Chapter 064: More Than Just a Hammer

The Nine Nether Barbaric Ox King was utterly bewildered. He had thought that his side’s lineup would be enough to intimidate the puny human before him, but to his surprise, the opponent was even more belligerent than he was!

Truth be told, the Nine Nether Barbaric Ox King had been nursing a bellyful of anger for a long time. Years ago, he had followed his leader and, by sheer accident, discovered a superlative vein of spiritual stones, intending to settle here, recuperate, and grow strong. But then a human of the Earth Stage arrived; after a fierce struggle, they suffered heavy losses, the leader perished, and he and a few kin barely escaped with their lives. Still, he never stopped watching over this treasure trove, though he could only do so from afar.

“Humans are too detestable!” Now, after countless years, he had grown into a powerful Nine Nether Barbaric Ox King, with numerous descendants. He had waited until the oppressive aura of that Earth Stage expert faded, thinking he could finally return home, only to find a young human had appeared. All his pent-up rage was now poised to be unleashed on this unfortunate human. Crack, crack!

Ten Nine Nether Barbaric Oxen bellowed, swinging their long, unsightly noses, charging at Lin Zhan with formidable momentum. Their powerful, sturdy bodies brought a tidal wave of force.

Lin Zhan swept the white bone tower horizontally, and a series of sharp sounds rang out. The noses struck the tower and bounced aside, as if bells were being struck; the white bone tower resounded with thunderous booms. Each reverberation numbed Lin Zhan’s palms, his arm trembling slightly. These oxen were indeed thick-skinned and tough. Lin Zhan knew that a blow like this with the bone tower would devastate any ordinary Yellow Stage creature, yet these Nine Nether Barbaric Oxen, mere Human Stage Ninth Grade, seemed unfazed. Their giant noses, knocked away, quickly swung back.

Lin Zhan couldn’t quite overcome the oxen’s encirclement, but likewise, the oxen couldn’t harm him. Any that drew near were swiftly knocked away by the bone tower. Lin Zhan’s Wind and Rain Cloud steps rendered his movements graceful and elusive, drifting east and west, often causing the oxen to crowd together in confusion.

So they stalemated for half an hour. The longer Lin Zhan fought, the more spirited he became, using this contest to temper his combat instincts. The spiritual power in his sea of spirit poured endlessly into the bone tower, fueling its strikes. Gradually, the tower radiated a fiery glow, illuminating the blazing lakebed.

Though the Nine Nether Barbaric Oxen were tough, repeated blows from the bone tower began to weaken their attacks. Their fleshy noses were no longer as nimble; some even appeared swollen.

“Crack, crack! Switch out, next group!” The Ox King marshaled his forces, rotating in a fresh group of ten oxen.

“Is this a relay battle?” Lin Zhan was not angry, but delighted. This was exactly what he needed: a prolonged battle to hone himself. That was why he hadn’t summoned the ink-black greatsword—he feared a single swipe might sever all those giant noses.

His fighting spirit soared, and he unleashed his movement techniques to the fullest, channeling the Blazing Flame Art into the bone tower, striking boldly.

“Crack, howl!”
“Crack, whimper!”
This wave of oxen suffered even fiercer blows, emitting all manner of anguished cries.

The Ox King kept swapping out his troops, his massive dark face twisted with anger, his dozens-of-feet-long nose whipping about.

“You useless lot, you’re infuriating this king! Stand aside—let this king deal with this wretched human brat myself!” Finally, after several hours, the Ox King could no longer contain himself and charged in personally.

He was usually patient—otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited for so many years, still fixated on the spiritual stone vein. He’d let his underlings play with Lin Zhan, but faced with Lin Zhan’s relentless power, even his patience was worn thin.

“Heh, I was just waiting for you, you big dumb elephant,” Lin Zhan replied calmly, his face adorned with a warm smile.

“Shut up! The Wu Tribe are descendants of the Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise, the noblest among the Four Divine Spirits. How dare an ignorant junior insult us! Prepare to die!” The Ox King suddenly went berserk, surging forward in a torrent, his colossal dark form bearing down on Lin Zhan.

Lin Zhan was dumbstruck. The Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise were counted alongside the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger as the Four Ancient Divine Beasts. Was this big dumb elephant really their descendant? Surely not! There was nothing regal about him—his face was dominated by a giant nose, ugly to the very soul.

Yet, seeing the Ox King’s fury, as if he’d lost his father, had his wife stolen, and his children kidnapped, it almost seemed plausible. Maybe, just maybe, the so-called descendant was diluted over countless generations, the bloodline of the Four Spirits so faint as to be negligible.

Whether true or not, Lin Zhan felt overwhelmed. First he’d met a mysterious Great Yan Venerable, claiming to hail from the Wild Era, and now a descendant of the Four Spirits, a big dumb elephant—how absurd!

The Ox King charged with force, and Lin Zhan shed his teasing demeanor, focusing intently.

Clang!

Lin Zhan threw a punch, striking the bone tower and shaking a section loose. With a single thought, he infused energy, and the tower swelled to several times its original size, dwarfing even the Ox King.

Lin Zhan leapt lightly to the tower’s pinnacle, standing proud, radiating an aura that could not be ignored.

When the bone tower suddenly expanded, the oxen formation grew restless, some emitting nervous cries, seemingly frightened.

The Ox King, however, pressed on undeterred. His enormous bubble eyes flashed a hint of apprehension, which quickly vanished. His dozens-of-feet-long nose rose high, aiming at Lin Zhan, his massive body like a mountain, poised to embrace the bone tower.

Lin Zhan maneuvered the bone tower backward—not out of fear, but because he had a peculiar idea. The bone tower was not just a hammer; it was a suppressive artifact, meant to absorb opponents and refine them within. Yet Lin Zhan had always wielded it as a club, a pry bar.

If the bone tower had a spirit, it would have spat blood in outrage.

As Lin Zhan retreated, he raised the base of the tower, aligning it with the descending tip of the Ox King’s nose.

He shouted, “Absorb!”

At once, the thick, steaming nose shot into the bone tower.

When most of the nose had been absorbed, Lin Zhan shouted, “Contract!”

The bone tower then abruptly clamped down tightly on the giant nose!

The Ox King’s charging body stumbled, his limbs twitching, mumbling incoherently, “Crack, crack! Dammit, ah, my nose! Pain, pain, pain, crack, crack!”