Chapter 231 - Strength to Hold the Heavens

"

Ahhh

!" Atop the city wall, Zhou Tong uttered a startled cry, but the sound abruptly stopped halfway.

On the battlefield, a hand firmly supported the bottom of the gourd, preventing it from descending even a fraction.

Wangyue Pi's face flushed red as he exerted all his strength to press down with both hands, but his trembling arm muscles were helpless as he was pushed back inch by inch.

Xue Qiming slowly stood up, and the gourd he was holding in his right hand rose along with him.

He wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth with his left hand, then casually wiped it off on Wangyue Pi's chest.

Xue Qiming seemed a little dazed. He shook his head, then looked Wangyue Pi in the eyes and said seriously, "Didn't I tell you... I can still fight."

"You, you..." Wangyue Pi stammered in astonishment, unable to find the words.

Xue Qiming let out a long breath of turbid air, slowly reached for Wangyue Pi's collar, and sighed. "Ever since I took on an apprentice, I've been getting too gentle..."

In the inn, Rao Shuang walked into Tang Jinnian's room carrying a food box.

She gently placed the food box down but did not leave for a long time. Instead, she stood quietly behind Tang Jinnian, as if wanting to speak but hesitating.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Tang Jinnian did not turn around. After a long while, he suddenly asked, "What are you worried about?"

"Why aren't you worried," Rao Shuang retorted.

"Me? What would I worry about? Unbound Bodhisattva?" Tang Jinnian sneered. "What's there to worry about?"

Rao Shuang hesitated for a moment before saying, "I can tell you two have a connection... Maybe you aren't close friends, but are you really not afraid he'll die outside the city?"

Tang Jinnian was silent for a moment before finally uttering an ambiguous statement, "The world knows only of the Bodhisattva's benevolence. Who has heard of the Vajra's wrath?"

Perhaps it was because Xue Qiming's slow movements were too gentle, or maybe because Wangyue Pi feared the gourd would be snatched away if he were to let go, Wangyue Pi did not stop Xue Qiming's approaching hand but instead asked, "What are you say—"

Boom!

Before he could finish his sentence, Wangyue Pi was slammed into the ground with a single-handed shoulder throw from Xue Qiming.

The sequence of movements was so fast that no one on the battlefield could see clearly. Wangyue Pi was already lying much deeper in the crater Xue Qiming had previously created, stirring up clouds of dust.

Wangyue Pi lay in the crater, coughing uncontrollably. As the dust settled, he saw Xue Qiming looking down at him. Trembling, he pointed at Xue Qiming in fear, "You... when did you get so strong, how?!"

"How strong?" Xue Qiming held up his palm to calmly examine it for a moment before squatting down to look at Wangyue Pi.

"There was once a mountain, called Mount Buzhou, that had the power to hold up the heavens in the skies... That is what people call my strength like mine."

"Wha-what?" Wangyue Pi couldn't fully comprehend but could sense that the aura of the person before him had completely changed. "Then earlier, you..." Wangyue Pi suddenly leapt out of the crater, charging straight at Xue Qiming before he finished speaking!

"You're as clumsy as a bear, yet still try to act like a rabbit," Xue Qiming judged indifferently. At the same time, he moved with lightning speed, gripping Wangyue Pi's face with one hand and halting the Northern Qiang general's charge completely.

Wangyue Pi's eyes widened in terror, but his jaw was firmly clamped down with the rest of his face, rendering him speechless. He hurriedly reached out to grab Xue Qiming, but just as his hand was about to touch him, Xue Qiming casually hurled him!

Boom!

Wangyue Pi was once again slammed into the crater. Judging from the tremendous sound, this impact was just as severe.

This time, Wangyue Pi tried to stand up again, but Xue Qiming seemed disdainful of giving him another chance!

As soon as Wangyue Pi raised his head, he saw a shadow descending directly toward him, it was the sole of Xue Qiming's shoe.

