3: Chapter 3 One Punch

It slowly opened its dragon pupils, vast as stars, flowing with molten-gold hues. Its dragon whiskers moved without wind, scattering specks of starlight as it gazed towards the desolate fringes of the Origin Realm Universe.

"That little lunatic Cang Ming, still so impatient, actually intervening personally to deal with a junior?"

The old dragon rumbled in a low voice, carrying a hint of mockery.

However, in the next moment, the carelessness in its giant pupils abruptly vanished, a flash of sharp light appearing.

"Hmm? No... That kid named Jiang Hao, facing the unreserved pressure of a Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body, isn't the slightest bit weak. Interesting."

In the Origin Realm, within a sea of chaotic qi and blood, the Ancient God Child suddenly opened his eyes, demonic patterns faintly visible around him, his qi and blood churning.

"Cang Ming, bullying the weak with your strength, you shameless old scoundrel."

Within the Endless Sword Domain, a wisp of intangible sword energy spontaneously erupted, splitting the void, the Sword Demon's cold snort echoing all around.

"Bullying the weak with your strength, utterly shameless!"

At the ancestral lands of the Battle Saint Ape Clan, the Battle Saint Venerable gripped his immortal iron staff, his fighting spirit boiling, almost piercing the heavens, yet deep within his golden eyes was a trace of astonishment.

"What a Jiang Hao! Facing such a ferocious opponent, he doesn't fall behind in the slightest. Truly my strongest rival!"

In the Phoenix Realm, the Phoenix Clan's Prodigy, Feng Wu, looked at Jiang Hao with a face full of worry.

In the Ancestral Realm, within a Secret Realm surrounded by innate Dao diagrams, Dao patterns flowed around Luo Hongchen.

Her appearance was peerless, surrounded by a dense aura of the Dao.

Her gaze seemed to penetrate endless space.

Falling upon Jiang Hao's calm figure, she revealed an extreme solemnity for the first time.

"All Laws return to their source, Dao charm spontaneously arises... Have you already reached this step after fifty years of seclusion? I hope you succeed."

Origin Realm, Eastern Domain, Dao Seeking Sect.

Within the Sect nestled among towering mountains and shrouded in immortal mist, the original tranquility was abruptly shattered by a terrifying pressure originating from an infinitely distant place.

Patrolling Disciples looked up in horror, feeling as if a giant rock was pressing on their hearts. Those with slightly weaker cultivation turned pale, almost unable to breathe.

"What happened?"

"Such a terrifying aura..."

Deep within the Sect, inside a simple, ancient pavilion, an old man with white hair and beard and a kindly face suddenly opened his eyes.

A sharp light exploded in his eyes as he instantly appeared on the Sect's highest star-observation platform, his expression incomparably grave as he looked towards the direction of the Universe's desolate fringe.

"This aura of qi and blood... It's the Indestructible Body, and moreover... a Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body!"

The Grand Elder of the Dao Seeking Sect spoke with a dry voice, filled with unbelievable terror.

"Why would he emerge? His target... could it be..."

He thought of the Sect's Pillar, Jiang Hao, who fifty years ago, after slaying the Indestructible Body Prodigy Wang Teng, came to the Sect to explain some matters and then disappeared!

"Quick, activate the Sect-protecting grand formation, highest alert!"

The Grand Elder immediately issued the order, his voice trembling.

Jiang Hao was the hope for the Dao Seeking Sect's ten-thousand-year revival. If something happened to him, the Sect would suffer a devastating blow.

Yet his heart was also filled with helplessness. A Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body was an existence capable of battling Supreme Venerables. Even if the Sect exerted its full strength, how could they intervene in such a battle?

They could only pray that Jiang Hao could turn danger into safety, or... escape in time.

"Today, this sovereign will annihilate your body and soul, using your spirit to blood-sacrifice to my clan's Prodigy!"

Cang Ming roared violently.

"Annihilate my body and soul?"

Jiang Hao suddenly stood up, his posture upright.

A vast, boundless, terrifying aura surged out the instant he stood.

