# Chapter 253: Diamond Savage Beast Body
The Diamond Savage Beast Body was a widely circulated spirit-grade lower-rank martial technique among warriors. By continuously drinking the blood of savage beasts and tempering one's own physical body, the martial technique would become increasingly powerful.
Once cultivated to the peak realm, it could even unleash the power of a spirit-grade mid-rank martial technique.
Zhenling Commandery Princess had already cultivated the "Diamond Savage Beast Body" to the peak realm, making her physical constitution even stronger than a fourth-rank savage beast by several degrees.
"Boom!"
Zhenling Commandery Princess's skin turned golden, and a golden light dot appeared between her eyebrows—the radiance of her Qi Sea.
Her body emitted a terrifying martial aura. She stomped one foot on the ground, creating a large crater, and charged forward violently.
"Blazing Diamond."
She threw a punch, striking the Abyssal Ancient Sword and sending Zhang Ruochen flying backward.
Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had been hit by a metal iron mountain. True Qi churned throughout his body, and both arms ached as if they were about to split apart. He retreated dozens of meters before barely managing to steady himself: "For a woman to have cultivated the Diamond Savage Beast Body to the peak realm—truly unbelievable!"
The fist force was extremely powerful. With just that single strike, Zhang Ruochen had suffered considerable internal injuries.
Before Zhang Ruochen could think of a countermeasure, Zhenling Commandery Princess struck again. A massive golden fist came hurtling toward his face.
This punch was even more powerful than the previous one.
The sharp fist wind stung Zhang Ruochen's cheeks painfully, as if his skin were about to be torn open.
Zhang Ruochen immediately used the power of space distortion to evade that golden fist. Just as Zhenling Commandery Princess was still somewhat startled, Zhang Ruochen lowered his body and thrust his sword toward her chest.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's strike was as fast as flowing light, an unexpected attack. In almost an instant, it pierced through her clothes and entered her flesh.
Zhenling Commandery Princess was, after all, a Heaven Extreme Realm expert with extremely keen perception. The moment Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword, she immediately retreated sharply.
When she steadied herself again, she was already standing thirty zhang away from Zhang Ruochen.
A dull pain came from her chest.
Drops of blood seeped out from her golden skin, staining her clothes red.
Fortunately, her reaction speed was fast enough. Zhang Ruochen's sword had only penetrated half an inch into her body before she escaped. If she had been even a single moment slower, she would have already died under Zhang Ruochen's blade.
Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out all over Zhenling Commandery Princess's body. She put away her contemptuous attitude, and her gaze toward Zhang Ruochen became cautious. She said, "I've long heard that your swordsmanship is extremely accomplished. Having seen it today, your reputation is well-deserved. No wonder even a Half-Saint disciple lost to you. But I'm very curious—what method did you use to evade my punch just now? It even seemed like space itself was distorted?"
If not for the space distortion, she was confident that punch would have killed Zhang Ruochen.
"Because I can control space," Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
"Hmph! Even a great saint couldn't possibly control space."
Zhenling Commandery Princess didn't believe Zhang Ruochen's words at all. She clenched her fists, preparing to attack him again.
"Hmm..."
Just then, a wave of pain came from her chest, causing the True Qi in her body to become chaotic. Blood continuously gushed from the wound.
Zhang Ruochen seemed to notice that Zhenling Commandery Princess's condition was off and said, "That sword strike of mine has already broken your vital point. I advise you to leave here immediately and stop using the Diamond Savage Beast Body, or your body might split apart."
"Arrogant talk! Do you think that will scare me, the Commandery Princess, away?"
Zhenling Commandery Princess endured the pain and continued to forcibly circulate her True Qi.
Her body was like a balloon that had been pricked with a needle. Originally, there was only a small wound on her chest, but as she activated her True Qi, the wound grew larger and larger, with blood gushing out like a fountain.
Just as Zhenling Commandery Princess sensed something was wrong and prepared to withdraw her True Qi, Zhang Ruochen attacked. A flash of sword light appeared before her eyes.
The sword energy was as sharp as a beam of light, thrusting toward her throat.
Zhenling Commandery Princess's expression changed drastically. The meridians all over her body bulged out, and she struck out with her palm, aiming for the blade of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Clang!"
Zhang Ruochen twisted his wrist, rotating the Abyssal Ancient Sword so that the blade edge faced her.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword was incredibly sharp. When Zhenling Commandery Princess struck the blade edge with her palm, her hand split open between her middle and index fingers.
"My hand!"
Zhenling Commandery Princess let out a scream and immediately sealed the blood vessels in her arm to prevent further blood loss.
Her right hand was essentially crippled.
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by. He swung his sword again, and streams of sword energy converged into a tidal wave of sword light.
"Rustle!"
The sound of surging waves echoed as the sword energy surged.
Zhenling Commandery Princess extended her left hand, reached into her bosom, and swung her arm, once again sending out those metal hand claws to block Zhang Ruochen's sword attack.
At the same time, she kept retreating, looking for an opportunity to escape.
First, her vital point was broken by Zhang Ruochen, and then one of her arms was crippled. Even if Zhenling Commandery Princess had ten percent of her full power, it would be difficult for her to use even five.
If she didn't escape now, she might really capsize in a ditch today.
In long-range combat, Zhenling Commandery Princess's metal hand claws indeed had an advantage.
