Iron Prison Showdown

Li Ye was mildly surprised. He had not expected the proprietor of Hongbin Tower to be a master at the eighth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Strength of this caliber already counted as second-rate prowess among ordinary mortals.

"Kid, do you think that just because you dealt with Yang Wu and the others, you now have the strength to face the two of us?"

"No matter who you are, this Iron Prison will be your burial ground."

Chen Hong said.

Among the Iron Saber Society's thugs, Yang Wu, at the sixth level of the Body Tempering Realm, was the strongest.

In Chen Hong's view, Li Ye's strength should have been around the seventh level of the Body Tempering Realm, nowhere near a match for him.

That day, Li Ye had formed a favorable impression of Shopkeeper Chen of Hongbin Tower, believing him to be an adaptable, forthright, righteous man.

But seeing him again now, where was that kind expression, like Maitreya Buddha's, from that day? His face was dark and gloomy, his gaze vicious—the very image of a butcher who killed without batting an eye.

Li Ye said coldly, "I never expected that a smiling tiger like you possessed such strength. Fine. Today, I'll send the two of you to the grave."

"Hahaha!"

Chen Hong burst into laughter. "Send the two of us to the grave? What, are you at the eighth level of the Body Tempering Realm too?"

"Fine, fine, fine. Today, I'll see exactly how you plan to send the two of us to the grave. Iron Mountain Fist!"

Boom!

Chen Hong swung both fists. The blood throughout his body accelerated, and a powerful force instantly condensed over his fists. Heat steamed from his body as his enormous fist smashed straight toward Li Ye.

Contempt gleamed in Li Ye's eyes as he gave a cold snort. "A trifling trick!"

Boom!

With that, he turned his palm downward, raised his right hand to his chest, gathered his qi, and struck with his palm. Before Chen Hong could charge over, a crimson electric light suddenly shot from Li Ye's palm.

"Ah!"

Chen Hong screamed. A great cloud of Blood Mist exploded from his chest as he flew backwards, smashing into the wall before crashing heavily onto the ground, sending dust flying.

"Brother-in-law..."

Shen Heng, president of the Iron Saber Society, turned pale in shock and hurried forward to support Chen Hong.

The latter clutched his chest, blood gushing through the gaps between his fingers. Bloody foam spilled from his mouth as well. Pointing a trembling finger at Li Ye, he said, "...Qi Gathering Realm!"

Releasing internal force externally was the mark of the Qi Gathering Realm. It was no longer something ordinary mortals could contend against.

In Chen Hong's eyes, Li Ye was in the Qi Gathering Realm.

How had the Iron Saber Society provoked a master of this level?

"You're courting death!"

Shen Heng roared. Then, to Li Ye's shock, Shen Heng raised his hand, and a faint strand of Spiritual Qi emerged from his palm and pressed into Chen Hong's wound.

It stabilized his injuries and kept them from worsening.

Second level of the Qi Gathering Realm?

Li Ye was utterly astonished. He had never imagined that Shen Heng, the president of the Iron Saber Society, would be a master of this level.

No wonder the Iron Saber Society had been so arrogant in Licheng City.

So they had a strong expert of this level backing them.

"Xiao Heng, be careful!"

Chen Hong warned, his face as white as paper.

But his injuries appeared to have stabilized. He would not die for the time being.

Boom!

Shen Heng rose to his feet and shook both arms. Two faint streams of Spiritual Power immediately surged from within him, winding around his body like two little white dragons.

The pressure was terrifying.

Li Ye's expression grew slightly grave.

Though he had killed two Foreigners before, they had not faced each other head-on. Now, facing Shen Heng, Li Ye felt pressure for the first time.

At the first level of the Qi Gathering Realm, one cultivated a strand of Spiritual Power, each weighing more than two tons—four thousand jin.

At the second level of the Qi Gathering Realm, one possessed two strands of Spiritual Power. Each strand weighed more than three tons, totaling twelve thousand jin.

Power of this level was enough to sweep aside anyone in the Body Tempering Realm through cultivation alone.

But the strength of a Great Expert in the Qi Gathering Stage went far beyond that. Upon entering the Qi Gathering Stage, one could cultivate Martial Skills and Daoist arts, unleashing attack power far beyond one's cultivation.

What came next would be a clash beyond the mortal world.

"My talent is limited. I could not enter a great sect, so I struggled among mortals for decades before attaining my current cultivation."

