Chapter 596 - 595: Dying Strike

Chapter 596: Chapter 595: Dying Strike

At this moment, within the All Stars Academy, Jiang Taichu was in utter misery.

Ever since he had offended Qin Feng, his strength and Cultivation had been sealed, turning him into a pariah everyone loved to torment.

He had originally believed that by applying a Water Grinding Skill, he could slowly unravel the seal on his body.

But as it turned out, he had underestimated Qin Feng’s Chaos Light and Dark Great Seal.

This Chaos Light and Dark Great Seal of Qin Feng’s was a terrifying Sealing Secret Technique he had obtained from a set of Ancient Ruins. It was rumored to be capable of sealing even an Ancient Supreme.

Once sealed by the Chaos Light and Dark Great Seal, any power one cultivated—be it True Power or Soul Power—would be involuntarily absorbed by the seal itself.

This, naturally, was a tragic development for Jiang Taichu.

In just half a month, he became the most notorious cripple in the All Stars Academy.

Going from a genius to a cripple, Jiang Taichu’s suffering was beyond words.

At first, the disciples in the All Stars Academy whom he had once suppressed and tormented were still somewhat wary of him. But as time passed, they grew increasingly brazen.

He sought out the experts and Elders of the All Stars Academy, pleaded with the True Disciples of the Star Sect, and even used his connections to summon two Star Sect Elders who were at the Martial Arts Great Power Level. Alas, even these Martial Dao Great Powers were helpless.

Now, Jiang Taichu was truly panicking.

’Jiang Taichu, you now have only two options. The first is to ask a Saint from the sect to intervene; perhaps a Saint has the power to break the seal. The second option is to go to the source of the problem. Go and beg Qin Feng. He certainly has a way to undo this terrifying seal!’

He recalled the advice that Martial Dao Great Power Elder had given him before leaving.

Jiang Taichu would rather die than choose the second option.

Bowing his head to his sworn enemy, Qin Feng—that would be a fate worse than death.

His hatred for Qin Feng was so venomous he wished he could devour his flesh and drink his blood. To bow before Qin Feng would be more agonizing than death itself.

A Martial Arts Saint!

After the Nirvana Realm, a Martial Arts Strongman who passes one great tribulation is known as a Martial Dao Great Power.

Passing two great tribulations, they are called a Supreme Great Power.

Passing three great tribulations, they are known as a Quasi-Saint, Sub-Saint, or Half-Saint.

Only those who have passed four great tribulations are qualified to be called a Saint.

A Saint has a lifespan of three thousand years. Such an existence is a living fossil, an ancient patriarch.

Even a pig that lived for three thousand years could gain Enlightenment and become a Demon King.

To say nothing of a peerless Martial Arts Strongman!

Although Jiang Taichu was wildly arrogant and conceited, he did indeed possess a backing that ordinary geniuses lacked.

His backing was one of the Star Sect’s Supreme Elders.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a Supreme Elder had taken a fancy to him long ago, secretly accepting him as a Registered Disciple. If he managed to advance to the rank of True Disciple, it was a matter of course that he would then receive Direct Inheritance.

That very night, he performed a ritual to summon a wisp of this Supreme Elder’s Divine Thought.

He had thought that once the seal was broken, he would immediately and brutally repay the All Stars Academy students who had insulted him, not to mention returning the "favor" Qin Feng had granted him. However, the Supreme Elder’s verdict plunged him into despair.

"It’s no use. This seal has condensed your Three Treasures—your essence, qi, and spirit—into a single Yin-Yang Hub. To put it simply, it has fused your very being with the seal’s power. It contains countless Runes that have permeated your essence, qi, and spirit. If one tries to break it with brute force without understanding its intricacies, your essence, qi, and spirit will simply collapse, and you will die!"

Jiang Taichu grew frantic. "Nine Elephant Saint Venerable, what am I supposed to do then?"

"What else is there to do? You’re the one who decided to provoke someone you shouldn’t have; you brought this on yourself. I’ll give you two options. The first is to abandon your Cultivation entirely and walk the path of a Body Cultivator. Pursue the limits of physical strength until you can shatter the void and be reborn from a single drop of blood! The second path is for you to go find that brat Qin Feng and figure out a way to get him to release the seal!"

