Chapter 67: One Battle Shocks the City (Part 4)

That hard slap across the face sent Xuan Yu reeling, dazed and stunned, and it threw everyone present into a similar state of bewilderment. They had expected to witness the scene where Yun Che would suffer a swift defeat, perhaps even grievous injury, beneath Xuan Yu’s feet. No one imagined that their first encounter would begin with Yun Che delivering a fierce, thunderous slap to Xuan Yu’s ear— a blow so loud it seemed to shatter the air itself.

All the disciples and elders of the New Moon Sect stood frozen in shock. The disciples and elders of the Qīng Sect too fell into a collective stare, their minds going blank, unable to process what they had just seen. Only when Yun Che calmly spoke the words “First move” did they slowly come to, their eyes widening in disbelief—this was real, undeniably real.

Li Hao had suffered defeat, as had Xi Yuan Bo. Xuan Yu, still shouting taunts and jeers, had reduced the disciples and elders of the New Moon Sect to a fury of humiliation and rage, yet they could do nothing to regain their dignity. Meanwhile, Yun Che’s brutal slap had sent a wave of relief through their bodies, a sensation so profound it seemed to reach into their bones. They felt utterly at ease, as if every cell sang with comfort. If not for the occasion, they would have burst into cheers.

The people of the Qīng Sect, especially those of the Xuan Heart Sect, exchanged worried glances. Xuan Yu, who had already entered the second stage of the Void Dao, bore the sect’s martial arts and techniques—yet here he was, struck across the face by someone who had only reached the first stage of the Void Dao, bearing no trace of martial arts upon him. Was this a joke?

“Just now… that was—was it a martial art? A body technique, perhaps? Shōng Kōng, have you seen it clearly?” one of the New Moon Sect’s elders whispered low.

“Completely unseen. That body technique he used—I’ve never seen anything like it,” Shōng Hán also whispered, his gaze on Yun Che now markedly different from before.

Xuan Yu crawled to his feet in a state of utter disgrace, his right cheek swollen high and red, resembling a monkey’s backside. He had just finished a lengthy speech, but in an instant, he had been struck with such humiliation—it was, he felt, a wound he would likely carry for the rest of his life. He stared at Yun Che with eyes full of bitter resentment, forcing a weak smile. “Very good, very good! I was letting you off the hook, giving you a chance to recover your dignity, but you’ve made a mess of things. Now you’ll have to face the consequences of my anger!”

Yun Che flicked his right hand, gave him a dismissive glance, and sneered, “Fool!”

“You… I’ll kill you!” Xuan Yu erupted into fury, letting out a guttural roar, raised both hands, and charged forward. Purple light flared around both his palms, and with a simultaneous punch, he struck Yun Che—his fists glowing with the power of the Thousand-Lb Strength technique, each blow carrying the force of a ton.

“Yun Shidi, be careful!” Lan Xue Ruo shouted instinctively. She sat in the front row, sensing the immense power converging in Xuan Yu’s hands. The disciples and elders of the New Moon Sect felt their hearts race—Xuan Yu’s strength was undeniable. That first strike had likely been a momentary lapse, a careless oversight. Now, enraged, could Yun Che still defend against him?

“Go to hell!” Xuan Yu’s eyes blazed with murderous intent. The humiliation had ignited a killing intent within him. Yet he dared not kill Yun Che here in the New Moon Sect—he was confident one punch would leave Yun Che permanently crippled.

The overwhelming aura pressed down like a storm, making Yun Che feel as though he were pinned in place, unable even to assume a defensive posture. Xuan Yu’s fists struck Yun Che’s chest with ease—and then passed right through him!

What…?

Xuan Yu’s eyes bulged wide. His body, driven by inertia, leaned forward—when suddenly, a sharp gust of wind swept past from Yun Che’s left.

“PIA!!!”

Another thunderous slap, louder than the last, echoed through the hall. Xuan Yu was sent flying into the air, spinning gracefully four times before crashing to the ground face-first, his left cheek swollen and bleeding.

“Second move,” Yun Che said, gently wiping his left palm.

