539: Chapter 539 Take another punch from me!

Ye Chen's eyes lit up.

"Oh? There are other bugs?"

"This one looks like a great tonic!"

Andre swallowed the Life-Eroding Insect King in one gulp, and his body suddenly stiffened.

The next second.

A terrifying aura erupted from within him, like a nuclear bomb exploding inside his body.

His body began to swell violently, and the blood vessels beneath his skin bulged one by one, writhing like twisted snakes under the surface.

His face turned flushed, veins popped out, and his whole body looked like a bloated balloon.

"Ah!!!"

Andre let out a roar of agony toward the sky, his voice filled with madness.

That aura was still climbing.

Early Golden Core Stage.

Mid Golden Core Stage.

Peak Mid Golden Core Stage.

Finally, the aura stopped at the peak of the Mid Golden Core Stage.

Andre's body stopped swelling, but his appearance had completely changed.

He had grown a head taller, his muscles were knotted, and colorful patterns emerged on his skin, like a layer of scales covering his body.

His eyes had turned into vertical slits, with colorful light flickering in his pupils; how did he look anything like a human anymore?

He looked exactly like a ferocious beast clad in human skin.

Andre looked down at his hands, his eyes filled with wild joy.

"This old man has succeeded!!!"

He snapped his head up, his gaze shooting toward Ye Chen like a knife, a sinister smile curling on his lips.

"Ye Chen, the fact that you forced me to use the Life-Eroding Insect King means you are quite capable."

"When you die in a moment, you should be proud!"

Ye Chen looked at him, slowly raised his right hand, and extended his middle finger: "Didn't your elders tell you? External power is never truly your own; you are playing with fire."

Andre's expression turned completely dark, the colorful light in his eyes flickering crazily.

"Playing with fire?"

"This old man will show you today exactly who is playing with fire!"

Before his voice had even faded, he stomped his foot.

"Boom!!!"

A large pit several meters wide exploded in the ground, and Andre's figure shot toward Ye Chen like a cannonball!

The speed was startlingly fast!

A colorful afterimage was left in the air, and wherever he passed, the ground was plowed into a deep trench by the air pressure.

The faces of several elders changed drastically, and they retreated repeatedly.

Andre rushed in front of Ye Chen, his right fist swirled with colorful true qi, carrying a world-destroying momentum as it smashed directly toward Ye Chen's face!

As the fist wind passed, the air was torn apart, letting out a sharp, explosive whistle.

The power of this punch was more than twice as strong as before.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes; instead of retreating, he casually tossed the short blade away.

Then.

He clenched his fist.

And threw a punch.

"Bang!!!"

The two fists collided, and a wave of air exploded, sounding like a thunderclap in the residential garden.

Flowers and trees within a dozens-meter radius were uprooted by the airwave, stone slabs on the ground shattered and flew, and even the glass of distant buildings buzzed from the vibration.

Andre retreated three steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground.

Ye Chen also retreated three steps.

They were evenly matched.

Andre's pupils contracted slightly, his heart filled with shock.

After swallowing the Life-Eroding Insect King, his strength had surged to the peak of the Mid Golden Core Stage, and he had used eighty percent of his power in that punch.

But Ye Chen actually blocked it???

"Again!"

Andre gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and rushed forward once more.

"Boom!"

"Boom!!"

"Boom!!!"

The two engaged in a fierce clash in the garden, fists and feet meeting, true qi colliding.

Every impact sounded like a thunderclap, making the entire residential area tremble.

Those elders had long since retreated a hundred meters away, their faces pale and their legs weak.

A battle of this level—forget intervening, they didn't even dare to get close.

Get close?

A single leak of power could likely injure them severely!

Andre's offensive grew increasingly fierce, every punch hitting flesh and every kick threatening to shatter bone.

But Ye Chen...

Still hadn't fallen into a disadvantage.

His fist technique seemed simple, direct and straightforward, without any flashiness.

But every punch blocked Andre's attacks perfectly, not a fraction too much, not a hair too little.

The more Andre fought, the more alarmed he became.

He found that although he could fight to a draw with Ye Chen, he was consistently unable to break through the other's defense.

Every attack would be neutralized by Ye Chen with nonchalant ease.

It was like punching cotton; he had strength but nowhere to apply it.

"Impossible!"

Andre roared, thrusting both fists out; the colorful true qi condensed into two massive orbs of light on his fists, smashing toward Ye Chen.

Instead of retreating, Ye Chen advanced, clenching his right fist and throwing a punch.

"Bang!!!"

The light orbs shattered, and colorful light splattered in all directions, making the entire garden flicker between light and dark.

Andre was shaken back several steps, his internal blood and qi churning.

While Ye Chen only retreated one step.

Andre's expression changed completely.