Ever since learning that Jiang Taichu’s Taichu Star had been stolen, this Supreme Elder had already given up on him completely.

Jiang Taichu had been walking the path of absolute self-invincibility. If he had managed to cultivate that Supreme Battle Intent, advancing fearlessly all the while, he might have had a chance to attain the Dao. But now, with his spirit broken and his Qi Fortune stolen, that chance was gone forever.

"You really were asking for it. You could have challenged anyone, but no, you had to challenge Qin Feng. The man is notoriously savage and lawless! He dared to empty the cellars of the Ape Clan Holy Mountain and even nearly blew up the entire younger generation of the Barbaric Wilderness in one go. Challenging someone that ruthless—what were you doing if not courting death?!"

After saying a few more words, the Supreme Elder withdrew his Divine Thought, and the brilliant light faded away.

Jiang Taichu sat frozen in place, his face ashen.

’At this point, what choice do I have?’

Both paths the Nine Elephant Saint Venerable had offered were dead ends.

As for the second path... setting aside the question of whether Qin Feng would even show mercy, the moment he admitted defeat and begged, the shadow of failure would be forever planted in his heart.

Even if Qin Feng did release the seal, his spirit would be tainted, and he would likely never be able to advance in his Cultivation again.

The first path was even more out of the question.

The path of Body Refining seemed like an avenue full of Vitality, but he, Jiang Taichu, had offended countless geniuses in the All Stars Academy, not to mention Inner Sect Disciples of the Star Sect. Those experts would never allow him the chance to grow strong.

His face twisted into a sinister snarl. Suddenly, Jiang Taichu’s eyes turned bloodshot, and he rasped, "Qin Feng, you forced my hand! Since you’ve left me with no way out, I’ll just have to take you down with me!"

As one of the five great prodigies of the All Stars Academy, Jiang Taichu had suppressed countless other geniuses and was hailed as one of the strongest talents in the academy’s entire history.

He was the elite of the elite, a genius among geniuses.

His talent for Cultivation and his Qi Fortune both surpassed those of many other young Martial Arts Strongmen.

Naturally, he had acquired many treasures along his journey.

One of them was an item called the Six-armed Cursed Demon Puppet.

It was an incredibly bizarre Ancient Evil Object.

It was a bizarre item Jiang Taichu had discovered in the treasure vault of a great clan he had annihilated.

Legend had it that the puppet possessed a malevolent nature; it seemed that whoever obtained it could not escape the Destiny of having their family and clan utterly destroyed.

Originally, Jiang Taichu had not believed in such superstitions, nor did he believe that a mere puppet could possibly ruin his Qi Fortune.

Staring at the pitch-black, dust-covered Six-armed Cursed Demon Puppet, he could almost see the evil doll letting out a sinister, cackling laugh.

"Too late for regrets... too late for regrets!" he muttered, a strange sound escaping his lips that was neither a laugh nor a sob.

After a moment, a ferocious look flashed across his face.

"Qin Feng, even if I, Jiang Taichu, have to die, I will drag you down with me!"

With bloodshot eyes, Jiang Taichu stared at the Six-armed Cursed Demon Puppet, which emanated a palpable Evil Qi. When he first acquired the malevolent object, he had also found a strange piece of Beast Hide parchment.

That Beast Hide parchment described a bizarre Evil Skill.

If a person was willing to sacrifice their own flesh and blood, soul, memories, and even their Qi Fortune to the puppet, there was a chance it would grant its host a single wish.

Inside the room, Jiang Taichu stared intently at the Six-armed Cursed Demon Puppet. His expression was grim as he recalled the instructions on the Beast Hide parchment.

An hour later, a strange altar had appeared before him. The altar was covered in blood-red, malevolent patterns that emanated an aura from the Taigu Era.

He slowly stepped onto the altar, took out a dagger he had prepared earlier, and with a ferocious expression, slammed the blade down on his wrist. Blood gushed out, splattering across the altar below. As his blood soaked into the strange platform, the Six-armed Cursed Demon Puppet began to glow a faint crimson, and at the same time, an ancient, evil will slowly began to awaken.

"I, the Six-Armed Evil Venerable, have finally awakened..."