Full power

"Clack!"

That was the sound of weapons dropping from the hands of several Internal Organ Refinement captain guards who had followed Zhang Shuheng here.

Seeing their commander, a Body Without Leaks Realm expert, beaten to death head-on by Li Xian's overwhelming strength, the guard captains, who were only at Internal Organ Refinement, instantly lost the courage to oppose him. Every one of them trembled.

The one with the weakest nerves could not even hold on to his saber.

"C-Commander..."

His eyes widened as he watched the commander he had believed invincible throughout Jiangzhou meet such an end, as though some pillar of faith had collapsed.

Compared with him, however, the remaining captains swiftly came to their senses.

"Run!"

Run, now!

Blend into the crowd as fast as possible and scatter for your lives!

With that thought, the guard captains did not dare entertain any notion of avenging Zhang Shuheng. They scattered at once, fleeing in every direction.

The guard captains did so, and so did Bai Yup an.

Having retreated behind everyone else early on, the moment he witnessed Zhang Shuheng kicked flying with the vessels of his heart shattered, he turned without hesitation and rushed toward the crowded streets and alleys with the most complicated routes.

However...

Li Xian did not pursue those Internal Organ Refinement guard captains.

Too weak!

They couldn't even give me a warm-up.

But Bai Yup an...

Blood and qi surged within him, force erupted beneath his feet, and in a few bounds, he caught up behind Bai Yup an.

Yet just as he was about to catch this Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing expert, before he could even strike, the man turned around and dropped to his knees.

"Spare me!"

This Prince's Mansion Attendant showed not a shred of an expert's backbone. "Hero Li, don't kill me! I... I was only following orders. There's actually no enmity between us. I'm willing to offer you all my money and property. I only ask that you spare my life."

Li Xian slowed slightly, but his brows drew together.

"Stand up."

"Hero Li, the ones who wanted you dead have always been the heir, Yan Kaigui, and the Marquis's Residence's First Madam. Even the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang were hired by First Madam Mo Caiying for thirty thousand taels of silver. Yan Kaigui has already fled to the Royal Capital... I'm willing to kill Mo Caiying for you, to demonstrate that I no longer have any intention of opposing you."

"You served as a tiger's accomplice and tried to put me to death. Naturally, you must bear the consequences."

Li Xian looked at Bai Yup an. "Take one punch from me. If you survive, I'll let you leave."

One punch?

Bai Yup an was still terrified.

But if it's only one punch...

It might not be impossible!

After all was said and done, he was a Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing expert.

There were only a few dozen martial masters of his level in all of Jiangzhou.

Facing Li Xian, who had an Impervious Body...

With seemingly exceptional combat strength, Li Xian might still be able to withstand one punch.

Besides...

Things had come to this. He had no other choice.

"Then let it be as you say, Hero Li."

Bai Yup an immediately rose, his force surging as he steadied himself and gathered his strength.

"Good."

Li Xian nodded.

In today's battle, he had first slain the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang, then killed Zhao Tianming and Zhang Shuheng. In theory, it should have been thoroughly exhilarating, yet deep down, he felt rather disappointed.

Whether it was Blood Eagle of the Body Without Leaks Realm or Prince's Mansion commander Zhang Shuheng, their reputations sounded astonishing, stopping just short of declaring themselves invincible throughout the province. Yet in actual combat, each proved worse than the last.

Not one had even reached Leakless Realm Great Accomplishment with Blood and Qi Mastery.

Let alone forced him to combine the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique with the Limit-Breaking State and fight for his life with everything he had.

Now that the battle was nearly over, it was too late to find an expert who could force him to stake his life.

But after an entire battle, he still had not fully stretched his limbs or wrung out all his strength...

Without going all out, how could I improve the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Limit-Breaking State?

And how could I merge these two explosive secret arts into one, creating a Limit-Breaking State Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique?

Fortunately, there was still a Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing expert before him...

Under the pressure of life and death, he would presumably produce an unexpected performance.

If he could be like Zhou Juechen, breaking through in battle, comprehending Primordial Unity, and advancing to an Impervious Body, that would be ideal.

"You'd best use a secret art to squeeze out every last bit of your strength... because I'll be going all out!"

Li Xian said.

All out!?

Bai Yup an drew a deep breath.

Images of Li Xian killing Blood Eagle and Zhang Shuheng flashed through his mind...

That ferocity truly made him shudder.

But when killing these two Great Zhou experts with Leakless bodies, Li Xian could already be said to have exhausted his methods.

Now he had no sword in hand, and it was only one punch...

For a moment, resolve filled this Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing martial master's heart. He directly activated his secret art, his blood and qi boiling and rolling like a tide.

"Come!"

He gave a low shout.

"Good!"

Li Xian answered and immediately entered the Limit-Breaking State.

This time, however, the relatively "gentle" Limit-Breaking State was not the focus of the secret arts he intended to unleash.

The next instant, Core Force erupted!

Surging Blood and Qi Force poured from the blood core condensed into a pellet, as though a bomb had detonated within his body.

And through the properties of the Blood Jade Art, the Blood and Qi Force unleashed by that exploding bomb was ignited in one stroke.

