The entire lakeside estate trembled violently. The surface of Poyang Lake for hundreds of meters around churned and leaped restlessly.
A fierce gale swept through, toppling many martial artists. A supremely powerful sonic wave slammed into the fiery serpent. The serpent writhed in unwillingness before finally shattering with a resounding boom.
“Is this the might of Jiang Taichu?”
The martial artists present were all utterly shocked, their faces pale.
“This… this must be at least the peak of the Transforming State!” Zhao Yuankun and Wei Feilong stared wide-eyed at each other, seeing the same disbelief mirrored on each other’s faces.
Expelling breath to create a gale, emitting a voice like a dragon’s roar, effortlessly shattering Lin Zhenyu’s flaming serpent… just how profound must his cultivation be?
Many had originally believed Jiang Tian’s killings of masters like Mo Haoxiong and Hong Tianzhao, who were at the Great Accomplishment stage of the Transforming State, were due to luck.
After all, reaching the Transforming State before the age of thirty was exceedingly rare, almost unthinkable. How could he possibly have easily stepped into the peak of the Transforming State?
Some even thought estimating Jiang Tian’s strength at the Great Accomplishment stage was an overestimation; he probably only reached the Small Accomplishment stage.
But now, they realized they had gravely underestimated Jiang Tian’s strength. They had failed to recognize Mount Tai right before their eyes.
“Hmm? Jiang Taichu, you are indeed extraordinary. You have not disappointed this old man!”
Thunderous rumbles erupted from within Lin Zhenyu’s body. Frightening flames flickered in his eyes as he gazed toward the buildings of the estate above the lake.
In truth, he was inwardly shaken. With just a single utterance, Jiang Tian had used the Dragon’s Roar Devil Tone to stir up towering waves and shatter his Flaming Serpent True Qi. Such cultivation was nearly comparable to a half-step into the Divine Realm!
“Daring to lay hands on my disciple… today, you will surely die!”
With a sudden explosive force, the water surface concaved into a deep pit nearly ten meters wide, almost reaching the lakebed. Towering waves surged, causing many speedboats and vessels to sway violently and tumble into the churning, angry waters.
A figure in white, hands clasped behind his back, emerged as if a celestial being descending, alighting upon the water’s surface.
“Jiang Taichu, you have finally shown yourself! Good! This old man has been waiting for you for a long time!”
Lin Zhenyu took a step forward. With each step, fiery lotuses bloomed beneath his feet. Like a demon king from hell, he landed on the water’s surface about a hundred meters away from Jiang Tian.
The fiery lotuses at his feet flickered, burning the lake water until it boiled. Rolling white mist steamed up around him, lending him an almost immortal air.
“Lin Zhenyu, when my disciple said you were like a stray dog, she was already being generous. Compared to me, you are merely an ant! If you know what’s good for you, sever one of your own arms, crawl out of China, and I will spare your life!”
The space beneath Jiang Tian’s feet distorted, rippling like water waves, as if he magically controlled a patch of space. He laughed arrogantly.
“Jiang Taichu, you are indeed arrogant enough!”
“And you truly have the capital for such arrogance. Despite your youth, your strength far surpasses Li Tuofeng and Huo Qingtian, having reached the peak of the Transforming State! Given time, you would undoubtedly achieve great things. A pity you have encountered me prematurely!”
Lin Zhenyu’s face twisted with sinister anger, his teeth grinding. His gaze was malicious as he said, “This old man treads upon China once more with the intent to sweep through the martial world. Who commands the winds and clouds today? When my flower blooms, all others shall fall. Now that I have encountered an opponent like you, how could I let the opportunity pass? I shall behead you, using you as a stepping stone to challenge Ye Zhantian!”
“Jiang Taichu… he truly is at the peak of the Transforming State!”
Hearing Lin Zhenyu’s judgment, everyone’s hearts were swept by a tidal wave of shock.
Peak of the Transforming State before the age of thirty!
This surpassed even the prodigious War God Ye Zhantian of his youth!
It was too incredible. The shock was no less than Mars colliding with Earth.
“We… have truly underestimated him too much!”
Masters like Huo Qingtian, Zhao Yuankun, and Wei Feilong stared in shock, their hearts filled with complex emotions and the melancholy of heroes past their prime.
