A Lucky Breakthrough

"Dao Ping Subdues the Mad Dragon!"

The giant hand descended like a galaxy, as if the heavens and earth were collapsing. Even tens of meters below, the ground beneath it could not withstand the immense force and began to sink.

Han Lin was pressed down by the airflow, his body sank, and his legs sank in, making it impossible for him to pursue Yao Bilian. He looked up at Pan De, who was falling like a meteor, and for the first time, a solemn expression appeared on his face.

"Let me show you the true Meridian-Shattering Goosefoot Heart Palm."

Suddenly, Han Lin's aura surged, his stance hardened, and the ground trembled as if a god had stomped his foot. His True Qi surged wildly, transforming into a phantom of a demon god. With a punch thrown into the air, the residual force of the palm displaced the air within a hundred meters, creating a vacuum zone. The surrounding public facilities exploded, and Yao Bilian was blasted away, crashing into an advertising billboard, her whole body wracked with pain.

The two sides clashed head-on, like two huge clouds of air colliding. At the point of impact, a ring of air spread out, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the walls of the buildings around them, while all the windows were shattered.

Fortunately, all the residents had fled when the fighting started; otherwise, countless people would have been seriously injured.

Pan De had been accumulating strength for a long time, and with the inertia of his dive and the advantage of being high up, he was undoubtedly stronger. However, Han Lin controlled his strength to the extreme and blocked the impact with a continuous stream of true True Qi. Even though he was at a disadvantage, he was not completely defeated. In fact, he gradually turned the tide by wearing down Han Lin's energy.

Just then, the masked Mohist Knight Guard, holding a paintbrush, once again painted in mid-air, and long, jet-black ink spears shot out, piercing towards "Han Lin".

However, "Han Lin" was protected by an incredibly solid force of energy. The ink-black spear struggled to advance, piercing through the energy layer by layer, constantly weakening the defense.

Just as they were about to carve out a passage, the masked Mohist Knight Guard was exhausted of his True Qi, which aggravated his previous injuries. His body trembled, and he vomited another mouthful of blood. He collapsed to the ground, and the Judging Official fell from his hand.

Without the wear and tear from the ink spear, Han Lin's protective aura was about to heal the passage when a golden figure rushed in through it—it was Si Ming!

In his Solar Prominence State, he pushed his speed and strength to the limit, rushing to the innermost point in one breath. He aimed his two guns at "Han Lin," almost within a thin air membrane's distance, and his fingers moved rapidly, unleashing a hail of bullets.

Bang bang bang...

The bullets struck "Han Lin" but failed to cause any real damage. Even with just a thin layer of air, the bullets' kinetic energy couldn't penetrate it. It was as if the woman of stone had an absolute defense, and all the bullets remained suspended in mid-air.

However, that was enough. Disturbed by external forces, Han Lin was unable to concentrate all his strength to deal with Pan De. His breathing became disordered, and his palm energy collapsed and went berserk, shooting outwards.

Si Ming was the first to be hit, feeling as if he had been rammed by a herd of wild bulls in heat, thrown back at an even greater speed than he had come, his bones seemingly shattered from the impact.

"Get down on your knees!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity created by his companion, Pan De roared and broke through, his body plummeting downwards, passing through that short half-meter distance, and his palms landed on "Han Lin's" shoulders.

With a loud thud, the earth felt like a ball that had been slapped hard, shaking repeatedly and making Si Ming and the others on the outer perimeter feel as if they were being bounced up.

After the dust settled, what appeared in the original spot was a palm-shaped pit about five meters deep. At the edge, many gravel rolled down, making a rustling sound. The sand was squeezed together by brute force and became as hard as bricks.

In the center of the palm-shaped crater lay Han Lin, who was embedded in the hard soil in a "T" shape. His entire body was crushed, with no part of him intact. Blood flowed out, forming a small stream.

"Cough, cough, cough... What happened...? I didn't die at Yan Jinghong... Why didn't I escape just now... My memory is incomplete..."

"Han Lin" murmured a few words vaguely, filled with doubt. His breath grew weaker and weaker, and finally, the light in his eyes disappeared.

Si Ming staggered to his feet, looked at the terrain that resembled a bomber's wreckage, spat out a mouthful of blood, and said, "I was just about to ask what happened! Judging from his words and actions just now, could it be that he was possessed by the 'Eight Asura Sin Lord'? But isn't there no such thing as astral projection in this world?"

Despite the unscientific existence of True Qi in the Sea Continent, and even the manifestation of divine beings, the soul has never escaped after death. The talk of vengeful ghosts and vengeful spirits is utter nonsense, with no real historical record or valid proof whatsoever.

"I don't know either... but I do know one thing: if you don't call someone to save me, I'll have to go with him."

In the pile of rocks beside the large pit, Pan De, who had been severely injured by the hidden force, groaned weakly.

