Chapter 69 - 67: 1-Punch Instant Kill, Lin Chen’s Terror

Chapter 69: Chapter 67: 1-Punch Instant Kill, Lin Chen’s Terror

Watching the black shadow in the night steadily approaching the figure in white, Lin Chen and the others had their hearts in their throats.

"Brother Lin, are you sure he can pull this off?" Beside Lin Chen, a peerless prodigy with a terrifying aura could not help but break into a cold sweat.

They were the first batch of experts to catch up to the Qin Family. In just three short months, the strength of the Qin City camp had vastly improved. Capitalizing on the brief windows of time bought by the Small Spirit Revitalization Pills provided by Jiang Hao, everyone from Qin City had achieved breakthroughs in their cultivation. Furthermore, with Qin Xiangyuan taking the lead to enter the Spirit Transformation Realm, Lin Chen and his pursuing group realized they had already missed the optimal window to strike.

Even so, the strength of Lin Chen’s side could not be underestimated. Thanks to the abundant Spiritual Qi over the past three months, almost everyone had been steadily growing stronger. Lin Chen, in particular, had just stepped into the Realm of Spirit Transformation himself.

The only thing they were unsure of was the current strength of that ’Qin Fan’.

Hence, the current scene unfolded. If that black shadow could successfully assassinate Jiang Hao, they could rely on their overwhelming numerical advantage to deal a fatal blow to this genius team from the Qin Family, even if they couldn’t wipe them out entirely.

Facing the inquiry of the terrifying Cultivator beside him, murderous intent surged in Lin Chen’s eyes.

"Brother Bai is a Body Cultivator who practices concealment techniques. He is highly adept at staying hidden," Lin Chen replied. "Moreover, he is a pure Body Cultivator with no Spiritual Power fluctuations. Assassination is his greatest expertise; there shouldn’t be any issues.

"Everyone, get ready. The moment Brother Bai succeeds, we will immediately surround them and attack. Do your utmost not to let a single person from the Qin Family escape.

"As for Qin Xiangyuan, I will hold her off."

"Yes, we will follow Young Master Lin’s arrangements," another person agreed. "We already have a sea of blood between us and the Qin Family. If we can slaughter this genius team of theirs within these ancient ruins, it will undoubtedly be a grievous blow to Qin City.

"Without a genius team to carry the torch, only decline awaits Qin City in the future.

"Even if we cannot kill them all this time, we must heavily cripple the Qin Family. Especially that Qin Fan—if what Young Master Lin said is true, then he is the Qin Family’s greatest trump card. We absolutely cannot allow him to grow."

For a moment, countless experts tightly gripped their weapons. They held their breath, their eyes fixed on the figure moving through the night like a ghost. Lin Chen’s gaze turned exceptionally cold, his murderous intent nearly overpowering his rationality.

"Lin Tai, rest assured," Lin Chen murmured. "I will personally sever his head to sacrifice to your spirit in heaven."

As the group whispered, the figure had already crept to within a hundred meters of the Qin City group’s encampment. Silently bypassing the night watch Cultivators arranged by Qin Xiangyuan, the shadow stealthily approached the youth in white.

Atop a stretch of ruins, Jiang Hao sat cross-legged in meditation. He silently circulated his Cultivation Technique, his expression perfectly placid.

But at a certain moment, his eyelids twitched abruptly while in the midst of his cultivation. His Cultivator’s instinct allowed him to detect a trace of killing intent. Qin Xiangyuan, who was sitting beside Jiang Hao, noticed the anomaly at the same time. Opening her beautiful eyes, she prepared to strike, but Jiang Hao gently pressed her hand down. The two exchanged a glance, maintaining their composure.

Behind them, the black shadow drew closer and closer. Looking at the backs of Jiang Hao and Qin Xiangyuan, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smirk. Little did he know, his every move was already completely within the grasp of the two.

Once the figure in white entered his striking range, the black shadow stopped holding back.

His body erupted into motion, leaping forward like a ferocious tiger pouncing on its prey. Clenching his hand into a fist, his entire body surged with the power of his Physical Realm, smashing a punch directly toward the back of Jiang Hao’s head.

"And here I thought you were something terrifying. Young Master Lin really overestimated you. Go to hell!" he sneered.

The fist tore through the night sky, generating a terrifying gale. A physical force no less than that of the Peak of Unity Realm instantly condensed within the strike. As the punch flew out, even the void trembled.

In the nick of time, Jiang Hao’s eyes flashed like torches.

"I’ve been waiting for you for a long time," he said, suddenly spinning around and launching a punch of his own.

