One Shot, One Kill

Xu Buyu's expression sank abruptly, and he barked with a grim look, "Nonsense! This is absolute nonsense!"

"Junior Brother Jiang is only at the early stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, and he just performed a feat of strength earlier; for you to challenge him to a spar at a time like this, isn't that taking advantage of someone when they're down?!"

"Besides, he has only been in our Heavenly Fire Sect for a few days. How could he possibly have any spare energy to practice techniques?"

Others chimed in as well, their gazes directed squarely at Hu Hansan.

"Exactly! Hu Hansan, you've been here for three or four years and are already at the middle stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, having refined several techniques to the level of subtlety. How do you have the face to challenge a junior brother who just joined?"

"Have you no shame at all?"

Mu Sining did not speak, merely staring coldly at Hu Hansan.

In those beautiful peach-blossom eyes, there was no anger, no disgust, only something far more uncomfortable than either... indifference.

Hu Hansan's face flushed a deep, purplish red, his eyes darting back and forth.

Facing the condemnation of the crowd, especially that look of utter disregard from Mu Sining, he felt flustered and unsure of what to do, caught in a dilemma.

Just as he was about to give up and retreat in disgrace, Jiang Tian spoke.

"Come on then."

Jiang Tian wore a faint smile, though a cold glint flashed deep in his eyes, unnoticed by anyone.

"I haven't sparred with anyone since entering the Qi Gathering Realm. Why don't you let Senior Brother Hu test my level?"

This Hu Hansan had jumped in his face time and time again; he was no pushover.

The spar was a pretense; teaching Hu Hansan a lesson was the real goal.

It was perfect timing—he also wanted to see what kind of power his perfected Explosive Flame Bomb could unleash when combined with the Solar Qi within him.

Seeing that Jiang Tian had actually accepted, Hu Hansan froze for a moment, then a smug curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Fine!"

"Junior Brother Jiang..." Xu Buyu's expression was hesitant, and just as he was about to intervene, Jiang Tian interrupted him with a calm face.

"Senior Brother Xu, say no more. It is just a spar. If I cannot even handle Senior Brother Hu, how could I ever hope to fight Song Yongheng?"

Xu Buyu hesitated for a moment before finally nodding. "Very well."

He had already decided that if Jiang Tian started to lose, he would step in immediately to stop it.

This was a rare talent! To comprehend the Sun Heaven-Burning Qi Gathering Method and successfully gather Qi in just two days—he would surely build a Purple Mansion in the future... becoming a Golden Core master was not out of the question!

Under Xu Buyu's guidance, the crowd quickly cleared the area, receding like a tide to reveal a large open space in the center.

Everyone retreated to the edge of the platform; some were excited, some expectant, and others wore expressions of worry.

The two stood facing each other from about ten zhang apart.

Hu Hansan let out a cold snort, a cruel grin hanging on his lips.

He had figured it out.

Jiang Tian was relying on the Solar Qi he had gathered and wanted to use him as a stepping stone.

Well, today he would let Jiang Tian know... that this stone was too hot to step on!

"Boom--!"

Crimson flames suddenly surged from his body, flickering and spitting like hungry fire snakes slithering around him.

Immediately after, a fire snake manifested before him, composed entirely of flames, about two or three zhang long and as thick as an arm, its tongue flicking and hissing.

In the blink of an eye, another fire snake condensed into shape.

Three, four, five!

A total of five fire snakes coiled and swirled around him like five man-eating pythons, scorching the surrounding air until it warped and distorted.

"His speed at condensing fire snakes with the Fire Snake Art... it must be at the Great Success stage, right?"

"No, it's the level of subtlety. To condense five at once, combined with this speed, it's at least the level of subtlety!"

"What's wrong with Jiang Tian? Why isn't he moving? Don't tell me he's scared stiff?"

Jiang Tian stood where he was, his robes fluttering in the breeze. His face was calm, devoid of any expression, and he made no move whatsoever.

Xu Buyu's brows furrowed, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

As expected, this Junior Brother Jiang was still too concerned about saving face.

It seemed his guess was correct; he hadn't practiced any techniques yet.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Jiang Tian moved.

Jiang Tian slowly raised his palm, curled three fingers inward, and pointed his index finger straight at Hu Hansan.

At the tip of his index finger, a golden-red speck of light emerged.

The speck was initially the size of a grain of rice, almost invisible, but it rapidly expanded—from a grain of rice to a soybean, from a soybean to a peanut, from a peanut to a walnut.

Finally, it settled at the size of a fist.

