THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 8 - Season 19 Episode 24

The numerous eyes around the beast’s head had all trained to look at the Princess Royal.

Zen was close enough that he could see the woman’s reflection in all of those eyes, like a kaleidoscope of numerous mirrors on a wall.

Suddenly, a fair and slim arm grabbed him. It was the Princess Royal, holding her umbrella in one hand and Zen in the other. She summoned her full strength and they raced even faster; far faster than Zen would have been able to go on his own.

They were both out of breath by this point, but they had no choice. They had to keep going.

The rotating umbrella seemed to exude a strange force that removed all resistance in their way. Air parted in front of them, and the ground turned to a blur beneath their feet. The wind built into a roar in Zen’s ears.

There was a sound like the splitting of the earth and the crash of ten thousand thunderbolts.

The Formless Sky Python drove through the earth like a spear through flesh. The tumult of sound had come from behind them. They managed to escape!

As the massive body of the Formless Sky Python drilled into the ground, the earth gave way and a tsunami of rock was sent rippling outward, its crests like mountains and troughs like valleys.

The wave hit Zen and the princess, pushing them forward in the hurricane of dust. After ten miles, the cloud had lost its strength and the waves had returned to the ground. The two caught up in the wind, and continued to fly forward.

Shock. Terror. They saw carnage as they spun around.

The procession of Spirit Transformation Realm warriors following the princess had long disappeared without a trace, swallowed in the bowels of the Formless Sky Python.

The ground continued to heave and howl. It was as if a storm had come, showering lightning everywhere.

The colossal body of the Formless Sky Python had by now disappeared into the ground. Though the world thrashed around them, there was no longer any trace of the beast…

“Don’t stop! Keep moving forward!” cried Zen.

They had managed to escape death, but he knew the chase wasn’t over.

The ground beneath wouldn’t protect them. It would fold like paper in the face of the Formless Sky Python’s power.

In fact, at that very moment, the Formless Sky Python slid through the dark underground like a crocodile through water, poised to strike at any time at the hapless figures on the surface.

The speed at which it now moved was something they hadn’t even considered…

Just as Zen’s voice faded away, the ground below them suddenly caved into a massive pit thousands of feet in width. Just as quickly, the dirt and the trees disappeared, and above them yawned the jaws of the Formless Sky Python.

The beast had erupted out of the earth and now rushed into the sky, attempting to swallow the Princess Royal and Zen whole.

The both of them had jumped away in the nick of time, however, and were caught on top of the Formless Sky Python’s mouth as they rocketed into the sky. Zen’s mind raced, but there was nothing he could think of. The Teleportation Token and the token of the mountain weren’t available, and there didn’t seem to be any other means of escape.

In the face of such a powerful and vast monster, any ordinary martial artist was unable to resist. Only the Supreme Lords would be able to save them, and even then only temporarily suppress the beast.

Their hearts sank once more.

“I’m sorry for getting you into this predicament,” said the princess.

Zen turned to look at her. She had spoken calmly while holding her oil-paper umbrella.

Her features were soft and sincere, and her beautiful, sad eyes were fixed on Zen’s.

Zen felt like cursing. What was the use of apologizing!? Now of all times, and here of all places!? ‘She simply shouldn’t have tried to capture me from the start, ‘ he thought to himself.

All he wanted to do now was to summon his strength to fight the Formless Sky Python, but he was drained and weak. He felt that he wouldn’t be able to beat the monster even if he tried. Instead, he merely grabbed the princess’s arm and they flew upwards, trying to escape.

The Formless Sky Python’s head rose rapidly, trying to swallow the two of them into its mouth. They desperately tried to fly faster, but the jaws of the beast had formed walls around them, leaving them nowhere else to go but upward. They strained with their speed as they felt clouds whip by them in a flash, but the Formless Sky Python’s jaws grew taller and taller around them. The jaws began to close…

Suddenly, the Formless Sky Python froze, turning rigid mid-flight.

Zen and the Princess Royal were stunned. They looked up to discover that, only a few hundred miles away, Kennan and Woodrow had appeared and had once again cast their Wishing Spells! They had sealed the other head of the Formless Sky Python!

The Formless Sky Python had two heads at both ends, and when its tail was sealed, it meant that one of its heads became sealed as well. As its tail head was taken care of, the head under Zen and the princess’s feet could no longer rise any further!

“It’s done,” whispered Zen in disbelief.

He had never felt so overjoyed to be alive before. He dragged the princess with him, leaping over the huge mouth of the Formless Sky Python, escaping from the mouth that led to the abyss.

Before he could say anything else, however, violent tremors thundered out into the heavens. The tail of the Formless Sky Python was thrashing madly, struggling to escape its bounds.