Chapter 45: Turning the Rivers and Seas, Crushing Skulls, and Diving into the Sea for a Headshot (Thank you, extra update for the monthly votes)

Luo Zhou never expected Cheng Peng to be the first to charge out; he was truly fierce!

Cheng Peng’s Qi refinement characteristic was Starry Radiance Qi, which granted him powerful defense. No wonder he hadn't died despite being repeatedly chewed by the Old Crocodile Dragon; that was exactly why he was so brave.

Swinging his seasoned copper staff, Luo Zhou charged out after him.

They were merely a small squad on the East City Wall, but there were many other squads—some were charging down, while others were watching from atop the walls. Ranged archers and crossbowmen fired in succession, sending countless rains of arrows falling through the sky. As the sea beasts charged, many were immediately struck down by the arrow storm.

However, among the sea beasts, there were those that spat venom, shot out scales, and even some that mastered elemental spells like water arrows and breath attacks, which came flying from all directions. Some cultivators had not even engaged in combat before being knocked to the ground by a single encounter.

Luo Zhou could not react in time at that moment and simply followed behind Cheng Peng. Within a space of three to five miles, the two sides instantly clashed in a bloody melee.

Facing them was a group of mermen, each gliding rapidly across the ground while wielding various bone implements. Since iron was rare in the sea, mermen basically used weapons made of bone. But one should not underestimate these bone weapons; they were crafted from the bones of massive whale-like sea beasts through special methods, making them no less sharp or sturdy than iron. A civilization that had existed for ten thousand years naturally possessed its own heritage and advantages.

Cheng Peng leaped up, his true Qi transforming into starlight, and with a single strike, he pulverized the leading merman into dust. That merman was also a Second-Order creature, equivalent to a human Qi Refinement stage cultivator. Yet, unexpectedly, it died instantly from a single collision!

A solo kill—a flying start!

Following behind, a flash of rainbow light enveloped Luo Zhou; it was Liu Jing’s talisman activating. He was adding defense to all their allies!

Luo Zhou swung his seasoned copper staff toward a merman ahead, striking down with everything he had. He unleashed his full strength. He didn't even see what the merman looked like; one blow caused flesh to splatter and the creature to explode. An explosive force of eighteen thousand jin was no joke. Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere, leaving the ground incredibly slippery. Because Luo Zhou had used too much strength, he felt as if he might lose his grip on the copper staff.

The moment the opponent died, Luo Zhou noticed a sea snake wrapped around the merman's body like a belt. It instantly lunged, aiming to bite Luo Zhou’s unprotected arm. The sea snake was pitch black, incredibly insidious, and highly venomous. As it bit down, a layer of golden armor surfaced on Luo Zhou's body. With a *puchi* sound, the sea snake was shattered.

This sent a cold sweat down Luo Zhou's spine. The disciples of the seaside knew that thing as a Black-Toothed Snake; it was extremely poisonous, and if bitten, one would die without immediate detoxification. The "River-Turning Sea-Treading Golden Armor," which Luo Zhou had never taken seriously, had saved his life at the critical moment.

With every exchange being incredibly perilous, Luo Zhou immediately became extremely cautious. The two sides were locked in a massive battle. Looking around, Luo Zhou saw that the surroundings were in total chaos; he could no longer find any trace of Cheng Peng.

Suddenly, Luo Zhou froze as he felt a sensation coming from the Eternal Sea of Fire on his back. Individual lifespans were being rapidly captured and fed into the Eternal Sea of Fire. In the blink of an eye, the count had reached thirty. They had only just begun fighting, yet over thirty people and sea beasts had already died. And this was only around Luo Zhou...

Thirty lifespans! That was enough to refine his body and his special ability three times!

Luo Zhou's eyes instantly changed. This wasn't a battlefield; this was a treasure trove, a pile of money!

Just then, two mermen rushed toward him, brandishing bone blades and howling.

"Human cub, delicious!" "Kill him! Eat him!"

In Luo Zhou's eyes, these weren't mermen; they were two flickering flames!

Luo Zhou let out a roar, swung his seasoned copper staff, and brought it down overhead. The merman raised its blade to block, but with a *crack*, the bone blade and its head were shattered together. However, the merman was resilient; even with its head crushed, it gripped the copper staff tightly and refused to let go.

The other merman took advantage of this to pounce. Luo Zhou pulled back with force, tearing the dead merman's arm—still clutching the staff—straight off. Then, he swung at the second merman. The merman dodged, but Luo Zhou moved his feet in the River-Turning Step, catching up and striking again. After a continuous pursuit and three heavy blows, he beat the merman to death.

Luo Zhou frowned; the seasoned copper staff felt awkward in his hands!

With a sudden roar, a muscular monster resembling a frog-man appeared before him. It was an Iron-Strength Frog, a giant sea beast twice the size of an ordinary merman, looking entirely like a humanoid frog made of pure muscle. The mermen were not simple; seeing that Luo Zhou possessed great strength and had killed three of their kind, they had summoned their enforcer, the Iron-Strength Frog.

The Iron-Strength Frog roared and charged straight at Luo Zhou. Luo Zhou met it with a strike from his copper staff. The frog was tough; it didn't even bother to defend, taking the hit directly with its head. While being struck, it lunged forward and grabbed Luo Zhou's staff with both hands, beginning a struggle for control.

As a giant sea beast, the Iron-Strength Frog possessed thirty thousand jin of strength, completely overwhelming Luo Zhou. During their struggle, the seasoned copper staff was forcibly bent until it was twisted like a pretzel.