They had thought about how many cultivation resources they had consumed, only reaching the Transforming State in their forties or fifties. Yet, Jiang Tian had achieved it at such a young age.
This Jiang Taichu was simply a living myth of this era!
Compared to him, we are simply… pathetically weak!
People like Hong Junshan and Zhang Wendao, who had previously sought vengeance against Jiang Tian, felt their hair stand on end, uneasy and filled with extreme terror.
“‘Peak of the Transforming State, a glimpse into the Divine Realm!’ ‘Upon witnessing the Divine Realm, martial artists become ants!'”
These were phrases widely circulated in the martial world.
It meant that reaching the Divine Realm represented a qualitative change in martial cultivation. Once the Divine Realm was achieved, words could command the law, spoken truths held power, approaching the level of deities.
No matter how strong a martial artist was, they were merely flesh and blood. How could they have the right to blaspheme a deity? They would be crushed like ants.
“If he held a grudge against us as we do against him, would any of us still be alive?”
As for people like Zhang Mingli, Zhao Hao, and Hong Hetu, who had previously clashed with Jiang Tian, their faces showed both shock and shame. They wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and disappear completely.
“So Master is this powerful…”
Tang Linglong looked on with adoration, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she gazed at that transcendent figure standing on the water.
…
Facing Lin Zhenyu, Jiang Tian paid no heed to these discussions, his expression calm and composed.
“Lin Zhenyu, you overestimate yourself. What do you amount to, thinking you can use me as a stepping stone?”
Jiang Tian let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with contempt. Finally, he launched his first strike. “Take my fist!”
Boom!
A semi-transparent fist formed of true energy, as large as a round table, shot forth horizontally.
Where the giant fist passed, the lake surface was “plowed open,” creating two white waves several meters high. The waves surged to the sides like overturned soil. The entire lake surface churned violently!
“What a powerful fist! I, Lin Zhenyu, am willing to honor you as the number one expert among the mainland martial artists!”
Lin Zhenyu’s face showed appreciation. Then, fire poison true energy erupted from all the pores of his body, and his sleeves billowed.
Streaks of crimson fire poison true energy shot skyward, possessing temperatures like magma, boiling the lake water and causing fish and shrimp to float belly-up. This violent and abundant fire true energy reached up to ten meters high, as if a solitary crimson peak or sheer cliff had emerged from the water’s surface.
Lin Zhenyu’s eyes flashed with cold light as he stared intently at Jiang Tian. With a wave of his hands, he unleashed a violent punch.
“Kunpeng Six Transformations, Second Transformation! Flood Dragon Transformation!”
With a thunderous crack!
The fire poison true energy transformed. It coalesced into a semi-transparent flaming flood dragon. Carrying the might of heaven and earth, it roared in fury, shaking its head and lashing its tail, stirring up a tempest on the lake, steaming up billowing white mist as it charged toward Jiang Tian’s giant fist.
Thud!
When the giant fist and the flood dragon collided.
An earth-shattering explosive roar echoed across the lake surface, setting off waves several meters high. The raging waves battered the shore, directly submerging nearly half of the lakeside estate.
Countless swimming fish and crabs from the lakebed were blasted into the air, landing on the shore, already cooked by the intense heat.
“Is this still human power?”
“Who gained the upper hand?”
Countless people scrambled to higher ground while casting terrified glances back at the lake, their hearts pounding.
When the mist dispersed, everyone was astonished to see Jiang Tian standing completely unmoved.
Lin Zhenyu, however, had been forced back over ten meters, and there were flecks of bright red blood staining his chest.
“Jiang Taichu actually gained the upper hand!”
No one knew how many were stunned speechless, unable to believe it.
But even greater surprises awaited them.
“Lin Zhenyu, you could actually withstand one of my fists. You do have some skill! But next, I will kill you within three moves!”
Jiang Tian’s clear, calm voice rang out across the entire lake, decisive and brimming with confidence.
Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded, skeptical.
Even if Jiang Tian was at the peak of the Transforming State and stronger than Lin Zhenyu, victory wouldn’t be that easy.
Masters at the Transforming State possessed powerful physiques, nearly impervious to all arts, unyielding to water and fire.
