Tang Lotus Explodes, Overwhelming the Madman

Chapter 26: Tang Lotus Explodes, Overwhelming the Madman

Tang San's laughter rang out, shrill and crazed, echoing through the silent forest until it made everyone's scalp crawl.

His face, already pale and weak, twisted into a hideous mask of venomous hatred and feverish excitement. The Soul Power remaining in him surged wildly as he thrust his right hand into Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. A lotus shimmering with a blood-red, icy light appeared, suspended above his palm!

The instant Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus appeared, the temperature throughout the forest plunged to freezing!

The lotus looked small, yet it exuded an aura of destruction powerful enough to tear heaven and earth apart. Blood-red halos rippled outward in layers, and the air filled with the acrid stench of blood and the keen bite of metal. The surrounding plants withered and crumbled the moment the aura touched them, while cracks spread inch by inch across the stones beneath their feet. Its terrifying pressure swept across a hundred-meter radius, making the Shrek Team's faces change as they instinctively retreated half a step.

"What kind of Hidden Weapon is that? Its killing intent is terrifying!"

Ning Rongrong's face paled. The light from the Seven-Colored Glazed Pagoda in her palm flared to its utmost, and she poured all three layers of her boost onto the others. Even from dozens of meters away, she could sense the lethal power concealed within the Hidden Weapon—a terrifying force capable of killing everyone present in an instant!

"Everyone, be careful! That thing is extremely dangerous!"

Dai Mubai leapt in front of the others as his White Tiger Martial Soul erupted in full. Golden Soul Power gathered into a thick shield, his muscles tensed all over as he braced for the worst. Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu immediately took fighting stances. Xiao Wu even moved directly in front of Lin Chen, her Soft Bone Soul Power surging at full force as she watched Tang San in the tree with wary eyes.

Every one of them could clearly sense that if the blood-red lotus detonated, none of them would survive!

Seeing the fear and wariness on their faces, Tang San felt a twisted satisfaction rise within him. The madness in his eyes grew more intense as he stared fixedly at Lin Chen, his voice hoarse as if he were weeping blood. "Lin Chen, are you scared?"

"This is the Tang Sect's peerless Hidden Weapon, Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, forged by exhausting my blood essence and draining my life force! You may only be a Soul Elder, but even a Soul Ancestor would die without a doubt beneath this strike!"

"Today, you and all those who spurned me will be buried with me!"

With that, Tang San stopped hesitating. His eyes bloodshot, he poured every last shred of Soul Power and blood essence into Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, then mustered all his strength and hurled the blood-red lotus at Lin Chen and the others!

"Explode!!"

BOOM—!!!

A deafening blast erupted!

Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus exploded in midair. Countless tiny slivers of needles, glinting with a blood-red, icy light, shot outward like a torrential downpour. Each sliver contained the power to destroy heaven and earth. Wherever they passed, space itself seemed to split apart. The dense forest was ground straight into dust as a terrifying shock wave swept through, sending dust billowing and rocks flying. Blood-red light and icy flashes engulfed the entire world!

Such was the might of the Tang Sect's peerless Hidden Weapon. Even as a mere half-finished weapon, it could kill any Soul Master of the same rank. Even a high-ranking Soul Master would meet a bitter end if caught off guard!

"Brother Chen!!"

Xiao Wu cried out and rushed to shield Lin Chen.

The rest of the Shrek Team turned deathly pale, despair flashing in their eyes. They were powerless to withstand such a terrifying attack!

At this critical moment, Lin Chen moved.

He gently raised a hand and pulled Xiao Wu behind him. His gaze remained perfectly calm, as though the Hidden Weapon's world-shattering explosion before them were nothing more than children at play.

The next second, the dark Soul Power around Lin Chen erupted!

He no longer held anything back or tried to suppress it. His defiant Soul Power, towering above all else, surged out like a tsunami. The inky-black Soul Power formed a barrier of incredible thickness, shielding the Shrek Team behind him as he met the force of Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus head-on!

There was no earth-shaking roar, no dazzling clash of light.

The blood-red slivers, sharp enough to tear through anything, and the terrifying shock wave dissolved at a visible speed the instant they touched the dark Soul Power barrier, like snow falling into boiling water.

The razor-sharp Hidden Weapon slivers were crushed to dust by the surging Soul Power before they could get anywhere near Lin Chen. The world-shattering shock wave struck the barrier, failed to stir even a ripple, and was swallowed up completely!

In the span of a breath, Lin Chen effortlessly neutralized the full force of Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus with nothing but his Soul Power barrier!

As the dust gradually settled, a wrecked clearing appeared in the middle of the forest. Lin Chen still stood where he had been, hands behind his back, dark Soul Power circling him. His clothes were spotless, and he had not moved an inch. His expression had not even flickered, as if all he had done was brush away a speck of dust.

