After the Immortal Disappeared

The horse was at a full gallop when he suddenly yanked the reins, twisting its head to one side. It wasn’t some fine steed, just an ordinary draft horse, completely unaccustomed to even carrying a rider. It instantly lost its balance and, with a loud NEIGH, slid out and fell.

Or, to put it another way, he had basically forced it into a slide tackle.

The riders were suddenly brought low, thrown from the saddle and sent scraping across the ground. The dark shadow’s target had suddenly vanished. Its momentum carried it onward through the air, but it extended a long, thin, snake-like object, striking straight for Hee Chunhua.

If it hit, the victim would surely meet a gruesome end.

It turned out the mastermind wanted to kill both targets, having arranged deadly attacks for Ke Jihai and Hee Chunhua respectively.

However, Mr. and Mrs. Hee used the momentum of the fall to roll into the forest. At its closest, the snake-like object was less than a foot from Hee Chunhua’s face, but the distance between them quickly grew.

Madam Ying let out a scream.

Though Hee Chunhua had held her in his arms during the fall, he couldn’t fully protect her as they tumbled. A branch had pierced clean through her calf.

The dark shadow landed and bounced, so lightly it seemed weightless. It spun around and went after Hee Chunhua again, completely ignoring everyone else.

In that brief pause, everyone finally got a clear look at it.

"Is that... a Werewolf? A leopard-man?" Hee Lingchuan was shocked. He never expected the classic werewolf from the movies of his previous world to be recreated here.

Well, it was mostly similar, at least.

Its head was like a wolf’s, but with a shorter snout and a wider face. The four fangs, two up and two down, were particularly impressive. Its body was humanoid—slender and long—but its knees bent backward like a leopard’s hind legs.

The strangest part was its tail. It grew directly from the back of its head and was as long as its body, but it was nothing like the fluffy tail of a typical wolf. It was long and thin like a whip, its tip glinting sharply.

The snake-like object that had just attacked Hee Chunhua was this very tail.

When standing, this thing could swing its paws and punch like a human; on all fours, it could run as fast as a tiger or leopard.

Now, it dug its two front claws into the ground, whipping its body in an arc to correct its direction, and charged forward again!

Its speed was like an arrow loosed from a bow, its path nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye.

However, the moment Hee Lingchuan saw it pounce from behind the rock, he had already snatched out the Broken Blade and thrown it like a Flying Blade.

In this moment of life and death, it was time to test the fruits of his labor.

For the past half a month, he had been diligently practicing the Flying Blade, not slacking off for a single day. Even while sailing on the Hongchuan River, the mast had served as his best target.

Throwing it thousands of times every day without fail—even a fool would have shown some improvement, let alone Hee Lingchuan.

He had even anticipated the angle, aiming for where the monster would land.

In that instant, he centered himself, clearing his mind of all other thoughts. He threw the blade with his entire being.

And the blade didn’t disappoint. The Broken Blade followed his intended trajectory perfectly, without the slightest deviation.

It was probably the most perfect throw he had made in over half a month of practice. The force, trajectory, and angle were all flawless.

Hee Lingchuan held his breath, watching the Broken Blade glint coldly as it shot toward the monster, and then—

It missed.

Missed!

The monster changed direction at the last second. His prediction, his plan—all for nothing.

Hee Lingchuan choked on the breath he was holding, so frustrated he could have spat blood.

’Half a month of effort, all for nothing!’

Fortunately, in the nick of time, the Broken Blade’s miraculous auto-navigation ability came to the rescue once more. It made a sharp turn in mid-air. Though the distance was short and the angle of the turn was small, it managed to lodge itself right in the monster’s shoulder joint!

It had been using that very arm as a pivot to turn. Unexpected, intense pain suddenly exploded in the joint. The monster roared, lost its footing, and went flying sideways, its face scraping the ground. It nearly crashed into Hee Yue’s horse.

