Chapter 061: Surprise!

Boom! Boom! ...

The heavy, thunderous crashes echoed relentlessly along the riverbank, reverberating far into the distance.

The massive serpent, nearly seventy meters long, tried to coil and twist its body, but Su Jingxing forcefully prevented any such movement, keeping it stretched out straight with every violent shake.

Then, wielding it like an iron rod, he clutched it in his arms and slammed it into the ground. The hard concrete riverbank shattered and cracked beneath the blows, sending a spray of rubble and debris flying through the air.

Sometimes, he swept the serpent toward the grove behind the embankment, toppling and crushing trees, flattening the underbrush, and gouging out deep pits and craters in the muddy earth.

The fierce gusts generated by his swings whipped up grass clippings and dirt, swirling them into the sky.

With a retching sound, the serpent, utterly bereft of self-control, gaped its bloody maw and spewed forth a torrent of liquid, along with the remains of animals—some whole, some in pieces, and even human bones.

This creature had truly eaten people!

The human bodies it had swallowed had long since been stripped of flesh, leaving only incomplete, fractured bones, now forced back into the world by Su Jingxing’s relentless assault.

One by one, the bones tumbled out—one after another, again and again.

In less than three minutes, more than twenty human skeletons spilled from the serpent’s gaping jaws, crashing to the ground.

This scene was witnessed not only by the frenzied Su Jingxing, but also by the stunned group led by Qi Zhaocheng. None of them had imagined that the serpent had devoured so many people.

What was even more shocking was how the creature had managed to fit so many human remains, along with even more animal bones, inside its belly. Though a serpent’s esophagus and stomach could expand tremendously, the sheer quantity crammed inside was staggering.

No wonder the middle section of the serpent’s body was so grotesquely swollen.

Clearly, this beast was a glutton of the highest order.

After consuming so many people, Su Jingxing’s blows only grew fiercer. Unleashing his full strength, the serpent had not the slightest strength left to resist, utterly at the mercy of Su Jingxing as he battered it against the ground and smashed it into trees.

To avoid endangering the group from the Town Guard, Su Jingxing smashed and swung the serpent while moving away in the direction he had come.

Thus, the riverbank, the woods, and the earth along the way were all devastated, left pockmarked and fractured. Rubble and soil were flung into the river, raising great splashes and resounding with loud, rhythmic plunks.

The once-clear waters of the river now turned turbid and murky, as the fish and shrimp within fled in frantic terror.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The deafening commotion continued.

Along the riverbank, a swath hundreds of meters long was swiftly reduced to ruin.

Near the viewing platform, Qi Zhaocheng and his companions finally recovered from their shock. Supporting one another, sitting or standing, they gazed out at the battered wasteland, struck silent by the sheer devastation.

“Who... who is he?”

“I’ve no idea, but this man is unbelievably strong—his physical power is monstrous.”

“Indeed, I’ve never seen such a formidable physique before.”

“It’s not just you—I feel the same. Even the mightiest barbarians would have to concede defeat before such strength.”

…

The various members of the Town Guard, wounded to varying degrees, struggled to endure their pain, catching their breath as they spoke in disbelief, trying to distract themselves from their injuries.

Qi Zhaocheng was much the same, leaning against a decorative boulder as he gazed into the distance at the ongoing carnage, his eyes wide with terror and lingering dread.

Had this master not appeared and intervened in the fight, he himself would already have been swallowed, reduced to the same grisly remains the serpent had just disgorged.

No flesh, only bone.

…

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cacophony echoed along the riverbank.

Su Jingxing’s entire body steamed with mist, his strength seemingly inexhaustible.

The serpent, however, was finished—it soon ceased struggling, limp in Su Jingxing’s grasp.

But Su Jingxing did not let go. He continued to clutch the serpent and hurl it against the ground and the embankment, spreading destruction everywhere.

Feigning death?

Playing dead before him? Not a chance!

Though the serpent looked dead—its slick scales torn to shreds, its head battered and bleeding, indistinguishable from a corpse—Su Jingxing had not received a notification from his golden finger.

What did this mean? The serpent was pretending to be dead!

If he let his guard down and stopped his assault, the beast would either attack suddenly or seize the chance to flee.

Neither outcome was to his advantage.

Having come this far, Su Jingxing had no intention of leaving anything to chance.

He continued his relentless assault. Sure enough, before long, the serpent revived—hissing and writhing in a final, desperate struggle.

Unfortunately for it, Su Jingxing was still far from exhaustion.

The serpent’s last frenzy lasted less than half a minute before it lost all strength and fell still.

This time, it was truly dead.

[Exotic beast corpse detected. Collect?]

“Yes!”

Dropping the serpent’s body, Su Jingxing gasped for breath and replied in his heart.

At last, it was over.

To have beaten to death—bare-handed—a serpent nearly seventy meters long and as thick as a water tank, Su Jingxing reckoned he was the first in Qinghe City to have accomplished such a feat.

Though he had not reached his limit, mist billowed from his head, his clothes clung wetly to his body, and as he stood there, the surging energy in his blood felt like boiling oil, roiling unceasingly.

His breathing was ragged and heavy.

His heartbeat thundered like a drum.

The night wind caressed the rippling river.

In the distance, the sound of cars could be heard. Calming his breath, Su Jingxing ignored the function of the new card he had obtained, swiftly retrieved his throwing knife from the serpent’s tail, then used the Eight Steps Ascending Dragon technique to leap back toward the viewing platform.

He covered the distance of several hundred meters in a flash.

With a swift motion, he bent down to pick up the treasured blade he had dropped earlier, then turned and dashed for the Tianshui River. Amid the exclamations of Qi Zhaocheng and the others, he skimmed across the water like a dragonfly, disappearing into the northern woods.

“What... what astonishing lightness skill!”

“He’s mastered it to a consummate level—at least!”

“Who is he? Who could he possibly be? With such a monstrous physique and formidable lightness skill, surely he cannot be an unknown. Since when did the Western District have a martial artist of such skill?”

“Who knows? Maybe he’s from another district, or perhaps he’s just arrived in Qinghe City.”

“Did anyone catch what this master looked like?”

“No! He was shrouded in mist—impossible to see clearly.”

“Same here.”

…

The Town Guard members tried to encourage each other as they marveled and speculated about Su Jingxing.

Even Qi Zhaocheng, leaning against the rock and catching his breath, regretted not asking for Su Jingxing’s name.

If not for Su Jingxing tonight, their entire squad would have been wiped out.

…

On the other side—

Taking winding paths and slipping through narrow alleys, Su Jingxing sought out a secluded corner, where he spent half an hour suppressing the rampant energy within him, regaining his composure.

Only then did he take out the card he had just acquired and read its information.

The next moment, his heart surged with delight, wild joy, and astonished elation.

It was actually a...