Chapter 268: Lack of Final Effort
For this Merchant Ship to be able to have two peak Martial Saints, they had to be a pretty big group.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The two strands of surging sword Qi struck the waterspout and gave off a loud sound. A huge wave appeared on the water’s surface and the merchant ship bobbed up and down before slowing to a stop.
After the sword Qi struck the two hundred meter tall waterspout, the waterspout’s might and speed was decreased significantly. However, it did not vanish completely. Like before, it headed towards the merchant ship steadily.
Xiao Chen watched the approaching waterspout as he thought very quickly. In the end, he decided to make a move. The first reason was to prove the true strength of his physical body to himself. The second was to save himself.
After he had made up his mind, Xiao Chen pushed his feet off the deck and moved in a purple arc, heading for the waterspout.
All the bones in his body crackled as he frantically circulated the Dragon and Tiger Body Sculpting Art. His body was giving off a faint golden glow. A golden tiger was circulating him continuously.
“Fierce Tiger Leaving the Mountains!”
Xiao Chen shouted, like a tiger roar echoing in the mountains and rivers. Suddenly, his aura soared to its peak state. The illusion of the tiger merged into his fist as he struck the towering waterspout violently.
“Bang!”
The surging waterspout was stopped for an instant by this punch. The huge rebound force caused Xiao Chen to fly back more than ten meters.
“Again!”
Xiao Chen laughed and bounced out of the water the instant he landed into it. After that, he sent punch after punch at the waterspout.
As Xiao Chen punched out, waves appeared in the surrounding water’s surface. There was a continuous rumbling sound as the river water churned in the air.
Water was tossed up and fell like there was a heavy rain; Xiao Chen’s clothes were completely wet. However, there was a delighted expression on his face.
Despite everyone’s shocked gazes, the waterspout created by the Black Tuna Whale was prevented from moving forward by Xiao Chen’s punches before slowly disappearing.
The waterspout turned into water that filled the sky and fell onto the deck like rain.
“Hu chi! Hu chi!”
Suddenly, countless weird fish leaped out of the river that had been calmed down with great difficulty, heading towards Xiao Chen. The mouths of the fish were open, their sharp teeth gleaming with a cold light under the sunlight.
“Pa!”
Xiao Chen punched out and the weird fish that crashed into it turned into a spatter of blood falling back into the river. The weapons of those cultivators were unable to kill these fish earlier, yet Xiao Chen punched them to death with his fist.
The cultivators on the deck were astonished, and they said, “What a strong physical body. We misjudged him earlier, just based on his physical body, he already has the combat prowess of a peak Inferior Grade Martial Saint.”
“I wonder how his Martial Techniques are and what his cultivation of Essence is like. If it is as strong as his physical body, in terms of pure combat prowess, a regular Superior Grade Martial Saint would not be a match for him. Only a peak Marital Saint would be able to go against him.”
“Even so, he only has a slight advantage now. When he reaches Martial King, if he does not give up on tempering the body, he might never advance further forever.”
The cultivators on the deck were all discussing about the strength that Xiao Chen displayed. They did not expect Xiao Chen’s physical body to be so strong.
Back on the merchant ship, the two old men who sent out the sword Qi jumped down from the ship. They each sent out another sword Qi and killed all the weird fish that leaped into the air.
The weird fish in the surrounding did not dare to swim near, and they fled far away.
Xiao Chen noticed the sword Qi fired out by them had an intense light. They were more solid than regular sword Qi. It was clear they were very refined.
It was once said that when a person loses all hope of advancing to Martial King, they would refine their Martial Techniques and sword Qi to their peak in order to raise their combat prowess.
Although these people could not advance to Martial King, a regular Inferior Grade Martial King could not let their guard down when facing them.
It seemed like these two old men had similar circumstances. The might of their sword Qi had probably already reached the limits of a Martial Saint.
“Little brother, are you interested in joining hands with us to kill this Black Tuna Whale? Our association will be very grateful.” one of the old men suggested.
The other old man said, “Actually, the strength of the Black Tuna Whale is only barely equivalent to a peak Martial Saint. Their combat strength soars significantly only when they are underwater. That is why they are categorized as a peak Rank 6 Spirit Beast.”
Xiao Chen was of the same opinion as well. The strength of a Rank 6 Spirit Beast was very different from a Rank 6 Demonic Beast. This Black Tuna Whale did not seem to be stronger than the early Rank 6 Scarlet Demonic Snake.
Back then, Yun Kexin and the others were able to kill the Scarlet Demonic Snake. Now that there were two peak Superior Grade Martial Saint, it was possible for them to kill this Black Tuna Whale.
Xiao Chen nodded and said, “Sure!”
When the two old men saw Xiao Chen nod in agreement, they immediately revealed gratified expressions. They had seen Xiao Chen’s strength for themselves earlier. With his assistance, they had a greater chance of dealing with the Black Tuna Whale.
The three of them executed their Movement Techniques and moved quickly on the water, heading toward the Black Tuna Whale in front.
