Chapter Forty-One: The Battle Ends!
Buddhist Order, the Compassionate Master!
A middle-aged man with a shaved head stood robed in saffron, leaning on a staff, his other hand raised in a solemn gesture. He stood unmoving, solid as a mountain, his face utterly impassive—neither joy nor anger flickered across his features. Eyes closed in tranquil meditation, his lips moved in a silent chant as his thumb rolled the prayer beads. A faint aura of Buddhist energy swirled about him, while a dazzling golden radiance blazed behind his form.
Before him stood Wang Hu, the Tiger King of the Gate of Fulfillment, both fists poised before his chest like tiger’s claws. Muscles bulged across his powerful frame, exuding a savage and formidable might that seemed to transcend humanity. Crimson blood energy surged around him, forming the spectral image of a giant tiger, its fur the same scarlet hue. The beast’s fearsome claws merged with Wang Hu’s fists, and the rage in his eyes mirrored that of the spectral tiger.
Simply by standing there, these two men gave Jiang Chen an overwhelming sense of peril. One was weighty as a mountain, yet tranquil as still water. The other radiated a wild, ferocious energy that pressed even Jiang Chen himself.
“Roar!”
Without giving Jiang Chen a chance to escape, Wang Hu let out a roar that echoed like a tiger’s cry, shaking the heavens.
“You dare kill them!”
“Die!”
Like a tiger pouncing on prey, Wang Hu’s massive body charged at Jiang Chen, his clawed hands reaching straight for Jiang Chen’s throat.
Momentum! A force of overwhelming dominance erupted from Wang Hu. In that instant, he became a tiger descending the mountain—unstoppable, devouring all before him.
“Roar!” The wounded Jiang Chen bellowed, unleashing a fist.
Boom!
The collision thundered like muffled drums. Jiang Chen’s massive fist met Wang Hu’s claws; they parted after a single clash.
Bang!
Wang Hu was hurled backward through the air. The moment he landed, the ground beneath his feet split open, and he staggered back more than a dozen steps before the force dissipated. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Jiang Chen looked down with icy disdain at the insignificant human, but in the next instant, he froze in shock. His sole remaining left hand suddenly went limp, utterly powerless. A searing pain flared.
“Roar!” In agony, the Corpse King Jiang Chen threw back his head and howled. His left wrist was utterly shattered! Skin tougher than steel was ripped apart, tendons torn asunder. Wang Hu’s tiger-claw fists, as sharp as a real tiger’s, had utterly destroyed Jiang Chen’s last good hand.
At this moment, Jiang Chen was in the most wretched state. His right arm had been smashed by water, his left ruined by the Form-Intent Fist. One eye had been pierced by the assassin in the shadows. The True Yang Fire unleashed by Dao Wanqian had scattered his corpse energy, sapping his defense.
Yet Jiang Chen’s gaze remained locked on Wang Hu. He could feel it—Wang Hu’s head-on clash with him had left both sides gravely wounded.
His own left fist was ruined, and Wang Hu’s blood energy was in utter chaos. Now, if he wanted to escape, he had only one option...
“I’ll eat you!!”
With a furious roar, Jiang Chen charged at Wang Hu.
Despair flickered across Wang Hu’s face. He had overestimated his strength, never expecting Jiang Chen’s punch to be so devastating. Now, his blood energy was in turmoil, his meridians nearly shattered, and he could barely stand.
At that very instant, as Jiang Chen lunged with mouth agape—
Swish!
The Compassionate Master’s tightly shut eyes flew open.
A Bodhisattva’s gentle gaze.
A Vajra’s wrathful glare!
In that moment, the Compassionate Master was no longer a figure of mercy; he became a wrathful Vajra, a slayer of demons. Behind him, the phantom of an Arhat materialized with a thunderous presence. Buddhist light blazed in all directions.
A radiant golden swastika appeared before Jiang Chen, blasting him backward!
