Chapter 198: Utterly Vulnerable
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, those evil path martial artists were first stunned, then burst into loud laughter.
A martial artist wielding an iron club as thick as a bowl, riding a bell horse, laughed, "Kid, are you stupid? Spare our lives? Do you think you're one of the Ten Talents of the Heavenly Demon?"
On the back of the golden-spotted giant tiger, Lin Ningshan raised her head, looking at the masked youth in the distance, feeling a hint of familiarity.
Zhang Ruochen's temperament had changed greatly, and with the metal mask on, Lin Ningshan did not recognize him at all, only finding him somewhat familiar.
Lin Ningshan could tell that this youth had deliberately blocked the path of the evil men from the Black Tiger Hall. Who was he, to dare oppose the Black Tiger Hall?
A spark of hope for survival ignited in Lin Ningshan's heart, and she cried out, "I am a disciple of the Yuntai Sect Manor! Please, sir, save my life, and I will surely reward you heavily."
"If you dare say another word, I'll cut out your tongue." Nie Zhenghan glanced at Lin Ningshan and said coldly.
Lin Ningshan was intimidated by Nie Zhenghan's powerful martial aura and immediately shut her mouth, staring pitifully at the youth in the distance.
Now, that youth was her only hope.
Nie Zhenghan stared at the distant Zhang Ruochen and said in a deep voice, "Sir, do you truly intend to oppose the Black Tiger Hall?"
Zhang Ruochen's expression was impassive as he said, "I'll say it again: I only want to go to the Fire Earth City. If you guide me, I can spare your lives. Of course, your Black Tiger Hall people have committed too many evils and must be punished. Death may be avoided, but punishment cannot be escaped."
"You still want to punish us?" Nie Zhenghan said.
"I just think you should be imprisoned for ten years, or twenty," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Such arrogance! I, Ji Laosan, want to see just how capable you really are!"
That martial artist wielding the iron club rode his bell horse and charged straight at Zhang Ruochen.
"Rumble!"
The bell horse galloped, shaking the ground.
Ji Laosan's cultivation had reached the Great Extreme of the Mysterious Extreme Realm, making him Nie Zhenghan's right-hand man. His Blood Soul Staff was a third-rank True Martial Treasure, and he had killed countless martial arts experts.
True Qi surged into the Blood Soul Staff, instantly activating the nine fire-type inscriptions within it.
The bowl-thick Blood Soul Staff was completely engulfed in flames, emitting a sizzling sound.
"Whoosh!"
Ji Laosan wielded the staff with one hand and struck down at Zhang Ruochen's head. A scorching wave of fire turned into streams of flame, surging toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, not moving an inch.
Ji Laosan was delighted inwardly. He thought he had encountered a fool, someone stunned by his momentum and too scared to move.
Lin Ningshan's heart was in her throat, her bright eyes fixed on the distant youth. Was he really just bluffing?
"Boom!"
The Blood Soul Staff stopped half a foot from Zhang Ruochen's head, blocked by a layer of True Qi shield, and rebounded.
Ji Laosan felt a tremendous force surge through the Blood Soul Staff, splitting the tiger's mouth between his thumb and index finger. The staff flew out of his hand.
With a clang, the Blood Soul Staff fell to the ground, smashing a thousand-pound boulder to pieces.
Ji Laosan was terrified out of his wits, exclaiming, "A protective True Qi shield! Everyone be careful, he's an Earth Extreme Realm martial arts expert."
Ji Laosan turned his bell horse and fled back immediately.
Zhang Ruochen did not strike to kill Ji Laosan, remaining still and calm.
All the evil path experts of the Black Tiger Hall turned pale with fear, staring in disbelief at the youth opposite them.
Although the youth wore a metal mask, they could still tell he was not old, definitely under twenty.
To reach the Earth Extreme Realm at such a young age—how terrifying was that?
Nie Zhenghan was the fourth-ranking figure in the Black Tiger Hall, and he had only reached the Earth Extreme Realm after fifty years.
Nie Zhenghan pulled out his silver giant axe, gripping it in his hand, and stared warily at Zhang Ruochen. "Sir, are you an inner palace disciple of the Martial Market Academy?"
Zhang Ruochen's lips curled slightly. "That's right."
All the evil path martial artists of the Black Tiger Hall tensed up. They had known that experts from the Martial Market Academy were heading to Lingyue Town and were mentally prepared. But seeing one in person still made them nervous.
An inner palace disciple of the Martial Market Academy was undoubtedly a top-tier expert.
"Form the formation!"
Nie Zhenghan roared.
The evil path martial artists of the Black Tiger Hall scattered, forming a large circle with Zhang Ruochen at the center.
Each martial artist held a piece of jade, injecting True Qi into it, causing formation inscriptions to fly out.
Dozens of formation inscriptions converged, creating a massive formation that linked all the martial artists together.