Thud—

Half of Wangyue Pi's head was stomped into the ground! The sheer force from that sole made him almost believe his skull was about to be crushed.

Wangyue Pi hurriedly lifted his head, but halfway up, there was another

thud

, and that foot pressed down on his head again, forcing him back into the ground. Then another stomp, and another...

In the end, Wangyue Pi lost count of how many times his head had been trampled. His head throbbed as if it were about to explode. At that moment, Xue Qiming's cold voice reached his ears.

"Why does such a dirty and lowly creature refuse to stay in the dirt?"

"You're too much!" Wangyue Pi suddenly leapt a full zhang into the air and furiously launched a punch straight at Xue Qiming's face!

"It's true, I don't understand the ways of the battlefield..." Xue Qiming seemed oblivious to the fist about to strike his face as he gently shook his head.

Just as his fist was about to connect with Xue Qiming's forehead, Wangyue Pi's eyes lit up with joy, but only for a moment, he felt his punch swing through empty air. How did his punch pass through Xue Qiming who was standing right in front of him?!

The next moment, Xue Qiming's voice sounded from above Wangyue Pi's head, "But what do you know of the depths of the jianghu?"

Bang!

Wangyue Pi felt as if a battering ram had struck his back. His entire body was slammed into the ground with even greater force than before.

"Ugh." A mouthful of fresh blood spewed out of his mouth. Wangyue Pi's vision blurred, and his vision doubled.

Wangyue Pi's legs felt weak. He refused to believe that one person's strength could reach the level where it could hold up the heavens. Supporting himself on his knees, he wobbled and tried to stand several times but failed.

Instinctively, he looked for Xue Qiming's figure. When he raised his head, he saw Xue Qiming standing before him, looking down at him like an immortal gazing down at a mortal.

"Although you said you don't remember..." Xue Qiming slowly pulled his fist back to his waist, squatting slightly. "I don't think that you would really forget that easily."

Xue Qiming slightly lifted his right foot, then stomped heavily on the ground.

Boom!

It was as if the entire world had turned into a massive war drum. The sound reverberated deep in everyone's hearts, and the whole earth seemed to shake.

"What? What is that?!" A shout came from the city wall, followed by a cacophony of terrified cries.

At the spot where Xue Qiming stood, a towering, ancient giant appeared out of thin air. Its hair was disheveled, torso was bare, and had knotted muscles like steel cables. The giant straightened its back, tilted its head back and let out a defiant roar toward the heavens!

The heavens turned upside down, mountains crumbled, and torrents of seawater poured down from the sky, as the entire world was falling apart.

A large-scale panic erupted within the Northern Qiang army. Faced with such celestial power, countless soldiers screamed and fled in terror.

In the next moment, the giant clasped its hands together into a fist and slammed it down onto the ground in front of it like a falling meteor!

Boooom!

The earth trembled violently, and the city walls groaned under the strain.

In an instant, the entire scene vanished, as if it had never existed.

"Was... was it an illusion..." Zhou Tong muttered. But the next moment, his gaze fell on the battlefield, and he gasped in shock!

A vast crater, spanning hundreds of feet, had appeared on the battlefield. The fractured ground was riddled with countless cracks, some of which extended all the way to the city walls.

Xue Qiming knelt on one knee, hands clasped into a fist, mirroring the previous actions of the giant. At the center of the crater lay a massive figure, motionless in a pool of blood. Who else could it be but the Northern Qiang general Wangyue Pi?

Xue Qiming slowly stood up, seemingly catching his breath while leaning on his knees. Then, he grabbed Wangyue Pi by the leg and began dragging him back.

At this moment, Wangyue Pi lay motionless, his body covered in blood. However, the faint rise and fall of his chest indicated that Xue Qiming had spared his life.

Wangyue Pi struggled to open his eyes and looked at the figure dragging him forward. Suddenly, he heard the man say, "I forgot to tell you... My name is Unbound Bodhisattva."