Chapter 83: Yuan Dasheng versus Meng Chong

In the Lava Immortal Palace, Room Two.

The puppet Meng Chong was wreathed in lightning, shooting toward the Golden-Blood Battle Ape, Da Sheng, like a bolt of thunder.

The instant the two crossed paths, Da Sheng seized that fleeting opening. With a pair of great hands, it caught Meng Chong by the arm and, in one fluid motion, hurled him over its shoulder.

Bang!

Meng Chong slammed onto the floor tiles, his vision spinning wildly.

Then he saw Da Sheng’s broad foot descending toward him, stirring a fierce wind.

Shock surged through Meng Chong’s heart. In his mind he cried, “Thunderbolt Dash!”

Lightning blazed over his body, and he vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, Da Sheng’s right foot came crashing down with brutal force, shattering the tiles beneath it.

Meng Chong pulled away to a distance, spiritual power surging through him, his expression grave.

This was already the second time he had been thrown over Da Sheng’s shoulder.

“A formidable enemy!”

Meng Chong quickly steadied his mind.

Yuan Da Sheng’s attack had missed, and it stood motionless where it was.

The battle settled into a brief stalemate.

Outside the Immortal Palace, Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged on a cushion in his family’s underground workshop. His eyes were shut tight, his consciousness fully focused, attending with utmost concentration to the fight within the palace.

One side was Meng Chong. The other was Yuan Da Sheng. Both possessed immortal talent.

“Meng Chong’s puppet body is far inferior to Golden-Blood Battle Ape Da Sheng in materials and construction. That severely limits the strength he can bring to bear. But with the immortal talent Thunderbolt Dash, he still poses a tremendous threat. And he is still human; his combat intelligence far surpasses Da Sheng’s spiritual intuition.”

“The advantage of Golden-Blood Battle Ape Da Sheng is that its mechanism body was forged by the Lava Immortal Palace itself. In both material and design, it far exceeds the wooden puppet Meng Chong. Its flaw is that its spirituality is only eighty percent—not a truly living being. In terms of thought and adaptability, it is far less changeable than Meng Chong.”

“According to the Lava Immortal Palace, even eighty percent spirituality should be enough to unleash the immortal talent Bone of Righteousness and Gold of Steel. I wonder what that would look like in actual use.”

Ning Zhuo continually assessed the strength of both sides in his heart.

He attached great importance to this battle.

The outcome would heavily influence his decisions afterward.

“Thunderbolt Dash.”

Meng Chong silently called it in his heart, then suddenly launched himself forward, charging at Golden-Blood Battle Ape Da Sheng for the third time.

He rapidly closed the distance, almost reaching Da Sheng’s face.

When he saw Da Sheng extend both hands, Meng Chong’s spirit lifted, and he unleashed all his strength.

In an instant, lightning exploded across the puppet body, and Meng Chong’s speed surged again.

This was the result of his recent special training.

His vision blurred, and he slipped around behind Yuan Da Sheng.

Success!

Meng Chong rejoiced, raising his hand to strike at Da Sheng’s back.

But the next moment, his legs were yanked, his entire body losing balance at once, and the momentum of his attack collapsed abruptly.

His body tilted sharply, and as he toppled toward the ground, he made out the culprit that had ruined him.

Damn it, the monkey’s tail!

Yuan Da Sheng’s tail, like a rope-whip, had coiled around Meng Chong’s left leg.

Then, with a low growl, Yuan Da Sheng turned, stepped forward, raised its fist high, and smashed it down toward Meng Chong.

Suspended in midair, Meng Chong’s vision went black for an instant. Then he saw Yuan Da Sheng looming down like a mountain, rapidly filling his entire field of view.

The raised fist came crashing down like a falling meteor, splitting the air and dragging out a piercing wind that shook Meng Chong to the core.

“Thunderbolt Dash!”

Meng Chong poured out everything he had and activated his immortal talent.

Lightning burst forth, tearing free of the monkey tail’s grip and restoring his freedom, and he hurriedly evaded.

Bang!

The next instant, Yuan Da Sheng’s fist struck the floor like a steel hammer, smashing the tiles into pieces.

