Stranger Danger

“You’re a sage of the ancients, whereas I’m just a young junior. Shouldn’t you grant me three strikes as a welcoming gift?”

Since the Earthly Sovereign could respond to his gestures, it meant that he was sentient to a certain extent despite being a wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi. Knowing this, Ye Qing decided to try his luck.

If his ploy worked, then all was well. If not, all it cost him was a bit of saliva. You know what they say: Those who don’t take advantage of a bargain are an idiot and a bastard!

When Ye Qing gathered his strength and punched the Earthly Sovereign with all his might, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his opponent just stood there and took the punch.

Hell yeah! Scum tactics for the win!

Ye Qing wasn’t the only one who was surprised. The spectators were speechless as well. They had no idea it was possible to bargain with a heavenly tribulation. It was crazy enough that Ye Qing dared to negotiate with a heavenly tribulation, and it was crazier than the heavenly tribulation actually accepted it. It was an eye-opening experience if nothing else.

The Earthly Sovereign did not budge an inch despite taking a full-powered punch from Ye Qing. That said, one layer of dark yellow aura did dissipate from his body.

Ye Qing was caught off guard by the Earth Sovereign’s compliance, but it only lasted an instant. He immediately spun on his heel, turned his spine like a dragon, and threw an even greater punch. It was more powerful than the previous punch be it in terms of force, intent, or viciousness.

And what did viciousness mean in this context? It meant that Ye Qing had socked the Earthly Sovereign at the side of his head!

The Earthly Sovereign did promise to grant him three strikes, so why the hell would he play coy or pull his punches? Of course he was going to strike him in his weakest spot!

BANG!

This time, the Earthly Sovereign was unable to maintain his immovable stance. The punch was such that he wobbled a little on his feet.

Ye Qing was overjoyed, of course. It was rumored that the Earthly Sovereign was an honest, generous, modest, and open-minded man who valued promises more than his own life. Now, it would seem that it was the truth. The Earthly Sovereign could’ve tried to dodge the attacks even if he did promise to grant Ye Qing three strikes—it wasn’t his fault that Ye Qing couldn’t land those hits, was he?

However, the Earthly Sovereign actually just stood there and withstood his attacks head on. He really was far too square—ahem, he meant he was too good and respectable for this world.

Having landed the second punch, Ye Qing decided to give his final free shot his one hundred and twenty percent and took two steps away from the Earthly Sovereign. His arm immediately swelled until it was the size of a tree trunk, and his fist was as big as a sandbag. Once his fist intent had climbed to the peak, he struck the Earthly Sovereign in the head again.

If you can’t defeat an enemy in one punch, that’s because your fist isn’t big enough!

However, the second Ye Qing’s fist made contact with the Earthly Sovereign’s head, the blood abruptly drained away from his face. The next moment, he was propelled toward the ground at the speed of lightning.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!

The ground within hundreds of meters exploded like it was struck by a meteor, and the dust and soil it threw up was twice as high. It was like they were fighting at the sea, not the land.

“Cough… cough…”

A few breaths later, Ye qing finally climbed out of the deep pit he made with one arm hanging by his side and elbow bone sticking out of his flesh. He looked as pale as a ghost as his blood dripped on the floor.

Ye Qing just barely managed to contain his curses inside his head as he looked up at the Earthly Sovereign. Motherfucker! Who’s the sonuvabitch who said that the Earthly Sovereign is an honest and square man? They must have fed their eyes and brains to the dogs!

To be fair, the Earthly Sovereign had definitely withstood three of his punches without retaliation. He hadn’t tried to dodge or block the attacks either. From an outsider’s perspective, he was exactly as he legend suggested and a deserving sage of the ancients.

It was a lie though. All a lie! He should’ve known better to fall prey to his own naivety and foolishness. Yes, the Earthly Sovereign had withstood three of his punches, but the bastard had also stored all of the fist force and fist intent inside his body. When the third attack finally struck, he returned it all to Ye Qing in one attack!

That was why he had hit the ground like a meteor.

Ye Qing had never felt his own punches until now. He knew it was powerful since most of his enemies were blown away without leaving a speck of flesh behind, but it was only now that he truly understood just how painful it really was. Three of them combined? He almost regretted being as strong as he was. That one attack had broken his right arm, knocked his internal organs out of position, and even reversed the flow of his vigor!

He was lucky he was as tough as he was strong. Another person would most likely be basking under the light of the Buddha already.

Ye Qing coughed again and muttered under his breath, “That’s not very nice of you, senior!”

