Chapter — The Strongest Mortal
The chapter begins with Shen Luo speaking to Spirit.
"Master Spirit, there's something I wanted to tell you. Even among mortals, there are Seven Big Major Alliances. There are many extremely powerful people among them as well. But despite being mortals themselves, they never came to save the other mortals when we were going through difficult times."
Spirit was shocked.
"Wait… there are Seven Big Major Alliances among mortals?"
Shen Luo nodded.
"I'm not sure why they never came to help us. Maybe they were afraid because they were mortals too."
Spirit shook his head.
"No, Master. They are extremely powerful. My grandmother has been telling me this since I was a child."
Spirit stared at him in disbelief.
"Shen Luo, listen. Mortals can certainly become strong, but they aren't that powerful. There is no way ordinary mortals could capture and defeat Demonic Cultivators."
Shen Luo replied seriously,
"But my grandmother has been saying this since I was a child."
Spirit's expression became strange.
"Then how does your grandmother know? Did she personally witness such things?"
Shen Luo thought for a moment.
"Maybe she saw it herself. Or perhaps she heard it from my mother and father. And maybe my parents heard it from their parents, who witnessed it in the past."
Spirit's face became even more ridiculous.
"AAAAAH! Why are you mortals so difficult to understand?! I already told you—mortals aren't that strong!"
Suddenly—
BOOOOOOM!
A tremendous explosion came from the direction of the forest.
Both Shen Luo and Spirit immediately became serious.
"What happened?"
"Could the Demonic Cultivators have attacked again?"
"Let's go check!"
The two quickly rushed toward the source of the explosion.
When they arrived, they witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Two mysterious men were fighting in the middle of the forest.
One of them suddenly threw a powerful punch toward the other.
BOOM!
The second man blocked the punch head-on.
However, the shockwave alone was powerful enough to destroy several nearby trees.
Before the first man could react, the second fighter launched a powerful kick directly toward his face.
The first man immediately crossed both arms in front of his face and blocked the kick.
But the force behind the kick was tremendous.
BANG!
The impact sent the first man flying through the air.
Yet, somehow, he maintained his balance in mid-air.
He landed upside down against the trunk of a tree, standing against it as if gravity meant nothing.
Using the tree as a foothold, he pushed himself away with incredible force and shot directly toward his opponent.
BOOM!
He threw another punch straight toward the second man's face.
But the second fighter raised his leg and placed his foot directly in front of the incoming fist.
BANG!
The fist and foot collided.
Both fighters were pushed backward by the tremendous impact, their feet sliding across the ground.
The shockwaves from their attacks caused the entire forest to tremble.
The second man suddenly glanced at a huge stone lying nearby.
He kicked it.
BOOM!
The enormous stone shattered into countless tiny pieces.
Then he planted his left foot firmly on the ground and raised his right leg.
One after another, he kicked the fragments toward his opponent.
The tiny stones shot through the air like bullets.
The first fighter's expression changed.
He immediately raised both fists and began punching every incoming stone.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Each stone shattered under his punches.
But the fragments were moving at terrifying speed.
Soon, blood began to drip from his fists.
Even then, he refused to give up.
He continued punching.
One after another, he destroyed every single stone.
Finally—
The attack stopped.
The forest became strangely silent.
But before the first fighter could catch his breath—
WHOOSH!
The second fighter disappeared from his position.
In an instant, he appeared directly beside his opponent.
He raised his right leg and delivered a devastating kick to the right side of the first fighter's head, near his ear.
BOOOOM!
The first fighter couldn't withstand the force.
His body was launched hundreds of meters away.
He crashed through tree after tree.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Finally, his body slammed into the mountain in the distance.
The battle was over.
The first fighter had lost.
The second man calmly walked toward him.
As he approached, his identity was finally revealed.
He was Mong Tian, a disciple of the Thunder God Palace.
The defeated fighter was Oktasu Moi, a disciple of the Heavenly Fist Sect.
Mong Tian looked at his opponent and smiled.
"Not bad, Oktasu. You gave me a pretty good fight. I enjoyed it."
He stretched his body casually.
"But I still haven't fought using my full power."
His eyes became excited.
"I want a truly powerful opponent. Someone who can make me fight seriously and enjoy myself."
Mong Tian looked around the destroyed forest.
"It seems there isn't anyone in this Mortal Realm who is as strong as me."
Just then, Spirit and Shen Luo arrived.
Spirit stared at the destroyed forest in complete shock.
"Did these two destroy the entire forest?!"
He carefully observed the two fighters.
"They must be powerful cultivators…"
Spirit suddenly became confused.
"But… I can't sense any spiritual energy from them."
At that moment, Mong Tian noticed Spirit and Shen Luo.
He slowly walked toward them.
Spirit became slightly nervous.
He quietly warned Shen Luo,
"Be careful. He could be an evil person."
Mong Tian soon arrived in front of them.
He looked at the two of them with curiosity.
"A mortal and a spirit traveling together? That's quite an interesting combination."
Shen Luo's eyes widened with excitement.
"Oh my God! You're incredibly strong! You two destroyed almost the entire forest just by fighting!"
Mong Tian laughed lightly.
"This? This is nothing."
He glanced at the destroyed forest.
"If I wanted to, I could destroy much more than this."
Then he looked at Shen Luo.
"But who are you two?"
Shen Luo quickly explained,
"We came from a nearby village. We heard a huge explosion and thought Demonic Cultivators had attacked again, so we came here to investigate."
He became more serious.
"Recently, Demonic Cultivators have been attacking our village and many other villages. Fortunately, our village is still safe because Master Spirit protected us."
He glanced toward Spirit.
"If Master Spirit hadn't protected us, we would have been dead by now."
Spirit then introduced himself, followed by Shen Luo.
After hearing their introductions, Shen Luo became curious.
"You must be a powerful cultivator, right?"
Mong Tian shook his head.
"No. I'm not a cultivator."
Shen Luo was confused.
"My name is Mong Tian. I'm a disciple of the Thunder God Palace."
He smiled.
"And I'm a mortal."
Spirit's eyes widened in shock.
"What?! You're a mortal?!"
Mong Tian nodded casually.
"Of course. Why are you so surprised?"
Spirit couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You're a mortal, yet you're this strong?!"
Mong Tian answered,
"That's because I'm a martial artist."
He crossed his arms.
"Martial artists are far stronger than ordinary mortals. A trained martial artist can be ten times stronger than a normal mortal."
Shen Luo immediately looked at Spirit with a smug expression.
"See, Master? I told you there are mortal sects and powerful martial artists among mortals!"
Spirit's face became extremely awkward.
"Fine… fine. I admit it."
Mong Tian couldn't help but laugh when he saw Spirit's expression.
"Hahaha! You two are pretty funny."
Spirit then asked the question that had been bothering him.
"If you're really a mortal, then how did you become this powerful?"
Mong Tian's expression suddenly became mysterious.
"Hmm…"
He paused for a moment.
"That… is a very, very long story."