But now, Zhang Ruochen was only about three steps away from her. Under his exquisite sword technique attacks, the power of the metal hand claws simply couldn't be brought to bear.
"Snap!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword struck the chain connecting the metal hand claws. With a single slash, the iron chain was severed. The two metal hand claws, no longer under Zhenling Commandery Princess's control, flew out and fell onto the snow.
"Damn it! I am a martial myth of the Heaven Extreme Realm middle stage—how could I possibly lose to a mere Earth Extreme Realm junior like you?"
Zhenling Commandery Princess roared in fury and punched the ground. A surge of raging True Qi, centered on her fist, rushed toward Zhang Ruochen.
The ground shook violently.
Zhang Ruochen felt a powerful force transmitted through his feet, sending him flying backward.
As he flew through the air, he immediately activated the Sword Heart Illumination realm of swordsmanship and launched the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Pfft!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword transformed into a streak of light, flying dozens of zhang and directly piercing through Zhenling Commandery Princess's chest.
The powerful sword energy transmitted from the blade, tearing her body apart. It split into two halves, flying in two different directions.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew in an arc through the air before returning to Zhang Ruochen's hand.
"Cough, cough!"
Zhang Ruochen supported himself with the sword, a trace of blood flowing from his mouth. He had suffered considerable internal injuries.
In truth, when Zhenling Commandery Princess had thrown that first punch with the Diamond Savage Beast Body, she had already injured Zhang Ruochen.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had used the power of space distortion and, with his superior swordsmanship, broken through Zhenling Commandery Princess's Diamond Savage Beast Body. Otherwise, it was hard to say who would have lived and who would have died.
"Heaven Extreme Realm experts are indeed very difficult to deal with. Fortunately, I cultivated the Space Domain; otherwise, facing an expert of her level, there would have been no chance of victory."
An Earth Extreme Realm small extreme position martial artist killing a Heaven Extreme Realm middle stage martial myth—the gap in martial cultivation was too great. Even if this were spread, probably no one would believe it. But Zhang Ruochen had done it.
About two hundred li away from where Zhang Ruochen and Zhenling Commandery Princess had fought, Han Qiu had already been captured by Huo Jingcheng.
Before Huo Jingcheng and Zhenling Commandery Princess had made their move, they had already chosen their opponents. Huo Jingcheng had chosen Han Qiu, and Zhenling Commandery Princess had chosen Zhang Ruochen.
Once they captured the two, they were to gather here.
"Why hasn't Zhenling arrived yet? Could something have gone wrong?" Huo Jingcheng floated in midair like a ferocious ghost, his gaze looking into the distance.
Han Qiu's meridians had all been sealed by Huo Jingcheng. She stood beneath an ancient tree about a meter in diameter, unable to move.
Wrapped around the tree trunk beside her was a green-scaled thread snake over ten meters long. It was only as thick as a finger, covered in green scales, and from a distance, it looked like a vine on the tree.
Han Qiu glanced warily at the green-scaled thread snake and said cautiously, "Uncle Master Huo, I suggest you go take a look. Perhaps Uncle Master Zhenling has already died at the hands of that friend of mine."
"Impossible."
Huo Jingcheng turned around and glared fiercely at Han Qiu, snorting coldly. "Zhenling's strength is not inferior to mine. How could that brat Zhang Ruochen possibly be her match?"
Han Qiu smiled. "Uncle Master, are you certain that person is Zhang Ruochen?"
"Don't you really know his identity?"
"I'm not very familiar with Zhang Ruochen. How would I know his identity?"
Huo Jingcheng looked at Han Qiu with a half-believing expression and said, "Zhang Ruochen killed Poison Spider Chamber of Commerce's Hua Minggong and the Poison Spider Young Master in Lin'an County Town, seized a Red Spider Giant Ship, and killed Mu Qing. In a single day, he killed three martial myth-level experts and has already grown to the ranks of top-tier experts. After leaving Lin'an County Town, he went to Dashi City. Isn't it true that you killed the Town Army Marquis in Dashi City and seized the account books from Mu Qing's residence?"
"No wonder he knew there was an account book in the underground chamber of Mu Qing's residence. So Mu Qing had already died by his hands."
Han Qiu suddenly understood. Although she was greatly shaken inside, her expression remained calm. Instead, she laughed. "Since Uncle Master Huo knows that he killed three martial myth-level experts in a single day, isn't it possible that he could kill Zhenling Commandery Princess?"
Hearing Han Qiu's words, Huo Jingcheng's expression indeed became more serious. Could it be that brat Zhang Ruochen was really that formidable, having grown to the point where he could contend with Zhenling?
Han Qiu pressed her advantage, continuing, "Uncle Master Huo, the account book isn't on me. What if Zhang Ruochen has already killed Zhenling Commandery Princess and escaped back to Heavenly Demon Martial City? By then, everything will be too late!"
"Hmph! Girl, do you think you can trick your uncle master into leaving and then escape? Don't dream! Even if I leave, the green-scaled thread snake will stay to watch over you."
Huo Jingcheng gave an order to the green-scaled thread snake and said coldly, "If she tries to escape, kill her immediately."
The green-scaled thread snake coiled around the tree trunk flicked its crimson forked tongue, making a "hissing" sound, and its triangular head nodded slightly.
Huo Jingcheng immediately flew out, heading toward the battlefield where Zhang Ruochen and Zhenling Commandery Princess had been fighting.