In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

This punch was delivered without reservation, containing all of the giant ape's anger and life force. The moment the fist struck the giant lizard's head, it erupted with a blinding grayish-white light, freezing the air in the entire basin for a moment.

"boom--!!!"

A deafening explosion rang out. The giant lizard's head was dented by the punch, and dark blue blood mixed with brain matter gushed from the shattered skull. Its body convulsed violently a few times before its massive form crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

But the giant ape paid a heavy price. The moment its right fist struck the giant lizard's head, it was hit head-on by the lizard's final, deadly breath of sulfurous poison. That poisonous breath, incredibly corrosive, instantly corroded the giant ape's right fist and half its arm, leaving only bare bone.

The giant ape staggered backward, each step leaving a deep crater in the ground. It looked down at its right arm, now just bones, then at the lifeless giant lizard lying on the ground. A complex light flashed in its crimson eyes—the ecstasy of victory, the pain of losing its arm, and a deeper, indescribable weariness.

The giant ape dragged its mangled body step by step toward the mountain-like carcass of the giant lizard. It lowered its head, its crimson eyes fixed on the shattered skull, a low, greedy growl emanating from its throat. Devouring the essence of this behemoth of equal strength would not only heal its wounds but could even elevate its power to a new level. In this cruel wasteland, every opportunity was a matter of life and death.

It stretched out its only remaining left arm, its huge claws digging into the monitor lizard's eye sockets—one of the most concentrated areas of energy.

Just before its claws were about to touch the monitor lizard's eyeball—

A dark golden light, like lightning tearing through the night, suddenly shone from the direction of the riverbed outlet.

The light wasn't dazzling; in fact, it was somewhat restrained. But the oppressive aura it contained caused the giant ape to freeze abruptly. Its massive body instinctively took a half-step back, its crimson pupils suddenly contracting as it locked onto the direction from which the light shone.

Lin Qiye's figure had somehow appeared, now standing atop the giant lizard's corpse.

The giant ape was stunned.

Its massive, crimson eyes were fixed on Lin Qiye, as if trying to confirm whether it was hallucinating. How dare a tiny human stand between it and its spoils, speaking to it in such a tone?

"roar--!!!"

After a brief moment of shock came boundless rage. The giant ape pounded its shattered chest, unleashing a deafening roar that sent shards of stone and dust billowing towards Lin Qiye. Though severely wounded—its left arm broken and its right arm reduced to bone—its dignity as a apex predator in this region would not tolerate such a cowardly provocation!

It suddenly raised its skeletal right arm, and although it was just bone, the arm bone, infused with its ferocious power, slammed down on Lin Qiye like a battering sledge, tearing through the air with a shrill shriek! This strike contained its rage at having its spoils stolen and the savage power of a giant beast. Although its power was not as great as in its prime, it was still enough to level a small hill.

Lin Qiye stood atop the giant lizard's head, his eyes remaining completely unmoved in the face of this overwhelming blow.

He didn't even move his feet.

He simply raised his right hand, his five fingers pointing towards the massive bone arm that had crashed down, and made a loose grasp.

hum-

The dark gold emblem in his palm suddenly lit up, and an extremely refined dark gold light screen instantly unfolded in front of him. The light screen was only a thin layer, yet it seemed to contain the weight of the world.

The giant ape's bony arm slammed heavily onto the light screen.

"clang--!!!"

A deafening roar, far louder than any previous clash of metal, exploded outwards, sending a violent shockwave sweeping outwards in a ring, further plunging the already shattered ground in the basin several feet deeper. The giant ape's massive body was thrown back several steps by the recoil, each step causing the earth to rumble.

The thin light barrier in front of Lin Qiye only rippled slightly, without even a crack appearing.

The giant ape steadied itself, and for the first time, disbelief appeared in its crimson eyes. It looked at the tiny cracks on its bony arm caused by the recoil, then at the undamaged light screen in front of the tiny human. A sense of dread, stemming from the depths of its bloodline and a fear of a higher power, began to overwhelm its anger.

But it was not willing to give up.

It paid the price of an arm to kill the monitor lizard, and this carcass was what it deserved! It was its hope to survive and even become stronger!

Rage and greed once again overwhelmed fear. The giant ape opened its blood-red maw, and a grayish-white light shone from deep within its throat—the remaining energy within its body, a mixture of life essence and violent source energy, which it was compressing and condensing at any cost, preparing to unleash its final, and strongest, attack!

Lin Qiye frowned slightly as he watched the light in the giant ape's mouth grow brighter and brighter.

He wasn't incapable of understanding the behemoth's obsession. In this wilderness, power was everything. But the giant lizard's corpse was equally important to him—not for devouring its energy (Candle's bloodline was far superior), but because the corpse itself might contain clues about this ancient land, about those "cracks" and "giant figures." The ancient aura emanating from the giant lizard and the giant ape, subtly resonating with Candle and the altar, was something he couldn't ignore.

Moreover, he cannot afford to waste too much time and energy here; the safety of his family is his top priority.

The energy ball in the giant ape's mouth had been compressed to its limit, and the grayish-white light was so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it. The terrifying energy fluctuations caused the surrounding space to begin to distort.

Just moments before it was about to erupt—

Lin Qiye moved.

This time, his movements were no longer the restrained defense or precise cutting of before.

His figure blurred for a moment, as if merging into the dark golden light flowing in the air. The next instant, he appeared directly in front of the giant ape's gaping maw, less than ten feet away from the ball of destructive energy!

This distance is equivalent to face-to-face contact for the giant ape's impending attack.

The giant ape's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints. It tried to forcefully change the direction of its attack, but the energy had already been compressed to a critical point, and forcibly changing it would only injure itself first.

Then, it saw an aura that was heavier than the earth beneath its feet, more vast than the sky above its head, and more ancient and majestic than any power it had ever felt in its long life, like a sleeping dragon awakening, bursting forth from that tiny body!

That wasn't a suppression of strength, but an absolute dominance stemming from the very essence of life!

The energy cluster in the giant ape's mouth fluctuated violently, showing signs of dissipating. Its massive body began to tremble uncontrollably—a primal fear triggered by memories etched deep within its bloodline, spanning countless generations. This being before it reminded it of the hazy, colossal figure depicted in the oldest murals of its tribe, walking across the earth at the dawn of creation…