Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 91: The Power of a Single Punch

In sheer shock, the old man lost all trace of his earlier composure and dignity. He gathered all his energy, clasped his palms together, and his sleeves rustled violently due to the surging qi. At the same time, he let out a loud roar as his vital energy surged forth to meet Chu Tianyu’s formidable move, “Dominant Eternity.”

When the two streams of energy collided, not a sound was made. The old man’s meager qi was instantly swallowed up, while what echoed around was still the roar generated by Chu Tianyu’s fierce strike…

Only then did everyone, including the old man, truly understand the meaning of the saying “trying to stop a train with one’s arms”—an act of overestimating one’s own strength. The old man never imagined that the seemingly ageless man before him, who must be no older than thirty, could possess such devastating power.

Although he had initially assumed this move to be extremely powerful, he thought that with his over sixty years of experience, he would still be able to protect himself. But now, that thought had become an unattainable dream…

After his resistance was shattered by the powerful energy, Chu Tianyu controlled it to deliver countless punches to the old man at lightning speed, just as he had done to the Tiancai and Di Bao brothers.

Chu Tianyu did not use the full force of “Dominant Eternity.” Instead, he combined it with the qi control techniques taught by his master, Xianyun. The outer layers remained filled with surging energy, while the center was left empty, with only a few fist-sized clusters of energy remaining—this was how he achieved the desired effect.

The old man suffered greatly. Not only did he have to endure the pressure of the tornado-like qi all around him, but he also took punches to his chest, forcing him to retreat step by step.

Being controlled by his opponent, with no chance to resist and feeling the sound of his own meridians gradually breaking with each strike—this was an agony worse than death!

After retreating eighteen steps, the old man finally collapsed to the ground, unable to move further. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to retreat; his meridians, including his legs and feet, had already been completely broken by Chu Tianyu’s punches…

The excruciating pain made the old man lose all trace of his former dignity. He began to wail like a hysterical woman, his cries piercing through the valley.

Chu Tianyu remained motionless. Suddenly, he snapped his hand sideways, as if slapping someone in mid-air. The qi in front of the old man instantly changed direction, moving at a speed too fast to track with the naked eye—toward the direction of that same pair of rude spouses.

His terrifying strength once again struck at everyone’s visual nerves, leaving every person present in a state of blankness once more… A lesson from the past. Those two tried to react—either to dodge or to resist with all their might—but Chu Tianyu’s speed and suddenness of attack left them with no time to prepare. Two sharp sounds—“slap~ slap~”—like physical slaps—awakened those whose minds were temporarily blank. The couple spat out mouthfuls of blood; before they could even use their internal energy to resist, a powerful force rushed into their faces. It not only consumed the original vital energy in their meridians but also destroyed all their major meridians at once! Both the husband and wife, with hearts filled with despair, thought the same thing: “It’s over. All decades of hard training are ruined today. From now on, we’ll be useless people—living is worse than dying!” As for Chu Tianyu’s actions, there was only one word to describe them—“fierce”! Chu Tianyu slowly retracted his energy. Under the astonished gazes of everyone, he stepped toward the old man, who resembled a pile of rotten flesh but was still alive, his cold eyes showing not a trace of pity. “Who, who are you? How can you possess such power?” the old man asked, gasping for breath. “A disciple of Yunmen! My master is Xianyun!” Chu Tianyu replied simply and directly. “No, it’s impossible! People from Yunmen—even Xianyun—wouldn’t have such power! And besides, you’re his disciple!” The old man suddenly widened his eyes, already devoid of life, and asked excitedly. Chu Tianyu didn’t answer this question. Instead, he walked over to the couple. He didn’t need to answer because there was no point in explaining anything to a dead man! Sure enough, after saying so much in his final moments, the old man didn’t even twitch before tilting his head and reluctantly passing away… Chu Tianyu went straight to the couple and said in the same cold tone, “You insulted my master and disabled his martial arts. May Yunmen’s glory endure forever!” His words shocked everyone again. They thought the earlier strike was just Chu Tianyu slapping them, but from such a distance, he had simply disabled their martial arts. The gap between him and others was simply too huge! Those few people already had abnormally high levels of cultivation, yet this man, claiming to be a direct disciple of Yunmen, handled them as easily as if it were a child’s play—killing one and disabling two. Was this even human?

