Crack!

Li Daoxuan reached out and pinched the girl's neck.

Li Hongxiu's neck twisted, and she lost consciousness along with the demon inside her. Her body went limp and collapsed to the ground, as Li Daoxuan carelessly tossed her into the cabin of the fishing boat like a piece of cargo.

In the distance, on Jiangxin Island, Su Heng frowned deeply at this scene.

"Old man, what have you done to my breakfast?" His voice skimmed over the surface of the river, creating ripples as it traveled from afar.

"Since I've caught her, naturally I have to take her back to the Demon Suppression Tower to fully exploit her potential," he responded.

Li Daoxuan smiled. "Who knows, she might be the key to an extraordinary secret martial technique."

"You're stealing my prey," Su Heng's brows furrowed fiercely, his face clouding over.

"You can think of it that way," Li Daoxuan's smile remained unchanged.

"Hahaha!" Li Daoxuan laughed loudly, as if he didn't hear the threat in Su Heng's voice, "Intent on crossing you? Boy, you should look at who you really are. Do you think you're worthy?"

"If you want to join my Demon Supression Bureau, you have to behave," he continued.

"Is that so?" Su Heng laughed in anger but gradually calmed down, "You've got one thing wrong."

"What's that?" Li Daoxuan asked in surprise.

"The reason I joined the Demon Suppression Bureau was to give face to my sister," Su Heng's voice floated over the river, drawing away, as several waterbirds rose flapping from the reeds and flew away.

"Otherwise... Destroying your Demon Supression Bureau, overturning the Demon Suppression Tower, the outcome would be the same to me. As for you all, I don't know if you can bear such a cost."

"Very well!" Li Daoxuan's face was full of a cold smile, and a faint chill shimmered in his golden eyes, "The audacity of youth, fearless like a calf in the presence of a tiger. The last person who dared to speak to me in such a manner—his grave grass is already three meters tall."

"Coincidentally, those who have dared to spout nonsense before me have also met with very miserable ends."

"Let's try, then."

"Try if you must, I really want to see just what caliber the renowned Golden Eyed Monkey King of the county seat really is!"

Roar!

A roar.

As soon as the words fell, Jiangxin Island beneath Su Heng's feet suddenly exploded.

Black soil, broken stones, and shattered bushes leapt up more than ten meters high, and within the turbid water mist, Su Heng's figure abruptly shot forward in a straight black line.

With his arms spread, his massive frame stirred the air with an aggressive roar akin to a fighter jet.

Even the untouched surface of the river was pushed aside by the force, churning outward from the center.

Li Daoxuan's frivolous expression vanished abruptly, turning to seriousness. Before the other man even arrived, the wild airflow had already sent his straw hat flying off, and his wide garments billowed, outlining the old man's sinewy and prominent muscles.

Bang!

Li Daoxuan stretched forward a hand, single-handedly blocking Su Heng.

The exaggeratedly fierce red iron fist, and the withered and skinny palm, appeared completely disproportionate in size and visual impact.

However, the moment they collided, they revealed an evenly matched force.

Su Heng's frame momentarily stiffened in midair, and ripples spread out from under the fishing boat, faster and more intense.

And at last—boom!

Over ten huge water pillars burst forth, the surface of the river shook and trembled non-stop.

Crackle!

Su Heng's ghost tattoo on his back opened its eyes.

Powerful forces coursed into his left arm, causing the muscles to bulge outward like living creatures, undulating as they injected more strength into Li Daoxuan's body.

Bang!

Another loud noise.

The balance finally broke, and Li Daoxuan was sent flying like a black streak, shooting out just above the surface of the water.

Su Heng, standing on the fishing boat, deftly borrowed momentum. His body, like an arrow, closely followed after, catching Li Daoxuan in midair and slamming him towards a protruding rock wall on the riverbank.

Cascades!

A large area of the rock wall shattered like rotting wood under Su Heng's violent destruction.

His strength didn't diminish in the slightest, becoming even more rampant as he fiercely drove Li Daoxuan's emaciated body into the rock wall.

Boom!

The whole mountain range trembled slightly.

The rock wall cracked, a crisp snap sounded, and clouds of dust and debris tumbled down.

Twisting his waist, Su Heng turned, power welling from his feet and piercing through his spine, roaring like a great dragon, he struck fiercely again.

The second, third, fourth...

Seven pits appeared in quick succession, each with a diameter of three to five meters and a depth of more than a meter.

They emerged in the originally smooth rock wall and would not vanish for hundreds or thousands of years. In the lush forest above the rock wall, a multitude of birds took flight, and the beasts howled in terror.

Yet—

The one who seemed to have the upper hand, Su Heng, had his brows jump fiercely.

Bang!

A scorching, ferocious power surged from his palm.

Su Heng felt as though he wasn't grasping a withered old man, but rather the heart of an ancient, malevolent deity.

The power grew rapidly, becoming more savage and emitting a rolling heat wave that distorted the air and finally exploded with a bang.

Hiss—

Su Heng released his fingers and flashed backward.

Li Daoxuan coughed twice, spun in midair, and deftly landed on the ground.

"Not bad at all!" The fellow narrowed his eyes, looking completely unharmed, without even a speck of dust on his hair or clothes.

Li Daoxuan tapped his back and then straightened up with a crack.

"Truly not bad at all," Li Daoxuan waved to Su Heng, teasing with a chuckle, "Youngster, your strength is decent. I've had this back pain for many years, and your massage has really helped alleviate it quite a bit."

"As a token of my gratitude..."

Li Daoxuan's lips curled into a sneer as a large swath of fiery red energy burst forth from his body.

The ground beneath his feet seemed unable to withstand the immense force, caving in and continuously cracking and crumbling.