The lightning landed in a corner and dispersed, revealing the puppet Meng Chong.

He looked at Yuan Da Sheng’s fist, nearly embedded in the floor tiles, and could not help drawing in a cold breath. If that blow had landed, his fragile puppet body would undoubtedly have been rendered useless.

Such peril, however, only stirred even greater fighting spirit in him.

“Hahaha!”

He laughed aloud.

“This is a challenge worth having. Now this is fun!”

After that, he was once more shrouded in deep blue lightning and launched another assault.

He continuously drove his own immortal talent, yet never approached Yuan Da Sheng recklessly. He seemed to transform into a streak of lightning, weaving and crossing back and forth through the room.

The lightning moved with astonishing speed, leaving afterimages of thunder in Yuan Da Sheng’s eyes.

As time passed, more and more afterimages of lightning filled the room, interlacing with one another like a vast net, as if they meant to trap Yuan Da Sheng within it.

Seeing this, Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred.

“Meng Chong has withstood the pressure and broken through in combat.”

“He can maintain top speed, and that speed has even surpassed his previous limit by a little.”

“So this is exceptional natural talent.”

Witnessing all this firsthand filled Ning Zhuo with emotion. Indeed, this was the power of immortal talent.

Within Room Three, lightning flashed everywhere, while Yuan Da Sheng stood like an ancient tree, quietly rooted in place.

It could only defend passively.

At Meng Chong’s speed, it could not keep up. Its spirituality told it that the best course was to remain unchanged in the face of shifting circumstances.

Suddenly, a streak of lightning veered and slammed into Yuan Da Sheng.

Yuan Da Sheng raised a hand to block.

With a bang, the impact drove it back a full step.

Meng Chong’s lightning form then rebounded off the wall, quickly regaining the speed it had lost, and once again roamed at large throughout the chamber.

From time to time, Meng Chong would launch surprise attacks. Yuan Da Sheng could not match his speed, and under its passive defense, injuries began to accumulate across its body.

Meng Chong laughed heartily, knowing he had gained the upper hand.

“This mechanical ape is terrifying in close combat!”

“At the very least, it’s a martial arts master. No, more likely a grandmaster.”

“But it can’t keep up with my speed. As long as I can keep dashing like this, I’ll wear it down for sure!”

So he thought, when suddenly his expression changed drastically.

Crackle.

The lightning around his body faltered twice, then became extremely weak.

He exposed a fatal opening.

Almost instantly, Yuan Da Sheng let out a long roar and stepped forward in rapid succession. In just two or three steps, it had charged right up to Meng Chong.

With a shoulder check, Yuan Da Sheng drove straight in. Meng Chong’s condition suddenly plunged, and before he could evade, the blow landed squarely.

Bang.

The puppet Meng Chong was slammed into the wall like a giant shell, and his right leg was knocked cleanly away from his body.

After crashing into the wall, his entire puppet body rebounded forward a short distance.

Just as Meng Chong lifted his head, a fierce gust swept past, and Yuan Da Sheng’s figure descended like a black mountain.

It raised a massive thigh, and its knee, like a steel spike piercing the wind, shot forward with a shriek.

Meng Chong instinctively threw out both hands, crossing them before his chest in defense.

Bang.

The next moment, Yuan Da Sheng smashed through his puppet hands and forearms as if they were dead wood, unstoppable and devastating.

Meng Chong’s chest took a severe blow, half of it shattered, and the tremendous force drove him up into the ceiling.

His back struck the roof violently, bursting into countless cracks.

Meng Chong gritted his teeth inwardly. Beaten so brutally, the fire and fighting spirit in his heart surged to the extreme.

Yet Thunderbolt Dash could not be activated.

He twisted in midair, adjusting his posture until he was upside down. With both feet, he kicked hard against the ceiling and shot away at an angle, seeking to evade Yuan Da Sheng’s follow-up assault.

Yuan Da Sheng remained where it was and watched Meng Chong dart off diagonally.

A distinct rise and fall appeared in its chest, as if it were taking a deep breath.

Its right hand trembled slightly, and the runes engraved within it began to shine.