Chương 85: Slaying the Giant Yuan, Stepping Into Fourth Rank

Beneath that bloody maw, Su Zhe moved. His body became unbelievably supple, like a flood dragon in the middle of transforming into a true dragon. A hidden dragon rose from the abyss, scales and claws flashing. Su Zhe moved like a flood dragon entering the sea, agile and powerful as he circled the giant yuan. The giant yuan attacked several times, yet it could not gain even an inch. Its lantern-sized eyes revealed disbelief, as if it had just witnessed something earth-shattering.

This giant yuan already possessed spirituality, and its intelligence far surpassed ordinary demon beasts. This two-legged sheep… what kind of water skills did he have? How could they be this terrifying?

"Roar!" The giant yuan grew even more furious. Its true strength had once been far beyond this. Even Seventh Rank and Eighth Rank martial artists could be fought and killed by it. But that was long ago. After enduring countless hardships, its current strength was not even one-thousandth of what it had been. Whether its body or its soul, both had been grievously injured. Now, facing Su Zhe, a human it had originally regarded as no more than an ant, it still could not kill him after all this time.

Its anger burned even hotter.

"Roar!" Waves suddenly surged across the Su River. With the giant yuan's furious roar, the entire river surface seemed to be summoned by an invisible power, transforming into three water dragons that bared their fangs and claws as they charged at Su Zhe.

"This is… the power of the soul!"

"When human martial artists step into Seventh Rank, they can form a Martial Dao Yang Spirit."

"And when the demon race reaches Seventh Rank, they form a Demon Spirit." Su Zhe's heart shook. He was no longer that ignorant outsider to the martial path from before. He was no longer the same clueless man. After the Jade Body Manor Lord's guidance, the road of martial cultivation ahead had become like clouds parting to reveal the blue sky. This giant yuan could actually use Demon Spirit power to resonate with the river. From that alone, it was clear how high its level was. But Su Zhe could also sense it.

Although the giant yuan was terrifying, its qi and blood had declined, and its soul was failing. It had the level, but not the strength. It was like a powerhouse on the level of the Jade Body Manor Lord, except after a life-and-death battle, already standing at the edge of death. To put it another way… A strong, undefeated fighter had caught a fatal illness and did not have long to live. He might not even be able to beat a teenager anymore.

"This… is my chance!"

"To kill a powerhouse of this level!"

"To temper my martial path!" Su Zhe's heart stirred, and hot blood surged through him. The three water dragons rushed in with terrifying momentum, arriving before Su Zhe in the blink of an eye. Splash, splash, splash! Boom, boom, boom! A heaven-shaking roar erupted, like the River God himself had grown enraged. The three water dragons formed a Heaven-Earth-Man Three Talents formation, sealing off Su Zhe's escape route. There was nowhere to dodge. He could only take it head-on.

"Water-Repelling Ability! Turtle-Dragon Shard Armor!"

"Mystic Water Power! Demon Scale Inner Armor!"

"Hold!" Su Zhe roared in his heart. The internal force around him surged out, forming an illusory turtle shell that enveloped his body. All of his water-related traits erupted with power at this moment. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Especially the Spirit Turtle Treasure Bone Shell, which possessed two Seventh Rank traits: Water-Repelling Ability, greatly increasing water affinity and making him immune to cold water, and Turtle-Dragon Shard Armor, greatly increasing physical defense. Su Zhe gripped his twin hammers, crossed his arms, and formed an "X." In the middle of the raging storm, he stood like a towering mountain, unmoving and majestic. After the giant yuan's attack landed, it froze in place. It did not quite understand.

Its unstoppable move had actually failed against this mere Fourth Rank two-legged sheep! This… How was that possible? At the same time, the giant yuan also sensed a familiar aura from Su Zhe. It was as if… As if Su Zhe was one of its own kind. The giant yuan tilted its head and stared at Su Zhe in confusion. It truly could not understand. This fellow before it clearly carried the aura of its kind… So why did he look as ugly as those humans?

"Now it's Su's turn!" Su Zhe held his heavy hammers, heroic and full of vigor. A trickle of blood slid from the corner of his mouth, but his gaze was incomparably sharp. He stepped across the waves, like a flood dragon transforming into a true dragon, taking nine steps to ascend the heavens. He excelled at hammer techniques, fierce and unmatched. Every hammer strike fell like thunder. The river churned, as if thousands of soldiers and horses were charging across a battlefield.

Caught off guard, the giant yuan took several more hammer blows. Those hammers were heavy and unstoppable, smashing blood from the giant yuan. Su Zhe shot through the water like an arrow, his heavy hammers dancing in his hands and sending sprays of water flying. The giant yuan's ferocity was stirred as well. It pounced at him, its momentum like Mount Tai crashing down.

"When the waters surge three thousand li, the roc rides the whirlwind up ninety thousand li."

"My two masters both said that I lacked a martial artist's hot-blooded courage, that the three parts of viciousness in my heart had not yet been fully nurtured."

"Now that I think about it, I've always acted only after planning, taking every step with caution, striving to keep everything under control, afraid of any unexpected change."

