The Gap

Yan Hong spread his arms, his expression turning fanatical.

"Did you think I researched this 'Demon Transformation Pill' for the sake of these ants?"

"No, they are merely experimental materials. As long as I perfect the data and present this demon transformation method to the great 'King,' I will receive supreme rewards, soar to the heavens in a single step, and become a true great demon!"

"And you, a Demon Queller Envoy with such vigorous blood and qi, happen to be the second gift I can offer the 'King'!"

Before his words had even faded—

Yan Hong's body suddenly underwent a bizarre transformation.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The skin and flesh across his body violently exploded without warning.

Countless chunks of flesh drenched in foul-smelling black blood shot toward Shen Che like a storm of pear-blossom needles, like shotgun shells blotting out the sky!

This sudden attack was vicious and sinister to the extreme.

Shen Che's hairs stood on end.

Without the slightest hesitation, a thought flashed through his mind, and the Golden Bell Shield within him surged to its limit.

That ancient, pale-golden phantom of a great bell emerged once more, tightly enveloping his entire body.

Clang, clang, clang—

A rapid series of crisp rings burst forth, as dense as rain striking banana leaves.

Countless shards of flesh slammed fiercely against the golden bell phantom, sending ripples spreading across it, yet they could not advance even an inch.

When the rain of flesh finally subsided—

The ground before Shen Che had already become a complete mess, etched with smoking little pits by that highly corrosive flesh.

The scattered chunks of flesh began to writhe. Like iron filings drawn by a magnet, they rapidly converged toward the center of the hall.

A mass of indescribable flesh twisted and swelled wildly across the ground.

The crackling of growing bones and the ripping hiss of muscles tearing apart and reforming intertwined into a symphony that made one's scalp crawl.

A moment later, an entirely new body stood in the same spot.

It was a hulking monster nearly two meters tall, its muscles knotted like steel cast in a furnace.

A savage jet-black horn grew from its head, while jagged fangs filled its mouth, gleaming with a bone-white chill.

A vast demonic aura erupted from his body, turning the air throughout the underground hall thick and heavy, until even breathing became a burden.

This aura far surpassed that of commander-level figures like Wang Bing and Wang Yan. It was even stronger than Feng Changkong.

Primordial Qi Realm Peak.

Only one step away from the Innate Realm.

"Do you see it? This is true power!"

Yan Hong twisted his thick neck, his bones cracking explosively as he savored this brand-new body.

"I cultivated bitterly for three hundred years, yet because of this damned bloodline limitation, I have never been able to enter the Innate Realm."

"But as long as my 'Demon Transformation Pill' succeeds and I receive the King's reward, I will be able to shatter these shackles!"

His words brimmed with absolute confidence in his own strength.

Shen Che looked at him and suddenly spoke.

"So after struggling for three hundred years, you're still just a pathetic wretch stuck at a bottleneck?"

"Because your bloodline is such trash?"

The blissful expression on Yan Hong's face instantly froze.

"You... are... courting death!"

The three words were squeezed out from between his teeth.

His enraged demonic aura exploded with a roar, blasting the stone slabs beneath his feet into powder.

He stomped violently on the sunken ground. His massive body shot forward like a cannonball leaving the barrel, tearing through the viscous air as he lunged straight at Shen Che.

He moved so fast that an afterimage remained where he had stood.

He threw his right fist.

The air before his fist was compressed by sheer force, forming a visible vacuum.

That punch was enough to flatten a small hill.

Faced with this heaven-destroying, earth-shattering blow, Shen Che did not dodge.

He crossed his arms before his chest.

The Horizontal Training True Qi within him circulated madly without reserve.

The pale-golden bell-shaped phantom emerged again, more solid than it had ever been before.

His black martial outfit also took on a heavy metallic sheen.

Golden Bell Shield! Iron Shirt!

Fully unleashed!

In the next instant, Yan Hong's fist, brimming with terrifying power, collided head-on with Shen Che's crossed arms.

—CLANG!!!

A deafening explosion erupted through the hall.

The sound was no longer a dull thud, but the pure clash of metal—sharp and piercing, as if two iron mountains had crashed together head-on.

A terrifying shockwave spread outward in a ring, scraping three feet off the ground and sending stone chips flying everywhere.

The young people in the iron cages who had not yet fainted from fright rolled their eyes at the thunderous blast and collapsed unconscious in unison.

Even Liu Hua in the corner felt his eardrums ache, his head buzzing.

Crack.

A faint, brittle sound.

A clear crack appeared on the solid golden bell phantom surrounding Shen Che.

Then, an irresistible force pierced through the bell phantom's defense.

Shen Che's entire body shook as if struck by lightning, and he flew backward uncontrollably.

He slammed heavily into a wall more than ten meters away. His impact left a distinct human-shaped indentation in the sturdy wall, with spiderweb cracks spreading in every direction.

Dust sifted down in a steady shower.

Shen Che slid down the wall, planting his feet on the ground and steadying himself.

Both arms crossed before his chest had gone numb.

This guy's pure physical strength... is probably over two hundred thousand jin, nearly twice mine.

He made his judgment in an instant.

Though his arms were sore and numb, he had not suffered any real injury.

The Golden Bell Shield had blocked most of the impact, while the remaining force had been shed by the Iron Shirt's second layer of defense.

But the gap between them was real.

"Hm?"

Yan Hong looked at his completely uninjured fist, then at Shen Che in the distance, who had merely shaken his arms. A trace of surprise appeared in his inhuman pupils.

"A True Meridian Realm brat can actually take one of my punches head-on without dying?"

"Your horizontal training techniques do have some skill to them."

"But this is as far as you go."

He sneered, preparing to charge again and smash this tough bone into pulp with an unending barrage of heavy punches.

Watching Yan Hong prepare to pounce again, Shen Che understood clearly.

There was an enormous gulf between a Primordial Qi Realm Peak expert and his current strength.

If they continued fighting with conventional methods, defeat and death would be the only outcome.

He had to change the tide of battle.

His consciousness sank deep into his mind.

An attribute panel visible only to him quietly appeared.

Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill?

Raising the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to the seventh level would grant him another hundred thousand jin of immense strength.

At that point, his pure physical strength would reach two hundred thousand jin, matching the monster before him.

Being evenly matched meant a brutal, bitter battle.

The outcome would be difficult to predict.

Shen Che did not like such uncertainty.

His thoughts turned toward another cultivation technique.

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