172: Chapter 172 One Punch Kills

Xiang Hao looked at the deadly sword shadows dancing across the sky, and for the first time, a hint of an emotion called "irritation" appeared in his usually honest eyes!

He possessed terrifying strength capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, yet he could not even touch the opponent's ghost-like, elusive hem!

This feeling of stifling frustration, having power with nowhere to use it, made him feel incomparably angry!

"Roar—!"

He suddenly looked up and let out a terrifying roar like an ancient Vicious Beast!

A violent blood Aura, indescribable in words, erupted from his body!

His already massive body, stimulated by this violent blood Aura, began to swell wildly again at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The muscles on his body swelled up like inflated balloons, filled with an explosive sense of power!

On his bronze-colored skin, dark red totem patterns filled with mysterious and ancient Aura emerged!

Bloodline Power!

This was a terrifying talent that only those special Physiques that inherited the ancient God-Demon Bloodline could possess!

"Break for me...!"

Xiang Hao let out a deafening roar!

Completely ignoring the sword shadows about to pierce his body, he opened his terrifying, fan-like hands and grabbed fiercely at the seemingly empty air!

"What?!"

Seeing this, the "Mei" emissary's pupils shrank violently!

He only felt an irresistible, terrifying suction force erupting from Xiang Hao's palm!

His proud, elusive movement technique lost all effectiveness in an instant before this absolute, unreasonable power!

His body flew uncontrollably toward Xiang Hao's terrifying hand, which was like a gaping abyss!

"Not good!"

The "Mei" emissary was greatly alarmed! He desperately urged the True Qi in his body, trying to break free from this terrifying suction!

At the same time, the soft sword in his hand turned into a deadly cold light, stabbing fiercely at Xiang Hao's defenseless chest!

He wanted to pierce this monster completely before he was caught!

However, the scene that followed made his usually cold heart fall into endless despair!

"Clang—!"

A crisp sound like metal colliding rang out!

His deadly sword, capable of easily piercing three-foot-thick steel plates, felt as if it had stabbed into an indestructible piece of ancient divine iron when it struck Xiang Hao's totem-covered chest!

Not only did it fail to pierce even a fraction, but it was also shaken by an even more terrifying recoil, numbing his hand and almost causing him to drop the sword!

And just at this moment of distraction!

Xiang Hao's terrifying hands, filled with endless power, had already clamped tightly onto his sharp soft sword!

"Come here...!"

Xiang Hao let out a wild, joyful laugh!

His hands, clamping the soft sword, pulled back violently!

The "Mei" emissary felt an irresistible, terrifying force, and his whole body was uncontrollably slammed toward Xiang Hao's mountain-like, massive body!

Then, he saw a terrifying fist, larger than his own head and filled with destructive power, magnifying infinitely in his pupils!

"No—!"

He let out a shrill scream filled with endless horror and despair!

"Boom—!"

A loud noise, deeper and more terrifying than any previous collision, rang out!

That Great Qian emissary "Mei," whose strength had reached the Peak of the sixth rank and was enough to make any Martial Artist of the same rank tremble with fear, was sent flying by Xiang Hao's punch, which was filled with endless aesthetics of violence!

His body, like a kite with a broken string, drew a sorrowful parabola in the air and slammed heavily onto the ground dozens of zhang away!

His chest had completely caved in!

Scarlet blood mixed with internal organ fragments poured continuously from his mouth!

His eyes, filled with horror and disbelief, stared fixedly at the terrifying, demon-god-like figure on the arena, and then, slowly lost all their luster.

One punch, instant kill!

The entire training ground, after experiencing that Peak showdown between spear and blade, once again fell into a deathly silence!

Everyone, as if under an immobilization spell, stared blankly at the terrifying figure standing quietly in the center of the arena like a demon god!

That massive body, those ancient totems, and that punch filled with endless aesthetics of violence brought unprecedented visual impact and Soul shock to everyone!

"Gulp..."

It was unknown who was the first to swallow a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, making a clearly audible sound.

Immediately after, the entire training ground instantly erupted into a roar louder and more fanatical than any before!

"My God! What did I see?! That was a Great Grandmaster at the Peak of the sixth rank! Actually... actually killed in one punch?!"

"Too... too terrifying! This Xiang Hao, is he... is he still human? This is clearly an ancient Vicious Beast!"

