Chapter 74 - 72: Mysterious Means
Having dispatched his foe in a single strike, Jiang Zuo charged Wei Jiemie without hesitation, like a human tank.
’Is this guy even human?’
Wei Jiemie had watched with his own eyes as a fellow martial artist was instantly vaporized by Jiang Zuo’s punch, leaving behind nothing but scattered bones.
Even as a Grandmaster, he had never witnessed such a scene, and a profound horror gripped him.
Jiang Zuo charged forward with overwhelming force. Wei Jiemie wanted to retreat, but he was too close. It was already too late.
BAM! BAM! BAM...
Jiang Zuo’s fists rained down on Wei Jiemie like a furious tempest, each blow stronger than the last!
Before the fists even landed, Wei Jiemie could already feel the terrifying weight behind them.
’Even with my Inner Breath for protection, I can’t block these head-on!’
Every person who becomes a Grandmaster has experienced countless battles.
The instant Wei Jiemie saw those fists, he had already made his judgment.
If any of those punches landed squarely, even with his Inner Breath protecting the surface of his body, the immense force would still smash his internal organs to a pulp.
He had no choice but to meet each punch with his palms, attempting to redirect the force of the blows.
As expected of a Grandmaster, Wei Jiemie had instantly made the correct move.
Every one of Jiang Zuo’s punches landed in Wei Jiemie’s palms. Wei Jiemie poured all his strength into his technique, trying to dissipate the power of Jiang Zuo’s fists.
But...
After taking a dozen punches in an instant, alarm bells screamed in Wei Jiemie’s mind.
The sheer force of the punches was beyond his imagination; he hadn’t been able to dissipate all of it.
With each blow, his palms grew increasingly numb, a stabbing pain shooting through his bones.
’I can’t keep taking these hits! I have to retreat!’
Wei Jiemie prepared to take one more punch head-on and use its momentum to pull back.
But Jiang Zuo’s next move was something Wei Jiemie could never have anticipated.
Seeing Wei Jiemie fully occupied with blocking his fists, Jiang Zuo suddenly threw a savage headbutt, aiming for Wei Jiemie’s face.
’I can’t take that head-on!’
Wei Jiemie hastily freed one hand, raising it to block the headbutt.
Jiang Zuo had anticipated this. As Wei Jiemie moved, his right fist broke through the man’s defenses. An uppercut slammed hard into Wei Jiemie’s abdomen.
Wei Jiemie had instantly circulated his Inner Breath to protect himself, but the force of the blow still sent him flying off the ground.
Jiang Zuo followed up in mid-air, his left fist meeting the airborne Wei Jiemie and hammering him down.
BOOM!
Wei Jiemie was blasted into the ground like a cannonball.
With a deafening crash, his impact gouged a deep crater in the earth.
SPLURT!
Proving his status as a Grandmaster, Wei Jiemie didn’t die. He staggered to his feet and spat out a huge mouthful of blood.
A closer look revealed that his right arm was completely twisted, and a large section of his chest above his abdomen was caved in.
Only a few seconds had passed between Hong Yangtai’s warning and Wei Jiemie being blasted away like a cannonball.
After shouting his warning, Hong Yangtai had resumed his fight with Mu Yedong. He had no attention to spare; after just a few exchanges, he was already in a perilous position.
Hearing the commotion, both of them glanced over, just in time to see Jiang Zuo punch Wei Jiemie into the ground like a cannonball.
For a moment, both Grandmasters stared at Jiang Zuo in utter shock.
What had happened over there? How had this man suddenly transformed, turning the tables and ending the fight in mere moments?
Although Wei Jiemie’s cultivation had stagnated since he became an Inner Breath Grandmaster, making any further progress difficult...
...he was still a Grandmaster, far beyond the level of someone at the Meridian Passage realm.
And now he had been severely wounded in just a few moves by someone at the Meridian Passage realm?
The two Grandmasters on the battlefield felt their entire worldview being challenged.
"The Blood God Skill? Hong Yangtai, to save your own skin, you had someone cultivate the Blood God Skill? Just how many people did you kill... No, wait. Is this an orthodox cultivation of the Blood God Skill?"
