Chapter 160 - 158: Changsheng Species and Li Pu
It must be said, Song Changming’s luck is pretty good, as he managed to find the location of the third Dragon Transformation Pearl.
It’s just that the giant beast guarding the Dragon Transformation Pearl also made him quite apprehensive.
"An elephant bull with at least a century-old lifespan!" Song Changming silently assessed; he recognized this giant beast.
In the list of known fierce beasts among the Human Race, this giant beast, the elephant bull, would certainly be famous.
It’s said that this beast can easily live for a few hundred years, even longer than ordinary old turtles.
It is truly a member of the Changsheng Species!
Just this point alone was enough for Song Changming to remember this fierce beast.
Moreover, an elephant bull needs to grow for a hundred years before it reaches adulthood.
An adult elephant bull is a powerful existence that makes ordinary Extreme Realm Martial Artists retreat, and the older it is, the more powerful it usually becomes.
This is also why Song Changming felt so apprehensive; the elephant bull in front of him was definitely an adult with a lifespan of over a century, and it might not be just newly matured, its combat strength was unknown.
Fortunately, there was only one elephant bull here.
If there were a group roaming around, he would hesitate even more before trying to obtain the Dragon Transformation Pearl from the valley.
Taking advantage of the elephant bull still venting its anger on the corpses of the wolf pack, Song Changming utilized the Flying Swallow Light Body Skill, silently diving down from the edge of the valley.
"Hmm?!"
Almost simultaneously, another figure, hundreds of meters from Song Changming on a big tree, also dived down, heading straight for the pond.
Both of them had the same idea, intending to seize the Dragon Transformation Pearl while the elephant bull was away.
However, neither of them expected that there would be another contender between them.
"It’s him..." Song Changming focused his gaze, taking in the other person’s appearance.
Dressed in a coat with Huadiao style, with fur wrist guards, the overall outfit clearly indicated a martial artist from the North.
And this person, Song Changming was not unfamiliar with.
He was the young master who recently emerged from Fengxue Manor.
Song Changming did not expect to meet him in such a place today.
With a bit of hesitation in his heart, he nevertheless resolutely accelerated and continued towards the pond.
What gave him a bit of pause was the young master’s deep background, but to give up the golden Dragon Transformation Pearl before him, he felt reluctant.
In the wild, one seizes treasures based on one’s own abilities.
This place is in the South, even if he takes the Dragon Transformation Pearl from the young master, the Hidden Sect of Fengxue Manor in the Far North likely would not mobilize forces to come south just to settle scores with him.
On the other side, Li Pu naturally noticed Song Changming, who appeared likewise, and could not help but show a hint of amusement.
"Interesting!"
He had previously challenged Song Changming, but he did not know that the person before him was actually Song Changming.
He saw the excellence of the person’s Light Body Skill, and having such a competitor piqued his curiosity.
In a few breaths, Song Changming had already descended into a forest of giant trees in the valley.
Without slowing down, he headed towards the pond.
Just as he approached the pond, a fierce punch force swept over!
Song Changming was prepared, and delivered a punch in return.
Both were very confident in their fist and foot skills, so neither dodged.
Their fists collided, and the fierce power continuously clashed with each other, like two heavy hammers striking together, making quite a commotion.
This punch showed that both their strength and punch speed were evenly matched, and neither retreated, silently testing their strength against each other.
Both saw a bit of astonishment on each other’s faces.
Perhaps neither expected the opponent to be evenly matched in a contest of strength.
Both were unwilling to yield, and tacitly refrained from drawing their swords.
Li Pu struck again with his left hand, and Song Changming likewise responded with his left hand, both standing immoveable like a mountain, blocking each other once more.
This time, it was Song Changming’s turn to launch a kick, executing his top-tier kicking technique, the Mountain Splitting Kick!
The opponent raised his leg to block.
Boom!
This time, the result was different; Song Changming’s Mountain Crushing Kick was not so easy to defend against.
With a base of more than twenty thousand pounds of giant strength, combined with the power of top-tier kicking skill, Song Changming’s kick far exceeded the ultimate power and lethality that ordinary Extreme Realm Martial Artists could unleash with bare hands!
As strong as Li Pu was, after taking Song Changming’s kick, his face changed dramatically, and he couldn’t control his body as he took two steps back, each step leaving a deep footprint!
Li Pu’s eyes sparkled, and with his other foot firmly on the ground, he turned and leveraged the momentum to counterattack with a War Axe kick from above.
The speed was extremely fast, the force gusting, reaching in an instant!
Song Changming used the Wandering Body Step, lightly tapping with his toes, sidestepping with a small maneuver, evading the opponent’s kick.
Crash!
Li Pu’s kick smashed into the ground, sending fragments of rock flying everywhere, dirt and grass clippings swirling, making for a terrifying sight.
"No wonder you’re from a hidden sect; you’re indeed extraordinary!" Song Changming could feel the immense power in that kick, secretly clicking his tongue in his heart.
