Chapter 209: Sparring

Their fists and feet clashed, and the surging force instantly seemed to ignite the air, with explosive currents wildly swirling in all directions.

Lin Yuexi, standing at the door, immediately felt the terror of these two forces. Although the two were not targeting her, and their energy was not directed at her, she still felt a suffocating pressure.

Lin Yuexi swiftly retreated along with the airflow, but after only a few steps back, thunderous continuous explosions echoed in her ears. It was as if two ancient gods and demons were fighting in the sky, striking with rolls of thunder and flashes of lightning.

Lin Yuexi had no choice but to retreat again until she had moved back more than fifty meters. Only then did the heart-pounding sensation gradually ease. But once it eased, the scene of the battle in the yard kept playing over and over in her mind.

‘This kind of fight is too rare. If I miss it, I’ll probably regret it for life.’ Thinking this, Lin Yuexi finally steadied her mind, jogged to the base of the wall, then used her momentum to climb, scale the wall, and perch on top.

Wave after wave of loud booms felt like hammer blows to her heart, pushing her mind to the brink of suppression.

But she still widened her eyes, straining to see the situation in the courtyard.

She saw a white figure, blurry like a ghost, making it impossible to see clearly. It was moving at an extreme speed. In Lin Yuexi’s eyes, she couldn’t even tell whether it was kicking or punching. She could only sense countless flashes of light and shadow, which eventually coalesced into a foot, sweeping in with a gust of wind, and kicking toward Zuo Zhicheng’s waist once again.

This kick was incredibly fast and powerful. Combined with the cracking sounds from the white figure’s joints and the astral wind formed by the flexing of muscles, it seemed as if it carried the force of wind and thunder.

‘So… so fierce!’ Watching this extremely fast and strong kick, Lin Yuexi’s jaw dropped, and the word “fierce” kept repeating in her mind.

But if the white-clad figure was fierce, Zuo Zhicheng was even fiercer. Facing the kick that came like wind and thunder, Zuo Zhicheng’s legs shook slightly, and he let out a low growl from his throat. A startling mix of killing intent and cold surged upward.

The ground beneath his feet trembled violently, actually sinking slightly and cracking in numerous places. Visually, it looked as if Zuo Zhicheng had split the earth apart with his aura alone.

Of course, he didn’t really crack the earth with his aura; it was the force from his feet that caused the ground to break. But it appeared as though his body, through sheer energy and presence, had shattered the ground.

With this energy-gathering movement, a pale, delicate fist appeared in front of the white-clad figure’s foot. With a thud, it collided with the sole of the other’s foot.

A loud boom echoed. A flicker of shock passed through the white-clad figure’s eyes as he felt a wave of numbness in his foot, causing his entire body to involuntarily begin retreating. Even while stepping back, his speed was incredibly fast; in a flash of white, his legs moved so quickly they seemed to form a continuous line, and he retreated ten meters in an instant.

But after this ten-meter retreat, Zuo Zhicheng took a step forward and chased after him. His speed was ghostly, as if a phantom had appeared in broad daylight. Clearly, with the Earth Fiend, Zuo Zhicheng’s speed had become increasingly unbelievable.

In that moment, Zuo Zhicheng had gained the absolute upper hand. Taking advantage of the other’s churning blood flow and numb muscles in the sole of his foot, Zuo Zhicheng lifted his palm. His entire arm and shoulder seemed to connect as one, turning into a black line like a steel whip, tearing through the air as it lashed toward the white figure.

The sound of the hand whip tearing through the air was like the rumble of distant thunder in the winter sky, emitting dull, heavy booms. It turned out that Zuo Zhicheng’s strike, Saint Ancestor’s Free Hand, already carried the essence of the Cold Light Rippling Sword. Clearly, besides refining his Dao Arts during this time, he had not slacked in his Martial Arts training either.

Behind the white figure was the rockery, and it seemed there was no more room to retreat.

‘It’s time to decide the outcome!’

Just as Lin Yuexi thought the white-clad figure had nowhere to go and was about to settle the match with Zuo Zhicheng in one move, the other’s figure spun nimbly, rising like a wisp of blue smoke. Along with the air current torn by Zuo Zhicheng, it drifted over and landed behind the rockery.

‘Is that even possible?!’ Seeing this bizarre movement technique that made the person seem to transform into a wisp of smoke, Lin Yuexi’s mouth gaped open, her face full of disbelief.

Over there, although Zuo Zhicheng was also somewhat surprised, he lifted his leg and arrived at the side of the rockery. With another step, he was about to charge toward the other’s position.

He didn’t choose to leap over like the white-clad figure because a person in mid-air cannot exert force. Jumping over would be like giving the other a target.

So Zuo Zhicheng chose to go around the side. Although it wasn’t as fast as leaping over, it was more secure and safer.

But just as Zuo Zhicheng took a step to go around the back of the rockery, the ground beneath his feet suddenly felt unsteady. Then, from behind the rockery, came a low shout.

“Rise!”

With a huge crash, under Lin Yuexi’s nearly bulging gaze, the rockery in the courtyard actually lifted from the ground. With overwhelming momentum, it hurtled toward Zuo Zhicheng on the side.

This rockery weighed at least four or five tons and stood three or four meters tall. Under normal circumstances, even a dozen strong men couldn’t lift it, but now, with a squeeze, twist, and kick from the white-clad figure, that massive object was actually kicked up and thrown toward Zuo Zhicheng’s position.

Usually, when experts’ punches and kicks were described as having the weight of mountains and rivers, it was just a metaphor. But now, the white-clad figure’s kick had literally sent a mountain flying.

A startled cry came from behind Lin Yuexi. She turned to look and saw that Liu Manwen, who had earlier sought to meet Zuo Zhicheng, had also climbed onto the wall at some point.

It turned out she had originally wanted to build a relationship with Zuo Zhicheng, but after waiting without any response from Lin Yuexi and hearing the loud noises from the courtyard, she had come over alone to take a look.

Now, seeing the four or five-ton, three or four-meter-high rockery hurtling toward Zuo Zhicheng with a howling gale, Liu Manwen’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and she couldn’t help letting out a gasp.

Only one thought crossed her mind: ‘Is this even human!?’

“Good.”

But something even more unexpected happened. Zuo Zhicheng neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he faced the oncoming rockery, let out a reverse shout, and struck out with a palm.

A dull thud sounded, as if something had snapped or broken. Zuo Zhicheng exhaled sharply, his palm pressing firmly against the rockery. His face flushed red, and every tendon and muscle rumbled like hydraulic pumps.

The rockery’s speed hesitated slightly, and then he actually pushed it back in the opposite direction.

Boom! Whizzing sounds followed.

In the earth-shattering impact, clouds of dust billowed upward. Amidst this dust, neither Lin Yuexi nor Liu Manwen could see anything beyond the rockery crashing through the courtyard wall and flying outside. As for Zuo Zhicheng or the white-clad figure, they were almost entirely swallowed by the swirling dust, disappearing from view.