Chapter 117: Chapter 115: Defeating Zhao Qinghuo with a Punch

It had all happened too quickly, too brutally.

Even Zhao Qinghuo hadn’t been able to react in time to save him.

By the time he came to his senses, Zhao Qingshui had already died in agony. More than two hundred pieces of flesh had been sliced from his body, leaving only stark white bone. Crimson blood stained the ground, and chunks of flesh lay scattered about, pieced together to form the large character for ’death’—a hair-raising sight.

"My brother..."

Zhao Qinghuo’s eyes were bloodshot as he let out a hysterical, furious roar.

He and Zhao Qingshui were blood brothers, born of the same mother. Yet, right before his very eyes, his own brother had been sliced to death by Jiang Chen, one sword strike at a time—death by a thousand cuts.

This drove Zhao Qinghuo to the brink of fury. He gnashed his teeth, his eyes filled with a chilling, venomous hatred. "Jiang Chen... you killed my brother, you ended my bloodline! If I don’t tear you to pieces today, I’ll renounce my name!"

"From the moment Zhao Qiankun tried to have me killed, my feud with your Qinghuo Gang has been one of life and death."

Jiang Chen’s gaze was frigid. With his sharp brows, star-like eyes, and dark hair stirring in the windless air, he spoke coldly, "Today, this Celestial Demon Canyon will be the graveyard of your Qinghuo Gang!"

"You arrogant whelp! You’re courting death!"

Zhao Qinghuo snorted coldly. His fists moved like waves, smashing down one after another.

Each punch caused the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to fluctuate violently, converging into brilliant, radiant beams of fist light.

True Martial Realm Sixth Stage...

In all of Yulan Mansion, he was among the absolute top-tier experts. As his fists pounded the air, even Yulan Shouqing and Wang Yizhou, not daring to face the blows head-on, looked alarmed. They shouted a warning, "Jiang Chen, be careful! That Hundred Battles Divine Fist is a Profound-Tier Junior Martial Skill! It gets stronger the longer the fight goes on. Don’t let Zhao Qinghuo build a combo, or not even a True Martial Realm Seventh Stage master could withstand it!"

"Quick, interrupt his attack!"

Wang Yizhou added in a grave tone.

"Hahaha... Yulan Shouqing, Wang Yizhou, your warning comes too late!"

Zhao Qinghuo sneered, his fists a blur of motion, incredibly fast and powerful. He was like an invincible War God, growing stronger with every moment. "I have cultivated my Hundred Battles Divine Fist to the Realm of Perfection! I am a god of a hundred battles, ever-victorious! Once I unleash my Divine Fist, not even a True Martial Realm Seventh Stage master could hope to break my momentum. Jiang Chen, you little bastard, prepare to die!"

RUMBLE...

The pounding of his fists thundered like crackling, heaven-shaking thunder, deafening all.

"’Ever-victorious?’ Not even mighty experts of the Heavenly Destiny Realm or Union Palace Realm would dare make such a claim. A mere True Martial Realm Sixth Stage cultivator like you dares to be so arrogant? Fine. Today, I’ll teach you that there’s always someone better out there."

The corner of Jiang Chen’s mouth curled into a sneer.

He suddenly sheathed his Profound Ice Sword and clenched his fingers into a fist. Two brilliant lights erupted from his eyes as he roared, "Eight Celestial Dragon Divine Fist—Fierce Tiger Shocks the Sky!"

ROAR—

As he threw the punch, the face of his fist smashed against the air, releasing a deafening roar.

It was like an Azure Dragon roaring at the heavens.

The muscles in his arm rippled violently. His entire body was shrouded in a faint layer of Shaking Power. Even the howling gales couldn’t get near his true form, repelled by this vibrating force.

Like a Spiritual Python with its jaws wide open, it smashed towards Zhao Qinghuo!

RUMBLE!

Beams of True Essence Light collided madly. The clash of the two terrifying energies unleashed fearsome shockwaves of True Essence, kicking up a gale between the two fighters.

"Hundred Battles Divine Fist—Ten Battle Techniques!"

"Hundred Battle Technique..."

"Invincible..."

Zhao Qinghuo’s face was flushed red, his True Essence surging around him. Like an undefeated War God, he relentlessly threw out tyrannical fist shadows.

The fist shadows came like shooting stars, tearing through the air. Wherever they passed, sand flew and stones shattered, as if the mountains were collapsing and the earth splitting apart. The nearby experts watching the fight all fell back in alarm. Some who were too slow were caught in the shockwaves, either sent flying while vomiting blood, or killed outright by a single punch, their bodies exploding...