"A combined attack formation."
Zhang Ruochen stood at the center of the formation, unflustered, and nodded. "Interesting."
Combined attack formations were widely used in the martial world.
Formation masters pre-engraved formation inscriptions into jade pieces, called "formation bases." Martial artists only needed to inject True Qi into the jade bases to activate the inscriptions.
The more formation bases, the stronger the martial artists' cultivation, and the greater the formation's power.
A combined attack formation could have as few as two bases, requiring only two martial artists to activate it.
Some super combined attack formations could have tens of thousands of bases, with immense power.
Generally, ten martial artists at the Small Extreme of the Yellow Extreme Realm, using a combined attack formation, could easily handle a single early-stage Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artist.
In essence, a combined attack formation allowed martial artists to rapidly release their True Qi, combining it to unleash power several times greater than their own.
Controlling such a formation consumed the martial artists' True Qi very quickly.
If the martial artists' True Qi ran out, the formation would collapse on its own.
The Black Tiger Hall had sixty-seven evil path martial artists: fifty-seven at the Yellow Extreme Realm, nine at the Mysterious Extreme Realm, and only Nie Zhenghan at the Earth Extreme Realm.
All sixty-seven held jade formation bases. Nie Zhenghan's jade base contained twenty formation inscriptions, each thick like a pillar, fully supporting the formation.
The nine Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artists' jade bases controlled three to ten inscriptions, also quite thick, forming the second layer of the formation's pillars.
The remaining fifty-seven Yellow Extreme Realm martial artists each controlled only one formation inscription.
With the combined attack formation, all sixty-seven martial artists' power was fully integrated.
"This combined attack formation must have cost at least one million silver coins to buy!" Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
"Fire Dragon Lock!" Nie Zhenghan roared.
The formation inscriptions fully activated, spinning rapidly and condensing wisps of flame.
Those flames converged to form a fire dragon over ten meters long. The dragon flapped its wings, extending huge claws to strike at Zhang Ruochen's head.
"Utterly vulnerable!"
Zhang Ruochen struck out with his palm, unleashing a powerful force that formed a True Qi palm print over a meter long.
"Boom!"
The True Qi palm print shattered the fire dragon instantly.
"So powerful!" Nie Zhenghan was shocked.
The fire dragon's power was enough to seriously injure Nie Zhenghan with one claw strike, yet the opponent shattered it with a single palm. This youth's cultivation was unfathomable.
"Sky Split Earth Cleave!"
Nie Zhenghan raised his silver giant axe, and all the formation inscriptions surged toward it.
The silver giant axe emitted a blinding light as it slashed down.
A massive axe shadow over ten meters long tore through the void, carrying an overwhelming momentum, and struck down at Zhang Ruochen's head.
That silver giant axe was a sixth-rank True Martial Treasure with thirty-five inscriptions. With his cultivation, Nie Zhenghan could not activate all thirty-five at once.
But with the combined attack formation's power, Nie Zhenghan fully activated all thirty-five inscriptions, unleashing terrifying force.
Zhang Ruochen extended his arm, and the Blood Soul Staff, which had fallen to the ground, flew into his hand, drawn by his True Qi.
Though the Blood Soul Staff was only a third-rank True Martial Treasure, in Zhang Ruochen's hands, it unleashed unparalleled power.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his arm, and the Blood Soul Staff collided with the silver giant axe, producing a deafening roar.
The Blood Soul Staff shattered under the immense force, turning into countless iron fragments that flew toward the surrounding evil path martial artists.
"Pfft! Pfft..."
Over a dozen evil path martial artists were pierced by the iron fragments, sent flying backward, and fell to the ground, wailing.
Nie Zhenghan was also knocked back over ten zhang by the impact, cracks appearing on his arms, his fingers aching as if they would split. The silver giant axe nearly flew out of his hand.
With just a casual strike, Zhang Ruochen had shattered the combined attack formation and injured Nie Zhenghan, the fourth-ranking figure of the Black Tiger Hall.
"Everyone, run! This man is beyond us!" Nie Zhenghan shouted, immediately leaping onto the golden-spotted giant tiger's back, intending to flee on it.
"I gave you a chance earlier, but you didn't take it. Do you think you can escape now?"
Zhang Ruochen executed the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, taking a single step forward and covering dozens of zhang, hovering above Nie Zhenghan.
Nie Zhenghan's face changed, and he swung his silver giant axe upward.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen struck downward with his palm, unleashing a powerful force that sent Nie Zhenghan flying, his body crashing into a wall and smashing through it.
With a loud crash, the entire house collapsed, burying Nie Zhenghan in the rubble.
Nie Zhenghan crawled out of the debris, covered in blood, staring fearfully at the masked youth opposite him, gritting his teeth. "Even... even among the inner palace disciples of the Martial Market Academy, few have reached your level. Each of them is a renowned figure. Who... who are you?"
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