Chapter 174: Rising Tide

This may be Mao Dongshan's woman's technique, also extremely poisonous; this weapon, under her Yin‑Yang Grind Internal Force augmentation, can erode protective aura and even turn Bai Lang's aura to her own use, but Bai Lang's Golden Bell Shield Divine Skill had already forged his muscles and bones into steel before he ever cultivated aura. After the Yin‑Yang Grind power removed the Golden Bell Shield's protective aura, it no longer could infiltrate Bai Lang's meridians to drain his Internal Force.

Everyone's true Qi is Innate, of the same quality; even though the Yin‑Yang Grind Internal Force is quite marvelous, the Golden Bell Shield is no less. Bai Lang circles Mao Dongshan with his Southern Dipper Sacred Fist; whether fist or palm, each carries fierce force without exception, and Mao Dongshan dares not meet it head‑on. Even her bone whip and long sword refuse to touch Bai Lang's fists and kicks, fearing the fierce force would snap them.

Fighting a peer‑level expert benefits Bai Lang's cultivation. The Yin‑Yang Grind martial art is exceedingly poisonous; its force penetrates everywhere—even breathing draws the force into the lungs, then into the meridians and organs, using the body's Qi to enlarge itself and extinguish vitality. Moreover, in direct combat the art is very robust—highly resilient, able to grind away the opponent's attacks, and even use the opponent's force to counterattack.

Even with great resilience, it still cannot stop Bai Lang's unmatched sharp Southern Dipper Sacred Fist—wind is no longer needed, as it can only aid the Yin‑Yang Grind, while the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist is beyond its reach. Mao Dongshan tried to whirl his force to grind away the power attached to Bai Lang's fist, but the Yin‑Yang Double Fish shattered outright, startling Mao Dongshan.

Bai Lang also felt this could turn bad, because he probably couldn't keep this vicious woman; if she used a superior Lightness Skill to flee, Bai Lang would be helpless. "What do you call this! Can't that baboon give me a superior Lightness Skill?" Bai Lang muttered through clenched teeth, now he could only try to kill the woman outright with brute force.

Pretty? No matter how beautiful, once Bai Lang recalls the children who died because of her, considers how long she has been wicked, and weighs the age range for achieving Innate status, a "pah" echoes in his mind; Bai Lang will never let this woman escape alive—beauty aside, she must die.

Bai Lang activates his cheat mode; he has many cheats on his body, almost enough to become a man with built‑in BGM. He also has a combat‑type Martial God cheat, which makes his martial arts fuse and evolve faster than normal cultivation during fierce fights. Unfortunately, the other side of the Martial God cheat—learning instantly and mastering instantly—is absent. Using the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist, Bai Lang has already shown signs of merging it with the Golden Bell Shield, at least they no longer interfere during use.

The price is that the sharpness originally belonging to the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist is gradually absorbed by the Golden Bell Shield's massive vigor—Bai Lang feels his once‑thin, razor‑sharp swords turning into huge axes, long spears, war hammers, armor‑piercing spikes, losing the frost‑like dazzling edge but gaining a blood‑soaked killing aura. His martial art already favors broad, fierce, powerful strikes, and at that moment it easily overpowered Mao Dongshan's whip and long sword.

Even with weapons, Mao Dongshan cannot withstand Bai Lang's overwhelming force; Bai Lang's bodily strength is hard to break, not something Innate Internal Force can block. Mao Dongshan has already thought of fleeing; although they cannot make this peer expert retreat now, at least they won't be crushed here and can hide later—Innate Experts have no time to stay here just to catch her.

Mao Dongshan knows Bai Lang; he is an Innate Expert from Ji Cheng, a Silver Badge Guard of the Guard Command—or rather a bounty hunter. He has an advantage that he recently broke through to Innate, yet the bounty notice still lists a grade below Innate. From his knowledge of Great Yan officials, they might feign ignorance and only pay that low bounty, and even if he says he will join the Great Yan Government, they may not give him an official post but could still take him in to clean his slate.

To the Great Yan Government, thousands of children are nothing compared to a defection by an Innate Expert… Bai Lang does not think about this; he has no interest in such reasoning and only wants to kill the woman before him. It is certain that once he slays her, if she still has a soul it will be terrible—just look at the drifting ghostly silhouettes and the mournful cries of child spirits.

Even though the bone whip is protected by Yin‑Yang Grind Internal Force, it is already cracked all over; although its bone structure is an abnormal one, tougher than steel, it cannot withstand Bai Lang's repeated strikes. The sword, even earlier, dared not clash head‑on with Bai Lang's fists and kicks—Golden Bell Shield's aura gradually transforms into the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist's aura, adding a sharp, gold‑splitting, jade‑cutting edge to its massive hardness. The sword simply cannot endure collisions—the blade itself is fine, but the spine cannot hold.

Bai Lang's attacks surge wave after wave; each strike forces Mao Dongshan to give his all to disperse and erase it—he cannot block outright, and dodging is difficult; under the flow of qi, a dodge may become a continuous strike. Meanwhile Bai Lang increasingly looks like an Innate Expert: his gestures stir wind and clouds, his force radiates in all directions, clearly showing a "control range" concept. In the area saturated by Bai Lang's Golden Bell Shield Internal Force, a faint golden light appears, driving away all lingering resentment.

This bell grows larger, though its color thins considerably. The tiger pattern on the bell turns into a fierce tiger; its claws and fangs also raise a torrent of ferocious killing aura—but this aura is upright and bright, the most orthodox battle‑formation slaughter aura. The petty vengeful ghostly fury quickly dissipates before such battle‑formation killing aura, and even the little demons controlled by the Yin‑Yang Grind begin to lose control one after another.

Mao Dongshan wants to flee, but Bai Lang's attacks are too fierce to allow an escape for now. At this point they likely have no choice—Innate Experts' martial arts also vary in strength, and currently Bai Lang holds the advantage. The Golden Bell Shield's Internal Force is massive and domineering, truly unfazed by their Yin‑Yang Grind eroding power, and Bai Lang's own physique and strength dominate—such close‑quarters combat ultimately comes down to body and power.

Once Bai Lang secures the advantage, his martial path is to gradually crush, ultimately smashing the opponent with absolute force—at least for now, this approach differs from his usual preferences. He has always been like a tiger or leopard, delivering a full‑power killing blow at the outset; now having to gradually build advantage and then defeat the opponent with an unstoppable momentum feels somewhat unfamiliar.

Anyway, once he fully merges his martial arts he should be able to return to his old ways; for now he'll just kill this woman first—under no circumstances should he let her escape.