Jiangchuan Bridge paid no mind to the wreckage on the floor, his icy gaze fixed on the window through which Chen Qing had escaped.

"Brat, you dare cross me! You’re not getting away!"

Before the words left his mouth, his figure had already become a wisp of black smoke, drifting out the window in pursuit of Chen Qing.

Chen Qing glimpsed six figures pouncing toward the second-floor window like hungry tigers lunging for prey. He instantly pushed his Startled Swan Escape Shadow Technique to its absolute limit and bolted toward the city gate.

He knew those six were no match for Jiangchuan Bridge. He had to use the time they bought him to get as far away as possible.

Soon enough, however, he sensed the cold, sinister aura behind him, in relentless pursuit and closing the distance at an astonishing speed!

’Astral Force lives up to its name. Such incredible speed!’

A chill ran down Chen Qing’s spine as he felt the pressure mount.

Jiangchuan Bridge’s Body Technique was eerie and elusive, far beyond that of an ordinary Embracing Pill Force practitioner.

"Brat, surrender quietly! Save me the trouble!"

Wherever Jiangchuan Bridge passed, pedestrians scrambled to the sides in terror. They didn’t dare utter a word, even when they crashed into market stalls in their haste.

Without looking back, Chen Qing’s arms became a blur, executing the exquisite techniques of the Floating Light and Shadow Hand to perfection.

A volley of poison-tipped Darts shot backward like a violent squall, flying at cunning angles with vicious Power, aimed at both Jiangchuan Bridge’s vital points and his path forward.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! THWAP! THWAP!

Most of the Hidden Weapons were deflected or shattered by the faint layer of black Gang Qi surrounding Jiangchuan Bridge. A few Darts with exceptional Penetration Power managed to reach his black robes, only to be instantly corroded and dissolved by his Black Death True Astral.

The astonishment in Jiangchuan Bridge’s eyes deepened. ’This kid isn’t just a master of Concealment,’ he thought. ’His Hidden Weapon Technique is transcendent, far surpassing anyone else in his generation!’

’If I could recruit a talent like this, he’d become a fearsome commander!’

"Brat, I’m liking you more and more!" Jiangchuan Bridge’s voice carried a sinister chill.

The chase continued, and soon the two of them burst through the gates of Tongping City.

Outside the city, the terrain opened up into a wide expanse. A great river rushed past, its banks lined with gravel flats and sparse woods.

Without the cover of crowds and buildings, Chen Qing’s slower speed was immediately apparent.

Jiangchuan Bridge closed to within thirty yards and threw a palm strike through the air!

A colossal Ghost Claw materialized from Black Death True Astral, tearing through the air with a bone-chilling wind as it clawed down at Chen Qing!

It moved with astonishing speed, locking onto his aura. There was no dodging it!

Chen Qing’s pupils contracted. In this life-or-death crisis, the Qi Blood in his entire body surged to a boil!

It was as if a furnace had exploded within him. His bones and tendons sang in unison, and from them came the faint, majestic roar of a tiger and the heavy, powerful trumpet of an elephant!

Eight Extremes Vajra Body! Tiger Elephant Realm!

A golden light instantly bloomed across his bronzed skin. His muscles bulged like twisted steel cables, and steam billowed from his body as he braced himself against the oppressive, bone-eroding wind.

With the Ghost Claw almost upon him, it was too late to dodge.

A fierce glint flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes. Treating his arms as a spear, he sank his stance, his spine arching like a great dragon. The gravel beneath his feet exploded outward!

Mountain Prison-Suppression Spear! Mountain-Breaking Rainbow Piercing!

He used his right arm as the spear, his left palm bracing his right wrist. The Power of his entire body twisted into a single cord, surging through his shoulder, elbow, wrist, and fingers!

Dense and powerful Cyan Wood True Qi surged into his right arm, causing it to swell instantly and take on a dark, cyan metallic sheen—as steady as a mountain, yet as sharp as its peak!

Like a venomous dragon striking from its lair, Chen Qing’s right arm shot forward in a vicious "thrust"!

This was no simple strike. He had focused all of his True Qi and boiling Qi Blood Power into a single point at his fingertips, a colossal, heavy Power aimed directly at the weakest spot in the Ghost Claw’s center!

An ear-piercing shriek tore through the air, as if an invisible greatspear were about to run a mountain through!

BOOM—!!!

The violent explosion rocked the gravel flats!

Cyan and black Qi Force erupted wildly, kicking up a cloud of sand and stone and creating a momentary shockwave!

Chen Qing let out a muffled grunt. He felt a bizarre Power invade him—chillingly venomous, yet impossibly heavy—as it viciously corroded the meridians in his arm, seeking to bore deeper into his body.

The immense force sent him staggering backward for several dozen yards, his feet plowing two deep trenches in the ground!

The sleeves on both his arms had been shredded, revealing his solid forearms. The black Evil Qi was being rapidly neutralized by the scorching Qi Blood Power of his Eight Extremes Vajra Body.

Jiangchuan Bridge’s figure wavered slightly in mid-air as he dispelled the rebound force. He was secretly astonished. ’What a tough Flesh Body! He took my Netherworld Ghost Claw—at seventy percent of my full Power—head-on, and even condensed his own Power to a single point to break through my Gang Qi?!’

Seizing the opportunity from the clash, Chen Qing forcefully suppressed his roiling Qi Blood and pushed off again, continuing his escape.

"Try this one on for size!"

Jiangchuan Bridge’s form skimmed low across the ground like black smoke, instantly closing the distance once more. He struck with both palms—this was no long-range Gang Qi attack, but a true close-quarters killing blow!

His palms seemed to become boneless, their centers turning black as ink. They carried a soft, clinging, yet vicious suction force as they floated lightly toward the vital points on Chen Qing’s chest and abdomen.

Before the palms even arrived, their sinister, flesh-dissolving intent was already palpable, enough to make one’s skin crawl.

Chen Qing felt the air around him turn thick and viscous, as if he were tangled in an invisible spiderweb. He knew he could not, under any circumstances, let those palms make contact.

He stopped short, twisting his waist and sinking his hips. His center of gravity plummeted as if his feet had taken root, connecting him to the earth itself.

Mountain Prison-Suppression Spear! Immovable Prison Suppression!

His Cyan Wood True Qi and Qi Blood Power intertwined, forming an invisible wall of energy before him as thick and heavy as bedrock.

The core principle of the technique was not to block, but to suppress!

To suppress his own roiling Qi Blood, to suppress the incoming Power, and to suppress the very space around him, rendering it inviolable!

THUD! THUD!

With two muffled thuds, Jiangchuan Bridge’s palms struck what felt like a solid Pan Stone. A powerful rebound force shot back, leaving his wrists slightly numb.