Hee Yue reined in his horse and hastily began to form hand seals and chant.

His Cultivation was mediocre, and though he knew a few Spells, he was usually reluctant to show them off in front of his older brother. But the Hee Family was in a life-or-death situation. He had to contribute whatever strength he had; he couldn’t shy away from the fight.

"Father, Primordial Power!" Hee Lingchuan spurred his horse frantically, overtaking the commoner boy ahead of him and rushing to the edge of the woods. Before the horse had even regained its footing, he leaped off, Saber Qi flaring like a rainbow as he slashed down at the monster’s face!

The tables had turned. Now it was his turn to attack from a superior position.

After being thrown from his horse, Hee Chunhua scrambled to his feet. With no time to check on his wife, he took out a yuan coin, brandished it toward Hee Lingchuan, and shouted urgently, "I hereby grant Hee Lingchuan a boost of Primordial Power!"

In the dim light, the Cyan Kite on the copper coin seemed to stir.

He was an official appointed by the Royal Court, a high-ranking dignitary in charge of the military and administration of Xiazhou, and he held immense prestige within the Supporting Army. Although the army was not present, the convergence of the people’s will and the nation’s fortune was enough to generate Primordial Power!

A brilliant light erupted from Hee Lingchuan’s body.

He already held a rank in the Supporting Army, and with the temporary boost from Hee Chunhua, his own Primordial Power suddenly swelled to abundance.

Just then, a heaven-shaking roar echoed from nearby!

It was the Violent Ape.

Then, the commoner boy’s voice rang out, filled with delighted surprise, "It’s General Ke! General Ke is still alive!"

Earlier, Ke Jihai had been in the rear carriage when he heard Hee Lingchuan’s shout of "Ambush!" His heart had tightened, and then he witnessed the massive boulder come crashing down.

An enemy attack wouldn’t just stop there, so Ke Jihai leaped out of the carriage window without a second thought—specifically, on the side closest to the cliff.

One of his attendants followed him without a moment’s hesitation.

This side hung over open air, making an attack from there highly unlikely. Using the carriage as cover, he crouched by the cliff’s edge, putting himself in a blind spot. Whether the enemy shot arrows, threw rocks, or set fires, he would remain composed.

Having been a soldier for many years and survived no fewer than seven ambushes, he had long since developed an instinct for avoiding danger. His body often reacted before his mind.

But he had still underestimated his opponent.

The attacker was a raging, giant beast that dismantled the carriage without a second thought. If he had jumped from the window a breath later, he would have ended up like the subordinate who didn’t make it out—crushed to a pulp without so much as a whimper.

Fortunately, the carriage lantern had long been extinguished, and the light was dim. He and the other attendant lay prone at the cliff’s edge, and the Giant Ape failed to notice them.

The moment the Giant Ape tossed the carriage aside, leaving its chest wide open, Ke Jihai leaped up. A Long Spear materialized in his hand, and with a SWISH, he thrust it toward the Giant Ape’s chest!

As he jumped, he no longer concealed his power. A brilliant orange light erupted around him as he mobilized all of his Primordial Power for a single, furious strike!

He was the General of Cavalry, one of the Monarch’s most trusted Grand Generals; the Rebel Suppression General in whom the people placed great hope; and the commander of over a hundred thousand Elites of the Official Army. The purity and strength of the Primordial Power he wielded were far beyond anything Hee Chunhua could match.

Combined with his own formidable combat prowess and amplified by Primordial Power, this strike pierced the air so fast that the spearhead had already penetrated the Giant Ape’s chest before the sound of its passage could even register!

One man and one spear had actually knocked the massive Ape Demon back twenty feet, nearly causing it to stumble and fall.

His attendant wasted no time. He took out a Whistling Arrow and fired it into the air. The specially made arrowhead soared into the sky with a sharp whistle, exploding in a shower of sparks.

