, and now Ironback Divine Oxen. That was simply too miserable!

But life was just like that—the more one feared something, the more likely it was to come. As the sound of iron hooves striking mountain rocks gradually drew closer, Tang Yu finally realized what was happening.

"Not good! This herd of Ironback Divine Oxen is coming to drink!" Tang Yu had initially thought this flat valley was quite good, but now it seemed that it had become this way precisely because the Ironback Divine Oxen often came here.

Rumble! Rumble! It sounded like mountains collapsing, deafening beyond belief. A vast black mass of nearly a thousand Ironback Divine Oxen charged toward them at speeds exceeding seventy kilometers per hour. This torrent was not something Tang Yu and Fang Zheng, whose genetic counts had not even reached two hundred, could withstand. Even Force warriors with genetic counts over five hundred would not dare face it head-on. It was already too late to dodge. A few hundred meters vanished in an instant, leaving them no time to react.

Without time to think, Tang Yu stomped down hard and leaped seven or eight meters into the air. But the next moment, his body lost momentum and plunged rapidly downward. His toes tapped again and again as he raced atop the torrent of Ironback Divine Oxen, like walking on the edge of blades. One misstep and he would fall, instantly becoming minced meat!

"Brother Tang!" Fang Zheng let out an angry roar. Tang Yu saw blood streaming from Fang Zheng's foot, and his speed immediately dropped sharply. It turned out that Fang Zheng had failed to step firmly and had landed directly on an Ironback Divine Ox's horn, which pierced through his instep. Fortunately, Fang Zheng's endurance was astonishing. Otherwise, falling would have meant death. Even so, he could not hold on any longer. His body swayed unsteadily, as though he could fall at any moment.

Tang Yu frowned at the sight. He immediately turned back and stomped down hard, forcing the Ironback Divine Ox beneath his foot to collapse before it was instantly swallowed by the herd. Borrowing that force, Tang Yu reached Fang Zheng, grabbed him, and lifted him up to keep him from falling.

"Brother, hold on! We're almost through!"

Rumble! Rumble... The torrent gradually thinned out, and the number of Ironback Divine Oxen steadily decreased. After charging forward again and again, Tang Yu finally carried Fang Zheng out of the valley.

"Whew..." Even Tang Yu was struggling after that expenditure. His Force value was still at seven uses, but his mental energy had been heavily drained. His mind had remained taut the entire time, and he had been carrying someone besides. Saying it had been easy would have been a lie!

"Brother Tang! Thank you!" Fang Zheng said through gritted teeth.

"You foolish kid, why say that? Let's treat your wound first!" As he spoke, Tang Yu began treating Fang Zheng's injury. "Luckily, it's a puncture wound. It's not too serious!"

Seeing that the injury was not serious, Tang Yu also breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome.

At that moment, a message was transmitted from both of their wristbands into their minds. Ninety kilometers away was a safe zone where they could remain for five hours. Everyone had only one opportunity, and there were nine zones in the entire military training grounds. Only those close enough had a chance, and if they failed to leave before the time limit expired, they would be eliminated immediately.

"Haha, just when we were sleepy, someone brought us a pillow!" Fang Zheng laughed heartily upon receiving the message, then supported Tang Yu as he stood up.

"Brother Tang! Give me a hand!"

"You brat, five hours will be enough for you to recover almost completely! When the time comes, don't be stingy—drink a tube of nutrient fluid, and you'll be full of life again!" Tang Yu supported Fang Zheng as they headed toward the safe zone.

Ninety kilometers was neither particularly far nor particularly close. The mountain roads were difficult, and there were many unknown dangers. Fortunately, the two of them seemed to have good luck this time. They encountered no danger along the way and finally reached the safe zone before nightfall.

The safe zone was entirely enveloped by a massive barrier, similar to the light screen in Ye Xing's underwater palace beneath the black market that Tang Yu had seen before. Only trainees could enter; no other creatures could break in.

"Fang Zheng, I can't go in. Recover properly inside, and remember to come out before the time limit expires!"

Fang Zheng paused when he heard Tang Yu's words. The playful look had vanished from his eyes. "I survived this disaster entirely because of your help, Brother Tang. If there is ever anything you need your brother for, just say the word!"

