"Whoosh--"
A sharp, piercing sound rang out. Shangguan Yijun instinctively swung his hand to strike, but even with his formidable internal energy, he couldn't deflect the incoming object. Instead, he felt a sharp pain in his palm. Looking down, he saw a silver needle, gleaming with a cold, sharp light, piercing his palm. This flying needle had not only broken through his protective internal energy but had also penetrated his thick skin, drawing blood!
Gu Chen was standing so far away, yet he managed to throw a needle with such force. One can only imagine how extraordinary his Inner Breath was! "Hiss—" Shangguan Yijun gasped, shocked, "You actually used a hidden weapon!"
"How foolish!" Gu Chen snorted coldly, then leaped up and arrived in front of Shangguan Yijun.
A palm strike, gathering from the sky, descended and swept across the land.
Shangguan Yijun retreated rapidly, but his speed was no match for Gu Chen's. He retreated quickly, but Gu Chen was even faster!
Left with no other choice, Shangguan Yijun could only raise his hands in an attempt to deflect the force and block, but he soon realized how foolish he had been—a powerful force struck, penetrating his bones and attacking his meridians!
Shangguan Yijun's chest heaved, and just as she spat out a mouthful of blood, Gu Chen grabbed her neck and threw her roughly to the ground.
Thump--
Gu Chen's entire movement was completed in one smooth motion. Shangguan Yijun flipped in the air and landed heavily, her upper robes shattered into pieces by Gu Chen's True Essence Power!
Gu Chen's eyes were icy as he looked at Shangguan Yijun lying on the ground in excruciating pain, and said indifferently, "Still trying to stop me?"
Shangguan Yijun is merely Revolving Illumination Realm martial artist who hasn't made it onto the Dragon Ranking. The difference in strength between the two is simply too great!
Don't worry, I don't plan to kill you right now.
Gu Chen stepped forward, intending to lift Shangguan Yijun up. However, at that moment, a burst of energy struck, creating a spiral vortex in the space. After rushing into the void, it directly reached Gu Chen.
Snort!
Gu Chen grunted, then turned his head to dodge. The force of the energy collided with the void, producing a hissing sound, and after brushing past Gu Chen, it crashed directly into the distant woods!
It looked like a bomb had exploded; everything within a radius of several meters was leveled!
Gu Chen turned around and looked at Shangguan Qi, who had been silent until now but suddenly made a move.
Noticing Gu Chen's gaze, Shangguan Qi said calmly, "Gu Chen, your opponent is me."
"Thirty-third on the Dragon Ranking?" Gu Chen asked in a deep voice.
This skill in controlling Qi is indeed beyond the capabilities of ordinary Grandmaster Realm martial artists. Shangguan Yijun, ranked 30th on the Dragon Ranking, was not exaggerating.
"Not bad!" Shangguan Qi raised his hand, smiled confidently, and said, "Gu Chen, you've humbled yourself before me. If you don't want to die, hand over your cultivation manual, and I might let you leave."
"Even on the Dragon Ranking, you're only five places above me," Gu Chen said. "What makes you think you can control me?"
"Heh, you saw it yourself, so many people chasing you." Shangguan Qi said, "If the two of us fight, not only will it be difficult to determine a winner in a short time, but even if a winner is determined, it will only be a Pyrrhic victory for you! How can you deal with the people behind you?"
After a pause, Shangguan Qi continued, "Now I'm giving you a chance. You can choose to continue running away, as long as you give me the cultivation technique. I don't want much, just that one move—retrieving objects from afar—no, it should be called Sword Control Technique. Give it to me, and I'll let you leave immediately!"
Shangguan Qi's words were indeed very tempting. If two martial artists of similar skill level were to be defeated, it wouldn't be a matter of a single move; it could very well take over a hundred moves.
Shangguan Qi took a step back, only asking for the incantation of the Sword Control Technique, which could be considered a psychological suggestion for Gu Chen.
"You don't have much time to think," Shangguan Qi said. "Because these pursuers will only get stronger. If you get injured, you'll face either death or inhuman torture! I want your Sword Control Technique in exchange for your departure—it's fair!"
