Chapter 72: Slaying A Third Heavenly Realm Cultivator |
Heavy footsteps thundered through the stairwell passage as Chen Chu covered several meters in almost a single step. His figure flashed with each floor he crossed, and within seconds, he arrived at the door to the rooftop on the sixth floor.
Bang!
With one swift kick from Chen Chu, the metal door flew open. Instead of charging out, however, he instantly crouched down against the wall.
On the rooftop, a man dressed in tight black clothing wielded a rugged sniper rifle, his gaze sharp. In the split second when the metal door was kicked open, he fired three shots in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets pierced through the doorway, blasting three gaping holes through the cement wall, but at the same time, he had also exposed his own position.
The man's face slightly changed as two black objects flashed in the air. He quickly dodged aside, while at the same time, a surge of red true power burst forth from him.
Boom! Boom!
Two shock bombs landed and exploded, engulfing the area in a blazing fireball within a radius of about ten meters. The powerful shockwaves blasted through the floors, sending countless debris flying in all directions.
The man's face was pale as crimson true power surged through his body. Although he had managed to escape the center of the explosions, he had clearly still been injured by the shockwaves generated by the blasts.
Boom!
The long saber whirled, raising a fierce wind as it emitted a sharp whistle that made the man in black's expression freeze. A surge of blood red light emanated from him, covering the two-meter-long sniper rifle in his hand.
Boom!
The sharp blade clashed with the blood-covered rifle, and a substantial force erupted, creating a shockwave that lifted a gust of strong wind.
Thud!
Chen Chu flipped backward and landed firmly, holding his blade. His eyes, cold as ice, fixed on the sinister man two yards away as he spoke calmly.
"I never would have thought that the one shooting from the shadows would turn out to be a Third Heavenly Realm cultivator. Truly befitting of a bunch of rats lurking in the sewers."
In response to Chen Chu's mockery, the disdainful Bor chuckled coldly. "For us cultivators, the means don't matter as long as they can kill."
He then grinned ferociously. "As expected of a Federation genius. To encounter me upon just entering the Second Heavenly Realm and not flee; you've got quite the courage. I'll break your limbs, peel your skin, and tear your tendons, then throw you into an anthill to be devoured by countless flesh-eating ants. You'll regret ever setting foot here."
Unmoved by his threats, Chen Chu remained unfazed, a hint of excitement even glimmering in his eyes. As his Strength attribute approached 150 points, his arm strength had already reached 1,200 kilograms, far surpassing the Second Heavenly Realm's limit of 800.
With the breakthroughs in both the Dragon Elephant Art and the Insightful Blade to the second stage, and with Agility and Physique both over 100 points, his overall strength had already far surpassed that of the Second Heavenly Realm by a large margin. Cultists and cultivators of that Realm were almost powerless against him, completely unable to exert any pressure on him.
Of course, Chen Chu wasn't foolish. If he encountered a late-stage practitioner of the Third Heavenly Realm, he would turn around and leave without hesitation. To even reach the Third Heavenly Realm, it was required to fill one’s dantian with ethereal true power until it reached vaporization. By that point, the focus would shift from enhancing physique to cultivating true power, which provided a stronger overall boost, and could be used to enhance defense and offense by coating the surface of one’s body and weapons.
But that was for normal Third Heavenly Realm cultivators. In the face of the current Demon Cultist, Chen Chu felt he had a good grasp of the man’s strength after that last exchange.
His physical strength was only equivalent to that of the Second Heavenly Realm, and while his true power was that of the Third Heavenly Realm, it was ethereal and not substantial. All it would take to kill him was to deplete his true power, which could be done with just one strike. So…
Phew!
Chen Chu took a deep breath, and in an instant, all of the true power in his body erupted. His muscles swelled, elephant patterns emerged on his skin, and he exuded a ferocious aura, resembling a giant enraged elephant. His arms, bulging under the influence of the Wisdom King's Blade, appeared like two robust elephant legs, exuding a palpable sense of oppression.
