Chapter 337 - 324: Terrifying Combat Power, Shocking the Audience

"Third Strike: Pierce the Cheeks and Ears!"

Shen Lang stuck to Xiao Tong like glue. As Xiao Tong retreated, Shen Lang advanced, striking Xiao Tong’s cheeks and temples with his left and right palms.

The force of the blow made Xiao Tong’s eardrums ring. His head buzzed and roared as if a thousand thunderclaps were exploding within it. He instantly lost his hearing as blood streamed from his nostrils. His eyes went unfocused...

Shen Lang raised his right leg and drove a knee into Xiao Tong’s abdomen. Xiao Tong, unable to react in time, doubled over. Shen Lang then chopped down on his back with the edge of his hand!

"Fourth Strike: Behind the Shoulder Blades!"

The area behind the shoulder blades refers to the inner and outer edges of the scapulae. Like the philtrum or the pressure points by the cheeks and ears, it was a spot that could be used to control an opponent without causing serious injury.

As the chop landed, Xiao Tong let out a pained grunt!

"Fifth Strike: To the Lungs and Chest!"

"Sixth Strike: The High Groin Bone!"

"Seventh Strike: Crane’s Knee, Tiger’s Neck!"

Shen Lang’s movements were both swift and precise. His fists flew one after another, leaving almost no opening.

"THUD! THUD! THUD!"

This clean, crisp, yet utterly suffocating barrage of punches left Xiao Tong dizzy and disoriented, unable to even attempt the most basic counterattack.

He was like a puppet in Shen Lang’s hands, completely unable to break free!

"Eighth Strike: Shatter Bone with a Thousand Jin!"

Shen Lang stood ramrod straight and sent out a small kick with his right foot, striking Xiao Tong’s shin.

The shin is an extremely vulnerable part of the human body. Xiao Tong cried out in pain, lost his balance, and pitched forward!

Before Xiao Tong could completely collapse, Shen Lang spun around like a whirlwind and landed a back kick squarely on his chest as he fell.

A few muffled CRACKS echoed from within Xiao Tong’s body. Several of his ribs were broken. He spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string. He slammed onto the ground with a loud thud, then slid a good distance before finally coming to a stop.

The entire crowd was dumbfounded...

All of this had happened in the span of a few breaths. Xiao Tong, whom everyone had considered the strongest of the new recruits, had just been beaten like a dog, completely unable to fight back...

And the one who had just crushed Xiao Tong was none other than this batch’s... or rather, of all the disciples the Profound Dao Sect was accepting this time, the "number one good-for-nothing"—Shen Lang!

Shen Lang of the Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven!

"Damn it, how can he be this strong? During the test, his cultivation was clearly stated to be Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven! They said his aptitude was the worst!"

Liu Hai, who had just scrambled up from the ground on the other side, was stunned for a moment. In that brief instant, Xiao Tong had already been thoroughly thrashed. A deeply ominous thought flashed through Liu Hai’s mind. He gritted his teeth and, like an arrow loosed from its bow, charged straight for Shen Lang’s back!

’The arrow is already on the bow; I have no choice but to fire. If I retreat now, I’ll never be able to show my face in the Profound Dao Sect again. I’ll become a complete laughingstock...’

’Xiao Tong must have been too careless. That’s why this happened. He lost the initiative, and that’s how he was defeated!’

’If I can just take down this good-for-nothing, I’ll be number one! Xiao Tong will never be able to look me in the eye again!’

"Fire Snake Step!"

A piercing glint erupted in Liu Hai’s eyes. His figure suddenly began to sway from side to side, his movements erratic and unpredictable, making him difficult to track.

Just as he closed in on Shen Lang, Liu Hai held his palm vertically like a saber, his body advancing as one with the strike!

"SWISH!"

His palm cut through the air, carrying a fierce gale as it swung viciously toward Shen Lang’s head.

"So strong! Liu Hai is going all out!" a few people in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

This hand saber was both fast and vicious. It was clear Liu Hai was using his full strength, intending to cripple Shen Lang with a single blow.

And at that moment, Shen Lang still had his back turned!

"WHOOSH."

Amid the sound of tearing air, just as Liu Hai’s hand saber was about to land on Shen Lang’s back...

"WHOOSH!"

Shen Lang’s figure moved like a phantom, shifting two feet to his left!

Then, with a sudden spin, he bizarrely circled around to Liu Hai’s side at the very last second!

"Not good!" Liu Hai was shocked. It was too late to pull back his hand.

In that instant, Shen Lang’s right foot swept out low to the ground, knocking both of Liu Hai’s feet out from under him!

"WHOOSH!"

Liu Hai, who had been charging forward, was sent flying, his body nearly horizontal in midair!

Shen Lang’s calm voice rang out at that moment. "It’s over."

In the instant Liu Hai’s body went horizontal in the air, his forward momentum unchecked, Shen Lang planted his feet, raised his right hand high, and chopped down with a hand saber onto Liu Hai’s chest!

"BAM!"

The moment Shen Lang’s palm slammed into Liu Hai’s chest, a ripple of powerful Qi erupted from the point of contact, surging outward like a wave.

The immense burst of power made everyone present turn pale.

"THUD!"

Liu Hai’s body slammed heavily onto the ground.

Instantly, the bluestone slabs on the ground cracked and shot outwards. Dust filled the air!

"GURGLE... GURGLE..."

Blood gurgled from the mouth of the fallen Liu Hai, his eyes filled with incredulous terror. He stretched out his right hand as if to grab something, but it fell limp as he passed out completely!

