Neither Qin Lang nor Bu Lianshi had expected Yan Kang to be so ruthless. He hadn't even given them a chance to hand over their Spirit Cores before moving straight to kill them. He was truly a vicious, merciless man.
"Leave the two Qi Refining Stage First Level cultivators to you two. I'll handle Yan Kang!" Lin Chuan said as he rose to his feet. The chakra inside him and the spiritual energy in his dantian had already finished merging before Yan Kang arrived. Now, they flowed ceaselessly along his meridians toward his hands, giving off a faint purple-gold glow and a soft sizzling sound.
"Hmph, you overestimate yourself. I'll kill you first, then deal with them!" Yan Kang said with a disdainful snort as Lin Chuan approached. In his eyes, none of the three here were even worthy opponents.
If he hadn't noticed that Qin Lang was at Qi Refining Stage Third Level, he would have simply left his two subordinates to deal with them. He hadn't expected that the one walking toward him wouldn't be Qin Lang, the strongest of the three, but a white-haired youth at only Qi Refining Stage First Level.
"Kid, I'll show you that the gap between us is like heaven and earth! The only end for those who provoke me is death!" Yan Kang moved both hands and lunged for Lin Chuan's throat.
Lin Chuan couldn't be bothered to waste words. His fists, coated in Senjutsu Chakra, shot out like lightning, striking at the vital points revealed by his Byakugan.
Smack!
With a soft sound, Yan Kang failed to block the seemingly soft, completely harmless fist he saw coming.
Lin Chuan gave a cold snort. After stopping Yan Kang's arm with his right hand, he shot out his left, aiming a swift palm strike at Yan Kang's chest. But Yan Kang was at Qi Refining Stage Sixth Level for a reason. He shifted slightly, nearly dodging Lin Chuan's blow, though it still grazed him.
That was all it took. The corner of Lin Chuan's mouth lifted slightly. The Gentle Fist wasn't like a steel fist that caused external injuries such as broken bones and bleeding. Instead, it directly damaged the internal organs and meridians. So even a slight graze could inflict harm.
An attack like this might not immediately rob an opponent of their ability to fight, but as the damage accumulated over time, no one could withstand Lin Chuan's Hyuga Gentle Fist—not even someone at Qi Refining Stage Sixth Level.
Looks like this technique works pretty well! Lin Chuan thought. During a bit of free time over the past few days, he had made a few adjustments to his Gentle Fist. When he drove Senjutsu Chakra into an opponent's body, he controlled it to inflict damage, then used the properties of spiritual energy to temporarily suppress the injuries. That made it difficult for an opponent to notice they had been hurt while they were fighting.
That way, he could keep accumulating the damage until, at a moment of his choosing, it erupted all at once. This was his hidden weapon for dealing with powerful opponents!
The longer Yan Kang fought, the more astonished he became. He had never expected the youth before him, who was only at Qi Refining Stage First Level, to last so long against him.
To everyone watching, Yan Kang seemed to have Lin Chuan completely on the back foot. Every punch he threw came with a fierce, imposing force. Yet Lin Chuan's strange fist technique dissolved each attack without a trace. Lin Chuan also seemed to know he was weaker than Yan Kang and avoided clashing head-on. Every strike was withdrawn as soon as it touched its target. His already soft, yielding fist technique now barely managed to graze his opponent. It didn't seem threatening at all.
"Hmph, so what if your fist technique is good? You can't dodge my attacks forever. You'll still die in the end!" Yan Kang roared furiously. It infuriated him that someone so weak had kept him from landing a blow for so long.
Boom!! Yan Kang suddenly slammed out a punch. Lin Chuan barely dodged it, but the thick tree behind him, which would have taken two people to wrap their arms around, was snapped clean in half. The terrifying blast left Qin Lang and Bu Lianshi stunned.
Lin Chuan's forehead was slick with sweat, but his mind remained calm. This was arguably the toughest battle he'd fought since arriving in this world, yet he wasn't discouraged. His Gentle Fist had been working all along. Under Lin Chuan's Byakugan, Yan Kang's body was now riddled with internal injuries. If Lin Chuan wanted, he could manipulate those injuries to erupt right now, instantly grievously wounding this Qi Refining Stage Sixth Level cultivator.
Still, it's not enough! I want to know how long I can keep accumulating internal damage with my Gentle Fist.
With a swish, Lin Chuan shifted his feet and dodged another one of Yan Kang's deadly blows. At the same time, he lightly slapped his right hand toward Yan Kang's chest, aiming straight for the vital point of his heart.
Whoosh! The Senjutsu Chakra in Lin Chuan's palm slipped silently into Yan Kang's chest. As it struck his heart, spiritual energy covered it and forcibly suppressed the injury.
"Die!" A cold glint flashed in Yan Kang's eyes. He had deliberately left that opening for Lin Chuan. In his view, this soft, seemingly powerless fist technique might be strange, but it couldn't hurt him. Even if he took a punch, he'd be fine.
His own attacks were different. If he landed one on Lin Chuan, it would leave him gravely injured in an instant. That was why he was willing to trade blows. But in the next moment, Lin Chuan smiled faintly and unleashed his Senjutsu Chakra, leaping up to dodge Yan Kang's deadly strike.
"What?" Yan Kang hadn't expected Lin Chuan to still have speed in reserve even in that situation. Now, with Lin Chuan going all out, Yan Kang couldn't keep up.
Suddenly, Lin Chuan's gaze settled on a large tree five hundred meters away. Three people were rushing toward them at high speed. He had been so focused on the battle that he hadn't noticed this group earlier.
Someone's coming? Looks like this fight will have to end early! Lin Chuan's gaze sharpened as he turned to look at the figure charging toward him.
Taking advantage of the moment Lin Chuan spent looking around, Yan Kang rushed to within three meters of him. He raised his fist high, about to bring it down, his face twisted in a cruel smile. He seemed to have already pictured Lin Chuan splattered with blood, killed by a single punch.
"Lin Chuan, watch out!" Bu Lianshi cried in terror.
"Lin Chuan!!" Qin Lang shouted anxiously. He abandoned the foreign cultivator he had beaten half to death and charged toward Lin Chuan. He didn't even try to intercept Yan Kang's attack, because he knew that would be impossible.
The only thing he could do now was use his own body to block that blow for Lin Chuan.
"Don't come over!" The moment Lin Chuan realized what Qin Lang was about to do, his expression changed drastically. He raised his right hand, and the five Chakra Threads attached to his fingertips snapped in an instant. At the other end of those threads was Yan Kang's body.
Pfft!
Yan Kang, who had been charging forward, suddenly shuddered all over and spat out a mouthful of blood. Bits of his internal organs were mixed in with it. His body kept convulsing as he surged forward, like a rag being battered again and again, tearing apart in midair.
At the critical moment, Lin Chuan suddenly exerted himself and shoved Qin Lang out of the way. But he was a step too late. He was drenched in the blood and fragments of internal organs Yan Kang had spat out, left in a wretched state!
The battlefield fell utterly silent!
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