Chinese Martial Arts: My Super Beast Clone

Lin Hai stood still, sensing the location of the Earth-Splitting Crocodile Dragon through mental connection.

The Earth-Splitter Crocodile Dragon was currently lurking two meters underground. Although the resistance to movement in the strata was greater than in water, its speed was still extremely fast. Like a true subterranean dragon, it quickly swam to the other side of the pool.

"boom!"

On the opposite bank of the pool, the ground suddenly exploded. Soil and gravel flew three or four meters high as the massive body of the Earth-Splitting Crocodile Dragon burst out of the ground with terrifying power, biting down on a piece of dead wood as thick as a water bucket.

With a loud crack, wood chips flew everywhere as the piece of dead wood was bitten in two.

Lin Hai stepped forward and examined the broken piece of dead wood. The break in the wood was jagged, showing signs of being violently crushed.

This terrifying bite force would surely result in broken bones and severed tendons for an ordinary martial artist at the Strength Refining stage. Even a Ming Jin stage expert, caught off guard, would likely be unable to dodge it.

After testing the new abilities of the Earth-Splitting Crocodile, Lin Hai opened the panel again, and the evolution of the Dragon-Snake Lizard into the Earth-Splitting Crocodile brought him a new boost.

When the skink evolved into the dragon lizard, it gave him a 1-point increase in physique, a 1-point increase in spirit, and a 100-jin increase in strength. The dragon lizard's evolution into the Earth-Splitting Crocodile Dragon provided an even greater boost. His physique increased by 2 points, his spirit increased by 2 points, and his strength increased by another 200 jin.

Lin Hai was pleasantly surprised by the improvement in his mental attribute, which now reached 7.2. He couldn't help but wonder if reaching 10 points in mental attribute would grant him any mental talents.

Having lingered in this wilderness for several days, my strength has increased dramatically, and I've obtained all the benefits I needed. It's time to return to Yangcheng. My eldest sister and younger brother are still at home; they must be very worried about me after being gone for so long.

Lin Hai bent down and began to gather the traces left over from the past few days. He carefully rolled up the complete tiger skin and tied it tightly with vines. There were too many tiger bones to take with him, so he only removed the most important one—the complete vertebral column containing the essence of power. In addition, the dried tiger gall, tiger penis, tiger teeth, tiger claws, and even the pair of crystal-clear jade horns were all packed into his bundle.

These items are hard currency in Yangcheng, enough to exchange for a large sum of money, sufficient to support his future martial arts training and improve his family's life.

He tied everything to the horse's back, then mounted himself, ready to return to Yangcheng.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just then, several loud noises suddenly rang out, and a flock of startled birds took flight from the woods, fleeing south in droves.

Lin Hai stopped and listened intently. The sound was very regular and rhythmic, clearly the sound of heavy artillery fire. And judging from the noise, it was at least ten miles away.

That direction leads to the Chishui River.

The Chishui River is a major river that runs through several provinces. It has a wide water surface, numerous tributaries, and flows all the way to the East China Sea.

Lin Hai didn't plan to go and join the fun himself. He looked at the Earth-Splitting Crocodile Dragon lying on the mud and gave the order for the big guy to go and check the north.

The Earth-Splitter Crocodile Dragon let out a low roar, its body sinking as a dark yellow halo appeared on its rocky armor. Its massive form vanished silently into the ground, like a fish entering water.

Lin Hai then mounted his horse, flicked the reins, and the mount trotted southward.

Despite the jolting motion on horseback, Lin Hai's mind was mostly absorbed in the other end of the spiritual connection.

The Earth-Splitter Crocodile Dragon moves extremely fast underground. Soil and sand seem to turn into soft water in the face of its "Earth-Walking" ability, automatically retreating to both sides.

The distance of more than ten miles was covered in no time.

As they drew closer, the tremors from underground grew increasingly intense, accompanied by deafening, incessant artillery fire. In addition, there were bursts of gunfire, like the crackling of popping beans.

The Earth-Splitter Crocodile slowed its pace, finally emerging from the ground and disappearing through a thicket of bushes. Through the soft cracks in the soil and the withered grass, the view of the Chishui River appeared before the forest.

The Chishui River is two or three miles wide in this section. The turbid, yellowish waters that used to flow so swiftly are now churning up waves several meters high.

In the middle of the river, a gray-black ironclad warship was sailing across the Chishui River. The warship was over fifty meters long, and a thick smokestack was constantly spewing out pungent black smoke.

At the bow of the ship, a Japanese military flag was flying.

Japanese warships have actually sailed into the inland waterway.

However, at this moment, the warship was in an extremely dangerous situation. The river water around the warship seemed to be churned up by some enormous force, surging with layers of waves.

With a deafening roar, the water surface exploded, and a colossal creature surged upwards from the seabed, slamming violently into the side armor of the ironclad warship.

The sickening sound of steel twisting echoed across the river. The massive hull of the ironclad warship tilted violently to one side, and many Japanese soldiers on the deck lost their footing and screamed as they fell into the turbulent river.

The enormous creature underwater surfaced, revealing its full form.

It was an old turtle, as big as a small hill.

Its carapace was a deep blue-green color, covered with crisscrossing ancient patterns, each scale looking as if it were cast from thick cast iron. Its limbs were as thick as tree trunks, and its huge claws even scratched long white marks on the armor plates of the ironclad warship.

"Fire! Fire at all costs!" On the command tower of the ironclad warship, a Japanese officer brandished his sword and roared at the top of his lungs.

The main gun at the bow, along with the rapid-fire cannons on both sides, once again unleashed a barrage of firepower at this giant turtle.

Shells, trailing sparks, slammed into the giant turtle's shell, sending up bursts of fire and smoke. But when the smoke cleared, the earth-shattering cannon fire left only a few shallow white marks on the dark blue shell, without even a crack.

The remaining Japanese soldiers on the deck stood in two rows, holding long-barreled rifles, firing wildly at the exposed body of the giant turtle. The bullets struck its thick-skinned neck, but couldn't even graze the skin, ricocheting directly into the water.

The giant turtle let out a low, rumbling roar, like muffled thunder. One of its claws gripped the ship's railing, and it opened its jaws wide enough to swallow a carriage, biting down on the barrel of a rapid-fire cannon that was firing on the deck. With a snapping sound, the sturdy steel cannon was reduced to scrap metal by its bite.

Seeing this scene, Lin Hai, who was more than ten miles away, was deeply shaken.

He had heard from the old people in the city that demons lived in the Chishui River and had guarded this waterway since ancient times. It was rumored that a few years ago, the Western fleet had tried to go upstream and penetrate inland, but was ultimately defeated by the towering waves stirred up by the river monsters and fled back to the sea in a sorry state.

I thought it was just a rumor at the time, but I never expected to see it with my own eyes today.

This giant turtle was clearly one of the powerful monsters guarding the Chishui River. With its flesh and blood, it fought against the Japanese's strong ships and cannons without being at a disadvantage.

The fact that the Japanese have deployed ironclad warships today is clearly yet another attempt.

The battle on the river became increasingly fierce.

The giant turtle was clearly enraged by the cannon fire. Its thick forelimbs gripped the armor of the ironclad ship tightly, and its entire body began to press down forcefully.

The ironclad warship groaned under its own weight, its bow slowly sinking into the water, as river water rushed onto its deck. The Japanese officer had stopped yelling and, escorted by several guards, stumbled and fled towards higher ground on the warship.

Just as the warship was about to capsize, the heavy steel hatch below the command tower was kicked open.

A man dressed in black samurai attire, with a long and a short katana at his waist, came out.