Chapter 147: Chapter 144: Killed, the Secret Beneath Qingjiang

The punch was simple, almost weightless. It gave off no strange sensation, as if thrown by an ordinary person.

"How is this possible?"

But Jiang Yunfei roared in his heart, utterly aghast.

This simple punch seemed to have transcended all skill, reaching an almost divine level.

It wasn’t the strongest punch, nor the most exquisite, nor the most resilient. Yet, it carried an essence of relentless self-improvement, of forging ever forward. It was a punch that refused to yield to any hardship, a punch that found hope in despair and light in darkness.

If an ordinary person’s punch was a mortal technique...

...then Ning Jiang’s was the punch of an Immortal. It was almost a Divine Power, extraordinary and transcendent, reaching the absolute pinnacle.

Ning Jiang’s punch shattered Jiang Yunfei’s attack with unstoppable force. Its momentum undiminished, it pressed forward until it landed on Jiang Yunfei’s body.

Not a single sound was heard.

The onlooking Martial Artists who witnessed it all felt an incredible sense of unease.

It was like knowing thunder was about to crash, seeing the Thunderbolt flash and lightning arc across the sky, and bracing for the impact, only for the bolt to strike down in complete, unnatural silence. It defied all reason.

WHOOSH—

The crowd only saw Jiang Yunfei’s body fly back uncontrollably, not stopping until he was a thousand feet away.

"That punch... what kind of technique was that?"

Jiang Yunfei’s heart pounded with terror. The earlier punch had dealt him a massive blow, utterly shattering his will to fight.

"I have fought countless masters in my life, even Young Master Soaring Dragon, but I have never seen a Fist Technique like yours. It transcends all conventional moves—it’s extraordinary, otherworldly, a return to the purest form of simplicity."

Jiang Yunfei’s voice was filled with shock.

The punch Ning Jiang had just thrown felt like a form of Daoist art. It was so simple, utterly without flourish, yet as it approached, it seemed to carry the resonance of the boundless Great Dao itself, making it impossible for him to even think of dodging.

It was as if the ultimate principle—that the Great Dao is simple—had been manifested in a single punch.

Jiang Yunfei found it hard to believe that this was a Fist Technique someone in the Innate Realm could execute.

"You have a discerning eye to see what was special about that punch."

Ning Jiang stood with his hands behind his back and said nonchalantly, "For that punch, I just got a little serious. It was a casual strike; it has no name."

"A casual strike? No name?"

A flash of anger crossed Jiang Yunfei’s face; he assumed Ning Jiang was simply unwilling to reveal his secret.

He wasn’t surprised. Powerful Martial Techniques were meant to be kept secret; how could one just speak of them for others to study?

Seeing the disbelief written all over his face, Ning Jiang didn’t bother to explain.

He was a Legendary Venerable from a hundred thousand years ago, a peerless figure of unmatched talent. He had fought a Great Emperor to a standstill while only in the Venerable Realm, making him the number one person beneath all Great Emperors.

In that last punch, he had merely integrated some of his past comprehension of the Laws.

Of course, the true Laws were not something he could touch in his current state.

Only after reaching the Celestial Martial Realm would one be truly qualified to comprehend the Laws.

At that point, one could destroy hundreds of miles of land and raze a city to the ground with a flick of a finger.

"I will repay you for this punch one day."

Jiang Yunfei had lost his will to fight. He had ignored the backlash to forcibly use his "Overlord Invincibility" technique, yet it had done nothing to Ning Jiang. How could he not understand the gap between them?

With a flick of his body, he turned to leave.

’He took that punch from me and still thinks he can walk away alive?’

Ning Jiang shook his head but didn’t stop him.

"Who in the world is this guy? Even Jiang Yunfei was helpless against him!" The crowd exploded into an uproar.

"Unbelievable! To think another peerless figure has appeared in the Cyan Cloud Country. This year’s gathering of geniuses won’t be peaceful, I’m afraid."

"I bet that punch took everything he had. Young Master Qingjiang is leaving, and he isn’t even trying to stop him."

The crowd chattered amongst themselves.

Only Li Shiyu frowned, puzzled. ’Ning Jiang doesn’t seem like the type to let Young Master Qingjiang leave alive,’ she thought.

He had ruthlessly slaughtered all the experts of the Huangfu Family, revealing himself to be a decisive and merciless person. Why would he act differently now?

As she was pondering this, Jiang Yunfei took three steps before his body suddenly froze.

"So that’s how it is..."

Jiang Yunfei had just managed to utter those words when a torrent of blood erupted from his throat, cutting him off.

Only now did he finally understand why, after taking such a terrifying punch from Ning Jiang, he was merely knocked back a thousand feet with no apparent external injuries.

The genius of that punch wasn’t that it caused external wounds, but imperceptible internal ones!

Inside his body, his internal organs, as if they’d lost their last shred of Life Force, began to turn to dust.

SPLASH.

Before everyone’s shocked gazes, Jiang Yunfei’s body fell into the river.

"Young Master!"

The Jiang Family experts were stunned. They rushed over, pulled Jiang Yunfei from the water, and upon inspection, discovered that all his internal organs had been pulverized. He was no longer breathing.

A chill ran down their spines.

Jiang Yunfei was the pride of the Jiang Family. Now that he was dead, they would all be held responsible.

"You dare kill the Young Master!"

One of the Jiang Family experts roared in fury.

"Hm?"