Therefore, battles between Grandmasters were usually protracted affairs, often lasting days and nights without clear resolution.
For example, the battle twenty years ago between Ye Zhantian and the old master from the northeast, Qiao Bin, atop Heaven’s Pool on Changbai Mountain lasted three days and three nights without a decisive outcome. His fight with Lin Zhenyu also lasted half a day before the true result emerged.
But this Jiang Taichu was just too… arrogant.
“Good! Jiang Taichu, you look down upon everything, as domineering as a dragon! You truly give me a pleasant surprise! Martial artists of our stature should possess such an air of contempt for the world and pride in overlooking all things!”
Lin Zhenyu, having suffered a minor setback and being judged so by Jiang Tian, was not angered but rather pleased. His fighting spirit surged turbulently like tidal waves.
Then, he threw over a dozen punches in succession. This time, he abandoned his previous fierce and overbearing style. Instead, his movements were simple, unadorned, and grand filled with the vastness of passing ages, like an ancient immortal demonstrating fist techniques. At times like an old tree with coiled roots, at times like a fish gliding in shallow water, at times like an eagle striking the sky, each movement possessed its own unique charm.
“Kunpeng Six Transformations, Wind and Thunder Transformation!”
He pushed the evolution to its limit. Two streams of fire poison true energy surged like wind and thunder, stirring heaven, earth, wind, and rain. They circled around behind Jiang Tian and swept toward him horizontally with sweeping ferocity!
“Kunpeng Six Transformations, Mountain and Sea Transformation!”
He continued the evolution consecutively, employing his full combat power. His face flushed red with exertion, veins bulged on his forehead, his hair and beard flew wildly. His fighting spirit surged like a boiling, angry sea. He clasped his hands together in empty space before him, then extended and dropped his hands to smash down!
A mass of fire poison true energy, dense and heavy as a mountain peak, tore through the air and rose. It was as if Gonggong, the water god, had angrily smashed into Mount Buzhou, crashing down from the sky. It pressed down upon the lake surface, creating a massive concave pit roughly ten meters in diameter!
“Kunpeng Six Transformations, Sun and Moon Transformation!”
His crimson sleeves billowed madly as he pushed his technique to its absolute limit, aiming for a fatal blow. Finally, he let out a all-out, hoarse roar.
The Sun and Moon Transformation was his proud masterpiece. The void above the lake surface trembled and blurred. One mass of fire poison shone brilliantly in the sky like the rising sun, while another mass condensed into a bright moon, emanating wisps of clear light, both pressing down toward Jiang Tian!
In that instant, everyone present witnessed a scene they would remember for the rest of their lives.
Upon the vast, tranquil lake, a giant sun and a moon appeared simultaneously.
Sun and moon appearing together, tides churning and rolling!
“Haha! Jiang Taichu! Originally, this old man thought that after glimpsing the truth of the Divine Realm, the only one in China who could stand shoulder to shoulder with me was Ye Zhantian. I never expected another junior like you to appear, able to match me without distinction! Truly a joy in this lifetime!”
After unleashing these three strongest transformations, Lin Zhenyu stood proudly atop the waves, laughing heartily.
“Jiang Taichu, it’s just a pity you are still slightly inferior! This old man has absorbed twenty years of magma fire poison, combined with the Kunpeng Six Transformations. How immensely powerful is that? Even a half-step into the Divine Realm, I can kill.”
“Alas, Lin Zhenyu’s mastery over True Qi has reached perfection. With a wave of his sleeve, wind and thunder rage; a lift of his hand, he can hurl mountains and fill seas; the phenomena of sun and moon appear together… If we faced him, I fear we would perish on the spot!”
Zhao Yuankun’s eyes held trepidation, as if beholding ghosts or gods.
None of the many martial arts experts spectating could disagree.
Those whose cultivation had reached the Transforming State, or the half-step into it, touching the threshold of True Qi, felt this most deeply.
Condensing Qi is extremely difficult. Yet, someone like Lin Zhenyu, who wielded True Qi with such effortless mastery, unleashing such myriad phenomena, was on a level they couldn’t even fathom.
