The Great Sound is Utterly Silent.
These four words were incredibly fitting at this moment.
When the ruler's phantom finally descended, there was no earth-shattering, tremendous sound as one might have imagined.
Instead, it was utterly silent.
And everything beneath the ruler seemed to shatter like tofu at the slightest touch.
The rocks, trees, the ground, and even some snakes, insects, rats, and ants disturbed by the commotion, all turned to fine powder silently under the ruler's phantom.
The scene was like watching a silent black and white movie.
Although the lack of sound diminished the atmosphere, the horrific spectacle presented by the visuals made it impossible to even catch one's breath!
"Now you should be dead, right?"
Yang Zhenren, feeling utterly exhausted, slumped to the ground. His eyes were fixed on where Ying Chen stood, and he spoke.
This attack was arguably his strongest ever!
Before this, he himself couldn't have imagined that fueled by rage, he could unleash such a powerful blow!
It could be described as "destroying cities and breaking rivers"!
The only pity was that this ultimate strike had only one use left.
The Hai Chi Jin Liang, after one more use, would shatter completely, becoming nothing more than ordinary, spiritless iron.
"Such a great sacrifice, it would be a huge loss if I don't find the fragment of the artifact he hid!"
Yang Zhenren struggled to his feet, intending to search for the artifact fragment.
Just then, he happened to catch a glimpse of the ruler's phantom seeming to move.
Yang Zhenren was startled and quickly focused his gaze on the ruler.
One second, two seconds, five seconds, ten seconds...
Yang Zhenren stared for a full ten seconds, finally realizing it was a false alarm.
Was there really any disturbance around the ruler?
It was entirely Yang Zhenren's own over-cautiousness, like a man bitten by a snake fearing a well for ten years, seeing things that weren't there.
"Hoo."
Yang Zhenren let out a long sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease.
With Ying Chen not making a sound for so long, he was surely dead beyond any possibility of revival.
Now, he finally had no more worries.
However, Yang Zhenren's thought had barely crossed his mind when, less than a second later, he heard a voice suddenly call out!
"Aren't you relaxing a bit too early?"
"If I suddenly appeared behind you and attacked you right now, wouldn't you be dead?"
"So, people of your era either lack combat experience or watch too many movies. You always like to leave your opponent with a chance to counterattack and kill you, never finishing them off."
"How does that saying go?"
"Ah, villains die from talking too much. You didn't speak, but you were thinking it in your heart. So, you're no different from the villains in movies; you also die from talking too much."
It was Ying Chen's voice!
While Yang Zhenren's face turned pale with shock, a surge of anger welled up within him.
Who the hell is the villain?
Who the hell is talking too much to die?
I was living my life properly, I'm not dead yet!
To be so certain of my death now, aren't you being a little too confident!
Rumble!
A torrent of air surged upwards, exploding in the sky like a mushroom cloud.
Ying Chen appeared below the plume of air.
The ruler's phantom that had been suppressing him had already shattered along with the air current, disappearing without a trace.
Looking at Ying Chen from head to toe, there was no difference from the previous two times!
He was still completely unharmed, still spotlessly clean!
It was as if Ying Chen was born with an obsession with cleanliness, possessing his own cleaning device, always maintaining a perfect appearance after emerging from beneath the ruler's phantom!
"Damn it!"
Yang Zhenren's pupils contracted incessantly.
This time, he was truly shocked.
Facing such a tremendously powerful attack from him, Ying Chen was still completely fine.
Just how terrifying was Ying Chen's strength?
Even the few top martial arts masters known to Yang Zhenren did not possess such power!
"Which martial arts sacred ground do you hail from?"
"Have you already reached the Heavenly tier of martial arts?"
"Logically, a master of your level shouldn't be coveting a fragment of my artifact! If you're short of money, just say the word. See that guy lying on the ground? With just one word from me, he'll willingly hand over billions!"
"Name your price, how much money will it take for you to return my artifact fragment?"
Yang Zhenren stared at Ying Chen and said.
Upon hearing Yang Zhenren's words, Ying Chen almost burst out laughing.
Good heavens, even at this point, this stubborn fellow still thought Ying Chen had stolen his thing?
Instead of thinking that the item rightfully belonged to Ying Chen?
"Didn't I already tell you... those fragments were bought by the Min family couple for one hundred million, and they didn't even pay the full amount, only fifty million?"
"Didn't I already tell you... your buying these fragments from them has nothing to do with me, and the amount you paid has nothing to do with me. The fact that you bought fakes has even less to do with me?"
"Are you not understanding, or are you unwilling to understand?"
Ying Chen said word by word, his tone becoming exceptionally cold towards the end.
Yang Zhenren, however, seemed completely oblivious to the change in Ying Chen's tone. He sneered, "I don't care what your business is with them. I only care if my artifact fragment is in your hands!"
