Chapter 437: Chapter 167: Breaking the Solid
By now, the bracelet in Aunt Yu’s hand had turned completely black, forcing her to retreat outside.
She glanced back at the scene, her heart pounding in shock.
Chen Chuan remained within a certain distance of Meng Huang, making no move to retreat.
A dozen enormous limbs swung and slapped at him, but he dodged each one by a hair’s breadth. The entire underground space thundered with rumbling echoes.
The limbs were incredibly tough, swinging with immense, heavy force. Every strike smashed a crater surrounded by cracks into the ground or walls. Even a Third Limit Fighter’s body would likely be crushed by such a blow.
Most importantly, she realized that Chen Chuan’s Jade Rings and accessories probably wouldn’t last much longer. She couldn’t help but worry. ’If they break, it’ll be impossible to stop this thing from getting further inside.’
’The Master has a backup plan, but...’
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly felt a vast, surging Biological Domain expanding outward from ahead, as if something was brewing. She looked up in astonishment. ’This is...’
In the center of the room, Chen Chuan was no longer dodging. He stood perfectly still. Wisps of white mist rose from his body, as if his entire being was boiling.
He watched a massive limb slap down from above. This time, he didn’t dodge. He clenched his fist, channeled all the Power in his body, and threw his punch upward!
A sound like a thunderclap erupted. His fist struck the limb, sending a wave-like ripple across its surface before it fell limply to the ground, utterly powerless.
As another limb came at him, he slapped it sideways, slamming it directly onto the ground and causing the floor beneath his feet to tremble.
The limb was larger than his entire body, yet a single, seemingly light palm strike had smashed it to the ground. The contrast was staggering.
Aunt Yu’s heart pounded as she watched, but as a Third Limit Fighter, she immediately understood what was happening from the posture and rhythm of Chen Chuan’s attacks.
’It’s a masterful application of Power!’
’Although those limbs strike with incredible force, they don’t channel Power like a Fighter does. As long as you can blast your own Power into them before their attack is fully released, you can disrupt the entire structure. That’s how he’s doing it.’
But even knowing the theory, she couldn’t replicate it. The technique itself was secondary; one could figure it out by observing the opponent’s rhythm. She was certain Chen Chuan’s earlier evasions were for this very purpose. The most crucial factor was that to destroy the opponent’s power, you first needed overwhelming power of your own.
Relying on the explosive power from her Secret Transmission, she might be able to manage it once or twice, but she could never achieve Chen Chuan’s level of effortlessness.
She stared at Chen Chuan’s back. ’That body contains such immense Power,’ she thought. ’No wonder the Processing Bureau sent him.’ She suddenly felt that, given how things were going, stopping Meng Huang might not be impossible after all.
She was a decisive woman. Having made her judgment, she immediately took a few steps back, retrieved a crimson pill she carried with her, and swallowed it. She sat down cross-legged and began to breathe rhythmically. The vine-like patterns on her skin deepened in color, and a shade of dark purple began to form around her eyes, like eyeshadow.
She was preparing to call upon and release all the Divine Constant and Essence Blood stored within her body to join the fray.
In the space of just one or two breaths, Chen Chuan had blasted the Power from all dozen-odd attacking limbs, sending them crashing to the ground. Only now was the very first limb he’d struck down beginning to twitch again.
He gave them no chance to recover. With his Snow Monarch Blade already humming with power, he slashed to one side. A crescent of blade light flashed across several limbs. He spun and brought the blade back, the arc of light now slashing in the opposite direction. After a few more flashes, the light from the blade finally subsided.
A moment later, all the limbs on the ground were simultaneously cut into several pieces.
Chen Chuan felt the Snow Monarch Blade in his hand begin to tremble. The presence within it had clearly grown more active.
He raised his head, tightened his grip on the hilt, and walked past the severed limbs, from whose stumps wisps of black smoke now drifted. He advanced toward Meng Huang’s main body, which was still clinging to the door.
As he advanced, a shadow slithered silently across the ground behind him. It shot upward, transforming into a limb that tried to ensnare him, but it was met by a flurry of blade flashes. It was instantly diced into pieces in mid-air and CLATTERED to the floor.
Chen Chuan didn’t break his stride. He continued forward, soon arriving just before Meng Huang’s enormous main body. An eyeball split open on what looked like the back of its head and stared at him for a few moments. Then, the smoke drifting around its form rapidly receded.
This allowed him to see the creature’s full form clearly. It was nearly seven meters tall. Two arms grew from above its shoulders and two more from each side of its abdomen, but its torso remained humanoid. It was clinging to the wall like a spider.
However, as he approached, it detached itself from the wall. As it turned and landed, its body continued to change rapidly. Multiple eyeballs and a thick, keratinous layer appeared on its surface. The eyes, hidden in the cracks of its new armor, stared at him, twitching from time to time. The sight was indescribably grotesque.
