Azure Rainbow Pierces the Body, Yet He Smiles Through Wounds; Flesh for Flesh, the Battle Grows Fiercer

Chen Duan raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The Power of Tissue Proliferation had already activated, rapidly repairing his shock-injured internal organs.

A numb itch and warmth spread through the wounded areas.

Thinking back carefully, he had not felt such real, tangible pain from injuries in a long time.

Without a doubt.

Xia Jingtian was very strong, far beyond the Feng Qu Xian from before.

Back then, Feng Qu Xian had at most just crossed the threshold into the Fifth Refinement. He could not use True Qi, and could only rely on experience to contend with a Fifth Refinement fighter. In a life-and-death fierce fight, he had ultimately still lacked some seasoning.

But Xia Jingtian before him was a genuine Fifth Refinement consummate expert. His True Qi was vast and flowed freely; every gesture carried tremendous might.

"Looks like if I want to beat up my venerable master, I'll have to get a little serious too."

Before his words had faded, the inner force of the Fuhu Fist within him surged with a roar.

The muscles across his body swelled. His already burly frame grew taller and expanded by a full circle, bursting apart his clothes like a Devil Master breaking free of his restraints.

An aura far more savage and violent than before spread outward.

Most of his face was shrouded in shadow. Only his eyes shone with a terrifying brightness. The probing intent within them was gone, leaving only naked Killing Intent, like two sharp swords stabbing straight into Xia Jingtian's mind.

Pierced by that gaze, Xia Jingtian's heart instinctively trembled.

He reacted at once, and a trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes.

A mere Four Refinements Martial Master could make him feel such a reaction through sheer aura alone?

This Child's ferocity was truly terrifying.

Before he could think further, Chen Duan moved again.

Only this time, his speed doubled.

His figure blurred, turning into a streak of black lightning that shot forward.

It was still Black Tiger Heart Extraction, aimed straight for the center.

Xia Jingtian's expression did not change. He still intended to take it head-on with True Qi.

However, at the instant the fist force was about to strike him, Chen Duan's figure twisted and vanished from directly in front of him.

"Look behind you, Master!"

The voice rang out from behind him!

Xia Jingtian spun around just as Chen Duan swept in with a Tiger Tail Whip. His thick leg carried a Vicious Wind as it smashed toward Xia Jingtian's waist and ribs.

Xia Jingtian's Protective True Qi warped and trembled.

Not only was he faster, his force was fiercer than before.

Xia Jingtian's heart tightened slightly. He stabilized his Protective True Qi, while his right hand traced a perfectly round arc, gathering even stronger True Qi before blasting another palm toward Chen Duan.

Chen Duan was sent flying by the palm strike again. He rolled several times through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Yet before the dust had dispersed, that figure was already charging back in.

It was still that strange, swift movement technique, still that simple set of Fuhu Fist moves.

Fierce Tiger Emerging from Gate!

Hungry Tiger Pouncing!

Black Tiger Heart Extraction!

The fist moves came one after another, heedless of his own losses as they battered Xia Jingtian's Protective True Qi.

Xia Jingtian, meanwhile, responded to all changes with constancy. Relying on True Qi and Palm Technique, he repeatedly sent Chen Duan flying and shook him back.

On the surface, Xia Jingtian still held an absolute advantage.

"Hiss~"

Yet Xia Jingtian had to admit that This Child's hide was absurdly thick.

After taking so many of his heavy blows, Chen Duan was still full of vigor, growing braver with every battle.

But what made Xia Jingtian's expression turn grave was not that terrifying endurance.

It was the faint, subtle "resonance" he sensed through the repeated collisions between his Protective True Qi and Chen Duan's Fist Edge.

There seemed to be something extra within Chen Duan's fist force.

Though it was still extremely faint and lacked any proper structure, it had already taken on the first hints of a form.

With Xia Jingtian's experience, he quickly understood.

Was he lighting lamps in battle?

Chen Duan was sent flying again.

And in the midst of his backward flight.

Crash!

Within Chen Duan, several auxiliary apertures and the inner force of the Fuhu Fist contracted inward under the drive of Killing Intent, then erupted and ignited.

It was as though invisible lamps had been lit within his body, their warm radiance dispelling the chaos inside his apertures.

Another aperture heart-lamp had been successfully lit.

"Lighting lamps in the midst of battle? What courage!"

How could Xia Jingtian fail to understand now? Without realizing it, he had become the whetstone Chen Duan was using to seek a breakthrough.

"Hmph! Since you wish to use this Old Man's hand to light your lamps, let's see whether you can withstand this Old Man's fire."

Xia Jingtian stopped defending passively and decided to take the initiative.

He turned his palm into a hand blade, pressing his five fingers together as green light flowed around his fingertips.

His waist twisted sharply, and the True Qi around his body gathered into the hand blade.

For an instant, even the surrounding air seemed compressed.

Pale green True Qi formed a rapidly spinning blade of air along the edge of his palm.

Screech~ Screech~

The sharp, piercing sound echoed out, making their eardrums wail.

The next moment, Xia Jingtian moved.

Wood Element killing move—

Azure Rainbow Pierces the Sun!

The True Qi hand blade stabbed straight toward Chen Duan's heart with an unstoppable force.

Feng Cai, who was barely holding herself up as she watched from the side, was already dumbfounded, her pretty face drained of color.

She had never seen her master use a move so filled with murderous intent.

The might of this strike made even her soul tremble, and she instinctively wanted to flee far away.