The Shrek Team behind him, by contrast, were completely unharmed. They had not even felt the slightest ripple of Soul Power.

The entire scene fell silent.

Wind swept through the forest, stirring the debris on the ground with a faint rustle that only deepened the stillness.

The madness and triumph on Tang San's face froze. His eyes widened, bloodshot, as he stared at what had happened. Disbelief covered his face, and he stood motionless as if under a binding spell.

"N-no... impossible!!"

He let out a heart-rending roar, his voice trembling with despair and unwillingness. "That was Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus! The Tang Sect's peerless Hidden Weapon! How could you block it so easily?!"

He had exhausted his blood essence, drained his life force, and wagered everything to forge his ultimate weapon. He had thought it would kill Lin Chen in one strike and wash away every humiliation. Yet in front of Lin Chen, it had been utterly powerless?

It made no sense!

"There's nothing impossible about it."

Lin Chen looked up at Tang San in the tree, his gaze indifferent. There was not the slightest trace of killing intent in his eyes, only utter disdain, as though he were looking at a clown. "Before absolute strength, your so-called peerless Hidden Weapon is nothing but scrap metal."

"From the moment you used a Soul Beast to plot against your companions, from the moment you obsessed over schemes instead of improving your own strength, your fate was already sealed."

"You pride yourself on being a transmigrator and having extraordinary talent, yet you've always lived trapped in schemes and hatred. Narrow-minded, obsessive, and deranged—no matter how many Tang Sect Secret Arts you possess, you'll never amount to anything."

"Before me, all your schemes and every card up your sleeve are worthless!"

Each word landed like a hammer, smashing into Tang San's heart!

Tang San's body shook violently. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of scorching blood, fell from the tree, and slammed into the ground in a sorry heap.

He had drained his life force to forge the Hidden Weapon, and now that Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus had been broken, the backlash from his Soul Power swept through his body. His meridians were damaged, his Soul Power completely spent, and he could not even stand. He had become a stray dog with nowhere to go.

He lay on the ground and struggled to lift his head, staring fixedly at Lin Chen. Venomous hatred nearly poured from his eyes, but he no longer had the slightest strength to fight back. Only endless despair and resentment remained.

He refused to accept it!

He had Twin Martial Souls and the Tang Sect's peerless Secret Arts. He should have been the protagonist of this world. So why had Lin Chen crushed him so completely?!

Why?!

Seeing Tang San's miserable, despairing state, the Shrek Team felt no pity—only satisfaction and awe.

They were satisfied that Tang San's scheme had utterly failed, and in awe of Lin Chen's heaven-defying strength!

"Brother Chen is incredible! He blocked that terrifying Hidden Weapon so easily!" Ma Hongjun stared at Lin Chen with wide eyes, full of admiration, his voice brimming with amazement.

"With Brother Chen here, there's no danger we need fear!" The last trace of doubt in Dai Mubai's heart vanished completely. All that remained in his eyes as he looked at Lin Chen was absolute trust.

Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong looked at Lin Chen with even greater admiration and dependence. With someone so powerful and reliable protecting them, they felt completely safe.

Oscar tightened his grip on the sausage in his hand, his resolve to follow Lin Chen firming.

Lin Chen walked over to Tang San and looked down at him, his tone indifferent. "Since you're already crippled, I'll spare your life today."

"But remember this: if you ever harbor evil intentions again, if you ever covet me or the Shrek Team, I'll make your soul scatter and leave you with no chance to rise again!"

As he finished speaking, a trace of Soul Power stirred around Lin Chen and struck Tang San directly in the dantian, completely sealing the last remnant of his Soul Power and reducing him to an ordinary person.

Tang San let out a cry of pain and collapsed completely, his eyes hollow, filled with nothing but endless deathly stillness and hatred.

Lin Chen paid him no further attention. He turned to the Shrek Team behind him, his expression returning to calm. "This place isn't safe to linger. Let's continue our training."

The others answered in unison, their gazes resolute as they followed closely behind Lin Chen, their steps steadier than before.

Sunlight pierced through the forest and fell over them, warm and golden.

As Tang San lay sprawled on the ground and watched Lin Chen and the others walk away, the deadness in his eyes slowly gave way to an even deeper madness and hatred.

"Lin Chen... I won't let this go..."

"For today's humiliation, I'll repay you a hundredfold someday!!"

Lin Chen had effortlessly resolved the crisis, and the Shrek Team's unity had reached its peak through this battle. Meanwhile, the grudge between Lin Chen and Tang San had taken root as a feud that would end only in death, awaiting the final reckoning to come!