Chapter 420: Peak Punch
This black-robed cultivator was a remnant of the Dark church with a Demonic Beast Martial Spirit. According to the laws of the continent, if one saw a remnant of the Dark Church, they had to work together to kill him.
After all, the other party was once the common enemy of the continent. Xiao Chen thought for a while and pushed himself off the lake’s surface ferociously. He sent an intense fist wind at the black-robed cultivator.
Xiao Chen surprised the black-robed cultivator. However, when he discovered Xiao Chen was only an Inferior Grade Martial King, his look of surprise turned into a smile.
This brat overestimates himself. Coincidentally, I can use him as a hostage and escape. This girl is too strong. I cannot let this drag on.
The black-robed cultivator parried the girls attack with his sword and clenched his left fist. Strands of black Qi spiraled around his fist. He revealed a sinister smile as he welcomed Xiao Chen’s fist with his own.
“Be careful! There is Demonic Qi on his fist. You cannot clash head-on with him,” the girl cried out when she saw Xiao Chen suddenly appear. She could not help but feel exasperated. The fight had gone fairly well, but now this reckless stranger had involved himself.
Xiao Chen remained calm but did not care too much about the warning. He merged his physical strength and Essence. When infusing his Essence with his physical strength of 150,000 kilograms, his full power strike could now achieve 250,000 kilograms of force.
This was Xiao Chen’s peak punch under his most ideal conditions.
“Bang!”
A crunching sound rang out as a tremulous force surged forth. The black-robed cultivator’s arm was instantly crippled; all the bones in his arm shattered.
When the two fists met, a loud sound rang out and generated an intense shockwave. It caused a ring of ten-meter-tall waves to rise around them.
Under the girl’s astonished gaze, Xiao Chen’s fist wind seemed to have blown the black Qi into oblivion.
“Pu ci!”
The black-robed cultivator vomited a large mouthful of blood. His pale face filled with shock. His opponent’s strength reached an incredulous level, 250,000 kilograms of force.
Aside from some peak Superior Grade Martial Kings who cultivated Superior Grade Earth Ranked Cultivation Techniques, very few could achieve such strength.
I have to run. That girl was difficult to deal with in the first place. Now, there is this strange brat. If I don’t leave, I might never escape.
The black-robed cultivator spun around and dove into the lake, thinking of making a underwater escape.
“Trying to leave? How can it be so easy?!”
Xiao Chen stepped forward and shouted. He violently punched the water surface, and a huge void appeared before a pillar of water shot into the air.
The pillar of water blasted the black-robed cultivator, along with countless fish and prawns, into the air.
At this moment, the girl recovered her wits and flew forward. Her sword emitted a bright light as she brandished it. The girl moved like a butterfly fluttering up and down.
However, the girl’s sword light was extremely sharp. It seemed very solid. Xiao Chen had never seen such dense sword light before.
In an instant, the girl sent out hundreds of sword lights, creating hundreds of bloody holes of various sizes on the black-robed cultivator’s body.
“Bang!”
When the pillar of water fell, the black-robed cultivator’s body fell into the lake as well. However, he was already dead.
This girl looked beautiful and delicate, but when she made a move, she was especially decisive and sharp.
“Ka ca!” The girl lopped off the head of the black-robed cultivator and casually tossed it into her spatial ring. After that, she retrieved the other party’s spatial ring. Her movements seemed practiced and smooth.
“Thank you for your help. What is your name?”
The girl smiled gently and looked at Xiao Chen after she finished her tasks.
Originally, the girl had thought that, when Xiao Chen made a move to help, he might compromise her own safety in the process. Unexpectedly, that had not happened. Instead, he saved her a lot of time. She felt somewhat curious about this strong, young stranger.
Xiao Chen responded calmly, “It’s fine, working together to kill a remnant of the Dark Church is expected of us all.”
When the girl heard Xiao Chen, she was slightly stunned. She carefully measured up Xiao Chen. Then, she smiled gently and asked, “You are new to the Ancient Desolate Land, right?”
Xiao Chen felt suspicious as he replied, “Yes, I am. How did you know?”
The girl smiled and said, “After staying in the Ancient Desolate Land, you will stop asking such things.”
“Please explain what you mean.”
The girl then proceeded to tell Xiao Chen about the customs and reasons in detail.
It turned out that the Ancient Desolate Land was home to many of the Dark Church’s remnants. Furthermore, they even formed a middle-sized power.
However, no one bothered about them. There was no other reason than this being the Ancient Desolate Land where all sorts of powers gathered.
The Ancient Desolate Land was full of wanted criminals and evil murderers who treated life like grass on the roadside. Once they arrived here, the wanted notices for these people were no longer effective.
Since the fall of the Tianwu Dynasty, the Ancient Desolate Land had become an ungoverned land, turning chaotic.
Furthermore, for some strange reason, there had never been any stories of the five great nations or strong sects attempting to occupy the Ancient Desolate Land.
Since a time beyond memory, the Ancient Desolate Land was an absolutely neutral location on the continent.
