Chapter 558: Ning Zhuo vs. Xiang Yue!
Ning Zhuo looked up and saw Xiang Yue gazing down at him. The latter’s body was mighty and imposing, like a towering mountain.
Whoosh.
A fierce wind suddenly rose!
Facing Ning Zhuo, Xiang Yue naturally showed no courtesy. His arm swept out casually.
In an instant, Ning Zhuo felt as though heaven and earth darkened. Xiang Yue’s thick arm carried overwhelming force and weight, sweeping forward with an unstoppable momentum that seemed ready to flatten everything in its path.
Ning Zhuo hurriedly mobilized mechanical puppets, arranging them directly in front of himself.
Crash!
Xiang Yue’s arm struck horizontally, instantly smashing all the mechanical puppets into countless fragments, destroying them like dry twigs!
Ning Zhuo retreated with difficulty.
Xiang Yue suddenly stepped forward with a heavy stride, causing the nearby ground to tremble.
He stretched out his left hand, spreading his five fingers, and pressed downward toward Ning Zhuo from above.
Martial Art—One Hand Covers the Heavens!
In that instant, Ning Zhuo’s pupils shrank to the size of needlepoints.
It felt as if the sky had turned dark. Xiang Yue’s palm expanded infinitely in his eyes, leaving him with nowhere to dodge, nowhere to evade. Any resistance seemed utterly futile!
Ning Zhuo froze on the spot.
“Do not harm our Military Advisor!!!”
At the critical moment, Zhang Hei roared. Ignoring life and death, he rushed to Ning Zhuo’s front.
His voice exploded like thunder beside Ning Zhuo’s ears, jolting him awake.
“So this is what it feels like to face Xiang Yue directly?!”
“What terrifying pressure!”
This was something impossible to experience merely by watching from afar.
For a moment, Ning Zhuo felt suffocated. His entire being had been overwhelmed by intimidation. Zhang Hei’s roar was like a shock that awakened him from a nightmare.
Without it, he might have met disaster!
Boom.
Zhang Hei raised the Black Serpent Spear high, executing a Military Art to forcibly resist Xiang Yue’s Martial Art—One Hand Covers the Heavens.
Xiang Yue snatched the Black Serpent Spear with a single grab. Taking advantage of the motion, his arm swept sideways, striking Zhang Hei’s waist and sending him flying.
Not only did Zhang Hei lose his weapon, but while still in midair he violently spat blood. The ribs on one side of his body were completely shattered, and even his lumbar spine showed extensive fractures.
Bang.
Zhang Hei crashed heavily onto the ground, leaving a trail of blood. Even someone as tough as him could not stand up for the moment.
Liu Er rushed to his side and immediately used talismans to treat him.
Xiang Yue gripped the Black Serpent Spear with both hands. The next moment, his arms exerted force, muscles bulging like piled boulders. With explosive strength, he actually bent the Black Serpent Spear directly, folding it in half.
With his own weapon heavily damaged, Zhang Hei suffered backlash. His body and mind trembled in pain, and he spat another mouthful of blood.
Xiang Yue casually tossed the ruined spear aside and charged toward Ning Zhuo again.
Using Martial Arts, he took massive strides, instantly shortening the distance between them once more.
Innate Talent—Purple Beard Flash!
Guan Hong’s beard had already turned crimson like blood; now it emitted a faint purple glow, restraining Xiang Yue and immobilizing him for a single breath.
Only then did Ning Zhuo truly pull away, temporarily safe.
After gaining distance, he felt like a fish returning to water after being stranded ashore—a sensation of regained freedom.
“Military Advisor, be careful! Do not approach Xiang Yue too closely. He has been maintaining the Unstoppable Momentum!” Guan Hong transmitted with spiritual sense.
What had seemed like several prolonged exchanges had in fact happened within moments. Close-quarters combat was extremely rapid, every second critical. Only now did Guan Hong have the chance to communicate with Ning Zhuo.
Martial Art—Unstoppable Momentum!
Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred as realization dawned.
Once this Martial Art was activated, every movement of the cultivator carried tremendous aura, producing overwhelming pressure on everything nearby.
Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei were relatively fine—after all, they were Golden Core–level cultivators.
Although Ning Zhuo possessed Golden Core battle strength, his true cultivation was still at the Foundation Establishment stage, meaning his spirit still lagged a realm behind.
That was why his performance had been so awkward.
“The Elephant King previously used Martial Art—Army-Breaking Momentum. Now he’s using Unstoppable Momentum. It seems he belongs to the ‘Momentum’ branch of Martial Arts.” Sun Lingtong reminded him.
Ning Zhuo nodded. With a thought, he ordered Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu to attack.
At the same time, Guan Hong seized the chance, wielding the repaired Blood Dragon Blade and charging toward Xiang Yue.
Two Golden Core mechanical battle armors, together with Guan Hong, surrounded Xiang Yue and attacked.
Xiang Yue stood firm like a mountain. He attacked but did not defend, allowing the assaults to land upon his body.
Martial Art—Immovable Momentum!
Xiang Yue’s defense was astonishing. Even with blade techniques enhanced by Military Arts, the Blood Dragon Blade could only leave shallow cuts on him.
After stabbing several times with the Ghostslay Claws, Meng Yahu’s claws even snapped, barely piercing Xiang Yue’s skin.
Xiang Yue struck back with brute force. A shoulder slam sent the Heavy Armor Blood Ape, Dasheng crashing down. The massive mechanical body—three stories tall and half-covered in heavy armor—suffered severe deformation.
Xiang Yue lifted his foot and stomped down.
Martial Art—One Step Splits the Earth!
Boom.
He stomped down heavily, instantly crushing Yuan Dasheng’s chest and destroying the mechanical battle armor on the spot.
Almost at the same time, Ning Zhuo’s entire body erupted in goosebumps, his aura surging abruptly.
“Xiao Zhuo!” Sun Lingtong exclaimed softly, worry filling his eyes.
Ning Zhuo exhaled a breath of turbid air. In that brief moment, sweat had poured from his entire body. Now the moisture evaporated, steam rising and escaping through the gaps of the Hundred-Armed Arhat Armor.
“I’m fine! Boss, don’t worry.” Ning Zhuo quickly swept his body with spiritual sense. Finding no problems, he became extremely excited.
This time, he had counted Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu within the Military Art—Warrior Returns Art.
Yuan Dasheng was not like ordinary mechanical puppets or Mechanical Golden Swallows. Its combat strength was considerable; it had merely been suppressed in front of Xiang Yue.
When Yuan Dasheng was destroyed, Ning Zhuo’s battle power immediately surged dramatically!
Xiang Yue threw two punches, forcing back Meng Yahu and Guan Hong.
Ning Zhuo did not dare approach recklessly and instead attacked from afar with Five Elemental Spells and other techniques.
Liu Er helped Zhang Hei. Once he saw that Zhang Hei had regained the ability to defend himself and could treat his own injuries, Liu Er immediately rejoined the battle.
Zhang Hei swallowed several powerful medicinal pills, forcibly healing most of his injuries. Unable to delay further, he reentered the battlefield.
After many days, Liu Er, Guan Hong, Zhang Hei, and Ning Zhuo fought together once more in fierce combat.
Their coordination had long been established. Working together, they moved like flowing clouds and water.
But this time, their enemy was simply too powerful.
The current Elephant King—Xiang Yue.
His original form was a Pale Savage Elephant. His racial talent was already ferocious, and with divine abilities and profound Martial Arts mastery, his strength was terrifying.
Though Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning were more numerous, they were entirely the weaker side.
From time to time someone would be blasted away, vomiting blood. After hurriedly treating their injuries, they would rush back into the battle.
The main force of the Three Generals Camp remained in the rear, holding firm with the Iron-Wall Formation. They focused solely on supplying military power to the three generals and did not dare approach the battlefield.
Crack!
The Blood Dragon Blade in Guan Hong’s hand, which had repeatedly blocked Xiang Yue’s fists and kicks, finally failed and shattered again, leaving only the hilt in Guan Hong’s grasp.
