The Wrath of Great Li

A kick from Meng Yansheng slammed into Li Xin's shoulder, sinking half a palm deep, but the muscles there suddenly hardened, becoming tougher than steel, gripping his leg so tightly that he couldn't pull it out.

Meng Yansheng's expression changed drastically as he realized something was wrong; he had been trapped. He hurriedly crossed his arms in a defensive stance.

White gusts of Qi blasted from Li Xin's nostrils, hitting Meng Yansheng directly in the face. Li Xin let out a cold sneer.

Meng Yansheng's kick had indeed been painful, but it seemed entirely worth it, for Meng Yansheng was now firmly restrained.

Li Xin's arms bulged with rolling muscles, every fiber swelling like a furious lion. Punches carrying absolute power rained down on Meng Yansheng repeatedly.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

Meng Yansheng's arms went numb. He continuously used the Star-Shifting Infinite Fist for ultimate defense, but facing Li Xin this time was truly his misfortune.

The principle of the Star-Shifting Infinite Fist was to borrow the opponent's strength to counterattack, adding a portion of one's own power. However, to achieve this, the user had to possess a powerful physical body to absorb the opponent's full strength without being damaged.

If the user's physical body was inferior, even if they could reflect seven parts of the attack power and add two parts of their own—forcing the opponent to take nine parts of the total strength—the user themselves still had to endure those initial seven parts. If the physical body couldn't handle it, they were simply pushing themselves toward death.

Meng Yansheng's physical body was not weak; in fact, it was superior to most, considered outstanding among the young generation of martial artists in the Central Plains. But unfortunately, his opponent was Li Xin, the Crown Prince of the Mountain Tribe.

The Mountain Tribe was famous for their super-strong physical bodies, even surpassing fierce beasts. Furthermore, as the Crown Prince, Li Xin possessed fifty percent of the Strength Totem—the Violent Ape—and was supported by the Savage Battle Method. In terms of pure physical strength, ten Meng Yanshengs were no match for one Li Xin.

This time, Meng Yansheng had truly met his nemesis. Had he not run into Li Xin, he could have held his own against any of the other top ten.

Reflecting nine parts of the power while having to endure seven parts of that terrifying strength himself, he was already reaching his limit.

Meng Yansheng's heart grew heavy. Letting the opponent attack continuously like this was extremely disadvantageous. The opponent's defense was stronger than his; in a prolonged battle, he would definitely be the one to suffer.

Thinking this, Meng Yansheng turned his hands from fists to palms, striking Li Xin's arms with exquisite palm techniques. But when his palms touched the other's flesh, Meng Yansheng frowned. Li Xin's strength was too great, and his flesh was as hard as steel, sending a jolt of pain through Meng Yansheng's palms.

Relying on the counter-force, Meng Yansheng momentarily leaped out of Li Xin's range. At the same time, a large section of the ground beneath Li Xin's feet collapsed. The muscles on his legs bulged with veins as he stomped hard, creating a large crater, and he shot toward Meng Yansheng like a missile.

Two arms as thick as pillars reached out from behind, thrusting straight at Meng Yansheng. Li Xin's stamina was in a state of high consumption while facing Meng Yansheng; he couldn't stop for even a second, or he would give his opponent a chance to think of a counter-strategy.

Currently, Li Xin had no way to counter the Star-Shifting Infinite Fist; his only advantage was a physical body that far surpassed Meng Yansheng's. Therefore, he had to rely on that to secure a quick victory. He wouldn't be foolish enough to give Meng Yansheng a chance to separate and use his flexible movement techniques to fight from a distance or employ some other martial art. Even his super-strong physical body wasn't inexhaustible; if he let Meng Yansheng wear down his stamina, Li Xin would surely lose once he was exhausted.

Meng Yansheng indeed had such thoughts. Directly using one's physical body to face someone much stronger was the act of a fool. He planned to use a weapon against Li Xin after creating distance. However, Li Xin clung to him relentlessly, not giving him a single moment to catch his breath.

"Infuriating!" Meng Yansheng gritted his teeth. He couldn't tell if this monster was calculating this much or if his nature was simply to charge in without thinking. Regardless, Meng Yansheng was pushed into a difficult situation.

"Well done, brother, hit him!"

"Right, right, hit him! That arrogant guy needs to be punished!"

"I think once Meng Yansheng is defeated, we'll be next."

"You have a point, but I still want to see that Meng Yansheng get beaten hard. After all, he looked down on us before, didn't he?"