Chen Chuan tilted his head back to look up at the towering figure, his feet planted firmly on the ground. The small, swaying tendrils around it hovered just outside the range of his blade.
After the dozens of eyes all over Meng Huang’s body had stared for a moment, it suddenly bent at the waist. The two arms on its shoulders rose high, while its two side-arms spread wide and clapped together where he stood.
Chen Chuan leaped back. The two hands slammed together just in front of him with a loud BANG, and the resulting shockwave sent his hair and clothes whipping backward.
A shadow fell over him from above. He continued to retreat as Meng Huang’s two shoulder-arms slammed down, its massive fists punching two deep craters into the floor.
Seeing Chen Chuan evade, it kicked off the ground and charged, using its abdominal arms to propel itself forward. Its massive figure blotted out the light as its thunderous steps shook the very ground.
Chen Chuan sidestepped nimbly. As he moved, he dragged his blade across the keratinous surface of its arm, carving a deep gash from which smoke immediately began to pour.
Using its abdominal arms for support, Meng Huang’s massive body pivoted rapidly to face him again. All the eyes on its front stared at him, filled with undisguised malice.
Chen Chuan glanced over. ’Under that gaze, the projection of my Second Self is becoming more indistinct,’ he noted, ’almost as if it’s evaporating. Clearly, that stare isn’t meaningless.’
He looked back at Meng Huang. ’From its movements,’ he analyzed, ’even though its form is inhuman, its rhythm and habits are still human.’
’Because the entity is possessing a person, it has to think and move like one. Perhaps Meng Huang’s consciousness is still in control.’
’It’s a necessary compromise. If the entity took complete control, it probably wouldn’t be able to think rationally, and its actions would be illogical.’
’The combination of the two has undoubtedly resulted in immense power.’
’But having power doesn’t mean you know how to use it.’
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Meng Huang charged. It threw a punch, smashing down from above. The massive shadow of the fist threatened to envelop him completely.
He watched the fist smash down toward him, lowered his center of gravity, and planted his feet firmly, one behind the other. He reached up with a single hand. THUD! He actually managed to halt its forward momentum.
This time, in a direct clash of strength, he wasn’t at a disadvantage!
Chen Chuan stared at Meng Huang, white mist swirling around his outstretched fist, his eyes perfectly calm. ’A fight is a contest of wits and skill. Despite its massive size, it can only effectively wield a fraction of its true strength.’
His gaze shifted. Seeing the creature’s other arms trying to grab him, he slightly withdrew his strength, then suddenly used Emitting Force to pull it sideways.
Meng Huang lost its balance. Its heavy, massive body was actually pulled stumbling to the side. The arms on one side scrambled for purchase to keep it from falling, while the arms on the other side relentlessly swung toward him, still trying to grab him.
Using the momentum from his pull, Chen Chuan moved in a wide arc, swiftly and naturally circling around to the creature’s exposed chest and abdomen.
Its flank was now completely exposed. He planted his rear foot to halt his momentum, gripped his blade with both hands, and lunged forward. The long, narrow blade plunged directly into the soft spot beneath its throat.
The blow wasn’t fatal, however. The arm above Meng Huang’s abdomen slapped at him almost instantly. He rapidly withdrew his blade and retreated, simultaneously flicking the sword up in a reverse stroke before bringing it down in a powerful chop. SWISH! Half of the thick arm was instantly lopped off.
Before his opponent could press the attack, he moved back again, dodging the heavy blows that came as Meng Huang righted itself and pursued.
But just then, his bracelets and accessories turned completely black, then shattered and fell to the floor. The crisp sound of their breaking served as a warning. The dense mass of tentacles that had been lingering at the periphery immediately swarmed in, attempting to entangle him.
He paid them no mind, however. A swing of his Long Blade to the left and right cleared a path. His gaze remained locked forward, where the massive figure was rapidly scrambling to its feet.
But just as it got halfway to its feet, still unsteady, a figure suddenly leaped in from the side. The attack was incredibly fast, the angle was cunning, and the timing was perfect. Even though the eyes on Meng Huang’s side spotted the approach, its current posture left it unable to react in time.
That figure extended a slender palm and pressed it against the supporting leg Meng Huang was using to stand. A wave of Soft Force penetrated the limb, causing the leg to go limp and the creature’s entire body to lurch sideways.
Chen Chuan did not miss the opportunity. He leaped forward, crossing more than ten meters in a single bound, and slammed his shoulder hard into Meng Huang’s, sending it stumbling back once more.
As he landed, he touched down lightly on the balls of his feet and immediately vaulted high into the air. Gripping his blade with both hands, he brought it down in a massive cleaving strike. The arc of blade light fell directly on Meng Huang’s head, splitting it down the middle!
The massive body staggered back a few steps, then fell, its back slamming hard onto the ground. From the gash in its skull, a fine, sand-like substance trickled out, followed by black smoke. But a moment later, a blinding ball of light suddenly erupted from the wound!
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