In his transformed state, Jiang Zuo’s body was shrouded in a dense Blood Qi that blazed like a roaring fire.
Mu Yedong snapped out of his shock, about to accuse Hong Yangtai of resorting to any means necessary to save his own life, but he stopped mid-sentence, his gaze fixed on Jiang Zuo in utter disbelief.
When someone who cultivated the Blood God Skill by draining others’ life force circulated their Blood Qi at full power, it would also produce a dense aura of Blood Qi around them.
However, anyone could tell at a glance that they practiced an Evil Skill, as their Blood Qi would give off a distinctly demonic and sinister feeling.
But the Blood Qi surrounding Jiang Zuo was different.
Right now, Jiang Zuo was like a magnificent, blazing sun in the darkness—grand, righteous, and inviolable.
"He’s actually cultivated the Blood God Skill to such a realm?"
On the cliff top, the woman in black had been watching the battle below with an expression as placid as a still well.
But when she saw Jiang Zuo unleash the Blood God Skill at full power, a flicker of surprise—and even shock—finally appeared in her eyes.
Unlike Mu Yedong, she could tell at a single glance that Jiang Zuo was cultivating the Blood God Skill through orthodox means.
And for that very reason, the form his Blood God Skill took was all the more shocking to her.
She had never heard of anyone capable of cultivating the Blood God Skill to such a state.
"He could break through to the Inner Breath realm at any moment, yet he’s holding himself back!"
The woman in black looked as if she had discovered a new world; she had never imagined such a person could exist.
What Martial Artist in this world could possibly resist the temptation of becoming a Grandmaster?
"What orthodox cultivation? Impossible! He must be using an Evil Skill to hide the truth! He’s cultivating the Blood Demon Skill! He should be killed on sight by all!"
Xu Wancai couldn’t help but roar in anger.
As long as they insisted he was cultivating the Blood Demon Skill, once word got out, no matter how powerful he was, he would be a dead man.
Jiang Zuo ignored Xu Wancai’s shouting. Wasting no words, he moved, charging toward Mu Yedong.
At the same time, with a flick of his hand, a volley of Embroidery Needles shot out.
Xu Wancai only had the cultivation of a Blood Exchange Martial Artist. In the darkness, he had no way of spotting the Embroidery Needles Jiang Zuo had thrown.
Xu Wancai only felt a sudden, sharp pain rack his body. Before he could even process what had happened, he collapsed, stiff as a board, to the ground.
"Mu Yedong, die!"
Seeing Jiang Zuo charge over, Hong Yangtai knew this was the best opportunity to kill Mu Yedong.
He had used a drug to stimulate his body’s potential, allowing him to ignore his injuries for a short period and regain enough strength to fight.
Even if he survived tonight, he knew he would no longer be Mu Yedong’s match in the future; the gap between them would only continue to widen.
Once Mu Yedong grew even slightly stronger, Celestial Gate Pass would no longer be able to withstand his assault.
Facing two opponents, Mu Yedong was not the least bit afraid.
Jiang Zuo wasn’t a Grandmaster yet, but he already possessed strength surpassing that of an ordinary one.
Mu Yedong wanted to eliminate Jiang Zuo now, but even Wei Jiemie had been nearly killed in a single exchange.
Killing Jiang Zuo, even with all his strength, seemed impossible.
Hong Yangtai, on the other hand, was a spent force, an arrow at the end of its flight. He wouldn’t be able to withstand more than a few of his attacks.
Ignoring Jiang Zuo, Mu Yedong leaped into the air, unleashing a dozen slashes down upon Hong Yangtai.
Unable to dodge, Hong Yangtai could only raise his blade and struggle to block.
But Mu Yedong’s long blade, infused with Inner Breath, was incredibly sharp. Hong Yangtai’s broadsword had already been damaged in their earlier exchange, and after blocking just a few more slashes, it shattered with a loud CRACK.
The remaining slashes instantly carved over a dozen grievous wounds into Hong Yangtai’s body.
’Ignoring me?’