At this moment, Wei Yanqing of the Demon Battle Faction and the Four Ghost Kings were sweating profusely! Wei Yanqing, in particular, was drenched in sweat—having witnessed such formidable strength and the true power of the Cloud Gate Sect. Fortunately, thanks to some ancestral blessing, he managed to resolve the conflict in time and recognized the Cloud Gate disciple at just the right moment; otherwise, even with their numbers advantage, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against this direct disciple of Cloud Gate, who could summon tornadoes on the spot. It was only after seeing Chu Tianyu’s strike and his subsequent actions in confronting the enemy that Wei Yanqing truly understood what “eternal dominance” and “unrivaled prowess” meant—this was exactly that!

As for the Four Elders of the Ghost Gate, they had initially dismissed the sect leader’s humility, thinking he was being too modest toward Cloud Gate. Even if the early members of Cloud Gate had shown him kindness, he was now the leader of his own sect, representing countless followers—how could there be any reason to show disrespect? But now, such thoughts were long gone; all they could think was, “No wonder they’re only fit to be guardians. The sect leader is truly the leader—so wise, truly wise!”

Xue Feifei and the disciples of the Tianyin Sect were utterly confused. How could a simple guide from the mountains suddenly become such a powerful figure with absolute control over life and death, and seemingly related to the Tiancai and Dibao brothers? Yet it seemed like they didn’t even know each other? Xue Feifei pondered further, wondering if this person had ulterior motives against her Tianyin Sect. But she quickly dismissed this foolish idea. With such formidable strength, what could he possibly want? Would he need to hide his identity and schemecraft against them? It was likely just a coincidence that he was hiding here. Moreover, Xue Feifei was almost certain that the sudden retreat of the Hanchan Sect that night, and the middle-aged man who fought her and ended up injured and bleeding, were both the result of his secret help!

As Xue Feifei recalled everything that had happened along the way, she suddenly realized they had indeed encountered a kindred spirit. Many seemingly dangerous situations had been resolved secretly by this person, as well as the fresh food they had eaten—things that other cultivators couldn’t find or hunt. Realizing this, Xue Feifei slapped her own head and thought to herself, “I’m so stupid! Only now do I realize—how could someone with such strength accomplish so many seemingly simple yet actually very difficult tasks so easily…”

Tian Cai Di Bao and their brother were still stunned there. The situation on the field had changed rapidly, and it involved their Yunmen sect. That man was even said to be the direct disciple of the sect’s founder, Xian Yun Di, leaving them completely confused.

However, they firmly believed whatever Chu Tianyu said. Not to mention the pure Xuan Qing True Qi and that overwhelming dominance far beyond theirs—just his determination to protect Yunmen’s reputation, his heroic spirit, and his unyielding resolve to resist any infringement made these two brothers deeply convinced and proud to be disciples of Yunmen…

Thinking of this, they seemed to remember something at the same time. As if sensing each other’s thoughts, they exchanged a glance, then rose without hesitation and rushed toward Chu Tianyu in a few strides. Each grabbed one of his thighs and cried out loudly, “Uncle! Where is our master? You’ve made us suffer so much!”

“That’s right! If it weren’t for our master… he… ugh, ugh…”

“Uncle, we’ve been bullied to death… ugh…”

“Uncle, you must stand up for us!”

…

Chu Tianyu felt sad seeing his two junior disciples, who were even older than him, crying so bitterly. It seemed his eldest disciple had encountered some trouble, and these two must have suffered a lot too; otherwise, given their personalities, they wouldn’t have reacted so impulsively. Their emotional outburst showed that they now felt they had found a “community” and a “support system.”

“Please stand up, my junior disciples. We can talk slowly later. For now, just remember this: whoever dares to insult the disciples of Yunmen will have to pay ten times over! They’ll regret it for life!” Chu Tianyu said sternly as he helped them up.

Hearing this, Tian Cai Di Bao and their brother nodded firmly at the same time and responded, “Mm!”

After dealing with these two, Chu Tianyu felt a headache again. With his strength now exposed, he didn’t know how to face the disciples of Tianyin Sect. What were they thinking now?

Still, Chu Tianyu led Tian Cai Di Bao over to the two brothers who had been crying like children just moments ago. With their powerful uncle by their side, they immediately held their heads high, puffed out their chests, and glanced around, enjoying the admiring looks from others.

Suddenly, Tian Cai Di Bao and their brother seemed to remember something. Their excited and proud expressions turned gloomy, and they asked Chu Tianyu in a quiet, resentful tone.

At first, when Chu Tianyu saw their expressions, his heart tightened. Could something terrible have happened to his senior brother? But after hearing their questions, he could only think that perhaps he really shouldn’t have come to save those two kids! The questions from those two fools were, “Uncle, now that you’re our uncle, will you stop making soup and giving us bamboo shoots to eat?”