The younger generation of martial artists watched, cold sweat pouring down, heads spinning and dizzy, feeling that everything before them had exhausted their imaginations of martial arts.
“And that Jiang Taichu is no slouch either! A sonic wave attack shattering the fire poison serpent, a single fist strike, indestructible, sweeping through all directions. An ordinary Grandmaster would likely retreat upon seeing him!”
Wei Feilong sighed deeply.
He now understood clearly that Jiang Tian’s slaying of the two martial Grandmasters, Mo Haoxiong and Hong Tianzhao, was absolutely based on solid, real strength, not luck or some schemes and tricks.
“Brother Feilong is right!”
Huo Qingtian, who had already returned to his seat, nodded, but a bitter smile appeared on his face. “For Jiang Taichu to reach the peak of the Transforming State before thirty can be called a once-in-a-century cultivation prodigy. It’s a pity… although his cultivation is on par with Lin Zhenyu’s, his techniques always seem slightly inferior. This is fire poison True Qi, after all…”
At this moment, he could feel the horror of that fire poison. It was like fiery serpents burrowing wildly through his meridians and acupuncture points, the pain unbearable, as if placed in a purgatorial furnace. Moreover, with his turbulent True Qi at the peak of the Transforming State, he actually couldn’t suppress it at all.
This statement seemed to settle the matter decisively.
Everyone fell into a silent, wordless state.
They had always longed for Jiang Tian’s death.
But for some reason, at this moment, a strong sense of regret and unwillingness surged from the depths of everyone’s hearts.
In truth, Lin Zhenyu was the one who truly acted without restraint. Twenty years ago, he invaded China, continuously challenging dojos, sweeping through unbeaten, slaying no less than eighty, if not a hundred, well-known martial artists.
Thinking carefully, Jiang Taichu had never actively provoked anyone. All his killings had reasons behind them. Compared to Lin Zhenyu, he was practically kind-hearted.
But such a dazzlingly talented young Grandmaster… was he about to… fall and perish here?
“Alas, what a pity… given another ten years, he would surely be able to suppress Lin Zhenyu!” Zhao Yuankun also shook his head with a bitter smile, his face full of bitterness.
Many martial artists felt a heavy weight in their hearts.
Would such a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy meet his end in such a miserable way?
“This old man doesn’t wish to watch anymore…”
Wei Feilong shook his head with a bitter smile, stood up, and prepared to leave.
Zhang Mingli, Zhao Hao, and others sighed and shook their heads, their hearts also feeling unsettled.
…
Ten meters, five meters… three meters!
Soon, the ultimate three transformations of Kunpeng almost simultaneously attacked Jiang Tian’s immediate vicinity.
The Wind and Thunder Transformation charged left and right, the Mountain and Sea Transformation crashed down from the sky, the Sun and Moon Transformation barreled forward recklessly. The ultimate three transformations completely enveloped Jiang Tian.
All the people saw was a raging inferno and billowing white mist, making it impossible to see Jiang Tian clearly. It seemed that Jiang Tian would be shattered into a pulp and burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Who would have thought that at this moment, a voice full of disdain emanated from deep within those flames—
“Lin Zhenyu, is this all the strength you have? That truly disappoints me greatly!”
Everyone gasped in shock, looking over.
They saw a pale azure dragon, over ten meters long, crystal-like, being conjured forth by Jiang Tian.
“Today, with a Canglong in hand, I can devour the sun and moon!”
With a low shout from Jiang Tian, that azure dragon suddenly soared into the air, opened its maw, and took a fierce inhale.
Whoosh!
Those thousand-degree flames, capable of melting metal and boiling iron, were actually swallowed whole by this white jade dragon like a whale gulping down water, not a single drop remaining.
Those high-temperature True Qi streams, like all rivers flow to the sea, were swallowed in one gulp by the white Canglong, as if they were merely sweet drinks for it.
Under everyone’s horrified gaze, the Canglong coiled behind Jiang Tian for a moment before shrinking back into his body.
Jiang Tian lazily took a step forward, smiling as he said, “Come on, come on, Lin Zhenyu, spit out some more fire to feed my little dragon…”
Lin Zhenyu was strong. Whether spirit, fleshly body, or True Qi, he had reached the peak of the Transforming State. He could even utilize and manipulate the Qi of heaven and earth, enough to rival a cultivator in the early stages of Qi Refining.
