Chapter 50: The Tiger Ape’s Overhead Strike

Swish!
The long sword left its sheath as Ding Wanchong gripped his Silver Serpent Sword and thrust at Chu Feng.
Facing a master like Ding Wanchong, who was at the seventh level of the Body Refinement stage, Chu Feng felt not a trace of fear; instead, he was utterly exhilarated.
Although he had not sparred with many martial artists, Chu Feng's combat experience was far richer than most. In the mid- and high-level Xuan-grade mechanism chambers, he had flattened countless puppet warriors; both his fighting experience and strength were formidable.
Watching Chu Feng and Ding Wanchong exchange blows, Chu Xinlian grew anxious and said to Mu Qiaoxue, "Sister Mu, my brother's strength is a bit weaker than Ding Wanchong's. Do you think he'll be in danger? Won't you...won't you help him?"
"Hehe, there's no need for me to intervene; your brother can defeat him!" Mu Qiaoxue replied with absolute certainty. "Although Ding Wanchong is at the seventh layer of Body Refinement, he just took a punch and a palm strike from your brother. His dantian's internal energy is leaking; he’ll lose strength as the fight drags on, so he’s destined for defeat. As for your brother, despite being only at the fourth layer, he wields the Tyrant’s Shadow-Chasing Spear, the battle intent of the War Python flows within him, and his soft armor and Red Wind Boots all enhance his combat power. He cannot lose!"
And indeed, the battle unfolded just as Mu Qiaoxue predicted.
"Maiden’s Shuttle!" Chu Feng shouted, moving as his heart willed.
Swish!
The tip of the Tyrant’s Shadow-Chasing Spear quivered, and its blood-red ox-tail tassel whipped violently, emitting sharp, sword-drawing sounds and scattering crimson shadows like splashes of blood hurled at Ding Wanchong.
Clang!
Metal clashed as Ding Wanchong parried the spear with his sword. However, the Silver Serpent Sword was no match for the Tyrant’s Shadow-Chasing Spear; unable to withstand the violent power surging through the spear, the sword snapped in two with a resounding crack.
The breaking of his sword sent a chill through Ding Wanchong’s heart.
Without his sword, specialist in swordplay that he was, Ding Wanchong could no longer unleash his techniques. He was left only to defend, powerless to counterattack.
Worse still, the energy in his dantian was rapidly dwindling.
A martial artist at the seventh level of Body Refinement—the Breathing Realm—relies on a reservoir of internal energy. When attacked, he uses it to defend and heal; the lighter the injury, the less energy expended, but the heavier, the more is lost.
Chu Feng’s fierce punch rivaled the full-force charge of a Diamond Battle Rhinoceros, and when followed by an "Overlord’s Mountain-Cleaving Palm," these two strikes alone had already depleted over seventy percent of Ding Wanchong’s internal energy.
Growing ever more courageous, Chu Feng pressed his attack. The "Wild Geese Descend on Level Sands" spear technique flowed without pause, the ox-tail tassel sweeping about like waves of blood, amplifying Chu Feng’s imposing presence.
Ding Wanchong retreated again and again, uncertain how much longer he could endure as his energy drained.
As his assault grew more relentless, Chu Feng suddenly had a thought. With a swift turn, he eased up his attacks.
Seeing Chu Feng’s deadly blows suddenly slow, Ding Wanchong was baffled, unsure what Chu Feng was plotting.
Chu Feng stepped to his front left, then to the right rear, and whirled around.
Whoosh!