"And now, every time I think back on it, my two masters were right!" Relying on the traits of his equipment, Su Zhe's fury stepped into the heavens, his killing intent filling the sky. He followed the momentum and swung his hammer toward the giant yuan's flank. Thoughts flashed through his mind, and the opportunity to step into the Fourth Rank appeared. Before, he had not been able to see it or grasp it. It had been maddeningly elusive.

But now, the path of a martial artist was gradually becoming clear in Su Zhe's heart.

"Relying on martial strength to roam the world, repaying kindness and revenge as I please. When the deed is done, I brush off my sleeves, one hammer sweeping across all!"

"I have a hammer that bakes the sun and breathes out rosy clouds, that swallows rivers and rinses the moon!"

"I have a hammer that splits the qi, shakes the earth, and sends its sound roaring through the heavens!"

"I have a hammer that topples mountains and shakes cities, before which a thousand armies retreat!"

"Today, giant yuan, daoist friend, help Su step into Fourth Rank!" Boom! Su Zhe's body transformed, and five great beast-force phantoms emerged. Strength like an ox. Ferocity like a tiger. A snake's strange and unpredictable form. A phoenix rising and a flood dragon soaring. The arm and shape of a mantis. He was clearly one man, yet countless living forms could be seen upon his body. Su Zhe's roar shook the heavens.

This time, he held a martial artist's hot-blooded courage in his heart, ready to fight to the death without retreat. No schemes. No calculations. Only one thought remained in his heart— For the people, eliminate this disaster! The giant yuan was furious beyond measure. Its long tail swept out like a giant python lashing its tail. But before Su Zhe, who had now understood his true heart, it seemed pale and powerless. One hammer! Then another!

Heaven-shaking force smashed the river surface into raging waves, as if the waters of the heavenly river were flowing backward. Again and again, the giant yuan was smashed into the river, only to rise again. Brutal! Terrifying! On the riverbank, the common people saw this scene and, for a moment, actually forgot their fear.

"A divine man! Gang Leader Su is truly a divine man!"

"The Su River God reincarnated! Gang Leader Su must be the reincarnation of the Su River God, here to protect us!"

"Blessings from the Su River God! May the Su River God live forever!" Everyone was stunned, utterly shaken by this miracle. After all, a man who stood one meter eighty-five tall was in the river, pinning down a giant yuan over ten zhang long and beating it senseless with hammers! How could the shock and visual impact of such a scene ever be fully described with mere words? Boom! As the battle drove him into madness, Su Zhe felt five streams of internal force rampaging through his body.

They coursed through his limbs and bones, then suddenly charged into the two vertical muscles at the lower back. It was like a clogged river being cleared by a massive force, suddenly flowing freely for a thousand li. The Ren and Du meridians—opened! Internal force passed through the meridians. The meridians were tempered. Complete! Early Fourth Rank!

"Haha!" Su Zhe stepped into Fourth Rank. The barrier that had trapped him for many days was forcefully blasted open by his twin hammers! Bang! A thunderous crash rang out. The giant yuan let out a mournful cry. Crackling sounds burst from the shell on its back as countless fractures appeared. Su Zhe grabbed the shell with one hand and hurled with all his strength. The giant yuan flew high into the air, soaring over a hundred zhang before crashing down and collapsing a small hill in the distance.

Its aura was faint and dying.

"Die!" Su Zhe leaped out of the Su River. The river beneath his feet surged wildly like thousands of soldiers locked in battle, yet Su Zhe crushed it down with one step. His heavy hammer swung like a meteor falling to earth. Crack! A crisp sound rang out. A huge hole exploded open between the giant yuan's brows. The fluid inside was smashed into pulp. Its neck tilted, and its eyes closed. Su Zhe landed on the giant yuan's back. His body stood proud and upright, his gaze calm yet wildly arrogant.

Countless people watched this scene with burning, fervent eyes. At this moment, Su Zhe's figure grew taller and taller in the eyes of the people, more and more majestic. His silhouette stood like a mountain, towering and firm; his bearing was like the sea, broad and grand.

"The reincarnation of the Su River God!" Someone knelt and bowed in worship. Then one commoner after another knelt down. At this moment, everyone believed that Su Zhe was the River God reincarnated, specially sent to protect the people. He possessed divinity! … Su Zhe stood atop the giant yuan's back. But at this moment, the Creation Immortal Cauldron began to tremble.

"This is… the Sixth Immortal Aperture!"

"That's right. Earlier, I placed all the materials for the Sixth Immortal Aperture into the Creation Immortal Cauldron."

"The only condition missing was for me to step into Fourth Rank. Now that I've reached Fourth Rank, how could the Creation Immortal Cauldron's Sixth Immortal Aperture not open?" Su Zhe understood the cause and effect. Boom! The Creation Immortal Cauldron hovered in the void, divine radiance shining brilliantly. The patterns on its surface seemed to contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.

It breathed out five-colored rosy light, dazzling and resplendent, like divine rainbows weaving together and thousands of auspicious rays blooming. Wherever the light reached, the void trembled, as if the faint sound of the Great Dao echoed within it. Clouds and mist curled around it. Spirit birds flew. Auspicious beasts galloped. It was like an immortal realm. Suddenly, the Immortal Cauldron's light flared, and a sixth groove slowly appeared on its surface. The Sixth Immortal Aperture—opened!