His blood and qi seemed to truly become flames born of an explosion, wildly and violently filling every corner of Li Xian's body, almost bursting it apart.

But at this moment, he was in the Limit-Breaking State.

His tolerance for pain and his limits of endurance had all climbed to a new level.

Rather than crushing his will, the wild, violent Blood and Qi Force surging like flames allowed him to perceive its effects on his flesh more precisely, revealing an entirely new direction for strengthening his body.

Then the Myriad Forms Limitless Art circulated!

This art, founded upon the principles of embracing a hundred rivers like the sea and encompassing limitless myriad forms, guided the violent power formed by erupting Core Force and ignited blood and qi. It swept mightily into Li Xian's arm as he shaped his force into a fist and hurled a punch at Bai Yup an...

His force seemed to turn into flames visible to the naked eye, erupting as the punch struck.

And Bai Yup an before him...

He had anticipated that Li Xian's erupting fist force would be extraordinarily astonishing.

But...

Despite making every preparation, even following instructions and using a secret art to raise his force to its peak, he had never imagined it could be this terrifying.

Before Li Xian's fist force had even struck, merely as he circulated the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique, Bai Yup an felt a scorching, violent power awaken within him. It was like a dormant volcano suddenly spewing boiling magma, carrying flames that could burn the heavens, boil the seas, and destroy all life straight into the clouds.

When the punch truly descended, he discovered with even greater horror that the volcanic eruption was heading straight toward him.

"No! It shouldn't be like this! No..."

Deep despair filled Bai Yup an's eyes.

He mustered every ounce of strength in a futile attempt to block the blow, but...

Beneath this punch, he was like a traveler standing at a volcanic crater, watching the sleeping volcano turn from deathly stillness to violence in an instant, before engulfing him completely with the power to destroy everything.

His formidable Blood Exchange and Marrow Washing cultivation was crushed outright without the slightest power to resist this eruption of strength, which was in no way inferior even to tangible True Qi.

The arm Bai Yup an raised before the fist force snapped completely. The all-devouring fist force thundered forward and struck his chest. Through that fist force, power like a volcano poured entirely into his body, destroying every bone, tendon, and internal organ within.

"Bang!"

As though struck by a cannonball, the Prince's Mansion Attendant's body tore like a piece of tattered cloth and slammed into the ground, instantly cracking it. Its momentum undiminished, it slid several meters, gouging a trail several meters long.

His arm and chest had both caved in.

Before he could even release a final scream, Bai Yup an died on the spot.

In the distance, Zhou Juechen, who had hurried over to see whether he could help, witnessed this scene. Irrepressible shock flooded his eyes.

This fist force...

This eruption of power...

For a dazed moment, it even reminded him of the Sword Saint Guangyuan on Canglang Mountain not long ago!

At the opening of the Sword Discussion Convention, the Sword Saint Guangyuan had offered a modest demonstration to draw out greater talents, displaying the cutting power of True Qi.

Then, sword in one hand, he had unleashed his True Qi and brought his sword light down with just such irresistible sharpness that even gods and ghosts would retreat.

Now...

The figure of an existence hailed as a saint by the Sacred Martial Tower actually blurred and overlapped with Li Xian's...

"He's actually... this powerful!?"

He murmured to himself.

If he had previously harbored the faint thought that perhaps Li Xian could participate in this Dragon Gate Grand Competition...

Then at this very moment...

That thought had become anticipation!

That anticipation had even become conviction!

Not only could Li Xian participate in this Dragon Gate Grand Competition, he even had a great chance of truly distinguishing himself, winning a Dragon Gate Token, and shedding his snake's form to become a dragon.

The limit.

Li Xian quietly sensed the changes within himself.

He continually explored the benefits and drawbacks of the changes brought to his body by stacking the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique with the Limit-Breaking State.

As for the muscle strains, torn tendons, and Viscera pushed to their limits by combining the Limit-Breaking State with the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique?

They did not matter.

He had long since used [One Proof, Eternal Proof, Never Regressing] to inscribe his physical condition before using these two secret arts. All these injuries could heal quickly.

The only thing he needed to do was judge and choose which injuries needed to return to their original state, and which benefited the strengthening of his body and could be retained...

Allowing his body to break down and rebuild itself through this pain.

After a long while...

Li Xian gathered his thoughts.

"Through the illumination provided by the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Limit-Breaking State, my body still has plenty of room for strengthening."

Next, he would incorporate the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Limit-Breaking State into the framework of the Myriad Forms Limitless Art.

That way, even during his daily practice of the Myriad Forms Limitless Art, he could temper the areas for improvement revealed by the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Limit-Breaking State, making his body ever stronger and more complete.

And once he had thoroughly strengthened his body, he would have it adapt to the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique and the Limit-Breaking State, making these two secret arts his normal state and inscribing them as his instincts.

"At that point, every movement I make will possess combat strength comparable to when I stack the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique with the Limit-Breaking State."

Li Xian was calm within.

This was the cultivation method that suited him best.

It was also the best way to make use of his talent.

As long as there was a road ahead, he could keep walking.

Until practicing any further art brought only harm and no benefit, and could no longer reach any new limit.

(End of chapter)