...

The entire area fell silent. Everyone stared blankly, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

Defeating Xiao Tong was terrifying enough, taking him down with just a few moves so he couldn’t even fight back.

But to think he dealt with the mentally prepared Liu Hai even faster, using only a single kick and a single palm strike!

"Too terrifying, too powerful..." The crowd’s breathing grew heavy, their eyes wide and unblinking.

From Xiao Tong to Liu Hai, Shen Lang’s series of movements had been perfectly fluid and ruthlessly efficient. His speed wasn’t blindingly fast, but every motion was perfectly timed. Each attack completely shattered his opponent’s defenses. The swing of his arms and the snap of his legs were accompanied by the sharp sound of tearing air, exuding an aura of absolute, domineering might.

The entire battle was completely under his control.

An indescribable sense of fear rose in the hearts of the crowd.

’If we faced an enemy like that and treated him like trash, just as Xiao Tong and Liu Hai did, wouldn’t our fate be even worse?’

Two masters at the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven, the two strongest people in their group, had been rendered completely powerless... Defeated just like that, unable to even get back up?

They had sealed their Spiritual Power, but Shen Lang hadn’t used any Spiritual Power either...

’Could Shen Lang’s physical strength really be that incredible?’

This seemingly slender youth, so calm and casual in his every move, could suddenly erupt with a force like a landslide and a tsunami—completely unstoppable!

In the span of just a few breaths, he had incapacitated two masters of the Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven...

Was this really the same good-for-nothing who was almost eliminated, who almost couldn’t even enter the Wooden Man Alley?

Before the fight, besides Su Shi, almost no one here had thought he stood a chance.

Even Shang Xiaoran had assumed that, in a crisis, he might use a Talisman to defeat the two. She never imagined he would take down two Spirit Martial Realm Second Heaven Martial Artists with just a few simple punches and kicks!

Above the Wooden Man Alley, the Profound Dao Sect disciples were speechless for a long moment. Even Zhang Tianyue and the two Elders on the other side were dumbfounded.

"Those who humiliate others will be humiliated in turn! With your pathetic strength, you dared to look down on others? All you talk about is killing this person and that person. You blocked so many people here, claiming you wanted to ’play a game’? You aren’t even qualified to play games with me!"

Shen Lang shot an indifferent glance at the two on the ground, throwing their own words back at them. Then, he stepped over Liu Hai’s body and walked straight into the fifth stage: the Wooden Man Alley.

"BOOM!"

The moment his figure disappeared into the Wooden Man Alley, the crowd behind him and the Profound Dao Sect disciples above finally snapped out of it, and a thunderous uproar erupted.

With a great RUSH, the sixty-odd people behind him scrambled over each other to enter the Wooden Man Alley.

「One hour later.」

At the exit of the fifth stage, the sixty-odd people had gathered. All of them were silent, and no one was causing a commotion.

Shen Lang looked at the faint light barrier ahead, grinned, and waved Su Shi and Zhan Wuji over.

"What is it?" Zhan Wuji asked, scratching his head. "Don’t look at us. You’re definitely going to be the first one out. I haven’t been impressed by many people, but I know that even if my cultivation were higher than yours, I’d be no match for you in a real fight."

The few Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists behind them nodded in profound agreement.

For them, with their Spirit Martial Realm cultivation, to be so thoroughly convinced by a Qi Martial Realm Fifth Heaven Martial Artist—and one with terrible aptitude at that—was truly remarkable.

Everyone had seen the previous scene with perfect clarity.

Anyone who wasn’t a fool could understand that even if Shen Lang wasn’t hiding any more of his strength, the combat techniques he had already displayed were more than enough to deal with these Spirit Martial Realm Martial Artists.

At least, that was the case in a narrow space like the Wooden Man Alley, which was ill-suited for ranged attacks.

In a place like this, it was nearly impossible to create distance.

If they couldn’t create distance and were forced into close-quarters combat, no one here was confident they could stand against Shen Lang!

’To deal with someone like Shen Lang, you’d have to have a higher cultivation and maintain distance to use ranged attacks. Only then would you have a chance of winning.’

’In a place like this, seeing how decisively and wretchedly Xiao Tong and Liu Hai were defeated, who could say for sure they could have beaten Shen Lang even without their Spiritual Power sealed?’

’If one really wanted to beat Shen Lang, it would probably only be possible in the outside world.’

"The only thing that consoles us is Shen Lang’s aptitude. With talent like that, he basically has no future prospects. As for us, as long as we put in the effort to cultivate, we’ll only get stronger over time."

"Yeah, even if his physical body is tough and his combat skills are amazing, if his Spiritual Power grows too slowly, he’ll never amount to anything. True power comes from the Spiritual Power within."

"Still, for this fifth stage, no one here can possibly compete with him... Even for Su Shi and Zhan Wuji, winning against him wouldn’t be easy, right?"

Just as the crowd was murmuring amongst themselves, Shen Lang suddenly pointed at the light barrier at the fifth stage’s exit and said, "You guys, look!"

"Huh?"

Su Shi and the others were stunned. ’The light barrier is empty, though?’

At that very moment, Shen Lang took a step back from between the two of them, reached out, and placed his hands on the backs of Su Shi and Zhan Wuji!

"Go!"

Shen Lang gave a soft shout and exerted force with his palms. A gentle power instantly enveloped both Su Shi and Zhan Wuji, lifting them into the air and sending them flying toward the light barrier...

"This guy..." The crowd behind them could only smile wryly.