The ground continued to shake, causing even the sturdy city wall to wobble.
The battle in the sky remained unaffected.
The leader-level Three-headed Hound and the two Grandmasters continued their relentless clash. Their fight had evolved from initial probing to all-out, brutal exchanges without any pretense of finesse. Every exchange generated shockwaves that whipped up tremendous gusts of wind, a spectacular and deafening display.
"It seems the two Grandmasters are about to win," Wang Zhan suddenly said. "That Three-headed Hound is fighting two opponents; it’s inevitably outmatched."
"You can tell?" Shi Jingtian looked at Wang Zhan with surprise; this young man was full of surprises.
Just moments ago on the city wall, he had observed Wang Zhan more than once, originally planning to intervene if Wang Zhan found himself in dire straits. However, Wang Zhan’s performance had far exceeded his expectations. Whether it was plunging deep into the Beast Tide to fight one against a hundred, his sudden breakthrough on the battlefield, or his effortless slaughter of soldier-level beasts as if they were chickens and dogs, all showcased Wang Zhan’s astonishing Talent. What’s more, this young man can actually discern the subtleties of a Grandmaster level fight?
Wang Zhan nodded. "I can vaguely sense their auras. Compared to the beginning, the aura of the leader-level Three-headed Hound has weakened significantly. Although the two Grandmasters are injured, their auras are generally still steady."
Hearing this, Shi Jingtian understood. "Your mental energy is quite good."
Using mental energy to discern the state of an aura might be a rudimentary method, but for a Martial Artist like Wang Zhan who isn’t even a Warrior yet, it’s commendable.
As they spoke, the battle in the sky suddenly took a turn.
Grandmaster Taiyuan let out a sudden long cry, and the Spiritual Energy surrounding him ignited, turning him into a fireball that slammed powerfully into the Three-headed Hound.
"Body Incineration Technique!"
The first to react was Grandmaster Lu Feng.
"Taiyuan, have you lost your mind? The Body Incineration Technique injures both enemy and self! That hound is already seriously injured; this sacrifice is not worthwhile!"
"There’s no time to wait," Taiyuan replied with a grim look, already rushing to the front.
Lu Feng, his expression troubled, could only watch helplessly as Taiyuan executed his martial arts.
On the other hand, the Three-headed Hound was in an extremely sorry state. Feeling the attack from Taiyuan, who was prepared to sacrifice himself, its hideous heads revealed a human-like expression of horror.
It scrambled to flee backward, but its speed was a far cry from Taiyuan’s. In just a few breaths, Taiyuan, wreathed in fire, was already less than fifteen meters behind it!
The Three-headed Hound’s eyes widened, finally abandoning all pretense of dignity. "No! Ancestor, save me!"
With the Hound’s cry for help, the trembling on the ground intensified! The next moment, a Three-headed Hound with a colossal body tens of meters long burst from the ground! Compared to this newly emerged Three-headed Hound, the leader-level one in the sky looked like an infant!
A single beastly roar, and the shockwave alone dispersed the distant clouds. The violent gales buffeted the entire battlefield, uprooting solid earth and snapping trees! The sonic impact of that single roar forced Chang’an City to activate its defensive light screen!
"This... this is terrifying," Wang Zhan swallowed hard, his eyes filled with fear.
The newly emerged Three-headed Hound was bathed in what looked like molten lava, its fur entirely unharmed by the scorching flames, instead emitting an odd, shimmering light.
"Finally, it shows itself," Shi Jingtian suddenly said.
Wang Zhan turned around instinctively, only to find Shi Jingtian had disappeared!
At the same time, the newly emerged Three-headed Hound leaped up, its three heads opening wide, aimed at Taiyuan, who still had his Body Incineration Technique activated. Then, just as Taiyuan neared the leader-level Three-headed Hound, the larger beast unleashed its three-attribute breath attack once more!
Ice and fire intertwined, aided by gales!
The newly appeared Three-headed Hound was not only several times larger than the leader-level one, but its breath attack was also many times stronger! Each stream of breath, easily seven or eight meters in diameter by visual estimation, covered an area equivalent to more than a dozen grown men. The three combined left one with no thought of resistance!
Taiyuan naturally noticed this, but surprisingly, a smile crept onto his face when he saw the new Three-headed Hound. Immediately after, he turned and fled towards the city wall even faster, without a backward glance.
As he passed Lu Feng, he found time to say, "Retreat. Leave the rest to the Principal."
Lu Feng nodded. "You were too reckless."
At the same time, once Taiyuan had fled, a figure appeared where he had just been standing—it was Shi Jingtian, who had been conversing with Wang Zhan at length. Shi Jingtian regarded the terrified leader-level Three-headed Hound expressionlessly, ignoring the terrible breath attack about to fall beside him.
"I’ll finish what Taiyuan didn’t," he said. As his words fell, Shi Jingtian slowly raised his hand, the deceptively simple movement leaving a trail of afterimages.