That boiling, roaring purple Domain enveloping the starfield was forcibly pushed back by this intangible force, unable to approach within ten thousand miles of his body.

"A pity you can't."

Jiang Hao's five plain words, clear and indifferent, resonated in the hearts of every powerful being observing this place.

"He... he actually said Cang Ming can't? How arrogant, the Myriad Laws Saint Monarch."

A mighty being gasped in shock.

"Indeed, but I like it. Prodigies should be arrogant!"

"It's not arrogance... his aura truly rivals the Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body. Jiang Hao has already become a force to be reckoned with!"

In the Celestial Realm, the jade ruyi in the Son of Heaven's hand flickered violently, reflecting Jiang Hao's calm yet supremely confident face.

"You can't..."

He murmured, repeating these three words, the muscles on his handsome face twitching slightly as an indescribable sense of frustration and urgency surged in his heart.

Putting himself in that position, he felt that even with the backing of the Celestial Realm's Supreme Venerable, he wouldn't dare speak to a Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body like that.

After all, that was a Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body, an existence capable of fighting Supreme Venerables.

In the Dragon Cave, the old dragon nodded slightly, its whiskers swaying:

"Only with an invincible heart can one walk the invincible path. This kid, his Dao Heart is pure, his will like iron. Cang Ming wanting to pressure him with force is probably a miscalculation."

Within the Dao Seeking Sect, the Grand Elder and several core Elders, who were arduously observing the battle through a secret treasure, were completely stunned to see Jiang Hao easily push back the Great Accomplishment Hegemon Body's Domain and utter such words.

"The Sage Lord... he actually..."

One Elder's lips trembled, too excited to form a complete sentence.

"If he dares to say that, it means he has confidence."

Another Elder's face was filled with wild joy, the previous worry instantly transforming into immense surprise and disbelief.

The Grand Elder's tightly clenched fists loosened slightly, his palms already soaked with sweat. He let out a long sigh, his eyes erupting with an unprecedented sharp light:

"Good, good, good. Fifty years of seclusion, the Sage Lord has already been reborn anew. Heaven protects our Dao Seeking Sect!"

The Sect-protecting grand formation remained activated, but the atmosphere had shifted from tragic despair to tense anticipation.

Cang Ming went completely berserk, his reason drowned by overwhelming hatred and humiliation. He spoke no more.

His left foot stepped forward, shattering an ancient continent of stellar debris. His right arm, its muscles bulging like ancient mountain ranges, suddenly pulled back, taut to the limit, and then, he threw a punch.

Indestructible Fist!

This punch was the epitome of simplicity, dominating past and present.

With the punch's release, the entire desolate fringe of the Universe was filled with purple fist light.

Billions of floating stellar debris were crushed and pulled by an intangible immense force, becoming part of this torrent of purple fist energy.

The Fist Intent was pure to the extreme, severing all Laws.

Shattering eternal time and space.

The target was only one: Jiang Hao before him!

Jiang Hao's eyes were calm. Facing this strike capable of blasting apart countless starfields, one that would make even Supreme Venerables take notice, he neither dodged nor avoided.

He merely clenched the five fingers of his right hand tightly and similarly threw a punch to meet it.

This punch was simple and unadorned, not stirring any earth-shattering phenomena, only containing his own vast, boundless Chaos Divine Power.

Boom!

At the point where the two fists collided, it was as if billions of great worlds were simultaneously born and destroyed.

Blinding light instantly devoured everything. An indescribably loud roar transformed into destructive sound waves, spreading spherically in all directions like madness.

The energy storm, like a cosmic tsunami, instantly shredded the meteor belt at the Universe's desolate fringe, clearing out an absolute zone of nothingness where even space itself became fragile.

As the light subsided slightly, Jiang Hao's figure was seen as steady as a rock, unmoving, his robes fluttering, unstained by dust.

Cang Ming, however, grunted, an expression of disbelief appearing on his face for the first time. His body shook violently.

He involuntarily slid backwards tens of thousands of miles. With each step, he left spiderweb-like cracks in the void, purple blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.