Chapter 1316: Pure and Refined Power
Qinglong lay on the ground, eyes open, his expression calm as he gazed at the ceiling where the dark clouds were gradually dispersing.
What kind of feeling was this...?
He felt an excruciating pain in his cheek. There were no external injuries, so why did it hurt so much?
His body ached, his heart ached, even his soul ached.
Even the 'Walk of Heaven' didn't know where to heal to make him feel better.
That single punch seemed to shatter a part of his soul. Lying there on the ground, he felt a momentary daze, forgetting what he was doing.
Both of them used the 'Walk of Heaven'... What kind of punch was that?
Was it technique... or some strange power...?
"No..." Qinglong murmured, "That punch even contained 'Conviction'..."
The flesh on his body twitched eerily, beginning to fill in the damaged areas.
If his opponent could throw punches like that, he absolutely couldn't afford to be hit again. Even if it didn't kill him, he would definitely lose consciousness.
Qiao Jiajin swayed slightly, wanting to step forward and land two more punches, but suddenly felt a numb tingling in his hands.
He looked down and saw that his fists were already stripped to the bone, the skin and flesh having flown off to who knows where.
It seemed Zhang Shan had been using the 'Walk of Heaven' to restore his flesh repeatedly, and was now nearing his limit.
"Tattoo kid..." Zhang Shan got up from the ground, dusting himself off. "Don't you want those hands of yours anymore?"
"Just a pair of hands..." Qiao Jiajin gritted his teeth. "As long as it's just flesh wounds, they can heal. It's fine. Even if you can't restore me right now, I can slowly recover after the fight."
With that, he strode toward Qinglong lying on the ground. Even Qinglong couldn't take all of these punches, could he?
"A 'God' who can be knocked flying by someone..." Qiao Jiajin chuckled. "Why is your face covered in blood? Need me to call an ambulance for you?"
Qinglong blinked, but at that moment, his body was out of control. He couldn't get up.
"Don't feel bad, Little Greenie." Qiao Jiajin continued walking as he spoke. "I've knocked so many people flying. Ordinary thugs, 'Double Flower Red Rods', 'Participants', 'Heaven's Gate', 'Cats', 'Yakuza', 'Mind Readers', and even 'Walk of Heaven' users..."
He turned his head to look at Zhang Shan. "Big guy, I'm not targeting you."
"Fine..." Zhang Shan nodded.
"And now I've even sent a 'God' flying..." Qiao Jiajin stood before Qinglong, slowly raising his right fist. "Little Greenie, you've lost your honor. Go explain yourself to Lord Guan."
Qinglong's eyes slowly widened, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. He knew he had to act immediately.
He absolutely could not take another punch infused with technique, strength, 'Walk of Heaven', and 'Conviction'.
Qiao Jiajin gave Qinglong no time to react. Without another word, he brought his fist crashing down.
*BOOM*!!
A sound like a meteor exploding echoed across the ground. Dust and debris sprayed everywhere, the entire room trembling.
Qiao Jiajin frowned. Qinglong had vanished from beneath him, leaving a large crater in the floor where his fist had struck.
Turning his head, he saw Qinglong lying in the distance. It seemed he had activated 'Transcend' at the critical moment.
Qinglong gritted his teeth, staggering to his feet. His flesh had fully recovered, though some wounds remained. He was slowly regaining his composure.
He stared with bloodshot eyes, his state clearly bordering on madness.
He had fought multiple battles within a single day, and not one of them had been easy. His Conviction seemed to be slipping, his thoughts growing more chaotic by the moment.
But he still possessed 'Divine Art'. As long as the 'Divine Art' remained, ordinary methods of fighting could not prevail.
Qinglong swayed in place, watching Qiao Jiajin from a distance, wary of his next attack. To his surprise, Qiao Jiajin didn't launch another assault, merely stood there watching him quietly.
"Hey, Little Greenie," Qiao Jiajin laughed. "The road is wide. Watch out for cars."
"Watch out... for cars?"
The words had barely left his mouth when a strong, sinewy hand clamped down on his shoulder, fingers digging in like iron claws, locking his shoulder in place.
Qinglong sensed the danger instantly. His state was indeed off. 'Transcend' had brought him right to another enemy.
He instinctively tried to use 'Soul Stealer' to freeze his opponent's movements, but the memory of that chilling, terrifying voice made him abort the attempt. He gritted his teeth against the searing pain in his shoulder and activated 'Transcend' again.
But Zhang Shan had spent a long time with Kim Yuanxun. He knew the principle behind 'Transcend'. He held Qinglong's shoulder in a vice-like grip, and the two of them vanished, reappearing in another location together.
Qinglong spun around, fury blazing in his eyes as he glared at Zhang Shan. At the same moment, Zhang Shan raised his right fist.
Qinglong frantically activated 'Transcend' repeatedly in mid-air, trying to shake Zhang Shan off with incredible speed.
But Zhang Shan's grip on his shoulder never loosened. They flashed across the empty room time and again, like a stop-motion animation. With each appearance, Zhang Shan's fist was closer to Qinglong's face.
After several high-speed flashes, a thunderous impact echoed from all directions.
Zhang Shan's fist connected squarely with Qinglong's face. Qinglong shot backward like a missile, crashing into a wall with enough force to leave deep cracks in it.
He had indeed been hit by a car.
A fully loaded eighteen-wheeler, barreling down at over a hundred miles per hour, had slammed into him head-on.
If Qiao Jiajin's punch was a fusion of strength, technique, 'Walk of Heaven', and 'Conviction'... then what was this punch?
It was earth-shattering, pure and refined power.
This time, it wasn't his soul that was wounded. It was his very life force.
In the instant the fist connected with his face, Qinglong had clearly sensed the breath of 'Death'.
In all his seventy-plus years walking the 'Peach Blossom Spring', he had never felt such a presence.
If he didn't pull himself together, these two men would beat him to death today. The damage they inflicted was so severe that even the 'Walk of Heaven' couldn't keep up with the healing.
"Damn it..." Zhang Shan shook his hand, which was nearly stripped of flesh and bone. "Tattoo kid, you were right. No need to worry too much about injuries. They'll heal eventually. If the 'Walk of Heaven' can't fix it, just let it heal on its own."
"Well done, big guy." Qiao Jiajin strolled over. "If I'd taken that punch, I'd be dead."
Qinglong was embedded in the wall, his mind a haze. His most prized killing technique, 'Soul Stealer', had been restricted... What kind of masterful method could achieve such a thing?
But he had never met Qi Xia, nor had he encountered any strange individuals. How could this be...
Wait.
Hadn't he encountered anyone strange just now?
"I remember whose voice that was..." Qinglong's eyes turned icy cold in an instant.