Chapter 51: One Punch!!!

At this moment, witnessing Captain Marlow’s aggressive advance, Ryan’s expression turned solemn.

Yet he did not retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward and abruptly activated the Overlord Body Bloodline within him.

In an instant, his right hand clenched into a fist, thick yellow Origin Energy surging around it like raging flames.

A terrifying surge of Rampaging Tyrant Strength gathered within his body.

Ryan had no intention of dodging.

He would meet force with force.

With a low shout, he drove his fist forward.

There was no elaborate combat technique behind the attack.

No fancy movements.

Just a simple, full-powered punch.

Yet that single punch carried an overwhelming might.

It was heavy and violent, like a massive warhammer hurled through the air. The force behind it caused the surrounding air to distort, producing a sharp whistle as it tore forward. Even transparent ripples spread through the air around his fist.

Seeing this, Captain Marlow sneered.

"Hmph! What an act!"

His eyes were filled with disdain.

"He’s only just awakened his Bloodline and doesn’t even possess a combat technique, yet he dares to confront someone at the peak of the Origin Sea Convergence Realm Ninth Stage?"

As he spoke, Captain Marlow poured even more power into his attack.

His momentum did not weaken.

It grew stronger.

His fist roared through the air as the metallic, sand-like sheen covering his body brightened dramatically.

He intended to crush Ryan with a single punch.

"Bang—!"

The next instant, the two fists collided.

An earth-shattering boom erupted.

A terrifying shockwave exploded from the point of impact, sending violent gusts of wind in every direction. The surrounding leaves were blown sideways, rustling violently as dust and debris were swept into the air.

But Captain Marlow’s sneer vanished.

His expression froze.

At the instant their fists collided, he felt an overwhelming force surge toward him.

It was as though he had collided head-on with a mountain that had been hurled at him at incredible speed.

"What?!"

Captain Marlow’s pupils contracted violently.

The terrifying force tore through his defenses in an instant.

His Origin Energy was shattered.

His Iron Clad protective aura was crushed.

Then—

His body was sent flying backward.

Like a meteor streaking across the sky, Captain Marlow shot backward at terrifying speed.

"Urgh—!"

Blood erupted from his mouth, painting a crimson trail through the air.

A thick metallic scent instantly filled the surroundings.

At that moment, Captain Marlow was horrified to discover that his entire right arm had been shattered by the collision.

The bones were completely fractured.

His defenses had been destroyed in an instant.

Instant defeat!

A cultivator at the peak of the Origin Sea Convergence Realm Ninth Stage had been completely overwhelmed by a single punch.

And the most terrifying part was—

Ryan hadn’t even used a combat technique.

What kind of monstrous physical strength was that?

Captain Marlow couldn’t even resist for a moment.

After flying through the air for several dozen meters, his body finally slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.

The impact was followed by a violent skid.

His body plowed through the earth for nearly six meters, kicking up gravel and dirt before finally coming to a stop.

With a single punch, Captain Marlow, a peak Ninth-Stage Origin Sea Convergence Realm cultivator, had been severely injured.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Everyone present stared at the scene in stunned disbelief.

Their eyes were wide.

Their mouths were slightly open.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

Then—

"What...?"

"One punch?!"

Hank was the first to recover.

His eyes were practically bulging from their sockets, and his mouth hung open so wide that he nearly bit his own tongue.

"Origin Sea Convergence Realm Fifth Stage..."

His voice trembled.

"How can he possess this kind of power?"

His expression changed dramatically.

"Could it be... a C-Rank Top-Tier Bloodline?"

"How is that possible?!"

Wasn’t the intelligence they had received clear?

Ryan possessed only a D-Rank Ordinary Bloodline.

Had their information been wrong?

What kind of Bloodline could grant such monstrous physical strength?

Hank’s thoughts raced.

At the instant their fists collided, the eruption of Origin Energy had allowed him to clearly sense Ryan’s cultivation.

Origin Sea Convergence Realm Fifth Stage.

Yet despite being four stages below Captain Marlow, Ryan had completely overwhelmed him.

And what was even more shocking was the color of Ryan’s Origin Sea.

Yellow.

That was unmistakably the characteristic of a C-Grade Bloodline.

Around them, the stunned spectators finally began to recover from their shock.

"What... What just happened? Was that really an instant defeat?!"

"That black figure only released the power of an Origin Sea Convergence Realm Fifth Stage, yet he sent a peak Ninth-Stage cultivator flying with a single punch!"

"What kind of Bloodline does he possess? I’ve never seen anything like it!"

"What are you making such a fuss about? Didn’t you see the yellow Origin Energy surrounding him?"

"Do you even know what yellow Origin Energy represents?"