The ultimate three Kunpeng transformations he unleashed could crush an armored vehicle, burn a thousand-kilogram boulder to ashes. Even a Grandmaster at the peak of the Transforming State placed within it would perish in moments.
Unfortunately, he encountered Jiang Tian!
Jiang Tian, returned from ten thousand years of cultivation, master of all methods!
Jiang Tian condensed the True Yuan Canglong using the Yunhai Canglong Jue (Sea of Clouds Azure Dragon Technique). But what he just used to activate the Canglong was the “Great Sun Crucible” move from the “Devour Heaven Devil Art.”
The Devour Heaven Devil Art was created by Jiang Tian’s old friend from the Devil Sea Star Domain, “Ice Flower Devil Emperor.” It was exceptionally powerful.
That fellow Ice Flower was originally indifferent to worldly affairs and non-confrontational. But after being betrayed by his Dao companion who stole his magical treasures, nearly losing his life, his temperament changed drastically thereafter. He became cruel, greedy, bloodthirsty, and tyrannical. He pondered for three hundred years, comprehending the truths of cosmic laws, and created the Devour Heaven Devil Art.
Unlike ordinary cultivators who absorbed heaven and earth spiritual energy to improve their cultivation, his technique absorbed the essence, blood, and cultivation of others, converting it into his own. It was extremely cruel and cunning.
Imagine, no matter how strong your cultivation, unleashing various laws and energies, if the other party just swallows it all to enhance their own cultivation, how can you fight?
One could say the stronger your cultivation, the more disadvantaged you are.
Thus, for thousands of years, that fellow Ice Flower Devil Emperor went around muttering things like “Life is truly as lonely as snow,” “It’s lonely at the top,” “Please, fight me…” while burning, killing, plundering, sweeping across several continents and planets, dominating a star region, beating numerous great sages and Immortal Venerables into fleeing at the sight of him, running for their lives. Wherever he passed, not a blade of grass grew, cleaned out completely.
His reputation was as bad as Jiang Taichu’s, with names like “Devour Heaven Great Devil King,” “Number One Bandit of the Starry Sky,” “Like a Pixiu (mythical creature that eats without excreting), only eats, never excretes”… basically none of them pleasant.
Back then, when Jiang Tian came to the Demon Sea Continent, he fought Bing Hua for three years to a draw, directly destroying most of the continent. In the end, they respected each other, found common ground, shook hands and made peace, and became sworn brothers.
Jiang Tian taught him the “Chaos Creation Jue” to help him refine various conflicting energies, and that fellow Ice Flower returned the favor by teaching Jiang Tian the “Devour Heaven Devil Art.”
“Let me tell you, once you learn my little brother’s technique, you’ll also find life as lonely as snow!”
At the time, that fellow Ice Flower patted Jiang Tian’s shoulder, winking and grinning.
After comprehending it, Jiang Tian also felt this technique was too vicious and ruthless, against the natural order. He generally wouldn’t use it.
But just now, facing imminent danger, Jiang Tian couldn’t care about that. He directly fused the Great Sun Crucible of the Devour Heaven Devil Art into the Yunhai Canglong Jue.
This was equivalent to the Canglong being the body, the Great Sun Crucible being the function, capable of refining and absorbing any True Qi.
Even if Lin Zhenyu cultivated for another hundred years, it would still be mere magma fire poison in the end. How could it withstand the devouring power of these two Immortal Emperor-level techniques?
…
“This is impossible!”
Seeing this, Lin Zhenyu’s face drastically changed, filled with disbelief.
He had sat in meditation atop magma flames for twenty years, absorbing endless fire poison to form this scorching energy. He believed even Ye Zhantian would have to retreat upon encountering it. Yet now, Jiang Tian had swallowed it all in one gulp. What kind of devilish technique was Jiang Taichu cultivating? It was as if he were a devil god.
Not just him, all the spectating crowd erupted in exclamations of amazement.
Huo Qingtian, Wei Feilong, Zhao Yuankun, and other contemporary top masters nearly had their eyeballs fall out.
