22 The Battle Between Man and Beast 2

The pressure in the air rose sharply, as one man and one beast were locked in a momentary standoff. Their essence powers quickly rose causing the environment to become blanketed by curtains of energies.

"URRROOOGGHH!"

Following a loud roar, the Golden Furred Ape King soon began to contract his massive amounts of energy causing his body to start transforming. It reshaped into a slenderer figure with a more compact muscular structure. The hair that grew on top of his head lengthened at an alarming rate, becoming a dozen meters tall, flowing about in the air due to the rampant energies. Finally, his facial structure began to change giving himself a look similar to that of a fierce middle-aged man, with a hard-looking face, a broad forehead, and sharp eyes.

As his essence-energies began to finish condensing, a new vague kind of energy began to emit from his body. It was as if this energy had a life of its own. It flowed around his body in small amounts which caused his golden hairy skin to shine with a metallic hue.

"HAHAHA! Human! Witness my Ultimate Battle Form! Not only does it increase my speed to unmatchable degrees. My Innate Strength has been boosted with hints of aura. Today is the day of your death silly humanity!!" The Golden Furred Ape King said with an excited expression. After which, he positioned himself into running posture with both arms on the ground.

As Feng Yu watched that scene, his gaze became more solemn as he looked on with his golden eyes, with scarlet-golden hair flowing through a significant amount of wind. He gathered his sacred flames essence-energies as he gripped the handle of black lightning.

Clank!

"Condensing Aura Energy. To think you could promote your strength to such a degree when assuming such a form. No matter, even if you were to become a Tier 2 Essence Beast, I'd still be able to send you to hell!!" After gripping his sword, Feng Yu assumed Guard Stance of the Foundation Sword Tactics with one leg in front of the other, and both his hands holding the sword upright close to his chest.

"DIE!" The Golden Furred Ape King yelled.

Whoosh! With a burst of energy, the Golden Furred Ape King abruptly vanished, leaving not even a trail in the air. It instantly appeared behind Feng Yu with its left hand stretched out as if locking onto its target. It pulled its right arm behind its head as it clenched its palm into a fist firmly, while its body assumed a position similar to that of the arc of a bow.

"KONG BREAKER FIST!" roared the Golden Furred Ape King!

A dreadful feeling of crisis shrouded Feng Yu, but he remained calm and gathered his breathing pushing his soul power to the maximum. Soon, the world became slow through his eyes and the attack of the Golden Furred Ape King, that was originally blinding and impossible to see, became the speed of an elderly person attacking.

Shiiiiinnnnngggggg!

With a movement of his sword, its cry resounded as it transformed into a line that abruptly came to the point between the ape king's fingers.

BAANNGGGG!

Their clash caused a shockwave of energies to scatter, destroying everything that the wave of energy passed over, creating a leveled section of land. If one carefully looked at the terrain that was cleared; a vague diagram could be seen on the ground.

This diagram spanned an area of 900 meters and only if one was to travel to the summits of the sky, would he be able to notice that this diagram was but apart from an even more complicated and extensive picture that trailed all the way to the depths of Tydol Mountain Range.

Seeing that Feng Yu was able to resist his strike, the Golden Furred Ape King was shocked. He gripped his fists tightly and shouted, "Such an incredible defensive sword skill! But, I don't believe that I can't break you! Once more!"

Feng Yu's expression was solemn, he looked at his hands holding the sword and noticed that they were trembling nonstop, "His strength has increased by an alarming amount, I can't face his blows directly. I'll have to try and use his strength against him."

In a split second, both of their forms vanished as Feng Yu utilized his <Lightning Flash Steps> to even the odds against the Golden Furred Ape King's speed. The Golden Furred Ape King's Battle Form was not just for show.

Soon, he appeared at the flank of Feng Yu catching him off guard once more. His eyes glowed brightly in a golden tone as his fierce and ruthless expression intensified.

With a shout, the Golden Furred Ape King roared with all his might, "HEAVEN SHROUDING KONG FISTS!"