Ever since he had trained Bone Forging to the Extreme Realm, he hadn’t encountered a Martial Artist who could match him in strength.
He deduced that this person wasn’t an ordinary Extreme Realm Martial Artist but someone who, like him, had pursued the dual cultivation of the Body Refinement path, perhaps even faster, already infinitely close to Body Refining Great Perfection!
Now, only someone on the same path could challenge him!
"Great body technique!" Li Pu seemed quite excited, twisting his waist and launching another whip kick mid-air.
Bam!
Song Changming parried with both hands, but the Giant Strength from the opponent’s leg caused his upper body to slightly lean back, and he took a step back.
Deploying Shadowless Hand, he formed his hands into claws and accurately gripped the opponent’s leg joints, ready to counterattack.
Just as he was about to apply Tearing Ligaments and Shattering Bones, Li Pu took a deep breath, the muscles in his legs suddenly bulging, using some unknown technique to burst forth a shock force, forcibly bouncing Song Changming’s hands away.
They each delivered another kick, both backing off several meters to release the force.
In that brief clash of lightning flashes and sparks, neither could determine the victor.
"Again!" Li Pu seemed a bit engrossed, even forgetting his initial goal of seizing the Dragon Transformation Pearl.
Fortunately, the Elephant Bull nearby kindly reminded them both.
Roar!
The Elephant Bull, disturbed, charged back furiously, aiming to crush these two despicable thieves.
Without hesitation, Song Changming dove into the lake, swimming towards the Dragon Transformation Pearl at the bottom.
The lake’s water was icy and bone-chilling, growing colder the deeper he went.
Having overcome his water phobia, Song Changming once again mastered his swimming skills.
Thanks to the Water Dragon power, his swimming ability became unbelievably good, allowing him to dive quickly like a merman, effortlessly.
Seeing this, Li Pu followed suit, diving into the water to catch up.
His swimming skills were also excellent, but Song Changming was a step ahead, reaching the bottom first.
With a large sweep of his hand, he grasped the Dragon Transformation Pearl!
Seeing this, Li Pu intended to continue the struggle with Song Changming for the pearl in the water.
Meanwhile, the Elephant Bull charged into the water, resembling a deep-sea bomb exploding into the lake.
Seeing the giant pillar-like elephant leg descending upon them, Song Changming and Li Pu couldn’t afford to tangle any longer and quickly retreated to the shore.
Even with excellent water skills, they couldn’t exert much of their strength underwater.
Song Changming’s Dragon Body was newly acquired and still undeveloped, with limited Water Dragon effectiveness.
Surfacing, as soon as Song Changming flipped himself onto the shore, he saw a long elephant trunk sweeping in with a wave of water.
Caught off guard, Song Changming couldn’t regain his footing in time and was sent flying by the trunk’s immense force.
After crashing through a massive tree, Song Changming landed with a slightly embarrassed expression.
Recovering from the hit, he felt as if his organs had been displaced, his throat tasting sweet.
He prided himself on his exceptional strength, but this was only within the martial artists’ realm.
Compared to this Elephant Bull, he was far behind!
It was a natural disparity between species; the Fierce Beast’s massive physique was no mere show, possessing physical durability far exceeding that of the Human Race.
Martial Artists close this natural gap with Fierce Beasts through acquired cultivation.
Fortunately, Song Changming’s Skin Refining, Muscle Training, and Bone Forging were all perfected, granting him exceptional defense against damage.
Otherwise, just that one blow would have seriously injured him.
Perhaps because he took the Dragon Transformation Pearl, the Elephant Bull had no intention of letting him go, its trunk spraying out two fine streams of water with tremendous pressure.
Heaven knows how strong the pressure was, piercing through a line of massive trees!
Luckily, Song Changming dodged in time, narrowly avoiding being punctured; the Elephant Bull’s unexpected attack methods were truly alarming.
Without lingering, Song Changming dashed into the woods, quickly fleeing.
He had no intention of staying to fight the Elephant Bull.
The Elephant Bull’s strength exceeded his expectations, and since he’d obtained the Dragon Transformation Pearl, he didn’t want to continue risking it.
The Elephant Bull’s charge was impressively fast, but the giant trees of the forest provided obstacles, allowing Song Changming to use Light Body Skill to quickly shake off the beast, moving far from the valley.
Despite the Elephant Bull’s furious roars, he had no intention of looking back.
"Hold on, we’re not done yet!"
After running for a while, a long, slender curved blade suddenly flew at him like a boomerang.
Song Changming had to stop and dodge this obstructing blade.
The blade twirled through the air, returning to the pursuing Li Pu’s hand.
Song Changming frowned slightly, managing to lose the Elephant Bull’s pursuit but unable to shake off the equally fast Li Pu.
Facing each other once more...
The opponent’s stance made it clear he had no intention of letting Song Changming go easily.