Chapter 443: The Saint Master's Awakening

“No!” Yuan Kong’s expression twisted as he roared, “Liao Chen, don’t even think about it!”

At the same time, the giant palm Dharma Shadow he had conjured before materialized once more.

This time, however, there was only one palm, as one of his arms had been severed.

But this single palm was even more ferocious than before. Shimmering with a faint golden light, it thundered forward like a small mountain.

It aimed to obliterate Xu Lei.

Xu Lei’s expression turned grim.

‘This Yuan Kong really is strong. To think he can still launch such a powerful counterattack after being hit by all those explosives.’

‘Hm? What’s this? A Spatial Talisman?’ Just then, Xu Lei spotted something good inside Yuan Kong’s Spatial Ring.

A faint smirk appeared on Xu Lei’s face.

He immediately took out a Talisman and activated it.

With a flash of light, a mysterious power enveloped Xu Lei.

In an instant, Xu Lei passed through a blinding white light.

The next moment, he found himself a thousand meters away from his previous position.

He was still on the Third Heaven, just in a different location.

“That’s my Talisman!” Yuan Kong roared in anguish.

That was his Treasure, something he was normally reluctant to use. Now, Xu Lei had used it, and against him, no less.

He was so furious he felt like he could cough up blood.

Realizing the severity of his injuries, he wanted to retreat.

After all, Xu Lei had Spatial Talismans and was extremely vigilant.

He couldn’t be sure he could land a hit on Xu Lei.

And what’s more, he was already severely injured.

“Saint Master, I beg you to deliver justice!”

As he retreated, Yuan Kong shouted, “Disciple Yuan Kong’s life is in grave danger! I beg you to awaken and save me!”

Xu Lei’s expression changed at his words.

‘I can’t believe he’s actually trying to awaken the legendary Saint Master.’

In truth, Xu Lei had no idea what kind of attitude the Saint Master would have upon waking, or what kind of person he was.

‘But I know one thing,’ Xu Lei thought. ‘To the Saint Master, I’m definitely not as valuable as Yuan Kong.’

“Trying to escape? Not a chance! Die!”

Xu Lei unleashed his Magical Power and furiously pursued Yuan Kong.

The Lotus Drill spun wildly as it shot forth.

He had to kill Yuan Kong before the Saint Master could awaken.

Yuan Kong dodged a few times, but soon found he couldn’t evade them all.

He was simply too heavily injured.

“I’ll kill you!”

But Xu Lei gave him no quarter, continuing his relentless assault.

Suddenly, Yuan Kong counterattacked.

The giant palm thundered toward him.

He had once again mustered a great deal of his strength.

But it was useless. Without a shred of hesitation, Xu Lei used another Spatial Talisman to dodge.

This pattern repeated several times.

It became a deadly game of cat and mouse—one chased while the other fled, one attacked while the other dodged.

The battle raged on like this for a full five minutes.

“Senior Brother Yuan Kong… is being hunted down like this by that Liao Chen?”

“He’s so cornered he has to call for the Saint Master?”

“To be honest, I’ve never even seen the Saint Master.”

“Senior Brother Yuan Kong might actually die today. This Liao Chen is a monster.”

“That kid is fighting with a death wish, trying to kill Yuan Kong before the Saint Master awakens!”

All the onlookers on the Third Heaven were utterly shocked and horrified.

They watched the life-and-death battle between the two bald Cultivators, one old and one young, both of their bodies battered and broken.

“Nowhere left to run!”

Just then, Xu Lei let out a low roar.

He once again activated the Lotus Drill, sending it whistling through the air for the kill.

“No!” Yuan Kong did his best to dodge, but it was too late.

Blood sprayed from his body.

However, Xu Lei’s Lotus Drill had only pierced through Yuan Kong’s right chest.

Yuan Kong was not yet dead.

“Break!”

But before Yuan Kong could react, Xu Lei commanded his Golden Dharma Shadow to swing its largest Golden Staff, bringing it smashing straight down on his head.

His stance was unsteady; he couldn’t dodge it at all.

SMASH!

Xu Lei smashed Yuan Kong’s head to pieces.

“No… impossible! Don’t!”

In his final moments, Yuan Kong was filled with terror and disbelief.

‘He couldn’t fathom what had just happened. He had thought that facing Xu Lei—a mere junior brother who had just barged into the Third Heaven—would be an easy, instant kill.’

‘It should have been a complete stomp.’

‘Unlike fighting on the surface, the Magical Power used in the Celestial Palace isn’t difficult to recover.’

