Chapter 115: Jiangbei, Jiang Da Na

Qin Fenggu had once used this sword to sever the arm of a formidable master of the era. Twelve years ago, when he trampled and extinguished a super-family in Yanjing, the blade drank its fill of blood.

People are divided by status, and swords are likewise distinguished by strength. Legend has it that this sword was forged from deep-sea tungsten iron by a peerless expert during the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It had served six masters, the strongest of whom had nearly reached the realm of an Earth Immortal. It was by relying on this sword that Qin Fenggu dared to contend with true masters.

"Hmph, mere parlor tricks."

A cold, indifferent voice echoed in his ears.

Jiang Yu closed his five fingers, and spiritual essence surged from his fingertips. The blade, suddenly covered in cracks, seemed ready to shatter at any moment. To Jiang Yu, this so-called peerless treasure was nothing more than scrap metal.

"Shatter!"

With a soft command, the steel sword in Qin Fenggu's hand crumbled inch by inch. A force as immense as a rushing river surged forth, and the arm holding the sword instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

"Ah!"

Qin Fenggu shrieked, staring at Jiang Yu in utter disbelief. Even the masters who protected the Qin family dared not touch the edge of that blade so recklessly, yet this youth before him had crushed the sword with his bare hands.

As the battle truly began, everyone realized that Jiang Yu was far too powerful; this disparity in strength could not be bridged by mere numbers. Clutching his severed arm, Qin Fenggu retreated frantically, his blood spraying along the way and staining his Daoist robes.

Even a half-step master was no match for him. As the fight progressed, the others grew increasingly terrified. Watching Jiang Yu, who moved like a god or a demon, Wang Donglai felt nothing but despair. The spells he unleashed upon Jiang Yu were like clay oxen entering the sea—they drew no reaction at all.

"Qin Fenggu, didn't you say he was a master of sorcery? How can his physical body be so powerful?" Wang Donglai cried out, regretting his choices deeply.

Qin Fenggu, his face pale with terror, was equally bewildered. "The way he slew the Yin Flood Dragon last night—was that not the method of a sorcery master? Old Ghost Wang, you saw it too! How was I to know his physical body could rival that of a master of external cultivation?"

"Damn it!"

The Fang family was different from worldly martial artists. They did not practice sorcery, focusing instead solely on the tempering of the physical body. Thus, their bodies were incredibly formidable; when trained to perfection, they could withstand handgun bullets. Such cultivation was far more arduous than the path of sorcery, but their combat power represented the pinnacle of the secular martial world, earning them the title of "Hundred-Battle Vajras." Upon reaching the peak of their art, these iron-willed bodies could withstand cannon fire; as long as armor-piercing rounds or other special weapons were not used, the Fang family members were virtually invincible. Their skin was rough, resembling thick tree bark, and they were all hulking figures, hardly looking like normal human beings.

From the start of the fight, aside from a few masters of internal energy who had been slapped to death by Jiang Yu, the grandmasters had largely remained unscathed. It was precisely because the Fang family members were desperately holding Jiang Yu at bay that the entire team had not been wiped out in seconds.

Bang!

Jiang Yu struck out, and a master of Qi-Transformation flew backward. He did not die on the spot, but he was severely wounded.

"Oh? A master of external cultivation?" Jiang Yu sneered.

The old man stood up, brushed the dust off his body, and said haughtily, "Indeed. The Fang family's art of external tempering is enough to rival the secret Vajra techniques of the ancient Vajra Temple." Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he charged at Jiang Yu once more.

When blows landed on these Fang family members, it sounded like steel clashing, producing crisp, metallic rings, much like a novice monk striking a bell.

"Compared to the others, your physical body is indeed quite strong. It is a pity, however, that you are still too weak."

As he spoke, Jiang Yu thrust his hands into the old man's chest. The flesh that could resist bullets was like tofu before him. Then, the onlookers witnessed a truly shocking sight: Jiang Yu ripped the Fang family's grandmaster of external cultivation in two, alive. His handsome, blood-splattered face remained cold, devoid of any human emotion. The indifference with which he tore a man apart chilled them to the bone.

"Back at Quicksand Town, Zheng Tianming of Shadow Kill challenged my physical strength. Do you know how he ended up?" Jiang Yu asked playfully.

"Quicksand Town? Shadow Kill's Zheng Tianming?"

Wait! Qin Fenggu seemed to catch a vital piece of information. Although their hidden clan avoided the world, they often operated in the secular sphere, establishing various companies and enterprises. They were quite sensitive to news from the outside. Wang Donglai's expression shifted as well.