Just a moment ago they were evenly matched, but now Ye Chen actually had the upper hand?

This wasn't scientific!

He gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and lunged forward again.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Another series of collisions.

But this time, the situation was entirely different.

Ye Chen's fist technique changed.

It was no longer simple straight punches, but a technique Andre had never seen before.

Every punch thrown carried a strange vibrating force, the power stacking layer upon layer, each punch heavier than the last.

The first punch, Andre blocked.

The second punch, Andre's arm began to go numb.

The third punch, the webbing between Andre's thumb and forefinger split, blood flowing freely.

The fourth punch, cracks appeared in Andre's protective true qi.

The fifth punch...

"Bang!!!"

Andre was sent flying by the vibration, tumbling twice in the air before slamming heavily onto the ground.

He struggled to crawl up and looked down; both his hands were split open and bloody, and his entire arms were trembling uncontrollably.

His eyes were filled with horror.

"You... what kind of fist technique is this?"

Ye Chen withdrew his fist and spoke calmly: "Layered Wave Fist."

"Layered Wave Fist?"

Andre's brow furrowed into a knot.

He had seen countless martial arts, but he had never heard of this fist technique.

Ye Chen looked at him, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"My fist technique gets heavier with every punch."

"Guess if you can block the next one?"

Andre's face turned shades of blue and white.

Gritting his teeth, he crawled up from the ground, the true qi in his body surging wildly, pushing the power of the Life-Eroding Insect King to its limit.

The colorful patterns on his body became even more vivid, and the vertical slits in his eyes flickered with a mad light.

"Ye Chen, don't get cocky!"

"This old man hasn't used his full strength yet!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh.

"Haven't used your full strength?"

"Neither have I."

Andre's pupils suddenly contracted.

What did he mean?

That terrifying fist technique Ye Chen used just now wasn't even his full strength?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

After swallowing the Life-Eroding Insect King, his strength had soared to the peak of the Mid Golden Core Stage—power obtained through a narrow escape from death.

How could Ye Chen, a young man in his twenties, possibly be stronger than him?

Andre took a deep breath, suppressed the horror in his heart, let out a roar, and lunged at Ye Chen again.

This time.

He activated all the true qi in his body, and colorful light poured out from him frantically, enveloping his entire person into a massive orb of light.

Wherever that light orb passed, the ground melted, the air was ignited, and even the walls of distant buildings began to crack.

Several elders were scared out of their wits and turned to run.

Elder Wei A-Guer even scrambled and crawled to flee into the distance.

Ye Chen stood in place, watching the colorful orb of light rolling toward him, and slowly raised his right hand.

He clenched his fist.

Then.

He threw a punch.

"Layered Wave Fist, Sixth Layer."

"Boom!!!"

The fist wind collided with the light orb, letting out an earth-shattering explosion.

The colorful light burst apart, turning into countless fragments that splattered everywhere, shrouding the entire garden in a brilliant light.

The light dissipated.

Andre stood in place, trembling all over, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

His arms were completely numb, and his silver-white inner armor was mostly shattered, revealing scorched and festering skin underneath.

He looked up at Ye Chen, his eyes full of disbelief.

"No... impossible..."

"I even used the Insect King..."

"How could you be so strong?"

Ye Chen withdrew his fist and looked at him indifferently.

"I said, external power is never truly your own."

"Did you think that by swallowing a bug, you'd be invincible?"

"Too naive."

Andre's lips were trembling, his eyes full of resentment.

Even with all his strength, he couldn't defeat Ye Chen.

Just what kind of monster was this young man?

Ye Chen looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"And..."

"You only just blocked my sixth punch."

"And theoretically, as long as I don't fall, I can keep stacking them indefinitely."

"Come, let me see if you can take the seventh punch?"

Andre's pupils suddenly contracted to the extreme.

What?

Infinite stacking???

Ye Chen's right hand clenched into a fist again; there was no fluctuation of true qi on the fist, not even any imposing aura.

It looked like a fist casually clenched by an ordinary person.

But Andre felt an unprecedented fear surge from the depths of his heart, swallowing him whole.

"Take another punch from me."

After Ye Chen finished speaking, he threw a punch.

Andre was caught off guard, and that old face was struck by the punch.

"Bang!!!"

Andre's head snapped back, and his body was like it had been hit by a cannonball; his feet left the ground, and he was sent flying.

He drew an arc in the air, flying dozens of meters away, crashing through the garden wall of the residential area, and flying another dozen meters before slamming onto the ground.

Dust flew, and gravel splattered.

Andre lay on the ground, his face completely deformed.

His nose was collapsed, his cheekbones shattered, and his lips were split in several places.

Worst of all...

Not a single tooth was left in his mouth; they were all shattered by the vibration, flowing out from the corner of his mouth mixed with blood.