Fierce Clash, Thunderclap Fist Unleashed!

In the forest.

Li Yun and Wu Yuekong both burst forth with astonishing speed, so fast that blurred afterimages nearly appeared as they crisscrossed and collided fiercely.

"Soaring Star Steps!"

"Eagle Claw Technique!"

"Damn it! You're a newcomer who's only been here for a little over a month. How could you possibly have mastered two high-grade Body Tempering Realm martial arts, and brought both to the Perfection Realm?"

Accompanied by Wu Yuekong's furious roar, his body was actually forced back three meters by the aura of tearing everything apart emanating from Li Yun's Eagle Claw Technique.

As the chief of Rank 77 Courtyard and a Force Refining Realm martial artist whose Internal Force had reached the third level, Wu Yuekong felt unprecedented fury and humiliation.

In rage, he swung his dagger. It flashed like starlight and lightning, carving out specks of cold gleam.

"Nine Pear Killing!"

Nine cold gleams whistled through the air, each one blooming like a pear blossom.

After stepping into the Force Refining Realm, he had specifically selected this Force Refining Realm martial art called Pear Blossom Kill from the Martial Armory in order to unleash his Internal Force to the greatest extent.

After half a year of bitter cultivation, he had finally reached the Minor Accomplishment Realm.

Among the tens of thousands of Bing-rank disciples, he might not have been among the very best, but within Rank 77 Courtyard, he was absolutely unmatched. No one could withstand three of his moves.

Yet Li Yun, a mere newcomer who had entered the sect only a little over a month ago, had not only faced more than ten of his moves head-on in such a short time, but had even forced him back.

This was utterly intolerable.

"A Force Refining Realm martial artist is nothing special. Trash like you dares call yourself chief? What a joke. Looks like your Rank 77 Courtyard is full of useless trash!"

A cold smile curled across Li Yun's lips, and his aura abruptly changed.

It was as though he had transformed from a goshawk into a ferocious tiger.

His claws became fists as he hammered Wu Yuekong's chest.

Fighting a Force Refining Realm martial artist, Cognition Points +100

Fighting a Force Refining Realm martial artist, Cognition Points +115

The system notifications kept flashing.

Not only did they fail to affect Li Yun in the slightest, they instead made him even more exhilarated.

Before returning from the valley, he had suspected that he might already be able to contend with certain Force Refining Realm martial artists. Now, he had finally verified it.

Force Refining Realm martial artists who had cultivated Internal Force combined their inner and outer strength. They truly were powerful.

When paired with Force Refining Realm martial arts, they were even more unstoppable.

But Li Yun was at the Body Tempering Thirteenth Layer. With three thousand jin of strength backing him and high-grade Body Tempering Realm martial arts at the Perfection Realm, every gesture he made carried immense power as well. He was not inferior by much.

Of course—

Anyone who had studied physics knew that comparisons of strength were not fixed. It depended on the frame of reference.

Perhaps there was another possibility: it was not that Li Yun was too strong, but that Wu Yuekong, the chief of Rank 77 Courtyard, was too weak.

But that was not important.

What mattered was that he held the advantage in the current situation. That was enough.

"Damn it!"

"Another fist art at the Perfection Realm! Damn you, Li Yun! Who the hell are you? How could you possibly possess such strength?"

Watching the cold gleams he had launched get shattered again, Wu Yuekong's mentality was on the verge of collapse.

He had never imagined that Li Yun would be this powerful. Had he known earlier, he would never have come looking for trouble with Li Yun, much less fantasized about making a fortune off him.

It had been impossible from the start, and he had instead provoked Li Yun because of it.

Making an enemy of a newcomer with talent monstrous enough to defy the heavens was no different from inviting a life-and-death nemesis into his own life.

But now, he was riding a tiger and could not dismount.

Once a life-and-death battle began, it was not something either side could stop whenever they wished. It would be either your death or my survival.

"Pear Blossoms Filling the Sky!"