All the disciples of the New Moon Sect stared with eyes wide asunder, their hearts stirring with two words: “Damn it!”

If the first time had been an accident, a gamble, a fluke—then the second time could not be explained by such notions.

Li Hao, humbled by Xuan Yu, had not left. He was being tended to behind them, watching Xuan Yu be struck down again, his entire face flushed with excitement, pain forgotten in his exhilaration. He shouted incoherently, “Hit him well! So damn good! So damn satisfying! Finally, sweet revenge!”

“Heh heh!” Li Hao’s younger brother, Li Hao Ran, who was tending to his wounds, chuckled as he listened. “Brother Hao, your cultivation level isn’t that great, is it? Yun Shidi didn’t just hit well—he hit satisfyingly, delightfully. Look at Xuan Yu’s face: first slap, right cheek like a monkey’s backside; second slap, left cheek just like it. Same color, same swelling, same position, same height—perfectly symmetrical! Look at his face now, all balanced out, haven’t you seen? These weren’t just two random slaps—they were a perfect art of slapping, demanding precision in force, placement, and angle. Not something an ordinary person could pull off. Unbelievably brilliant, unimaginably brilliant!”

“Pfft…”

Li Hao’s voice carried through the hall, and half the audience sat upright, some pressing their hands to their stomachs, fighting back laughter, while some disciples of the Qing Sect nearly dropped to the floor.

“Hah… hah… hah…” Though his insides cramped with pain, Li Hao laughed with great joy: “Heh, Brother, your cultivation is higher. Regardless, Yun Shidi won or lost, I’ve made a friend of him now!”

Xuan Yu struggled to his feet again, swallowing three teeth mixed with blood and gore. He stared at Yun Che with eyes wide, desperate to tear him apart with his gaze. Yet within his heart, a trembling sensation stirred—how had Yun Che appeared to his left? His body had been right there—twice, he was certain he had struck him, yet somehow the blows had missed. Had his eyes deceived him?

Or was it a body technique? But such a technique was impossible!

As Mo Li and Yun Che had said, the “Star God Fragment Shadow” technique, when cultivated to the first level, allows one to stand unbeatable against two opponents of equal strength. At the third level, one can retreat entirely against opponents five levels above. The “Star God Fragment Shadow” has eight stages of cultivation. Mo Li had reached the sixth stage, capable of creating six nearly indistinguishable illusory shadows. Yun Che had only reached the first stage, able to produce just one shadow. Yet this, though only the first stage, came from Mo Li’s body technique—far beyond ordinary techniques. Even Xuan Yu, who had entered the Void Dao, and the masters and elders present who had reached the Spirit Void and Earth Void stages, had barely seen Yun Che’s body technique. Their shock, far surpassed that of the young disciples.

“How’s the taste of the tooth?” Yun Che squinted his eyes, sneering without mercy.

“Heh… heh…” Xuan Yu managed a slight smile: “Yun Che, you’ve made me the first one to be humiliated like this. So you’ll die a terrible death, a terrible death…”

Before Xuan Yu could finish his cruel words, Yun Che’s figure flickered and he charged forward. Xuan Yu frowned, quickly sweeping his arms in a wide arc, this time directly surrounding the front, left, and right with the power of the Purple Yang Technique. Whatever direction Yun Che suddenly moved, he would be struck by Yun Che’s Purple Yang Qi and repelled with force. Xuan Yu was confident—he needed only one move to send Yun Che crashing to the ground.

When Yun Che’s figure touched the Purple Yang Qi ahead of him, he vanished just as before. Xuan Yu’s expression darkened, his attention instantly focusing on the sides—yet this time, the gust of wind came from above.

“THUD!”

Yun Che’s foot kicked hard into Xuan Yu’s right eye, sending him spinning into the air with a perfect backflip, crashing down face-first. A blood tooth flew from his mouth. Yun Che’s foot nearly missed his head as he landed, glancing downward and said calmly, “Third move!”

“You bastard… AHHH!!”

“THUD!”

Xuan Yu was trying to rise when Yun Che suddenly launched a flying kick, striking him in the left eye. The half-risen body performed another elegant backflip, both eyes now transformed into panda eyes.