Ning Jiang’s gaze shifted, a sharp light flashing in his eyes like a bolt of lightning.

With his level of power, even a simple glance contained immense might.

In that instant, the Jiang Family expert felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body swayed violently, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, the faces of the others changed drastically.

The man who had just spoken was a Peak Innate expert, yet he couldn’t even withstand a single glance from Ning Jiang. Didn’t that mean Ning Jiang could kill any of them with a mere thought?

"If any of you want revenge, you’re welcome to try."

Ning Jiang swept his gaze over them, and immense pressure bore down on all the Jiang Family experts.

Fear gripped the hearts of the Jiang Family experts. They all lowered their heads, not daring to meet Ning Jiang’s gaze. Even someone with Jiang Yunfei’s strength had been killed. If they went up, it would just be suicide.

"How is this possible? How?"

Fu Zheng, supported by the Fu Family experts, was pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Only now did he realize what kind of monster he had provoked.

He was like an ant trying to provoke a tiger, a tiger that could swat him dead with a single lift of its paw.

"The conflict between me and Jiang Yunfei started because of you. The one who fanned the flames deserves to die."

Just as Fu Zheng’s mind was reeling in terror, he heard Ning Jiang utter these words.

Hearing this, Fu Zheng’s expression changed dramatically, and he immediately tried to beg for his life.

PFFT.

But in the next moment, a stream of Innate Gang Qi pierced his brow, and his life was extinguished.

Seeing Ning Jiang kill a young master of the Fu Family with a flick of his finger, the many Martial Artists present trembled with even greater fear.

On the surface, Ning Jiang seemed gentle and approachable, but when he turned ruthless, he was a veritable God of Slaughter, killing without the slightest hesitation.

Moreover, the people he killed were from Noble Families and top-tier, First-Class Noble Houses. Yet, despite their backgrounds, he showed no hesitation at all.

"The great Young Master Qingjiang, a man who commanded the winds and clouds... to think a top-level figure like him would fall here."

The crowd sighed, their gazes filled with awe as they looked at Ning Jiang.

They understood that a new comet was about to rise in the Cyan Cloud Country. From this day forward, the younger generation would no longer be dominated by the era of the Nine Great Young Masters.

A new revolution was coming!

"Qiao Yiyi, do you believe me now? Do you believe I wasn’t lying to you?"

Among the crowd, Li Shiyu, the only one with some understanding of Ning Jiang’s power, looked at the beautiful woman beside her.

Qiao Yiyi’s face was pale, her delicate body trembling.

She couldn’t utter a single word, having lost all desire to bicker with Li Shiyu.

Before, she had thought Ning Jiang was arrogant and conceited, which gave her a terrible impression of him and made her look down on him.

Only now did she realize just how towering a figure Ning Jiang was—so towering that she could only look up to him in awe.

"Li Shiyu, it’s time to go."

Ning Jiang said lightly. He had no intention of sticking around to be gawked at by the crowd.

"Yes."

Li Shiyu nodded and obediently walked over to the Ice Python. Looking at the beast, which didn’t dare to move at Ning Jiang’s feet, her heart filled with even greater reverence.

"Let’s go."

Once Li Shiyu was on the Ice Python, Ning Jiang spoke in the tongue of demons to command it.

The Ice Python let out a low roar, and with a twist of its massive body, it entered the river. Its three-hundred-foot-long body was like a great ship as it swam away at a terrifying speed.

"Tell me, are there any worldly treasures beneath this Qingjiang? How did you evolve?"

Ning Jiang asked, sitting cross-legged on the Ice Python’s head, speaking in the demonic tongue that Li Shiyu could not understand.

The Ice Python let out a series of low roars. It felt an instinctual fear toward this young man.

Not long after, Ning Jiang got the answers he wanted.

Through his conversation with the Ice Python, he learned that there was indeed a peculiar place beneath the Qingjiang. It was there that this Ice Python had managed to evolve and transform.

’For a Water-Split Python to transform into an Ice Python, there must be a rare Ice Attribute treasure there. I might be able to find the Taiyin Divine Crystal I’m looking for!’

A glint flashed in Ning Jiang’s eyes.

The last time, he had found a Taiyang Divine Crystal in a lava pool in the Demon Mist Mountain Range. Now, he was just one Taiyin Divine Crystal away from being able to merge yin and yang to cultivate the Sun and Moon Divine Eye.

The Sun and Moon Divine Eye was an incredibly terrifying Great Divine Technique, one that even he coveted.

’However, there’s actually a Spirit Realm Demon Beast there...’

Ning Jiang narrowed his eyes. This would be tricky. With the power of a Spirit Realm Demon Beast, it wasn’t something he could contend with right now.

Unless his Great Sun Glazed Golden Body could advance from the Great Success stage to Perfection, or his Cultivation advance from the Innate Late Stage to the Innate Limit, only then would he be qualified to fight a higher-level Spirit Realm opponent.

’Forget it. I shouldn’t stir up more trouble. The priority now is to get to Pill King Valley. I wonder how Wei Yanran is doing?’

The image of that icy woman appeared in Ning Jiang’s mind. It had been almost half a year since Wei Yanran was taken by Pill King Valley.

’Wei Yanran is one of my Kunlun people. If Pill King Valley lets even the slightest harm come to her, they can’t blame me for going on a rampage!’

’As for this Qingjiang, I’ll come back to explore it after my Cultivation has improved.’