“Run! Run now! I’d need another thirty years of bitter cultivation to have a chance…”
Lin Zhenyu truly lived up to being an overseas Grandmaster, rich in practical combat experience. One strike unsuccessful, he immediately sought to flee a thousand miles.
They saw him frantically stamp his feet, as if treading on wind-fire wheels, waving his arms and legs, madly sprinting into the distance.
With all his cultivation poured into running, he truly was fast as lightning. In an instant, he had dashed out several hundred meters.
“Run! Let’s see how fast you can run. You think you’re Liu Xiang (famous Chinese hurdler)?”
Jiang Tian spit-spit! He spat twice onto his palms, rubbed his hands together. Then, under everyone’s incredulous gaze—
He took off his shoe!
Subsequently, Jiang Tian raised his hand and hurled the shoe with force.
“Oh, for crying out loud!”
“Is this some kind of wordless insult and disdain?”
Many martial artists had black lines over their heads, speechless.
Grandmaster duels were spectacular, filled with heroic spirit, like immortals and divine generals fighting, so magnificent and grand.
But now he was actually fighting like a country bumpkin brawling, using a shoe to hit someone… Could you be any more despicable?
Yet when this shoe was thrown, everyone collectively jumped in surprise.
Whoosh!
Swish!
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air. On the boundless lake surface, the shoe actually pulled out a white stream of turbulent air.
The scene was like a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, spewing out a long fan-shaped exhaust.
Lin Zhenyu was fast, but compared to Jiang Tian’s shoe, he was far, far too slow.
He heard faint sounds of wind and thunder behind him, sensing an overwhelmingly powerful energy approaching. He cursed inwardly, whirled around, and pushed out all his True Qi, crossing his arms in a defensive posture, trying to block this strike.
But the power behind Jiang Tian’s shoe was too immense. His countless layers of protective energy shattered like paper. The shoe, like a rocket, heavily impacted his chest.
“It’s actually a shoe…”
Lin Zhenyu uttered his final words with a mixture of laughter and tears, before spitting out streaks of blood.
He had endured twenty years of hardship in that volcano, his tall frame able to withstand the blast of bullets. But now, a shoe had smashed into his sternum, causing a large dent. His inner energy surged outward uncontrollably, causing his surging body to explode, turning into countless pieces of flesh and blood that fell into the lake.
Boom! A shocking sound wave arrived belatedly. Jiang Tian’s strike had broken the sound barrier!
“Lin Zhenyu… is dead?”
After who knows how long, Wei Feilong finally seemed to regain his senses, as if his spirit had returned to his body.
“Lin Zhenyu is dead!”
Zhao Yuankun’s face was extremely grave, his gaze utterly horrified as he slowly nodded.
For a moment, all gazes fell upon that figure in white at the center of the lake, filled with reverence and extreme trepidation, as if beholding an immortal, a devil, a deity.
They knew that today, one star had fallen, but a new star had risen.
“Canglong devouring sun and moon, killing a Grandmaster within three moves!”
“Who commands the winds and clouds today? When my flower blooms, all others shall fall! From this day forward, the name Jiang Taichu will resound throughout China!”
Huo Qingtian shot to his feet, his eyes blazing. In the end, he declared decisively.
He was the strongest master present, second on the Divine Ranking. His words were the final footnote to this great battle.
December 31st, 2007.
Jiang Taichu, on Poyang Lake, slew the number one overseas Grandmaster, the leader of the Big Circle Gang, Lin Zhenyu!
A single battle that shook the world!
The Kunpeng Six Transformations was originally an extremely powerful technique. Moreover, Lin Zhenyu had spent twenty arduous years sitting atop a volcano crater, absorbing thousand-degree high-temperature magma fire poison, further strengthening it.
He was filled with confidence. His current strength was comparable to a half-step into the Divine Realm, surpassing the Ye Zhantian of twenty years ago by more than just a single level!
“He’s too strong!”
When Lin Zhenyu began to demonstrate the ultimate three Kunpeng Transformations, everyone watched dumbstruck, utterly astounded.
They felt he was no longer human, but a deity capable of turning clouds and rain with a single hand, plucking stars and grasping the moon. That area of Poyang Lake was churned into towering waves and steaming mist by him.