Tang Yu did not stand on ceremony. "I've been waiting for you to say that! All right, no more talk. I'll be going first! I'll wait for you at the academy!"

With that, Tang Yu took several strides and disappeared into the vast wilderness forest.

Fang Zheng watched Tang Yu's departing figure, his gaze drifting as though he did not know what he was thinking.

As for Tang Yu, night had deepened in the boundless wilderness forest. Towering trees blocked out the moonlight, making the space below so dark that one could barely see one's hand in front of one's face. But Tang Yu's genetic count had already surpassed one hundred. His five senses were sharp, far beyond those of ordinary people. Even without using his eyes, he could sense everything within dozens of meters merely by listening with his ears and smelling with his nose.

No one could possibly sleep in such an environment, and Tang Yu was no exception. Fortunately, dawn came early in the tropical rainforest. Before four o'clock, specks of light filtered down through layers of dense foliage. Only then did Tang Yu jump down from a shrub over ten meters tall.

He stretched his limbs, producing a series of cracking sounds. After washing his face by a stream, Tang Yu continued onward. He was going to find Meng Xuanxuan, but none of the three messages he had sent to her wristband had received a reply. Tang Yu's heart sank to the bottom. Given Meng Xuanxuan's intelligence, she should not have encountered any danger she could not handle. Yet in this vast forest, changes were endless, and no one could predict the unknown dangers.

But after walking only a few kilometers, Tang Yu stopped because he saw three people. More accurately, those three people had blocked his path.

"Heh heh, we searched everywhere without finding you, yet you came right to our door! I never expected you brat to deliver yourself to us!" Zhou Kang let out a sinister laugh, staring at Tang Yu with ill intent.

"You country bumpkin, I didn't expect you to dare provoke people from our Zhou Family. This time, we'll definitely let you know that people from the Zhou Family are not to be trifled with."

"Young Masters, there's no need to waste words on this kid. The three of us should attack together and take him out. There's no signal here anyway. Even if we kill him, no one will know. They'll only think he was too weak and got eaten by wild beasts!"

Luo Shan spoke with complete bluntness, actually intending to kill Tang Yu outright. But Tang Yu also understood something. No wonder he could not contact Meng Xuanxuan—there was no signal in this entire area. He did not know why.

"Three jumping clowns!" Tang Yu snorted through his nose upon hearing them, not taking the three of them seriously at all. Since there was no signal, he had nothing to worry about. Just as Luo Shan had said, if he killed all three of them, the academy would only assume they had been eaten by wild beasts and would never connect it to him.

With that thought in mind, Tang Yu suddenly moved. Like an arrow released from a bow, he shot straight toward Luo Shan. Among the three, only Luo Shan possessed some strength. Tang Yu did not take Zhou Kang and Zhou Tao seriously at all!

The three of them had never expected that although they had surrounded Tang Yu, this kid would not think of running first. Instead, he chose to confront them head-on.

This move was neither from the Primordial Martial Way nor from the Shattering Heart Palm. It was a technique Tang Yu had created by combining the power methods of inch force and Spiral Force. Following the method of inch force, he condensed his own Force into a single point, then unleashed it using the method of Spiral Force. With one palm strike, he could split mountains and shatter rocks. Even a stone would explode beneath Tang Yu's palm, showing its power.

Zhou Kang and Zhou Tao could not sense it, but Luo Shan felt it clearly. If this palm strike landed on him, he would die instantly, without the slightest chance of survival!

Seeing the palm strike coming, Luo Shan jumped back repeatedly and used Star Serpent Leap. His body sprang away like a spring, evading Tang Yu's palm. At the same time, the Zhou brothers, Zhou Kang and Zhou Tao, attacked Tang Yu.

The Zhou Family was a family of ancient martial arts, and their martial arts contained no shortage of profound techniques. The two brothers were using the signature skill of the Zhou Family's ancestor, the Great Collapse Fist. It carried the meaning of destroying everything—under one punch, all things would collapse! Its fist force was incomparably fierce, but the two brothers had clearly not mastered it. They had only learned a little of its surface, seeing its form without grasping its essence.