Yet her legs were heavy, unable to move even an inch.

When Chen Duan had been sent flying and crashed through the courtyard wall earlier, he had accidentally injured her.

Her Wood Element Art had not yet broken through to the Fourth Refinement, so her injuries could not heal quickly.

From her perspective, she only saw her master Xia Jingtian turn into a streak of green light, pierce through Chen Duan, and appear behind him.

Xia Jingtian withdrew his stance and stood still. With a casual flick, the True Qi at his fingertips sprinkled the fragments of flesh and blood clinging to them onto the ground.

"Rebellious disciple, how did that move of this Old Man taste?"

Chen Duan lowered his head and looked at his abdomen.

There, it had been pierced through as easily as paper. His muscles had been sliced open into a crescent-shaped gap, and he could even faintly see his wriggling organs.

Blood poured out in streams.

He froze for a moment. Then the corner of his mouth rose uncontrollably, stretching into a savage curve of extreme excitement.

"Hahahaha! I knew it! Master, you must still be hiding plenty!"

"That one was really satisfying!"

His laughter was wild, filled with the ecstatic joy of someone who had discovered treasure.

"Hm?"

Xia Jingtian frowned tightly and turned around abruptly.

He saw the flesh around Chen Duan's abdominal wound writhing.

Withered Wood Meets Spring?

In the blink of an eye, that crescent-shaped wound had actually contracted and healed, leaving behind only a faint scar.

It was not Withered Wood Meets Spring.

It was another, even stranger restorative power.

Xia Jingtian was slightly startled.

The moment his injury recovered, Chen Duan lunged forward to attack again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists, palms, legs, elbows!

Chen Duan's attacks never ceased, crazily battering Xia Jingtian's Protective True Qi.

Finally, at a certain moment.

Rip!

After violently warping, Xia Jingtian's Protective True Qi was torn open with a crack.

The vicious gleam in Chen Duan's eyes surged as he seized the opportunity.

Black Tiger Heart Extraction!

His fist passed through the gap and clawed toward Xia Jingtian's abdomen.

Crack!

A crisp sound rang out.

Chen Duan withdrew his hand and stepped back several paces.

In his hand was a chunk of crisp flesh.

He weighed the "spoils of war" in his hand, baring his teeth in a grin.

"Master, courtesy demands reciprocity."

Xia Jingtian touched his abdomen, where a small piece was missing.

He circulated his blood and qi. Withered Wood Meets Spring activated, and the wound began to grow closed.

"Good! What excellent reciprocity! Hahahahaha~"

Xia Jingtian suddenly burst into laughter.

A mere Four Refinements Martial Master had actually broken through the True Qi defense of a Fifth Refinement consummate expert and injured his Physical Body.

Chen Duan's few blows, neither arrogant nor impatient, had drawn out Xia Jingtian's long-sealed Martial Master's Guts.

Though the Wood Courtyard emphasized cultivating the heart and nurturing one's nature, its members were by no means a group of kind and peaceful people.

On the contrary, under the influence of a Cultivation Technique like the Wood Element Art—which contained fierce intensity and required constant suppression and harmonization for successful cultivation—the disciples actually spent all year balancing inner restlessness with repression.

Once that balance was broken, what emerged was the fierce violence and savagery that had been suppressed for so long.

Hiss!!

Xia Jingtian grabbed the tear in the clothing around his abdomen and ripped away the ruined garments from his upper body, tossing them aside.

What he revealed was a strong, refined upper body entirely at odds with his aged face.

His muscles were sharply defined, brimming with strength.

Yet across that powerful body were crisscrossing scars, like some sort of stitching, covering his arms, chest, waist, and abdomen.

Looking at those scars, Chen Duan teased, "Master, it seems your hands have quite a bit of blood on them."

"Hahahaha!"

Xia Jingtian laughed even louder. "Your every fist and kick is filled with murderous nature and Sha Qi. What right do you have to lecture this Old Man!"

With that, Xia Jingtian lowered his waist into a horse stance. He actually abandoned his exquisite Palm Technique as well, slowly raising both fists and assuming a heavy boxing stance.

In an instant, even more surging True Qi spilled from his body, blowing his gray-white hair wildly about as his aura changed again.

"This Old Man also has a fairly decent Fist Technique! Today, I'll have a proper contest with you!"

At this moment, Xia Jingtian's view of Chen Duan had already changed.

This Child was so powerful and his origins so suspicious; there was no way he was merely a disciple who had come to study under a master.

He must have some purpose in infiltrating the Yuanxiang Sect.

Was it the Chiliu Sect, the Taihui Sect, or perhaps the authorities?

Thoughts swirled through his mind, but Xia Jingtian no longer wished to think about them.

He only knew that he had to use all his strength here and now to snuff out this hidden danger.

Otherwise, it would surely become a grave threat in the future.

And Chen Duan possessed the Third Level power of the Wood Element Art, with a Physical Body this formidable. If Xia Jingtian could seize his heart and use it as a catalyst, it might help him break through the barrier of "Limit" in one stroke.

Killing Intent and greed intertwined at that moment.

Chen Duan felt the rising aura around Xia Jingtian. His entire body trembled, and his heart hammered against his chest.

Stimulated by this deadly threat, the Killing Intent of the Fuhu Fist within him was like oil poured onto a fire, surging madly.

Their gazes collided in midair, sending sparks flying!

Then, without any warning, they moved at the same time, carrying their own resolute Killing Intent as they crashed together with a thunderous impact.