Ye Qing wiped away the bloodstains on his lips and stretched. His muscles and bones popped back into place, and his physical injuries began healing at a visible rate.

Ye Qing was sincere. How could the Earthly Sovereign trick him like this? It was like a kungfu master tricking a child into believing he had a chance before kicking him in the nuts! What a monster!

The Earthly Sovereign merely smiled as if to say that all was fair in love and war.

Before Ye Qing could react, the Earthly Sovereign descended from the sky and landed on the earth with a deafening noise, causing the ground to deflate and inflate like a balloon. At the same time, the energies Ye Qing was gathering were abruptly cut off from its source.

Having one’s energy cut midway was like not being able to stretch one’s limbs fully, or not being able to take a full breath[1]. It was uncomfortable to say the least.

The next moment, Ye Qing sensed danger and hurriedly crossed his arms before his chest.

Not a moment too soon, the Earthly Sovereign abruptly appeared in front of Ye Qing and landed an elbow strike on his guard.

“Pwack!”

Ye Qing did not give an inch, but his core was doing backflips like it was a washing machine, and his insides hurt like they just burst apart. He wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually the case. Blood jetted between his lips despite his discipline.

What an insidious technique!

Ye Qing thought to himself even as alarm bells began to blare inside his head. The elbow strike hadn’t just hurt his internal organs, it also pinned his arms against his chest and prevented him from using them.

The next moment, the Earthly Sovereign raised his arm with his elbow as the pivot and smacked him at the side of his head. Unable to defend himself, Ye Qing was sent flying like a rag doll. He left behind deep pits and gorges that were several meters deep as he bounced off the ground again and again.

If the elbow strike from before was soft yet insidious, then this melee strike was violent and brutal. Not only was the Earthly Sovereign able to transition from soft to hard, inaction to action smoothly and without pause, it also felt like the most natural action to take.

After rolling and bouncing off the ground for a bit, Ye Qing grabbed the earth with his bare hand and halted his momentum. Then, he launched himself off the ground with both legs and shot faster toward the Earthly Sovereign than when he was sent flying before.

As he soared through the air, his fist intent poured out until he resembled a raging river. He returned to the Earthly Sovereign in just the blink of an eye.

The Earthly Sovereign did not try to dodge out of the way. Right before Ye Qing’s fist would strike his chest, he grabbed his fist with his left hand and pushed downward. The raging river was stopped dead in its tracks as if it had broken against a sheer mountain.

Both men wobbled on their feet. Then, the Earthly Sovereign brought his right fist down on Ye Qing’s head, while Ye Qing protected his head with his left arm and kneed the Earthly Sovereign in the stomach.

Bang!

The crunch of flesh and bones happened at nearly the same time. The Earthly Sovereign’s fist slammed into Ye Qing’s left arm, while Ye Qing’s knee smashed into the Earthly Sovereign’s stomach.

The duo separated.

Ye Qing swayed like a drunkard as he staggered away from the Earthly Sovereign.

The Earthly Sovereign too backed away from Ye Qing, but it was in an arc instead of a straight line. Not only that, every time he took a step backward, he would leave behind a lifelike image of him. Dozens of Earthly Sovereigns sprung into existence and surrounded Ye Qing in an instant.

They definitely weren’t illusions. Ye Qing could feel their force surging toward him from every direction.

In response, Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath and struck the ground diagonally like he was cutting off a stream. Fist force and astral qi immediately shot up and protected him from all sides.

“Divide”

The horde of Earthly Sovereigns slowed down dramatically when they were about one meter away from Ye Qing. It was as if they were caught in a quagmire.

From above, it almost looked like Ye Qing was the stamen, and the Earthly Sovereigns the petals of a lotus.

While the stand-off was still ongoing, Ye Qing’s fist fell another inch.

It was only natural for a punch that divided a river to kick up a wave, right?

The wall of fist force and astral qi surrounding Ye Qing abruptly shattered and shot out like pieces of glass, destroying all the Earthly Sovereigns surrounding him except one: the real Earthly Sovereign.

As soon as Ye Qing identified the real Earthly Sovereign, both men charged toward each other at the same time. Sorrow and fatalistic determination gathered in Ye Qing’s fist as he raced forth to meet his opponent.

“Break Through”

The Earthly Sovereign’s fist intent was the complete opposite of Ye Qing’s. It was thick, vast, and deep like an endless expanse of mountains and rivers.

There was a deafening explosion, followed by the destruction of all things physical and a chaotic storm. The two men parted about thirty meters from each other while the ground between them churned like boiling water.

1. My deepest apologies for all respiratory sufferers out there. I understand. ☜

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