“Has your master never taught you to stay focused at all times? Fourth move!”

“Ugh… I’ll kill you!!”

His entire face swollen and red, both eye sockets now dark and swollen, Xuan Yu’s once proud face had become unrecognizable, ghostly, pitiful. He stood up, his face now grotesque, his internal martial arts violently surging outward, his body nearly insane with fury.

“Purple Yang Thousand Illusions Hand!”

Xuan Yu roared, his voice ragged, charging at Yun Che. Both arms, glowing purple under the power of the Purple Yang Technique, waved out in countless purple light forms, a frenzied assault covering Yun Che’s entire body.

“It’s one of the Xuan Heart Sect’s ultimate techniques—the Purple Yang Thousand Illusions Hand! Yun Shidi, be careful!” Shōng Hán suddenly stood, shouting urgently.

Xuan Yu’s arms swept rapidly, waving out countless purple shadows striking at Yun Che. Yun Che didn’t dodge back—he squinted his eyes, extended his right arm, and drove his elbow through the purple light forms, striking Xuan Yu’s elbow with a solid blow.

“The Xuan Heart Sect’s Purple Yang Technique condenses the energy of the left and right arms, the Forbidden Valley, and the Heavenly Pond meridians, with the Purple Yang meridian as the core. When activated, it causes the Purple Yang meridian to rupture, scattering all internal energy and causing temporary chaos in the body. Simultaneously, when activating the technique, the protective martial energy at least two cun above the sternum, connecting to the Purple Yang meridian, is fully poured into the Purple Yang meridian, leaving no defense at all!”

This was what Mo Li had just told him.

Yun Che’s strike landed precisely on Xuan Yu’s Purple Yang meridian.

Instantly, Xuan Yu’s arms went numb, all purple energy vanished without a trace, his internal energy went chaotic, causing his body to stagger briefly. In that fleeting moment, Yun Che slipped in and struck his chest, just above the sternum.

“CRACK!”

Xuan Yu’s sternum shattered and dislocated. He was blown through the air like a fallen leaf, expelled a blood arrow, then collapsed to the ground like a sack of rice, convulsing twice before failing to rise again.

“Fifth move… Hmph, this brother from the Xuan Heart Sect truly kept his word—he said five moves and I’d win. Indeed, five moves and I won. Not one more, not one less. His brother’s sense of honor is truly admirable.”

“You…” Xuan Yu reached a trembling hand toward Yun Che, managed only the word “you,” rolled his eyes, tilted his head, and fainted—whether from injury or rage, he could not say.

“Xuan Yu!”

All the disciples of the Xuan Heart Sect gasped in alarm. Two rushed forward, supporting Xuan Yu’s fallen form, each feeding him three medicinal pills. One looked angrily at Yun Che and shouted, “In a friendly spar, you struck so fiercely! If anything happens to Xuan Yu, the Xuan Heart Sect won’t let you go unpunished!”

“Hmph, I didn’t understand a word of that,” Yun Che sneered coldly. “Though it was a friendly spar, blades and hands can blind, fists and feet can’t be held back. Such incidents as injuring someone during a friendly spar happen from time to time. How was I to know your Xuan Heart Sect disciples would stop after just five moves, only to break bones and bleed? You can’t blame me for their weakness—turn the blame onto your own sect’s disciples!”

He returned, word for word, the contemptuous and arrogant words Xuan Yu had spoken after defeating Li Hao and Xi Yuan Bo—unaltered, unsoftened. Not just words, but a sharp slap delivered with equal force.

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1、The lowest temperature yesterday was still above ten degrees, today it dropped to twenty—heading out, I definitely caught a cold. Woke up with a stuffy head and headache, couldn’t code today, so I only managed one page. I’ll finish three more tomorrow. If I’m not better by then, I’ll add another day.

2、Missing person notice: “Rain Blood” classmate, only you haven’t reported your measurements yet. Please add decision-maker Xiao Qi (QQ: 876138691) to report your measurements!!! Yes… custom-made Qingguo T-shirts…”