Han Chou didn’t understand why Chen Cheng had also said, “Don’t blame me.” In the heat of battle, he had no time to dwell on it. His only option was to attack with all his might, seeking to swiftly suppress Chen Cheng.

In an instant, the net of fists tightened, the wind from his punches roaring like thunder.

An ordinary opponent of the same tier would have had their Transforming Force Barrier shattered by now, leaving them dead or crippled. Yet, this barrage of fists, as dense as a sudden downpour, had failed to even touch Chen Cheng.

The next instant.

Weaving and dodging, Chen Cheng found the perfect opening and launched himself into the air.

His right leg drew a crescent arc of light through the air. As the edge of the kick passed, it tore a visible white gash in the air, accompanied by an explosive, rolling thunder.

This was a new Leg Technique of his own creation, one that forged “Peng’s Sky-Spanning Wings” from the Secret Cloud Peng Leg Technique and “Nine Heavens Thunder Move” from the Thunder Treading Skill into a single move.

BOOM!!

The kick scythed down from above, moving so fast it left its own afterimage behind.

The sheer force of the wind pressing down was enough to make Han Chou’s hair stand on end, his robes plaster themselves against his body, and the skin on his face sag for an instant.

Han Chou reacted with extreme speed. He crossed his arms above his head, condensed his Transforming Force Barrier to its peak, and prepared to block the blow head-on.

BANG—!

A deep, muffled impact.

Han Chou’s arms shuddered, and his Transforming Force Barrier quaked violently under the avalanche-like force, nearly shattering.

Worse, about ten percent of the Transforming Force from Chen Cheng’s kick brutally pierced the barrier. It ground against his arm bones and detonated like a Thunder Burst, sending excruciating pain lancing through him.

Meanwhile, the rolling thunder assaulted his ears, making his eardrums ache and his Heart Spirit tremble.

‘Thank god…’

‘Thank god I blocked it.’

The flagstones beneath Han Chou’s feet shattered, and his feet sank a full two inches into the ground. But he’d managed, barely, to steady himself.

His arms screamed in agony, but his bones and muscles were unharmed.

‘I can still fight!’

Han Chou gritted his teeth, preparing to launch a counterattack.

However…

How could a great Peng have only one wing?

Almost at the same instant.

Chen Cheng was still airborne when his left leg whipped out in another arc, just as fast as the first—so fast it too left its afterimage behind. It curved around the outside of Han Chou’s guard and struck his ribs with pinpoint accuracy.

Peng’s Sky-Spanning Wings was to create the opening; Nine Heavens Thunder Move was simply to stun the world.

The previous kick was merely the prelude, the feint, the setup.

This kick was the real killing blow.

The full force of the thunder was in this one strike!

KRA-KOOM—!!

Han Chou was sent flying sideways like a cannonball. In that instant, at least half of his ribs shattered. The crack of his breaking bones was completely drowned out by the thunder; he couldn’t even hear it himself.

He sprayed a mouthful of blood as his body tumbled through the air, crashing onto the stone ground dozens of feet away. Debris flew as he slammed into the ground, carving out a shallow crater.

THUD! THUD! THUD…

But his sideways momentum barely lessened. His body bounced, slammed down, bounced up, and slammed down again…

Like a flat stone skipping across water, he bounced and flew, crashing along for over a hundred feet before finally coming to a stop.

The Martial Arts Arena was left scarred with a shocking trail of craters, one after another, littered with rubble and surrounded by spiderwebs of cracks.

Han Chou lay slumped in the final crater, blood trickling from his nose and mouth. His arms were still frozen in a blocking posture.

Not because he couldn’t move, but because he didn’t dare.

He could clearly feel that his internal organs had been severely damaged. If he so much as moved his arms, his heart and lungs might rupture instantly.

“I don’t blame you, so I hope you won’t blame me, either…”

Chen Cheng sighed softly.

‘Outsiders wouldn’t know, but he himself was perfectly clear on the matter.’

‘He’d held back with that kick. He hadn’t used his Tai Chi Force or the Entwining Trait at all.’

‘He was mainly afraid of killing the man, which would have been difficult to explain.’

‘He had only intended to inflict a minor injury, but he’d clearly overestimated his opponent.’

‘If he’d known, he would have disabled all his Traits.’

“Han Chou!”

Gu Qianqian rushed over immediately. She pulled an exquisite little vial from her robes, shook out a pill shimmering with a faint silver light, and fed it directly to Han Chou.

“Is that… a Dragon Python Discontinuity Pill!? Junior Martial Uncle Gu is really sparing no expense…”

Zhou Wansen gasped, his eyes wide with astonishment.

But he quickly understood why. Gu Qianqian had no other choice.

Han Chou was one of her people, and he had been beaten into this state fighting on her behalf.

If she didn’t do everything in her power to save him, she would be branded as ungrateful and ruthless, someone who discards people after they’ve served their purpose. Who would be willing to fight for her in the future?

At this point, it wasn’t just Zhou Wansen; anyone with a discerning eye could see this.

Li Wenrou pressed her lips together tightly. Her saucepan-sized palm was secretly pinching her own thigh, her nails digging into her flesh. It seemed to be the only way she could keep from bursting out laughing.

The Dragon Python Discontinuity Pill was the Sea Courtyard’s finest Healing Treasure Medicine. It was a life-saving Supreme Treasure, capable of healing grievous wounds in a critical moment—it was practically priceless!

For all anyone knew, that might have been the only one Gu Qianqian herself possessed.

To see it used up just like that was an absolutely devastating loss.

And the crucial part was, this devastating loss could have been avoided.

If Gu Qianqian had just agreed with Li Wenrou earlier and acknowledged that Chen Cheng had passed the test, none of this would have happened.

This was purely a case of Gu Qianqian being too clever for her own good, hoisting herself by her own petard.

At this thought, Li Wenrou had to suppress her laughter so hard she nearly gave herself an internal injury. Her cheeks puffed out repeatedly, and a faint gurgling sound escaped her throat.

「At the edge of the Martial Arts Arena.」

Marsong, Ding Lu, and Lu Shang were all dumbstruck, their scalps tingling with shock.

The Outer Disciples who had trickled in to watch were in much the same state.

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