The leader-level Three-headed Hound stared. "No! Ancestor, save me!"
"Even a god couldn’t save you now. You’re a watchdog that abandoned its post to cause trouble, and this is the price."
An invisible stream of internal energy shot from Shi Jingtian’s fingertips, seemingly ignoring the intervening space to directly pierce the Three-headed Hound’s central brow. Following that, two more surges sprang out, dealing with its remaining two heads in the same manner. Discover more novels at novelꞁire.net
In a matter of seconds, the formerly imperious leader-level Three-headed Hound was dead on the spot!
After taking down this leader-level Three-headed Hound, Shi Jingtian abruptly turned, waved a single hand, and a level barrier emerged in front of him.
The breath attacks slammed violently against the level barrier. Even the dispersed energy that spilled outwards struck like cannonballs, blasting countless deep pits in the ground or thundering explosively in the sky. But regardless, the breath was thoroughly blocked by Shi Jingtian’s level barrier!
At the same time, the new Three-headed Hound had also appeared a hundred meters before Shi Jingtian, hovering in the air.
"Shi Jingtian, you, a Grandmaster, dare to kill my kin in front of me. Have you considered how you wish to die?"
Shi Jingtian squinted slightly. In fact, after seeing the previous leader-level Three-headed Hound, he had already realized what kind of big guy was behind this Beast Tide.
"Cerberus, Hell’s Three-Headed Hound," Shi Jingtian smiled. "Long time no see. The last time I saw you on the battlefield was thirty years ago, right? You weren’t Cerberus back then."
It was a tradition of the Three-headed Dog Clan: regardless of their former name, upon assuming the role of clan chief, they would be renamed Cerberus.
"Thirty years ago, you were just a Martial General!"
"You fled quite pathetically last time!"
"If not for a human elite saving you, you would have been in my stomach by now!"
The three heads of Cerberus uttered three distinct voices, their only similarity being their ferocious expressions.
Shi Jingtian shook his head slightly. "If I had known then that you were a candidate for clan leader of the Three-headed Hounds, I would have risked my life, done anything, to kill you on the spot! You have no idea how much I regretted it when I later learned that the Three-headed Hound I had fought actually went on to become the clan chief!"
Pausing for a moment, Shi Jingtian’s smile grew brighter. "Fortunately, heaven has given me a chance to make amends. You actually dared to appear before me!"
Before Cerberus could react, Shi Jingtian, clearly not intending to waste any more words, vanished! When he reappeared, he was already behind Cerberus!
Shi Jingtian raised his right fist. His originally lean figure inflated like a balloon, instantly bulking up to an exaggeratedly muscular state. As his fist descended, the sheer speed of its passage created a sonic boom!
Cerberus obviously hadn’t expected Shi Jingtian to strike so decisively. Yet, it showed no panic, calmly turning to let Shi Jingtian’s fist strike its body, even as its three heads simultaneously opened their maws to bite at him!
"Trading injury for injury? You think I’m afraid of you?!" Shi Jingtian’s expression turned fierce. If his punch landed, Cerberus would undoubtedly bite him hard in return. This was a common tactic among beasts: relying on their thick hides and tough flesh to trade blows.
"After all these years, you beasts still haven’t learned anything new!"
Shi Jingtian sneered. Humans had been fighting beasts for so many years; such petty tricks had long been countered with ease.
Shi Jingtian’s form suddenly surged forward. He retracted his fist to his side, then twisted his torso with an uncanny contortion, carving a bizarre arc that narrowly evaded the bites from Cerberus’s three heads. Simultaneously, his right hand rose above, his left hand below.
"Eight Extremes, Avalanche!"
A horrifying surge of internal energy erupted mightily, landing squarely on Cerberus’s body! Cerberus’s colossal body, tens of meters long, froze for a split second before being sent flying backward at an incredible speed. Its three heads simultaneously spat out Fresh Blood, their faces filled with disbelief.
On the city wall, everyone was excited upon seeing Shi Jingtian’s successful strike.
"It’s the Principal’s Eight Extremes Fist!" Taiyuan praised. "Although ancient boxing methods have largely fallen into decline today, when cultivated to a profound depth, their power is truly not to be underestimated."
"Indeed," Lu Feng agreed. "Although Martial Artists have means of using mental energy to assist Spiritual Energy, their own Internal Breath of Essence is equally crucial."
The Team of Wang Zhan and two others silently listened to the dialogue between the two Grandmasters. In truth, they couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened; it was all too fast.
But Wang Zhan secretly memorized the words ’ancient boxing method.’
Meanwhile, Cerberus, after being sent flying by a single strike, swiftly returned to face Shi Jingtian. This time, the earlier ease was gone from its faces.
"How can you be so fast?! One punch can injure me—you’re no Grandmaster!" Cerberus widened its eyes in shock.
Shi Jingtian’s expression was cold as he assumed a starting stance of the Eight Extremes Fist.
"Martial King Shi Jingtian. I await your instruction!"