The giant serpent tumbled from the sky and crashed to the ground, sending rocks flying in all directions. The middle-aged man was also knocked by the tremendous recoil from one side of the volcano’s crater to the other, landing awkwardly on the ground.

Ethan Brooks secretly marveled: This middle-aged man can actually fight a hundred-zhang-long giant serpent alone—his cultivation is truly extraordinary.

Hiding in the jungle, Little Princess and the others were overjoyed to see the middle-aged man able to battle the giant serpent.

The middle-aged man and the giant serpent tangled together again. Relying on lightning-fast speed and exceptional skill, the man targeted the serpent’s eyes and other weak spots, while the serpent used its massive body to sweep and ram at him. Man and serpent leapt and tumbled across the volcano, huge boulders constantly rolling down the mountainside.

Man and serpent moved farther and farther from the crater, gradually fighting their way down the mountain. Ethan Brooks sensed trouble and quickly slipped away. Little Princess and her group also felt uneasy and hurriedly retreated a li.

Just as everyone withdrew, their original hiding place became the new battlefield. The middle-aged man and the giant serpent fought from the mountain top to the foot. Each punch from the man unleashed a blazing white light, shattering rocks and trees on contact.

The serpent’s destructive power was even greater. Each time it spewed flames, vast swathes of forest were incinerated into scorched earth. Every “sweeping blow” felled rows of trees.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire forest was leveled.

Ethan Brooks watched in shock and fear. He had seen peerless masters before—his own father was the greatest among them—but he had rarely witnessed such a fierce battle.

Little Princess secretly rejoiced: If the giant serpent had unleashed such fury on them earlier, she would probably already be reporting to heaven. Of course, that was just her wishful thinking; Ethan Brooks was more convinced she’d be heading to hell to meet the devils.

At this moment, the middle-aged man seemed to have gained the upper hand. His lightning-fast figure repeatedly appeared near the serpent’s earlier wounds, his fists, accompanied by blazing white light, pounding the same spot again and again. The giant serpent was battered and miserable, its massive body rolling uncontrollably.

Little Princess immediately cheered, “Master, go! Quickly kill that stinking snake and avenge my guards!”

“Aiya, old man, you’re so clumsy! How could you let the stinking snake gain the upper hand again? Did you get proud because I praised you?”

“Old man, you’re really hopeless! Aiya, you’re so stupid—how could you let the stinking snake burn your hair?”

……

The middle-aged man reached out and sliced off the lock of hair that had caught fire, then quickly retreated more than ten zhang.

“Master, you’re such a coward! How could you run away?”

Ethan Brooks chuckled to himself. With a devilish disciple like this, the man’s life was truly unfortunate.

The middle-aged man caught his breath and transmitted his voice: “Little girl, stop talking nonsense. If you keep causing trouble, you’ll be punished to face the wall for a hundred days when we get back.”

“I was just encouraging you!”

The middle-aged man: “……”

After being “provoked,” the middle-aged man unleashed his full power, beating the giant serpent into a state of exhaustion. Just as everyone thought victory was in his grasp, the serpent’s tail suddenly whipped around like lightning and coiled around the man’s waist, instantly lifting him high into the air. Even the serpent’s thinnest tail could wrap around him just once and bind everything below his chest.

Little Princess screamed and broke through the guards’ blockade, running forward.

The middle-aged man struggled with all his might, his whole body glowing faintly white. The light grew stronger and stronger, and the tail coiled around him gradually loosened. He was about to break free from the serpent’s grip when, at that moment, the ferocious serpent’s head suddenly opened its blood-red maw to bite him. He hurriedly swung both fists outward, a blaze of white light blocking the serpent’s head, but the loosening tail tightened around him again.

Little Princess ran quickly to within less than ten zhang of the giant serpent, her voice choked with sobs: “Master… wu…”

“Yuer, don’t cry. Master is fine. This little snake can’t take my life.”

“Master, catch the Houyi Bow!” As she spoke, Little Princess tossed the Houyi Bow and a feathered arrow into the air.

“Wu… Master, I’m sorry. I wanted to see your true strength, so I didn’t give you the Houyi Bow earlier. Wu wu…” Little Princess started crying again.

“Yuer, don’t be afraid. This little snake really can’t do anything to Master. Now that I have the Houyi Bow, it’s dead for sure.” As the middle-aged man spoke, he struck the serpent’s head twice with all his might, the blazing white light forcing the head back three zhang. He stretched out his hands, sending out a gentle white glow that drew the Houyi Bow and feathered arrow into his grasp.

“Yuer, get back—be careful not to get hurt.”

Seeing the middle-aged man receive the Houyi Bow, Little Princess was relieved and turned to run away.

The giant serpent, upon seeing the Houyi Bow, indeed showed fear, its massive head retreating seven or eight zhang.

The middle-aged man’s body shone with dazzling light. After nocking the feathered arrow, he used all his strength to draw the bowstring, shouting, “Open!” But to his surprise, the string didn’t move at all.

“Yuer, has anyone used the Houyi Bow before?” the man shouted.

“Yes, old man! That bloody hole on the snake was from my shot. Are you happy now? I finally managed to draw the divine bow!”