"Bloodline Power! This is definitely the legendary ancient God-Demon Bloodline! I didn't expect that I would be lucky enough to see a peerless Prodigy with the God-Demon Bloodline in my lifetime!"

"The Xiang Family of Southern Chu! I have remembered it! This Family will likely soar to the sky because of this son!"

On the spectator stands, everyone was crazy!

They were all so excited that their faces were flushed, dancing with joy, using all their strength to crazily shout the name "Xiang Hao"!

They looked at that demon-god-like figure, their eyes filled with endless awe, worship, and fanaticism!

And on the high viewing platform, for the first time, a trace of genuine surprise and appreciation appeared on Gao Feng's face.

He stood up slowly, his eyes, deep like stars, locked tightly onto Xiang Hao, as if he wanted to see through him completely.

"Overlord Bloodline... I didn't expect that in this era, such a pure Overlord Bloodline could still be born."

A smile of certainty curled up on the corner of his mouth.

"This son, this King wants him!"

Just at this moment, several mysterious people dressed in black with cold Auras appeared silently beside the "Mei" emissary, who had long since died, then lifted his corpse and disappeared into the crowd like ghosts.

The whole process did not attract anyone's attention, as if they were just disposing of insignificant trash.

The elimination tournament, after experiencing these two Peak showdowns that were worthy of being recorded in history, not only did not cool down at all, but became even more intense and exciting!

Countless dark horses, whose reputations were not prominent before but whose strength was equally stunning, emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!

Some had strange sword techniques, like ghosts, taking lives in silence.

Some had fierce palm techniques, like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, with the power to split monuments and shatter stones with a single palm.

Some had agile movement techniques, like flying birds, twisting and turning in a small space, dazzling the eyes.

Every match was full of suspense and passion!

Every Martial Artist was interpreting their own understanding and pursuit of the Dao of Martial Arts with their own blood and sweat!

And just at this moment, on the No. 3 arena, a showdown that also attracted countless eyes officially kicked off.

White horse and silver spear, the Ranger of Xiliang, Ma Qianli!

Versus!

A mysterious swordsman from the "Revenge Alliance," wearing a devil mask, with a cold and resentful Aura radiating from his entire body!

"Clang—!"

The bell for the start of the match had just rung!

The devil-masked swordsman, like an arrow released from a bow, instantly turned into a black afterimage and rushed crazily toward Ma Qianli!

The slender soft sword in his hand was like a viper's tongue, carrying a trace of strange, fishy wind, stabbing straight at Ma Qianli's throat at an extremely tricky angle!

His sword technique was full of endless viciousness and hatred, every move targeting vital points, completely a fighting style of risking his life!

However, Ma Qianli seemed to have long been accustomed to this kind of situation.

On his heroic and imposing face, there was not the slightest panic, only a calmness as firm as a rock!

The silver spear in his hand slammed fiercely onto the ground!

"Boom—!"

A loud noise!

A terrifying Aura filled with the iron blood of the battlefield and the sound of weapons clashing erupted from his body!

At this moment, he seemed no longer a Jianghu ranger, but a peerless fierce general commanding thousands of troops, charging through a sea of corpses and blood!

"Army-Breaking Spear Technique! Sweeping Across the Army!"

Ma Qianli let out a roar filled with supreme majesty!

The silver spear in his hand instantly turned into a huge silver half-moon, carrying a terrifying momentum capable of sweeping and breaking a city wall with a single strike, and swept fiercely toward the black afterimage rushing toward him!

His spear technique was open and close, filled with the dominance and tragedy of battlefield conquest!

It formed the most distinct contrast with the swordsman's vicious and strange sword technique!

Seeing this, the devil-masked swordsman's pupils shrank violently!

He never dreamed that this young man, who looked no more than twenty, could have such a fierce and domineering spear technique!

His vicious sword technique had no use at all before this absolute, unreasonable power!

Having no other choice, he could only give up the attack, his body suddenly bending backward, and like a ghost, he narrowly avoided that deadly spear strike!

However, Ma Qianli did not forgive him after gaining the upper hand!

The silver spear in his hand, like a violent storm, attacked the swordsman crazily, one spear strike after another, continuously!

"Spear Dragon Explores the Sea!"

"Hundred Birds Worship the Phoenix!"

"Traversing All Directions!"

For a time, the entire arena was filled with crisscrossing, brilliant spear shadows!

Each spear shadow contained terrifying power capable of piercing mountains and rocks!