When they were near, Xiao Chen finally saw the Black Tuna Whale’s appearance clearly. The part that was above the water was more than a hundred meters. There were rows of black spikes protruding out from its back.
Before the three of them got near, a huge whirlpool appeared in the water below them. The huge force immediately sucked the three of them to the bottom of the river.
The force from the whirlpool was very strong, and the three of them were unable to resist. They were dragged to the deepest parts in an instant and their bodies were spun around.
As Xiao Chen was caught off guard, he swallowed a few mouthfuls of water. He closed his eyes and tried to maintain his calm. Then, he slowly circulated his Essence, letting his body get used to the spinning.
The other two old men had more experience than Xiao Chen. When this happened, they did not panic at all. They simply circulated their Essence and recycled the air within them as they looked for a way to escape.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen felt a dangerous aura. When he opened his eyes, he saw a huge open mouth.
The whirlpool was bringing the three of them into that huge mouth rapidly. Once the mouth was closed, the Black Tuna Whale would be able to swallow the three of them.
Lonely Peak's Fatal Blow!
Xiao Chen shouted in his heart. He drew his saber and the illusion of a mountain indistinctly appeared behind him. In the next instant, it merged into his body.
Xiao Chen instantly became like a mountain, weighing as heavy as one. He was able to escape the pull of the whirlpool instantly and sank toward the bottom.
“Bang!”
When Xiao Chen’s feet touched the river bottom, an intense energy was released and pushed away all the water. His surroundings temporarily became empty, all the river water was forced away.
The Black Tune Whale’s whirlpool was instantly neutralized. The two old men immediately escaped and sent out a wave of sword Qi each at the Black Tuna Whale.
The sharp sword Qi cut through the resistance of the river water like it was an arrow. Soon, it arrived at the back of the Black Tuna Whale and created two wounds.
Sword Qi was launched incessantly, separating the river water apart as they flew toward the water’s surface.
Everywhere within one meter of Xiao Chen was already empty. He took a deep breath and pushed his feet off the bottom, leaping back to the surface and heading for the Black Tuna Whale.
If Xiao Chen continued to stay where he was, when the water came back, the force pushing the water away would rebound back and hit him with a force multiple times stronger.
Even if he had a strong physical body, he would not be able to withstand it.
Occasionally, a pillar of water rushing to the sky would appear on the calm river. The huge merchant ship was rocking non-stop on the water’s surface. The crowd was not able to see the situation underwater. They could only feel anxious over the intense battle taking place. They did not know what they could do.
Suddenly, blood appeared in the clean river water. The crowd exclaimed, “That’s a lot of blood. I wonder whose it is.”
“This Black Tuna Whale is not stupid either. It dragged the three of them to the bottom from the very start. Fighting underwater so long is not advantageous to the three of them!”
“Indeed. In terms of strength, three peak Martial Saints should have a fifty percent chance of victory when fighting a peak Rank 6 Spirit Beast. However, they are now underwater. Their odds of victory are now only forty percent.”
“How about we go down and help them? If they die, the Black Tuna Whale will not let us off for sure.”
“We can do that. You go first, I will follow after you.”
“Why don’t you go first instead of asking me to go. Let’s go together.”
The crowd argued about whether to go down and help. However, after arguing for a long time, no one dared to go down. These people were only ordinary Inferior Grade Martial Saints. There were even many who were peak Martial Grade Masters. They simply did not have the guts to go down.
Most of the people were actually hoping both sides would be taken out at the same time. This would be the best conclusion for them. Since they would not have to make a move and the danger would pass.
Within the crowd, Liu Suifeng had a very anxious expression. However, he was afraid that if he went down, he would be causing trouble for Xiao Chen. All he could do was keep hesitating, switching between decisions every so often.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Suddenly, there were three loud sounds coming from the water. It was Xiao Chen and the other two old men bursting out of the water’s surface. There was a black dot swimming away from them quickly. As it moved, it left a trail of blood everywhere it passed.
The three of them had fought a big battle in the water. Although they had injured the Black Tuna Whale, they could not do anything to stop it from fleeing. They could only leave things be.
“Many thanks for this little friend’s help.” One of the old men cupped his hands and said to Xiao Chen, speaking very respectfully.
This was how the world of cultivators was. As long as one had similar strength, regardless of age, the other people would treat you with respect. This person had seen Xiao Chen’s strength for himself at the bottom, hence, his tone was much more respectful than earlier.
Xiao Chen smiled and said, “It is just out of convenience. I wanted to polish up my Martial Techniques.”
The other old man laughed and said, “Haha! This little friend is too polite. Regardless of the reason, you have done our association a big favor. The captain will come and thank you later.”
After the two old men spoke, they leaped back to the bow, letting the captain know that the danger had passed and that they could continue their journey.
As Xiao Chen watched the disappearing Black Tuna Whale, he felt it was somewhat unfortunate. If he really wanted to chase after it, Xiao Chen was confident in doing so. However, if it sank into the deep waters, it would be problematic for Xiao Chen to deal with it alone.
It was a waste of time, the gains did not make up for the losses. Just thinking about it was enough.