Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 188: Punches That Shatter Armies

In the early morning, still in a state of deep concentration, Chu Tianyu remained leaning against a large rock by the river, closing his eyes as he processed the energy from the moonlight accumulated throughout the night. This time, he clearly felt a difference from before—not only was the speed much faster, but the amount of energy absorbed at once was also significantly greater.

Chu Tianyu guessed that aside from the Xuanqing True Qi he was using, the main factor was undoubtedly his body’s recovery over the past two days. It seemed that the stronger his body became, the greater its capacity to absorb moon energy. With more moon energy absorbed, his body grew stronger, creating a virtuous cycle that allowed his strength to grow at an exponential rate. However, this strength wasn’t based on internal energy or True Qi but rather stemmed purely from his muscles and robust physical structure.

When Chu Tianyu opened his eyes, he could still feel a layer of moon energy surrounding him. But this layer wasn’t leftover from incomplete absorption—it was a glow that naturally emanated from his entire body. At that moment, he felt as though every cell in his muscles was filled with energy, giving him an almost explosive force ready to burst forth.

“Ah~~~” Chu Tianyu couldn’t help but let out a long roar as he pushed himself up with both hands, lightly stepping onto the large rock. Then, with his legs slightly bent, he leaped forward, creating a sound as he landed precisely on the riverbank about ten meters away.

At that moment, Chu Tianyu had no other thoughts except hoping that the wolves that had pursued him for a day and night were still there, giving him a chance to show them off. However, after searching around, he found no trace of the wolves. It was then that he realized that along the way as he drifted down the Yang River, many areas along the riverbanks were completely impassable. Yesterday, he had been too busy swimming and navigating the rapid currents to remember when the wolves stopped chasing him. But one thing was certain—he could still hear their howls in the afternoon, suggesting they were still following him at that time.

Estimating the distance based on this, the place where the wolves stopped pursuing him must be some distance away. It was likely the terrain that forced those persistent wolves to give up on their target. With this thought, Chu Tianyu began to observe his surroundings.

It appeared to be a river gorge here. Chu Tianyu followed the river for a while, feeling surrounded by mountains on all sides—layered peaks and jagged summits. In the distance, several waterfalls cascaded down, some gently, others forcefully. The riverbed was covered with rocks of various sizes and strange shapes, all overgrown with moss over time.

At the same time, Chu Tianyu noticed an old tree not far from him, stretching horizontally across the ground. Its branches and leaves hung down as if preparing a path for him to climb. Moreover, from the dense forest along the riverbank, a faint yet distinct scent wafted out. At first, Chu Tianyu thought it was the mist from the mountains, but he quickly dismissed this idea, as it was a scent he had never encountered before, completely different from anything he had smelled in the mountains.

With these questions in mind, Chu Tianyu sat down on the ground and carefully considered his current situation. His first concern was the safety of Ouyang Ziyi and the others. Given the circumstances, if they too had been swept into the dense forest by the flood, it would be fortunate if they didn’t get separated; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. In terms of ability, perhaps only Qin Nianran and Angel had a chance of survival.

Even if the chance was only one in ten thousand, Chu Tianyu decided to go back and search for their traces. He also assessed his own strength. Although he had no reference point, he could clearly feel the powerful explosive force within his body.

Strangely enough, after absorbing the moon energy last night, Mo Long seemed to have fully recovered to its original state. Yet its dragon pattern did not disappear automatically as usual but remained above Chu Tianyu’s chest, emitting a bright glow that was so intense it made it hard to look directly at it even during the day.

Although Chu Tianyu still didn’t understand the exact state of his body, the sense of strength around him was undeniable. Though this strength seemed to originate from his muscles and tissues, it was sufficient for now. In the face of threats like a pack of wolves, he might not be able to handle them effortlessly, but he would certainly be able to protect himself.

So, Chu Tianyu decided to abandon the idea of exploring the dense forest for now and instead head upstream along the river to return to his original location, from where he could start searching for Ouyang Ziyi and the others.

But the first thing he needed to do now was find something to eat. Without his vital energy and with such drastic changes in his body, his dependence on food had increased even more.

Chu Tianyu didn’t want to venture deep into the dense forests here, as the eerie mist and smells there finally reminded him of the mysterious forest mentioned by Ouyang Ziyi. He roughly estimated the distance and direction, and it was likely he was already inside that mysterious forest.

Still concerned about Ouyang Ziyi and the others’ fates, Chu Tianyu didn’t want to seek trouble or explore further for now. Instead, he decided to look for some food by the river to satisfy his hunger.

