Chapter 721 706: Close-Quarters Combat, Reversal

Just as many were worrying about Shen Lang, he suddenly let out a laugh and muttered to himself.

The surrounding experts from various sects were instantly dumbfounded...

"That kid... he's clearly in a position where he's just taking a beating. How can he still be laughing?"

"Could it be that Shen Lang has already figured out a counter-strategy?"

"What counter-strategy? This is a direct clash of raw power! With such a huge gap, even the best fighting techniques are useless, and any clever schemes would be a joke!"

"It's over, it's all over. After the Rock Demon Lord's body shrank, its strength and speed became even greater... It's just too powerful, how can he possibly fight this? No matter how you look at it, Shen Lang only advanced to the King Martial Realm a few days ago!"

"I wonder how much of the Immortal Celestial Saber's power he can unleash. That's the famous Divine Weapon of the Li Hen Sect's Elder Ancestor, Shark's Kiss. Maybe Shen Lang can turn the tide with it. And isn't he also said to possess a great treasure of the Buddhist Sect?"

"Well, all we can do is hope..."

As the crowd was buzzing with discussion and casting their gazes toward the Immortal Celestial Saber in Shen Lang's hand, something completely unexpected happened—Shen Lang actually sheathed the Immortal Celestial Saber!

"What... What is he doing?" This time, even Feng Buping and Dongfang Jian were stunned.

Meanwhile, the charging Rock Demon Lord sensed the relaxed and casual tone in Shen Lang's voice. Seeing Shen Lang sheathe his saber at such a critical moment, it immediately felt slighted...

"Detestable human! The price for underestimating me is a death with no grave!"

This furious emotion caused the Rock Demon Lord's momentum to surge continuously.

Every time the Rock Demon Lord's feet stomped on the ground, they produced an earth-shattering roar, and its speed suddenly spiked!

After just five steps, its speed had more than doubled from when it first charged out!

"Die!"

The Rock Demon Lord's massive palm opened up like the sharp claws of a Demon Beast, swiping at Shen Lang's head with a scorching aura.

A terrifying, dark-brown claw mark lingered in the air where its palm had passed, looking like a spatial rift—a truly shocking sight!

A sharp, piercing sound of tearing air rang out, and the onlookers like Feng Buping turned pale with fright!

"Xiaolang, dodge!"

Facing claws like those of an Ancient Fierce Beast, Shen Lang was completely unafraid!

In the instant just before the Rock Demon Lord's massive claw came crashing down...

Shen Lang's long-prepared Water Realm was finally unleashed in that moment!

A layer of water, barely two feet deep, suddenly spread out, covering the surface of the magma pool!

Heated by the scorching magma, the water covering it continuously evaporated, instantly shrouding the surroundings in white mist!

The two Realms clashed in an instant, entangling and suppressing each other!

And in that same instant, Shen Lang pulled his feet out of the magma pool and stood effortlessly on the surface of the water!

In a flash, Shen Lang shifted four meters to his right, narrowly avoiding the Rock Demon Lord's strike!

"SPLASH!"

The Rock Demon Lord's claw struck the water's surface in a downward diagonal arc.

Though the water was barely two feet deep, it reacted like the sea, erupting into monstrous waves!

The scattering waves spun in the air, transforming into four giant sea serpents that shot toward the Rock Demon Lord to bind it!

However, from the clash of the two Realms, the Rock Demon Lord had already gauged the strength of this view-spoiling Water Realm and didn't give a damn about a Realm of this level.

The Rock Demon Lord didn't even glance at the giant, serpent-like waves coiling toward it. It suddenly spun, creating a fiery hurricane, and threw another punch at Shen Lang, who was closing in from behind!

The force of the blow was Earth-Shattering!

Under the force of this punch, a sharp, air-rending shriek echoed throughout the entire Stone Forest!

"Phecda Star, open!"

At that critical moment, the first star of the Nine-Star Profound Meaning opened. Shen Lang twisted his torso, took a long stride, contracted his body, dropped his shoulder, and turned his waist...

Power, rooted in the feet, raised through the spine, propelled by the shoulder, and delivered through the palm!

Surging Thunder Power burst from his Nascent Soul, traveled along the Ren Meridian at the front of his body, linked through the Qugu, Guan Yuan, Qi Sea, and Divine Que points, and reached his right hand!

"Majestic are the mountains and rivers, vast is the gray sky... All Laws Unite, First Punch!"

Having anticipated all of the Rock Demon Lord's follow-up moves, Shen Lang's movements were as smooth as flowing water. He fused the Thunder Power in his body with the strength of his Chaos Divine Body, channeling it all through the Five Emperors Dragon Fist!

This was the first punch of the Five Emperors Dragon Fist!

A single punch, yet it contained endless variations, sealing off all the Rock Demon Lord's escape routes. Carrying a terrifying Spiral Qi Force, it struck the Rock Demon Lord's chest like a bolt of lightning!

This spot was the very core of the Flame Demon's power—the location of the Heart of the Flame Demon!

'Unless you can throw a punch like the one from before, you won't break my body's defense!'

Finding it impossible to dodge, the Rock Demon Lord sneered inwardly and channeled its power to take Shen Lang's punch head-on!

There was an enormous gulf between their Cultivation levels. Furthermore, the Rock Demon Lord's body had been forged in Underground Magma for thousands of years, making it as tough as an Indestructible Vajra. The Lord had no fear of Shen Lang's punch. In fact, it planned to use the rebound force to shatter Shen Lang's fist and get revenge for its severed arm!

"BANG!"

Shen Lang's punch, carrying its Spiral Qi Force, instantly slammed into the Rock Demon Lord's chest.

