Chapter 123: Terrifying Hong Qi, Jade Bone, Counterstrike

Chapter 123: Terrifying Hong Qi, Jade Bone, Counterstrike

The sound waves faded, the winds calmed, yet flowers and grass still trembled violently, leaves swirling in midair.

On the ground littered with shattered rocks, Jie Tai’s retreating steps carved two long furrows. In contrast, Su Chen stood unmoved, like an evergreen pine.

Jie Tai glared at Su Chen, his palms trembling faintly as the crimson aura around them dissipated. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his expression frozen in disbelief.

Beside them, Cai Liuliu’s pupils contracted. In their brief clash, he’d seen Su Chen’s strength rival Jie Tai’s. Surprise rippled through him—So powerful?

Zhu Yan’s mouth hung open. Though he couldn’t gauge Su Chen’s true depth, he marveled at how Su Chen had repelled Jie Tai unscathed.

“He’s grown stronger again,” Zhu Yan muttered.

“Let’s step back. Don’t interfere with Ding Xiaoyou,” Cai Liuliu urged the others.

Cai Xiaoyue nodded, her heart racing at her uncle’s new honorific for Su Chen. Has Su Chen truly reached my father’s level? But he’s barely past youth!

Jie Tai’s expression shifted before he chuckled bitterly. “Seems I underestimated you. So that’s why you brought such a formidable ally.”

He’d been certain of victory—until this young cultivator barreled in. Their earlier clash had been even. Worse, Su Chen’s energy felt abnormal—both fiercer than Jie Tai’s Yang Severing and oddly suffocating, slowing his own energy’s flow.

Ignoring Jie Tai’s words, Su Chen lunged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, crossing ten meters in a breath to strike.

“Foolish!” Jie Tai snarled. Though evenly matched before, Su Chen’s audacity now warranted annihilation.

He’d assessed Su Chen’s realm—Visceral Reformation. Even with potent energy, how could it rival a Bone Tempering cultivator?

Undeterred, Jie Tai unleashed his Yang Severing Palms, a storm of strikes crackling with tiny vortexes that pierced the air itself. The scorching energy snared Su Chen’s every escape route.

Su Chen, already familiar with Jie Tai’s energy from their first clash, narrowed his eyes but barely.

Only barely.

With fourfold energy reserves, Su Chen’s Visceral Reformation realm equaled Bone Tempering. And his combined energy—layered four times—had once beheaded Madam Qi, even wounded. Jie Tai, weakened? No match.

As Jie Tai’s onslaught roared, Su Chen’s gaze remained calm. He channeled energy swiftly, his Xuan Yuan Cultivation accelerating his movements beyond ordinary cultivators’ limits.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

Two phantom figures clashed, sparks flying like iron hammers striking steel. The air rang with crisp explosions, their movements blurring into afterimages.

Trees splintered; the earth turned to dust.

“Father, won’t Ding Peng Benefactor be in danger?” Cai Xiaoyue watched anxiously.

Cai Liuliu never blinked. “No. Jie Tai will fall soon.”

Initially, Jie Tai had edged ahead. Now, Su Chen dominated utterly.

A Visceral Reformation cultivator overpowering Bone Tempering? Cai Liuliu, seasoned in Big Feng City’s underworld, had never witnessed such power. Not even heard of it.

The famed Xuan Shui Sect hailed a disciple who’d bested a Bone Tempering Minor Mastery cultivator at Visceral Reformation Perfection. Yet beside Su Chen, that “prodigy” was an ant.

Su Chen’s opponent wasn’t just Bone Tempering Minor Mastery—he crushed a fully realized Bone Tempering master.

Peng! Peng! Peng!

After dozens of exchanges, Jie Tai leaped back, face flushed, breath ragged. Defiance in his eyes evaporated, replaced by dread.

The more he fought, the more helpless he felt. Su Chen’s energy defied logic—shifting between overwhelming, endless, lightning-fast, or scorching hot. How?

Does he cultivate multiple arts? The thought horrified him. If true… my cultivation’s been wasted!

