Chapter 185: Chapter 183: That Fox
Within the borders of the New Qin Kingdom, the nation was prosperous and its people lived in peace. There was no indication that the country was engaged in a fierce war; the common folk all seemed perfectly calm, their lives completely unaffected.
Since he had plenty of time, Qin Li was not traveling quickly. He spent his journey observing the myriad facets of the mortal world, a practice greatly beneficial for strengthening a Martial Artist’s disposition.
Otherwise, why would the young disciples from the Noble Sects of the Mysterious Land enter the secular world to train? This so-called training was more about broadening their horizons and tempering their minds.
The border of the New Qin Kingdom was a vast, endless wilderness, where sights of the setting sun’s glow mingling with a lone bird’s flight, and autumn waters blending into the horizon, were commonplace.
The sunset stained half the sky red. Walking alone in this wilderness, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of their own insignificance before the sheer vastness of the world.
As a result, Qin Li’s understanding of life reached a whole new level.
One afternoon in mid-May, Qin Li had already ventured deep into the wilderness. In a little over ten days, he would reach the Grand Canyon. The journey had been uneventful, and Qin Li was in a relaxed mood.
While one might occasionally encounter teams of Adventurers at the edge of the wilderness, this deep in, travelers were scarce.
Qin Li’s movements were as smooth as flowing water as he skimmed over the vast sea of wild grass, his body like a wisp of smoke. With the passage of time, his Lightweight Skill had become increasingly masterful.
On the entire Celestial Essence Continent, Qin Li had never encountered a combat technique for lightweight movement. Even if they existed, they were generally not specialized Light Body Techniques. Thus, Qin Li’s Lightweight Skill was likely one of a kind on the Celestial Essence Continent.
Similarly, his Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable combat technique was also unique. That overwhelmingly powerful technique had allowed Qin Li to remain virtually undefeated since he first made a name for himself. For a Martial Artist, this was a mixed blessing.
The advantage was that it cultivated immense self-confidence. As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. If a Martial Artist lost their conviction to win, they would have no future to speak of.
The disadvantage, however, was that an undefeated record could easily breed arrogance, leading one to believe that all the world’s heroes were nothing special. For a Martial Artist, such a mindset was even more terrifying than lacking the will to win.
After all, the former might only cost them their future, but the latter—driven by such arrogance—would very likely cost them their life!
Thankfully, Qin Li had witnessed truly powerful experts. Let alone the Celestial Embracing Realm, even Martial Artists at the Celestial Integration Realm possessed terrifying strength. He would have a difficult time fighting even one of them head-on. If he were to face two, Qin Li would have only one option left—to flee.
Deep down, however, Qin Li still craved a battle with a powerful expert, because only in such life-or-death struggles could his strength increase at a rapid pace!
Suddenly, an immense wave of energy erupted from far ahead, dozens of miles from Qin Li’s position. He stopped in his tracks, squinting toward the source.
He could see the very sky in that direction twisting, and a palpable sense of danger washed over him!
’Who could possibly be fighting in a place like this?’
Moreover, it was directly in his path. After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Li decided to go and take a look.
After all, battles between experts of this caliber were a rare sight.
He quickened his pace again, his body like a wisp of smoke, a gentle breeze in his wake as he raced toward the disturbance.
BOOM!
A heaven-shattering roar suddenly erupted.
Qin Li was still at least a mile or two away, yet he felt the shockwave of energy wash over him like a ripple in a pond, its force still strong enough to continue spreading far into the distance.
A jolt went through Qin Li. ’Looks like the two people fighting are at least as strong as I am, if not stronger!’ he thought. ’Could they... also be people trying to get to Profound Island?’
It was no wonder he thought so. In just half a month, the gates to Profound Island would open, and Qin Li had never been naive enough to believe he was the only one who knew the secret.
With that in mind, Qin Li dropped down into the tall grass, concealed his aura, and peered intently into the distance.
BOOM!
Another deafening crash echoed out. As it did, two figures shot up into the sky from the tall grass ahead.
Qin Li squinted, somewhat surprised to see that one of the figures was a beautiful young woman!
Even from a distance, he could make out her slender and graceful figure. A waterfall of beautiful hair danced in the wind, and she wore a deep blue dress. Her Void Step was as fluid and natural as flowing water.
And with her bare hands, she unleashed a constant barrage of terrifying attacks!
Facing the young woman was a hulking man built like an iron tower. His sheer size was enough to inspire awe and fear.
The hulking, dark-skinned man stood a full eight feet tall. Judging by his build, he had to weigh at least 385, if not 440, pounds! His bulging muscles created an intense visual impact. He too fought bare-handed, and each swing of his iron fists was incredibly heavy. The wind from his punches stirred the air, which flashed with an earthy-yellow light, exuding a crushing pressure like a collapsing Mountain!
