Chapter 149 - 148: Your Cultivation is Too Poor

Chapter 149: Chapter 148: Your Cultivation is Too Poor

When cultivated to its peak, this technique could make one’s skin, fascia, and bones as tough as dragon scales, cause one’s strength to surge, and emit a dragon’s roar that could intimidate the Heart Spirit. It was truly formidable.

Cheng Fengjun had been able to fight above his station back in the Marrow Refining Realm, even killing Loose Cultivators in the Refining Organ Realm. The Azure Dragon Scale Transformation Technique was a major reason for his success.

Now, he unreservedly pushed the technique to its absolute limit. His aura surged once more, and the might of his fist instantly climbed to an even more terrifying level.

He intended to settle this with a single blow.

On the Guardian Platform, two fists brimming with terrifying power crashed together under the breathless, focused gaze of the crowd.

"BOOM!!!"

A tremendous noise, like shattering metal and stone, exploded across the Guardian Platform.

A visible shockwave erupted from the point of impact, spreading violently in all directions.

The accumulated dust on the ground was violently thrown up, forming a murky ring of dust and smoke.

The dragon’s roar grew even more piercing at the moment of collision, as if it would rupture their eardrums and assault their Heart Spirits.

That was the spiritual pressure contained within the Azure Dragon Scale Transformation Technique, an attempt to shake Chen Yue’s spirit and weaken his combat strength.

Yet, from beginning to end, Chen Yue’s expression remained unchanged.

The dragon’s roar, potent enough to make an ordinary Refining Organ Realm disciple falter, struck Chen Yue’s Sea of Consciousness like a clay ox sinking into the sea—it failed to stir even the slightest ripple.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Tiger formed from his Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and immense Power of Heart and Spirit didn’t even deign to lift an eyelid.

A Spiritual Shock of this level was nothing compared to the searing of the Heart Spirit he endured daily while cultivating the Heart-Burning Record.

Meanwhile, Cheng Fengjun’s expression had already changed drastically.

He clearly felt that his fist, powerful enough to pierce iron and stone, had just smashed against a piece of indestructible Divine Iron.

A rebounding force had not only neutralized his own Power, but it carried an even more majestic might. Like a bursting dam, it roared up his arm and surged into his body.

Under the assault of this force, the Power of his prized Azure Dragon Scale Transformation Technique was beaten back step by step.

The layer of blue-black, scale-patterned Gang Qi on his skin even showed a faint ripple of disorder.

Cheng Fengjun could no longer hold his ground and was involuntarily sent flying backward.

His feet tapped the ground repeatedly, each step kicking up stone chips as he tried to dissipate the terrifying impact. Still, he was forced back seven or eight steps before he could steady himself.

Though his Body Technique seemed graceful, using the momentum to retreat with ease, any discerning spectator could see that in this first direct clash, Cheng Fengjun had come out on the losing end.

Because from start to finish, Chen Yue hadn’t moved an inch, standing firm like a great mountain rooted in the earth.

「Outside Panshi Lane, before the water screen.」

A dead silence fell.

All the spectating disciples stared wide-eyed, their faces etched with utter disbelief.

"Senior Brother Cheng was forced back in a direct clash?"

"Is Chen Yue really just a novice in the Marrow Refining Realm? His strength is absurd."

"But Senior Brother Cheng is in the Refining Organ Realm! How could he lose a contest of strength to Chen Yue?"

"Could it be that Chen Yue has cultivated some incredible Body Forging Divine Skill? Or does he have Innate Divine Power?"

"No wonder he dared to challenge the Mutual Aid Association. So this was his trump card."

The brief silence was followed by an even more tumultuous uproar.

Gasps and discussions erupted from the crowd like a pot boiling over.

At the front of the crowd, the easy smile that had been on Lin Junshi’s face completely froze.

His gaze turned sharp as a knife, fixed on the figure who still stood unmoving in the water screen.

Zhao Zongzhen also narrowed his eyes slightly. The indifferent look on his face vanished, replaced by a deep solemnity.

They could both tell that Cheng Fengjun had held nothing back in that punch; it was a full-power strike.

Yet even so, the result of the head-on clash was Cheng Fengjun being repelled while Chen Yue remained motionless.

This Chen Yue, a newcomer to the Marrow Refining Realm, had actually suppressed Cheng Fengjun, who had already broken through to the Refining Organ Realm?

「On the Guardian Platform, the dust slowly settled.」

Chen Yue slowly retracted his fist, his calm gaze falling on Cheng Fengjun, who stood seven or eight steps away.

"A very impressive Body Refining Technique. It’s a shame your cultivation of it is so poor."

From that exchange, Chen Yue could sense the profoundness of Cheng Fengjun’s Cultivation Technique. The dragon’s roar and the resonant, majestic power within it shared a similar principle with his own Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield. Both followed the path of crushing opponents with a formidable Physique.

But Cheng Fengjun’s attainment in this technique was at the Minor Success Realm at best; he was completely unable to bring out its true profundity.

In contrast, Chen Yue’s Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield was augmented by his Copper Skin Iron Bones Talent. Combined with the way the Fifth Layer of his Vast Heart Rock Skill unified the Power throughout his body, his physical strength could no longer be measured by the standards of the Marrow Refining Realm alone.