For this strike, he didn’t use any of his cultivation base, nor did he even draw his sword. He relied purely on his physical strength to meet the incoming blow head-on.

The moment the white-clothed youth threw his punch, the black-clothed figure instantly sensed something was wrong. His expression changed drastically, but it was already too late. The two steel-like fists collided fiercely, the hidden strength within their bodies surging madly.

BOOM!

A massive explosion shattered the night sky, as terrifying concussive force erupted from between the two. In an instant, the entire ruin rumbled and quaked. Countless broken walls and dilapidated structures were pulverized by the sheer might of the punch, collapsing with a deafening crash.

"AHHH!"

Immediately following the blast, a miserable shriek pierced the silent night. Countless Cultivators from Qin City were startled awake, raising their heads to look. They saw swathes of the ruins caving in as a fearsome power ravaged the surroundings.

The moment the black shadow’s arm made contact with Jiang Hao’s fist, it was directly blown into a mist of blood, and his entire body was sent flying backward.

CRASH!

Accompanied by another loud noise, the black shadow slammed into a nearby section of the ruins. He was already coughing up mouthfuls of blood, his internal organs completely ruptured by the shockwave.

"What?" Hidden in the darkness, Lin Chen and the others watched the scene unfold with utter dismay, their faces turning deathly pale.

That was a Body Cultivator whose Physical Realm had reached the Twenty Layers of Heaven! His physical prowess was comparable to an existence at the Peak of Unity Realm, perhaps even superior. With such physical combat power, coupled with concealment techniques and a sneak attack from behind, it should have been a guaranteed one-hit kill. Even if it failed to kill, it should have at least heavily injured the target.

Yet, a World-Dominating Body Cultivator with a physical body forged to the Twenty Layers of Heaven had actually been swatted away with a single punch!

"Impossible... This is impossible! You... you..."

Blasted into the rubble, the black shadow stared in disbelief, his eyes filled with endless shock. It was evident that even on the brink of death, he still could not accept that someone possessed a higher Physical Realm than his own—especially such a young boy.

CRUMBLE!

The sudden loud noise instantly put the countless young men and women of Qin City on high alert.

"Not good, enemies are lurking! Everyone, be careful!"

In a flash, numerous figures drew their Magical Artifacts, their eyes locked onto the pitch-black night as they treated the unseen threat like a mortal enemy.

Qin Ye was among the first to react. He glanced at Jiang Hao before gripping his ancient sword and darting toward the black shadow. He wasn’t the only one; several experts from the Qin Family flew over in unison. They surrounded the assailant completely, pointing their swords at his throat.

"Who are you? Someone from the Lin Family? Or one of those scumbags from Wu City? Or perhaps from another faction?" Qin Ye interrogated the shadow just as Qin Xiangyuan and Jiang Hao glided over.

"Qin Ye, did you get anything out of him? Is he from the Lin Family?" Qin Xiangyuan asked, her beautiful face grim.

Hearing her voice, Qin Ye and the others could only force a bitter smile. They all turned to look at Jiang Hao with speechless expressions. "You hit him too hard," Qin Ye sighed helplessly. "He’s dead."

Hearing this, everyone momentarily froze.

"He’s already dead?"

"Judging by that punch just now, he was a Body Cultivator at the Twenty Layers of the Physical Body at the very least! And he dropped dead from one punch?"

For a moment, everyone looked at Jiang Hao as if they were staring at a monster.

Even Jiang Hao was taken aback. The opponent’s punch had seemed incredibly ferocious; he hadn’t expected to accidentally kill the man with a single blow.

"Are Body Cultivators this weak?" Jiang Hao could not help but mutter, subconsciously questioning it.

Everyone rolled their eyes upon hearing his words.

"Brother Qin, you are just too strong. You should have kept him alive," Qin Ye said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

An ambush by a Body Cultivator was no trivial matter. Across the entire Celestial City, Body Cultivator clans were extremely rare. If they knew the assailant’s identity, they could tailor their defenses and take targeted precautions. Yet Jiang Hao had shattered the man to death with a single strike.

Of course, this was also due to the opponent’s carelessness. The assassin had never expected that the person he was ambushing would turn out to be an even more terrifying Body Cultivator.

"No matter which faction this Body Cultivator belongs to, he is definitely an enemy, not a friend. It’s not safe to stay here any longer. Everyone, we move out immediately," Qin Xiangyuan commanded, her eyes revealing her worry. For the opponent to sneak up so quietly, he was clearly not acting alone. The night was likely already saturated with killing intent.

