"After all, being a high-tier Inner Strength master, he’s indeed hard to kill."
An Jing lifted the Sword Box and Icefall Long Spear, shooting at Lu Jin who was moving rapidly through the air, while Lu Jin accelerated again and again, his figure a mere phantom, dodging bullet flying swords.
Exchanging the Spirit Qi from the Spirit Qi Furnace for Lu Jin’s physical strength was something An Jing could fully accept. As for Lu Jin’s robust life force, it reminded him of the Fengdu Guards from the Black Market.
That Fengdu Guard from the Black Market was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement; he could withstand a whole magazine from the Sword Box and a Firearm with just his flesh and blood life force before dying. This was certainly because his practiced method also focused on this aspect, but the essential life enhancements from Qi Refinement itself could not be underestimated either.
Inner Strength was on the same level as Qi Refinement, and Lu Jin, similarly blessed by the Heavenly Demon and having returned to his youth, was in a state of readiness. Without being struck in a vital point with the first hit like Guo Chang, his life force was likely only stronger, not weaker!
"But I’m not the same person I was before."
An Jing’s whole body lit up with Magic Prohibition, he took a deep breath, and a faint platinum pattern appeared on the inside of his helmet, sharp as a blade, cutting across his eye sockets and cheeks.
And there was also light on his arms and legs, extending from the Dual Swords and knees, revealing an indestructible aura.
He spurred on the Taibai Fiend Qi, in coordination with the Spirit Qi poured into the Chongming Sword Box in his hands.
But this time, An Jing didn’t aim at Lu Jin.
Instead, he targeted the embryo in the dark chamber.
"What, he can actually discover it?!"
Lu Jin’s pupils constricted; he had thought his disguise was quite perfect, even sacrificing an arm to serious injury as a diversion, ostensibly to draw An Jing’s attention, but he was still found out.
Lu Jin let out a low roar as he gathered his strength at the fastest speed. In an instant, every hair on his body bristled like a mighty male lion, and behind his head, a halo the color of reddish-brown appeared, faintly bringing forth a barbaric and dignified essence.
[Fate Pattern·Beast-Taming]
He reached out towards the Heavenly Demon embryo in the dark, spurring on the power of the Fate Pattern. The embryo, which should have been without intelligence or cognition, suddenly writhed, sprouting countless greyish-black arms from the pitch-dark demon shadow, overlapping and intersecting like flower petals, protecting the embryo at its deepest core.
The Sword Light was swift and fierce, tearing through the dark tunnel like thunder, striking upon the embryo.
But it failed to penetrate the defense.
"This embryo is wrapped in the souls of numerous Soul Fiends... It’s a shell made from the condensed souls of those sacrificed creatures. My Exorcism Sword Intent has no effect!"
The Sword Spirit solemnly stated, "How many creatures did they sacrifice for this? The concentration of Soul Fiend here, there must be at least thousands!"
An Jing’s expression remained unchanged, but the crimson hue in his eyes grew more intense: "No matter how many they’ve sacrificed, today they will be sacrificed by me."
If one sword strike was insufficient, then he would strike again. The efficiency of the Fengdu Guards’ Spirit Qi Furnace was dozens of times higher than the original Nine Lands Spiritual Energy Furnace. If it wasn’t for the inability to recharge, which made it only a consumable for now, its value would have been even higher.
But Lu Jin would never just watch as An Jing continually attacked the Heavenly Demon embryo.
Taking advantage of An Jing reloading the Sword Box, he immediately abandoned his hiding place, shattered the wall, and rushed out, aiming for the side and rear of An Jing.
And the moment he burst out, his arms took on a black-silver color, his skin became tough as copper iron, and one after another, massive tendons undulating like giant snakes moved violently beneath his flesh, exuding a terrifying sense of power.
— Only knows how to use Magic Artifacts for sneak attacks, let me teach you what close combat is!
With a furious shout, he punched out, causing the air to explode as he struck with the ’Thunder Sound’ that was extremely difficult to unleash even during his prime.
This was his secret ’Great Self True Form Fist’, based on which he had relied to break through the Martial Meridian. One needed a mind and true nature completely in sync, free from impure thoughts and dust, to achieve it. He had never managed to do so, therefore unable to break through the fifth Divine Abnormality ’As One Grip’ related to his heart and mind, let alone the Martial Meridian.
