Chapter 458: Chapter 455: A Physical Battle to the Death
The first battle was lost.
The Minotaur had never imagined he would lose to a human Vajra Realm Cultivator, even if the contest hadn’t been his forte.
This filled him with a profound sense of shame, kindling an even greater desire to kill Mo Qi.
Only by killing him could the Minotaur salvage his lost pride and soothe his wounded ego.
Moreover, his target had been Liu Ruyan from the very beginning.
This was the mission assigned by the Wolf Demon, but it was also a test for him from his clan.
Failing the mission was one thing, but returning in defeat? He would have a lot to answer for.
"You stupid ox! You’ve completely disgraced our race!"
The Peng Bird jeered from nearby.
"Shut up!" the Minotaur glared at the Peng Bird. "Is your Sword Technique any better than mine?"
The Peng Bird immediately fell silent, turning its head away with a sheepish grin.
If their roles had been reversed, if he had been the one to face Mo Qi in a contest of Sword Technique, his defeat would have been even more humiliating.
The Wolf Demon watched everything unfold in silence, offering no opinion and showing no sign of intervening.
In reality, he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared on the surface.
He had expected that any one of the five Little Demons he had brought along could have easily swept through the younger generation of the Human Race gathered here.
Eliminating Liu Ruyan should have been a trivial matter.
But he’d never in his wildest dreams imagined the Human Race would produce an oddball like Mo Qi, who would turn a duel into a contest of cutting hair.
What should have been a matter of life and death was now being treated like a children’s game.
Moreover, he had a nagging premonition that this human named Mo Qi was going to ruin his grand design.
For some reason, this feeling grew stronger and stronger, leaving the Wolf Demon intensely agitated.
In the clearing, the Minotaur, familiar with the Wolf Demon’s temperament, knew that the calmer the clan elder appeared, the more dissatisfied he was with him.
Therefore, the coming process of killing Mo Qi had to be clean, with no hesitation—nothing less than an instant, brutal kill would suffice.
"You little brat, you’ll pay for your arrogance! Next, I challenge you to a contest of strength!" the Minotaur said coldly.
The contests were reciprocal, with each side taking turns proposing the challenge.
"How shall we compete?" Mo Qi asked with a smile.
Even as a mortal without a shred of Cultivation, he could generate ten thousand pounds of force with a single arm.
Now, he practiced the Creation Golden Body Technique, possessed the Nine Transformations into Spirit Body, and had the Five Elements Dominating Body as his foundation.
Although the Minotaur looked as strong as a mountain, when it came to strength, he was not its inferior in the slightest.
"It’s simple. We’ll clash fists, head-on. One punch will decide who is stronger." The Minotaur waved a fist half the size of a small hut, stirring the air with a mighty WHOOSH, his face a mask of arrogance.
The Strong Bull Demons, true to their name, excelled at one thing above all else: strength.
Their bloodline, their physiology, their Cultivation and Martial Techniques—everything about them was built for power.
They subscribed to the truth that "power can reach the divine."
It was said that long ago, the Strong Bull Demon clan had produced a supreme expert who had, by physical strength alone, torn a Saint Ancestor limb from limb.
Even within the Demon Race, renowned for their formidable physiques, the number of clans who dared to match strength with the Strong Bull Demons could be counted on one hand.
And those who could defeat the Strong Bull Demons on the path of strength? There were none!
So, when the Minotaur proposed a contest of strength, the expressions of all the Immortals in the Hall of Envoys changed drastically.
It wasn’t that they didn’t have faith in Mo Qi, but that in certain areas, some races were simply born with an absolute advantage.
If it were a contest of overall combat power or strategic prowess, the Immortals would have been full of confidence in Mo Qi, even with his Cultivation being a full Great Realm lower than the Minotaur’s.
But the problem was, this was a contest of pure physical strength!
It was something that couldn’t be aided by external items or faked in any way. He had to rely completely on himself.
In terms of physical prowess, Demon Beasts were already far stronger than humans.
And now, he was facing the Strong Bull Demon clan—the mightiest of all Demon Beasts when it came to strength!
With Mo Qi’s small frame, they feared he wouldn’t even be able to withstand a single punch before being smashed into a bloody pulp.
Unless he chose to concede. But if he conceded, the Wolf Demon would randomly slaughter ten percent of the crowd.
That was a price the Immortals could not bear.
What could be done?
This time, not even the Saint Ancestors of the Feng and Liu Families were optimistic about Mo Qi’s chances.
They knew Mo Qi could elevate his combat power to the Immortal Level, but the Wolf Demon had stipulated that for this contest, no one was allowed to use external items that surpassed their own Realm.
"Hmph. Don’t think you humans are the only clever ones in the world. In the face of absolute power, all your little tricks are nothing but a pathetic attempt to delay the inevitable!"
The Immortals’ expressions did not escape the Minotaur’s notice. He misinterpreted their worry as proof that Mo Qi had reached his limit and began to taunt him.
Mo Qi, however, paid the Minotaur’s words no mind. His smile never faltered as he asked, "Clashing fists? There’s bound to be a back-and-forth once we start fighting. So, how will we determine the winner?"
’A back-and-forth?’
’You’re thinking too much!’
’You won’t get a chance for a second punch. I’ll take your pathetic little life with my first!’
The Minotaur could no longer suppress his amusement and burst into roaring laughter.
"HAHAHA!"
But he finally answered, "Victory will be decided by death!"
Mo Qi nodded. "Now that you put it that way, I understand. A physical battle, to the death. Is that it?"
The Minotaur cracked his knuckles, his voice a low rumble. "You can understand it that way. In fact, you should."
The Minotaur was confident he could kill Mo Qi in a single blow. He had no idea that Mo Qi was inwardly ecstatic.
’With the Wolf Demon watching from the sidelines, I was still wondering how I was going to get my hands on this slab of high-grade beef. And now, look at this. He’s serving himself up on a platter.’
"Then let’s get on with it."
Mo Qi beckoned, his tone surprisingly eager.
The Minotaur paused, taken aback. Something felt off.
But, confident in his own power, he didn’t dwell on it.
He broke into a run, his massive, thirty-foot-tall body accelerating like an armored chariot as he charged toward Mo Qi.
"Be careful!"
From the crowd, Liu Ruyan and Niu Kexin couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.
Liu Hui and the others clenched their fists, their bodies tense with anxiety.
The hearts of all the Immortals leaped into their throats.
Only the Pig Emperor, perched on Mo Qi’s shoulder, let out a yawn and lazily narrowed its eyes.
Facing the rapidly approaching Minotaur, Mo Qi’s smile vanished. He inhaled, taking a slow step back. He extended his left arm, then drew his right fist back to his side, turning his body until he resembled a fully drawn bow.
THUMP THUMP THUMP!
At that moment, Mo Qi activated the Creation Golden Body Technique, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably.
GUSH!
Waves of fresh blood surged through his body. His pores opened, expelling streams of impurities, then slammed shut.
His Essence, Qi, and Spirit merged into one. As if sealed and closed, the phenomenon of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top manifested once more, and his aura surged to its absolute peak.
"A good charge!"
Mo Qi roared, and to the astonishment of everyone watching, he made no move to defend himself. Instead, his body moved like a flash of lightning as he threw his punch and charged forward to meet the Minotaur head-on.