Liu Er’s Profound Yellow Sword was also severely deformed. It was obvious the weapon could not endure much longer.
“This is bad. If this continues, the three generals will soon be left unarmed,” Ning Zhuo worried deeply.
The next moment, Xiang Yue seized an opportunity and grabbed Meng Yahu’s right calf.
His other hand immediately shot out, grabbing Meng Yahu’s left arm.
Xiang Yue shouted loudly, unleashing terrifying brute strength. He directly tore the Shadowblade — Night Tiger into two halves.
Meng Yahu possessed a trump card—Hundred Blades Hidden Edge. But once used, it would unleash a storm of blade formations that attacked friend and foe alike, so it could not be activated.
Ning Zhuo could only watch helplessly as Meng Yahu was destroyed.
His heart raced. Sweat poured from his entire body again. Without his mechanical heavy armor, his hair might have stood on end.
His aura surged once more!
Even Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei, who were locked in fierce battle, cast uncertain glances toward him.
Martial Art—Mountain-Shattering Punch.
Xiang Yue extended his arm, his right fist thrusting forward.
Bang.
The air exploded. His fist gleamed like steel as it slammed violently into Ning Zhuo’s chest.
With a muffled sound, Ning Zhuo retreated three steps in succession.
For the first time since the battle began, Xiang Yue’s expression changed slightly.
“Hm?”
Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei stared with widened eyes.
“!!?” Ning Zhuo himself was also extremely surprised.
He had not expected that he would not be sent flying. He had only retreated three steps before stabilizing himself.
“Wait.”
“The Elephant King has been maintaining Unstoppable Momentum. But when I just made close contact with him, I wasn’t intimidated at all.”
Ning Zhuo suddenly realized:
After consecutively losing Meng Yahu, Yuan Dasheng, and many mechanical puppets, his battle power had risen to the point where he could directly contend with Xiang Yue.
Inside the Wanli Dragon, Sun Lingtong shouted:
“Xiao Zhuo, you can fight!”
“We can still battle!!” Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei felt the same thought surge in their hearts.
The first to notice this scene was Lin Bufan, who had been hiding near the edge of the battlefield.
“Ning Zhuo actually withstood Xiang Yue’s strike.”
Lin Bufan’s face filled with disbelief. He suddenly turned his head and looked toward Zhu Xuanji beside him.
At that moment, he finally understood why throughout the observation of the battle Zhu Xuanji had never worried about Ning Zhuo’s safety, showing not the slightest tension.
“Detective Zhu truly understands Ning Zhuo. He knows this kid cannot be judged by common logic!” Lin Bufan thought.
Zhu Xuanji indeed felt no surprise.
“Ning Zhuo is the Child of Calamity chosen by the Three Sect Lords. Such performance is only natural.”
Ning Zhuo gave a low shout and charged forward, engaging Xiang Yue once more.
With his initiative, the battle situation changed drastically.
No longer were Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Ning completely suppressed. The fight had nearly reached a stalemate!
With Ning Zhuo as the main force resisting Xiang Yue’s pressure, Liu Er, Guan Hong, and Zhang Hei decisively centered their tactics around him—attacking from the sides, sharing the burden of attacks, or casting healing spells.
After storing the main remains of Yuan Dasheng and Meng Yahu, Ning Zhuo immediately entered a state of complete focus, devoting himself entirely to battling Xiang Yue.
It was the first time he had faced such a powerful opponent in direct combat.
In truth, he had never imagined he would experience such a battle.
The pressure Xiang Yue exerted on him remained immense—even though Ning Zhuo’s battle strength had risen to such a level.
The fortunate part was that Xiang Yue’s moves were straightforward and simple, easy to read at a glance.
For Xiang Yue, relying on his terrifying physique, Nascent Soul–level cultivation, Martial Arts, and divine abilities had always been sufficient to handle almost every challenge in life.
For Ning Zhuo, whose weakness lay in close-combat techniques, this was actually quite advantageous.
To a certain extent, Xiang Yue—huge in stature, often standing still like a target or charging forward recklessly—was the perfect punching dummy for Ning Zhuo.