"Kill!" With a low shout, the ground trembled. Chen Chu instantly unleashed the Wrath of the Wisdom King, transforming into a residual image as he rushed toward Bor with a howling wind swirling around him.
"You're digging your own grave." Feeling thoroughly underestimated, Bor was completely enraged. His entire body, including the special sniper rifle in his hand, became covered in red true power, as he aimed and fired.
Bang!
Despite the close-range shot, the bullet missed. In the split second before Bor had fired, Chen Chu had already crouched down to evade. A sharp blade light tore through the air from the ground up like a raging tornado.
Clang!
The blade light struck Bor's reinforced sniper rifle in front of his chest like lightning, causing sparks to fly. Thanks to the true power protecting it, the rifle proved extremely sturdy.
The terrifying force of the blade, however, akin to a landslide and a tsunami, caused Bor's expression to drastically change. He was sent flying by the overwhelmingly dominant power, crashing with a thunderous bang into the wall several meters away.
The blade light tore through the air once more and struck the wall as Bor rolled to evade. In the instant he dodged, Chen Chu's saber smashed into the wall with a thunderous roar, causing half of it to collapse under the force of his strike.
Whoosh!
With a howling wind behind him, Chen Chu turned around and clenched his left fist, which flew like a cannonball.
Bang!
The armored fist clashed with Bor’s red palm, and the violent force exploded upon impact.
In the moment of contact between fist and palm, the Dragon Elephant true power contained within Chen Chu's fist was dispersed by the Third Heavenly Realm's crimson true power.
Bor, however, couldn’t find any joy in this outcome. He only felt a terrifyingly dominant force surge through his palm, causing the crimson true power in his body to tremble. The sheer force of the blow sent him staggering back several steps.
Strike while the iron's hot. In the moment when Bor was pushed back by the punch, Chen Chu had already lunged forward, wielding his straight saber and unleashing terrifying blade lights that engulfed him.
Bor's face slightly changed, quickly using the sniper rifle covered in true power to shield himself.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
With his full power unleashed, Chen Chu resembled a rampaging giant elephant. The blade lights were as fast as lightning, leaving Bor no chance to evade or retaliate. With each strike, Bor was pushed back several steps by the terrifying impact force, and the crimson true power covering his body kept trembling, gradually dimming...
After fifteen consecutive strikes, Chen Chu finally stopped and slowly sheathed his sword.
In front of him, Bor's hands were bloody and mangled, even as they still gripped tightly onto the broken sniper rifle. His chest had collapsed, and blood slowly flowed from his ears, mouth, nose, and despair-filled eyes.
He had never imagined that one day, he would be shaken to death by a mere Second Heavenly Realm cultivator.
"Go to hell!" From below, Li Meng let out a furious roar. With his heavy hammer continuously gathering momentum, his strength had reached its full limit.
Boom! Boom!
With the collapse of the classroom walls, the two stubborn Demon Cultists who had been resisting for so long were finally smashed into meat sauce.
"Ahhh!" Li Meng gripped his heavy hammer tightly as he furiously shouted. After watching his own classmate get killed by the ambush, the anger and fear from almost getting killed himself could only be released through the deaths of all of his enemies.
Nobody had expected the Demon Cultists to be so fearless. Not only had they buried a large amount of explosives and landmines along the road, but they had also strapped bombs to themselves before ambushing the armored squad, catching everyone off guard with the explosion.
And then there was the assailant wielding an anti-materiel sniper rifle...
Thud!
Chen Chu jumped down from upstairs and landed outside the classroom.
"Chen Chu." Seeing someone familiar, Li Meng’s expression calmed down a little.
Chen Chu said, "I took out the sniper, and there are no more enemies around. Get our classmate back to the squad for treatment. I’ll go ahead to provide support."
"Okay." Li Meng nodded.