Chapter 158: Chapter 157: No Technique, All Strength

’He... repelled the monster from the gray fog?’

’The monster that killed five Elders was pushed back just like that?’

Dangling in the air, Xue Hongling stared blankly at the fleeting figure in the gray fog ahead.

She might have been slow on the uptake, but she knew the being in the gray fog had just launched a deadly attack on Wu Chen.

Although Wu Chen had also been forced back two steps.

But the monster, which had retreated an unknown distance into the dense fog, let out an even more pained roar. It clearly hadn’t gotten the upper hand against Wu Chen.

Xue Hongling knew full well that Wu Chen had delivered that slash while burdened with her.

If he had gone all out, the outcome for the monster in the fog would have likely been completely different!

"Wu Chen, with your strength, killing this monster should be no problem."

As the immense force buffeting her body dissipated, Xue Hongling hurriedly said, "Put me down! You can fight your way out of here... WOOOO—"

WHOOSH!

But before she could finish, Wu Chen leaped forward.

The raging wind generated by his breakneck speed forced Xue Hongling to swallow her words, which turned into an unintelligible whimper.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Wu Chen rapidly closed in on the direction the monster had retreated.

In the brief flash of light from the sparks of their clash, he had seen its hazy silhouette. It looked like some kind of beast.

’A beast whose entire body is tough enough to withstand a Tier One blade?’

’And that Tier One blade was even empowered with the force of Raging Bull Shakes the Earth!’

Wu Chen was a little taken aback, but the monster’s pained, hoarse howl after their clash had considerably bolstered his courage.

’I can still swing with the force of Raging Bull Shakes the Earth a hundred more times. I wonder if you can take a hundred of those hits!’

Fearless, Wu Chen strode forward.

But after running for about a mile in the direction the monster had fled, he still saw no trace of it.

"This damn fog!"

Wu Chen couldn’t spot the monster. The gray fog also prevented him from seeing any clues it might have left behind. Even if he did spot some tracks, his pursuit would be slowed considerably.

He slowed to a steady walk, remaining vigilant of every movement around him.

The gray fog limited his senses to a radius of ten feet.

Even so, after walking for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he vaguely sensed something in the gray fog staring at him.

Even though he couldn’t perceive it directly, Wu Chen could clearly feel the monster was preparing to launch a fatal blow at any moment.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

He didn’t have to wait long. The attack from the gray fog came again.

Only this time, it wasn’t targeting Wu Chen, but Xue Hongling in his arm!

"If I can cut you once, I can cut you again!"

Wu Chen twisted around, swinging his blade at the incoming claw.

CLANG!

Another crisp impact sent sparks flying.

This time, before the monster could retreat, Wu Chen ignored the numbing ache in his fingertips and darted after the hit-and-run creature.

Relying on his brutish physique, he closed the distance in an instant. Within a single breath, he was within three feet of the monster.

A monster with a grotesque face and a keratinous hide as black as ink appeared before him.

Despite the hazy, gauze-like fog...

’Damn, it’s ugly!’

After that simple assessment, and in the time it took to lunge forward, the numbness in his fingertips had already vanished. He unhesitatingly swung his blade at the monster’s vulnerable neck.

The monster never expected Wu Chen to be so ferocious this time, nor that the prey that had entered its fog would be so powerful.

It had never encountered such a being before and was caught completely off guard as he got right in its face.

The aftershock of the last painful blow was just registering in its mind. It was about to roar and writhe, leaving it with no defenses whatsoever.

It could only watch helplessly as the blade descended.

CLANG!

Again, the crisp sound was accompanied by sparks.

’It’s that tough?’

Seeing the monster get sent flying sideways instead of being decapitated, Wu Chen’s eyes narrowed and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Then again, this was the first time he’d ever struck a living creature’s neck and produced sparks instead of cutting it clean through.

It was as if he wasn’t holding a Tier One blade, but a blunt weapon—an iron rod.

’There’s something special about this monster’s hide. My slashes probably just leave a few marks.’

’But it can’t block all of the impact force!’

Wu Chen watched the monster writhing and howling in the gray fog, certain of this fact. He lunged forward again.

"Let’s see just how many of these you can take!"

He raised his blade and brought it down again and again in a frenzy.

No technique, only pure strength.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!—

For a moment, the gray fog was filled with the endless ringing of a blacksmith’s forge, accompanied by a shower of sparks.

Brutal force erupted from the blade, aimed straight for the monster’s neck.

WHIMPER!

Faced with the relentless barrage of slashes, the monster writhed in agony, roaring madly.

But Wu Chen deliberately controlled his strikes, making sure each immensely powerful blow landed on the exact same spot.

The neck.

He was determined to see just how tough this monster’s neck was.

After four or five consecutive slashes, the monster’s neck wasn’t torn open. Only a few pieces of its black hide had flaked off under the devastating force.

But the impact of the immense force was still clear. The grotesque monster’s roars grew noticeably weaker.

Wu Chen didn’t stop, just mechanically raising his blade and bringing it down.

After another four or five slashes, the black hide on the monster’s neck finally broke off completely.

Although he hadn’t severed its head, the monster now lay limply on the ground, its head lolling to the side. The roars in its throat had been reduced to faint gasps.

Clearly, the flesh and bone beneath the hide could not withstand such devastating force.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Wu Chen knew well the principle of finishing off a weakened enemy, so his blade did not stop.

Only when the monster was completely motionless did he finally stop.

Feeling the numbness in his fingers and palm after using the force of Raging Bull Shakes the Earth over twenty times, he couldn’t help but spit.

"Damn, that was tough to kill!"

’You call that... tough to kill?’

Xue Hongling stared blankly at the scene. Hearing Wu Chen’s words, a storm raged in her heart.

’Tough to kill? How was that tough to kill?’

From start to finish, the situation had been completely one-sided in her eyes.

Except for the first exchange where he might have been caught off guard, in the second engagement, Wu Chen was basically just wailing on the monster!

He hammered it with one slash after another, giving the monster no room to even fight back!

"I’ve got a handle on this monster’s strength now. You can walk on the ground safely."

Hearing his nonchalant voice, Xue Hongling’s feet finally touched the ground again.

Wu Chen also freed up his hands. He looked at the black hide on the monster’s body with growing appreciation.

’This black hide is something else!’

’To be able to withstand so many slashes... it must be several grades stronger than the Tier One Red Phosphorus Soft Armor I’m wearing!’

’If this hide were made into Soft Armor, it would probably be rated Tier Four or even Tier Five!’

Wu Chen walked over and began to wonder where he should start cutting to remove the black, keratinous hide. In the future, he could find a high-level Artifact Refiner to forge it into a superior piece of protective gear.

’Protective gear of this grade should be able to withstand a full-power attack from someone at the Blood Coagulation Realm!’

Wu Chen leaned down, trying to figure out where to make the first cut. But before he could even touch the monster’s corpse, its body began to visibly shrivel.

It then rapidly desiccated, turning to dust.

Finally, it dissipated in wisps, merging into the gray fog.

"Fuck! What the hell!"

After fighting for so long, only to see his prize disappear before his very eyes, Wu Chen couldn’t help but curse.

"Whoever came up with this system is a real..."

Before he could finish, a black Crystal Stone fell from where the monster’s corpse had dissipated.

CLINK! CLANK!

The crisp sound of the Crystal Stone hitting the ground made Wu Chen instantly change his tune.

’So this stone is the monster’s essence?’

Wu Chen picked up the black Crystal Stone. It was cool to the touch, but he couldn’t see anything particularly mystical about it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.