Chapter 72.1: Earth-Shaking Divine Strength, Crushing the Sect's Base (I)

BOOM!

A figure erupted from the crater with a deafening boom, lunging straight at Lu Changsheng.

As expected, he's still alive. The resilience of a Divine Strength martial artist is truly astonishing.

A glint of surprise flickered in Lu Changsheng's eyes. He was certain his punch earlier had completely shattered the man's chest. Anyone else would have died from that, but not Yan Jiansheng, it seemed. The only explanation for his still being alive was that he had shifted his heart elsewhere in his body right before Lu Changsheng had landed his hit.

A Divine Strength martial artist would not succumb to any injuries as long as their vital organs were not destroyed. Bleeding, fractures, and other such wounds amounted to nothing more than minor injuries. By controlling their muscles and bones, the martial artists could quickly recover from those kinds of injuries.

Lu Changsheng even understood why Yan Jiansheng did not bother with a saber or a sword. In fact, many martial artists of the Divine Strength Realm were the same, and the reason for that was simple: even if a blade pierced them, how much damage could it really do? To kill a Divine Strength martial artist, simply piercing their heart was not enough—you would have to shatter their heart completely.

A Divine Strength martial artist could even control their heart and slowly restore it. To kill someone of this realm, one needed an overwhelming force to either shatter their head or destroy their vital organs.

"You seek death!"

A cold gleam flashed in Lu Changsheng's eyes. Now that he understood how to kill a Divine Strength martial artist, the matter had become straightforward.

"Silkworm Thread Sword!"

Lu Changsheng's blood qi erupted, and silkworm-thin sword threads shot forth like rainfall, aiming to pierce Yan Jiansheng. Although the Silkworm Thread Sword was not particularly powerful, and the wounds it could inflict would be superficial to someone like Yan Jiansheng, Lu Changsheng's dense barrage could still hinder his movements, slow him down.

In that fleeting moment, Lu Changsheng seized the opening and stomped hard on the ground.

Bang!

Web-like cracks spread outward beneath him. Like an arrow loosed from the string, Lu Changsheng shot toward Yan Jiansheng.

"Divine Dragon, First Transformation!"

His blood qi, muscles, and bones all shifted in that instant. Frightening power converged into his arm, and twenty-six cauldrons worth of strength erupted once more.

BOOOM!

His fist crashed heavily into Yan Jiansheng's arm. Yan Jiansheng's entire body shuddered, and the ground beneath his feet split apart.

Bang, bang, bang!

Lu Changsheng gave him no room to breathe, hammering down on Yan Jiansheng with his fists, like a mallet driving in an iron nail. Faced with the strength of twenty-six cauldrons, Yan Jiansheng was unable to retaliate; all he could do was shield his head with his arms.

Lu Changsheng's assault was relentless, and the ground soon caved. Soon, his punches drove Yan Jiansheng straight into the earth.

Crack!

At last, Yan Jiansheng's arms shattered under the pressure, and the overwhelming force finally descended upon his head.

"No—"

A terrified cry escaped his lips as the realization struck: he would not withstand the next blow.

Squelch!

Yan Jiansheng's head burst like a watermelon, his brains splattering all across the ground.

"..."

The entire hall was plunged into a deathly stillness. The elders who had escaped the shockwave earlier stared in disbelief at the headless corpse of their master, driven into the earth like a nail. All color drained from their faces.

Just like that, their master had been killed right before their eyes, his brains scattered on the ground!

Yan Jiansheng had been a true Divine Strength martial artist. The Blood Fiend Sect was supposed to reach its peak under his leadership, but now his corpse lay there stuck in the ground, already growing cold.

With this, the Blood Fiend Sect had no future.

"Zhuang Shisan... Y-You... You killed our master! From this day on, our Blood Fiend Sect shall not rest a single moment as long as you still draw breath!" growled one of the elders, his murderous glare fixed on Lu Changsheng.

Lu Changsheng merely gave him a sideways glance and flicked out a wisp of blood qi that shot forth and transformed into a Silkworm Thread Sword.

Splurt!

The crimson thread pierced straight through the elder's throat, killing him instantly. The others blanched in terror, trembling uncontrollably.

I have to deal with all the Organ Refinement martial artists!

Lu Changsheng did not intend to wipe out every single member of the Blood Fiend Sect, but he could not risk letting the Organ Refinement martial artists live. There was no telling whether the sect would produce another Divine Strength martial artist in the near future. He would not leave trouble for himself. Thus, he swept his hand outward.

Whizz, whizz, whizz!

Threads of blood qi burst forth and rained down on the remaining elders, killing them one after another. An acrid stench quickly filled the hall.

Lu Changsheng lifted Yan Jiansheng's corpse and searched it thoroughly, but found nothing of value. He moved on to the dead elders, though they had nothing of value on them either.

Tap, tap, tap...

Heavy footsteps echoed from outside. Within moments, a large number of disciples stormed into the hall. They assumed something was wrong the moment they heard the commotion. After all, a battle between two Divine Strength martial artists was fierce enough to shake the heavens, so everyone had naturally been scared. Even knowing someone had intruded, none had dared to approach. Only now, after the hall had gone quiet, did they gather the courage to investigate.

Lu Changsheng rose to his feet and walked slowly toward the exit. The swirling dust began to settle, revealing a horrifying sight to the disciples.

"Elder Wen, Elder Liu, Elder Xia... they are all dead?"

"Eight elders... how could they all be dead?"

"Where is the sect master? Where is he?"

"That headless body... its clothes look like what Master usually wears. Could it be..."

Terror was etched into their faces. The sight before their eyes was unmistakable, though they did not dare say it, or even think it.

The master of the Blood Fiend Sect and the elders were all dead, with only one stranger standing amidst the carnage. There was no mistake about his identity.

Zhuang Shisan!

They naturally recognized him, as they had spent the past few days pasting portraits of him everywhere.