347: A little effort can bring great results

Clang!

The nine-ringed broadsword and the long spear collided, and both sprang apart instantly like rubber balls. Ao Lie’s arm went numb from the shock of the impact, and he was secretly startled. Looking again, he saw that the Crocodile God had actually stood firmly in place after retreating only two or three steps.

"Although you are from the West Sea Dragon Clan, don't forget that my Crocodile tribe is also a Dragon descendant. While our Bloodline may not be as pure as yours, we still possess the Bloodline Divine Ability inherited from the Dragon Clan..."

The Crocodile God sneered, brandished the nine-ringed broadsword in his hand, and his body trembled slightly before he charged toward Ao Lie again. However, in the instant he lunged, his body miraculously curled into a ball, and the broadsword spun rapidly like a top, spiraling toward Ao Lie to shred him.

Ao Lie couldn't help but be slightly stunned, then laughed and said, "With your appearance, you dare to call yourself a Dragon descendant?"

The mockery was maximized, and the top spun even more violently. In the blink of an eye, it was like a cutting machine; wherever it grazed the ground, it carved out a one or two-meter-long cut, sending sparks flying—a truly spectacular sight.

Clang!

Sizzle...

The long spear struck the "top" hard, as if swinging a baseball bat, but the opponent's strength was surprisingly great, and his stability was extremely strong. Despite Ao Lie's strength, it was he who was sent flying again. The immense force made his wrists go numb, almost to the point where he couldn't control his weapon.

"This guy's brute force is this strong? Calling himself a Dragon descendant is really no boast... So this is what a 'Sow Dragon' is... I wonder which ancestor was capable of breeding such a bizarre species..."

Thinking this, Ao Lie had already unfolded his movement technique, dodging everywhere.

The massive ball, however, seemed to have eyes, speeding toward him while spinning. Every time, it could accurately find his position, and sometimes it would bounce off the ground, crashing toward him with the momentum of falling from the air. Fortunately, Ao Lie's speed was extremely fast, and he was much more agile than the Crocodile God, so although the Crocodile God's offensive was fierce, it couldn't harm him in the slightest.

Of course, Ao Lie only had the ability to dodge but no way to counterattack. After all, the opponent's sword was no ordinary object, and he himself was thick-skinned and tough; even the long spear in Ao Lie's hand could barely break through his defense.

"This can't go on..." While dodging, Ao Lie began to rack his brain!

Come to think of it, since joining the pilgrimage team, his combat prowess had never been particularly prominent. In "Journey to the West," only a limited number of chapters mentioned his combat episodes, but what his actual strength was remained unclear to most people.

In terms of combat power, he had a certain gap compared to Pigsy and Sha Wujing, but that didn't mean he was weak. While in the West Sea, he had led the Dragon Palace warriors to wipe out invading foreign aquatic clans; he could truly be called a wise general. Therefore, he quickly thought of a way to cope!

Clang! With a crisp sound, Ao Lie, no longer dodging, used just one move to make the Crocodile God lose control and be sent flying into mid-air.

The Crocodile God spun wildly in the sky, struggling to stabilize his figure. Looking down, he saw Ao Lie propping his long spear diagonally on the ground, watching him with calm composure, wearing a trace of a disdainful smile.

"This is truly strange..." The Crocodile God curled his lips. "Could it be that I made an operational error? But that's not right. Just now, whether it was the angle or the speed, I controlled it very well. I shouldn't have lost control or been thrown off course because of that!"

The unconvinced Crocodile God immediately repeated his old trick, turning into a ball and crashing down from the air. However, Ao Lie still did not dodge or evade, suddenly holding his long spear horizontally, as if intending to take the move head-on. The Crocodile God saw it clearly with his released Primordial Spirit, and couldn't help but sneer: "Heh heh, very good. Just stand there and take it, let's see me ram you to death! Uh..." Bang!

The Crocodile God's body instantly tilted, and then he slammed fiercely into the city wall like a missile!

At this moment, the defensive array on the city had already been reopened, and a protective shield enveloped the city. When the Crocodile God's body hit it, it was like hitting an electric net. Even though he was thick-skinned and tough, he was scorched black all over by the lightning power attached to it.

"What the f*ck? Why did this happen?"

Having finally escaped the attack range of the defensive array, the Crocodile God flipped over and rushed toward Ao Lie, standing a dozen meters in front of him, seemingly somewhat cautious as he said, "You... what kind of sorcery did you use?"

Ao Lie smiled, gestured with the silver spear in his hand, and laughed: "Nothing much, I just slightly changed my defensive angle, and incidentally gave you a push when you lost control!"

The Crocodile God was full of question marks. He didn't believe that just by changing the angle of the long spear, one could crack his move? This was truly inconceivable. Little did he know, Ao Lie had long been influenced by Tang Ku and had learned the principles of Taiji from him, so he didn't meet attacks head-on at all!

The Crocodile God's brute force was relatively strong, but as long as Ao Lie's technique was sufficiently skilled, the Crocodile God's attacks couldn't harm him in the slightest!

This is what's called using intent instead of force. If a stably rotating object flying around encounters a smooth, slanted surface, it will inevitably be guided in the direction given by the slope. And if Ao Lie then applied a new force to him—deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces—he could make the Crocodile God completely lose control and lose his direction!

What a simple principle; this was essentially applying physics to combat. But one must know that without extremely strong powers of observation and keen insight, this would be impossible to achieve.

"Again!"

The Crocodile God's body spun up again. In reality, it was impossible to observe the surrounding environment with the naked eye using this method of movement; many times, he could only use the consciousness released by his Primordial Spirit to observe the situation and control his direction. This time, he had learned his lesson; the moment he was about to collide with Ao Lie, he used his consciousness to carefully observe his movements.

Sure enough, the upright long spear suddenly tilted, and he flew obliquely upward along the direction of the long spear. He wanted to control his body to adjust the direction back, but unexpectedly, a sudden huge force came from his side. The Crocodile God's body was completely out of control, and he charged toward the city wall again.

"Damn, it really works..."

The Crocodile God's face was full of disbelief, but this time he was careful and didn't put all his strength into the charge, so he could barely regain a little control. Before hitting the defensive array, he finally used a "thousand-catty drop" and slammed himself hard onto the ground. This slam blasted a large pit into the ground. He flipped out of the pit, brandished the broadsword in his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Kid, I underestimated you. It seems that ordinary moves can't deal with you..."

The Crocodile God opened his right hand and aimed it at Ao Lie: "Now, I truly regard you as an opponent, so, you're on your own!"

Ao Lie sneered: "Bring it on!"