’Attribute Combat Skills?’ Qin Li’s eyes lit up as he watched. It wasn’t that their fight was particularly spectacular; on the contrary, it was brutally simple!
They were simply battering each other with pure Primordial Power!
After watching for a few moments, Qin Li had already made an assessment. Judging from their footwork, it wasn’t that they didn’t know any intricate techniques; it was simply that at their realm, even the most refined moves were of little use!
Unless you were so fast your opponent couldn’t even react!
And that possibility was so slim as to be virtually non-existent.
’Two experts at the Celestial Integration Realm!’
Qin Li marveled to himself. Judging from the fluctuations of their Primordial Power, they had both at least reached the Celestial Integration Realm—and might even be stronger!
"Dead Bear, why are you blocking my path? I’m warning you, if you keep pushing me, I won’t be so courteous anymore!" the young woman snapped, her voice, despite her anger, as crisp and pleasant as pearls dropping onto a jade plate.
"Heh heh, Little Fox, now that you’ve come to my territory, do you really think you can just leave? Wandering around recklessly like this, you’ll get yourself killed sooner or later! Training? Don’t make me laugh. That’s something only foolish humans do. We Spirit Beasts grow up in the mountains; what’s the point of training? Just be a good girl, listen to me, and stay here to be my lady. With our strength, this entire vast wilderness will be our territory, you and I, husband and wife. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful life?"
The hulking man burst into wild laughter. His voice was brazen and arrogant, booming like rolling thunder and making one’s eardrums ache.
"In your dreams! Only a ghost would marry an ugly monster like you! What business is it of yours if I’m training? Fine, Dead Bear, if that’s how it’s going to be, let’s settle this with our strength! But if you think I’ll marry you, dream on! I would rather die!" the young woman shouted in fury. As she spoke, her hands moved even faster, her graceful body accelerating until she was just a blur, her true location impossible to discern.
Thundering booms echoed without end. The area within a thousand-meter radius of their battle was left in utter ruin, the desolate plains now pockmarked with craters several meters deep!
And this was merely the result of the aftershocks from their clashing energy!
The distortion in the sky was visible to the naked eye.
The hulking man was not as fast as the young woman, but he seemed to have an incredibly tough hide, and his defense was appallingly strong. Several times, Qin Li thought the man must be gravely injured, yet he was only knocked back, seemingly without suffering any major harm.
’Dead Bear? Little Fox? Spirit Beast...’ The words flashed through Qin Li’s mind, sending a shockwave through him. So, these two... weren’t human. They were... Spirit Beasts!
’Heavens, Spirit Beasts that have undergone Transformation! And I’ve run into two at once!’
Qin Li exclaimed internally. From their conversation, he had deduced that one was a bear-type Spirit Beast, and the other a fox-type. For some reason, the image of the little white fox from the Phoenix Lake Shore suddenly surfaced in his mind. He shook his head. ’How is that possible? Even if that fox was a Spirit Beast, it couldn’t have traveled this far.’
’Could Spirit Beasts also know about the opening of Profound Island’s gates? Besides, the Little Fox back then looked like a perfectly ordinary little animal. How could it have been a Spirit Beast?’
Qin Li found his own absurd idea rather amusing. ’I’ve been reading too many strange tales,’ he thought.
Just as he was thinking this, the two combatants in the sky drifted right over his head. Qin Li groaned inwardly. ’This whole wilderness is huge, why of all places are you moving toward me?’
BANG!
Another loud crash resounded as a massive wave of force slammed down toward Qin Li’s position. The wilderness ground erupted as soil and sod were blasted into the air, and Qin Li’s hiding figure was finally exposed.
Qin Li silently cursed his rotten luck. His body flew up with the displaced earth and grass as he tried to blend in with the debris and fool the two powerful Spirit Beasts. ’You two just fight your own battle,’ he prayed, ’I’m just passing through! Just passing through!’
But these two Spirit Beasts had reached a terrifying level of power. How could they possibly fail to notice a living person suddenly flying up from amidst the grass and soil?
"Huh?" The moment the young woman saw Qin Li, she let out a cry of surprise, her bright, lively eyes filling with an incredulous light.
Although the hulking man didn’t understand why the young woman was suddenly distracted, how could he possibly miss such an opportunity? He swung his massive iron fist, which let out a piercing shriek as it tore through the air, and sent a huge blast of energy hurtling toward her.
Caught off guard, the young woman still reacted with incredible speed. She met the hulking man’s attack with a palm strike, using the force of the blow to abruptly retreat in the direction opposite from Qin Li before turning to flee.
Suspicion flashed in the hulking man’s eyes. Then, with a snort, he abandoned the young woman and charged toward Qin Li instead, roaring, "Damned human, how dare you appear in my territory! I’ll kill you!"
The young woman, who had already fled a good distance, heard his roar, and a look of panic crossed her face. She abruptly changed direction and flew back, shouting, "Hey, human, run! You can’t beat him!"
