Chapter 623: Showdown with the Extreme Heaven King

A single punch pierced right through Liu Fenglei’s body!

The scene left everyone present frozen in disbelief. Even Su Yuying, the Vice Palace Master of the Moon God Palace, was struck speechless.

Liu Fenglei’s power was extraordinary, comparable to the Sword King Body, Ling Tianxu, in his prime. Just moments ago on the fighting stage, he had displayed an air of invincibility, defeating every opponent with a single move and looking down on all who stood in his way.

And yet now, he couldn’t even take a single punch from Ning Jiang.

“He’s even more terrifying than he was back then! Over this past year, his power has grown at a horrifying rate!”

Su Yuying took a deep breath as she spoke slowly.

She never imagined that in just one short year, Ning Jiang’s strength would have reached such a level. Even a Heaven-Reaching Realm expert would have had to retreat from the power of that last strike.

Ning Jiang, however, remained completely unfazed by everyone’s shock.

‘This Liu Fenglei is indeed quite strong. In the East Sea, he’d be powerful enough to make it onto the Hidden Dragon List. But I’m not the same person I was a year ago. My power has advanced by leaps and bounds.’

‘They say Liu Fenglei is comparable to the Sword King Body, Ling Tianxu, but even if Ling Tianxu himself were standing before me now, he couldn’t withstand a single one of my full-powered attacks.’

‘After all, the Sword King Body is only ranked in the nineties on the King’s Body List. It’s nothing special to me. Only the top ten King’s Bodies are even worth fighting.’

ROAR!

A furious roar escaped Liu Fenglei’s lips. His aura surged to the heavens, and his killing intent was palpable.

‘I am the great Liu Fenglei, bearer of the Wind and Thunder Spirit Body, the number one genius in the Six Eastern Provinces! How could I not even take a single punch from Ning Jiang?’ This was a devastating blow to him.

Although Ning Jiang’s punch had pierced his body, he had cultivated a Primordial Spirit. As long as his Primordial Spirit remained, he would not die. But this punch was an unbearable humiliation.

“Ning Jiang, you dared to destroy my body! I will kill you!”

Liu Fenglei roared, and in that instant, the very sky and earth seemed to shift.

Wind and thunder raged in the void as endless thunderclouds gathered, accompanied by furious gales. The entire area was thrown into chaos.

Liu Fenglei, heedless of the consequences, activated the Wind and Thunder Origin Power within his body. He had to kill Ning Jiang at all costs.

The tyrannical might forced the numerous Martial Artists to retreat again and again, instantly clearing a large area in the plaza. The Wind and Thunder Power that filled the sky gradually pressed down, constantly condensing until it actually formed a Wind and Thunder Giant Mountain.

The Wind and Thunder Giant Mountain was thousands of feet tall—towering, majestic, and shockingly lifelike.

“Ning Jiang, do you have any last words?”

A cold sneer appeared in Liu Fenglei’s eyes. Unleashing his Wind and Thunder Origin Power would leave him with severe repercussions, but he was confident this attack’s power was more than enough to obliterate Ning Jiang.

Even a true expert of the Heaven-Reaching Realm would be suppressed by this attack. Ning Jiang, who was not yet at the Heaven-Reaching Realm, had no chance of survival.

“How pathetic. It seems my last punch wasn’t enough to make you realize the chasm between us.”

Ning Jiang shook his head, and his hand closed around the hilt of his sword.

SHIIING!

With a sharp ring, the Thunder Dragon Sword left its sheath.

“Sword Decides Life and Death.”

Ning Jiang slashed out. Everyone was affected by the sword’s intent. In that moment, they felt as if Ning Jiang had transformed into Yama, the master of life and death, deciding fates with a single strike.

As the sword moved, time seemed to freeze for an instant.

Then, everything fell silent. The colossal Wind and Thunder Giant Mountain rapidly crumbled, vanishing from sight as if it had never existed.

Everyone sensed that along with the Wind and Thunder Giant Mountain, another presence had vanished. Liu Fenglei’s tyrannical aura instantly faded. A tiny sword-wound appeared between his eyebrows, from which blood began to flow endlessly.

“How… is this… possible…”

In his final moments, Liu Fenglei’s eyes were filled with confusion and horror.

To his dying breath, he couldn’t believe it. How could he have been unable to block even a single one of Ning Jiang’s strikes?

“You killed Liu Fenglei!”

Su Yuying was utterly shocked.

This time, Liu Fenglei was well and truly dead, his Divine Spirit completely annihilated. Ning Jiang’s sword strike had directly extinguished his Primordial Spirit.

Everyone else was also dumbstruck, unable to believe their eyes.

After all, Liu Fenglei was the prodigy whom the Extreme Heaven King had poured all his resources into cultivating. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next several centuries in the Six Eastern Provinces were supposed to be the era of Liu Fenglei.

Yet, such a man with a limitless future had been slain by Ning Jiang with a single sword strike. And he had done it within the Extreme Heaven Sect, in front of so many witnesses. How arrogant! How untamable!

“The Extreme Heaven King is going to go mad with rage, isn’t he?”

The crowd shuddered inwardly.

RUMBLE!

Just then, a terrifying aura suddenly descended, blanketing everything.

High above the Extreme Heaven Sect floated several palaces, the residences of the Heaven-Reaching Realm experts. From the highest, most central palace, a figure now emerged.

With a single step, he descended upon the plaza. His eyes, filled with a mixture of shock and fury, fell upon Liu Fenglei’s corpse. He stared daggers at Ning Jiang, biting out each word through clenched teeth, “Ning Jiang! It’s you again!”

“A year ago, you fled the Six Eastern Provinces while being hunted by the Seven Great Kings. I never imagined you’d dare to show your face here again! Good. Very good. Today, we settle all scores, new and old!”

This man was none other than the Extreme Heaven King.

Not even all the waters of the Milky Way could quench the fury raging in the Extreme Heaven King’s heart.

Liu Fenglei had been his chosen successor, the best candidate to lead the Extreme Heaven Sect into the future, yet Ning Jiang had killed him. It was like having one of his own arms severed. The Extreme Heaven Sect’s current foundation was far weaker than that of the other Seven Great Super Sects, but with Liu Fenglei, that gap would have eventually been closed, or even surpassed!

Furthermore, he and Ning Jiang shared a deep-seated enmity.

Back then, Ning Jiang had come to the Extreme Heaven Sect and forced him to bow his head with a single slash of his sword. He, who was known as the strongest man beneath the Celestial Martial Realm, had been forced to yield to a junior like Ning Jiang. It was the greatest humiliation of his life.

A humiliation that could only be washed away with blood.

“Extreme Heaven King. I failed to kill you back then. I didn’t expect that after just one year, you’d manage to step into the Celestial Martial Realm and amount to something. But from the looks of it, you’re still brooding over what happened a year ago?”

Ning Jiang flicked his fingers, his gaze frigid.

His tone made countless hearts pound in terror.

He was facing a King, yet he dared to speak with such disrespect. Did he have a death wish?

His old wounds exposed before the crowd, the Extreme Heaven King erupted in fury. A terrifying aura swept out in all directions, shaking the very heavens and earth. “Ning Jiang, today I will grind your bones to dust and see your Divine Spirit annihilated!”

As his anger flared, a suffocating pressure rolled out, making countless Martial Artists feel as if they were choking, unable to breathe.

“Insignificant as an ant. I’ll start by killing you today, then I’ll go collect my debts from the other seven!”

Ning Jiang sneered.

“You court death.”

The Extreme Heaven King didn’t believe him for a second and attacked directly.

BOOM!

A giant hand descended from the heavens, pressing down on Ning Jiang.