Chapter 253: World-Toppling Fists of the Affluent

Before Wang Yin’s voice had even faded, his semi-automatic talisman-less spellcasting activated. Streams of divine light and auspicious energy descended from the sky, surging into his body.

But in the next moment, the divine power network convulsed. Wang Yin felt his connection to the network being severed, and the semi-automatic Talisman Tome he was using ceased to function.

The eight-fold divine light behind his head flickered like a faulty neon sign before slowly dissipating.

The great dragons formed of wind that had been prostrating at his feet also writhed before dissolving back into gusts of wind that scattered in every direction, kicking up sand and stones throughout the area.

Having lost the support of the wind dragons, Wang Yin, who had been standing unsupported in the sky, suddenly fell, plummeting toward the earth like a meteorite.

Feeling the fierce wind on his face and seeing the ground rapidly growing larger, Wang Yin’s face showed not the slightest hint of panic. He simply crossed his arms over his chest and allowed himself to accelerate downward.

At the same time, he thought to himself, The righteous gods on the other side have temporarily sealed the network here?

But Wang Yin knew that this kind of seal couldn’t last long. The righteous gods on his side were surely already working to restore the divine power network. It wouldn’t be long before his semi-automatic Talisman Tome would be operational again.

And besides…

So what if I can’t use talismans and have no divine power support?

Watching Zhang Yu rapidly charge toward his landing point, Wang Yin sneered. “You think you can fight me just because I don’t have talismans?”

With a deafening boom, Zhang Yu leaped into the air. His Formless Cloud-Astral Qi swelled, and accompanied by the roar of a dragon-elephant, he slammed a palm toward Wang Yin.

The terrifying force seemed to suck the very air out of the surroundings. A fierce gale blew in all directions, sweeping up vast clouds of dust.

Yet facing Zhang Yu’s strike, Wang Yin neither dodged nor evaded. In mid-air, he formed a fist, bent his elbow slightly, and then with a thunderous punch, he met Zhang Yu’s palm head-on.

Logically, Wang Yin was falling from the sky with no ground to push off from, while Zhang Yu had charged up, building momentum for some time, clearly holding the geographical advantage.

But as fist and palm collided with a loud bang, waves of air exploded from the point of impact. Zhang Yu felt his bones crackle and pop, as if being repeatedly ground down by shockwaves.

He paused in mid-air for a brief instant, and in the next moment, he was smashed back down to earth with a boom, creating a large crater.

However, Zhang Yu was not surprised by this outcome. He hadn’t expected to be able to finish his opponent in one blow. This attack, intended to catch Wang Yin while he was unstable, had merely been a probe to gauge his strength.

The moment he landed, Zhang Yu had already assessed Wang Yin’s capabilities. His physical strength is greater than mine, but his magic power output isn’t much higher.

Meanwhile, Wang Yin had landed steadily on the ground. He stood with his arms crossed, looking at Zhang Yu faintly. “Your magic power has increased quite a bit, but your physical strength hasn’t improved much. It seems when you achieved Foundation Establishment, you must have used a Sea of Qi-type Heavenly Spiritual Root, right?”

“And now, are you thinking that after I crippled my cultivation, the magic power I retained isn’t much higher than yours, and that only my physical strength is significantly greater? That you have a fighting chance?”

Zhang Yu snorted coldly. “You talk too much.”

At the same time, the Sea of Qi Spiritual Root inside Zhang Yu began to operate at full capacity, frantically absorbing the spiritual energy from a hundred-meter radius to constantly replenish his expended magic power.

With a loud bang, the Formless Cloud-Astral Qi inside him erupted once more. The crater beneath him sank further under the impact of the astral qi, cracking layer by layer.

Streams of white energy waves, formed from the Formless Cloud-Astral Qi, surged out from Zhang Yu’s body, enveloping the entire battlefield.

Allowing the dense fog to blow past his body, Wang Yin continued, “I gave you a chance and traded a move with you, but that was only to see how much you’re worth now, and whether you’re better suited for being flash-frozen or deep-frozen later.”

“As for a real fight…”

Within the dense fog, Zhang Yu’s figure suddenly appeared. A palm strike carrying the cry of a dragon-elephant shot viciously toward Wang Yin’s back.

But facing Zhang Yu’s attack, Wang Yin didn’t move an inch. Countless blood-red phantoms simply appeared around his body.

Each of these phantoms had a twisted face, and they screamed and wailed as they blocked Zhang Yu’s palm.

With every inch Zhang Yu’s palm advanced, more than ten blood phantoms were shattered, and the resulting bursts of blood light transformed into clumps of resistance, like thousands of layers of flesh blocking his path.

The further Zhang Yu’s palm advanced and the more it compressed the blood light, the more terrifying the resistance he felt.

In the end, after advancing five inches, the force of his palm was completely exhausted by the densely packed blood light.

Wang Yin’s voice drifted from behind the crimson light. “You don’t even have the right to touch me.”

Zhang Yu said nothing, merely striking out with his other palm, which carried a concussive blast of wind. He continued to attack Wang Yin fiercely, but it too was blocked by the blood light.

Wang Yin spoke hauntingly, “This magical treasure of mine is called the Netherworld Blood-Shadow Veil. It can refine living souls and transform them into blood phantoms that protect my body.”

“Each blood phantom can block a full-powered strike from a peak Qi Refinement cultivator.”

“I purchased the souls of tens of thousands of mortals on the first layer, refined them, and infused them into this Netherworld Blood-Shadow Veil. How long do you think it will take you to break through?”

