This kind of heavy firepower, equipped with armor-piercing and incendiary rounds, could probably take down even a half-step Divine Realm expert.
As for Jiang Tian, although he was quite famous in Huaxia, he was only at the peak of the Transformation Realm—still a far cry from the Divine Realm.
And while Transformation Realm experts could condense qi into protective barriers to withstand gunfire, it all depended on the type of weaponry involved.
Generally speaking, even a peak Transformation Realm master could only block one or a few rounds from small-caliber weapons. But sustaining a barrage of this magnitude, from heavy firearms like these, was simply beyond their means.
In short, their true qi reserves were limited—not nearly enough to last through such a prolonged assault.
“Master Jiang… is he dead?”
Wei Feilong’s eyes glistened with tears.
“How despicable! Under these circumstances, the Dragon Team should have shown up with modern weapons!”
Huo Qingtian gnashed his teeth in fury, his fists clenched so tightly they seemed about to shatter.
“Alas, what a pity—Master Jiang was such a brilliant talent…”
Wei Feilong let out a long, weary sigh.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of disappointment toward the Dragon Team and Ye Zhantian.
The Empress Flower was a heavenly treasure born on the northern slopes of Mount Everest, within Huaxia’s territory—it should rightfully belong to Huaxia. Yet the Dragon Team had stood by for a full decade while the Green Lotus Grand Master set up her hermitage there. And now, with so many experts fighting over it, the Dragon Team remained silent.
“Let’s go…”
Wu Yingxiong gave a bitter smile and shook his head, no longer interested in watching.
If even Ye Zhantian couldn’t withstand this kind of assault, how could Jiang Tian possibly survive?
And besides, with heavy weapons on the enemy side, he had no chance of competing with the Shadow Poison Sect or the Ghost Shaman Sect either. What was the point of staying any longer?
“Jiang Taichu is indeed quite capable, but it’s a shame—they brought in artillery fire. What a pity…”
The Young Shaman God shook his head and shrugged, sounding somewhat regretful, though there was more than a hint of schadenfreude in his tone.
Perhaps, being a young man himself, he felt a tinge of jealousy toward Jiang Tian’s strength and renown.
A full minute passed. Several ammunition belts had been spent, and more than ten thousand rounds had been fired…
Just as everyone assumed this skirmish was over—and Blackwing Batu was already stepping over the steaming shell casings, walking toward the plume of black smoke—
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So this is the power of the Minigun? Not all that impressive, if you ask me. It felt about as threatening as a gentle scratch!”
Suddenly, a cold, sardonic voice pierced through the black smoke and raging flames.
Then, to the utter horror of everyone present, Jiang Tian stepped out from the billowing smoke.
There he stood, holding a jade bottle in one hand and the Celestial Sword in the other, his posture leisurely, his body completely unscathed—not even a speck of dust marred his white shirt.
In that instant, a wave of numbness crept across everyone’s scalps, as if their heads were about to explode.
“Not even a single hair harmed—how is that possible?!”
Wu Yingxiong’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“He’s far too strong. Just what level of cultivation has he reached? Can a peak Transformation Realm master really be this formidable? Can his true qi really be that powerful?”
The Young Shaman God stared at Jiang Tian in disbelief, feeling as though Jiang Tian was the greatest threat he had ever faced in his life.
“…”
Shadow Wusheng remained silent as ever, but the faint trembling of his hands betrayed his shock and awe.
“Master Jiang isn’t dead! He’s incredible!” Wei Feilong laughed through his tears, so excited he nearly jumped for joy.
“I suspect Master Jiang has already glimpsed the secrets of the Divine Realm!” Huo Qingtian suddenly realized, and a wave of astonishment washed over him.
“Th-this… this is impossible!”
At that moment, the Green Lotus Grand Master screamed as if she had been stabbed in the back.
Even the world’s most powerful heavy machine gun couldn’t kill him—could he be… half-step Divine Realm?
“Fire the cannons!”