"I'll just break your limbs and spare your little life!"

Whoosh!

His figure vanished in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was already in front of Su Heng.

His speed was so fast that even Su Heng could hardly react, and then a palm was planted firmly against Su Heng's chest.

To the naked eye, Su Heng's chest clearly caved in heavily, the sound of cracking bones coming from within his body, a sweet, metallic taste filling his throat. This was the first time he had received such a blow in combat, a real sense of pain emanating from his body.

He was sent flying like a cannonball, shattering the stone forest into pieces.

Still maintaining his momentum, he created a large splash as he plunged into the river.

Gurgle gurgle!

Surrounded by the river water, all Su Heng could see was a murky expanse.

The Demon Corpse Water Ghost Poison Sack within him began to function, secreting a large amount of special glue-like substance to repair his body.

Waves of cool sensations from the river water incessantly seeped in through his skin, stimulating his body as the burning pain rapidly dissipated.

At the same time.

Su Heng's second stomach writhed, rapidly breaking down a large amount of food to provide nutrients.

Several different talents each took effect, and in the blink of an eye, Su Heng had returned to peak condition.

Bang!

The water surface exploded with waves reaching over ten meters as Su Heng's bare upper body leaped out of the river like a fish.

"Old man, I didn't expect you to actually be quite skilled," Su Heng laughed heartily and threw a punch at Li Daoxuan from midair.

"This is good!"

"If every opponent could be killed with a single punch, that would be no fun at all."

His strength erupted to its fullest potential, and the air that should have been void suddenly became sticky, more viscous than glue.

An enormous amount of air, unable to get out of the way in time, was subjected to the frantic compression of this force and in an instant formed a terrifying white high-pressure air current.

And from Li Daoxuan's perspective looking up.

It was as if Su Heng had directly punched out a white shockwave from thin air, his facial features twitching wildly, revealing large patches of wrinkled, ugly gums and teeth.

"Young people these days really don't know how to respect the old and care for the young," Li Daoxuan shook his head and extended a finger forward.

Boom!

The terrifying ultra-high-pressure air current collided with the ground.

The powerful shockwave surged wildly in all directions, causing large swathes of the stone forest to collapse and countless dust and sand from the explosion to mix within it, obscuring the sky and creating a small-scale dust storm.

And within this fearsome black sandstorm, the short and withered figure of Li Daoxuan remained steadfast.

"Come at me again!" roared Su Heng.

His arms suddenly swelled and tensed, his tendons and blood vessels a pitch-black mass. His gloomy, exaggerated iron fists distorted the air creating multiple afterimages, hammering down at Li Daoxuan like a barrage of rockets incessantly.

"Hahaha, bring it on, who's afraid of whom!" Li Daoxuan also laughed loudly, crossing his arms in preparation for the concurrent strikes.

Intense power erupted from his body.

This power was no longer gaseous, but had condensed into a liquid-like film covering his skin.

The overall amount of this power was far less than Su Heng's, but each time Su Heng's iron fist struck Li Daoxuan, the film would vibrate intensely. It acted like millions of precise springs, transferring, compressing, accelerating the incoming force, and then sending it right back to Su Heng.

In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged hundreds, if not thousands of punches.

The surrounding stone forest, rock walls, and ground appeared to have been subjected to saturation bombing, shattered inch by inch, leaving behind countless pits of varying sizes.

Bang!

With an explosive sound, the two withdrew and retreated, standing off at a distance.

Li Daoxuan no longer had the composure of the Grandmaster of the previous generation; his white hair was disheveled, his upper body clothes completely torn open, exposing his withered chest and belly.

Su Heng looked even more miserable.

On his iron-black, broad chest lay numerous punch marks of different sizes.

Some were shallow and healing, while others were deep and purplish. A few even showed a faint hint of red, oozing fresh blood.

"Kid, are you convinced!?" Li Daoxuan grinned, revealing a smile, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Su Heng.

"Convinced? What makes you think you can convince me?"

With a loud laugh, Su Heng crossed his arms, then slammed a fist into the ground, "This battle is not over yet!"

Crack!

Huge cracks spread from beneath Su Heng's feet, reaching the surface of the river.

Amidst the thunderous noise, the river surface exploded with water shooting up more than ten meters high, and a large mist of water fell, refracting the sunlight into a beautiful arc-shaped rainbow. Su Heng spread his arms, basking in the glow. Under Li Daoxuan's incredulous gaze, his wounds healed rapidly.

Behind him, the Water Ghost Poison Sack on his back opened its eyes, twisting as thick, chain-like veins stretched taut, spreading throughout his body.

With each moment, his body swelled, the sunlight warped, casting shadows, and in the blink of an eye, he grew to nearly three meters tall. His skin and muscles tensed, and the punch marks on his chest vanished. The hard, dense muscles shone with a metallic lustre.

"Your skills are indeed good, but in this world, only power is everything!"

Hiss—

Su Heng's body temperature soared suddenly, rolling heat evaporated the mist, forming a thick cloud of smoke.

In the rising smoke and dust, Su Heng's eyes glowed crimson. He stomped the ground hard, lunging forward toward the old man in front of him.

During the charge.

Su Heng's left arm swelled with blood and expanded again. As massive power poured into it like a giant hammer, it smashed downward with force.

Bang!

The ground caved precipitously, causing black smoke to splatter everywhere.

The dull, exaggerated sound of the impact was like thunder, continuous and unceasing; a massive amount of smoke and debris fell like rain, obstructing the view, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

After a long while,

A cold wind blew over from the surface of the river, clearing the dust.

The scene within was revealed, Su Heng's vast and furious body pinned in place, unexpectedly faced with a huge, old tree-like, black-haired ape arm.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com