Chu Tianyu walked along the riverbank. When the path became difficult, he would jump into the river and swim. Along the way, he climbed onto any fruit trees he saw to eat to his heart’s content. Unexpectedly, by the time it got dark, he felt he had only covered half the distance. Though anxious, he knew that after dark, aside from being a great opportunity to absorb moon energy, he would also struggle to navigate. So, wisely, he chose the same method as the previous night: he found a large rock by the water, lay on it, and waited for the moon to rise.

After a night, Chu Tianyu felt that although the glow of the ink dragon pattern on his chest had become stronger, his physical strength hadn’t increased much. This puzzled him—had his body reached saturation in absorbing moon energy?

If his body had fully recovered, why wasn’t there any sign of the true energy he had been hoping for?

With these questions, Chu Tianyu recalled his pace of movement. About an hour later, he finally returned to the place where he had fought fiercely with several wild wolves. But it was in complete chaos—the wolves he had killed had long been devoured, leaving only pools of blood and bone fragments on the ground, along with his own spears, which had long been broken.

Chu Tianyu climbed ashore and followed the marks he had made earlier to return to the small mound where he had first regained consciousness. The journey was peaceful, with not a single wild wolf in sight.

Looking at the traces of the mudslide, Chu Tianyu saw that it had mainly rushed down along the mountain slope, covering a wide area of the open forest. Looking further in, many trees, even those not as thick as a silver rod, had been uprooted or broken.

Chu Tianyu chose a path in the middle and headed inward, constantly scanning both sides in hopes of finding any protrusions or human footprints. But to his disappointment, he found nothing. The mud at his feet had already reached his knees, making it extremely difficult for him to move. He could only proceed by using the strength in his legs to push aside the mud.

But that’s just how it is; after all, one can’t fly right over from above like having lightness skills. Moreover, the mud on the ground grew thicker and thicker. Chu Tianyu knew this approach wouldn’t work, so he reluctantly used the trees to move forward a bit more, but still found nothing. He had no choice but to face this cruel reality!

Yet, Chu Tianyu kept searching frantically on both sides until nightfall, when he finally had to retreat in despair…

He had originally planned to come back and think things over carefully, but when he stood on that small mound, it seemed as if countless green eyes suddenly appeared in the dense forest, startling him instantly. Before he could react, several wild wolves rushed at him.

Chu Tianyu never expected that while he was distracted, he would fall into a wolf pack’s ambush. It seemed they had planned this all along, waiting for him here!

There was nothing left to say. At that moment, Chu Tianyu was in an extremely angry state. His worries about Ouyang Ziyi and the others, his frustration over his vital energy disappearing for no reason, and the sense of helplessness from hiding and dodging these past few days—all these negative emotions erupted fully under the provocation and attacks of the wild wolves.

Facing the wildly attacking wolves, he let out a fierce roar, moved swiftly, and swung his fists rapidly. One punch hit the head of a wolf with its maw wide open. His powerful punch not only shattered the wolf’s sharp teeth but also shattered its skull, sending the entire wolf flying backward in an instant.

After succeeding with one move, Chu Tianyu ignored the bloodstains left by the wolves’ claws on his body and fought back punch for punch, killing the attacking wolves one by one in an instant…

By now, except for the ink dragon pattern on his chest, almost his entire body was covered in blood. Like a hellish rakshasa, he let out a furious roar at the wolves that hadn’t yet attacked, rushed forward, and actively attacked them, fighting barehanded without any hesitation.

At the same time, the moonlight from the sky shone down, and the ink dragon pattern on Chu Tianyu’s chest suddenly emitted a brilliant glow…

The enraged Chu Tianyu didn’t notice the changes in his own body. He was completely immersed in the world of punching and attacking—direct, fierce, and satisfying. He forgot about the wounds on his body and the wolves’ attacks entirely.