Even those who chased evil experts in the name of righteousness would relent once their prey reached these islands.
In the Ancient Desolate Land, strength spoke loudest. Chivalry? Morals? These were just jokes.
Even the common enemy of humans, the remnants of the Dark Church, would not be cornered or attacked.
They would receive the same treatment as any ordinary cultivators. Unless they infringed on someone else’s interests, no one would chase and kill them.
After Xiao Chen heard that, he finally understood. This Ancient Desolate Land was truly a wondrous place.
However, it was still unknown why the various great nations and sects harbored no intentions of ruling the Ancient Desolate Land. Such a large expanse of land was more than just a fat piece of meat.
Thinking about it, the Ancient Desolate Land should have strong powers within, operating in the dark. Otherwise, they could not prevent others from spying on them.
After the girl spoke, she continued, “Let me introduce myself formally. I am Xia Xiyan, from the Great Xia Nation’s Thousand Sword Pavilion.”
Xiao Chen had heard of the Thousand Sword Pavilion before. They were one of the peak sects of the Great Xia Nation. Their strength was on par with the Great Chu Nation’s Heavenly Sword Gate. They were somewhat famous within the four lesser Great Nations.
Xiao Chen nodded gently and said, “Xiao Chen, from the Great Qin Nation. I am currently sectless.”
Xia Xiyan seemed stunned. She could not believe that Xiao Chen was sectless.
Xiao Chen’s punch could achieve 250,000 kilograms of force. Even in the talent-packed Great Jin Nation, at least some of the great sects would notice such talent.
However, although Xia Xiyan felt curious, she would not dig into Xiao Chen’s history without reason. Everyone had their own secrets.
“Based on your direction, you seemed to be heading to Heavenly Spring Island. Coincidentally, I have just finished my mission as well. Let’s go together!” Xia Xiyan invited.
Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment before he said, “Isn’t it Red Cloud Island that way? How did it become Heavenly Spring Island?”
Xia Xiyan said confidently, “The island ahead is Heavenly Spring Island. It is one of the six big islands second to the main island of the south. You must have gotten lost.”
Xiao Chen could not help but smile bitterly. He took out the map and compared. Red Cloud Island was to the south and Heavenly Spring Island was east. The difference in distance was at least five hundred kilometers.
Xiao Chen did not know how he got here.
“How did you travel?” Xia Xiyan asked gently.
Xiao Chen thought for a while and decided on the truth, “I rode on a ship.”
He rode on a ship. That should be a flying Secret Treasure, Xia Xiyan thought. She could not tell that Xiao Chen had such a treasure.
However, that would explain what had happened. Xia Xiyan explained, “No wonder. The Heavenly Extermination Lake may seem calm with no wind, but there are a lot of undercurrents. Occasionally, they can even form strong currents. If one is not an experienced helmsman, even if they have a map, they will travel in the wrong direction.”
The main island of the southern group of islands, Longyang Island, was something like the Province Capital of the Xihe Province. It was the core island of the southern group. The only difference from a province capital was that it did not control the other islands.
Six islands surrounded the main island, Longyang Island, second in size only to it. The Heavenly Spring Island was one of them.
Never mind. Since I have already arrived at Heavenly Spring Island, I will just go there. Red Cloud Island is only a small island. What I can do there, I definitely can do on Heavenly Spring Island.
The two of them executed their Movement Techniques and dashed towards Heavenly Springs Island on the water surface. Along the way, Xiao Chen heard of how Xia Xiyan and the black-robed cultivator ended up fighting.
The remnants of the Dark Church had not changed their name in the Ancient Desolate Land. They had many experts within the Dark Church. However, they were still a far cry from their previous self. In the past, they were a great power on the continent.
Not long ago, the Dark Church engaged in a dispute with another power of the Ancient Desolate Land, the Blood Wolf Gang. They both posted bounties at the Heavenly Extermination Union, offering rewards for killing disciples of the other side.
Since Xia Xiyan had something to do on Heavenly Spring’s Island, she conveniently picked up the bounty the Blood Wolf Gang had issued.
Xiao Chen asked, “How high did the black-robed cultivator from earlier rank in the dark church? How much can you get from killing him?”
Xia Xiyan’s reflection on the water surface flickered. She said softly, “The Dark Church has one church master, two deputy church masters, nine elders, and 108 protectors. The remaining are merely trash of varying strengths.
“The one we killed earlier was one of the 108 protectors. However, the protectors now cannot compare to those of the past. The older generation of protectors were all at least half-step Martial Monarchs. Unfortunately, most of them have already died. The one we just killed was one of the people used to make up the numbers.”
Given this, Xiao Chen finally had a rough idea of the Dark Church’s strength.
Even though the Dark Church was much weaker than in the past, the nine elders should be Martial Monarchs. Furthermore, there were some old protectors who had not died yet. They were much stronger than the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.
Xiao Chen continued asked, “Why are they fighting? Do such large-scale fights frequently occur in the Ancient Desolate Land?”