Screams and gasps of horror were heard endlessly.

"Help me!"

"Zhao Qinghuo’s Hundred Battles Divine Fist is too terrifying! Each punch is stronger than the last! There’s no way to block it..."

"Jiang Chen is doomed. He’s completely suppressed. He’ll be defeated any second now..."

In the center of the battlefield, although the First Technique of Jiang Chen’s Eight Celestial Dragon Divine Fist, Fierce Tiger Shocks the Sky, was powerful—each punch carrying a potent Shaking Power to block the chaotic flurry of fist shadows—Zhao Qinghuo’s fist speed was simply too fast and his assault too ferocious. Jiang Chen was forced to retreat step by step!

"This is bad. I’m afraid Brother Jiang is no match for Zhao Qinghuo." Yulan Tianpeng’s brows were tightly furrowed with worry.

Si Xiaosheng’s expression was grave. He said in a low voice, "Once Zhao Qinghuo unleashes his Hundred Battles Divine Fist, he just gets stronger and stronger. Unless you can defeat him in one fell swoop and break his offensive momentum, then once he’s fully built up the power of the Hundred Battles Divine Fist, Jiang Chen’s defeat is certain!"

Even Little White looked worried. "Boss, you still have a trump card, right?"

While gloom hung over Jiang Chen’s side, the members of the Qinghuo Gang were ecstatic and overjoyed.

Luo Zhen, who had repeatedly predicted Jiang Chen’s demise only to be ruthlessly proven wrong, finally let out a sigh of relief seeing Zhao Qinghuo firmly suppress Jiang Chen. He declared with confident certainty, "In this battle, Jiang Chen will surely be defeated."

Wang Yizhou sneered. "Young Master Luo, that sounds a bit familiar!"

"You..."

Luo Zhen’s face stiffened. He said angrily, "If Jiang Chen doesn’t die this time, I’ll write my surname, Luo, backward!"

"Then we’ll just have to wait and see!"

Wang Yizhou said coldly.

Meanwhile, continuously pushed back by Zhao Qinghuo’s Hundred Battles Divine Fist, Jiang Chen’s retreating form slammed to a halt against a rock wall. There was no more room to retreat.

A bloodthirsty, excited light shone in Zhao Qinghuo’s eyes. His battle intent surged, his killing intent palpable. "Jiang Chen, let’s see where you can run now!"

"Run? Are you joking?"

Jiang Chen was neither servile nor overbearing, showing no fear in the face of danger. A flash of gold and azure flickered in his eyes as he sneered, "Zhao Qinghuo, I should actually thank you for your Hundred Battles Divine Fist. It allowed me to finally grasp the true essence of this punch. You should feel honored, because you will be the first person to witness it!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Chen shot both fists forward. The True Essence Light seemed to swallow heaven and earth, surging like the ocean and submerging more than half his body in its splendid radiance.

"Flood Dragon Soaring to Heaven!"

Jiang Chen’s brows twitched. Two beams of brilliant light shot from his star-like eyes as his fists moved through the air.

It was as if two Flood Dragons were leaping from the Vast Sea. The fist shadows, resembling both flood dragons and true dragons, were several times larger than those of Fierce Tiger Shocks the Sky.

Like two golden Flood Dragons, they surged towards Zhao Qinghuo.

The sound of the fists shook the sky, their momentum was awe-inspiring, and their power was unmatched!

RUUUMBLE—

With a single punch, the terrifying golden True Essence, moving with an invincible, shredding force, annihilated the surging fist shadows Zhao Qinghuo had gathered. It was clean and decisive, instantly breaking the momentum of Zhao Qinghuo’s sweeping assault.

"How is this possible?" Zhao Qinghuo’s expression was one of utter shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The golden fist shadow continued onward, its momentum unabated.

BOOM—

The punch tore through the Hundred Battles fist shadows like a Flood Dragon at full speed, slamming violently into Zhao Qinghuo’s body.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Zhao Qinghuo’s robes exploded. The golden fist shadow struck him again and again, sending his body flying backward. He crashed straight into the rock wall, which shook violently. A crack several meters wide spread out from behind him in all directions, like a spiderweb across the cliff face.

Zhao Qinghuo spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed to the ground with a loud THUD.

It was exactly as Jiang Chen had said: to defeat Zhao Qinghuo, he only needed one punch!