Serious Punch VS Stone Ape Strike

Creak, creak.

The muscles across Bai Cangshu’s more-than-three-meter-tall body bulged and knotted, Blood Magic and Khorne’s gift flowing through his flesh and blood.

Deeper within, golden qi had long since begun to boil.

Nearly every movement of each inch of muscle carried physical strength capable of directly shattering an entire city block.

As he struggled, the stone hand gripping him nearly began to crack as well.

Just how strong was Bai Cangshu at this moment? His base strength in his ordinary, unarmed state was close to 60 points. The Solitary Jealousy Flame had already activated, raising all attributes by 7 points. After killing numerous powerful enemies, Scarlet Great Sin: Kill to Feed Kill (Second Stage) had stacked nearly 40 points of bonus strength. Though it lasted only 300 seconds, every kill refreshed its duration.

Thus, Bai Cangshu’s base strength had already approached 100, completely breaking past that threshold with Blood Magic’s enhancement. Then, after the Kirin Armor activated, his fixed strength effectiveness was converted to 3.0. Combined with Four Times Kaio-ken, Bai Cangshu’s actual strength had exceeded 1,200 points.

And it was an inexhaustible 1,200+!

Khorne had granted him nearly limitless endurance so long as he remained in battle. Thus, every one of his attacks could unleash the effect of over 1,200 points of strength.

That was the true reason Bai Cangshu could rampage through a crowd of enemies, killing anyone he touched.

His strength was simply too overwhelming and brutal. Combined with Khorne’s gift, the Authority of Qi and Power, anyone whose strength was not more than twice his own could not win any strength-related contest against him.

Targets weaker than him would directly suffer Khorne’s effect when struck by him, enduring attacks that ignored defense and resistance.

Thus, Bai Cangshu had virtually no opponents who could withstand even a single exchange.

Those first-rate Exterior Landscape experts could only hold out through formidable techniques, predictions, and all sorts of miraculous cultivation arts.

Yet even with this group surrounding Bai Cangshu, it was still an unequal battle.

They could evade countless attacks, but they could not afford a single mistake. Though cultivators of The Perfect World possessed terrifyingly high potential in the later stages—

Not to mention attaining a Dharma Body and becoming a terrestrial immortal, even those in the late Exterior Landscape stage possessed strength capable of attacks spanning cities.

But before attaining a Dharma Body, these people were ultimately still ordinary mortals of flesh and blood. No matter how powerful their body-tempering arts were, they could not withstand such pure strength comparable to that of ancient demons.

Bai Cangshu spread his arms slightly. The Stone Ape clearly had not expected this. The next instant, a strand of golden spiritual light lit up within the Stone Ape’s mountain-sized head before descending onto the right arm holding Bai Cangshu.

Bang!

An utterly indescribable, immense force erupted from that arm.

Bai Cangshu felt completely unable to resist. His muscles twisted in an instant, while his bones were crushed inward toward his chest by the overwhelming force.

Buzz!

Bai Cangshu instantly transformed into a blood-mist-like breeze and vanished from the Stone Ape’s palm.

Son Goku?!

For once, Bai Cangshu broke free from that brutal revelry. It was not that he could not resist that savage will; he simply had not wanted to resist it.

But this enormous Stone Ape hiding beneath the mountain had truly caught Bai Cangshu off guard.

Its appearance was unexpected, and so was its strength.

Electric currents flickered through his mind. Since gaining Instant Regeneration, Bai Cangshu had become accustomed to using this method to stimulate his brain and accelerate his thoughts.

He thought of something almost instantly, before the Satsui no Hado and that brutal will could invade his mind again.

Bai Cangshu directly raised a hand. Crimson qi flared in an instant, aimed precisely in the direction Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang had flown.

Those two were not only the plot protagonists of that great world, but also major figures of the future.

Given the characteristics of the Other Shore realm, which occupied the past, present, and future, Meng Qi—who would become the Primordial Heavenly Venerable in the future—should not possess a weak past.

Then he should not have been able to kill him.

But now…

Bai Cangshu immediately understood what was wrong with this world.

There was a problem with the Other Shore. Or rather, there was a problem with that entire world.

The so-called Celestial Dynasty of the Vault of Heaven was not as simple as he had initially guessed. It was not merely a gathering of powerful plot characters.

Thinking from that angle, he vaguely understood one possible truth behind the Heavenly Dao.

Then the faction to which this Stone Ape belonged was…

Bai Cangshu’s eyes turned scarlet once again, and the light at his fingertips burst forth completely.

