There was no escape!

Indeed. Within the prison created by the Golden Core’s True Qi, it was a fool’s errand for a mere mortal to dream of breaking free—an impossible fantasy.

As expected, after moving only a few dozen meters to the side, the monk found himself unable to move another inch. The path before him had become a celestial wall, a barrier he could not breach by even half an inch.

"I told you, you can’t escape! So stop wasting your energy!" Qin Fan said mockingly. In a flash, he dodged an attack from another Ninja and, pivoting, lunged toward the monk with the Evil Spirit Zen Staff in hand.

With no more words to waste, he raised the Evil Spirit Zen Staff high. Giving his opponent no time to react, he swept it across the monk’s body with immense force!

BOOM!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Struck by Qin Fan’s powerful blow, a body of mere flesh and blood stood no chance; even a body of diamond would have been shattered. The sudden impact made the monk vomit blood again, and the sickening cracks signaled that countless bones within him had been destroyed.

The so-called Divine Ninja, the mighty Divine Ninja, was proving to be utterly fragile. Under Qin Fan’s assault, he was no different from a helpless street thug. However, Qin Fan could land such a devastating blow so easily only because the monk’s prized Concealment Technique was utterly useless against him.

Though his bones were shattered, a Divine Ninja’s tremendous life force meant he would not die from such an injury alone. Enduring the overwhelming pain, the monk slowly struggled back to his feet, his pale face twisting into a hideous mask.

"Beidou Eight Directions Formation, kill!"

Escape was impossible. He had resigned himself to his fate. Gritting his teeth, a surge of Death Qi erupted from his body as he spoke, and dark lines began to snake across his bloodless face.

At the same moment, the thirty-two Divine Ninjas abandoned their stealth and appeared from thin air. Clad in golden robes, only their eyes were visible.

"Kill!" they roared in unison.

The next instant, a fraction of a second ahead of the monk, the thirty-two warriors split into eight groups, covering all directions. They brandished their hand-blades, which glinted with a cold light, and rapidly closed in on Qin Fan.

"Heh. This saves me some trouble," Qin Fan chuckled, a deep meaning behind his words. He remained completely indifferent to the so-called Beidou Eight Directions Formation. He had no idea what kind of pathetic formation it was, nor did he need to.

Standing perfectly still, not moving a single inch, Qin Fan simply smiled as he watched the formation advance like a troupe of clumsy clowns.

As the Qi Force from the thirty-two ninjas’ hand-blades cleaved through the air, Qin Fan’s Prison Suppressing Body activated on its own. A green light enveloped him, and the incoming waves of Qi Force vanished like smoke.

But was that the extent of the Divine Ninjas’ Divine Skills? The next moment, their initial attacks having missed, they crisscrossed like phantoms in the blink of an eye. Inch by inch, they spun inward, tightening the encirclement. When they were within striking distance...

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Whether by fist or palm, dozens of attacks hammered against Qin Fan’s body from all directions—front, back, left, right, above, and below. Although Qin Fan was covered in a layer of light of unknown origin, at this point, they had no other choice. If they couldn’t break through the spatial prison, their only option was to fight to the death!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Thirty-two killing blows landed on the green light, each one producing a muffled thud.

"BASTARD!" Eyes bulging in disbelief, the monk, who was already battered and bruised by the Zen Staff, cried out in astonishment.

Their thirty-two attacks, launched with every ounce of their strength, hadn’t even touched Qin Fan? That faint green light had blocked all of their techniques? Not only that, but their strikes seemed to have been absorbed by the light. When they tried to pull their hands back, they found themselves completely immobilized!

How was this possible? How could such a Divine Skill exist in this world? Even the most invincible, heaven-defying beings had to abide by the balance of the Heavenly Dao. But this... this broke that balance entirely! How could such an unbelievable phenomenon be produced by a mortal who was neither a god nor an immortal?

"Alright, game over," Qin Fan said with a faint smile, his expression turning cold as he raised the Evil Spirit Zen Staff.

"NO!!!"

As if seeing their own impending doom, all of them, including the monk, roared with terrified, bulging eyes. In that instant, they strained with all their might to free their hands from the green light, but their struggles were useless. They couldn’t budge an inch.

What did this mean? It meant they were now fish on a chopping block, to be slaughtered at will! The pinnacle of the Ninja World, reduced to such a fate? No! We can’t accept it!

But their defiance was futile. Amidst their terrified screams, Qin Fan raised the Evil Spirit Zen Staff high. Without a trace of hesitation, his face and eyes filled with a desolate chill, he brought it crashing down on the monk.

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Strike after strike, blow after blow. The Divine Ninja’s incredible life force was devoured, bit by bit, by the Zen Staff. After spitting out a ninth mouthful of blood, the monk could endure no more, and his aura began to fade rapidly.

If one wanted an example of being beaten to death, this was it.

"Tanaka Nobuo is dead, and you performed his Transcendence. Now that you’re dead, who will perform yours?" Qin Fan sneered coldly. Suspended in mid-air, he grabbed the monk’s body and tossed it down to Hua Xiaotian. With a wild laugh, he bellowed, "Defile the corpse!"

Having witnessed Qin Fan’s incredible, inhuman feats in the sky, Hua Xiaotian’s mind was still reeling in chaos. But upon hearing the command to "defile the corpse," a shiver ran down his spine.

"Alright!" he responded.

With a flick of his wrist, the Hemp Vine Whip shot out, lashing mercilessly against the monk’s body.

In the air, Qin Fan methodically beat down the so-called Divine Ninjas, who were trapped and helpless. On the ground, Hua Xiaotian relentlessly whipped them as their dying bodies fell. The air filled with the interweaving thuds of the staff and the sharp cracks of the whip. The scene at the foot of Mount Fuji was one of absolute, horrific inhumanity.

Time ticked by amidst Qin Fan and Hua Xiaotian’s brutality. Blood flew through the air alongside pitiful screams.

After more than ten minutes, the world finally fell silent.

Thirty-two Divine Ninjas had been reduced to corpses, their wide-open eyes filled with eternal resentment. They could never have imagined in their entire lives that they would meet such an end. As representatives of the pinnacle of Japan’s Abnormal Skills, had they died so meaninglessly?

In their unblinking gazes, turned to the heavens in defiance, their constricting pupils held a final trace of panic and worry. They panicked for Japan. They worried for Orochi, awaiting its resurrection beneath Mount Fuji.

「Outside the Orochi Cave at the foot of Mount Fuji.」

Just as Qin Fan and Hua Xiaotian sent the thirty-two Divine Ninjas to Hell, Matsubara Santai and his men had witnessed every single detail of the massacre.

When the battle concluded, the entire area fell deathly silent. Within that silence festered a fear so palpable it was suffocating. At this moment, even Matsubara Santai, the arrogant optimist, began to tremble uncontrollably.

Not human. That boy is not human!

However, just as the oppressive silence outside the cave grew heavier, a sound erupted from within.

ROAR—!

A magnificent roar burst forth from the cave, so powerful that the entirety of Mount Fuji began to tremble as if the very earth and mountains were shaking.