Under that terrifying spear momentum, which was like a stormy sea, the swordsman from the "Revenge Alliance" was beaten back step by step, in a sorry state!

He could only rely on his strange movement technique to struggle and support himself in the gaps of the spear shadows, looking for an opportunity to counterattack!

Yet, how rich was Ma Qianli's combat experience? He gave his opponent absolutely no chance to catch a breath! His spear technique grew faster with every strike! More ferocious with every strike! Finally, after launching dozens of attacks in a row, the swordsman's movements showed a trace of imperceptible hesitation.

And in that fleeting instant! A brilliant, icy light erupted from Ma Qianli's sharp eyes, which were like those of a hawk!

"Now!" "Die!"

He let out a cold, explosive shout! The silver spear in his hand instantly transformed into a streak of silver lightning that pierced the heavens and earth, striking towards the swordsman's chest at a terrifying speed that completely exceeded the limits of the swordsman's reaction.

Seeing this, a trace of despair flashed in the swordsman's eyes! He knew he had already lost! However, at the very moment that fatal spear was about to pierce his chest, instead of fear, a trace of endless resentment and crazy determination to die flashed in his eyes.

He completely abandoned all resistance, allowing that fatal spear to pierce his chest! Meanwhile, the Dantian within his body began to frantically reverse in an extremely bizarre manner! A terrifying energy, filled with destruction and rage, quickly condensed within his body.

However, Ma Qianli's rich battlefield experience allowed him to detect the opponent's unusual behavior immediately!

"Want to risk your life? Keep dreaming!" A trace of cold mockery flashed in Ma Qianli's eyes! The spear that was originally thrusting towards the opponent's chest suddenly flicked upwards in mid-air!

"Puchi!" A dull sound of a blade entering flesh rang out! The silver spear, filled with the Aura of death, instantly pierced through the swordsman's throat! Because of this sudden fatal blow, the swordsman instantly lost all control, and that violent energy dissipated into nothingness like a deflated balloon.

His eyes were filled with endless unwillingness and resentment, and then they slowly lost all luster. Ma Qianli slowly withdrew his spear. Watching the corpse slowly fall, a trace of imperceptible gravity flashed in his heroic eyes. He knew that these people were all lunatics who would stop at nothing for revenge! And the upcoming matches would likely become even more dangerous!

Just as Ma Qianli's match came to an end, a more bizarre and sinister Peak duel on Ring No. 9 also attracted everyone's attention. The lone swordsman, Gu Shenwei! Versus! The Wusheng Holy Cult's Blood-Hand Dharma King!

This was a pure collision of evil arts at the Peak level! The entire Ring No. 9 was enveloped by a cold and bloody, eerie Aura. Gu Shenwei was still in his black martial outfit that blended into the shadows, and the ancient longsword in his hand exuded a heart-palpitating, thick resentment, as if countless wronged Souls were wailing in pain within the blade!

His sword technique was filled with endless intent for revenge and destruction! Every sword strike seemed to want to drag the entire world into an endless abyss! Opposite him, the Blood-Hand Dharma King, wearing a blood-red robe and a golden mask on his face, was even more bizarre and terrifying!

His palms were an extremely abnormal dark red, as if they had been soaked in blood for decades! His palm technique was incomparably sinister; every strike brought up waves of blood-colored mist filled with the Aura of corrosion and death! Anything touched by that blood-colored mist, whether it was the hard ring or sharp weapons, would be rapidly corroded and melted at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The two fought on the ring, turning the sky dark and dimming the sun and moon! Gu Shenwei's Sword Qi was incomparably sharp, filled with endless hatred and killing intent! The Blood-Hand Dharma King's Blood Handprint was even more sinister and bizarre, capable of directly corroding the opponent's Qi, blood, and vitality! Both were ruthless people who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals! Their battle had no probing, no holding back! From the very beginning, it was the most tragic and bloody fight to the death!

"Chi!" Gu Shenwei thrust his sword, leaving a bone-deep wound on his left arm, but at the same time, he successfully left an equally hideous sword mark on the Blood-Hand Dharma King's chest!

"Hehehe... Little fellow, your sword technique is quite good." The Blood-Hand Dharma King let out an eerie, unpleasant laugh like a night owl. Completely ignoring the blood flowing from his chest, his dark red palms transformed into two blood-colored lightning bolts again, striking fiercely towards Gu Shenwei's head! "Your essence blood must be delicious!"