However, around Chu Tianyu, the number of wild wolves was decreasing. Those wolves seemed utterly frenzied, charging, crashing into, and biting at Chu Tianyu recklessly. He wasn’t afraid of being bitten; by tensing his body, he could block the wolves’ sharp fangs with a single shake. But sometimes, the impact from the wolves’ bodies disrupted his balance, causing his punches to miss. This annoyed Chu Tianyu greatly. As more wolves appeared, his movements became increasingly restricted. Even the corpses of wolves killed by his punches made it hard for him to move smoothly, preventing him from fighting as effortlessly as before. Faced with the shrinking space to move around, Chu Tianyu, who had been fighting blindly and recklessly, suddenly realized his mistake. How could he have been so foolish, confronting these wolves head-on? Perhaps it was the cold lunar energy in his body that triggered his negative emotions, leading to his reckless fighting style. Regaining his composure, Chu Tianyu immediately changed his tactics. He lowered his shoulders and charged toward the area with the most wolves. Sure enough, this surprise attack caught the clustered wolves off guard. One wolf in front was instantly crushed by Chu Tianyu’s attack, while those behind were either knocked aside by the fallen wolf’s weight or trampled by other wolves, howling in pain. This allowed Chu Tianyu to easily escape that dense cluster. Once outside, before the surrounding wolves could form another coordinated attack, he moved swiftly using the Xuanji Step technique. But after just a few steps, his movements became unsteady. The essence of the Xuanji Step relied on the control of vital energy in his toes and throughout his body to create dreamlike movements and astonishing footwork… Yet Chu Tianyu adapted quickly. Unable to rely on his footwork, he kept moving, circling around the dense trees one by one. When encountering wolves, he no longer rushed in recklessly with a punch but slowly deployed his techniques, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal strike. As the fight continued, his movements became more coordinated. He realized that by making slight adjustments to certain actions originally required to activate the full power of his techniques within his body, and using the explosive strength of his muscles to accelerate them, he could still achieve great lethality and effectiveness in defeating his enemies.

Moreover, as Chu Tianyu fought against these relentless wild wolves in the Chu Tian region, he gradually merged several boxing styles together. From the previously complex moves, he extracted the simplest and most essential parts, refining and applying them to develop a unique set of attacks that complemented his current reliance on external force for power. At the same time, his footwork also gradually synchronized with his movements—often, a few spinning steps from Chu Tianyu allowed him to dodge the attacking wolves, after which he would strike swiftly. Each move would either hit the wolf’s head from the side or kick its exposed abdomen mid-air during an attack, usually killing it on the spot.

Now, Chu Tianyu felt completely immersed in this wonderful state. Without true energy, relying solely on his body’s instinctive reactions and strength, he could achieve an attack style as fluid as flowing clouds. Especially with each strike, he seemed to sense an energy within the punch wind, greatly enhancing its lethality. However, Chu Tianyu was certain this energy wasn’t just moon energy—it was energy absorbed and transformed by his body, concentrated in the Ink Dragon Pattern. Though still weak, it was more than enough to deal with these wild wolves.

Seeing that such ambushes and sieges couldn’t harm Chu Tianyu, the wolves grew increasingly feral, their eyes turning red with fury. Wherever Chu Tianyu darted, they would charge recklessly after him. Chu Tianyu grew bolder with each battle. Despite killing so many wolves over half a day, their numbers didn’t seem to decrease at all. But for Chu Tianyu, this was a once-in-a-lifetime training opportunity. Using this new attack style, he was reminded of the days when he first learned martial arts from his masters.

To be honest, since Chu Tianyu’s martial arts had reached a state where everything flowed naturally, he rarely had real close-quarters fights where fists met flesh in actual combat. Especially after the Black Dragon attached itself to him, his combat style—solving opponents with a single shock of his vital energy—left him with even fewer opportunities and experiences for such close battles. Thus, now Chu Tianyu not only overcame his previous sense of despair and anxiety but also became deeply engrossed in this wild-style combat, fully immersed in every move.

At that moment, in the dense forests of the mountains, one man fought against a pack of wild wolves. With each fierce shout, Chu Tianyu moved as if using the Mist Step, his figure flickering like a ghost, indistinct and elusive. But whenever he struck, his punches would instantly send a spray of blood and a dying howl from the wolves.

The density of the wolf pack finally began to decrease, yet the number of corpses lying in pools of blood kept rising. By now, the blood on Chu Tianyu’s body had dried up, and the wild wolves’ attacks and bites could no longer reach him at all. His punches, once varied, had gradually simplified to just three basic strikes. Yet Chu Tianyu was well aware of the power of these three moves—even when his internal energy was at its peak, it would be difficult to survive such attacks…

Although these three moves seemed simple, they were the result of Chu Tianyu refining them over hundreds of wild wolf corpses, based on the explosive power and tension of his own muscles, using the shortest paths and most direct attack angles. Their essence lay in combining the energy from the Ink Dragon Pattern with the strength of his muscles, releasing it in a swift burst to maximize impact and achieve a one-hit kill!

Chu Tianyu named these three moves in his mind: “Break the Army!”