Luo Zhou suddenly let go, abandoning the staff, and threw a punch.

The Sea-Treading Punch!

The punch landed squarely on the Iron-Strength Frog's head. As the blow landed, Luo Zhou felt an incomparable sense of smoothness, far surpassing the use of the copper staff. One punch, then another, then another—a continuous sequence, a form of the Sea-Treading Punch. Each punch was faster than the last; seven consecutive punches were unleashed in an instant.

The Iron-Strength Frog had great strength, but its reactions were slow. With a *pacha* sound, its frog head was crushed, and it died!

Though the frog was dead, the surrounding mermen began to howl

"Awoo! Awoo!" "He has no weapon!" "His staff is bent, it's broken!" "Kill him!"

Four mermen rushed forward. Luo Zhou frowned; the copper staff was twisted and unusable. He let go of it entirely, took a combat stance, and prepared to parry the mermen's attacks. Moving his feet to evade, he traded blows and launched counterattacks.

For the first few exchanges, Luo Zhou still followed his cultivation routines, unable to fully let loose. One merman suddenly shot out over a dozen scales like long arrows. The Strength-Man Golden Armor surfaced again, blocking the scales. Another merman threw a Black-Toothed Snake, which Luo Zhou shattered with a palm strike.

As he continued to fight, the feeling of combat gradually rose in his heart; he was adapting to the battlefield. His original "River-Turning Sea-Treading Punch and Palm" cultivation routines gradually transformed into battlefield killing moves. The entire technique seemed to come alive.

With one Sea-Treading Punch, a *puchi* sound rang out; even before the fist touched the body, the wind from the punch caused the merman's flesh to splatter. Another punch followed, piercing straight through the opponent's chest, pulverizing its organs and killing it instantly. He spun around with a River-Turning Palm; though the palm didn't hit the target directly, the sheer force of the wind drove the opponent's head into its own chest cavity. Then came another palm, slamming the entire head deep into the chest!

At this moment, Luo Zhou felt an incomparable sense of exhilaration! This wasn't the instant-kill gratification of the Dragon-Slaying Thorn, but the thrill of killing an opponent bit by bit, strike by strike, feeling the impact of flesh against flesh until they were beaten to death!

Killing mermen became as easy as slaughtering chickens. At this moment, something inside Luo Zhou seemed to ignite; his ferocity erupted completely, and he laughed loudly. The combat stance and battle intent of the River-Turning Sea-Treading Punch he had practiced last night were fully activated. He had completely merged with the battlefield; the God of Slaughter had been resurrected, and he controlled the fray!

With a sudden movement, he used the Sea-Treading Step to dash five yards out, plunging into a group of mermen. He reached a merman and delivered an overhead palm strike. This merman was a leader, wielding a pair of coral stone hammers and possessing great strength. Facing Luo Zhou's palm, it reached out to resist.

Luo Zhou struck once, then again, unleashing a rapid sequence of five palms—a move from the River-Turning Palm. With a *puchi* sound, the coral hammers shattered. The palm strike didn't stop; it followed through downward, crushing the merman's head!

Five mermen surrounded him, thrusting spears, stabbing, and spitting venom. But Luo Zhou spun his body using the River-Turning Step, moving like a swimming dragon so that all attacks missed. He threw another Sea-Treading Punch, exploding a merman's head, followed by a palm that crushed another! In less than a moment, all five mermen were dead.

It was that easy. His River-Turning Sea-Treading Punch had mastered the essence of battle intent, far surpassing ordinary beings. Combined with his eighteen thousand jin of strength, which he now controlled with ease, killing these mermen was naturally effortless.

Since it was like this, then let the battle rage!

Luo Zhou let out a roar and attacked again. Under his fists and palms, mermen were being struck in the head and killed one after another. Within moments, over twenty mermen had been slain. The nearby cultivators in the heat of battle were stunned by his actions, cheering him on.

The mermen were terrified of him and began to give way. Suddenly, a massive Green Shrimp Monster charged forward. This shrimp monster was two zhang tall, its entire body a dark teal as if clad in iron armor; like the Iron-Strength Frog, it was an enforcer for the mermen. It roared as it charged at Luo Zhou, its two iron pincers aiming to snip him in half.

Luo Zhou sneered. As he approached, he spun his body in a River-Turning Step to evade the pincers, then struck out with a palm. Since breaking through his bottleneck, the power of the River-Turning Palm had gradually manifested. It possessed a unique ability to disrupt distance; though his palm was still a foot away from the shrimp monster's head, it completely ignored the gap and struck the head directly. It wasn't that his hand grew longer, nor was it a spatial shift; it was chaos, it was "turning the river," it was subversion.

The shrimp monster's head was incredibly hard, and it seemed unharmed after the first strike. But Luo Zhou continued, unleashing five consecutive palms, then another five, striking down like driving nails into wood!

*Pa, pa, pa, pa!*

Moving with the River-Turning Step, he evaded all of the shrimp monster's counterattacks. By the thirteenth palm, cracks appeared on the shrimp monster's head, and it began to wail. By the fifteenth palm, the shrimp monster stopped resisting and turned to flee. But there was no escape; Luo Zhou pursued it relentlessly. By the eighteenth palm, with a *puchi*, the shrimp's head burst. The corpse fell, its limbs still twitching.

Luo Zhou let out a long breath and looked around.

River-Turning Head-Shattering, Sea-Treading Head-Exploding!

The surrounding mermen recoiled at his gaze, screaming as they fled toward the open sea.

Sensing carefully, he realized that the Eternal Sea of Fire had already collected eighty-three lifespans!