Before he could catch his breath, Su Chen charged again. Jie Tai’s face paled. A retreat flitted through his mind, but rage at being so close to killing Cai Liuliu overrode fear.

“I’ll prove my energy’s deeper!”

Teeth gritted, Jie Tai surged forward.

Sonic booms erupted. Su Chen seized an opening, slamming a palm into Jie Tai’s chest.

“Hmph! Cough… now you’ve fallen for it!” Jie Tai laughed, blood dripping as he smirked.

In one fluid motion, he pivoted toward Cai Liuliu’s group.

“Protect the leader!” his subordinates roared, forming a desperate shield.

Futile. Jie Tai’s energy shattered them in seconds, his palm smashing through their bodies like paper.

“No!” Cai Liuliu shoved Zhu Yan and Cai Xiaoyue aside, his own wounds erupting in blood as he tried to counter.

“Foolish! Your end comes today!” Jie Tai sneered. Wounded, Cai Liuliu could barely land a single strike—let alone three.

Cai Liuliu knew it. Yet he lunged, aura blazing like a dying volcano.

“Let’s see who dies!”

“Die already!” Jie Tai roared, joy bursting across his face as he charged.

“Father!”

“Don’t!”

“Dodge!”

Shriek!

The expected collision never came. Time froze—only wind and heartbeats filled the void.

Cai Liuliu halted mid-lunge, his strike arrested by Su Chen’s thunderous shout. One arm’s length from Jie Tai, death’s chasm yawned between them.

Jie Tai’s smirk hadn’t yet faded when he stared, dazed, at the steel saber piercing his chest. His palm’s energy died. Blood spilled from his lips, unstoppable.

Su Chen, who had been behind him, suddenly appeared behind Jie Tai’s back and delivered a fatal strike. The Steel Saber pierced through Jie Tai’s spine, stopping his killing move and severing his life force in one blow.

Yet, when everyone saw how close the Steel Saber had come to Cai Liuliu’s body, both Cai Xiaoyue and Zhu Yan instinctively tensed, relieved only by the knowledge that Cai Liuliu had halted just in time.

Realizing the near miss, Cai Liuliu felt his throat tighten. Staring at the blade hovering mere inches from his chest, his face paled with lingering dread. Even he, usually composed, couldn’t suppress his shaken nerves in the face of death.

Hiss!

Su Chen yanked the saber free, exhaling in relief. He’d barely acted in time—Cai Liuliu would’ve been doomed otherwise.

Though Jie Tai lagged behind Madam Qi in overall strength, he’d been unscathed. Taking him down quickly had proven impossible.

Su Chen had waited for the critical moment, when Jie Tai’s full focus shifted to killing Cai Liuliu. Only then had he struck, ensuring a decisive blow.

“Benefactor, are you unharmed?” Zhu Yan rushed forward, his voice tinged with urgency.

Cai Liuliu and the others snapped out of their shock, their worried gazes fixed on Su Chen.

Shaking his head, Su Chen replied, “I’m fine.”

Zhu Yan nodded, then turned to the group. “Quick, search their bodies for anything valuable. Hand it all to Benefactor!”

At his command, Cai Liuliu and Cai Xiaoyue exchanged a glance before smirking. “And finish them off,” Cai Liuliu added.

Though their enemies lay unconscious, mercy held no place here. They understood the necessity of rooting out threats completely.

Soon, a dozen subordinates gathered silver taels from Jie Tai’s men and delivered them to Zhu Yan, who carried the loot to Su Chen.

Su Chen had just taken a Vital Energy Pill bottle from Jie Tai’s corpse. Glancing at the silver, he waved it off. “Keep it. I have no need.”

The bottle contained only three pills—pathetically meager.

Zhu Yan accepted the coins without protest. “Then let’s depart. Benefactor, you—”

“I’ll escort you beyond Big Feng City’s borders,” Su Chen interrupted.

“Gratitude, Benefactor,” the three replied in unison.

“Halt—who goes there?!”

Suddenly, Su Chen stiffened, his eyes narrowing as tension gripped his face. Following his gaze, Cai Liuliu and the others turned—and froze.