But now, driven mad by An Jing’s provocation, he was utterly focused, with his true heart, nature, and actions in perfect harmony. His whole body’s Qi Force merged into a giant avatar of his own True Self, vowing to slay the young man before him!
True Form Thunder Sound, combined with the Divine Abnormality of the Vajra Arm, the iron skin, and the Qiu Luo Muscles, the Secret Fist’s three Divine Abnormalities concentrated into one strike. Even a Ferocious Beast like a giant elephant would have its head blown apart and die instantly from his punch!
Yet An Jing suddenly turned around, revealing that he wasn’t actually loading the Sword Box previously; instead, he was adjusting his Inner Breath, gathering strength and clenching his fist!
At this moment, An Jing’s fist was covered in white-gold patterns, with the Taibai Luminous Godly Ban fully activated, coupled with the explosive burst of the Piercing Armor True Strength from the Imperial Heaven and Houtu Method!
This fist, launched from his waist, spinning and tumbling, tore apart the ordinary garments beneath the straw coat with mere air turbulence.
A visible wave rippled out from where their fists collided, bursting the shoulder fabric of Lu Jin’s long robe, and causing a massive wave to bulge out from behind An Jing’s straw coat.
Lu Jin was blasted away, while An Jing retreated ten steps—his arm’s patterns vanished, and even the flesh of the impact site was torn apart, looking mangled, as if he had suffered a great loss in the clash.
But Lu Jin was even more shocked and bewildered, exclaiming that it was inconceivable: "How could he block it? What gives him the right to block it!"
Although An Jing appeared to have sustained more external injuries, they were just superficial wounds. As long as he could withstand the pain, and his skeleton held up, he could punch again and continue the fight.
However, his own arm that clashed with An Jing’s—his wrist, elbow, and shoulder—all seemed twisted by a resilient force. Though not seriously injured, his tendons and muscles were pulled, temporarily reducing strength!
This was a sign of deep training in Hidden and Transformative Strength... Could he really be a mere teenager from Dust Li? Fist practitioners in their seventies or eighties didn’t have the depth of his fist style!
But what surprised him even more was still to come—because An Jing appeared to be completely self-reliant, not needing to operate the Complete Circuit to suppress his wounds. Instead, with a flick of his finger, a surging Sword Finger of decaying Pathogenic Qi blasted at his forehead!
"Sword Finger from mid-air?!"
This move, which disregarded any principle of Qi circulation and resembled a curse, gave Lu Jin an electric shock of danger, sending chills up his spine and forcing him to shrink into a ball mid-air, narrowly avoiding the Sword Finger.
The chilling Pathogenic Qi Sword Finger did not harm him but merely grazed past his hair, stripping away half of his scalp.
Lu Jin then tumbled backward into a cabinet in the surrounding walls, while An Jing did not rashly approach but continued to calmly load his Sword Box and shot out another flying sword!
Carrying the rumble of thunder, it pierced through the wall of Chongyi Building, leaving another large hole, but no blood was found in this hole.
A shadow rolled out from the debris of the cabinet, then rapidly pounced towards An Jing.
At this moment, Lu Jin’s arms were clad in a pair of Mystic Steel Handguards—the real trump card of his arsenal and the weapon that best showcased his strength and skill. It had been in the cabinet, not expecting An Jing to attack today, making him set it aside to conduct a sacrifice.
But no matter what, now he had his weapons—clenching the Mystic Steel Handguards tightly, Lu Jin’s eyes widened as he let out a tiger’s roar. With a single stride, he crossed a distance of three meters, his dark brown fist carrying the tremendous force of a flowing river and smashed towards the unsuspecting An Jing!
This strike, just like a tiger pouncing down the mountain or a bear clapping powerfully was well-deserved of Lu Jin’s ’Hundred Beasts Fist’ title. This move, due to Lu Jin’s skilled techniques, was even harder to counter than the previous Great Self True Form Fist without taking it head-on.
But who would go head-to-head with a fistfighter?
An Jing casually pulled out a shield from behind his waist, then reinforced it with Taibai Fiend Qi, holding it in front of him.
— The Mystic Steel Handguards were indeed strong, but were they harder than this superhard alloy blast shield of mine?