Palm Technique – Heartbreaker Palm!!This strike was cruel and sinister. If it landed, it could shatter the heart in an instant, bursting it into pieces, annihilating it completely. This combat palm technique was exceedingly vicious and domineering.
"Kill!!"
Yi Tianxing's eyes flashed with icy resolve. Without thinking, he instinctively reacted. His foot shifted sideways, and his body flickered out of place, naturally dodging the strike. Simultaneously, he launched a palm of his own at Wu Hai. This palm exuded a suppressive force capable of crushing all things, like a divine seal was embedded within it. The very space beneath the palm seemed to freeze. No thought of escape could arise.
This was a palm infused with the power of the Infernal Suppression Seal (镇狱印).
In fact, this attack was the manifestation of the Infernal Suppression Seal through a palm technique.
"Not good! What is this palm technique? I feel like the space around me has completely frozen—I can barely move!"
Wu Hai immediately sensed the terrifying nature of the palm strike. His entire body seemed locked in place. The binding pressure was overwhelming, giving him the illusion that he couldn't escape. Yet it wasn't merely an illusion.
Boom!!
Yi Tianxing's speed was overwhelming. In a battle between true experts, even the slightest hesitation or distraction could determine life and death. The moment Wu Hai felt his body freeze, Yi Tianxing's palm had already struck, landing squarely on his chest. Golden light erupted from his palm, and a terrifying force flooded into Wu Hai's body.
The collision produced a thunderous roar. The explosive force threatened to tear Wu Hai's body apart completely.
Yet he didn't explode. Instead, a muffled clang rang out from his chest, like metal on metal. A layer of black divine light burst from his chest, shielding his body. Even so, he was sent flying back dozens of meters before hitting the ground. As he struggled to stabilize himself, he found that the sheer impact made it impossible. His feet plowed twin furrows through the earth.
Pffft!!
A mouthful of blood spewed out violently.
Crack!!
Wu Hai reached into his chest and pulled out a Heart-Guard Mirror—jet-black, clearly a rare defensive treasure. But now, it was covered in spiderweb cracks, barely holding together. The earlier palm strike had all but destroyed it.
"What a terrifying strike… Such powerful physical strength. If I didn't have this mirror, that palm would have torn my body to shreds. You're a body cultivator!"
Wu Hai tossed the shattered mirror aside—it was now worthless. What shocked him most was that he had felt no true essence or magical force in the strike. It was pure brute physical power, enough to shatter everything. Overbearing. Tyrannical.
"This was just a misunderstanding, fellow Daoist. A joke, really. Why don't we put this behind us and let peace prevail? What do you say?"
Wu Hai's eyes showed deep fear, though his gaze subtly shifted to the young girl Yi Tianxing was holding—Xiao Nannan. There was an unspoken threat in his words.
"You think you can fight when you want and call it off when you feel like it? Who do you think you are? Since you started this, let's see it through to the end—life or death."
Yi Tianxing sneered coldly, completely uninterested in any truce.
Once you've attacked, then you fight to the death. Either you die, or I do. It's that simple.
"You're seeking death!"
Wu Hai's face turned grim. He hadn't expected Yi Tianxing to remain so unyielding, even after he'd tried to retreat. Fury surged once more.
Without hesitation, black mist surged from his body—cold and sinister. Ghostly wails echoed, enveloping him completely. Within the mist, countless hideous faces emerged.
The black mist became a tide of ghosts.
From the fog, fierce spirits coalesced into a massive, pitch-black claw—a tiger's claw several meters wide. It was tangible and solid, filled with eerie cries that pierced the ears.
Its shadow cast cold death upon the air.
Life Aperture – Tiger's Thrall (虎伥)!!
The tiger is king of all beasts, a born predator. Once awakened and spiritualized, it gains the fearsome ability to transform ghostly souls into its thralls, to act as its vanguard and obey its command. The most fearsome of tiger-kind travel with ten thousand ghosts, their presence turning all places into ghostly realms.
Wu Hai had awakened the Tiger's Thrall life aperture, making him a Tiger King. He could command ghostly souls as his own thralls, forming a vast spectral army.
This black tiger claw was formed of hundreds, if not thousands, of thralls—spirits unified into one entity. Their combined energy surged ominously, a harbinger of doom.
The claw swept toward Yi Tianxing, trying to engulf both him and Xiao Nannan.
Its aura surpassed the Sea of Divinity Realm.
"Thralls… ghost claw!"
Yi Tianxing instantly recognized the nature of the spirits. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. Without hesitation, the bronze war spear appeared in his hand.
With a swift thrust, he hurled the spear directly at the spectral claw.
It carried the unrelenting will of a warrior—no regrets, only the certainty of mutual destruction.
In that instant, the bronze spear turned a deep blood-jade red.
It was imbued with a complete and focused Shattered Jade Spear Intent (碎玉矛意).
Boom!!
Spear and claw collided.
A cacophony of ghostly shrieks erupted, threatening to shatter the soul. The claw was immensely powerful, capable of freezing all life, eluding normal attacks through its shifting form. Normally, even divine weapons would be helpless.
But something strange happened.
Yi Tianxing's war spear pierced directly through the claw. One by one, the ghost thralls shattered. Blood-jade light surged, tearing through the claw and leaving a gaping hole.
The next moment, a blood-red gleam flashed through the mist.
It pierced the void, streaking toward Wu Hai's chest like a bolt of divine retribution.
The ghostly howls fell silent.
As the black mist dispersed, Wu Hai was revealed—his chest now pierced through by the blood-jade spear.
Blood gushed like a fountain.
Wu Hai's eyes filled with disbelief, fear, and hatred. He stared at Yi Tianxing and gasped:
"What a domineering spear… What terrifying intent… So this is martial truth—true martial intent! Strong enough to ignore the shifting form of ghost thralls and destroy them outright. I never thought I'd break through to the Life Aperture Realm, only to be killed in one blow. I'll be waiting for you on the Yellow Springs Road…"
He died bitter, shocked, and unfulfilled.
Hiss—!!
Gasps echoed throughout the crowd. Everyone instinctively stepped back, eyes filled with fear.
Even members of the Tiger Gang shrank back, their eyes filled with dread.
What had just happened was terrifying beyond belief.
Absolutely unbelievable.
"Who is this guy?! An outsider, definitely an outsider! What terrifying power… That was the Tiger Gang's leader, the so-called Tiger King Wu Hai—and he was skewered in one strike! How powerful must this man be?"
"Too strong… The Tiger King was in the Life Aperture Realm with countless thralls. Yet he was killed in one move. Who is this man? I've never seen him before—he must've come from outside the Dark City."
"Wu Hai was one of the three strongest figures in Dark City. Now he's dead—and the Tiger Gang holds a crystal mine, said to contain a divine source. Without Wu Hai to guard it, there's going to be a bloodbath for sure."
The murmurs continued. The fear in everyone's eyes deepened.
They feared Yi Tianxing—but not one person truly mourned Wu Hai.
Even the Tiger Gang members showed no grief. Not even the thought of revenge.
"A twisted world… No morals… Humanity corrupted…"
Once more, Yi Tianxing felt a deep sorrow for the nature of the Dark City.