Say Thank You!

"A Standard Hundred-Refined Embroidered Spring Blade. A lowly Jinyiwei grunt."

"Those are Ninth-Rank Official Boots from the Government Office. Are you the new Ninth-Rank Black-Robed Head Catcher from the County Government Office?"

"What an interesting combination."

"Come, sit!"

White Ape pointed to the chairs on either side of the hall below. He sat on the principal seat, sprawled across the luohan couch, and tossed the Courtesan, who had died horribly on the bed, aside as casually as a piece of trash.

"Demonic Creature, die!"

At the sight of this, Lu Xuenning's fury blazed. She gripped her longsword and unleashed an exquisite sword technique, charging straight at White Ape.

"You refuse a toast, only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

A savage glint flashed in White Ape's eyes. He punched out, meeting the longsword in Lu Xuenning's hands with his bare fist.

Boom!

The sharp blade carved a long wound across his hand, but White Ape's terrifying, violent fist slammed into Lu Xuenning's sword and drove forward with brutal force, sending her flying along with it!

White Ape's punch hurled Lu Xuenning several yards through the air. She crashed hard into the wall, leaving a person-shaped dent, then fell to the floor.

"He's already reached the Marrow Asura level of the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Stage!"

"I'll hold him off. Run!"

Lu Xuenning struggled to her feet and rolled her shoulders, spat out a mouthful of blood, and watched as some color returned to her pale face. Then she immediately shouted to Chen Fan.

As she spoke, she ignored the danger, twirled her sword once more, and charged at White Ape.

Seeing this, Chen Fan didn't choose to flee. Instead, with a thought, he summoned his status panel:

[Name: Chen Fan]

[Realm: Spirit Concealment Realm (Fourth Stage: Blood Martial Saint)]

[Cultivation Methods: Body Tempering Fist (Perfected), Draw Sword Slash (Perfected)]

[Remaining Lifespan: 50 years]

[Current Demonic Creature Lifespan: 56 years]

He poured all fifty-six years of Demonic Creature Lifespan into the Body Tempering Fist. He was going to use this opportunity to break through to the Marrow Asura level of the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Stage in one fell swoop.

He'd originally thought that with himself, a Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage Martial Artist, and Lu Xuenning, a Spirit Concealment Realm Peak Martial Artist, they would easily be able to kill a Demonic Creature at the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage. But the moment White Ape struck, he realized they had both underestimated the beast.

[After reaching the Blood Martial Saint level of the Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage, you continued to diligently practice the Perfected Body Tempering Fist. In the fifteenth year, you broke through to the realm of blood like mercury and reached the Marrow Asura level of the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Stage. During this time, your understanding of the Body Tempering Fist continued to deepen!]

[You continued practicing the Body Tempering Fist. In the thirtieth year, you used it to reach the realm of marrow like frost. You leaped past five stages and became a Spirit Concealment Realm Peak Martial Artist. You sensed a trace of the world's energy and glimpsed hope that the Body Tempering Fist might break through its limits!]

[You continued to study the Body Tempering Fist. Ten years passed in the blink of an eye, but your aptitude was limited, and you failed to grasp a higher-level method!]

[In the fiftieth year, you finally seized a trace of the world's energy and discovered the path ahead for the Body Tempering Fist. You began refining it without pause, finding endless joy in the work.]

[In the fifty-sixth year, you poured your life's blood into transforming the Body Tempering Fist into a far stronger, more formidable fist technique. You named it the Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc Fist. Mastering this technique lets you break through the five stages and connect with the world's primordial energy, using it as a grinding disc to temper and strengthen your body, ultimately forming an Innate Body!]

[Spirit Concealment Realm Peak]

[Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc Fist]

Chen Fan clenched his fists slightly, feeling the explosive power coursing through him. His skin was like bronze, his bones like iron, his tendons like steel, his blood like mercury, and his marrow like frost. His body was now truly bronze-skinned and iron-boned, with steel sinews and jade marrow; his vital energy roared like a dragon, and his fighting strength surged without end!