‘In the Celestial Palace, it’s recoverable. Of course, what’s consumed during battle is gone, and recovery still takes some time.’

‘And you have to exit a state of combat for it to work properly.’

‘Since he didn’t have to worry about Magical Power consumption, he had attacked almost without reservation.’

‘The power of his attacks had actually been even greater than the first time he’d killed Xu Lei.’

‘That’s why, no matter how he thought about it, Yuan Kong couldn’t understand why he had lost.’

‘It should have been a fight he couldn’t possibly lose.’

‘Even as he died, Yuan Kong couldn’t understand how Xu Lei had been able to unleash such a powerful attack at the start.’

‘The simultaneous explosion from nearly two thousand backpacks’ worth of explosives had instantly left him completely stunned.’

‘He’s actually dead, just like that?’

Seeing that he had actually smashed Yuan Kong’s head to pieces, Xu Lei froze on the spot.

‘To be honest, I had only intended to severely injure Yuan Kong.’

‘I wasn’t sure I could actually kill him.’

‘But I never expected the outcome to be so far beyond my imagination.’

‘Overall, it was mainly due to the surprising power of the explosives.’

‘Plus, Yuan Kong’s Spatial Ring just so happened to have been blown off his hand.’

‘That was what allowed me to gain the complete upper hand.’

‘I was a little lucky, but luck is a part of strength too!’

Then, Xu Lei looked at Yuan Kong’s corpse and thought, ‘Yuan Kong, oh, Yuan Kong. I never planned to kill you so soon, but you just had to come and provoke me! Killing me twice wasn’t enough for you; you had to try for a third time! This is what you get!’

Now that he had a moment to relax, Xu Lei finally felt the pain wracking his body. He couldn’t even tell how much of his skin was torn and broken.

Only one of his legs was still intact; the other was crippled.

Both of his forearms were completely gone.

Of course, Xu Lei could still use his Magical Power.

That was the only reason he had been able to continue the fight.

It was mainly because Magical Power was recoverable in the Celestial Palace; otherwise, it would have been impossible.

A moment later.

Xu Lei circulated the Lotus Platform Origin within his body, slowly recovering his Magical Power.

Nearby, Hui Ming was completely stunned. His unfamiliar Dao Companion—a woman Xu Lei hadn’t even spoken a word to—was also dumbstruck with shock.

“Is this for real? Senior Brother Yuan Kong is really dead?”

“Liao Chen killed him, just like that?”

“The guy’s an absolute beast, isn’t he?”

“This is what happens when you push someone too far! Even a cornered dog will bite!”

“Yuan Kong thought he was strong enough to bully anyone. This time, he picked on the wrong person!”

“And paid for it with his life!”

“But if Venerable Guan Yun and the Saint Master find out, Liao Chen is finished.”

The other Cultivators nearby were all stunned into a stupor, only beginning to break out in discussion after a moment.

Xu Lei, however, paid no mind to his surroundings.

Instead, he continued to inspect Yuan Kong’s Spatial Ring.

It actually had a space as large as a basketball court!

There were also several bottles of Spiritual Liquid! They were small, but still a precious resource.

There were even three Spatial Talismans left! ‘This stuff is really useful!’ he thought.

He only gave it a quick look, of course.

Then, Xu Lei immediately used the Round Tube Magical Artifact to send all the precious items on his person back to the cave on the ground below the Celestial Palace.

He sent Yuan Kong’s entire Spatial Ring, and finally, even the Round Tube Magical Artifact itself.

Just then, Qing Lian and Zhao Xin came running over.

They were crying as they ran toward Xu Lei.

Xu Lei’s current state was truly a gruesome sight to behold.

But before Zhao Xin and Qing Lian could reach his side, the very sky above the Third Heaven suddenly began to roil and churn.

“Insolence! How dare you kill wantonly within the Ninefold Celestial Treasure Tower! Who gave you the nerve?”

A thunderous voice echoed from above. Then, the figure of a middle-aged man materialized from within the white mist.

His expression was stern and majestic. He carried himself with an air of absolute superiority, his domineering presence second to none.

He swooped down, coming to a halt directly above Xu Lei.

His brow furrowed as he took in the scene on the Third Heaven, which had been ravaged by the shockwave of Xu Lei’s explosion.

When he saw Yuan Kong’s corpse, his expression turned incomparably grim.

“The Saint Master! It’s the Saint Master!”

“We pay our respects to the Saint Master!”

“Greetings, Saint Master!”

At that moment, Xu Lei heard the Cultivators of the Third Heaven all drop to their knees in worship, their voices crying out in unison.