"If it's in your hands, then I'm sorry, you stole it from me! You should return it to me without any reason!"
"Heh heh..." Ying Chen chuckled.
After chuckling, his figure suddenly vanished from his spot.
Yang Zhenren's face paled dramatically.
Without hesitation, he swung the Hai Chi Jin Liang in his hand forcefully towards the area directly in front of him!
Even though he knew the Hai Chi Jin Liang only had one use left, even though he knew it would turn into a pile of scrap iron after this use,
He still used it without the slightest hesitation!
Because he knew one thing: a Xuanmen master must never let a martial artist get close!
Once that happened, he would be utterly destroyed, becoming a plaything for the martial artist to manipulate!
Therefore, even if the Hai Chi Jin Liang shattered, he had to stop Ying Chen from getting close and keep him at a distance!
"There's only one use left, and you're going to waste it all on me?"
To Yang Zhenren's utter horror, a voice sounded beside his ear!
It was Ying Chen's voice!
Then, the hand with which he had swung the Hai Chi Jin Liang was grabbed by Ying Chen!
In the blink of an eye, Ying Chen had already reached his side!
This terrifying speed sent a chill down Yang Zhenren's spine, filling him with despair!
This was simply more outrageous than legendary Heavenly tier martial artists!
Could this guy have surpassed the Heavenly tier and entered another realm?
But that was impossible!
A hundred years ago, a martial arts grandmaster had stated that the limit of this world was the Heavenly tier, and no human could surpass it.
Yang Zhenren was baffled.
However, now was clearly not the time to ponder these things.
Yang Zhenren had made another grave mistake.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, Yang Zhenren cried out in pain instantly.
His wrist had been crushed by Ying Chen!
And the Hai Chi Jin Liang in his hand also fell into Ying Chen's grasp.
Ying Chen, with a leisurely air, glanced at the Hai Chi Jin Liang. The nine prominent cracks on it were clearly visible.
With one more crack, the Hai Chi Jin Liang would completely shatter.
"Close one, I almost wasted the last use on you."
"What a shame it would be if such a good item was destroyed in your hands."
Ying Chen, however, had also taken a liking to this artifact!
But the reason Ying Chen liked it was not its power.
How much power could an artifact have if it couldn't even break Ying Chen's defense?
Although this also depended on the user's individual strength.
What Ying Chen admired was the form of the Hai Chi Jin Liang!
Its ruler-like shape made it unlike conspicuous weapons such as swords or sabers, which couldn't be carried openly.
It could be held normally, or put in a pocket, and anyone who saw it wouldn't look with surprise.
They would only think Ying Chen was a good child who loved to study.
Even if security personnel checked it, they would only give Ying Chen a thumbs-up, praising, "It's rare to see young people these days still passionate about learning," rather than confiscating it as a dangerous item.
Most importantly, when encountering an enemy in an uncertain situation, the enemy wouldn't be overly wary of a ruler.
It allowed for a surprise attack, a one-hit kill.
Conversely, swords and sabers wouldn't work. Even a child would know that a sword was a weapon and would instinctively guard against it.
However, Yang Zhenren was unaware of Ying Chen's thoughts.
Yang Zhenren still believed Ying Chen was coveting the grade and value of the Hai Chi Jin Liang, his greed being ignited.
Despite the excruciating pain of his broken wrist, a cold glint flashed in his eyes: "You stole one thing from me and now you want to steal a second!"
"If this is tolerable, then what isn't!"
"Even if I have to risk this old life, I won't let you succeed!"
With that, Yang Zhenren suddenly raised his intact hand and forcefully patted his chest!
Puff!
Yang Zhenren instantly spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Seeing this, Ying Chen frowned: "The way to stop me is by self-harm?"
Yang Zhenren did not reply.
Instead, with a sinister smile, he bared his teeth and laughed.
The next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The large mouthful of blood Yang Zhenren had spat out began to move on the ground!
It was as if living beings were hidden within the blood, constantly expanding and splitting.
Before long, they had split into dozens!
Yang Zhenren himself, on the other hand, became weak and his aura visibly diminished.
His magical power visibly weakened.
"Heh heh..." Yang Zhenren slumped to the ground feebly, but a deep, mocking smile on his face.
"I never thought in my life I'd have to use this move, but I must say, I'm lucky I learned this curse spell on a whim. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had any way to counter you today, and I could only watch helplessly as you took my artifact and my life!"
"If I die, we die together!"
"Curse Spirit! Ten Forms Manifestation!"
Boom!
Accompanying Yang Zhenren's words, his aura instantly became like a candle flame in the wind, flickering precariously.
But the blood Yang Zhenren had spat out suddenly began to writhe, gradually growing taller!
Before long, they had grown to over a person's height, revealing a figure and appearance exactly like Yang Zhenren!