Chapter 425 - 423: Slaying the Tiger
Jiang Chen’s sudden counterattack caught Bing Hu off guard.
His charge came to an abrupt halt as he brought his hands together in front of him, palms facing.
Jiang Chen’s sword flew straight and true, aimed directly at his chest.
"Ice Tiger’s Corpse Grip!"
Bing Hu barked.
He slammed his hands together, his long claws striking each other with a resonant CLANG.
But his claws were so long that their collision momentarily slowed his movement.
It was in that exact instant of opportunity that Jiang Chen’s sword pierced Bing Hu’s chest!
"Divine Wind Celestial Fury!"
A bright light flared in Jiang Chen’s eyes. Surging True Essence erupted from his arm and coated the edge of his blade.
It burst forth!
A tempest of cyan wind followed the sword and exploded against Bing Hu’s chest with a BOOM.
BAM—
The terrifying explosion unleashed a powerful shockwave.
Bing Hu’s body shuddered before he was sent flying.
WHOOSH!
He plummeted toward the ground like a falling star.
RUMBLE!
Bing Hu smashed clean through a mountain peak.
The peak exploded from within with a BOOM, collapsing into a flattened ruin. But even after piercing the mountain, Bing Hu’s momentum didn’t slow. He continued flying backward, skimming the ground.
Like a bull plowing a field, he carved a massive trench in the earth.
Soil churned and the earth was rent asunder. Nothing was left in his wake, not even a single blade of grass.
He was thrown a full kilometer. In his wake, a kilometer-long trench scarred the landscape like a hideous wound, as if the earth itself had been torn open.
By the time Bing Hu finally regained his footing, the dust cloud ahead was still roiling.
"Interesting. Very interesting!"
Bing Hu glanced down at his chest. On his white battle armor was a faint white mark from the sword, and the armor was dented slightly inward.
He licked his lips with a scarlet tongue, a cruel smile spreading across his face. Framed by the White Tiger Battle Helmet he wore, the expression looked particularly savage. "Haha, I can’t remember the last time someone sent me flying. You’re not bad, Human Race whelp. Bring it on!"
Bing Hu was a true battle maniac.
He stomped his feet, and the very ground seemed to tremble.
A deep crater was left where he stood.
Amidst a spray of earth and rock, Bing Hu shot toward Jiang Chen like a bolt of white lightning, tearing through the air. "Ice Tiger Heaven-Tearing Claw!"
He crossed his hands in front of him, then ripped them apart to either side.
Ten sharp claws looked as if they would tear the very sky asunder, carving ten graceful arcs through the air. The white light of the claws radiated a world-destroying power.
Union Palace Realm Eighth Stage. Rank one thousand five hundred and twenty-one on the Human Venerable List.
Bing Hu’s combat prowess was no weaker than that of an expert who had just entered the Human King Realm.
Jiang Chen snorted. He didn’t try to block the claws’ power head-on. Instead, he activated the Shadow Body Technique. His body split into two, then four...
Ten versions of Jiang Chen shot out in ten different directions.
The razor-sharp attack hit nothing but air.
Then, the ten Jiang Chens rose into the air from ten different directions, swords in hand, and flew toward Bing Hu. "Thick Earth Sword Technique—Sword Dao Vastness!"
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
All the Jiang Chens attacked at once.
The corner of Bing Hu’s mouth lifted in a mocking sneer. "Nothing but a Blinding Technique. Your real body is here!"
His ice-blue gaze landed on the Jiang Chen to his left.
He swiped with one claw!
POP!
The sharp claw tore that "Jiang Chen" to shreds. But there was no blood. It obviously wasn’t the real one!
’How is that possible?’ Bing Hu was stunned, clearly not expecting his deduction to be wrong.
"I’m over here."
A low voice sounded from behind Bing Hu.
The voice sent a massive jolt through him.
He instinctively turned...
...and a blinding sword light filled his vision. Behind Jiang Chen, a cluster of sword phantoms had formed. They were arranged in a fan shape behind him, like a peacock’s tail. With a sudden shudder, countless sharp swords shot out from the fan.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The sword projections tore through the air.
They rained down on Bing Hu like a torrential storm.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—
Each strand of Sword Qi was incredibly sharp and powerful. The continuous impacts made Bing Hu’s body shudder violently.
There were simply too many streams of Sword Aura!
Relentless and unending, the assault caught Bing Hu completely off guard. He had no time to change his stance and could only cross his arms to shield his head. He let the streams of Sword Qi hammer against his Ice Tiger Armor. Barely visible ripples shimmered around the armor, deflecting all the sharp Sword Auras away from his body.
