Crimson Fire Vajra Body!

As they were speaking, a muffled laugh came from the pile of rubble nearby.

"Heh heh heh..."

The rubble was sent flying, and a figure slowly emerged from within.

It was Li Xian.

Aside from a little dust on his clothes, he was completely unharmed.

"Such a thing is possible?" Zhang Yangming said, his expression full of surprise.

He had taken nearly the full force of my attack, yet he looked completely fine?

This kid's strength was beyond imagination!

Seeing Li Xian emerge, Guan Wangsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while Cao Xiong gave a slight nod.

"It seems this battle isn't over yet."

"It seems you really do have some strength, just as the rumors say. You're no fraud."

After his initial surprise, Zhang Yangming quickly regained his composure. He looked at Li Xian and sneered.

Li Xian dusted himself off and said as if nothing had happened, "You're pretty strong too—stronger than I expected."

"Good. You're finally worthy of seeing me fight with all my strength!"

His voice brimmed with excitement.

"Empty boasts!"

Zhang Yangming held up a finger and said disdainfully, "My next move will finish you!"

"Wind Thunder! Flash!"

With a deafening crack, Zhang Yangming's body became a streak of lightning and vanished from where he stood.

"That's the Wind Thunder Art! Zhang Yangming actually mastered Wind Thunder Flash!"

"It's over. Li Xian definitely won't be able to block that."

"Looks like the winner's decided!"

"Hahaha! This punch packs twenty years of power! What could you possibly use to block it?"

Amid his wild laughter, Zhang Yangming moved as fast as lightning and reached Li Xian in the blink of an eye.

Electric sparks danced across his fist as it thundered toward Li Xian's head.

Faced with this punch, everyone present—including Cao Xiong—believed Li Xian would die beneath it.

However...

With a crisp crack, a hand shimmering with a crimson-gold glow calmly caught Zhang Yangming's devastating Wind Thunder Flash.

"What..."

"How is that possible?!"

"What happened? Who stepped in?"

Even Cao Xiong wore a look of shock. He clearly hadn't expected this outcome.

"Heh heh heh..."

Li Xian let out a low laugh.

"Did you think you were the only Mid-fourth Grade Martialist?"

As he spoke, his skin gradually turned crimson-gold, and wisps of crimson-gold flame curled around his body.

"That's..."

"Could it be...?"

"There's no doubt about it. That's the sixth layer of the Crimson Sun Nine Songs, the Crimson Fire Vajra Body! He's a Mid-fourth Grade Martialist too—he has Bronze Skin Iron Bones!"

"Wow..."

Countless people gasped in amazement.

Cao Xiong shot to his feet and shouted, "Quick, make them stop! Don't you dare hurt my Steward Li—no, my Hall Master Li!"

It was no wonder he'd lost his composure. A Mid-fourth Grade Martialist who hadn't even turned twenty was as rare as a phoenix feather in all of Dagan.

With a peerless talent like this, he could even lead the Cao Gang out of Qingzhou, raising it from a mid-tier sect to a first-rate school renowned throughout the Dagan Dynasty.

How could Cao Xiong possibly let a genius like this slip away?

However, there was no need for him to worry about Li Xian.

At that moment, the one he should have been worried about was Zhang Yangming.

With Li Xian's full strength unleashed, the sheer force and pressure he gave off made Zhang Yangming tremble faintly despite himself.

Li Xian rolled his neck. Feeling the surging, boiling power within him, he nearly let out a moan of satisfaction.

"Since I mastered the sixth layer of the Crimson Sun Nine Songs, you're the first person to force me to fight with all my strength."

He stared calmly at Zhang Yangming with cold eyes and spoke in a gentle voice.

Zhang Yangming stared at him in terror, repeating, "Impossible. How can this be..."

He couldn't help being terrified. The young man before him was far too powerful. Just standing in front of him had already made Zhang Yangming tremble from head to toe.

How could he possibly resist him like this?

Li Xian held up a finger and said with a light laugh, "One move. I'll finish you!"

He gave Zhang Yangming back the very same words he'd just heard.

He took up his stance and threw a punch!

"Tiger Cannon!"

This time, a roar loud enough to tear eardrums apart rang through Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Zhang Yangming clutched his head and let out a heart-rending scream.

"I surrender!"

"Stop!"

Someone shouted from afar. Out of the corner of his eye, Li Xian saw a figure racing toward them.

A glint of viciousness flashed in his eyes.

Only now, you're telling me to stop?

Too late!

A sharp crack rang out.

Li Xian's punch landed, and Zhang Yangming's head exploded.

Red and white splattered across the ground.

Thus ended the life of the Cao Gang's Deputy Gang Leader!

Silence fell over all of Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Even Cao Xiong stared, dumbfounded, at the scene in the distance. He was clearly stunned by the outcome.

He'd actually killed Zhang Yangming!

This young man, not even twenty years old, was a Mid-fourth Grade Martialist with Bronze Skin Iron Bones. In a head-on duel, he'd killed Zhang Yangming, the Cao Gang's long-famous Deputy Gang Leader, with a single punch.

It was simply unbelievable.

"Am I dreaming? Can someone pinch me?"

"Ah, that hurts! All right, all right, I know I'm not dreaming now."

"Has the world changed? How can someone this young reach the Martialist Realm's Mid-fourth Grade?"

"When I was his age, I was still thinking about which pleasure boat to spend the night on."

"Alas, I'm old. The world belongs to the young now."

"Steward Li... you..."

Guan Wangsheng arrived at the battlefield and saw Zhang Yangming's mangled corpse. Remembering how they'd worked together for many years, he couldn't help feeling the sorrow of the hare struck down while the fox watched.

Li Xian grinned at Guan Wangsheng. "Sorry, you were too far away just now. What did you say? I couldn't hear you!"

His sinister smile sent a chill down Guan Wangsheng's spine.

Why is he hostile toward me?

Then he understood. It must have been because he'd just spoken up to stop Li Xian from killing Zhang Yangming. Li Xian had taken it the wrong way.

"Steward Li, you've misunderstood. I meant you no harm!" Guan Wangsheng hurried to explain.

He had to explain. This young man was too fierce. Though Guan Wangsheng was also a Mid-fourth Grade Martialist, Li Xian had killed Zhang Yangming with a single punch. Guan Wangsheng didn't even know how many punches his old bones could take. Making an enemy of him would be foolish, so it was better to clear things up.

"Oh, is that so?"

Li Xian smiled slightly. The other man didn't seem to be pretending, so he believed him a little. Then he withdrew his Crimson Fire Vajra Body.

Guan Wangsheng felt the invisible pressure and killing intent vanish, and let out a long breath of relief.

Li Xian was so young, yet already so terrifyingly strong. How far would he go if he had more time to grow?

Guan Wangsheng was shaken to the core. He secretly swore that if he ever encountered Li Xian again, he would take the long way around.