BANG!

The brilliant finger of light struck Lan Haichen squarely in the back.

It exploded with a BOOM, scattering starlight across the Celestial Vault. Lan Haichen let out a pained cry as his body was sent flying forward.

Jiang Chen snorted and gave chase.

Empowered by the God-Devouring Realm, his cultivation had reached the Half-Step Union Palace Realm!

His strength, speed, and other attributes were more than ten times greater than before!

He instantly caught up to Lan Haichen and pointed a finger once more. "Star Pointing Finger—Picking the Moon!"

A silver, full moon materialized before Lan Haichen. Like a giant spiderweb, the moon trapped him. Meanwhile, Jiang Chen’s airborne finger strike shot straight toward Lan Haichen’s body.

Lan Haichen’s expression changed drastically. He struggled violently but couldn’t break free, a look of horror filling his eyes. "No... impossible! I can’t lose! Break! Break for me!"

A white light erupted from Lan Haichen’s body.

Vast Guardian!

This was the strongest defensive move from the Cultivation Secret Technique he practiced!

A giant egg of white light enveloped him.

Almost at the same time, the airborne finger strike arrived.

BOOM!

The fingertip collided with the giant egg of light.

The egg of light shook violently. Ripples like those on water spread across its entire surface, circle after circle.

The two forces were locked in a stalemate.

Jiang Chen’s finger strike hadn’t been able to break through!

Seeing this, Lan Haichen revealed a look of ecstatic joy and roared hysterically, "Jiang Chen, you can’t break my defense! Haha, you can’t break it!"

"Is that so?"

Jiang Chen raised a brow, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.

"Huh?"

Lan Haichen froze.

Then his expression changed dramatically.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Qingtian Finger began to explode, section by section. Each explosion generated a terrifying force that made the egg of light tremble violently. By the second section’s explosion, a crack had already appeared on the luminous egg. When the third section detonated, the entire egg of light suddenly let out a massive BOOM.

It completely shattered, breaking into pieces.

As Lan Haichen stared in disbelief, the remaining half of the Qingtian Finger slammed into him.

BOOM—

A terrifying energy erupted in Lan Haichen’s chest. He let out a pained shriek, and crimson blood spurted from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth simultaneously.

The blood turned into a fine mist in the air.

The battle armor on his chest shattered. His chest was charred black and even caved in.

Several of his bones were broken!

Like a falling star, he plummeted toward the ground with a sonic boom.

Just as he was about to crash into the ground, Jiang Chen had already landed, tilting his head up with a faint smile.

In Lan Haichen’s eyes, however, that smile was like the grin of the Death God himself!

"No—"

Lan Haichen cried out in alarm, trying to dodge. But at that moment, the power of Jiang Chen’s God-Devouring Realm suddenly intensified.

Within the domain, the blood and qi in Lan Haichen’s body began to boil.

Causing him to lose control of his body!

Although this loss of control lasted only for an instant, in a battle between experts, victory and defeat are often decided in such an insignificant moment.

"Get back up there!"

Jiang Chen calmly sank into a horse stance and threw a punch upward.

BOOM—

The punch landed on Lan Haichen’s shoulder.

"ARGH..."

Lan Haichen screamed as his shoulder caved in from the blow. Broken bones pierced his skin, and blood flowed freely.

His body was sent flying high into the air like a rubber ball.

SWOOSH...

The sound of rushing air filled his ears.

A glance from the corner of his eye revealed Jiang Chen chasing after him once again, and the horror in his eyes intensified.

"Go back down!"

Jiang Chen spun in midair like a top, unleashing a whip kick like a Divine Dragon Tail Swing that struck Lan Haichen in the waist.

BANG—

Lan Haichen’s body arched like a shrimp as he plummeted toward the ground again. Blood sprayed from his seven orifices, painting several dazzling crimson streaks in the air.

"Shadow Body Technique!"

Jiang Chen’s figure flickered, splitting into ten "Jiang Chens" that instantly caught up with Lan Haichen.

He constantly maintained a distance of half a meter from Lan Haichen.

The ten "Jiang Chens" continuously punched and kicked, their attacks a blur of afterimages.

THUD THUD THUD THUD...

Every punch and kick landed solidly. Each blow was delivered with full, unrestrained force.

Lan Haichen was like a punching bag, relentlessly attacked by Jiang Chen.

He coughed up blood, and several of his teeth had been knocked out.

He was completely dazed!

Every time he tried to circulate his Profound Technique to counterattack, he would be affected by the God-Devouring Realm, unable to properly control his body.

It was truly a rout, an utter collapse!

BAM!

Lan Haichen crashed to the ground. The immense impact sent him bouncing back up, right as Jiang Chen, now a single entity again, stomped down. His foot landed squarely on Lan Haichen’s chest, which caved in with a sickening CRACK. His bones broke, his internal organs were damaged, and the ground beneath his back collapsed with a thunderous BOOM.

WHOOSH—

A gust of wind blew past, scattering the billowing dust and smoke.

On the ground, Lan Haichen was a mangled wreck, his body covered in gruesome, glaring wounds. Even breathing was an immense struggle. And before him stood Jiang Chen, one foot planted on his chest.

"Lan... Lan Haichen lost?"

"After breaking through to the Union Palace Realm, Lan Haichen displayed invincible power. He decisively defeated Di Tian and even crushed both Xue Yinhao and the Night Emperor in a one-on-two fight. How could such an invincible expert lose to a mere Heavenly Destiny Realm Seventh Stage Jiang Chen?"

"It’s simply unbelievable!"

"I must be dreaming..."

Even Xue Yinhao, Di Tian, and the Night Emperor exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock.

Recalling their earlier confident assertions that Jiang Chen was doomed to lose, the three of them felt a burning sting on their cheeks.

What a slap in the face!

"This... Jiang Chen isn’t human. He can’t be judged by common sense!" Xue Yinhao concluded.

The Night Emperor and Di Tian nodded in unison.

Di Tian sighed. "From now on, within the Cloud Domain, Jiang Chen will be revered as the strongest of the younger generation!"

Hearing this, everyone fell silent, at a loss for words.

This result had far exceeded everyone’s expectations!

...

「In the battlefield.」

Jiang Chen looked down at Lan Haichen beneath his foot.

His expression was complex and indescribable...

More than a year ago, Lan Haichen had appeared like a lofty Divine Spirit, leaving him utterly powerless to fight back.

The humiliation, the unwillingness to have his life and death controlled by another.

This had motivated him to grow stronger relentlessly.

After several life-and-death trials and overcoming one obstacle after another, he had finally defeated Lan Haichen at this very moment!

The promise from back then had finally been fulfilled!

Jiang Chen took a deep breath, stared at Lan Haichen, and spoke the words he had held in his heart for nearly two years: "Lan Haichen, you have lost!"