Chapter 158 - 157: Worldview Shattered

Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Worldview Shattered

"S-s-s... A powerhouse!!" The Blade-Pledger’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. No one knew the power of the Deceitful People better than him.

These were humans who had undergone an incomplete awakening and were then corrupted by the massive amount of yin energy pouring from a netherworld rift.

In terms of strength, speed, explosive power, physical durability, and their bizarre abilities...

They surpassed ordinary Awakened by more than tenfold!

Especially after their minds were corroded, their temperaments became even more sinister and vicious.

Although the Deceitful People acted like wild beasts when hungry, once their hunger was sated, their minds would become just like a normal person’s—or even slightly smarter.

The Deceitful Person who had injured him was clearly in a state of hunger.

But in a state of hunger, they were even more ferocious and brutal.

Yet it was precisely such a Deceitful Person who had been blasted away by a single punch from He Xiaotian.

’Damn!’

’Good thing I ran so fast last night. Otherwise, if he’d taken me out with that hammer of his, who could I have complained to?’

"Pretty tough."

He Xiaotian retracted his fist and commented.

The Blade-Pledger rolled his eyes at that. ’Pretty tough?’

’It’s ’incredibly tough’!!’

"Buddy, wanna pledge a blade? My golden blade is wicked good for dealing with Deceitful People."

The Blade-Pledger suddenly started plying his old trade. Of course, he had no ulterior motives; he simply wanted to lend his golden blade to He Xiaotian.

After all, the bodies of Deceitful People, infused with vast yin energy, were as indestructible as steel.

"No need. For a small fry of this level, using a weapon would be beneath me."

He Xiaotian politely refused. The old Daoist had told him last night just how special Blade-Pledgers were.

’How could I dare use it?’

’Besides, it’s just beating up an elite mob with my bare hands. Using a weapon would be an insult to this Divine Power of mine.’

The Blade-Pledger was left speechless. In his half-year of traveling all over the country, he had never once seen anyone take down a Deceitful Person with their bare hands.

’There’s a limit to bragging!’

So, he leaned against the wall, looking like he was settling in to watch a show.

’Kid, when you find you can’t even scratch it...’

’...you’ll come begging me for my blade.’

"ROAR!" "ROAR!"

The Deceitful Person rose from the rubble, and its miserable state nearly made the Blade-Pledger’s jaw drop.

’What am I seeing?’

The eye socket of the Deceitful Person, whose toughness defied belief, had actually been shattered by He Xiaotian’s punch!

One of its eyeballs had even exploded, leaving behind a bloody hole.

’Holy shit?!’

’Are you sure you just used your fist and not some kind of incredibly powerful anomalous item?’

"An angry beast?"

He Xiaotian looked mockingly at the Deceitful Person, which only enraged it further.

"ROAR!!"

This roar was different from the last.

It was incredibly piercing, feeling as if their heads were being struck by a heavy hammer.

The young Daoists couldn’t bear it and all covered their ears.

Then, they staggered on their feet like stumbling drunks.

With a THUD, they collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Their minds were still clear, but they couldn’t control their bodies.

Among those present...

...only the Blade-Pledger and Shouyangzi were relatively unharmed.

The former was experienced in dealing with Deceitful People and had long since prepared for this.

The latter, meanwhile, was covered in Daoist talismans; it wouldn’t be so easy for him to fall for such a trick.

The Deceitful Person looked at the motionless He Xiaotian and, surprisingly, revealed a rare smile.

SWOOSH!

With a sound of splitting air, the Deceitful Person turned into a black flash of lightning and shot toward He Xiaotian.

Its right arm shot out, revealing claws so sharp they didn’t look human.

Target—the eyeballs!

’It’s over!’

The Blade-Pledger exclaimed inwardly upon seeing this.

He wasn’t afraid of ordinary Deceitful People.

But the Blade-Pledger knew full well that he was no match for this one that had suddenly appeared at the Divine Void Temple.

The two of them were not in the same league. He had thought that with the appearance of an unexpected powerhouse like He Xiaotian, they might stand a chance.

But now, the burly man was motionless before the claws gouging for his eyes. He must have fallen for the trick.

’Sigh! Time to run.’

Just as the Blade-Pledger was preparing to sneak away, the Deceitful Person’s claws viciously raked across He Xiaotian’s eyelids.

He had closed his eyes at the critical moment.

CLANG!

The expected spray of blood and pained scream never came.

Instead, they saw sparks fly from the contact between the Deceitful Person’s claws and He Xiaotian’s eyelids.

SNAP!

He Xiaotian’s right hand clamped down on the Deceitful Person’s wrist, and he opened his eyes with a grin.

"Gotcha!"

The reason he had remained motionless was precisely because he was wary of the Deceitful Person’s speed.

To be honest, the thing’s speed was truly astonishing.

Its agility, in particular, was terrifying.

He Xiaotian felt that even he would have had to take that earlier blow to the Blade-Pledger head-on rather than dodge.

It was too fast!

Although his Spiritual Power had increased dramatically, allowing him to perceive everything in minute detail within a thirty-meter radius...

...his body’s agility couldn’t keep up, rendering it all useless.

If the Deceitful Person had tried to drag out the fight, He Xiaotian would have probably had a hard time.

That’s why he staged the scene of standing motionless and taking the claw attack head-on.

His ninety-three points of toughness gave him immense confidence.

As it turned out, he was right.

"ROAR!!"

A sky-shattering roar erupted, and a golden light flashed from Shouyangzi’s body.

A shower of ash then fluttered down, and the old Daoist looked on, wanting to cry but having no tears.

Over a dozen Daoist talismans meant to defend against spiritual attacks were destroyed just like that.

’My heart aches!’

The Blade-Pledger’s face went pale, and he immediately dropped to his knees, bleeding from all seven orifices.

"Damn, I miscalculated. This Deceitful Person’s ability level is so high."

The young Daoists lying on the ground began to convulse, their eyes rolling back into their heads.

"So noisy!"

He Xiaotian was also unavoidably affected to some degree.

But it was fine; he wasn’t injured.

Then, his left hand grabbed the Deceitful Person’s neck, and he lifted it up before viciously slamming it onto the floor.

BOOM!!

"..."

The Blade-Pledger watched the violent scene before him and suddenly began to doubt his profession. He even felt his worldview starting to shatter.

He Xiaotian was half-squatting on the ground, his left hand pinning the struggling Deceitful Person while his right, clenched into a fist like a Big Hammer, smashed down again and again.

"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"

With every punch, the entire meditation room would shake.

The surrounding ground vibrated continuously.

Shouyangzi hurriedly ran back in, carrying the temple’s disciples out in his arms.

If this place collapsed, they would surely be the ones to die.

"Your breath stinks! How many days has it been since you brushed your teeth? The smell almost made me puke. A guy like you isn’t worthy of being my son."

The sight of a fiend that you considered incredibly powerful being pinned to the ground and brutally hammered by a big brute was undoubtedly a massive shock.

The Blade-Pledger stared blankly at the Deceitful Person receiving a vicious beating.

’Is slaying demons and exorcising evil this simple?’

’Have I been on the wrong path?’

’Should I abandon the Blade-Pledger profession, switch careers to bodybuilding, and become a muscleman? Then one day, could I also pin down such a powerful Deceitful Person and pummel it into submission?’

He Xiaotian had no idea that his righteous, socialist iron-fist beatdown had almost inspired the Blade-Pledger to switch to a whole new line of work.