Hearing this, the crowd did not dare to linger. They hurriedly took to the skies, advancing deeper into the area.

Meanwhile, hidden in the night, the countless powerful Cultivators watched the suddenly deserted ruins. They stood frozen in place, their eyes brimming with absolute shock.

"Bai Zhanlin is dead?"

"How... how is this possible? Killed by the shockwave of a single punch?"

Every powerful Cultivator concealed in the darkness felt as though they had been struck by lightning, their breathing growing ragged. They had all sensed the might of that punch. It had seemed effortless, yet the terrifying lethal power hidden within was chilling to the bone. Even Lin Chen and the terrifying figure beside him were dumbfounded, their eyes holding endless astonishment.

It wasn’t until Jiang Hao and his group were far away that the hidden Cultivators finally took to the air, quickly landing in front of the black shadow’s corpse. Staring at the gruesome fist imprint on his body, everyone inhaled a sharp breath of cold air.

"Shattering the internal organs of a Body Cultivator at the Twenty Layers of Heaven with a single punch... How is this possible? How old is he even?"

Every Cultivator who had followed Lin Chen in pursuit was thoroughly appalled. The youth with the terrifying aura crouched down to examine the body closely, endless ripples forming in his eyes. Lin Chen’s expression shifted drastically at the sight. He instinctively locked eyes with the youth, their silent exchange speaking volumes.

"A conservative estimate: Body Refining Twenty-Third Heaven!"

BOOM!

Hearing the terrifying youth’s words, Lin Chen felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt on the spot. In fact, everyone felt the same.

"Body Refining Twenty-Third Heaven?" someone exclaimed.

There was no need to elaborate on just how terrifying the Qin Family’s Body Cultivators were; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to establish such a massive city within the Earth Realm of Celestial City.

The black-clothed figure on their side might have been at the Twenty Layers of the Physical Body, but he was at least ten years older than Jiang Hao. An astonishing Body Cultivator at such a young age, and conservatively estimated at the Twenty-Third Heaven—that meant he could be even stronger!

"Brother Lin, this person cannot be left alive," someone urged. "A peerless prodigy and an astonishing Body Cultivator—with these dual advantages, he will undoubtedly become a massive threat to our families in the future."

Hearing this, Lin Chen stared in the direction Jiang Hao and the others had departed, his gaze suddenly turning solemn and profound.

"Pass the message to the brothers of the other families trailing behind. Tell them to hold nothing back," Lin Chen ordered. "We must execute this person before they reach the inheritance of the ancient ruins. If we let him rise to power, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Yes, sir!"

Several figures immediately turned back to relay the message, while Lin Chen and the others continued their pursuit, though their hearts were all heavy to the extreme. Only at this moment did they realize just what kind of dazzling prodigy they were up against. One had to know, these were just the initial signs observed shortly after entering the ancient ruins. If that figure was allowed to gain a firm foothold in this realm and truly mature, his level of terror would be entirely unfathomable.

As time passed, countless mortal enemies of the Qin Family trailing behind received the news. Casting aside all reservations, they converged toward Lin Chen’s group like madmen. Among them, some peerless prodigies who held irreconcilable grudges against the Qin Family even willingly broke through the Unity Realm, forcing their advancement into the Spirit Transformation Realm. And for those peerless prodigies who stepped into the Spirit Transformation Realm, their speed naturally skyrocketed.

In just half a month’s time, four Spirit Transformation Realm experts had gathered by Lin Chen’s side. Counting him and the terrifying figure from before, the number of Spirit Transformation Realm Powerhouses on their side reached an astonishing total of six.

Jiang Hao and the others soon noticed this shift. The three-day windows of time they had previously enjoyed for cultivation were forcibly compressed into a single day.

Even so, Lin Chen and his group were closing the gap relentlessly; it was only a matter of time before they caught up. After all, not everyone in Jiang Hao’s group was a Cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Realm. The Spirit Transformation Realm and Unity Realm were entirely different planes of existence. Though they seemed to be separated by only a single realm, it was a major realm difference—the disparity was as vast as heaven and earth.

Beneath the Spirit Transformation Realm, all were but ants. Even a Cultivator at the Peak of Unity Realm could not withstand a full-force strike from a Spirit Transformation Realm Powerhouse.

For a time, even Jiang Hao and Qin Xiangyuan felt a headache coming on. The breathing room their enemies left them was shrinking continuously—so much so that a direct confrontation was becoming inevitable.

But what was even more terrifying was something the group had yet to realize. Countless genuine cataclysmic experts from factions like the Celestial Sword Sect were also slowly advancing toward them.