Chapter Seventy-Four: A Lucky Promotion

Si Ming looked around at the battlefield, which resembled ruins, and couldn't help but marvel at the destructive power of the extraordinary martial artist. All the windows were shattered, the furniture inside was destroyed, and there were huge cracks everywhere. Pan De's last palm strike had even affected the foundation of the apartment building, making it impossible for anyone to continue living there without demolishing and rebuilding it.

This was only the result of a fight between two martial artists who were close to the Spirit Transformation stage. If their cultivation levels were higher, the damage would increase exponentially.

Back when Yan Jinghong fought with the fifth uncle of the Yuezheng Lineage, the two not only deliberately chose an open space, but also concentrated their power without spreading it out, thus minimizing the damage to the environment.

This is why the nation has to respect Spirit Transformation level experts. In a direct confrontation, a Spirit Transformation expert might not be able to defeat a large number of Qi Refining experts, and would have to prioritize avoidance when facing an army. However, if a Spirit Transformation expert were to act as a terrorist and launch a terrorist attack on civilians from time to time, and then flee immediately after the attack, even a powerful nation like the Su State would have a great headache.

As for the Void Returning experts above the Spirit Transformation, their individual destructive power is equivalent to a thermobaric bomb. Although their destructive range is not as wide as that of a nuclear bomb, they possess powerful mobility and know how to disguise and conceal their aura, making them equivalent to an unlimited number of humanoid self-propelled thermobaric bombs. In terms of strategic threat, they are even greater than nuclear bombs.

"The walkie-talkies are all broken, so we can't contact anyone else. But with such a commotion, I believe someone will arrive soon," Si Ming said as he approached Pan De. "He doesn't seem to have any external injuries and doesn't need to stop the bleeding. He just took a palm strike. Is the injury really that serious?"

Judging from appearances alone, Pan De, who only had a little dust on him, looked much better than Si Ming, who was covered in rags and bruises. In fact, Si Ming had suffered serious injuries, but he would be fine after a couple of days of rest.

"The Meridian-Shattering Goosefoot Heart Palm truly lives up to its reputation as the ultimate technique of the 'True Scripture of Sinful Punishment' —it's incredibly insidious! Just now, my meridians were already penetrated by the hidden force from that palm strike. Don't be fooled by the fact that I look fine on the outside; inside, I'm a complete mess. If I hadn't put in so much effort in body tempering, I probably wouldn't even have the strength to speak right now... When facing a martial artist who cultivates the 'True Scripture of Sinful Punishment,' never make direct contact, or you'll suffer a ton of injuries even if you win." Pan De summarized his experience and lessons learned.

Si Ming, "This suggestion is probably useless. Han Lin is obviously not the successor of the Eight Asura Sin Lord. He was just under the influence of evil magic, somewhat like being possessed. Now that the Eight Asura Sin Lord is dead, no one knows the 'True Scripture of Sinful Punishment,' and we'll never encounter it in this lifetime."

A soft chuckle came from behind, it was Yao Bilian. She said, "I didn't think much of it until you mentioned it, but now that you've said it, I feel like you're bound to encounter a martial artist who has cultivated the 'True Scripture of Sinful Punishment' in the future. You'd better pray for yourself."

Si Ming slapped his forehead, realizing he had really messed up. He had actually volunteered to support the plot, and he didn't know if saying a few innocent words now would be enough to fool everyone.

Yao Bilian said, "I'll go upstairs to check on those two first. I hope they're still alive. With today's medical technology, as long as they have a breath left, they can be saved."

Even though Han Lin hated her the most, she was the least injured of the four people present and could still move freely. From this point of view, Han Lin's revenge plan was a complete failure.

Pan De suddenly said, "Why is your aura stronger than before? Have you broken through?"

"Yes, when I was hit by the backlash just now, somehow my Internal Cultivation advanced to the fourth level. I guess it was because the opponent's aura was too strong. I was so scared that I thought I was going to die, so I had to fight desperately. As a result, I broke through my limit. I didn't really believe in breakthroughs in battle before, but now I'm starting to believe it. There really are such unexpected things in the world where you can turn the tide."

Advancement to an even-numbered position is a quantitative accumulation without qualitative change, and its substantial impact is not significant. Therefore, Si Ming's breakthrough did not bring about any obvious changes.

This is also why Si Ming was not completely suppressed when he faced a martial artist with level six Internal Cultivation in the previous competition. Although the difference in numbers is twice that of the opponent, in reality it is only one level, and the difference is not significant.

"I think it's because you were seriously injured at the Youth Martial Arts Tournament. You have to break through to build up again. The Blazing Yang Battle Art also has the effect of body tempering. As your body gradually recovers, your cultivation level will also rise accordingly. It just so happened that you crossed the threshold just now."

Si Ming also felt that this possibility was more likely, but he didn't investigate further. The important thing was the result; the process wasn't worth worrying about. In any case, it was unlikely that the same situation would happen again in the future.

He walked towards the masked Mohist Knight Guard lying on the ground and asked, "Are you alright? Is the blood on your veil making it hard to breathe? Do you want me to take it off for you?"

The other person did not answer, but simply raised their hand and pulled back their veil.