# 543
Chapter 544: Battle in the Yellow Sand
Beneath the Vast Desert sand-realm.
The black-robed Amon stood in the shadow of the suspended desert. One step carried him to the summit of the broken city fragment, and the black scepter in his hand pressed against the laws of Fengdu.
A strange black light seeped through that gloomy radiance, probing toward the primordial mountain range at the edge of the city fragment.
The curse began to spread.
…
Elsewhere.
Wind God Shu stood at the desert’s edge, watching the black-shirted figure dart and dodge again and again, showing no intention of intervening.
He had lost to Zhou Ping, drawing ridicule from the other nine pillar-gods. Since that was so, he simply stayed his hand. Let the arrogant Set collide with this human and discover for themselves that his own defeat had not come from weakness…
But because this human was too strong.
He even hoped Zhou Ping would push harder and make Set suffer a little; that way his own humiliation would be thoroughly washed away and he could turn the mockery back on them.
As soon as Set could hold out no longer, he would step in, join forces, and crush the human—then the city fragment would still be theirs.
This time, these humans had no chance of turning the tables.
Bang-bang-bang—!!
Dozens of yellow-sand hands burst from sky and earth, trying to seize Zhou Ping’s figure, but he slipped through them like a fish, not a grain of sand clinging to his clothes.
He twisted and leapt, slipping between the fingers of three giant hands, then swept his sword-finger in a light circle.
Cling—!
A clear sword-cry rang out; every sand hand within five hundred meters was sliced cleanly in half, the cuts smooth as glass, as though an invisible blade had passed.
Sword-qi whirled; the hands shattered inch by inch, turning back into a sandstorm that blanketed heaven and earth.
Zhou Ping landed lightly on the sand, toes touching once before he shot like an arrow through the storm, straight for the towering spire at the center of the sand-realm.
Set’s brows drew together; a fingertip beneath his cloak twitched.
Instantly the sand beneath Zhou Ping’s feet quaked violently. Every grain vibrated at a terrifying frequency, radiating dreadful energy.
Zhou Ping sensed the danger; a slash of his sword-finger tore open a corner of space and he vanished.
The next moment the vast stretch of sand he had stood upon erupted in blinding white light.
The energy-saturated grains annihilated themselves, taking with them all surrounding matter—light, air—obliterating everything in an instant.
When the glare faded, the patch of desert had become an empty void.
Absolute erasure of matter, using the yellow sand as medium.
Zhou Ping stepped out of another fold of space, glanced at the vanished ground, eyes grave.
Without hesitation he slashed space again, flashing forward another few hundred meters.
A second white bloom devoured the spot he had just left.
Again and again he cut through space, evading every zone of annihilation, racing toward the sand-spire at terrifying speed until he stood beneath it.
Set’s face darkened.
He had never imagined a lone human could move at will through his Vast Desert sand-realm and fight all the way to his feet.
Weren’t humans supposed to be weak and insignificant?
“This ends here.” Set shook his head, casting the thought aside.
A slightly stronger ant is still an ant. Once he grew serious, erasing it would be effortless.
Rumble…
The instant Zhou Ping reached the base of the spire, the entire tower shuddered.
Every grain of sand composing it flew apart; in a blink the spire dissolved. The suspended grains re-gathered, assembling something new…
Between one breath and the next, a colossal dark-yellow beast eclipsed the sky above Zhou Ping.
A sphinx of sand—its paw alone the size of a football field, much of its body hidden in cloud. Roughly the same size as the broken city beneath it.
The creature opened its mouth in a silent roar, raised a forepaw, and stamped down.
The huge paw compressed the air; a hurricane howled beneath it, whipping Zhou Ping’s clothes.
He looked up at the titan, then slowly closed his eyes.
With each breath, the skin over his chest glowed brighter, turning glassy and luminous!
The paw slammed onto the desert, punching a crater into the sand-realm; torrents of yellow sand cascaded upward, flooding the entire realm.
At that instant the paw exploded inch by inch!
Thousands of fierce sword-beams shredded the sand, carrying the black-shirted figure skyward.
Wherever he passed, the sphinx’s body was flayed by sword-qi, collapsing at shocking speed. When he pierced completely through the giant human face, a soft pop sounded—and the entire sphinx burst apart!
Sand rained from the sky. Zhou Ping hovered in the air, face pale.
“Cough, cough…”
He covered his mouth, coughing twice; crimson stained his palm…
Even with a breakthrough in sword-intent, his current body could not bear the burden of that strike.
He hung in the air only a moment before tearing through space, shooting straight for the cloaked God of Sand, Set!
Sword-qi soared to the heavens!
“Hm?”
Shu watched, brows lifting in surprise.
He had thought Zhou Ping, weaponless, would be far weaker—yet bare-handed the man fought Set to a standstill.
Had he not even been injured in their fight?
Impossible—his own winds had cut the man several times; that berserk divine power should have wounded him…
Could he have broken through again in this short time?
The idea startled Shu, but he quickly calmed.
Breakthrough or not, the man was still human—and human limits were fixed. He might suppress Set, but kill him? Never.
“Shu, what are you waiting for?!”
Seeing Zhou Ping racing toward him wrapped in terrifying sword-qi, Set felt a chill and shouted at the watching wind god.
Shu gave a cold laugh.
How does it feel?
Now you know how I lost!
Still think you’re better than me?
He deliberately waited a breath longer, then rode the gale toward Zhou Ping.
Whatever the case, the mission came first. If this human actually defeated them both, their reputations would be ruined beyond repair.