Chapter 197: Chapter 176: Founding Emperor of Southern Chen

Inside the imperial tomb, Du Chengfeng and the Burly Man stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Looking at the tables and chairs around the Burly Man, Du Chengfeng now realized that this Burly Man was probably the resident of the imperial tomb. He had previously thought that no one would come to such a gloomy place, but it seemed that ordinary people couldn’t come here to clean.

Unusual people, naturally, could.

This Burly Man was clearly that unusual person; his martial arts skills were quite formidable even to Du Chengfeng. Additionally, the fact that he used his fists and feet as weapons showed he could withstand the refining of Evil Qi, meaning he could also resist the omnipresent solitude of the imperial tomb.

"So you’d better leave quickly."

Du Chengfeng pondered for a while and decided to give some advice, suggesting the Burly Man, whom he had only met once, leave quickly.

"There’s going to be a fight here soon. If it really collapses, you might be in danger."

"A fight? With whom?"

The Burly Man showed not only no intention to leave but also great interest.

"Do you need my help?"

"Ah, well, you probably can’t help."

Du Chengfeng shook his head.

Indeed, he couldn’t help. Using fists and feet was similar to wielding the Bladeless Sword; it couldn’t draw blood from a giant that’s invulnerable to weapons. Coupled with the massive size difference, his martial arts might be ineffective.

Moreover, this was Du Chengfeng’s own battle.

This was his own fight, a battle to prove himself. He had sensed this at the entrance of the imperial tomb. To completely rid himself of the shadow left in Ziyang Mountain in Yanzhou and remove the influence that Elder Ruan had left on him, he needed to single-handedly knock down the colossal giant in the tomb.

That was where his own pleasure lay, and how could he share it with anyone else?

"Pleasure... huh?"

The Burly Man furrowed his brow.

"Since you insist on going in, I won’t stop you, but could you leave that box of snacks beside you for me?"

"I can’t; it’s for someone else."

Du Chengfeng shook his head.

Even though he was about to fight, Du Chengfeng wasn’t unreasonable. Since he was intruding on someone else’s territory, he had to bring a gift, as the saying goes: ’First courtesy, then arms.’ Bring some snacks and fruits as a gift, then it becomes a proper encounter.

This was part of Du Chengfeng’s persistence as a civilized person.

"First courtesy, then arms, huh..."

The Burly Man began scratching his head.

"Then you should really leave the snacks with me."

"... What do you mean?"

Du Chengfeng suddenly felt something was amiss.

Because the Burly Man, right in front of him, started taking off his clothes.

Even though his prominently toned muscles were quite impressive, it wasn’t necessary to go so far as taking off his pants—watching the Burly Man strip bare in just a moment, Du Chengfeng quickly covered his eyes with his hand.

It’s not that there was anything he couldn’t see, but mainly because he didn’t need to watch a grown man strip naked in front of him.

Yet soon, a thunderous voice boomed in the air.

"Take your hand away."

"Hmm?"

Du Chengfeng furrowed his brows.

The voice wasn’t coming from just ahead.

Instead, it was coming from above.

"Take your hand away, there’s nothing you can’t see."

"..."

Du Chengfeng gripped the hilt of the sword at his back. No matter how slow he was, he realized that only the giant, more than ten meters tall, could speak from such an angle.

Drawing the massive sword from his back, Du Chengfeng opened his eyes.

The naked giant and sword-wielding Du Chengfeng stood facing each other.

Wide-eyed, they stared at each other.

"Wait a moment, let me put on some clothes first."

Saying this, the enormous giant walked behind the equally massive throne. Du Chengfeng vaguely heard the sound of rummaging.

After a moment of bustling activity, the giant emerged from behind the throne, now clad in heavy robes.

"Sorry, it would’ve been more comfortable to dress lightly, but this is the only outfit that fits... I’ve grown a couple more sizes recently, sorry about that."

"Ah, it’s okay..."

Du Chengfeng nodded, although his eyes were still a bit dazed.

The absurdity of what had just happened was too much, causing a slight overload in his mind—even though he considered himself knowledgeable, the sight of a ten-meter-tall naked giant struggling to put on pants was overwhelmingly striking.

At this moment, no matter how slow Du Chengfeng was, he realized that the Burly Man and the naked giant must be the same person.

This realization only further strained his brain.

"Let’s rest for a bit."

Seeing Du Chengfeng still processing, the giant sighed.

"Sit for a while, or exchange a few words. As you said, first courtesy, then arms. Fighting doesn’t have to be rushed."

"..."

Silently, Du Chengfeng placed the snacks on a nearby table and pulled up a chair to sit down.

He needed some time to digest the overwhelming information.

The giant, once again, shrank his body, this time right in front of Du Chengfeng, until his massive frame compressed to just over two meters tall. The massive clothes then enveloped the Burly Man.

Crawling out from the pile of clothes, the now-naked Burly Man walked to Du Chengfeng’s side, dressed in a common person’s clothes, and sat on another chair.

This only added to Du Chengfeng’s headache.

"How did you do that?"

Pointing at the pile of massive clothes and then at the ordinary clothes on the Burly Man, Du Chengfeng’s brow furrowed deeply.

"Compression of power? Can you even compress muscles and bones?"

"Overall compression; mainly, being too large is inconvenient."

The Burly Man remained chatty.

"However, this strictly speaking, isn’t a technique. Mainly, being too big isn’t suitable for eating snacks; one bite and they’re gone, can’t even taste them... It’s much better this way."

Saying this, the Burly Man opened the snack box by Du Chengfeng’s side and took a piece to eat.

"This shop’s seasoning is always quite good. Would you like some too?"

"Forget it, let’s just fight."

Du Chengfeng unsheathed the large sword, deciding to stop overthinking.

After all, his purpose for coming was to draw blood. Everything else was irrelevant.

But just as Du Chengfeng prepared for battle, the Burly Man shook his head.

"If it were in the past, I might have fought with you because it is quite interesting."

Saying this, the Burly Man popped another snack into his mouth.

"But now, I don’t want to fight you."