Ascension Day

"I killed someone... I’m a murderer... I didn’t want to do it..."

His hands trembled, blood still wet on his face as he shakily raised his head. Landlord Jiang was not the one he had wanted to kill.

His gaze fell upon the Green-Robed Divine Spirit. That was the one he had actually wanted to kill.

"But for some reason, I just couldn’t control my hands! I just wanted to beat you to death!"

Xu Ying panted like a wild beast, roaring at Landlord Jiang’s fallen corpse, "You were too loud! Stop talking! Stop rushing me... I told you to stop rushing me! I’ll kill him right now!"

Landlord Jiang’s head had already burst open, his skull caved in. Naturally, he could no longer speak.

And yet, Xu Ying’s mind was still filled with a cacophony of chaotic, buzzing voices, urging him on, pushing him to kill the Divine Spirit before him.

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit’s pupils contracted as he stared at Xu Ying.

Suddenly, he could no longer see the familiar fear in Xu Ying’s eyes. This absence ignited a raging fire in his chest.

The look of fear was the one he knew best—the terror a mortal ought to feel for a Divine Spirit!

Before, he had been able to see that reverence in Xu Ying’s eyes. It was the awe an insect feels for a great being.

But now, that reverence was gone!

In its place was blasphemy!

It was killing intent!

He saw, in this boy’s eyes, a naked, undisguised intent to kill him!

What was even more terrifying was the discovery that he himself was somewhat afraid of that gaze!

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit flew into a rage. He tossed the bride aside, raised a fist the size of a jar, and smashed it forward, roaring, "You bastard! What is that look in your eyes?"

Xu Ying raised his forearms to block. He felt as if he’d been struck by a bull weighing several thousand pounds and was sent flying backward. With a BOOM, he crashed through the ancestral hall’s wall and flew outside!

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit strode over the collapsed wall and sneered, "A mere mortal has no choice but to accept the fate arranged by the gods. You must not resist! Xu Ying, I see the evil of blasphemy in your eyes! I will wash away your sins!"

Xu Ying landed, his feet digging into the ground as he slid back more than ten feet before finally steadying himself.

"You’re..." Xu Ying shook his hands, raised his head, and gave him a strange look. "Not as strong as I imagined."

"What?"

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit was incensed. He lifted his leg for a sweeping kick, his thick limb like a swinging pillar, whipping up a ferocious, howling wind!

"Insignificant mortal, daring to question divine might! You deserve to have your tongue ripped out in hell!"

His expression was majestic. This one kick seemed powerful enough to sweep Xu Ying straight into hell, to be damned for all eternity!

Xu Ying furiously channeled the Qi Blood throughout his body and threw a punch to meet the Divine Spirit’s sweeping leg!

The Scriptures he had just read surfaced in his mind. The diagrams for circulating Qi Blood in the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist flooded his thoughts, and without a second thought, he began to channel his Qi Blood according to the text!

His Qi Blood circulated through his body at an incredibly violent speed, shaking his Five Viscera and grinding against his muscles and fascia. A clear, deafening elephant’s cry suddenly bellowed from his chest!

Xu Ying poured his strength into his right arm. The surging Qi Blood immediately caused it to swell, and his right hand grew a size larger. The wind from his fist whipped up, letting out a sharp whistle!

Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist, First Style: Horn Strength Mountain Opening!

Xu Ying’s strength exploded. He threw the punch, and it collided with the Green-Robed Divine Spirit’s sweeping right leg. With a BANG, his fist punched clean through the Divine Spirit’s thick leg!

At the same time, a series of CRACKS and POPS echoed from within his body. It was the sound of his Qi Blood breaking through his cultivation barriers!

For seven years, he had been in Cultivation, diligently practicing the Taiyi Guiding Skill, but he had never trained in a Martial Arts Technique. He never knew what level his Cultivation had reached. Now, upon his first contact with a Martial Arts Technique, his seven years of accumulation were being completely unleashed!

The Taiyi Guiding Skill had refined his Qi Blood, which was the foundation of Xu Ying’s Cultivation. The Martial Arts Technique was the means to let that Cultivation blossom!

Seven years to sharpen one sword, its frosty edge yet untested.

This was the moment he would finally test that frosty edge!

Back at Xu Ying’s house, the Snake Demon had just finished setting all his dislocated joints. As he was fleeing the village, he suddenly heard a series of strange popping sounds. He froze, then quickly looked toward the source of the noise.

’The Second Layer, Third Layer, and Fourth Layer of the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist... he broke through them all in an instant! Is this brat human or a demon? How can he cultivate so fast?’

Just as he had this thought, Xu Ying’s Qi Blood surged again. A powerful elephant’s cry erupted from his chest—deep, melodious, and so loud it caused the window lattices of all sixty-seven households in Jiang Family Field to RATTLE violently!

The water in washbasins, water vats, and even the ditches and ponds rippled from the force of the sound!

The Snake Demon’s mind went blank.