Seeing this, a flash of crazy determination appeared in Gu Shenwei's eyes! He completely ignored the lethal palms about to strike his head, instead pouring all the True Qi in his body into the longsword in his hand!

"Abi Dao, Three Blade Kill!" He let out a roar filled with endless resentment and determination! The longsword in his hand instantly transformed into three black sword shadows filled with endless destruction and the Aura of death, thrusting fiercely towards the King's heart, Dantian, and center of his eyebrows at a speed completely beyond the Blood-Hand Dharma King's imagination! He was actually going to trade his own life for the opponent's death!

Seeing this, for the first time, a trace of an emotion called "horror" appeared in the Blood-Hand Dharma King's eyes hidden beneath the golden mask! He never dreamed that this young man, who looked much younger than himself, would have such a crazy, death-defying Heart-Nature! Helpless, he could only abandon this excellent attack opportunity, throwing his body backwards while crossing his palms to protect his chest!

"Puchi! Puchi!" Two dull sounds of blades entering flesh rang out! Two of Gu Shenwei's fatal three sword strikes were narrowly avoided by the Blood-Hand Dharma King! But the last sword strike fiercely pierced through his left shoulder blade! And Gu Shenwei was also fiercely struck in the chest by a palm that the Blood-Hand Dharma King had slapped out in his haste!

"Puff!" Gu Shenwei spat out a large mouthful of blood, and his whole body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, smashing heavily onto the edge of the ring! A clearly visible dark red palm print was left on his chest, where the flesh and blood were rapidly rotting and necrotizing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

As for the Blood-Hand Dharma King, he clutched his continuously bleeding left shoulder, his eyes hidden beneath the mask filled with endless resentment and unwillingness! He knew that although he had severely injured his opponent, he had also lost the ability to fight! He had lost this duel! He coldly glanced at Gu Shenwei, who was struggling to get up from the ground but still had eyes filled with endless Battle Intent, then retreated from the ring without a word, disappearing into the dark corner.

Throughout the whole process, Yun Zheng did not participate in a single match. He just stood quietly in an inconspicuous corner like the most loyal spectator, carefully observing every match and every peerless Prodigy who shone brilliantly on the ring.

However, he soon discovered a detail that made him feel extremely alarmed. He realized that whether it was the eventual victors or the losers who had performed outstandingly despite their defeat, their names, appearances, martial arts styles, and all performances during the matches were being meticulously recorded by a group of Yan Kings Residence scribes wearing uniform attire and holding paper and pens.

"So that's it..." He watched the young figure on the high observation platform, who appeared as majestic as a god in everyone's eyes, and muttered to himself. "His goal is not to determine some bullshit 'Number One Under Heaven' at all!" "He wants to use this grand event to attract all the hidden dragons in the world, all the tigers struggling in obscurity, and all the villains harboring ulterior motives to his presence!" "Then, he will round them all up in one fell swoop!" "What a grand scheme! What deep scheming! What a terrifying open conspiracy!" "This Gao Feng... he is the most terrifying player in this game of world chess!"

After experiencing days of intense fighting, the "World Heroes Assembly," which was enough to drive the entire Jianghu crazy, finally reached its final Peak moment! After round after round of brutal elimination matches, the final list of the top ten was freshly released under the gaze of the masses! Every one of these ten people was a peerless expert who had fought their way through thousands of Jianghu heroes, cutting through obstacles with their own blood and strength!

They are— The Suzhou Province defector with spear techniques like a Dragon and decisive killing, Zhao Yu! The fierce warrior from Southern Chu who can lift a tripod and possesses the Overlord Bloodline, Xiang Hao! The chivalrous Western Liang ranger with a white horse and silver spear, Ma Qianli! The lone swordsman whose sword never returns, filled with the intent of revenge and destruction, Gu Shenwei! And the two Great Qian retainers who were extremely low-key from beginning to end but possessed unfathomable strength, wearing Orchid and Bamboo masks— "Lan" and "Zhu"! Also, the mysterious swordsman who had always seemed unremarkable in previous matches, but could always defeat his opponents in extremely bizarre ways at the most critical moments, wearing a Lone Goose mask — "Lone Goose Sword" Li Xun! The remaining three were even more unexpected to everyone! They were not those famous experts who had long been known, but three Loose Cultivators from the Jianghu that almost no one had heard of before the tournament!