Phantoms of gigantic fist shades soon blanked the sky and area which Feng Yu occupied, leaving no room for any form of escape. Seeing the Technique that Golden Furred Ape King unleashed, Feng Yu's fighting spirit couldn't help but rise. Despite this being a life and death battle between two enemies, he had to admit that the Golden Furred Ape King was a truly worthy opponent.

In an Instant, Feng Yu's eyes became emotionless and indifferent. The approaching fist shades seemed to have slowed down once again as he wielded Black-lightning in a strange posture as if reverting to the form a mantis.

"Sword Foundation Tactics: Control Stance - Blurry Mantis Swords!" shouted Feng Yu.

Whoosh! With a flick of his body, his form soon became blurry after which a series of slashes soon followed in succession.

Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!

Each movement of the sword was elusive and unpredictable as it transformed into beams of light parrying each of the Golden Furred Ape King's blows unusually. The tip of the sword collided with the surface of each punch after which it would then direct the punches towards a different direction as if a gentle elder is instructing a child on how to eat by guiding him through moving his arms.

The remaining forces of these blows were then redirected towards the terrain below both combatants, which caused even more destruction to spread across the previously leveled ground, creating craters upon craters of deep fist imprints.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Soon, however, dozens of figures started to appear near the outskirts of the vicinity as they placed themselves on tall trees, remote hills, and boulders to observe the scene before them.

"Ah! Using softness to overcome hardness. Such a talented Genius of the Sword. I wonder which Family Clan he's from." A middle-aged figure let out a slight exclamation in response to the Sword Technique and control shown by Feng Yu.

A slim and greedy looking figure soon arrived. After observing the area for a bit, the individual then focused his gaze on the battle before him and asked, "Hmmm, where is the treasure? Could it be that one of them has taken already it?"

Observing more firmly he noticed what the man was fighting, and instantly he became filled with shock. He exclaimed, "A GOLDEN FURRED APE KING IN BATTLE FORM! HOW CAN THIS BE?!"

"What! How could that be? You're talking non----" another said but soon noticed.

"Wait! It's real but isn't that kid emitting an essence level of the 8 Tier of Body Training realm? How could he be facing a 9 Star Variant Essence Beast that has assumed Battle Form?" He exclaimed.

Swoosh! A youth appeared, standing on top of a tree shouldering a quiver with a bow on his back as he looked towards the battle scene in surprise.

"Hmmm, such incredible power. Who could this guy be with such low cultivation yet capable of taking on a variant essence beast of this standard? Strange, why does he give me a familiar feeling?" Hui Ying felt puzzled and interested at the same time as he observed their battle, but as if sensing something, he glanced behind far into the distance noticing the appearance of few men in cloaks.

After each of the men assumed a trained formation that surrounded a figure within its center. The man that stood at the head of the formation soon turned around after observing the situation for a bit and bowed politely to the figure at the center.

"Young Master, apart from the two powerful beings fighting, there is no sign of any treasures within the vicinity. Subordinate assumes that one of those beings has already harvested the result which led to their current conflict."

Crackle!

While cracking his knuckles, the figure that was standing in the center of the formation cursed, "Chet! I will not leave here without any harvest. Even though those two are strong there will come a point when both will be exhausted. We will make use of that chance to kill them and search for their treasures."

"Young Master, the two beings' fighting are not of the same race. One is a human, and the other is a variant essence beast, Golden Furred Ape King. There would be no treasures to find even if we successfully manage to kill them." the subordinate soon advised.

"What do you know? The variant essence beast blood can be used to concoct potions even if it doesn't have any treasures. Now, enough talking! Get moving and keep your eyes open. Be ready to attack at a moment's chance!" He barked orders as he flicked his sleeves while observing the vague scene from a distance.

"Understood!" A few of the figures surrounding him soon disappeared into thin air rushing closer to the proximity of the battle.

Hui Ying began to ponder, "So the top clans have gathered even such a group here in this forest. I wonder what they are planning."

BOOOM!

Following a loud explosion, he no longer continued to pay any attention to them and began observing the battle once again.

