Chapter Fourteen: Four Peerless Arts, Slaying the Grandmaster

Neither Jiang Ming nor his opponent used weapons. As they closed in, they exchanged blows eighteen times in the blink of an eye. The explosive torrents of true energy forced Lu Yuan to retreat, the force terrifying to behold.

Jiang Ming stepped back a few paces, yet his breathing remained calm and steady.

“What kind of fist technique are you using? How can it be so domineering? I’ve never heard of it.” Tan Feng’s expression grew grave. “And your true energy is scattered and unfocused, clearly only at the Innate stage, not even at the Master level, yet you can contend with me.”

He was truly shocked.

No matter how one looked at it, he was an established grandmaster, far surpassing ordinary people in cultivation, combat experience, and martial techniques. Yet he was being blocked head-on by someone at the Innate stage.

And then there was the other’s true energy—so vast and deep it felt like an endless ocean.

“The Dragon-Suppressing Fist, of course you’ve never heard of it!” Jiang Ming’s expression was cold and severe.

This was a fist technique he had deduced himself, drawing on the Shocking Fist and several other techniques he’d acquired, using his extraordinary perception to create a supremely domineering style, which he had named the Dragon-Suppressing Fist.

It was on par with the Six Meridian Divine Sword, both top-tier techniques.

Now, he could leave this world at any time if he wished, but preserving what he’d gained still required more effort.

His gaze sharpened, and before his eyes appeared a phantom screen:

Name: Jiang Ming
Qi Cultivation: Second Level (Peak Qi Sea Realm)
Body Cultivation: Second Turn
Martial Techniques: Returning Origin Sutra, Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body Technique; Six Meridian Divine Sword, Thunder Flash Wild Blade, Dragon-Suppressing Fist, Dragon-Subduing Kick, Meteor Step, Thirty-Six Forms of Gentle Rain Sword, Eighteen Forms of Swift Rain Sword
Talents: Hundredfold Comprehension, Soul Sovereign (temporarily fixed)
Mission: Become the provincial top scorer in the Martial Examination qualifying round

Jiang Ming’s stats had changed as well. Martial cultivation was now divided into Qi cultivation and Body cultivation. Qi cultivation was clearly martial true energy, while body cultivation—obviously—had emerged only after he began training in the Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body Technique.

The first four levels of the Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body Technique had already been mastered; measured by strength, this corresponded to the second level of Qi Sea Realm. Though not as overwhelming as the power boosted by true energy, he already possessed a quantity of true energy beyond ordinary comprehension.

Beyond the Six Meridian Divine Sword and the Dragon-Suppressing Fist, he had also deduced other top-tier martial arts within this world: the Dragon-Subduing Kick, Meteor Step, Thunder Flash Wild Blade, and, a bit less impressive, the Thirty-Six Forms of Gentle Rain Sword and the Eighteen Forms of Swift Rain Sword.

Besides these, he had deduced quite a few more, such as the Seven Kill Saber Technique he’d taught the men at Blackwind Stronghold—a style that combined movement and stillness, improving both through practice and battle.

Progress was rapid, but the flaws were obvious—the foundations were unstable, almost cutting off the path to the peak of martial arts in the future.

It was also easy to affect the mind.

Such was the terror of pairing Hundredfold Comprehension with Soul Sovereign.

“Dragon-Suppressing Fist?” Tan Feng was puzzled, then his brow furrowed. “You think you can suppress the dragon? Die! Demon Stone Hand!”

He struck out with his palm, his true energy surging forth and transforming into a grinding millstone that spun downward, as if it could crush anything to dust. The pressure was so intense the very air thickened.

Jiang Ming’s brow rose as he leapt into the air, kicking out with a dragon-shaped shadow that forced his opponent back. Suspended in midair, his body spun as if riding a wild wind, and before he even landed, a flurry of kicks rained down in assault.

The two clashed once more.

The colliding energies tore rock asunder, pulverizing stone into fragments.

Jiang Ming deliberately closed in for hand-to-hand combat, seeking to understand how Tan Feng’s true energy differed from his own.

The third realm of martial arts was this world’s grandmaster level, where true energy underwent a qualitative transformation. He knew this in theory—from books and the internet—but without true contact, the specifics remained unclear to him.

Now the opportunity was before him; he would not let it pass.

“Yin-Yang Demonic Hands!”

Tan Feng switched tactics—one hand chopped toward Jiang Ming’s neck, while the other formed a claw, aiming for his lower body, streams of true energy shooting forth at the same time.

Jiang Ming felt a chill and retreated three or four meters, then stomped forward to pounce once more.

Behind him, the rocks had already exploded into a deep crater.

Bang…

Jiang Ming unleashed his full strength, matching his opponent blow for blow. Even with Tan Feng’s veteran combat experience, he gained no advantage, and Jiang Ming seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, blocking every deadly move Tan Feng attempted.

“His true energy is of higher quality—more solid, more powerful. A single strand is equal to two or three of mine!” As they fought, Jiang Ming continued to analyze.