Blackwing Batu stood frozen, utterly dumbstruck, his soul nearly fleeing his body. But the next instant, he shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
Yes, at this point, he could no longer afford to think about the Empress Flower—eliminating Jiang Tian was the top priority for survival!
But Jiang Tian had already moved first. Swoosh—his body shot straight into the sky like a bolt of lightning.
“Fleeting Shadow!”
Jiang Tian wasn’t about to give them another chance. Activating his movement technique, he rose higher and higher, climbing ten meters into the air in an instant. Then, without giving the pilots any time to aim or fire, he swept his sword down in a single arc.
Swoosh!
It was as if a massive black lightning bolt streaked across the sky. The cockpit of one helicopter was sliced clean off, and the stricken aircraft—now powerless—careened blindly into a mountain peak like a headless fly.
Jiang Tian didn’t even bother to watch. With a backhanded slash, a ten-meter-long sword aura swept out horizontally.
Boom!
The second helicopter exploded in a fiery blast, crashing down as a heap of twisted metal, its rotor blades sending rocks flying in every direction, shaking the very ground.
Blackwing Batu’s eyes split with rage. His heart bled at the loss.
Those two helicopters alone were worth over ten million dollars—his prized possessions. And now, they had been destroyed by two sword strikes.
But he had no time to grieve. Flapping his wings, he transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the southern slope of Everest.
“This Jiang Taichu is far too powerful! He’s practically capable of sweeping through all of Southeast Asia! The only one who could possibly kill him is Master Wang Zhongyan!”
As he fled in desperation, he howled inwardly, his mind racing with dark thoughts: I have to report this to the president immediately—root him out completely. Otherwise, the Singapore Council might be destroyed!
His movement speed was practically supersonic—he covered hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.
But suddenly, he came to an abrupt halt. There, ahead of him, a solitary figure stood proudly in midair.
“Do you really think you can escape?”
Jiang Tian scoffed in disdain, his body streaking forward like a blur as he slammed straight into him.
“Ahhh!”
Blackwing Batu darted left and right, but couldn’t avoid the collision. He let out a miserable scream, spraying blood, and plummeted to the ground like a broken ragdoll.
“Die!”
Swoosh!
Jiang Tian pressed his advantage without mercy, channeling his true essence into the black Celestial Sword and sweeping it out like flowing mercury.
A brilliant ten-meter-long sword aura arced through the air, severing the head of the falling Blackwing Batu with a single clean stroke.
Jiang Tian flipped through the air like a sparrow and landed gracefully on the ground, his blood-dripping sword in hand, his gaze cold and sharp as a blade. He fixed his eyes on the lone figure standing on the snow—the Green Lotus Grand Master, frozen in utter terror—and said in a low, steady voice:
“Baldy. Now it’s your turn.”
“Master Jiang… I truly failed to recognize a mountain when I saw one. I never imagined that Huaxia’s martial arts could produce a being as powerful as you!”
The Green Lotus Grand Master forced herself to remain calm, swallowing her pride and conceding defeat. She spoke respectfully: “Enough, enough. This old monk concedes. I am willing to make peace with you. The Empress Flower is yours! I swear I will never set foot in Huaxia again!”
“Hmph. Baldy, you’ve got it all wrong.”
Jiang Tian’s expression remained calm, but his gaze grew even colder. A mocking smile curled at the corners of his mouth. “Just a moment ago, when you and the others were ganging up on me, you called me a demon and said I deserved to die. You weren’t thinking about making peace then, were you? But now—after your staff is broken and your prayer beads shattered—you’re suddenly so eager to beg for mercy. You really are as fickle as a weather vane!”
He dragged the blood-dripping Celestial Sword across the ground, his face expressionless, as he closed in on the Green Lotus Grand Master. Droplets of blood fell one by one, leaving crimson stains on the snow—like winter plum blossoms blooming defiantly in the cold.
“Unfortunately for you, I, Jiang Taichu, have never been foolish enough to release a tiger back into the mountains. I know full well the importance of rooting out evil completely.” Jiang Tian said coldly.