Wu Yuekong hardened his heart and went all out.

He desperately stirred every bit of Internal Force within him, unleashing it madly.

In an instant, the dagger in his hand struck forty-nine times. The specks of cold gleam bursting from its tip were brighter than ever, every strike like a pear blossom in full bloom.

This was the most exquisite killing move in Pear Blossom Kill.

Its power was also the greatest.

It simply consumed an enormous amount of Internal Force. With his current level of Internal Force, and with Pear Blossom Kill only at the Minor Accomplishment Realm, he could not even unleash it twice in succession within a short period.

Normally, unless it was truly a moment to risk his life, he would never consider using it.

Because Internal Force was not limitless.

Bursting forth meant consumption.

If he failed to kill his opponent after erupting, the one left in an awkward position could only be himself. In a life-and-death battle, that meant danger had arrived.

But he had no choice.

Li Yun had to die tonight!

If he did not kill Li Yun, then after tonight, he would surely be unable to sleep or eat in peace, constantly guarding against Li Yun's revenge.

If a monster of such talent were given enough time to rise, that would become an even greater nightmare for him.

The Rank 77 Courtyard disciples at the side were all dumbfounded, their faces filled with terror.

Especially Zhao Leyue, whose injuries were the lightest. At this moment, his regret had reached its peak. He had never imagined that even Wu Yuekong would be forced into such a state by Li Yun.

He had originally believed that so long as they lured Li Yun into the forest, Wu Yuekong's Force Refining Realm strength would take down Li Yun without the slightest effort.

Then he could reclaim every bit of humiliation he had suffered earlier in one go.

But what he thought was merely what he thought.

Reality was often far crueler than expectations.

Now, Zhao Leyue no longer had any thoughts of revenge. He only hoped that Wu Yuekong could kill Li Yun after erupting. Otherwise, after today, he feared he would no longer have any place to stand within the Celestial Martial Sect.

Damn Gu Yunzheng, all of this disaster was caused by you...

If Gu Yunzheng had been here at this moment, Zhao Leyue, consumed by hatred, would absolutely have killed Gu Yunzheng even if he had to endure the pain of his injuries.

If Gu Yunzheng had not provoked Li Yun, if Gu Yunzheng had not secretly spent money to hire He Tingfeng and Xu Youwu to deal with Li Yun... how could this chain of disasters have arisen?

The true culprit was Gu Yunzheng!

Kill, kill, kill!

Zhao Leyue's eyes had already turned bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the dazzling cold gleams ahead. He no longer knew how many times he had roared in his heart.

He only hoped that Li Yun would fall beneath Wu Yuekong's dagger in the next instant, pierced until he was riddled with holes!

However, he was destined to be disappointed.

Facing that killing move like pear blossoms in full bloom, Li Yun truly felt immense pressure. Even with several martial arts at the Perfection Realm, he had no choice but to withdraw his momentum and retreat, temporarily avoiding the sharp edge.

Yet he remained unhurried.

His movements were not greatly disordered.

It was almost impossible to believe that this was a newcomer who had entered the sect only a little over a month ago and had experienced few life-and-death battles.

If only I hadn't returned Senior Sister Zhang's sword when I came back. Once Sorrowful Wind Swordplay came out, even at the entry level, I could kill Wu Yuekong in one strike...

But no matter!

Even without Sorrowful Wind Swordplay, I'll still take you down!

After rapidly retreating twelve steps in succession, Li Yun's eyes suddenly lit up. He sensed that after reaching its peak, the pear-blossom-like momentum of those cold gleams had begun to decline.

This was clearly because Wu Yuekong lacked sufficient Internal Force, and his follow-up strength was failing.

Li Yun gave a cold smile and did not hesitate.

Thunderclap Fist erupted!

Thunderous World-Shocking!

The fist intent he had deliberately concealed all along finally blasted forth with savage violence at this moment.

"Stop..."

"You've got some nerve, fighting privately here..."