Seeing Mu Yedong leave himself so open, Jiang Zuo sensed his opportunity.
Blood Frenzy Technique!
The moment he closed in on Mu Yedong, Jiang Zuo abruptly activated the Blood Frenzy Technique.
For someone like Fangxiang Mountain who cultivated the Blood Demon Skill, activating the Blood Frenzy Technique was a suicidal move that caused immense damage to the body.
But for Jiang Zuo, the Blood Frenzy Technique was just a standard burst skill. It had no negative effects on his body; it just required a cool-down period to accumulate more Blood Qi before he could use it again.
With the Blood Frenzy Technique activated, Jiang Zuo’s power skyrocketed once more.
Mu Yedong had never imagined that even in his terrifying state, Jiang Zuo had yet to activate the Blood Frenzy Technique.
In that split second, he suffered the same fate as Wei Jiemie.
Jiang Zuo’s tempest of fists rained down, and Mu Yedong had no time to react.
A barrage of fists hammered into his body.
Mu Yedong was instantly turned into a human punching bag, taking a dozen savage blows from Jiang Zuo before his body was finally sent flying.
"Die!"
Hong Yangtai hadn’t expected Jiang Zuo to be this powerful. Even a Dark Force Grandmaster was defeated in an instant.
Hong Yangtai would not let such a perfect opportunity to kill Mu Yedong slip by.
Jiang Zuo also had no intention of leaving a Grandmaster-level enemy alive. Knowing that his dozen punches weren’t enough to kill Mu Yedong, he lunged forward, preparing to join forces with Hong Yangtai and finish him off for good.
After taking a dozen of Jiang Zuo’s punches, Mu Yedong’s body felt like it was falling apart, and he coughed up a violent spray of blood.
It looked as if Mu Yedong was about to die at the hands of Jiang Zuo and Hong Yangtai.
Just then, a figure in black suddenly descended from the sky, gently catching the heavily wounded Mu Yedong.
’Where did this female Martial Artist come from?’
Jiang Zuo and Hong Yangtai were startled, but their attacks didn’t pause in the slightest. They intended to kill both Mu Yedong and the woman together.
The woman in black seemed to have no intention of fighting back, merely watching quietly as Jiang Zuo and Hong Yangtai closed in for the kill.
They were only a dozen meters away; contact was a second from being made.
The woman in black opened her mouth, seeming to utter a syllable.
Jiang Zuo felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His body seized up, and his advance came to a dead halt.
Hong Yangtai, as well as the surrounding generals and soldiers, had the exact same reaction.
Jiang Zuo was only frozen for an instant before recovering, but Hong Yangtai and the others had lost consciousness completely, standing rooted to the spot in a daze.
Seizing the opportunity, the woman in black shouldered Mu Yedong and gracefully drifted away. As she left, she glanced back, and seeing that Jiang Zuo had recovered after only a brief moment, a look of profound astonishment flashed in her eyes.
’What kind of ability is that?’
Jiang Zuo was stunned by the woman’s inexplicable technique and didn’t dare to give chase rashly.
It didn’t seem like something a Martial Artist could do; it was more like some kind of technique from an Immortal Family.
’A Cultivator?’
But that didn’t seem right either. Jiang Zuo had clearly seen that only those who were facing the woman in black and could see the shape of her mouth were affected by her technique.
The soldiers behind her, despite being far weaker than Jiang Zuo and Hong Yangtai, were completely unaffected and could still move normally.
This was what made Jiang Zuo most wary; he had absolutely no idea what kind of technique it was.
The woman in black only saved Mu Yedong. She ignored all the other invaders, including Wei Jiemie.
After saving Mu Yedong, she drifted away without harming anyone else.
"Don’t kill me! I surrender!"
Seeing that the battle was lost, Wei Jiemie hurriedly endured his pain and shouted.
"The Cultivation Technique you practice," Jiang Zuo asked. "Can you hand it over?"
Mu Yedong had already escaped. Wiping out all witnesses to cut the problem off at the root was no longer possible.
Jiang Zuo was quite interested in the Cultivation Technique Wei Jiemie practiced.