Chapter 47: Master and Disciple Join Forces, Stop-Short Fighting Style

The Demon Beast that caught up was a giant ape at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, likely a descendant of that Soul Formation stage giant ape.

Qin Xiao had no time to ask about its family ties. He could only keep running, hoping the ape would stubbornly stick to its target rather than change its mind.

But the very thing he feared happened. The ape looked toward Yun Man, who had already vanished, then at Qin Xiao fleeing in distress. It turned and chased him.

“Damn it, you’re like a fickle bastard chasing every woman you see! Can’t you stick with one? Keep chasing the one you were after!”

Qin Xiao wanted nothing more than to curse aloud, but he dared not break his stride.

The giant ape gave it no further thought. Since the first human had slipped away, this one close at hand would do just fine.

Although his Body Refinement had reached the Third Layer, allowing him to overwhelm Golden Core stage Demon Beasts, Qin Xiao knew he was nothing more than an ant in the eyes of a peak Nascent Soul stage beast.

Fortunately, his physical body and speed had grown immensely after the breakthrough. While he could not shake the beast off, it could not catch him immediately either.

After fleeing for an unknown length of time, Qin Xiao found his path blocked by a sheer stone wall.

“Ah, Disciple. You really know how to land your master in trouble.”

Realizing there was no way out, Qin Xiao could not help but mutter a complaint.

The giant ape stopped a short distance away, staring at Qin Xiao with a puzzled expression without launching an attack.

Qin Xiao was baffled. What was going on? Trapping him without attacking? Was it playing mind games?

Whenever Qin Xiao tried to leave, the ape moved too. When he stopped, it stopped. It simply would not come forward to attack.

“Huh? What’s it up to?”

No matter how Qin Xiao probed, the beast stood its ground, neither attacking nor letting him pass.

“Could there be something unusual about this stone wall?”

Qin Xiao could not just wait to die. If the other beasts arrived, he would have no chance of escape. After thinking it over, he could only suspect something strange about the wall.

He felt along the wall, but found no mechanism. What did the ape want?

With no solution, Qin Xiao had to fight, even if he could not win. They could not stay like this forever. He charged the ape first.

Despite putting his full strength into the charge, a single sweep of the giant ape’s palm sent him crashing violently back against the stone wall.

“This is hopeless. I can’t beat it, and I can’t outrun it.” This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.

Qin Xiao struggled up, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“Master, I’m here to save you!”

While Qin Xiao was at a loss, Yun Man called from afar.

When Yun Man sensed that the ape was no longer chasing her, she knew it must have gone after Qin Xiao. She followed its tracks and arrived just in time to see it slap him away.

“Why did you come back? Didn’t I tell you to run?”

Seeing her return warmed his heart, but Qin Xiao kept his tone stern.

Better for one of them to escape than neither! If she came back, they might both die here. What was the point?

“Master, I couldn’t escape. I reached the entrance leading to the first layer, but beasts had blocked it too. And I can’t just stand by and watch you die!”

Yun Man had considered escaping alone. But the route to the first layer was blocked, so she flew back, intending to check the third layer’s entrance. She ran into the ape, and that led her to Qin Xiao again.

“Looks like that evil cultivator prepared to wipe us all out. Beasts are guarding the entrance to the third layer too.”

After hearing her story, Qin Xiao described his own encounter. It seemed escape was hopeless.

“Master, what do we do now? Are we really going to die here?”

His answer left Yun Man at a loss too. Was there really no hope left?

Though Yun Man had reached early Nascent Soul, she was still a girl in her teens. Her responsibility to seek vengeance had forced her to be stronger than others her age, but she was a girl all the same. In a crisis like this, she wanted someone to lean on. Qin Xiao fit the image she had in mind.

She had gone from suspicion to confusion, then trust. Though Qin Xiao often seemed unreliable, she still firmly believed her master would find a way.

“What’s this talk about dying? I’m still alive, aren’t I? Don’t worry. If we die, I’ll go first. Stay calm. Don’t panic.”

Seeing how flustered she was, Qin Xiao hurried to reassure her.

At first, Qin Xiao had seen Yun Man merely as a useful helper. The System required a Heavenly Spirit Root; that was why he had taken her as his disciple. He had never felt anything special toward her. To him, they were simply master and disciple, and she was a helper he could trust.

But now, with their lives at stake, he saw her differently. She was just a girl, and she could be afraid too. Take away her cultivation, and in his previous life she would have been nothing more than an innocent high-school student. It was time for her master to stand up for her.

“Disciple, can you wound it?”

After thinking for a moment, Qin Xiao asked Yun Man.

“Master, do you have a plan? I can hurt it, but it never gives me an opening!”

Yun Man asked quickly, explaining her concern.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll hold it back from the front and give you an opening. Attack from the side. I had another breakthrough earlier. It’s powerful, but it can’t kill me that quickly. We have to work together now, or we’ll have no chance.” Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.

Qin Xiao briefly explained his plan. It was all they could do.

The ape’s earlier slap had not injured Qin Xiao badly, thanks to both the Heart-Protecting Turtle Shell and third-layer Body Refinement. He felt he should be able to endure it as long as the ape did not strike with all its strength.

“Master, are you certain? This is a peak Nascent Soul stage beast! If all else fails, let me hold it off while you escape.”

His plan worried Yun Man. After struggling with herself, she still wanted to hold the ape back while he escaped first.

“Run, my ass! Together, we have the advantage. I don’t have much in the way of attacks, so I’ll take the front line. You deal the damage. Master and disciple together—work goes easier!”

Qin Xiao quickly laid out their plan. If they fled now, what about next time? They could not leave the layer, and they could not run forever. They might as well fight.

“All right. Be careful, Master.”

Seeing his confidence, Yun Man stopped objecting. She trusted that he must have some other way.

Once she agreed, Qin Xiao took his stance and lunged at the ape again.

The outcome mirrored the first attempt; a sweeping palm batted him instantly backward.

“Disciple, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just testing its strength. Nothing to worry about!”

Qin Xiao climbed up again and spoke awkwardly to a puzzled Yun Man.

This time he did not attack again at once. He thought it over. The ape’s movement speed was about the same as his, but its reflexes were far better. He could not get close.

“Wait. Being slower has its advantages too. Let me show you the Stop-Short Fighting Style I invented!”

Having decided what to do, Qin Xiao charged again.

This time, just before the ape’s palm struck him, Qin Xiao paused. Its hand swept past, brushing by his body too soon.

Before the beast could recover, Qin Xiao closed the distance to its face and threw a punch straight at its head.

The move confused the ape, but it quickly turned its head. Qin Xiao’s punch missed. Still in the air, he lost his balance and fell.

The ape brought its hand back to swat Qin Xiao dead. But his loss of balance had made him fall, so it missed again and gave itself a hard slap.

“What kind of fighting style is Master using? It actually works?”

Yun Man was dumbfounded by what he had done.