177: Chapter 177 Lack of Martial Morality

All the spectators were stunned!

No one expected Wang Bufan to be so despicable, launching a sneak attack even after the match was decided!

Chen Zilong seemed completely unaware, his back still turned.

The sword light reached his body!

At this critical moment—

Chen Zilong's figure flickered slightly, like a bubble.

No, it wasn't a flicker.

He vanished, leaving behind a solid afterimage.

The real Chen Zilong was no longer there.

He had pushed the Three Thousand Thunder Movements technique to its limit!

The moment before the sword light struck, he sensed that lethal, sinister aura; in a flash of thought, his body moved with his will!

Everyone saw a blur and a flash of lightning.

In the next instant, Chen Zilong's figure appeared behind Wang Bufan like a ghost!

Meanwhile, that sinister sword light pierced through the afterimage, shot into the distant void, and finally dissipated as its power ran out.

The madness and the triumphant sneer on Wang Bufan's face froze instantly.

He felt a bone-chilling killing intent locking onto him from behind.

The killing intent was so real and terrifying that he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his very soul trembling.

He struggled, turning his neck inch by inch, wanting to look back.

What he saw were Chen Zilong's chillingly calm eyes and a fist, wrapped in faint lightning, slowly pulling back to his waist.

"I gave you a chance."

Chen Zilong's voice, like a cold wind from the Nine Netherworlds, drifted into Wang Bufan's ears.

Then, the fist at his waist moved.

There was no world-shaking momentum, no flashy lights.

Just a simple straight punch, blasting toward Wang Bufan's Dantian—

The place where the Nascent Soul resided!

On the fist, golden Buddhist light, purple lightning arcs, and deep demonic qi intertwined, perfectly merging into a chaotic and overbearing power.

The essence of three distinct cultivation methods was contained within this single punch!

Wang Bufan's pupils shrank to pinpoints; he wanted to dodge, to block!

But his body was locked by that terrifying killing intent and aura, making him completely unable to move!

He could only watch helplessly as the fist rapidly grew larger in his vision.

"No—!! Master, save—"

His final plea for help got stuck in his throat.

*Puff!*

A dull sound, like a watermelon being smashed.

Chen Zilong's fist landed squarely on Wang Bufan's lower abdomen.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

Wang Bufan's body arched violently, his eyes bulged, and all expression on his face was instantly replaced by boundless pain and emptiness.

He opened his mouth wide but couldn't make a sound.

Immediately after—

*Crack, crack-crack...*

The cringe-inducing, dense sound of bones shattering echoed from within his body.

*Buzz...*

At his Dantian, the spiritual light flickered violently; it was the Nascent Soul wailing and collapsing.

"Agh—!!!"

A delayed, inhuman shriek finally squeezed out of Wang Bufan's throat, filled with endless pain and despair.

The spiritual energy throughout his body surged out like a flood through a broken dam, his aura plummeting and dissipating at a visible rate!

The Nascent Soul...

...was crippled by a single punch!

Not only was his cultivation destroyed, but even his Dantian and Meridians were shattered inch by inch by the overbearing mixed force of the three cultivation methods!

From now on, let alone cultivation, even being a healthy mortal would be a pipe dream!

Chen Zilong withdrew his fist, not even glancing at Wang Bufan, who lay slumped on the ground like a pile of mud, only capable of twitching and weak moans.

He turned and walked toward Zhou Xiao.

His steps remained steady, and his aura was even more restrained and profound than during the outburst, as if the punch that had just crippled a Nascent Soul cultivator was merely brushing away a fallen leaf.

The entire field was deathly silent.

Everyone was shaken to their core by this final reversal and that cold, overbearing, and decisive punch.

Sunlight, having pierced through the clouds at some point, spilled onto the top of Duanlong Cliff, illuminating Chen Zilong's straight back and the ruined Wang Bufan, who lay like a pile of mud.

Light and shadow were clearly divided.

Elder Tian Yin looked at the crippled Wang Bufan on the ground, his face so gloomy it could drip water, his fists clenching and unclenching inside his sleeves.

"Bufan—!"

Wang Bufan's father, Wang Tianba, let out a roar!

His figure moved like lightning, instantly appearing beside the slumped Wang Bufan. He pulled him up, his fingers trembling as he probed the condition inside his body.

With this probe, his heart went cold.

The Nascent Soul had collapsed, shattered so completely that not even a trace remained.

His entire Nascent Soul cultivation had completely dissipated.

What was worse—the Dantian was also shattered.

Shattered like a porcelain bowl dropped on the floor.

In this lifetime, his connection to the path of cultivation was completely severed.

"No... no... NO!!!"

Wang Tianba held his son, his whole body shaking.

He looked as if all his strength had been drained; his eyes were bloodshot, looking as if they might drip blood.

At this moment, Elder Tian Yin walked over slowly. He glanced down at Wang Bufan's miserable state, then turned his gaze coldly toward Chen Zilong.

"I truly didn't see it coming... Fellow Daoist, your methods are quite ruthless."

"I gave him a chance."

Chen Zilong spoke flatly, his face devoid of expression.

"Chen Zilong,"

Tian Yin no longer addressed him as "Fellow Daoist." A cold light flashed in his eyes, mixed with a hint of uncontrollable greed. "I have heard of you."

"The personal disciple of the Heaven Domain's number one beauty, Liu Mei of the Xuantian Sect, and also her Dao companion."

"A once-in-a-century genius of the Xuantian Sect, having successfully formed a Nascent Soul in less than fifty years of cultivation... truly a world-startling talent."

"What a pity, though..."

"This isn't the Heaven Domain, nor is it the Xuantian Sect. This is the Middle Domain."

Chen Zilong chuckled softly, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Elder Tian Yin, just speak plainly. This humble Chen doesn't like beating around the bush."

"Straightforward!"

Tian Yin's lips curled into a grin, the greed in his eyes almost overflowing. "In that battle just now, what you used... was the simultaneous cultivation of Daoist, Demonic, and Buddhist methods, wasn't it?"

"Especially that demonic technique of yours; it's absurdly overbearing, even surpassing the ultimate technique of my Xuan Yin Sect."

"This old man is unworthy, but I am quite interested in that demonic technique of yours... and would like to borrow it to 'examine' it."

"I wonder if Fellow Daoist Chen is willing to 'be generous'?"

Chen Zilong scoffed and rotated his wrist, his voice laced with sarcasm:

"And what if... I say 'no'?"

Elder Tian Yin remained smiling, but that smile was bone-chillingly cold:

"Since you've crippled the top genius of my Xuan Yin Branch Sect, I'll have to ask Fellow Daoist Chen to... come back to the sect with me for a 'visit'."

"Don't worry, this old man won't take your life. It's just that... I'll need to borrow your 'Sea of Consciousness' for a look."

...