"Though I have not cultivated any peerless Daoist arts, with the magical power I have accumulated over these decades, I have still comprehended a life-killing art—more than enough to kill you."

"Kid, hand over your life! Cage Sword Qi!"

Shen Heng shouted loudly. With a clang, he drew the Precious Sword in hand. The two streams of Spiritual Power on his body changed from misty white to pale gold, swiftly condensing onto the blade.

Chi!

The precious sword blazed with divine light, its aura surging explosively. Driven by Shen Heng, it instantly slashed out a fierce sword qi at Li Ye.

Under the activation of his martial skill, the two streams of spiritual power within Shen Heng underwent an instant qualitative change. Their sharpness was nearly enough to cleave gold and cut iron, intent on splitting Li Ye in two.

"Hmm, not bad swordsmanship. It's almost reached a grade, raising your strength by several degrees."

Li Ye commented blandly.

Yes, his tone was unmistakably one of appraisal.

The cultivation methods and martial skills of this world were also divided into ranks. From lowest to highest, they were Yellow Tier, Black Tier, Earth Tier, and Heaven Tier.

Each tier was divided into three levels: Low Grade, Middle Grade, and High Grade.

For Shen Heng to comprehend a swordsmanship martial skill close to a rank through decades of accumulation, without anyone to guide him, made him something of an anomaly.

But unfortunately, Li Ye was an anomaly as well.

"Swift Wind Leg!"

Li Ye scolded lightly, activating the Night Roaming God skill.

The muscles in his legs instantly tightened and bulged, growing a full size thicker in the blink of an eye as divine power surged forth with them.

The entire Iron Prison trembled faintly beneath the force contained in Li Ye's feet.

Then he spun around, his right foot trailing a red electric arc as it kicked upward. Then, with a 'Puff', it struck Shen Heng's descending sword qi.

Shen Heng's sword qi was more powerful than Li Ye's Swift Wind Leg, but Li Ye's Swift Wind Leg was faster than Shen Heng's sword qi.

Thus, in that flash of lightning, Li Ye spun, leaped lightly into the air, and unleashed a second Electric Light Foot, striking Shen Heng's sword qi.

Dong!

The two men's forces intertwined and collided in mid-air. A thunderous boom echoed through the Iron Prison as Shen Heng's sword qi was blasted apart by the two electric arcs Li Ye had kicked out in succession.

Li Ye's electric arcs also exploded and shattered, countless tiny electric lights piercing the Iron Prison's thick walls and blasting innumerable small holes into them.

What?

Shen Heng's eyes widened, hardly able to believe what he was seeing.

In the time it took him to launch one move, this kid could launch two?

The Cage Sword Qi had been broken just like that?

Shen Heng realized the gap in strength between them. Before he could think further, a rolling gale came rushing at his face, forcing him to take several staggering steps back.

Chen Hong was likewise dumbfounded.

He had Never Seen Before such swift movement technique, such fast and fierce legwork in this lifetime. It was like wind and lightning; even the naked eye could not keep up.

The two were moved, sensing that something was terribly wrong.

Ka!

Something even more despairing happened: the precious sword in Shen Heng's hand suddenly shattered into several pieces.

This was because the sword was of far too poor quality. It was not a magic artifact and simply could not withstand the Heaven-and-Earth spiritual power within Shen Heng. After Shen Heng launched that attack, the sword's internal channels and patterns were destroyed, causing it to break.

And without the precious sword, Shen Heng could not use Cage Sword Qi.

"Looks like your Cage Sword Qi is nothing much after all. Die."

Li Ye sneered. His eyes flashed like lightning, and with a flicker of his body, he swept forward.

Not good!

Shen Heng's heart jolted. He knew that without using Cage Sword Qi, he was absolutely no match for Li Ye.

What should he do? What should he do?

By the way, the hostage!

Shen Heng finally remembered that he still held a trump card—Zhou Bao.

The other party seemed to have come precisely for this prisoner.

Shen Heng was less than two meters away from Zhou Bao.

So he dashed forward and shouted, "Kid, stop!"

Suddenly, electric light flashed before his eyes, and a gale struck his face.

Just as Shen Heng's palm was still half a foot from Zhou Bao, a large hand landed on Zhou Bao before his could, grabbing the iron chains wrapped around him and yanking them viciously.

Puff!

All the iron chains exploded and shattered!