Breaking through the Fourth Layer of the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist in a single instant was already unheard of, yet Xu Ying had broken through another barrier, reaching the Fifth Layer!

He hastily looked over at Xu Ying and saw his Qi Blood circulating so violently that it was even seeping out from the pores of his skin!

The overflowing Qi Blood formed the Abnormal Phenomenon of an Elephant-headed God-man behind him!

This Abnormal Phenomenon was formed from Qi Blood and was quite illusory, like a transparent phantom. It was nearly two feet taller than Xu Ying and moved in sync with his every strike!

This was precisely the Abnormal Phenomenon that only appeared upon reaching the Fifth Layer!

The Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist had a total of seven layers. First Layer: Blood infuses the whole body, Qi courses through the bones. Second Layer: Double the Qi Blood. Third Layer: Power projects ten feet. Fourth Layer: Divine Elephant Power. Fifth Layer: Elephant God and Ox Demon Abnormal Phenomenon. Sixth Layer: Qi Blood Evil Body. Seventh Layer: Elephant King Divine Body!

Among the Demon Race, any expert who cultivated the Martial Dao to the Seventh Layer could be called a Demon King and be enfeoffed as a Mountain God or River God!

Cultivating to the Fifth Layer was enough to be called a Great Demon!

By that standard, Xu Ying could now be considered a Great Demon!

’But this kid is clearly human...’ the Snake Demon thought, bewildered.

Xu Ying didn’t overthink it. He executed the second style of the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist: White Elephant’s Trunk Swing!

He spun sideways, his right leg whipping through the air like an elephant’s trunk, tearing through the atmosphere with a sharp whistle!

Behind him, the Elephant-headed God-man simultaneously spun and swung its leg. The phantom elephant leg overlapped with his own and, with a sharp CRACK, slammed into the Green-Robed Divine Spirit’s waist. The blow sent the Divine Spirit staggering, his waist bending until his body was nearly parallel to the ground.

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit, both shocked and furious, retreated several steps to evade Xu Ying’s attack. He suddenly tore down a nearby wall, raised it high, and brought it down like a flyswatter, intending to crush Xu Ying beneath it!

The wall shattered with a deafening crash. Xu Ying had punched right through it, sending bricks and stones flying into the Divine Spirit’s face.

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit shielded his face with one hand and threw a punch with the other.

His fist collided with Xu Ying’s incoming punch. There was a sickening CRACK—his own arm had been snapped clean in two!

Panic seized the Green-Robed Divine Spirit’s heart. As his eyes met Xu Ying’s, his mind was once again dominated by that same fear.

It was the fear a mortal feels for a Divine Spirit!

He, a god, was feeling fear like a mortal, while Xu Ying seemed to be the Divine Spirit who held dominion over his Life and Death!

He dodged left and right, but finally, he could no longer evade.

He saw Xu Ying’s fist growing larger and larger as it flew toward his face. He quickly screamed, "I am a Divine Spirit enfeoffed by the City God! I am registered in both the Yin Court and the Imperial Court! If you kill me, you will violate the Celestial Rules—"

The word "Rules" had not yet left his mouth before Xu Ying’s fist smashed through his face and exited the back of his head, leaving a Great Cave in its place!

The Green-Robed Divine Spirit stood stunned for a moment. His body swayed, then collapsed to the ground. His vital essence dispersed, and he turned into a pile of wood.

"AHHHH—" Not far away, the Snake Demon’s jaw dropped in terror, and he let out a piercing scream.

——Thank you to Home-cooked Dishes, and Heng Feng for the silver donations! Thank you to Manbu Yunduan QAQ, Liang Hong, Shenchao_Chuang Shu, Jiuban Xiaohui, Shenchao_Ying An, Sky-piercing Stone_, Little Sister Lin, Stars Change in Many Ways, Shenchao_Yemao kull, Shenchao_Zhi Zheng Jin Xi, Shenchao Da Bingxiang, I Fell in Love with a God Tonight, Xian Mo Yao Dao Zushi, Crying helps you grow up, Xinyue Qitian, Mirror Flower Water Moon and Ma Hu, Shenchao_Shidai, Three Lives Fate Small Saber, Shenchao_Qing’Er, Water Meter Copyist, Tianzuonie Youkeshu Zizuonie Bukehuo, Wo Si Zheng de Zhuai, Flame Spirit Maiden, Happy Jiji, Buli Blue Mountain, Q Ziye Xingkong, Mo Heng 106, Qing Meng Liao Wuhen, Cenglou Zhongjiu Wu le Shaonian, Feitianyu Benzun, Shenchao_Array, Yu Xiaoqing, Shijin Renjian Meng, Shenchao_Kafei, I Live on Black Mountain, Ma Yitao, iampetty, Zhuoyao, Three-Life Hunter, and Baoma Zai Xiuzhenjie Fujia Yifang for your donations! You’ve all spent too much!!! My deepest thanks!!!