Chapter 2024: An Honorable Loss

The Giant Ape King was not without a weapon. Initially, it also wielded an iron staff.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, beast kings were not proficient in the art of refining weapons. The staff in its hand was crudely forged from raw ore before it nurtured it through its bloodline powers.

Aside from being heavy enough, the staff’s quality was not particularly high due to the limits of its material. In its previous battle with Kou Chongxue’s clone, even though the clone held no actual sword, the sword qi it condensed alone had already left the staff mottled and scarred.

Later, under the clone’s sharp sword qi assault, the staff proved clumsy and inadequate, reducing the Giant Ape King’s combat power by nearly 30 percent.

Just as the Giant Ape King was becoming more and more overwhelmed under the clone’s suppression, the turbulent void stirred by their duel was suddenly torn open by an external force.

Both of them were shocked that someone would intervene at such a moment, yet before they could react, a stone rod shot out from the void and landed directly in the Giant Ape King’s hand.

Neither Kou Chongxue’s clone nor the Giant Ape King was unfamiliar with the weapon. Naturally, they recognized it as the very stone rod Shang Xia had once used back when he was only a True Immortal, crafted from the Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar that held up an Elysium.

Later, he used it repeatedly when expanding spaces and worlds. Even during the establishment of the Tongyou Dao Field, it played a crucial role. Afterwards, it had been left within the Dao Field to help stabilize its space.

Now, the stone rod had somehow been retrieved by Shang Xia, clearly because the Dao Field had already become fully stable and no longer required it to maintain its structure.

The second the weapon fell into the Giant Ape King’s hand, everything changed!

Before, it had no effective way of resisting Kou Chongxue’s invisible sword qi. It could only right with its failing iron staff, dodge awkwardly, or use its strong body to endure blows by avoiding vital spots.

Now, however, the Giant Ape King finally had a weapon capable of withstanding the clone’s assault.

The moment the stone rod landed in the Giant Ape King’s hand, Kou Chongxue’s clone wasted no words. The sword qi he had already condensed grew stronger and he struck first. His sword qi pierced through the Giant Ape King’s domain and sent a thin strand of sword qi directly toward its lantern-sized eyes.

The Giant Ape King roared and ignored the incoming sword qi. Leaping high into the air, it raised the stone rod above its head before smashing it down. Despite being separated by dozens of miles, the already turbulent void split like a severed sea, gouging open an enormous rift in space that would not heal for some time.

Kou Chongxue’s clone, dozens of miles away, instantly felt itself locked on by the Giant Ape King’s divine soul. No matter where he fled, the rod would hit him.

"Hey, you’re just making trouble!" The clone yelled helplessly, but he was clearly not addressing the Giant Ape King. As soon as his words fell, his already dim figure grew even fainter, while the condensed sword qi in his hand grew more solid.

Obviously, Kou Chongxue’s clone had poured what little remained of his inner qi that was already more than half depleted into the weapon he condensed.

The next instant, a torrent of sword qi appeared, clashing head-on with the falling stone rod.

The heavy, crushing might of the rod met the exquisitely sharp invisible sword qi. First, the stone rod froze mid-descent, unable to push further, then the torn void and raging torrents around them were shredded into fragments by the omnipresent, invisible sword qi.

The void tsunami that would have erupted from the Giant Ape King’s blow was largely neutralized by Kou Chongxue’s clone. By the time the shockwaves reached the defensive barriers erected by the surrounding spectators, they were no more than ripples lapping at a shore, causing little damage.

That one strike alone revealed the difference between the two.

With its strength at the peak of the sixth rank, the Giant Ape King could just barely contend with Kou Chongxue’s clone. With the stone rod in hand, it even managed a powerful counterattack.

Yet after both unleashed their full strength in that exchange, the Giant Ape King had no more strength to change the outcome. Meanwhile, Kou Chongxue’s clone still had the capacity to suppress and disperse the aftershocks of their clash.

That alone showed the disparity between them!

"You are formidable. I have lost this battle." The Giant Ape King withdrew the stone rod and shrank back to normal size.

Its golden fur, however, was stained crimson. During the battle, it had been repeatedly grazed by remnants of sword qi unleashed by Kou Chongxue’s clone. Though they were only superficial wounds, over time, its fur had been dyed red by its blood.

Yet the Giant Ape King could faintly sense that those seemingly minor wounds were stirring subtle changes within its body. Its instincts, however, detected no danger, so it paid little mind.

Finally, the sword qi Kou Chongxue’s clone also collapsed.

"Giant Ape King, your valor is unmatched. Please do not waste the opportunity that Shang Shang has given you!"

With those final words, Kou Chongxue’s clone, having exhausted all his inner qi, could no longer maintain his form. Slowly, he disappeared into the void.

Even though the Giant Ape King received Shang Xia’s help at the last moment to unleash a grand counterattack, and Kou Chongxue’s clone dissipated after exhausting himself to suppress the shockwave, the outcome remained the same.