Just as the Rock Demon Lord had expected, the punch shattered its Flame Armor, but after taking the full force of the blow, its body was completely unharmed!

"Sigh..." Seeing that even such a ferocious punch from Shen Lang had done no damage to the Rock Demon Lord, the crowd sighed in unison.

But right at that moment, something strange happened!

A trace of smugness had just appeared in the Rock Demon Lord's eyes, and it had just begun to raise its massive palm when... its expression suddenly twisted in pain!

How could the Five Emperors Dragon Fist be so simple?

Back at the Martial Arts Arena in Celestial Phoenix City, when Shen Lang had used the Five Emperors Dragon Fist to hunt down Xu Daolin, who was clad in Profound Artifacts, he had made Xu Daolin cough up blood with a single punch without even breaking through the artifacts' defenses!

And the punch that had just struck the Rock Demon Lord was exactly the same!

Without breaking through the Rock Demon Lord's physical defense, the Fist Force penetrated it directly and vibrated against the Heart of the Flame Demon!

The burst of power from this punch fused his Thunder Power, Sword Intent, and the strength of his Chaos Divine Body. It blasted into the Heart of the Flame Demon, then followed the flow of Energy within it, spreading through countless meridians to ravage the Rock Demon Lord's insides and paralyze its nerves!

"PTUI!"

The Rock Demon Lord's mouth flew open, and it violently spewed a mouthful of magma laced with terrifying flames!

"How is this happening?" The experts from the various sects were both shocked and overjoyed.

Seizing the critical moment, Shen Lang's second punch came blasting toward the very same spot!

'Damn it, how can such a bizarre Fist Technique exist!'

Having already suffered once, how could the Rock Demon Lord dare to take this punch on the chest again?

Pushing off with its feet, the Rock Demon Lord retreated rapidly, crossing its hands in front of its chest to protect the Heart of the Flame Demon!

However, Shen Lang had only feinted. His fist changed direction in mid-air as smoothly as flowing water, smashing down on one of the Mystic Gates on the Rock Demon Lord's body!

Amidst a thunderous roar, before the Rock Demon Lord could even react, Shen Lang began a lightning-fast bombardment with both hands. Unleashing the Five Emperors Dragon Fist, he threw nine punches in an instant!

And every single punch landed on one of the Rock Demon Lord's Mystic Gates!

So far, the Five Emperors Dragon Fist only had four moves. Each move had nine forms, and each form contained endless variations, integrating thousands of Palm Techniques, Fist Techniques, and Arresting Techniques.

Wind, Thunder, Earth, and Fire; Mountain Collapse, Earth Split, Tsunami, and Celestial Might...

All these elements combined, fueled by a surging killing intent. When the nine forms were linked, it was simply unrivaled!

Shen Lang seized the opportunity, closing the distance to the Flame Demon Lord for close-range combat, an intimate brawl.

The Five Emperors Dragon Fist, created by fusing the essence of many fist techniques including the ultimate moves of the Five Directions Emperors, not only possessed a ferocious and unpredictable power capable of shattering mountains, but it was also as relentless as a landslide and tsunami, giving the Rock Demon Lord no chance to resist!

"Heaven is void, Earth is void, the Great Dao is but a wisp within!"

"Fist without fist, intent without intent; in no-intent lies the true intent!"

Shen Lang attacked with alternating hands—a palm chop, a punch, a grapple—each move as fast as lightning, like a raging tempest!

The Rock Demon Lord tried to defend itself but couldn't keep up with the path of Shen Lang's fists at all. Moreover, the Energy in its body was running rampant, almost completely out of control.

Even when it tried to rely on its brutish strength to attack directly, every punch it threw would be stopped midway, struck squarely on the joint by Shen Lang, unable to move another inch!

"Heaven-Shattering Palm, Gods and Ghosts Fear! Five Dragons Gathering in the Clouds!"

With a low shout, Shen Lang changed his fist into a palm and slapped it down toward the Rock Demon Lord's face.

Seeing the terrifying Qi Force that swirled around Shen Lang's palm like five great dragons, the Rock Demon Lord was chilled to the core. It threw its body backward, propping itself up with its right hand, and dodged the strike in a split second.

With a sharp, air-rending sound, the palm strike flew past the Rock Demon Lord's face, the force of the wind scraping its cheek like a blade.

However, before the Rock Demon Lord could even feel a moment of relief, Shen Lang bent his arm, and his elbow instantly came crashing down hard on the Lord's chest!

It was the location of the Heart of the Flame Demon again!

"BANG!"

The elbow strike landed solidly on the Rock Demon Lord's chest.

As ripples of Qi Force spread out, stone fragments flew everywhere. A web of cracks had actually appeared on the Rock Demon Lord's chest!

Ferocious power converged on the spot, and a monstrous Fist Force once again bombarded the Heart of the Flame Demon!

"UWAAAH!"

The Rock Demon Lord let out a strange cry as its body was slammed into the ground, the impact sending shattered rocks flying!

And just like that, the situation where Shen Lang had been passively taking a beating was completely reversed!

The once-arrogant Rock Demon Lord had taken countless punches and was beaten to the point where it had no strength left to fight back!

The experts from the various sects, who had been watching all of this with nervous attention, were left completely and utterly stunned...

Winning such a beautiful fight when your Cultivation was far superior and your strength was overwhelming was nothing special.

But these old-timers, who had lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, simply could not believe...

...that someone who was so much weaker in strength and speed could, without relying on any Divine Weapon and using only a pair of fists, beat an opponent to the point that they couldn't even fight back!