“It’s the Xuan Shui Sect!” Cai Liuliu blurted, his voice sharp with alarm.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

“I expected your Hex Union to resolve its own affairs internally,” a cold voice echoed. “Yet I overestimated Jie Tai. He failed to eliminate even a wounded man, only to be slain by a mere boy. Useless!”

Two tall figures emerged, clad in dark robes, closing the distance within breaths. The speaker bore a pale, refined face, exuding an air of superiority. Beside him stood Hong Risheng, Qin Xue’s husband, gripping a spiked club in silence.

Su Chen didn’t recognize the leader, but Hong Risheng’s presence set him on edge.

“Hah! The Xuan Shui Sect truly honors me, Cai Liuliu,” Cai Liuliu spat. “Sending Jie Tai to silence me wasn’t enough? Now a Vice Leader and a Hall Master intercept us? I’m flattered!”

Su Chen pieced it together instantly. Among Xuan Shui’s two Vice Leaders, only one matched this youth’s description—Hong Qi.

The name carried weight. Years ago, Hong Ming had nearly joined the sect, only to lose his chance due to Hong Qi’s interference. Though Hong Ming never revealed the culprit, Qin Xue had.

Su Chen’s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Hong Qi. Once, Hong Qi had been younger and less accomplished than Hong Ming. Now, as a Vice Leader under forty, he’d soared to power, his bone-deep pride unmistakable.

“Will you die by your own hands,” Hong Qi droned, “or mine? Either way, you’ll die. But if I act…” His lips curled. “You may not leave even a corpse.”

His tone held no malice—only cold indifference. His arrogance wasn’t a performance; it was innate, as natural as breath.

“Benefactor,” Cai Liuliu murmured, stepping beside Su Chen. “Hong Qi has reached the Bone Tempering Realm. You cannot defeat him. This is our battle—when I engage them, flee with Zhu Yan.”

His voice held finality, even despair. Against Jie Tai, he’d stood a chance. Against Hong Qi, even at his peak, victory was unlikely.

The Bone Tempering Realm marked a chasm. The gap between cultivators who’d fused their bones and those who hadn’t was astronomical—a difference of hundreds of times.

Su Chen’s triumph over Jie Tai wouldn’t extend to Hong Qi. Not a slight on Su Chen’s skill, but a truth of cultivation.

“I’ve already repaid your aid,” Cai Liuliu continued. “You’ve done enough. Let me protect you this far.”

“I’ve something to say too,” Cai Xiaoyue interjected, facing Zhu Yan.

He paused mid-rebuttal. “What is it?”

Her cheeks flushed. “I provoked you on purpose… so you’d rescue me.”

Zhu Yan blinked, then chuckled. “No harm done. I’d do it willingly.”

“Enough sentimentality,” Hong Qi sighed. “Risheng—end them.”

Hong Risheng stepped forward, his gaze locking on Su Chen. Cai Liuliu, half-crippled, meant nothing. Eliminate Su Chen, and the rest would fall easily.

“Benefactor—run!” Cai Liuliu barked, shielding Su Chen.

“Agreed.”

To everyone’s shock, Su Chen complied without hesitation, turning to leave.

The defiance they’d braced for vanished. Cai Liuliu and Cai Xiaoyue gaped, as did Hong Qi and Hong Risheng.

“Cai Liuliu,” Hong Qi sneered, “how vain. He never intended to fight for you.”

Hong Risheng’s stern face cracked a rare smile. The trio flushed, humiliation burning.

Yet amidst their laughter—

Now!

Su Chen pivoted mid-step, erupting in a blur of motion. In a flash, he lunged at Hong Qi, his saber cleaving through the air like a storm.

“Fool!” Hong Qi snapped, his palm lashing out.

Crash!

The collision roared like clashing steel, reverberating through their bones. Su Chen’s arm numbed, waves of crushing power battering his insides like a hurricane.

Hong Qi smirked, fingers twisting to shatter his arm—but Su Chen vanished, slipping sideways in a lightning pivot.

Blade flashing, he struck Hong Risheng, subduing him in a heartbeat.

“Stand down,” Su Chen growled, saber at Hong Risheng’s throat. “Or he dies.”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end