As an invincible powerhouse, Baru had always been extremely arrogant. Throughout his journey, he seldom initiated interactions with others.
Even though he had long found Zhao Letian displeasing to the eye, he disdained joining hands with people like Wanyan Zheng to deal with Zhao Letian.
In his view, being an invincible powerhouse himself, there were plenty of ways to deal with an ant like Zhao Letian; it was entirely unnecessary to collaborate with trash like Wanyan Zheng.
He had planned that, once they entered the Imperial Secret Realm, he would find an opportunity casually and exterminate Zhao Letian with ease.
Yet, to his surprise, the punch today had completely changed his view of Zhao Letian.
Not only did this punch make him realize that Zhao Letian was no longer the ant he could easily crush as he had thought, but it also horrified him to discover that Zhao Letian's physical strength had actually surpassed his own.
You should know, physical strength had always been Baru's greatest pride.
He could accept that others might be more powerful than him, but he could not tolerate someone overpowering him in physical strength.
Especially, he couldn't believe that Zhao Letian, who was far inferior to him just a few months ago, now surpassed him in terms of physical strength.
"I told you, this punch would show you your shallowness. You so-called invincible powerhouses are just slightly stronger than ordinary people at the True Martial Realm, but it doesn't mean you're truly unbeatable within the True Martial Realm. There are many stronger than you; it's just that your narrow vision prevents you from seeing them. Your physical strength might be strong, but compared to those in the True Martial Realm, it's nothing special in my eyes!"
Zhao Letian said indifferently, and at the same time, a terrifying power suddenly burst from his fist, instantly shattering all the golden scale armor on Baru's fist, plunging directly into Baru's body, sending him flying backwards while spewing blood from his mouth.
Seeing this scene, the vast square fell completely silent, as quiet as death.
Everyone was dumbfounded, their eyes wide with disbelief.
An invincible powerhouse, defeated by Zhao Letian, a newcomer to the ninth level of the True Martial Realm?
And moreover, Zhao Letian used just one punch, directly overpowering Baru in his proudest realm of physical strength.
This outcome, vastly different from what everyone had expected, was too shocking.
Originally, everyone thought that Baru would likely win this battle.
After all, the invincible powerhouses from various nations were not renowned for nothing; they achieved their titles by defeating one strong opponent after another.
In contrast, although Zhao Letian's strength had greatly increased after advancing, in everyone's view, he should not have been able to directly reach the level of an invincible powerhouse.
Therefore, the odds of winning this battle were naturally in favor of Baru.
Even if Baru were underperforming, he should at least have fought Zhao Letian to a draw in this battle, and not be so easily defeated.
Unexpectedly, the outcome was unclear whether it was because Baru's strength wasn't as formidable as everyone had imagined or if Zhao Letian's capability was abnormally strong, leading to Baru's crushing defeat.
Not only the ordinary martial artists, but even invincible powerhouses like Ji Pengyu and Ye Zhenxiao were extremely shocked and surprised.
They knew Baru's strength far better than the average person.
After all, they had personally fought against Baru before.
In their view, Baru not only truly possessed the strength of an invincible fighter, but even among invincible fighters, he was particularly remarkable.
The reason they were able to easily defeat Baru on the stage just now was mainly because Baru was limited by the stage's constraints, not because their strength was much stronger than Baru's.
If it were an unrestricted life-and-death battle, even Ji Pengyu and Ye Zhenxiao would not be confident they could successfully kill Baru.
That is to say, Baru's strength is indeed genuine and not unfounded.
Thus, the only possible reason for Baru's disastrous defeat was that Zhao Letian's current strength had indeed greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.
More precisely, it should be said that Zhao Letian's current physical strength had far exceeded everyone's expectations, not his overall strength.
In other words, even though Zhao Letian had defeated Baru, it only proved that Zhao Letian's physical strength was stronger than Baru's, not that Zhao Letian's overall strength was greater than Baru's.
After all, the strength of an invincible fighter is composed of many aspects, and physical strength is just one of them.
Meanwhile, seeing Zhao Letian defeat Baru with a single punch, Murong Zhan, Ye Junrou and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Originally, when they saw that Zhao Letian had agreed to fight Baru, they were worried and nervous on behalf of Zhao Letian for a while.
After all, invincible fighters are not to be underestimated; they did not believe that Zhao Letian could currently withstand an invincible fighter.
Yet unexpectedly, Zhao Letian gave them a pleasant surprise.
Furthermore, even the Floating Cloud Monarch in the sky showed a look of approval when he looked at Zhao Letian.
Perhaps to others, Zhao Letian's punch only signified a victory in terms of physical strength over Baru.
But the Floating Cloud Monarch knew that, after making a breakthrough, Zhao Letian was capable of contending with invincible fighters not only in terms of physical strength but in general combat, and he wouldn't necessarily fear those invincible fighters.
"Zhao Zilong, if I don't kill you today, I swear I am not a man!"
At this moment, Baru, who had been blasted away, struggled to his feet, suppressing his internal injuries, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stared venomously at Zhao Letian.
Originally, he had hoped to regain some face by fighting with Zhao Letian.
Unexpectedly, he was the one who ended up defeated, not only failing to regain any face but also becoming even more disgraced.
This battle was an unprecedented humiliation for Baru; it had severely impacted his Martial Arts Heart. If he did not kill Zhao Letian, he was very likely to develop a mental demon, which would severely affect his future cultivation path, perhaps even hindering him from breaking through to the Sect Martial Realm.
Therefore, as soon as he spoke, Baru burst out with the terrifying True Essence Power of the True Martial Realm Nine Peaks, while the Micro Realm burst forth, enveloping Zhao Letian, and a surprisingly powerful Mid-grade Spiritual Artifact sickle appeared in his hand.
Now, he intended to kill Zhao Letian at all costs.
"Stop, today's battle ends here. Ye Zhenxiao, here is your Heavenly Seal!"
But unexpectedly, just then, the Floating Cloud Monarch suddenly spoke up.