They couldn’t harm Bing Hu in the slightest.
Bing Hu roared with laughter. "Human Race whelp, your attacks are useless! You can’t harm this Prince!"
"Are you sure about that?"
A smirk played on Jiang Chen’s lips.
He wore a look of utter confidence, as if everything was going according to plan.
"Hmph?"
Bing Hu froze.
He was completely confident in his defense.
But when he heard Jiang Chen’s sneer, his heart skipped a beat. A strong sense of unease washed over him.
"Bing Hu, your defense is indeed formidable. For those at your level, your power and attacks are nearly impossible to counter. But you’ve overlooked one thing... and that one thing is your greatest weakness. It’s also your most fatal flaw!" Jiang Chen’s voice rang in Bing Hu’s ears like a Demon Sound.
"What? A fatal weakness? Where?" Bing Hu’s expression flickered.
Just then, Jiang Chen formed a hand seal for his Sword Technique and swung the Spirit-Slaying Sword, bringing it down from high above.
As the Spirit-Slaying Sword descended, all the scattered streams of Sword Qi converged upon it.
It formed a colossal Sword Aura five hundred zhang long, so massive it blotted out the sun.
It was like a pillar holding up the heavens!
BOOM!
The sword slammed down onto Bing Hu’s crossed arms.
"ROAR!"
Bing Hu grunted. He had been so stunned for that split second that he’d forgotten to defend.
The sword strike sent him plummeting toward the ground.
As he hurtled backward, Bing Hu screamed in his mind, ’Impossible! I have no weaknesses! I’m flawless...’
Jiang Chen’s voice echoed in his ear again. "See? Your weakness is on your left!"
"What?"
Bing Hu instinctively glanced to his left.
In a flash, Jiang Chen appeared on Bing Hu’s other side, unleashing a series of three sword strikes...
"Divine Wind Celestial Fury!"
A Sword Qi Storm slammed into Bing Hu’s right side.
"AGH... Human whelp, you dare trick me?!" Bing Hu howled as he was sent flying to the left.
Jiang Chen pursued him.
As he thrust with his Second Sword, he shouted, "Your weakness is behind you!"
"Hmph?"
Bing Hu froze. He instinctively glanced behind him, and his expression changed abruptly. ’Shit, I fell for it!’
Sure enough!
Jiang Chen’s Second Sword, the Celestial Flame Sun-Devouring Slash, was already striking him from the front. A Blazing Sun materialized in the air, and searing Sword Qi detonated on Bing Hu’s chest with a deafening roar.
"PFFT!"
Bing Hu spat out a mouthful of blood.
It was the first time he had been wounded!
’Impossible... Does he really know where my opening is? No, absolutely not, I don’t have any... He must be tricking me. Yes, he’s tricking me!’ Bing Hu’s mind was in turmoil, his earlier confidence completely shattered.
At that moment, Jiang Chen’s Third Sword came straight for his head.
Bing Hu instinctively raised his hands to protect his head, but Jiang Chen’s voice boomed in his ear: "Your center is wide open! Your weak point is right there!"
’Shit!’
Bing Hu’s face fell. In a panic, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
The instant he completed the motion, Bing Hu regretted it.
In his eyes, the incomparably sharp sword wasn’t aimed at his chest, but at his—head!
"No..."
The White Tiger’s face filled with despair.
"Fish Dragon Nine Swords—Ninth Sword, Fish Leaping the Dragon Gate, Golden Scale Dragon Transformation!"
Jiang Chen’s voice echoed through the void, surging like thunder, rolling like a Thunderbolt, and as resonant as a great temple bell!
BOOM—
An peerless Sword Aura met no resistance as it fell directly upon the White Tiger’s head.
The blinding Sword Aura gradually faded, revealing the jet-black Spirit-Slaying Sword.
As the Spirit-Slaying Sword met the White Tiger Battle Helmet, it was like diamond cutting diamond. Dazzling sparks erupted from the point of impact.
Suddenly...
CRACK!
A sharp crack echoed from the Battle Helmet.
A fissure appeared on the White Tiger Battle Helmet. The crack spread before the helmet shattered with a BOOM.
At the same time, Jiang Chen’s Spirit-Slaying Sword, now unimpeded, plunged into Bing Hu’s skull with a sickening SQUELCH, splitting his head in two!
And so, the Undying Battle Tiger, Fourth Prince of the Icefield Race Royal Family and rank one thousand five hundred and twenty-one on the Human Venerable List, Bing Hu, died under Jiang Chen’s Spirit-Slaying Sword...