Chapter Seventy-Three: A Child?

"Xiaoqing, it seems you’ve scared it with your beating," Yang Ye said with a smile, noticing the monster’s fearful demeanor.

"Ahem, ahem!"

No sooner had Yang Ye finished speaking than two coughs echoed through the vast underground chamber. The voices sounded like those of children.

"Who are you?" Yang Ye asked, his brow furrowed.

A child’s voice replied, "Defeating my beast with a divine dragon is hardly impressive. If you can beat it yourself, I’ll let you in."

The voice sounded like that of a child of seven or eight.

"You still haven’t answered—who are you?" Yang Ye pressed, frowning after the child’s voice faded. He glanced around the entire space, but saw no door. He could not discern from which direction the voice came.

The ‘child’ did not answer Yang Ye’s question, but spoke again, "The people outside will be here soon. You have less than ten minutes."

As soon as the words fell, Yang Ye heard a loud explosion above. Clearly, the cultivators outside had reached the bottom of the crevice and had begun battling countless ants. Though the ants were numerous, they surely could not withstand cultivators of the stellar realm. Soon, they would find the fissure and descend.

After all, the aura radiating from the monster before him was as conspicuous as a beacon in the night. Though superstellar beasts possessed terrifying power, the superstellar beast core would drive cultivators to reckless greed, making them ignore their own safety.

"Why should I want to meet you?" Yang Ye asked.

The ‘child’ replied, "Because only by meeting me can you gain something! Stop asking questions—I won’t answer any more."

Dragon Xiaoqing, now in her dragon form, suddenly transformed into a human. Yang Ye had expected that after reverting from her dragon form she would be naked, but to his surprise, Xiaoqing was clad in a flowing azure dress—reminiscent of a fairy from ancient times.

"Xiaoqing, your dress is stunning!" Yang Ye exclaimed, unable to hold back his admiration.

"Husband, do you really think so?" Xiaoqing asked bashfully.

Yang Ye laughed, "Of course I do."

"Roar~"

Perhaps feeling ignored by Yang Ye and Xiaoqing, the monster let out a furious roar.

"Husband, let me help you hold off those people," Xiaoqing said. She took a set of black leather armor from her storage ring and quickly donned it.

Yang Ye, meanwhile, retrieved the blazing sun gloves from his own storage ring, put them on, and looked at the monster with a grin. "Don’t think only Xiaoqing can beat you—so can I!"

"Roar~"

As soon as Yang Ye finished speaking, the monster roared in rage, opened its maw, and unleashed a torrent of blue flames toward Yang Ye.

The blue fire surged forward, radiating intense heat. Yet compared to Xiaoqing’s dragon flames, it was far weaker.

Yang Ye leapt aside, dodging.

"Boom~"

The blue flames struck the ground with a mighty blast, instantly melting a patch of rock.

As the blue fire dissipated, Yang Ye darted beneath the beast and delivered a powerful punch to one of its legs, thicker than his own waist.

Crack!

A crisp sound echoed as the beast’s leg fractured, bending at an unnatural angle. Unexpectedly, the leg snapped back with a sudden rebound.

Fortunately, Yang Ye dodged quickly, evading the beast’s ‘springing’ leg. The force of the wind from that swipe nearly knocked him off balance, attesting to its tremendous power.

At that moment, the monster’s fur suddenly bristled, standing upright like countless steel needles. Following that came a loud thud as a burst of yellow light erupted from its body—or rather, its fine hairs shot outward in a barrage.

Faced with such an attack, Yang Ye could not dodge. But he didn’t need to.

Countless fine hairs struck Yang Ye, only to be bounced away. These hairs, sharper than sniper bullets, were completely blocked by the blazing sun gloves.

"Huh~"

Suddenly, the child’s voice echoed again in the chamber, filled with amazement.

"That’s cheating!" The ‘child’ shouted. "With your stellar-level strength, you shouldn’t be able to withstand such an attack. If you use that tool to defeat my beast, it doesn’t count!"

Yang Ye sprang aside and sneered, "So you want me to take off the gloves?"

"Of course," the child said. "Otherwise, it’s not a fair victory!"

Yang Ye curled his lip in disdain. "Why should I listen to you?"

With that, he vanished, appearing above the monster’s head and punching down hard at its skull.

A sudden burst of electricity arced between the beast’s horns, like lightning, striking Yang Ye. Yet the gloves’ defense held firm.

With a resounding crash, Yang Ye’s fist slammed into the beast’s head, sending it sprawling, its jaw smashing against the ground.

Just then, a gust of wind swept behind Yang Ye. He didn’t need to look—he knew the beast’s tail was coming for him.

He grabbed one of the monster’s sharp horns and leapt to the ground, narrowly avoiding the sweeping tail.

"Roar~"

Seeing Yang Ye land, the monster glared at him, eyes burning with fury, and roared again. Then it opened its mouth and spewed a cloud of black smoke.

Sizzle, sizzle...

The smoke hissed like oil dropping onto hot coals. It spread rapidly, soon enveloping Yang Ye.

Of course, Yang Ye had no intention of dodging. The poisonous black smoke was blocked by the blazing sun gloves as he moved beneath the beast, then punched its abdomen.

Boom!

With a muffled crash, the monster’s huge body was sent flying by Yang Ye’s strike. It slammed against the cave wall with a thud, then rebounded, crashing heavily to the ground.

Yang Ye darted forward and unleashed a flurry of punches at the beast’s head.

Bang, bang, bang...

A barrage of blows rang out, interspersed with the monster’s anguished and furious howls.

Watching his pet monster being beaten, the ‘child’ shouted again, "You’re cheating! At your cultivation level, any attack from my beast should leave you severely injured or dead! I refuse to accept this! I refuse!"

Yang Ye ignored him, his punches growing ever more forceful.

The ‘child’ was right: any attack from the monster could fatally wound a stellar-level cultivator. But Yang Ye had the blazing sun gloves. Even though they were only a part of the blazing sun armor, they could still withstand the beast’s attacks.

"I refuse! I refuse!" the ‘child’ cried out, again and again.

Yang Ye kept pummeling the beast, laughing as he said, "Your argument is pointless. My gloves are weapons, defensive tools. Isn’t your beast equipped too? If you want a fair fight, forbid it from using hair needles, fire, poison, or electricity. Then I’ll take off the gloves and test our strength. What do you say?"

At his words, the ‘child’ fell silent.

Yang Ye paused as well. By now, the monster was barely clinging to life.

Exhaling deeply, Yang Ye relaxed.

Just then, a figure descended from above—a white-robed elder, staff in hand.

Upon arrival, the old man’s eyes lit up as he gazed at the beast sprawled on the ground. Judging by his expression, he was likely fixated on the thought of a massive, superstellar beast core inside the monster.