Cheng Fengjun’s one-realm advantage was completely nullified by Chen Yue’s terrifying physical foundation. In a pure contest of strength, he was consequently at a disadvantage.

Hearing Chen Yue’s words, Cheng Fengjun’s face instantly turned incredibly dark.

He did not retort.

Because he could not.

In that last exchange, he felt his prized Azure Dragon Scale Transformation Technique Power being completely suppressed by his opponent.

This could only mean one thing: Chen Yue’s attainment in his own Body Refining Technique far surpassed his.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for a Refining Organ Realm practitioner to lose out in a direct confrontation of strength against someone in the Marrow Refining Realm.

Cheng Fengjun took a deep breath, suppressing his churning Qi Blood and the shock and fury in his heart. His gaze became sharp and icy once more.

Taking a deep breath, he simultaneously circulated the Two Gates of his Panshi Skill and Azure Dragon Scale Transformation Technique. The techniques resonated with each other, and his aura began to climb steadily.

The blue-black Gang Qi patterns around his body grew clearer and denser. Faint, scale-like protrusions could be seen moving under his skin, exuding an even more ferocious aura.

He sank his stance slightly, his feet rooting themselves firmly to the ground like the gnarled roots of an old tree.

However, just as Cheng Fengjun was about to gather his momentum and push his aura to its peak, a voice exploded next to his ear.

"You’re too slow!"

Before the words had even faded, Cheng Fengjun’s pupils contracted violently. A green shadow flashed before his eyes, and a savage gale, like Mount Tai crashing down, rushed toward his face.

Chen Yue’s figure had appeared less than three feet in front of him, once again throwing a punch straight at his head.

This moment, this scene, was almost identical to their first exchange.

Only this time, the roles of attacker and defender were completely reversed.

"Arrogant!"

Shocked and enraged, Cheng Fengjun had no time to think. He poured all of his Power into his right arm and threw a punch to meet the attack.

"BANG!"

Another deafening explosion rang out as the two fists collided once more without any frills.

The shockwave roiled and dust billowed.

But unlike the last time, Cheng Fengjun’s expression changed completely the instant their fists met.

Because the power in this punch from Chen Yue was even heavier and more ferocious than the last.

If the previous punch was a rushing river, this one was a tsunami triggering a landslide.

That majestic, almost barbaric, power slammed into his fist.

What shocked Cheng Fengjun even more was that Chen Yue’s punch also contained a strange, vibrating, and penetrating power.

This vibrating power pierced directly through his surface-level Qi Force barrier, slamming viciously into his bones, meridians, and even his internal organs.

Cheng Fengjun felt a sweet taste in his throat as he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

He let out a muffled grunt. His entire right arm throbbed with intense numbness and sharp pain, and the terrifying force made it impossible for him to keep his footing. He staggered backward uncontrollably.

"THUD! THUD! THUD!"

Each step left an inch-deep footprint in the hard stone slabs, the edges spiderwebbed with cracks.

After retreating another seven or eight steps, Cheng Fengjun finally managed to dissipate the impact and stabilize himself, but his clenched right hand was trembling slightly.

Outside Panshi Lane, before the water screen, there was dead silence.

If Cheng Fengjun’s retreat after the first clash could be explained away as carelessness or him not using his full strength, then this second time, where he was once again sent flying back by Chen Yue’s punch—and in a much more pathetic state, despite clearly circulating his technique at full power—could not be excused.

"Senior Brother Cheng... I think he’s injured this time."

"How can Chen Yue’s power be so immense?"

"It’s not that Senior Brother Cheng is too weak, it’s that Chen Yue is too strong. Did you guys hear him say ’You’re too slow’ just now?"

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the crowd. Everyone’s gaze, filled with awe and disbelief, was fixed on the tall, green-robed figure in the water screen.

At the front of the crowd, Lin Junshi’s face was as dark as a storm cloud.

He stared fixedly at the water screen without a word, but his tightly pressed lips betrayed the extreme turmoil in his heart.

Zhao Zongzhen’s brows were tightly furrowed, his gaze grave.

For the first time, he realized his assessment of Chen Yue might have been seriously flawed.

On the Guardian Platform, Chen Yue slowly withdrew his fist and looked at Cheng Fengjun, whose breathing was somewhat ragged.

"It’s not too late to admit defeat. I’ve never been very interested in fighting you!"

His voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed clearly across the Guardian Platform, striking Cheng Fengjun’s heart like a series of heavy hammer blows.

Those were the exact words he himself had said to Chen Yue just moments ago.

Cheng Fengjun snapped his head up, his eyes bloodshot and his face a mask of ferocity.

’Since when have I, Cheng Fengjun, ever suffered such humiliation since I first stepped onto the Martial Dao?’

Seeing Cheng Fengjun’s expression, Chen Yue smiled faintly. He stepped back with his right foot and instantly crossed several dozen feet, appearing right in front of him.

They were so close they could see their own clear reflection in each other’s pupils.

In the next instant, Chen Yue’s fist became a palm.

He unreservedly unleashed the majestic Palm Force of the Great Vajra Palm. A faint light swirled around his right hand as it descended with heavy might, like a giant golden seal, aiming to envelop Cheng Fengjun’s head.

Cheng Fengjun’s eyes were crimson. The circulation path of the Azure Dragon Scale Transformation Technique inside his body instantly reversed.