Boom!

Lu Xuenning, who had been battling White Ape for some time, was sent flying again. She slammed down right in front of Chen Fan. White Ape was covered in wounds too, several so deep they exposed bone, but the injuries only roused his ferocity further!

"Cough, cough!"

"Didn't I tell you to run?"

"Why are you still here?"

Lu Xuenning coughed violently several times, then asked helplessly.

With her current strength, she couldn't kill the Ape Demon. But if she wanted to run, the beast might not be able to stop her, either.

But she couldn't leave, because Chen Fan was still there.

She had planned to hold the Ape Demon off for a while so Chen Fan could escape. Once he was clear, she could retreat too. But she hadn't expected that while she fought desperately to hold the beast back, Chen Fan would stand there with his eyes closed, lost in meditation.

Come on, man. What are you doing?

"Leave the rest to me!"

Chen Fan helped Lu Xuenning up and shielded her behind him, then faced the enormous White Ape.

"Kid, get on your knees and kowtow to me three times. Then call me Grandpa, and I'll forgive your insolence today for the Jinyiwei's sake."

"Say thank you!"

White Ape glared at Chen Fan, his face twisted into a vicious grimace.

Lu Xuenning was a Ninth-Rank Black-Robed Head Catcher. The Ape Demon was a little surprised that she possessed Spirit Concealment Realm Peak strength, but it was still within reason. After all, she'd been sent over from Longyuan Prefecture. It would've been strange if she didn't have a few tricks up her sleeve.

But Chen Fan carried a Hundred Refinements Embroidered Spring Blade and wore ordinary Jinyiwei boots. At a glance, he looked like the most ordinary Jinyiwei member imaginable.

For a Jinyiwei grunt like him, White Ape could kill one with a single punch without even breaking a sweat.

"Thank you!"

Chen Fan replied calmly.

He took three quick steps forward, swung his fist, and smashed it toward the Ape Demon. The beast didn't move at all; a trace of disdain still lingered on his face.

Boom!

Chen Fan leaped forward and threw a punch. His terrifying fist whipped up a fierce gust, smashing into the Ape Demon's face. Several crisp cracks rang out. The Ape Demon spat out a mouthful of blood, along with several teeth.

Chen Fan's punch sent him crashing to the floor. The tremendous force smashed through the thick wooden boards beneath him, and his head plunged right through them, emerging on the roof of the sixth floor.

At that moment.

On the sixth floor.

A wealthy merchant had been lavishing money on the Courtesan at Spring View Pavilion, enjoying their intimate embrace. Then he heard a deafening crash. A gigantic ape's head burst through the ceiling, and he screamed in terror:

"There's a monster in here!"

The Courtesan was startled by the sudden upheaval too. But when she got a good look at the terrifying face, she murmured:

"Master Ape."

Soon, White Ape pulled his head free of the wooden boards. Before he could steady himself, Chen Fan threw another punch.

Boom!

The punch swept across and slammed into White Ape's left ribs, breaking several of them. He was sent flying sideways, skidding several yards across the floor before crashing into a pillar in the hall and finally coming to a stop.

Those two punches had left White Ape completely stunned. Chen Fan felt like a humanoid tyrannosaur, explosive power packed inside his lean frame.

Yet White Ape couldn't sense the aura of the world's primordial energy from Chen Fan. That proved Chen Fan hadn't opened his own acupoints, connected with the world's primordial energy, or entered the Spirit Aperture Realm!

Without entering the Spirit Aperture Realm, how could a human cultivator in the Spirit Concealment Realm go toe-to-toe with a great demon at the same realm and grind him into the dirt? What the hell kind of monster was this?!

"So he really is that strong?"

Watching the scene unfold, Lu Xuenning felt her heart thumping wildly.

She'd never imagined Chen Fan had been hiding his strength so well. He was a Spirit Concealment Realm Peak Martial Artist too!