A chorus of Sanskrit chants poured down from the heavens. Bathed in that Buddha light, Jiang Chen’s skin melted like snow in spring, blue-white blood streaming from every pore as if each ray of golden light were a blade.
“Amitabha!”
“Today, I will deliver your tormented soul.”
The monk advanced, iron staff in hand, step by step toward the howling Jiang Chen. The Vajra phantom behind him also strode forward, staff in hand.
Demon-Subduing Vajra Staff!
He took nine steps.
Lotuses bloomed beneath his feet.
Buddha energy filled the air.
In just nine strides, the Compassionate Master crossed a hundred meters, halting before the Corpse King Jiang Chen. He leaped high, staff raised like a mountain, and brought it crashing down.
But that was no ordinary iron staff! The monk’s weapon shimmered with Buddha light, swirling with sacred energy, inscribed with countless sutras—a weapon steeped in generations of accrued merit, the legendary Demon-Subduing Vajra Staff of the Buddhist order!
Demon-Subduing!
The staff, bearing the weight of ten thousand mountains, struck the Corpse King’s skull with a deafening crash.
The earth cracked in a ten-meter radius; Jiang Chen’s body, sturdy enough to withstand armored vehicles, buckled under the blow, both knees crashing to the ground. This time, not even a roar escaped his lips.
The Compassionate Master gave Jiang Chen no respite. The second blow struck his head again.
Bang!
Jiang Chen’s skull was driven into the earth.
With two strikes, the Compassionate Master staggered back, spent. He had only recently begun cultivating the God-Slaying Demon-Exterminating Art. Though his foundation was solid, he had only reached the seventh level—his Buddha energy was limited.
Jiang Chen remained motionless, kneeling as if in worship among the corpses.
The silence was absolute.
“Is he dead?” Dao Wanqian asked anxiously, standing behind Lin Fan, eyes fixed on the kneeling Corpse King Jiang Chen.
He was nearly spent as well. In fact, everyone present had reached their limits. Though all were heirs of martial families or sects, they had only been cultivating the God-Slaying Demon-Exterminating Art for a day. Even with years of tempered meridians and dantians, they still needed time to absorb the divine energy from the air and fill their dried-up channels.
But even converting ambient divine energy took time! Most had only reached the sixth or seventh level. Though each seemed to have struck only once, every strike had been all-out. Their strength was nearly exhausted.
If the Corpse King still had fight left in him, they would be hard-pressed to prevail.
“He should be dead...” Lin Fan frowned, sensing Jiang Chen’s aura had all but vanished, fading rapidly—reduced to a faint, nearly imperceptible trace.
Lin Fan said coldly, “God-Slaying Army First Squad, battle conclud—”
But at that moment,
“Roar!”
A terrifying howl erupted.
Blood from the fallen warriors surged toward the Corpse King, their bodies shriveling as their blood was drawn to him. Bathed in this vital energy, his wounded form rapidly healed. The severed right arm regrew, torn tendons knit, even his ravaged skin restored itself.
No, not just restored—he became stronger!
An even more powerful aura exploded outward, earth erupting around him as the Corpse King slowly rose. His rotten body, once five meters tall, now swelled to seven meters. His cold gaze swept the field, looking down upon the survivors like insects.
“Pathetic humans. You dare try to kill me?”
“Heh heh... I am the Corpse King Jiang Chen. Your lives shall become my fea—”
Swish!
His words were cut short. A flash of cold light, a short blade sliced cleanly across his throat!
A shadowy figure, moving at impossible speed, swept past the Corpse King.
Time seemed to freeze.
The smile on Jiang Chen’s face lingered, vivid yet already stiff.
Gurgle.
Boom!
His head toppled to the ground, his massive body crashing down.
Lin Fan stood beside him, expressionless, blade in hand.
“Enough. Isn’t this over yet? Why so much pointless talk?”
For a moment, the world was still.
Dao Wanqian stared in disbelief. “Is it... really over?”
Lin Fan turned to the stunned crowd, sheathing his blade, and said in a deep voice, “God-Slaying Army First Squad, battle concluded!”