Suddenly, Qin Fenggu seemed to recall something, and he let out a scream of absolute horror: "You are that young master who suppressed Quicksand Town?"

Wang Donglai's legs went weak. That was the master who sat over the two provinces of Jiangbei and Monan! It was said that master was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and looking at the youth before him, he was also eighteen or nineteen. Furthermore, that person was surnamed Jiang; over the past few days, they had all heard others refer to this youth as "Mr. Jiang."

As all these details overlapped perfectly, Wang Donglai completely collapsed. It was that monster? Master Jiang? He was the legendary young master of Jiangbei?

The Qin girl stood stunned, her steel whip slipping from her hand to the ground, lost in boundless shock. She had assumed that the reports were merely exaggerations created by the people of Jiangbei to intimidate others. After all, that region hadn't produced a master in nearly thirty years, and in the secular martial world, they had been bullied and lacked any voice. She had thought they invented the story to deter other provinces.

But seeing it with her own eyes, the girl felt a whirlwind of emotions. What had become of this era? This generation of young people was filled with geniuses, and news of one breakthrough after another swept through the secular hidden clans. Compared to previous eras, they were emerging like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Jiang Yu grinned and said faintly, "You should have guessed my identity when you saw me slay the flood dragon. That would have spared your clan from annihilation. Unfortunately, knowing now is already too late."

He threw a punch through the air; two Qi-Transformation grandmasters died on the spot, while the dozen or so internal-energy experts were reduced to mists of blood, scattered by the wind. One of the half-step masters reached out and pulled out a jade bead engraved with runes—a life-saving artifact crafted by his family. Once activated, it could allow one to escape a hundred meters in an instant. Without hesitation, he crushed the bead, and his figure vanished, dissolving into the surrounding darkness.

"Want to run?"

Jiang Yu's lips curled upward. He spread his fingers and grasped at the air.

*Like a bird in a cage, like duckweed on water.* This movement could grasp mountains and rivers; it could embrace the sun and moon!

The boundless pressure descended. Everyone's eyes widened in terror as they saw a giant hand, condensed from golden light, blotting out the sky and pressing down upon their heads. The fourth form of the Reverse-Flower Hand: *Embracing the Mountains and Rivers!*

Run! Qin Fenggu's first thought was to turn and flee. As he passed the Qin girl, he scooped her up under his arm, ignoring all the other grandmasters.

Boom!

In that instant, it seemed as if the entire valley shook. Professor Song and his group, watching in a daze from hundreds of meters away, lost their balance and fell to the ground.

In the void, a mist of blood appeared out of thin air. The half-step master, having not even escaped a few meters, was crushed to nothingness.

A scream echoed out. Wang Donglai vomited blood and flew a dozen meters away, his meridians shattered; he could no longer crawl. Jiang Yu had been playing with them like a cat with a mouse, not having taken them seriously until now. That strike signaled that he had lost interest and wished to end this slaughter.

The two half-step masters had fallen, and all eight Qi-Transformation grandmasters had been slain. Of the grand force of twenty or thirty people—a group capable of sweeping through the secular world—only Wang Donglai, Qin Fenggu, and the Qin girl remained.

Qin Fenggu, who was sprinting, suddenly stopped, his eyes filled with extreme terror. He slowly looked down to see wisps of flame erupting from his exposed skin and hair.

"Ah!"

The sudden turn of events made him shriek—a hair-raising, miserable sound. He dropped the Qin girl, his remaining hand scratching frantically at his body as fire permeated his hair, skin, flesh, bones, and meridians. In the span of a breath, he was engulfed in raging flames.

The Qin girl was too terrified to move, watching blankly as Qin Fenggu struggled in the fire. That flame seemed as if it would burn everything to nothingness, self-igniting without a source, and would not extinguish until it had reduced its surroundings to void. Within three or four minutes, before the girl's very eyes, Qin Fenggu was gone, leaving not even ashes behind.

The flames persisted, and faintly, one could see a twisted figure still struggling within, as if its very soul were being melted away. This was the "Karma Flame" Jiang Yu had planted within Qin Fenggu. With his current strength, although he could not use it on a massive scale, dealing with a single individual was effortless.

Brushing aside the waist-high wildflowers, Jiang Yu walked step by step toward Wang Donglai. The half-step master of the Wang family knelt on the ground, bowing his head in submission.

"Master Jiang, have mercy!"

Jiang Yu stood tall and proud, looking like a god among men, his brow filled with an indescribable, dashing charisma.