Gu Chen's expression shifted, but seeing him fall silent, Shangguan Qi remained calm and composed, seemingly certain that Gu Chen wouldn't refuse. Indeed, with such conditions, probably no one would refuse.
But Shangguan Qi was wrong. To Gu Chen, his request was nothing short of a joke!
"Make your move." After pondering for a few seconds, Gu Chen suddenly laughed and said, "In the time it takes to talk, I've already killed you."
"Huh?" Shangguan Qi was shocked, his face full of astonishment. Gu Chen actually rejected his suggestion?
Moreover, they completely disregarded me!
In an instant, Shangguan Qi's face turned extremely ugly. The next moment, he snarled, "Fine, since you're so stubborn, don't blame me for being impolite!"
As he spoke, he unleashed another burst of energy!
The Shangguan Family's martial art, Tiger Roar True Qi!
This burst of energy was even more terrifying than the previous spiral energy. Its aura almost formed the roar of a tiger in mid-air, with a huge tiger's head appearing and disappearing. Then, it roared and shook the void, fiercely attacking Gu Chen.
"You don't know what's good for you!" Shangguan Qi looked coldly at Gu Chen, showing no mercy this time!
However, the cold look on his face quickly froze, because Gu Chen simply stretched out one hand and grasped the ball of energy directly in his palm, as if he were holding a bubble, and then squeezed it hard!
Bang!
The attack exploded directly in Gu Chen's palm!
How could this be? Shangguan Qi was utterly shocked.
"Do you still want to make a deal with me now?" Gu Chen raised his chin.
"Damn it! "Shangguan Qi snapped out of his daze, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes, and charged towards Gu Chen.
Knowing that his internal energy manipulation techniques were inferior, he planned to rely on hand-to-hand combat with his Inner Breath energy? A mocking look flashed across Gu Chen's face. He then activated his cultivation technique, his True Essence Power flowing through his body and instantly gathering in his palms, striking towards Shangguan Qi's temples. Gu Chen's palms seemed to spew flames, radiating heat. As soon as they approached, Shangguan Qi felt an overwhelming pressure that made him feel suffocated.
Startled, Shangguan Qi could only forcibly stop his attack. Then, with a quick movement of his foot, he swept a horizontal leg towards Gu Chen's head.
He thought he had seen Gu Chen's weakness, but he didn't expect Gu Chen to be able to control his True Essence Power so freely. The two palms that had just been unleashed were instantly withdrawn, and then surged out with even greater power!
Boom!
Hands and legs touched, and a shockwave erupted in the air, the huge aftershocks like waves of air. Both of them quickly separated, but Gu Chen was faster. A burst of True Essence Power shot out from his fingertips and struck Shangguan Qi's chest! Shangguan Qi let out a muffled roar, intending to neutralize it with a sonic attack, but he had clearly underestimated Gu Chen's True Essence Power chop. Although he resisted with all his might, it still penetrated his body.
Thud —Shangguan Qi's body was severely injured, and he could only fly backward in an attempt to dissipate the force. But before he could make a further move, Gu Chen attacked again. After three or four moves, Shangguan Qi couldn't catch his breath and was knocked away once more.
At that moment, his expression changed drastically; he finally realized something was wrong!
The True Essence Power that Gu Chen had just invaded his body had already rushed into his meridians! And the way it chose to invade was through his pores and acupoints on the outside of his body. In just a short while, it had already penetrated his dantian and, like a king inspecting his body, was sweeping away the energy in Shangguan Qi's body!
Shangguan Qi was already feeling a sense of loss of control. Despite his superior internal energy, he was still unable to dissolve this aura within his dantian!
What's going on?
Shangguan Qi was utterly shocked. He hadn't expected Gu Chen's technique to be so strange. He tried his best to expel the aura, but he couldn't do it no matter what. It was like a leech, tightly binding his internal energy!
Every time he tried to catch his breath, it was dissolved by this True Essence Power!
"No!" Shangguan Qi was terrified and immediately thought of escaping!
Unfortunately, Gu Chen clearly wouldn't give him that opportunity!