“You motherfucker…” Hearing Wang Yin’s words, Zhang Yu’s gaze hardened. He said, “This guy…”

Is he shooting an advertisement?

In Zhang Yu’s view, to have the leisure to describe one’s own magical treasure in such detail during a fight was clearly an advertisement for that treasure.

Zhang Yu thought, Is he trying to sell this so-called Netherworld Blood-Shadow Veil to the people on the first layer?

But Wang Yin paid no attention to Zhang Yu, instead continuing to speak to a hidden camera on his body, “Tens of thousands of souls are quite expensive on the second layer. It would take a long time working to afford them.”

“But buying tens of thousands of souls from the first layer is more than ten times cheaper.”

“And this isn’t even the lowest price. Next time, I will take everyone to see a place on the first layer with even greater purchasing power, where living souls are the most worthless…”

Hearing Wang Yin’s speech, Zhang Yu instantly understood.

This guy Wang Yin isn’t filming an ad for a magical treasure. He’s filming a video about the purchasing power on the first layer, promoting how cheap the souls and flesh of first-layer people are to those above…

At this thought, an indescribable rage welled up in Zhang Yu’s heart. The white crippled ox in his mind let out a series of roars, and his Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art began to circulate with increasing ferocity. In response, his muscles and magic power began to thrum, growing more and more active.

Meanwhile, Wang Yin said faintly, “Alright, this battle should be over now.”

In the next moment, a terrifying aura erupted from his body.

“No… it’s not an aura.” Sensing the subtle change in his opponent, Zhang Yu’s expression shifted slightly. “This is fist intent?”

Having studied the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, Zhang Yu knew that so-called fist intent, like sword intent and saber intent, was a type of martial will. It was generally cultivated through a martial heart art and possessed various wondrous uses.

For instance, the martial will cultivated from the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art allowed Zhang Yu to enter a state of total concentration, quickening his reactions.

And under the shroud of Wang Yin’s fist intent, Zhang Yu felt that the spiritual energy of the entire battlefield was becoming chaotic.

This was especially true as Wang Yin slowly formed a fist, an action that seemed to clutch all the spiritual energy within a radius of several hundred meters into his palm.

Zhang Yu felt the spiritual energy in the world suddenly thin out by several times, making it difficult for his Sea of Qi Spiritual Root to absorb any.

Fist intent can do this?

Zhang Yu had never seen such a domineering fist intent, one that could directly interfere with the flow of spiritual energy.

What Zhang Yu didn’t know was that the martial art Wang Yin was currently using was composed of two parts: a fist technique called World-Toppling Fists of the Affluent, and a heart art called Emperor’s Heart.

These two martial arts were originally created by an ancient emperor. By using an emperor’s heart to command a domineering fist technique, the two combined could unleash an unparalleled fist intent.

But in the present day, there were no more emperors, so how could there be an emperor’s heart? These two martial arts had gradually declined, ignored by all.

That was until several decades ago, when a descendant of that emperor improved the technique. By using an immense fortune to subvert a city and dominate its people, he finally forged an ultimate fist intent.

What Wang Yin was displaying at this moment was one of its stances: the Heaven-Swallowing Stance.

Once this stance was executed, its ultimate fist intent would cover a battlefield of several hundred meters. It could not only intimidate the opponent but could also, at its peak, monopolize ninety-nine percent of the spiritual energy, preventing the opponent from recovering their magic power.

Although Wang Yin couldn’t monopolize ninety-nine percent of the spiritual energy in a several-hundred-meter radius, he still managed to monopolize seventy percent, causing Zhang Yu to immediately feel the spiritual energy thin out and his magic power recovery rate to plummet.

After executing the Heaven-Swallowing Stance, Wang Yin, holding his fist, punched out toward Zhang Yu from a distance.

World-Toppling Fists of the Affluent—Spirit-Surge Stance!

As Wang Yin’s fist intent surged, the seventy percent of monopolized spiritual energy suddenly changed, concentrating at high speed toward the area enveloped by his fist’s momentum.

Following the high concentration and expansion of the spiritual energy, a deafening boom was heard.

Without any warning… Zhang Yu felt as if an air bomb had detonated right in front of him, and his head buzzed.

Seeing Wang Yin’s second punch about to come, Zhang Yu forced himself to gather his strength. His body twisted, and the surrounding Formless Cloud-Astral Qi surged as he leaped several meters away.

Boom!

The spot where he had just been standing exploded again, leaving a large crater in its place.

Then, a continuous series of booms echoed.

Every punch Wang Yin threw was like the roar of cannon fire. The position locked on by his fist intent would erupt with a blast of air.

As he continued his relentless barrage of punches, it was as if a giant beast was thrashing about in the dense fog. In an instant, more than half of the white Formless Cloud-Astral Qi had been dispersed.

This was partly because Wang Yin’s Spirit-Surge Stance was incredibly powerful and domineering, shattering the vast Formless Cloud-Astral Qi.

It was also partly because Zhang Yu no longer maintained the large-scale astral qi, instead choosing to retract it to defend against Wang Yin’s fist momentum.

Pow!

Feeling the explosion coming toward him, Zhang Yu raised his hands to block. As his Formless Cloud-Astral Qi churned and streams of protective techniques circulated within him, his body shook, but he had managed to block the punch head-on within the explosion.

“I told you,” Wang Yin said, throwing punch after punch. The repeated explosions of spiritual energy sent Zhang Yu flying back again and again.

“You don’t even have the right to get near me.”