Ke Jihai could not bring his main army into the capital, so he had brought only a dozen or so Elites as his retinue. Tonight, for the Zhu Family’s banquet, Ke Jihai had gone up the mountain, while his men waited at the post station at its foot.

The sound of the Whistling Arrow, as shrill as a wailing ghost, was a signal to Ke Jihai’s men:

*The General is under attack! Reinforcements, now!*

The Giant Ape clutched its chest, grabbed the Long Spear, and violently pulled it out. Its other hand, as large as a millstone, swept out to grab Ke Jihai.

If that hand connected, it would squeeze a man into pulp.

Ke Jihai didn’t even try to dodge. Twisting the red-glowing spear tip, he thrust it toward the Giant Ape’s palm.

This spear was designed for mounted combat. At ten feet long, it was perfectly suited for dealing with a tall, long-limbed monster like this. However, it was a great test of its master’s skill to wield it with such proficiency on foot.

The Giant Ape had learned its lesson and had no desire to have its palm skewered. It leaped back, snapped a tree trunk as thick as a man’s embrace, and swung it at Ke Jihai like a club.

Its every move was surprisingly methodical, not just an application of brute force.

Nearby, the commoner boy and the two grooms watched, dumbfounded.

Ke Jihai was not a tall man, and he seemed even smaller standing before the Giant Ape. But as the fight wore on, his courage only grew. After more than a dozen exchanges, he had forced his opponent to retreat step by step.

This included numerous direct clashes between his Long Spear and the tree trunk, and surprisingly, he had the upper hand!

Several of the Giant Ape’s vicious roars had the effect of a Lion’s Roar. Even the three onlookers, standing at a distance, felt dizzy and nauseous from the sonic force. Yet Ke Jihai, facing the ape directly, didn’t even blink, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

But the onlookers understood that this was likely due to Primordial Power. For a high-ranking Commander-in-Chief like Ke Jihai, the dense Primordial Power he commanded not only enhanced his own Martial Arts and Body Techniques, but also had a powerful suppressive effect on an enemy’s Divine Techniques and Demon Techniques.

The specific thresholds for strength, weakness, and influence in this interaction were determined by the rules of the Celestial Dao. To put it simply, however, if an enemy was not protected by Primordial Power, or if their Primordial Power was weaker than Ke Jihai’s, they were bound to suffer a great disadvantage.

This was the fundamental reason why the Human Kingdoms were able to suppress the Demon Race and continue to thrive.

The Giant Ape’s roar could normally terrify its enemies, but it was ultimately fueled by Demon Power—one of its Innate Divine Techniques—and was therefore suppressed by Ke Jihai’s Primordial Power.

Of its full effect, perhaps less than twenty percent even reached his ears.

With just that, how could it possibly intimidate a fierce general who had dominated battlefields for over a decade?

Others might not have known, but Ke Jihai himself was having some doubts.

’That earlier spear thrust to the Giant Ape’s chest was a full-power strike. It would have run an elephant straight through. So how could this Giant Ape pull out the spearhead and still be able to fight?’

’This creature’s Bone Armor is surprisingly hard. It’s not just for show. Could it be the latest military equipment from the Northern Demon Kingdom?’

’No, it seems to have grown from its own body.’

Furthermore, Ke Jihai was certain that after piercing the Bone Armor, the spearhead had only penetrated the creature’s chest by a finger’s depth. For an Ape Demon of this size, it was far from a heart-piercing blow.

’This Demon’s body is unexpectedly tough. Even a spear strike infused with Primordial Power can’t kill it?’

A glint appeared in Ke Jihai’s eyes. Seizing an opportunity, he threw out three Iron Thorns. They all struck the Giant Ape’s body—one on its front leg, two on its back.

The Iron Thorns themselves were ordinary, but they were infused with Primordial Power. Lodged in the Giant Ape’s body, they further suppressed its Demon Power.

With this, the Giant Ape’s body even began to visibly shrink.