Meng Yansheng usually didn't carry a weapon because he had never needed one before. But meeting Li Xin this time, he truly craved a good weapon. Perhaps this was also why the Great Desert Dynasty had been exploited and destroyed by the Great Li Dynasty in the past. The Star-Shifting Infinite Fist was nearly invincible against those from the Central Plains, but it was completely countered when facing the Mountain Tribe.

Initially, Meng Yansheng had intended to borrow a weapon from those youths, but hearing their whispers, his face darkened. He knew he had to quickly discard that absurd idea.

His hands suddenly circled once, and Meng Yansheng took a deep breath to regain his composure, assuming a stance to circulate the Star-Shifting Infinite Fist. This was his foundation; he couldn't give it up just because of this.

Meng Yansheng decided to gamble, to see who between him and Li Xin would be exhausted first. He used his ultimate defensive stance to meet Li Xin's continuous attacks, the whistling wind tearing through the air.

...

*Crack!*

A teacup shattered, splashing tea all over the ground. A maidservant turned pale with fear, hurriedly bowing to clean it up.

"You say the Academy is certain there are no Body Refinement martial artists assisting West Mountain at the Battle of Ye City? Even though my entire army insists there were Body Refinement martial artists helping them, and even that old man Bai Ze said he saw it with his own eyes?"

"Then the ones helping West Mountain might be from a hidden clan, or perhaps a Body Refinement expert hiding within the Dynasty."

The speaker was a middle-aged man with narrow, hawk-like eyes and a long mustache. His face was full of majesty.

"My Lord, your subordinate does not think they would dare to lie. The entire army affirms it. My Lord, there is one more piece of news just received that must be reported urgently."

The soldier spoke respectfully. Judging by the armor he wore, he was undoubtedly a General. For a General to be so respectful to the man before him, this person's status was certainly not ordinary—in fact, it was terrifyingly high.

"Speak quickly." The middle-aged man stroked his beard, somewhat impatient.

"My Lord, Bai Ze and his army have been completely annihilated. Boyue City has also been turned into ruins."

"What? Who did it?" The middle-aged man was startled.

"It was the Lian Zheng army, led by the Nine Fire Dragon Yao Long, who launched a surprise attack on Boyue City. Bai Ze and his army were wiped out there," the soldier reported.

"Impossible! I know that old man Bai Ze's strength well; he couldn't be killed by Yao Long so easily. There must have been someone else helping."

Hearing this, the soldier's expression became even more respectful. Only this man would dare call one of the Three Great Heavens, Bai Ze, an "old man." The man before him was none other than the famous Jing Zhe, one of the Three Great Heavens of Great Li.

"My Lord's eyes are like torches, wise and brilliant. Indeed, we have investigated and found another person participated in the siege. He is a newly joined Nine Fire Dragon whose fame has not yet spread, named Zhao Yuanhuo. After receiving the dire news, the King was furious and ordered that blood must be paid with blood. He has commanded the destruction of another Lian Zheng city. Subsequently, two Immortal Sect factions were ordered to eliminate Yao Long and Zhao Yuanhuo's army, but they were wiped out by Zhao Yuanhuo."

"Zhao Yuanhuo... the Zhao Clan?" Jing Zhe mused. It seemed the hidden clans had begun to dip their hands deep into these waters. But so what? The majesty of the Dynasty was not something that could be casually provoked.

"My Lord, your subordinate heard they also captured our genius, Fan Ri of the Five Spears, and intend to behead him before the common people to show their might," the soldier quickly added.

Jing Zhe's face turned red with anger. Killing people and destroying cities was one thing, but intending to display the head of his faction's genius before the people of the world? Was that not saying Great Li was nothing?

"Lian Zheng surely won't behead Fan Ri in the Capital; that is their sacred land, and they won't let it be stained with blood. They will certainly behead Fan Ri at the nearest city, for they fear complications if they wait too long. Based on their route, if I guess correctly, the city they stop at must be Hongjian City."

"My Lord is brilliant!" The soldier was deeply impressed. To guess the Lian Zheng army's every move based on such little information—that was the intellect of the Three Great Heavens, Jing Zhe.

"Hmph, order the Immortal Sects. This time, they must perform a service to atone for their failure." Jing Zhe waved his hand.

At this moment, the maid brought out another cup of tea. Jing Zhe took a sip, lightly stroking his beard as he calculated in his heart. This was a good opportunity to force those Immortal Sects to reveal their true strength.

Jing Zhe knew that last time, the Pure Yang and Avici Immortal Sects had lost Daoists in battle, so they must be furious. Why not use that to his advantage?

No one knew how deep the schemes of the Three Great Heavens Jing Zhe ran. They only knew one thing: he was one of the most dangerous old foxes in the world.