Martial Cultivator

This Dao ancestor hall was originally built with the purpose of deceiving the masses. Daoist Sage Tianyi harbored no respect for the so-called Dao ancestor.

He held no affection for most martial artists in the world either, not even for the Great Liang Emperor, who possessed unparalleled martial prowess, or for the current Great Liang Dynasty.

For years, he had been searching for a comrade of the same Dao, but had yet to find one. Seeing Chen Chao now, he felt a glimmer of hope ignited within him. However, the young martial artist showed no interest, leaving Daoist Sage Tianyi incomparably disappointed.

Reaching out, he picked up a fragment of the Dao ancestor statue. Slowly raising his head to look at the young martial artist before him, he chuckled, "Quite capable, very good."

Chen Chao who stood at the doorway simply asked, "How many punches do you think you can still withstand from me?"

"It's said that the fist fears the young. Though you are young, I am not old yet."

Daoist Sage Tianyi cracked his neck, smiling as he lamented, "But when I was your age, I wasn't as good as you. However, with such potential, why are you so conservative? Damn."

Chen Chao remained silent and just smiled.

Suddenly, Daoist Sage Tianyi asked, "What do you think of the Dao ancestor behind me?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Chao lifted his head to look. The Dao ancestor statue, previously shattered by Daoist Sage Tianyi's impact, was now in ruins, with its body severely damaged. Only the head remained relatively intact. Chen Chao glanced at it and shrugged, "Nothing special."

Daoist Sage Tianyi burst into laughter, "Do you know, Daoist cultivators around the world bow reverently when they see this Dao ancestor statue?"

Chen Chao was taken aback, then immediately said, "So, according to you, if you were to establish a new path, you would be treated the same way?"

Daoist Sage Tianyi sighed, "It's a pity you won't see it. If you follow me, you will surely have a place by my side."

"Indeed a pity. I can't smell the incense or taste the cold pig's head meat."

Before Chen Chao's voice faded, he pounced towards Daoist Sage Tianyi again, initiating another bout of fierce battle within the hall.

This time, Chen Chao's heavy fist struck directly at Daoist Sage Tianyi's face. Daoist Sage Tianyi extended one hand to block while the other hand formed a fist aimed at Chen Chao's head. Chen Chao tilted his head slightly, dodging the punch, and simultaneously kicked toward Daoist Sage Tianyi's chest.

As Daoist Sage Tianyi withdrew his fist, it landed heavily on Chen Chao's shoe sole. However, instead of being knocked backward by the punch, Chen Chao used the momentum to propel himself into the air. With a strange arc, he reversed his trajectory and reappeared above Daoist Sage Tianyi's head.

Then, he stomped his foot heavily.

Daoist Sage Tianyi crossed his arms in front of him to block the attack, but he was still pressed down to one knee under the force.

A crack immediately appeared on the ground.

This time, it was an eye for an eye.

Previously, it was Chen Chao who was half-kneeling, and now it was Daoist Sage Tianyi half-kneeling.

With this, seemed like changing positions from offensive to defensive.

However, Daoist Sage Tianyi remained unfazed. After being pressed down, he actually chose to take the initiative to retract his hands. Using his shoulders to bear Chen Chao's kick, he then grabbed Chen Chao's ankle with both hands and forcefully swung in a large circle, flinging Chen Chao into the nearby Dao ancestor statue. The already dismal Dao ancestor statue was completely smashed, with its head rolling off and shattering into pieces upon hitting the ground.

After shattering this Dao ancestor statue, Chen Chao also inadvertently demolished several pillars. As a result, half of the Dao ancestor hall collapsed in an instant.

Countless beams and debris fell, causing dust to billow up.

Slowly turning around, Daoist Sage Tianyi looked at the ruins. However, the dust was too thick at this moment, making it difficult for even him to see clearly.

At that moment, a figure burst out from the dust, instantly dispersing the qi in Daoist Sage Tianyi's chest. Staggering back several steps, Daoist Sage Tianyi then felt another palm descending on top of his head.

This time, Daoist Sage Tianyi was unable to dodge in time and took the blow head-on. Blood began to flow from the top of his head, quickly blurring his vision.

However, in that split second, relying solely on his years of cultivation experience, he managed to block several heavy blows from the young martial artist despite his obstructed vision.

In their last exchange, Chen Chao struck Daoist Sage Tianyi's chest with his elbow, while Daoist Sage Tianyi landed a punch on the young martial artist's head.

Both of them were seriously injured from this last encounter.

At this moment, the situation for both of them seemed delicate. It would depend on how things would unfold from here.

They each retreated several dozen feet. Daoist Sage Tianyi was forced back to the doorway. He casually grabbed a nearby long cloth, wiped the blood from his eyes, and then saw the young martial artist across from him who was also shirtless, gasping heavily for air.

Only then, did Daoist Sage Tianyi sighed emotionally, "If you had carried your saber just now, you probably would have caught me off guard. What a pity."

Chen Chao remained silent. The wounds on his body, which had already been ripped open in this fierce battle, were now bleeding profusely, making him look like a bloody man.