The air was pierced through in an instant. Even the monstrous clouds of dust kicked up by the enormous Stone Ape emerging from the mountain were vaporized along with it.

But the Stone Ape’s right arm was incredibly fast, blocking the Dodon Ray almost instantly.

Bang!

An explosion erupted.

Bai Cangshu’s breathing stopped as he felt all the air between heaven and earth turn into a wall in an instant, sweeping over from one direction.

It was an arm even larger than a mountain range. Once fully raised, it was likely already over ten thousand meters long.

Merely sweeping through the air, the destructive shockwave it created had already drained the color from everyone’s faces.

"What exactly… is that…"

Someone muttered to themselves. The mental influence imposed by Moon Demon faded considerably at that moment. Desire and brutality could ultimately not rival the terror brought by death.

And right now, there was also the innate sense of insignificance humans felt when facing something unimaginably huge.

Boom!

Everyone could only feel heaven and earth suddenly shake.

A terrifying roar and violent gale erupted at the same time.

Qi Zhengyan created several strange energies before him, but it was useless. He, Zhang Yuanshan—who had assumed a Taiji sword stance—and Ruan Yushu behind them were all sent flying.

Jiang Zhiwei gripped her long sword, looking in the direction the Young Monk had been sent flying, as well as at that demon so powerful that, in her eyes, it was likely already approaching the level of a grandmaster.

Sword Twenty-Three was ultimately never unleashed. She simply allowed that tremendous force of heaven and earth to blast her away.

She was already vomiting blood in midair, her face pale as gold paper.

The other Exterior Landscape experts and the even weaker members of the Six Paths Squad fared no better, each one blown away in a different direction.

Only Moon Demon instantly transformed into purple demonic qi in an attempt to flee, but it was completely useless. Under the shockwave that seemed to blast away the entire world—

She, Seven Nights Demon Lord, and Qiqi, who had completely transformed into a blood dragon, were all sent flying together.

Only Bai Cangshu, standing at the very front as the true target of the attack, raised a fist and received the blow head-on without moving.

The sound like a giant bell of heaven and earth being struck was the result of his fist colliding with the Stone Ape’s golden-glowing right hand.

Bai Cangshu’s eyes widened. The blood-red color in his pupils and the Satsui no Hado had completely fused with his body, burning like flames. The blood-red radiance on the massive curved horn atop his head began to drip down.

Bathing his entire body.

Bai Cangshu felt as though he were wrapped in lava, warm all over. No, that temperature was far beyond ordinary lava. The instant it touched him, his Blood Magic-enhanced body seemed to melt, releasing white smoke.

Within the white mist, Bai Cangshu’s heart pounded violently. It beat so fast that the Heart of the Thunder Emperor rapidly accumulated electricity beyond its limit, spreading it throughout his body.

Limit Break Spiral activated passively, and Bai Cangshu’s eyes instantly became a riot of colors.

At that moment, Bai Cangshu heard a savage roar arise within his mind.

It was the fury of a high-ranking evil god, unwilling to let the toy in its palm be taken by another power. It was also its resentment at the imminent end of this savage feast.

Bai Cangshu had clearly already thrown his punch, yet his frozen fist began to change out of thin air.

It was as though countless colors and essences began erupting from his fist.

Crackle!

Black lightning burst from his fist, while the long-unseen fire of lava erupted directly from the Stone Ape’s hand.

Conqueror’s Haki had clearly been granted to Parker of the Marvel World by Bai Cangshu through the Authority of Granting and Taking after he made use of the Haki system.

Yet it now appeared from nothing.

The colors in Bai Cangshu’s pupils constantly shifted as he instinctively grasped the very essence of Haki.

It was not acquired through information as a medium, nor was it granted through the Infinite Dimensional Space as an observer.

Rather, Bai Cangshu himself had understood what Haki was at its core. Thus, he mastered Haki, and in an instant, returned to the realm of Conqueror’s Haki Infusion.

And the changes upon Bai Cangshu’s fist had not stopped. As one who craved power more than anyone else, Bai Cangshu instinctively imitated the strongest puncher he had seen before—Saitama.

Qi and fluctuations flowed backward from his frozen fist like tiny flames. Something deeper was emerging within that fist.

Something beyond physical strength, beyond energy, even beyond authority—something deeper, closer to the essence.

Crack!

Clear white fractures appeared in the air on both sides of the Left Arm of the King, just like when Black King Luffy of the One Piece World used the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.