"In my opinion, his Bloodline is at least C-Grade Excellent, perhaps even higher. Compared to that person from the Sterling Family, he’s at least an entire Bloodline rank above!"

"An entire Bloodline rank higher..."

"Could it be a C-Rank Top-Tier Bloodline?!"

"If that’s true, then he’s already reached the level of the true elites among the major families!"

"And did you see that battle armor phantom protecting him? He only has the cultivation of the Origin Sea Convergence Realm Fifth Stage, yet he possesses such a terrifying C-Grade Bloodline..."

"Who exactly is he?"

"Could he be the hidden heir of some ancient family?"

The crowd erupted into heated discussion.

Meanwhile—

"Cough... cough..."

Captain Marlow lay curled on the ground.

His face was pale as paper.

Blood continued to trickle from the corner of his mouth, while his entire body trembled from the pain.

His right arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, completely shattered from the earlier collision.

Yet the physical pain wasn’t what frightened him most.

His face was filled with sheer terror.

"Yellow Bloodline Origin Energy..."

His voice trembled.

"C-Grade Bloodline..."

"This... how is this possible?"

He had spent countless years painstakingly cultivating his Bloodline.

After years of effort, he had finally evolved it into a D-Rank Top-Tier Iron Clad Bloodline.

Combined with his peak Ninth-Stage Origin Sea Convergence Realm cultivation and his Profound Rank Low-Grade Iron Sand Fist, he had always been confident in his strength.

Yet everything he possessed had been completely shattered by one punch.

The difference between a D-Rank Top-Tier Bloodline and a C-Rank Top-Tier Bloodline was simply too enormous.

It was an entire major Bloodline rank.

Even though their cultivation realms differed by only a few stages, that gap was nowhere near enough to compensate for such a disparity in Bloodline quality.

It was absolute suppression.

Overwhelming power crushing everything in its path.

Captain Marlow hadn’t even been able to resist for a moment before being defeated.

What frightened him even more was that, despite his experience, he still couldn’t determine exactly what kind of C-Grade Bloodline Ryan possessed.

It was completely unfamiliar.

Deep.

Powerful.

Unfathomable.

Meanwhile, Ryan stood calmly a short distance away.

After receiving Captain Marlow’s punch, his Overlord Body Battle Armor Phantom had automatically manifested around him.

The ancient, majestic armor shimmered with a faint golden-yellow radiance.

Despite taking the full force of Captain Marlow’s attack, Ryan had merely taken a single step backward.

That was all.

The attack had been completely neutralized.

Ryan lowered his gaze toward the battered Captain Marlow.

A cold smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Heh."

"Didn’t you just say you were going to pinch me to death with one finger?"

His body flickered.

In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Captain Marlow.

Before Marlow could react, Ryan casually drove his fist into his chest.

Bang!

The impact was brutal.

Captain Marlow’s sternum instantly caved inward. ℯℯ𝑙.

His body convulsed violently.

"Wah—!"

A large mouthful of blood erupted from his lips.

Several fractured pieces of bone were driven into his chest cavity, piercing his internal organs and puncturing his lungs.

The pain was so overwhelming that he couldn’t even form a complete word.

His breathing became faint and ragged.

Only the remaining Iron Clad aura continued circulating desperately around his body, struggling to keep him alive.

Ryan looked down at him.

"Tsk, tsk."

"Weren’t you very arrogant just now?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, carrying a hint of mocking amusement.

"Now you know how to beg for mercy?"

He raised his right arm.

"Come on."

"Stand up."

"Didn’t you say you’d pinch me to death?"

As his voice fell, terrifying power began gathering around his fist.

Rampaging Tyrant Strength!

The energy swirled around his arm like a furious beast, causing the air around his fist to distort and blur under the sheer force.

"No!"

Seeing this, Hank’s expression changed drastically.

"Stop!"

He roared and desperately charged toward Ryan.

But it was already too late.

Ryan completely ignored him.

His eyes flashed with a cold, murderous gleam.

"Those who insult me—"

His fist rose high.

"—die."

BOOM!

His fist came crashing down.

Like a massive warhammer falling from the heavens, it slammed directly into Captain Marlow’s chest.

The terrifying force instantly penetrated his body.

His chest collapsed inward.

The remaining Iron Clad aura surrounding him shattered like glass.

The impact drove his body deep into the ground.

A massive fist-shaped crater appeared beneath him, while spiderweb-like cracks spread across the surrounding bluestone.

Blood sprayed violently from Captain Marlow’s mouth.

His eyes remained wide open.

Pain, terror and disbelief. All of it was frozen within his dilated pupils.

His body twitched once. Then— His pupils slowly lost their focus. The last trace of life faded from his eyes.

Captain Marlow was dead.