From the moment he started climbing the mountain until now, despite replenishing his qi several times to recover along the way, in the end, it could be summed up as one long battle.

The current him was already seriously wounded.

If he did not have any contingency plans, he would likely die on this Clearwater Mountain.

But everything was not lost yet.

Chen Chao really had a contingency plan.

Chen Chao let out a sigh.

Daoist Sage Tianyi asked, "What other tricks do you have?"

Chen Chao did not say a word, just exhaled deeply.

The qi that had been suppressed throughout his body finally welled up completely at this moment, without any restraint.

Daoist Sage Tianyi was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he lunged at Chen Chao and threw a heavy punch to his chest.

He had not expected that the young martial artist in front of him had already reached the bottleneck of the Bitter Sea Realm and had been holding back from breaking through. If it were not for this fight, Daoist Sage Tianyi would probably have waited for the young martial artist to break through. However, after this fight, he dared not wait any longer. If Chen Chao broke through, it would mean a new surge of qi for him, and then Daoist Sage Tianyi would likely be helpless against him.

So now, he aimed to completely shatter the momentum of this young martial artist's breakthrough. A punch to the chest would scatter his qi, rendering him unable to salvage the situation.

However, at this critical moment of breakthrough, although Chen Chao's movements were restricted, he still managed to block Daoist Sage Tianyi's powerful punch by crossing both arms in front of him.

After the punch, Chen Chao was sent flying backward, crashing into the debris once again. At this moment, the entire Dao ancestor hall finally crumbled entirely.

Daoist Sage Tianyi did not leave the battlefield. Instead, he continued to advance, grabbing one of Chen Chao's arms with one hand while continuously punching his chest with the other.

Meanwhile, the Dao ancestor hall finally collapsed completely, burying Tianyi and Chen Chao within its ruins.

However, there were still intense rumblings that emitted, like thunder, echoing incessantly.

After an unknown period of time, Daoist Sage Tianyi soared into the sky, breaking free from the rubble. However, his expression became extremely ugly, and he turned to leave.

But at the same time behind him, a cold voice sounded, "You've had your fun and now you want to leave?"

Daoist Sage Tianyi's expression darkened, but he was unwilling to turn around. Instead, he dashed forward, ignoring the pouring rain.

However, he had not gone far when the young martial artist inexplicably appeared in front of him.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the young martial artist stared at Daoist Sage Tianyi and said softly, "It's my turn now."

At this moment, Daoist Sage Tianyi felt not only fear but also incredulity. Despite his continuous powerful punches earlier, he could not understand why he failed to stop this young martial artist from successfully breaking through in front of him.

This was fundamentally why he felt that he should not continue fighting to the death with this young martial artist. This young martial artist seemed to have too many secrets, which could not be understood by common sense.

Daoist Sage Tianyi said in a deep voice, "Even so, with both of us at the same realm, do you really think you can kill me?"

Chen Chao responded with just three words: "I can try."

Then the two of them clashed again in the heavy rain. But compared to before, Chen Chao's attacks this time were much more ferocious, and Daoist Sage Tianyi soon found it difficult to defend himself.

Chen Chao quickly grabbed Daoist Sage Tianyi's arm and forcefully twisted it, directly breaking his arm. At the same time, he threw a punch, striking the chest of the Great Beyond Realm martial artist.

Daoist Sage Tianyi attempted to throw a punch with all his might, but was simultaneously struck by Chen Chao's punch. This time, their fists collided, and Daoist Sage Tianyi's fingers instantly fractured, his entire hand falling limp.

Chen Chao grabbed Daoist Sage Tianyi by the neck, raining punch after punch onto his chest.

Soon, Daoist Sage Tianyi's chest became a blur of flesh and blood.

Daoist Sage Tianyi vomited blood non-stop, but was helpless to stop the attacks of this young martial artist before him.

Several minutes later, he was already on his dying gasp.

His eyes were soaked in blood, barely able to stay open.

Chen Chao continued to rain down punches expressionlessly, intent on fulfilling his promise to beat Daoist Sage Tianyi to death punch by punch.

Daoist Sage Tianyi could no longer speak. He was not far from death anymore.

Chen Chao showed no signs of stopping. In the rain, it seemed as though the little girl holding a sugar figurine had appeared again before him.

She was smiling at him.

Chen Chao closed his eyes in pain but continued to throw punches.

However, after a moment, he opened both eyes again. His eyes were still clear and unaffected by heart demons.

It was unknown how much time had passed. The heavy rain persisted, but Daoist Sage Tianyi was on the brink of death.

His entire body was shattered, bones crushed, and flesh no longer able to support him, currently enduring immense agony.

Chen Chao stopped punching, released his grip, and let Daoist Sage Tianyi fall.

He then lowered his head to look at Daoist Sage Tianyi. After a moment of silence, he said, "Forgot to tell you, I've also eaten humans before."

After a moment, he shook his head again and said, "They don't taste good."

Daoist Sage Tianyi did not hear this sentence, the pouring rain also obscured this sentence.

Only Chen Chao could hear it.