Whish—

Seizing an opening, he pressed the Lesser Ze Sword Finger onto Tan Feng’s shoulder, but Tan Feng’s true energy flowed out, condensing into a tangible shield. Though it was shattered, he remained unscathed.

“Solidified true energy—Protective Aura!” Jiang Ming realized.

His eyes narrowed as Tan Feng pressed his fingers together, sending a blade of tangible sword energy directly at Jiang Ming’s throat—without leaving his hand.

The razor-sharp aura made Jiang Ming’s hair stand on end.

He twisted his head aside, but the sword energy suddenly curved, slashing toward him.

“It can do that?” Jiang Ming was shocked, but his reaction was lightning-fast.

With a twist of his finger, he blocked with the Lesser Shang Sword. Though it didn’t shatter, it delayed the attack for an instant, allowing him to leap back and evade the strike.

Sweat beaded on his brow.

“He dodged it!” Tan Feng’s face turned pale as he caught his breath, his expression even more grave.

At this moment, Lu Yuan’s voice sounded: “Brother Jiang, that’s the Sun and Moon Demon Sect’s secret skill—Sea-Splitting Finger. It’s reputed to be one of the hardest finger techniques to master in the world. When unleashed, the finger sword can be extended without leaving the hand, possessing the cutting power of a real sword. It can be used as a sword itself, and with surprise it can kill in one blow. I can’t believe this old fellow mastered it. But it consumes a huge amount of true energy and puts extreme strain on the mind.”

Jiang Ming grinned.

Sea-Splitting Finger?

Why did it remind him of a lightsaber?

This couldn’t go on, or he might suffer a disastrous defeat and lose everything.

Even as he thought this, his dantian and Qi Sea began to boil, torrents of true energy surging forth to fill his entire body.

In that instant, his presence soared by several levels.

His true energy was deep as an abyss, his body had been refined countless times, and after fusing with the world’s natural energy, he’d trained in the Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body Technique. His flesh was strong enough to withstand even more immense outpourings of true energy.

Sensing the change in Jiang Ming’s aura, Tan Feng’s brow twitched violently.

“You were holding back all this time?” For some reason, a sense of panic welled up in him. He took a deep breath to quell it. “No, you look barely twenty years old. For you to fight me at the Innate stage already defies logic. How can you be even stronger? Which old monster are you disguised as?”

“You saw through me? Then I won’t hide it any longer. I am Jiang, the Divine King, who has roamed the world for eight thousand years!” Jiang Ming deliberately put on a senile air, and after boasting, leapt up, both fists hammering down.

“Dragon-Suppressing Abyss!”

The force of his fists roared, forming a massive dragon’s head that crashed forward, the compressed air detonating with a thunderous boom.

“Three Yin Sword Arts—Moon-Touching Sword!” Tan Feng drew a flexible sword from his waist and with a flick, sent a flurry of sword energy swirling into the air, converging into a single point that stabbed at Jiang Ming’s fist.

Piercing point shattered the wave.

Though the force of the punch was broken, the surging true energy still sent Tan Feng flying.

“Dragon-Subduing Kick!”

Jiang Ming erupted completely, his body like a volcano, spewing forth torrents of energy, launching the most terrifying assault, mercilessly suppressing Tan Feng.

The protective aura around Tan Feng’s body kept shattering under the onslaught.

At last, he was injured, his bones cracking audibly.

“Fistless, are you not coming?” Blood trickled from Tan Feng’s mouth as he roared to the heavens, a flexible sword in his right hand, while his left fist was wrapped in layers of protective energy, barely holding on.

“So you have an ally?” Out of the corner of his eye, Jiang Ming glanced into the distance—he had sensed it earlier but had pretended not to notice.

“Then you can die first!”

“True Dragon Dominates the Heavens, Fist Subdues the Eight Desolate Mountains!”

At that moment, Jiang Ming pushed his true energy to its current limit, unleashing a dragon of energy over ten meters long, ferocious and terrifying.

Tan Feng’s pupils contracted, his expression grave.

“Boiling Blood Secret Art—explode!” Desperation overtook him as he unleashed a forbidden technique. His blood boiled, his true energy turned savage, and his sword slashed out several beams of condensed sword energy—each one destroyed by Jiang Ming’s fist.

Tan Feng was sent flying, blood spurting uncontrollably.

“Die!” Jiang Ming’s figure flickered as he used Meteor Step to give chase, determined to finish his opponent in one blow.

“Stop!” A roar came from the distance. A man leapt into the air, soaring over twenty meters high, descending toward Jiang Ming with a foot aimed at his head.

It was like a meteor falling from the sky—a strike of utter terror.

Even Jiang Ming’s brow twitched wildly.

He had to dodge!

Whoosh—

He sidestepped, but his hand flicked, sending out a streak of black light—a flying dagger that pierced Tan Feng’s throat.

Death on the spot.

“You can die too!”

Jiang Ming’s hands flicked again, sending several more daggers flying at the man descending from above.

Flying daggers.

He had prepared these long ago.

They were specially commissioned by Old Hu’s second son at great expense, exceptionally sharp and hard.