347: Chapter 347 A Single Sentence Reveals the Millennium Bottleneck

Before the voice had even faded, a streak of crimson-gold divine light tore through the air and crashed onto the center of the arena—it was none other than Quan Wuque.

Though he had lived for over two thousand years, he looked like a youth in early spring. Clad in a fluttering black robe, his body was entwined with fist qi like a dragon. Every gesture exuded a domineering aura that looked down upon the world, as if he alone were supreme.

His gaze was fixed on Jiang Chen's face like iron nails, battle intent surging in his eyes like a tide. "The Sect Master spoke the truth. I, Quan Wuque, have been in seclusion for a long time, and today I finally meet someone who can force me to throw a punch. I hope you don't disappoint me."

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. "Stagnating for two thousand years, stuck in the True Immortal Realm without making an inch of progress—this shows your path of the fist has long since withered, and your talent has reached its limit. With such cultivation, do you really think you're worthy of speaking of 'expectations' in front of me?"

The words were like a blade, slicing straight to the core and accurately piercing Quan Wuque's most sensitive spot.

Quan Wuque's face darkened instantly. "Jiang Chen! You should show respect to your seniors! You have only just reached the True Immortal Realm and are a nobody; I have dominated this realm for a millennium. How dare you look down on me?"

"Respect is not earned through age, but through ability."

Jiang Chen's voice was clear and resonant. "The key is—I can solve your predicament."

Quan Wuque trembled all over and blurted out, "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely." Jiang Chen's tone was calm, yet every word took root. "You are stuck at a bottleneck not because of a flawed spiritual root, but because your path of the fist is dead. Having exhausted the old methods, it is difficult to find a new spring. There is only one key to breaking this deadlock: carving out a new path of the fist."

He paused, his gaze darkening slightly. "Unfortunately... with your current realm and comprehension, I'm afraid you lack the strength to do so."

Quan Wuque froze. After a moment, he sighed deeply and bowed with cupped fists. "Lord Jiang Chen, I was rude just now. I hope you can forgive me! You are indeed a grandmaster with piercing insight. It's true, I've known of this method for a long time, but the difficulty lies in—there is no gateway for the fist, and no path to be created."

"The Great Dao is manifold; it is not in the heavens, but right beneath your feet." Jiang Chen's voice rang out like a bell. "Carving a new path does not depend on luck, but on the tenacity of daily perseverance and unyielding struggle. And your greatest shackle is precisely that you are too familiar—you have refined all the techniques and divine abilities of the Divine Fist Sect to perfection. Because it is too full, it is difficult to add a single drop of new water."

Jiang Chen spoke slowly.

As the Progenitor Zombie King, he had spanned the long river of eternity and witnessed the turning of countless eras. He was a supreme existence living in the depths of mythology, his vision and experience long having transcended the mundane world.

With just a glance, he could see through the veins of an opponent's techniques, the reality of their foundation, and the depth of their Dao traces.

Quan Wuque's expression turned solemn as he bowed with cupped fists. "Lord Jiang Chen, please clear the mist for this junior!"

"There are three paths." Jiang Chen's voice was low like rolling thunder. "First, destruction followed by rebirth—personally destroy all the perfected divine abilities and techniques of the Divine Fist Sect, burn away your old self, and start practicing from scratch. When you reach the peak again, it will be the time for your physical body to undergo nirvana and your soul to leap to a higher level."

"This..." Quan Wuque's Adam's apple bobbed, his face solemn. "Lord, please understand. This cultivation was forged through three thousand years of hardship and surviving life-and-death trials. To cripple my own foundation is no different from extracting my bones and flaying my skin; I truly cannot bring myself to do it. May I ask about the second path? Please enlighten me."

Jiang Chen's gaze was calm. "I expected as much. Therefore, the second path is tailored specifically for you—find another way, establish your own path of the fist, and walk a path of the true self that no one has ever trodden before."

Quan Wuque frowned deeply. "If I truly had the aptitude and inspiration to establish a sect, why would I have been stuck outside the threshold of the True Immortal Realm for a thousand years? I've tried this path again and again, battering myself until I was bloodied, yet I could never find the way. I wonder, what shortcut does the third path offer?"

Jiang Chen's tone suddenly became sharp. "The most straightforward way—find a supreme scripture of the fist. By comprehending it to the transcendent stage, you can use its momentum to leap forward, shattering the shackles of a True Immortal in one fell swoop and reaching higher heavens. But remember: if you do not establish your own Dao, even with a divine technique in hand, you will only be picking up someone else's leftovers. In your entire life, you will never reach the pinnacle of the path of the fist."

