Ke Jihai narrowly dodged the giant ape’s strike, circling around to its rear. Seizing the moment, he leapt high into the air, his spear aimed straight at the creature’s exposed nape.

The monster’s skull and back were protected by bony plates, but the neck had to remain flexible, uncovered by armor. Ke Jihai intended to exploit this single weak spot for a killing blow.

The ape monster was over three meters tall, and though Ke Jihai’s spear matched it in length, he still had to spring upward to land the strike. At the same time, his retainer pressed from the front, keeping the beast’s attention split.

Unlike the werewolf, the ape’s hulking body lacked agility. It had no time to turn.

Victory seemed within Ke Jihai’s grasp when the situation suddenly turned on its head.

Two eyes snapped open at the back of the ape’s skull, and from its shoulders burst another pair of arms!

At last, Ke Jihai understood why the bony helmet had those two small openings carved into it. This monster could transform into a four-eyed, four-armed abomination, and it had been holding back until now!

No, something’s wrong. Its monster energy is clearly suppressed, and its divine techniques are weakened. How is it able to transform into a stronger form?

Ke Jihai even felt the air currents around it whip into an even wilder frenzy.

The beast had three iron caltrops still stuck in its flesh, yet instead of weakening, it seemed only to grow stronger!

With a roar, the giant ape swatted aside his spear. The impact jarred Ke Jihai so hard his body twisted midair. Still suspended and unable to change course, he suddenly found a fist the size of a millstone barreling straight at his face.

This monster’s strength was far beyond expectations.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the werewolf crashed through a tree. As it staggered to its feet, it was met with He Lingchuan’s leaping slash.

Hundred Monarchs gleamed with its lethal edge. The werewolf dared not clash head-on and slipped aside.

However, its left shoulder was already skewered with the broken saber, rendering that entire arm useless. Only its tail-whip, rising like a serpent behind its head, lashed forth to strike at He Lingchuan’s face.

Both combatants moved with lightning speed, determined to overwhelm the other.

Ever since He Lingchuan learned to extend his spiritual sense, his five senses had become considerably sharper. Now, with origin energy coursing through him, the creature’s movements seemed just a fraction slower to his eyes. It was no longer the blur it had been before.

Still, that tiny difference was enough for him to barely keep pace.

The werewolf’s greatest gift lay in speed, half born of natural physique, half powered by monster energy. Against He Lingchuan’s origin energy, its edge was blunted.

Yet he was still only a novice. Even with origin energy bolstering him, even with the “Swallow’s Return” movement technique executed to his full capabilities, he could only manage to hold his ground in a tenuous stalemate.

And that was because the werewolf had already lost one claw. Had it still its full arsenal—fangs, claws, and tail—he would have been slain outright.

In barely ten heartbeats, He Lingchuan was already bleeding from several shallow gashes.

The werewolf’s tail was too swift and supple, far more dangerous than its claws. One missed block, and it punched a hole clean through his shoulder, the pain from which caused his face to contort.

Just then, the words he most longed to hear rang out, “Chuan’er, bring it this way!”

His father’s shout left no room for doubt. Without hesitation, He Lingchuan vaulted backward, retreating toward He Chunhua.

The werewolf pressed forward like a storm. He Lingchuan truly could not hold out much longer. Right now, he needed someone to shield him.

And the beast’s true target had always been He Chunhua. Its bloodlust had only been provoked by He Lingchuan’s interference. Now that its prey fled back to its original quarry, it gave furious chase, hind claws tearing furrows in the snow as it launched forward.

But He Lingchuan’s expanded senses had already caught sight of what his father held. So when He Chunhua barked “Down!” he flung himself flat without a second thought, skidding more than ten meters across the snow.

Even as he slid, he twisted to watch.

The werewolf lunged at He Chunhua. Just as its claws were at his face, his hand suddenly snapped up. Something then shot forth from his palm, landing squarely on the creature!

At such close range, not even the creature’s agility could save it. The force of the item that He Chunhua had used then pinned it to the ground.

He Lingchuan blinked in recognition. Isn’t that the same net I got caught in before? He could even see the same tear along its edge.

Back in the Panlong Illusion Realm, Sun Fuping had cast this very net to bind him so tightly that he had nearly lost his life. If not for his broken saber’s keen edge, he would never have escaped, just like the creature now trapped within.

It thrashed desperately in the net, claws raking in vain. But how could State Preceptor Sun’s personal treasure be damaged so easily?

It howled and barked with rage. After a few notes, He Lingchuan was certain that this was indeed a wolf monster.

The net was formidable, but its weakness was a long activation time. He Chunhua’s cultivation was far shallower than Sun Fuping’s, and his mastery over the net was crude at best. He had needed He Lingchuan to buy him those precious moments.

But against foes such as this, who were as fast as lightning, the net was the perfect counter.

At his waist, the broken saber slid back into its scabbard of its own accord.

He Lingchuan cast a quick glance at the giant ape. For something of such brute strength, this treasure would have been less effective, and it might even risk damaging the magical treasure itself.

Fortunately, Ke Jihai was still alive and fighting. If the giant ape broke free to attack the He Family, not one of them would leave here breathing.

Watching man and beast clash, he was both awed by the giant ape’s sheer might and envious of the deep-hued origin energy cloaking Ke Jihai’s frame. Human strength and stamina were rarely a match for monsters, but origin energy could level the field in an instant.

