Chapter 390: Chapter 383: Shaking the Earth

"Heh, I’ll leave this to you then."

Gleb glanced at Neil, turned, and with a light tap of his foot, his figure instantly vanished from the battlefield.

Only Neil and Zhou Yuanjue were left, facing each other.

Neil’s thick legs spread slightly, and his knees bent into a stance resembling a horse stance. Supported by those powerful thighs, he seemed unshakable.

Among the Four Pillars of Sistema, the Central Pillar represented "Centering and Stability" among the four Mystical Techniques.

The so-called "Centering and Stability" had a simple meaning: to constantly control one’s own "center of gravity" and "balance," keeping the body in a perfectly centered and stable posture at all times.

Both in the East and the West, the importance of center of gravity and balance is heavily emphasized in combat.

In the traditional Martial Dao of Donghua, the most basic training for many schools begins with holding a horse stance. What this develops is a Martial Artist’s stable center of gravity and balance.

In a battle between experts, losing one’s center of gravity and balance often means defeat. Even in modern mixed martial arts, where ground techniques have been introduced, the importance of a center of gravity cannot be understated.

And Neil was someone who had perfected this principle to its absolute peak.

In Beisha Country, although Gleb was considered the foremost among the Four Pillars, Neil’s actual status in the Beisha Martial Arts Realm was no less than Gleb’s.

If Gleb could be called Beisha’s strongest spear, then Neil could be called Beisha’s strongest shield.

Suddenly, Neil lifted his elephantine right leg and stomped it fiercely onto the ground.

The terrifying force only left a shallow footprint beneath his foot, yet Zhou Yuanjue could clearly feel a vast power hidden underground, spreading out rapidly.

Fifty meters away.

BOOM!!!

The ground suddenly exploded. A powerful shockwave erupted from beneath the earth, carrying with it a massive amount of gravel and dirt. Trees hit by the shockwave bent and snapped, torn up by their roots.

With a single stomp, Neil had actually created a circular trench fifty meters away!

’Such control over his power... Is this the ability of the Central Pillar?’

Zhou Yuanjue narrowed his eyes.

"I am different from Gleb. My own attacks are nothing compared to yours."

"Our spar will be simple. If you can force me out of this circle within one minute, I will admit defeat."

Neil said to Zhou Yuanjue, his square, almost stern face filled with solemnity.

’Knock him out of the circle... so, more than fifty meters away?’

A flicker of interest appeared in Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes.

The man had just witnessed his clash with Li Zhu, yet he could still say such a thing. This was definitely not an empty boast.

’Then, let’s see just what he’s capable of.’

Zhou Yuanjue’s eyes narrowed. He took a sudden step forward, his body shooting out like a sharp arrow as the Starlight Phoenix streaked through the air, trailing a long tail of light.

An Orthodox Fist!!

BOOM!!

The surrounding air churned violently, forming a vortex of wind. Zhou Yuanjue’s terrifying power surged toward Neil without reservation.

And just as he had said, Neil did not retreat in the face of Zhou Yuanjue’s attack. He extended his thick arms in front of him, crossing them to block.

THUD!!!

Zhou Yuanjue’s attack collided with the man’s arms, creating a dull, heavy sound.

It was at this exact moment that he felt a strange sense of powerlessness.

For an instant, he felt as if he wasn’t striking a person, but the entire earth.

There was no violent explosion on the ground. At that moment, Neil seemed to become a part of the earth itself, and all the force was channeled away, bit by bit.

At the Beisha Border Command, they witnessed a shocking scene through the high-altitude surveillance feed.

The ground for several hundred meters around the battlefield could be seen visibly heaving and shaking. Even several kilometers away, the tremors were still clearly perceptible.

But on the battlefield, Neil’s figure remained motionless under Zhou Yuanjue’s attack.

"That’s the protection of the Earth Goddess! General Neil’s strongest power! He once withstood the main cannons of a dozen tanks for a full minute without taking a single step back!!"

"Mr. Neil is our Beisha Country’s strongest shield! No one can break through!!"

Someone in the command center shouted excitedly.

’I see...’

’He uses his powerful physique and technique to divert all incoming attacks into the ground, minimizing the force he personally endures.’

’At the same time, he uses his unique magnetic field to connect with the earth, forming some kind of special link to maximize the effectiveness of this force-channeling technique.’

’To put it simply, a normal person’s center of gravity is within their body. This man has trained his to be outside his body, deep within the earth.’

"To move me, you’d have to move the entire Earth."

Neil spoke calmly, then, with a sudden exertion of force from his arms, shoved Zhou Yuanjue away. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Beisha Country’s strongest shield, is it?"

Zhou Yuanjue used the force to spring back, a slight smile touching his lips as he stared at his opponent.

"I don’t need to move the entire Earth to move you."

"I just need to make sure your feet can’t touch the ground."

The next moment, Zhou Yuanjue’s knees bent slightly. He lowered his body and spread his arms, like a Divine Bird spreading its wings to soar.

Neil’s brow twitched slightly.

SWISH!!

In an instant, Zhou Yuanjue’s body shot forward, parting the air. Light bloomed from his palms, and seen from high above, he looked like a falling star.

SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH!!

Using the Hundred Falcons’ Cry technique, countless phantoms of starlit fists shot out in an instant, like a meteor shower.

The Stars, Fall!!

Countless terrifying attacks rained down on Neil. His pupils shrank, and just as he prepared to parry, he froze.

He realized that not a single one of those terrifying attacks was aimed at him.

Every attack deliberately avoided him.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The ground all around him exploded under the furious assault.

’This guy...’

Neil immediately understood what his opponent was trying to do.

’He wants to blast away the very ground beneath my feet!!’

’To leave me momentarily airborne!!’

’That’s just wishful thinking!!’

Neil’s thick legs tensed as he used a technique similar to the Thousand-Pound Fall.

However, under the bombardment of countless terrifying attacks, a deep crater, like one from a meteorite impact, formed in the ground. For a split second, Neil found himself unable to keep his feet on solid earth.

That momentary gap was a fatal opening for him.

SWISH!!

A single attack struck him square in the chest. With no way to mitigate it, the savage power was unleashed wantonly. Accompanied by a visible ripple in the air, Neil’s body shot backward like a cannonball.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!!

He flew for over a hundred meters, snapping countless trees before finally coming to a stop.

"Cough, cough!"

Neil slowly got to his feet, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth. He looked in Zhou Yuanjue’s direction with a complicated expression.

The ground was now covered in irregular craters, all over two meters deep, as if it had just been bombarded by meteorites—a terrifying and gruesome sight.

He had never imagined that his ability could be broken in such a simple and brutal fashion.

And at the Beisha Border Command, those watching the scene on the surveillance feed were even more stunned, struck completely silent.

They stared intently at the terrifying crater, and at the man standing beside it.

Young, powerful, dominant, magnificent...

These were the highest words of praise for a man.

From this day forward, this would be their impression of him.