The air had already been shattered by terrifying power, yet it had not erupted.

The last time Bai Cangshu had forcibly imitated the essence of Saitama’s punch, the result had been that he suffered Existential Damage.

That was power completely beyond his current realm.

Yet Bai Cangshu had never been someone who considered consequences. He was a monster who always followed his instincts.

And now, his instincts told him: You can throw that punch.

Then he would… punch!

Buzz!

Behind the Stone Ape, the atmosphere instantly began to dissolve, as if some terrifying force had already struck first.

The Stone Ape had only just risen. It was likely in a half-crouching posture, perhaps resembling the playful stance monkeys favored, with one arm extended before it.

On the Stone Ape’s enormous head, where its eyes should have been, there was only darkness and emptiness. The divine light within seemed to have shifted into its arm.

Yet even now, one could sense something unusual from the Stone Ape’s movements, despite it having no face or expression whatsoever.

Just as every living creature instinctively tensed when facing a threatening enemy.

The Stone Ape now revealed that same state.

Crackle—Bang!

A golden bolt of lightning descended from the sky, colliding across the air with Bai Cangshu’s fist and the increasingly obvious black lightning surrounding his body.

The air exploded, and waves of Shockwaves rippled out, far more terrifying than the gale from before.

This place had become a forbidden zone none could approach.

Tens of thousands of meters away, Meng Qi turned back with a pounding heart. His Golden Bell Shield had been shattered by external force, and he was severely injured. Although he had already taken pills, he would not recover anytime soon.

For once, Gu Xiaosang did not wear that unfathomable smile. Instead, she stood beside Meng Qi and turned back to watch this scene, comparable to a battle between ancient demons.

"Is that… Son Goku…?"

As a transmigrator, Meng Qi instinctively made the same guess upon seeing the Stone Ape.

Gu Xiaosang had no strength to answer. The development of events had also exceeded her expectations. But her mind was quick, her thoughts deeper, and what she knew was far beyond what Meng Qi could compare with.

She immediately realized that the Stone Ape had not awakened because of the battle’s aftershocks.

If it had been awakened solely by the aftershocks, the enraged Stone Ape should have attacked everyone.

But now, the Stone Ape displayed a powerful will to protect.

It was protecting itself, or that Young Monk, or perhaps the two of them!

Considering their special identities, Gu Xiaosang immediately linked this to the major figures behind them.

Was this something those people had left behind, part of their revival?

After her expression changed several times, she suddenly said,

"Not good. The disturbance here is too great. The Heavenly Dao’s scan may activate early!"

Meng Qi’s expression darkened upon hearing this.

At present, the Lord of the Six Paths Reincarnation’s mission was simply impossible to complete.

That reincarnator who seemed to be a Saiyan was far beyond anything they had imagined.

Unlike the powerful enemies they had encountered before, even demons could be defeated by joining forces and finding a way.

But this reincarnator had no weaknesses at all.

Speed beyond everyone, strength beyond everyone, and that healing ability that made him seem impossible to kill…

"Damn it, is he using cheats?!"

Meng Qi spat quietly, with a trace of regret in his expression that it was not him.

Saiyans were powerful, but no one had ever said Saiyans possessed this kind of recovery or defense.

A system completely based on qi should clearly have been countered by this demoness Gu Xiaosang’s Life-Ending Finger.

But…

Meng Qi shook his head, knowing that now was not the time to think about such things.

The Heavenly Dao was an emotionless mechanism that purged all anomalies during its scans.

And these anomalies were not limited to outside intruders such as reincarnators.

Even when Six Paths Squads entered other worlds, they would likewise be treated as anomalies and purged. This was something Six Paths Squads had to be cautious of when operating in most worlds.

Normally, the Lord of the Six Paths Reincarnation arranged missions during the intervals between the Heavenly Dao’s scans, or prepared special safe houses for squads to hide in temporarily.

But this battlefield had almost been flattened.

There could not possibly be any safe zone.

And besides…

Looking at the two monsters still frozen in midair, continuously radiating Shockwaves in every direction, Meng Qi could not imagine how any squad present could win.

Unless…

The next instant, Meng Qi suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body.

He turned around and saw that every cloud in the sky behind him had vanished. The mountains there had been cleared away, yet at that moment, Meng Qi seemed to see a massive character for death appear.

"What exactly is this…"

"Get down!"

He roared, instinctively tackling the demoness beneath him.

Then he heard a hum.

An unmatched fist intent exploded.

Serious Punch!

Boom!