Then the giant ape suddenly sprouted a second head and two more arms, and the onlookers cried out in shock.

What in the world is that thing?! Even He Chunhua’s face paled. “I’ve never heard of ape monsters evolving or transforming like this. Could it have stumbled upon some unspeakably strange fortune?”

He Lingchuan thought wryly, Well, isn’t that just the Monkey King all over again? But the giant ape’s sudden surge in strength made him worried. The ape’s howls grew wilder, and its fighting style cruder. It was as if raw power only fed its madness.

So this leap in strength comes at the cost of reason.

His eyes flashed with an idea. He called over his shoulder, “Father, did you bring the walnut boats? Lend one to me!”

He Chunhua glanced at the narrow mountain road. “Those boats are too big and this road is too narrow. There’s no way to use it here.” There was no water here, and neither were there any beasts of burden like in the desert to haul it.

But still, he took one out.

He Lingchuan snatched the walnut-sized vessel from his father’s palm and sprinted off toward Ke Jihai. As he ran, he jammed a profound crystal into the boat, wincing inwardly.

My purse is really bleeding this time.

Rather than charge straight down, he circled wide and scrambled up above the melee.

Ke Jihai had been fighting while retreating, and by now, they had arrived at a col that was directly beneath a cliff about fifteen meters high.

This cliff really was just a massive rectangular slab of rock. With his Swallow’s Return movement technique, He Lingchuan bounded up to its top in three swift steps. Standing tall, he bellowed down, “General Ke, keep clear!”

Afraid the man had not heard, he filled his lungs and yelled three times in succession, “Keep clear! Keep clear! Keep clear!”

Then, with all his strength, he hurled the walnut boat.

The cliff was not far from the col they were fighting on. His thunderous shouts echoed, and both combatants below heard them clearly.

The giant ape instinctively tilted its head upward. Ke Jihai seized the moment, driving his spearhead against the cliff wall and springing about ten meters to the side. As a seasoned general, his retreat was clean and without hesitation.

At the same instant, He Lingchuan’s voice cracked like spring thunder, “Enlarge!”

The walnut boat plummeted.

Even though it was massive, the giant ape’s eyesight was sharp. Even in the dark of night, it spotted the walnut-sized object dropping toward it.

The giant ape caught it easily and turned it over in its palm.

He Lingchuan: “…”

Ke Jihai: “…”

Fortunately, once it had drained the profound crystal He Lingchuan had fed it, the walnut began its delayed transformation. Right before their eyes, it suddenly swelled in size!

The giant ape instantly sensed danger and tried to fling it away, but it was already too late.

Its expansion was faster than the human eye could follow. In less than two breaths, the walnut had become its full form once more: a massive wooden boat over fifteen meters long and three meters tall!

The col was narrow, hemmed in by cliff walls, and the sudden appearance of the boat completely blocked every way out.

The giant ape let out a thunderous roar, but it was a step too slow. From the waist down, it was crushed beneath the boat’s weight.

Its strength was titanic, but with several metric tons suddenly pressing down upon it, even its iron bones and thick hide could not save it from being pinned.

Seeing the beast finally subdued, Ke Jihai let out a long breath and leaned on his spear. “Well done, young man. You’ve got some real guts.”

He had been locked in a savage duel to the death with the creature, and in the end, it was this young man who swooped in, found a clever angle, and pinned the monster with a single move. He did not even know how else to express his amazement.

The walnut boat had never been meant for such crude use, but the young man had made it work, and brilliantly so.

He Lingchuan gave an awkward laugh. “Pure luck, nothing more.” In truth, when he had hurled it, he had not realized just how small the col was. If the boat’s full form had been even a little larger, it would have jammed between the cliffs instead of pressing down. That would have been a humiliating disaster.

Ke Jihai, still panting, jabbed his spear toward the pinned ape. “Who sent you? Speak!”

What monster would infiltrate Shihuan City without reason to ambush a general of the royal court?

The giant ape paid him no heed. Red-eyed and bellowing, it raked and clawed at everything within reach—earth, trees, even stone walls.

He Lingchuan frowned. The thing’s eyes are still red. Has it completely lost its mind? Can it still even understand speech?

Just then, from upwind, a scream split the night. There was a long wail, followed by a sharp cry.

Both men froze, then spun around. Seven or eight figures burst out of the dense forest, charging straight for He Chunhua!

One arrow had already struck a coachman close to him, lodging in his eye. The poor man shrieked in agony.

Another arrow whistled for Madame Ying, but at the last moment the commoner youth beside her threw himself forward, knocking her flat. The shaft buried itself in his back, the gray-feathered fletching still quivering.

There are more ambushers hidden in the woods!

Both men’s faces darkened with fury. He Lingchuan immediately sprinted back toward his father. He had brought out the walnut boat to deal with the giant ape because he saw Ke Jihai hard-pressed, but now his father was under attack!

He Chunhua was fully focused on suppressing the werewolf within the net. He Yue’s cultivation was middling at best, and Madame Ying did not know any divine techniques at all!

The forest assassins had loosed two arrows—one aimed for He Chunhua, which he narrowly dodged, and the other for Madame Ying, which the youth had taken in her stead. Now the killers burst into the open, blades flashing.

He Chunhua still had to maintain hand seals to keep the net active. He could not dodge and counter as freely as usual. If he abandoned the hand seals to retreat, the net might falter, and the wolf monster would break free.