“Master Jiang, why must you be so relentless? I know you are a top martial artist in Huaxia, but the Buddhist lineage of Tianzhu also has many powerful experts!”
The Green Lotus Grand Master’s expression darkened, her body on full alert, as she snarled in fury: “My disciples and followers number in the tens of millions! If you dare to kill me today, you will face their bloody—”
“You talk too much. Die, baldy.”
Jiang Tian let out a cold laugh. Whoosh!—the black Celestial Sword slashed down like a thunderbolt.
Rip!
The blade of light flashed across the void like a galaxy falling from the heavens.
“Wicked brute, how dare you—”
The Green Lotus Grand Master screamed in rage and despair, but her hands never even had time to form a Buddhist seal before her body suddenly froze stiff.
For three full seconds, she stood motionless. Then, with a wet splat, her body split cleanly in two amidst a surge of blood, her steaming entrails spilling onto the snow.
The Southeast Asia Strong Rankings’ fifth place—Tianzhu’s number one monk, the Green Lotus Grand Master—was dead.
…
In that instant, the entire scene fell into a dead silence, broken only by the whisper of falling snow and the howling wind.
Blood stained the ice and snow. Severed limbs and lifeless bodies lay strewn about in disarray. The entire summit of Everest was a chaotic mess, with gore and vital energy rising to the heavens like a scene straight out of a hellish abyss.
Everyone stood petrified, staring at Jiang Tian—who stood amidst the pools of blood like a war god incarnate—their faces filled with utter shock.
Jiang Tian had faced countless Southeast Asian experts alone, turned the tide against impossible odds, withstood the relentless barrage of heavy machine gun fire, and slain them all.
Standing at the pinnacle, all the strong ones bowed before him—his bearing unmatched in this world.
If word of this spread, it would shake the strongest warriors across the globe and even make Wang Zhongyan of the Singapore Chinese Council think twice before crossing him.
“Wu Yingxiong. I crippled your grandson’s cultivation. Do you still want revenge?”
Suddenly, Jiang Tian’s indifferent gaze swept over him.
Thud!
Wu Yingxiong dropped to his knees without hesitation, prostrating himself in reverence, his voice trembling: “Master Jiang, this disciple admits his mistake! It was that worthless grandson’s honor—and my family’s honor—that you would take the time to discipline him!”
“Hiss—!” Everyone found it hard to believe. Even Wu Yingxiong had been brought to his knees.
Wu Yingxiong was a dominant force in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, a true local tyrant on par with Huo Qingtian, capable of even suppressing Zhao Yuankun. Figures like Hong Tianzhao, Wei Shuofeng, and Xu Zhenlei were nothing compared to him.
But today, having witnessed Jiang Tian’s awe-inspiring power, he felt as if Jiang Tian were a primordial beast, while he himself was but a tiny rabbit—barely enough to fill the gaps between Jiang Tian’s teeth.
“Very good. You’re a reasonable man…”
Jiang Tian clasped his hands behind his back and walked forward.
The gathered experts, eyes filled with caution, shrank back on both sides, opening a path for him.
“Shadow Wusheng, is that right?”
Then, his gaze fell upon Shadow Wusheng, a faint pressure bearing down on him.
“Master Jiang, what are your orders?”
Shadow Wusheng struggled to breathe under the pressure, stepping back twice. A chill ran through his heart. His expression stiffened, and he quickly bowed with cupped fists in deference.
At this moment, having witnessed Jiang Tian’s overwhelming power and divine techniques, he felt that his own poison and gu arts were nothing but a clown’s tricks before Jiang Tian—utterly useless and incapable of harming him in the slightest.
And Jiang Tian could snuff out his life with a single gesture.
“I’m taking the Empress Flower. You have no objections, do you?” Jiang Tian asked with a faint smile.
“Of course not, Master Jiang! It’s only natural that you take this divine herb—everyone here would agree!”
Shadow Wusheng was normally cold and proud, but in front of Jiang Tian, he couldn’t afford to be. Terrified that Jiang Tian might strike him down, he groveled, bowing and trembling.