...

"As for the third path, I have searched all over the Azure Blue Star." Quan Wuque shook his head with a bitter smile. "The Divine Fist Sect is already at the top of this world. Anything higher is beyond even a glimpse. It's not that I don't want to find it, but I simply cannot find a fist scripture or secret technique stronger than my own sect's. Moreover, those ultimate hidden heritages are held tightly by the Sacred Lands and Divine Dynasties. Why would they easily show them to others?"

The corners of Jiang Chen's mouth curled up slightly. "Others won't give it, but if your Divine Fist Sect comes under my command, strictly obeys my orders, remains loyal, and handles a few important matters for me—I will grant you a top-tier fist scripture at will."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire venue fell into a sudden silence.

Cultivation manuals had always been more precious than life itself.

Relying on a second-rate sect-guarding scripture, the Divine Fist Sect was firmly ranked among the top ten sects of the Azure Blue Star. True top-tier scriptures only existed in the hands of behemoths that ruled several domains and suppressed the ages. Yet Jiang Chen spoke of it so nonchalantly, as if he were granting a bowl of tea. Everyone looked at each other, filled with doubt and astonishment.

Quan Wuque also said hesitantly, "Lord Jiang Chen, these words... are a bit too shocking. Even if you truly have a top-tier fist scripture, you surely wouldn't give it away so easily, would you?"

Jiang Chen laughed heartily. "To me, deducing a fist scripture is but a flick of the fingers."

"To be honest with you all, I have plenty of such scriptures on hand. As long as you are willing to work hard, I am never stingy with rewards."

Hearing this, everyone's hearts shook wildly, and they were barely able to contain their joy.

Especially Wuming, whose eyes shone and blood boiled—this time, he had made the right bet! As long as he followed Jiang Chen wholeheartedly, a brilliant future was right before his eyes!

Seeing Jiang Chen's calm and composed demeanor, Quan Wuque believed about seventy to eighty percent. He suddenly broke into a smile. "Since it has come to this, given your status, Lord, you surely wouldn't deceive us. However, empty words are always unsubstantial. This junior boldly invites you to step onto the stage—let me personally experience what kind of world-shaking fist intent you hold in your hands!"

"Just as I intended," Jiang Chen replied calmly. With a flash, he was standing in the center of the arena, five zhang away from Quan Wuque, facing him from a distance.

In an instant, killing intent lurked, and the wind ceased.

The two were silent, but their invisible battle intent had already torn through the air, clashing in the void like two unsheathed divine weapons.

The fist intent around Quan Wuque's body erupted, like a thousand mountains collapsing or ten thousand seas pouring down. The surging fist momentum was like a raging tide hitting the shore, pressing straight toward Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen remained motionless, but a domineering fist intent that looked down upon the world suddenly rose from within him. It was as fierce as heavenly punishment and as eerie as a demon's descent. Even before the fist momentum was unleashed, it had already caused the world to lose its color.

The two momentums collided and exploded with a bang!

The bluestones beneath their feet shattered inch by inch, and spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly.

Before the dust had settled, everyone could see clearly—Quan Wuque had taken half a step back.

His pupils constricted, and his expression changed slightly.

When experts clash, a hair's breadth is the difference between life and death. A single step's difference was ironclad proof of the gap in their Dao realms.

This retreat was like a needle piercing his heart.

A man who had been obsessed with the path of the fist his entire life and valued it above all else had, for the first time, truly tasted the bitterness of being inferior in skill.

But since he could reach the True Immortal Realm, his state of mind had long been tempered. With a single thought, all distractions vanished, and he steadied his mind in an instant, decisively launching an attack.

Since his attainment in fist intent was inferior to his opponent's, he would use offense as defense, striking first to suppress Jiang Chen.

Boom!

Quan Wuque's eyes were like lightning, cold light flashing as he struck out fiercely with his right fist. In an instant, a fist qi surging with crimson flames tore through the air, like lava bursting through a dam, carrying the momentum of burning the heavens and scorching the earth as it lunged straight at Jiang Chen's face!

This move's power was terrifying, and it fused fierce fist intent with his natal spiritual fire, causing its lethality to skyrocket several times over. This was his world-renowned ultimate technique, the "Mountain-Burning Fist."

Back then, the Ten Great Villains of the Demon Sect had their bones shattered and their souls incinerated one after another by this single punch, all of them meeting their end.