A fog of dust clouded the region for hundreds of meters. After a short period, the mist began to clear, revealing the sight underneath being that of pure destruction and havoc. Craters upon craters were formed with broken trees, and massive boulders scattered across the ground. One crater was so deep, that even the very scene inside became different as if connecting to another world. A strange and nefarious fog flowed out from that area, and an odd untraceable aura soon filled the surroundings.

Feng Yu felt strange, beads of sweat began to roll across his forehead, and he began to pant heavily. A feeling of immense danger overtook his consciousness, and the blood within his body began to boil as if warning him of an unstoppable threat that could not be avoided.

Seeing his opponent's pale face and poor condition, the Golden Furred Ape King became more excited as it had a feeling that victory was now in its grasps. It gathered its aura and vanished appearing at the highest reaches of the sky and glanced down at Feng Yu with a smirk on its face.

"HMPH! FEELING REGRET NOW HUMANITY! WELL, IT'S TOO LATE! PREPARE TO MEET YOUR DOOM!"

"HEAVEN BREAKING KONG PALM!" He roared at the top of his voice pushing all the energies it had into its ultimate attack.

Swwiiiiiii! A massive palm appeared covering an area of 80 meters. It blanketed the region as it traveled downwards with an alarming momentum threatening to destroy everything in its path.

"Not good! I can't let this unknown feeling block my concentration; I need to finish the fight quickly!" Feng Yu said to himself while using his soul strength to force himself into a calm, serene state of mind. He then channeled all of the sacred flames essence-energies into his sword, his eyes began to shine with a fiery glow while radiating a sacred prestige.

"Sword Foundation Tactics: Attack Stance - Blazing Sword Wave!" He roared at the top of his voice while transforming into a beam of scarlet-golden sword light that rushed towards the large palm rushing down from the heavens and slashed downwards with all his might.

Shiiiinnggggg! The beam of sword light instantly traversed the remaining distance and like a knight cutting through tofu, it split apart the palm continuing its strike without decreasing its momentum.

Sensing what might be behind the beam of light before him, the Golden Furred Ape King began to panic, "Oh Shit! What kind of sword technique is this? I have to prevent it at all cost! Block for me!" He reached out his left hand to block and redirect the sword beam that was threatening to cut him apart. From the center of his body, a golden metal gleamed coming from his arm.

Pucchi!

However, the struggle was futile as the sound of flesh being sliced apart resounded through the region, as the most terrible looking metallic left arm fell towards the ground, following which showers of blood began to spurt from the remaining piece of the upper arm still connected to the Golden Furred Ape King's body.

Vaguely, a red line started to slowly draw itself from the center of his chest all the way towards its left eye, leaving a massive wound that spewed blood nonstop.

"ARGH! YOU BASTARD!" Gripping its remaining left arm with its right hand and forcing its body's muscles to control the bleeding coming from his chest to the left section of his face, the Golden Furred Ape King roared in anger as well as pain.

After falling back to the ground and standing on top of a large boulder, Feng Yu observed the scene while feeling bitter inside, "This Damn Ape!! How could its vitality be so strong? Sigh, my energy is almost drained, but I should be able to make one more attack. Let's see if you survive one more of this move!"

Just as he was about to channel his remaining energy to make one more final attack, the earth below him began to shake.

RUMBLE!

The observing individuals soon became shocked once more as the ground started to shake even in the remote vicinities.

"What's going on? Why is the earth-shaking to this degree?" a puzzled figure asked.

"How can there be an earthquake in Mount Tydol? This has never happened before!" another said.

"Could it be that the treasure is about to appear?!" A figure said excitedly.

Hearing this last statement, the practitioners in the area soon began to get excited. A rush of greed soon overcame the fear in their hearts.

Feng Yu fell into a dark state. His mind vanished from the present and appeared deep within his bloodline as if he was transferred into a different age, time, and space. Soon, a voice that was soft yet different rang in the air, as if it carried all the coldness in the universe and was threatening to freeze everything for all eternity putting it all to a stop.

"Are... you... my... kin?!"

"KIN! KIN! KIN!"

The voice echoed from his consciousness to the outside world covering the vast mountain range shrouding it with an oppressive aura, and the world descended into darkness.