The golden-red orb of light hovered at his fingertip like a miniature sun compressed to its limit, radiating a scorching, restrained brilliance.

"Huh? Is this an Explosive Flame Bomb? Why is it so small?"

"Are you talking nonsense? He only joined the sect a few days ago; isn't it normal for it to be at the entry level?"

"That's true. Back when I practiced for five days, the Explosive Flame Bomb I condensed was only this big."

Whispers rose and fell, most of them dismissive.

Hu Hansan couldn't help but sneer, a flash of ferocity crossing his eyes.

With a wave of his large hand, the five fire snakes surrounding him lunged at Jiang Tian instantly. The five snakes intertwined and tangled in the air like five twisted ropes, or perhaps a tightening net, biting toward Jiang Tian from five different angles and sealing off all his paths of retreat.

Xu Buyu's body swayed slightly, the water and fire qi within him surging as a faint glow appeared on his skin.

He was already prepared to intervene.

Jiang Tian lifted a finger slightly, his lips parting to spit out a single word: "Bang."

The fist-sized fireball shot out from his fingertip like a bullet leaving a chamber!

Then, it swelled against the wind.

From fist-sized to head-sized, then to bucket-sized!

In the blink of an eye, it had become a golden-red sphere with a radius of over ten feet, radiating a terrifyingly high temperature!

The moment the fireball collided with the five fire snakes.

There was no explosion, no loud noise.

The five fire snakes seemed to have encountered their natural predator, being silently annihilated from head to tail.

Hu Hansan's eyes widened abruptly, his pupils reflecting the rapidly growing golden-red fireball.

The scent of death flooded over him like a tide.

His intuition told him that if he took this Explosive Flame Bomb head-on, he would die.

But it was too late to dodge. The fireball was too fast—so fast that he didn't even have time to form the thought of turning around.

He could only scream in panic:

"Spare me!"

"BOOM--!"

A figure appeared in front of him with the speed of lightning!

The fireball exploded suddenly.

Golden-red light burst forth, and heatwaves and steam rippled outward in circles, one after another.

Several disciples at the early stage of the Qi Gathering Realm stumbled, pushed back repeatedly by the heatwave, nearly falling to the ground.

The platform was silent for a moment.

Then, it erupted into chaos.

"What just happened?!"

"This Explosive Flame Bomb must be at the perfection level, right? Otherwise, how could it have such power?"

"It has to be the perfection level! There's no other explanation!"

"This is heaven-defying! To have the spare energy to practice techniques while cultivating the Sun Heaven-Burning Qi Gathering Method? And he actually practiced it to perfection, for god's sake?!"

Everyone looked shocked, staring at Jiang Tian as if he were a monster.

Their eyes held shock, admiration, and jealousy.

Mu Sining's mouth hung slightly open, her expression dazed.

She suddenly realized... she seemed to have brought an incredible guy to the Heavenly Fire Sect.

No, not "seemed."

It was "certainly."

"Whoosh!"

A strong wind swept through the steam, and the white mist dispersed instantly, revealing the figures within.

Xu Buyu stood in front of Hu Hansan, who was sitting on the ground with a pale face.

Hu Hansan was trembling all over.

Xu Buyu slowly retracted the palm he had held in front of him. A thin film of water covered his palm, and it was hissing and emitting white steam, like the lid of a boiling kettle.

The shock in his heart could no longer be described with words.

If he hadn't intervened just now, Hu Hansan would likely have been reduced to a charred corpse.

Terrifying.

Is this Jiang Tian even human?

The Mirror Flower Water Moon technique he had just used, although only at thirty percent power, was still cast by someone at the perfection stage of the Qi Gathering Realm!

The water and fire qi within his body had already been integrated into his True Qi, undergoing a qualitative change, achieving a balance of yin and yang, and becoming incredibly dense.

The water mirror he had condensed was actually almost shattered!

When that flame pierced through the water mirror, he could even feel a scorching heat rushing toward his face, as if someone had ignited a volcano right in front of him.

If he hadn't poured a bit more qi into the water mirror at the very last second, he feared he would have been burned.

Xu Buyu took a deep breath and steadied his gaze on Jiang Tian.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But in the end, he only managed to utter two words.

"Monster."

(Thanks to [Thanks Anytime Anywhere], [With Little Xian], [Name Already Taken], and [Great Prosperity Kingdom Daoist] for the power-up!!! Thanks to [With Little Xian] for the update ticket!!! Thanks to [Jizu Mountain Lin Shu] for the little flower!!!)