This spin was like a wild dragon lashing its tail—a fierce whirlwind erupted at Chu Feng’s side.
With each measured step, the whirlwind intensified, forming a white column of wind that swept forward with Chu Feng’s movements.
"Not good!"
Ding Wanchong, no fool, saw the wind column surging straight for him and immediately tried to flee.
"Idiot, you think you can run now?"
Chu Feng sneered coldly, his feet stamping left and right in rapid succession. With two swift turns, the powerful wind column shot out like an arrow, pursuing Ding Wanchong as he fled.
Though Ding Wanchong had already run over fifty feet, the wind column caught up with him in an instant.
"Ah!"
With a scream, Ding Wanchong’s body was enveloped by the gale, spinning rapidly in place within the wind column.
Chu Feng halted his "Swift Wind Step." When the wind column dispersed, Ding Wanchong’s body was still spinning like a top.
To everyone’s shock, Ding Wanchong, once impeccably dressed, now stood in tattered rags, his clothes shredded to ribbons by the wind, hair wild and flying, his face and chest covered with crimson lacerations.
Blood even wept from both his eye sockets.
He looked so hideous and ghastly, like a demon from hell, that the faint of heart would weep at the sight.
"Ding Wanchong, now do you believe that I, with fourth-level Body Refinement strength, could kill you?"
Chu Feng advanced step by step.
Ding Wanchong gaped dumbly: when the wind column had engulfed him, the gale had torn into his mouth, shredding his tongue and destroying his vocal cords—he was completely incapable of speech.
"You could have lived, but now, you will die horribly."
With those words, Chu Feng planted his spear in the ground, then leaped high like an agile great ape, landing behind Ding Wanchong and vaulting onto his shoulders, his knees pressing down hard.
No one—Chu Xinlian, Little Blade, Little Li, Mi Xinjian, or Little Third—knew what Chu Feng intended, but Mu Qiaoxue gently turned her head aside.
Crack!
With a thunderous snap, Chu Feng gripped Ding Wanchong’s jaw, drove his knees downward, and somersaulted backward.
Whoosh!
After the sound of bone breaking came a fountain-like spurt.
Ape King’s Skull-Lifting Hand!

Chu Feng landed thirty feet away, holding a round object in his arms—Ding Wanchong’s head, eyes still bulging in terror.
His headless body remained upright, blood gushing from the severed neck in a geyser, spraying over ten feet high.
With the powerful blood and energy of a martial artist, the force of the blood jet when decapitated was truly astonishing.
"Ah!"
At this sight, Little Third, already on edge, screamed and fainted dead away.
Mi Xinjian’s legs went weak; unable to kneel, he collapsed flat on the ground, sobbing in terror at Chu Feng’s savage methods.
For a moment, the only sounds in the arena were Mi Xinjian’s weeping and the gushing of Ding Wanchong’s blood.
"Bravo! Brother Feng, that was beautiful! You took that bastard’s head right off—what a rush! What’s that move called?"
After a pause, Little Blade's fervent voice rang out.
"Ape King’s Skull-Lifting Hand! It’s for ripping off the heads of scoundrels like Ding Wanchong. If you want to learn it someday, I’ll teach you!" Chu Feng grinned.
"Uncle, I’m not just flattering you—you really are a martial arts prodigy! That Swift Wind Step, you just learned it, but already you can use it so skillfully, even killing an enemy with it! And that Ape King’s Skull-Lifting Hand—though a bit brutal, it’s very satisfying to watch. I love that kind of killing technique!"
Little Li was equally excited and praised Chu Feng’s talent and ruthless methods wholeheartedly.
"Chu Feng, although you let Ding Wanchong’s filthy blood defile this pure land, which displeases me, your feat of killing a seventh-level Body Refinement martial artist with just fourth-level strength, without a scratch, is not only a great boon for your martial heart but also makes me see you in a whole new light!"
Mu Qiaoxue nodded, recalling Chu Feng’s fierce spearwork and unstoppable assault that left Ding Wanchong only able to defend—truly not the performance of an ordinary fourth-level martial artist.
"Oh, really?"
Hearing Mu Qiaoxue’s unreserved praise, Chu Feng was delighted—he knew she was not one to flatter lightly, unlike Little Li who would praise anyone to the skies.
"Indeed! You wielded the entire 'Wild Geese Descend on Level Sands' spear technique to perfection, flexibly employed that powerful footwork, and even abandoned your weapon at the last moment—this shows your martial talent far surpasses ordinary warriors."
Mu Qiaoxue nodded again. "Moreover, your battle intent is formidable! Whether the enemy is as fragile as paper or as solid as rock, you have the will to shatter and tear them apart. This kind of spirit is rare! For a martial artist, only with such resolve and battle intent can one advance bravely on the path of cultivation, overcome all obstacles, and become truly strong!"
Mu Qiaoxue’s words were a thorough affirmation of Chu Feng’s strength, talent, spirit, and martial heart.
"Hehe!"
Unable to suppress his joy, Chu Feng smiled and said, "Miss Mu, you’re truly remarkable. Your praise is more gratifying than anything Little Li could say, haha!"