The violently irritable Sub-Thunder Combat Skill, in this moment, was like a person drowning in a flood, irresistibly drawn and violently tugged toward the core of the Battle Heart, condensed by the surging Iron-Forging Breathing Technique. Some of the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill’s Battle Qi desperately struggled against the pulling force, only to be met by the waiting Battle Qi of Wind and Cloud, coiled and ready nearby.

At this juncture, the situation became that of a villain standing on the shore watching others drown; not only did they fail to pull the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill up, but they also delivered a kick! Kicking the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill, which had just broken free of the suction, right back into the water.

In a flash, the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill was entirely sucked into the Iron-Forging Breathing Technique.

Qian Jin felt it clearly: within this crimson-colored second Battle Heart, the ordering of two distinct powers was present. One was the familiar sequence of the Iron-Forging Breathing Technique itself, revolving in a regular pattern, gently absorbing the surrounding heat. The other sequence, however, was something he had never witnessed.

What is this? As this thought flickered through Qian Jin’s mind, the ordering within the crimson Battle Heart immediately jolted, and power surged outward! The surrounding sand vibrated violently from the inside out!

The sand, already comprised of incredibly fine particles, actually exploded again from within, shattering into innumerable, vastly smaller motes of dust.

The Sub-Thunder Combat Skill! Qian Jin closed his eyes, sensing the sand particles around his body shattered by the Combat Skill. It was the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill?

The legendary, lost Saint-Grade Combat Skill—the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill! Because Qian Chenyu had completely shattered the ordering of his Battle Qi and delivered it entirely into his body, under the combined assault of the Iron-Forging Breathing Technique, the Nine Yang True Flame Iron, and the Wind and Cloud Battle Qi, this chaotic Combat Skill was completely collected, actually forming a new sequence!

Nine-tenths of it! After deducting the portion consumed by the burst, a full nine-tenths of the sequence structure remained. It was almost an ordering that required no practice at all—it was practically obtaining a Saint-Grade Combat Skill for free, and one that required no training.

This situation... Qian Jin looked at the sequence within his body with a wry, almost tearful smile. With only a little effort to study it, he could restore it to a perfect sequence. Trading a severe injury and half his life for a lost Saint-Grade Combat Skill—he wasn't sure if it was worth it.

Having lost the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill that had caused the internal turmoil, his severely wounded body finally found a small measure of recovery. Qian Jin exhaled a mouthful of stale air, his scalp suddenly spasming repeatedly. A powerful surge of Battle Qi descended rapidly toward him from the sandy ground above his head.

This is? This Battle Qi did not belong to the four of them! Demon-Slaying Nine Battles? Qian Jin flipped his wrist, the Zhanmadao (Horse-Slaying Blade) appearing in his grasp as he burst upward from the sand. Countless grains of sand rapidly parted like flowing water under the pincer attack of the two streams of Battle Qi surging from above and below.

Clang! The sound of metal colliding unleashed a violent shockwave of Battle Qi. A large amount of sand was swept upward into the sky, spewing out in arcs—Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss...

Battle Qi, almost visible to the naked eye, continuously erupted from the blade of Qian Chenguang’s longsword as an imposing blade-light shot back out of the sand!

"Destruction Demon Eye..."

Qian Chenguang, suspended in mid-air, heard Lucifer Flow’s cry from behind. He struck his Zhanmadao repeatedly, forcibly shifting his body sideways.

"A member of the Qian family..."

Amidst the swirling yellow sands, Qian Jin leaped out of the sand pit, Zhanmadao in hand. Wanying (Ten Thousand Shadows) beneath his feet propelled him swiftly before Qian Chenguang. His broken arm forced itself upward, instantly locking onto the head.

Qian Chenguang’s scalp prickled wildly, and waves of fury churned in his heart. He had come expecting to easily eliminate these four, yet now he was being forced back by this heavily injured Qian Jin? You are merely hanging on by your last reserves of strength, and you still dare try to kill me? This punch, devoid of a Combat Skill—you think you can kill me? Let me show you the Qian family’s Heaven-Stealing Hand!

Demon-Slaying Nine Battles, Battle Qi Ten Thousand Turns, Heaven-Stealing Hand!

The golden sandy ground was instantly obscured as if covered by countless dark clouds. Qian Jin’s fist pierced through the shadows, plunging straight toward the core of the palm strike like lightning tearing through the overcast sky!

Bang! Crackle...

In the violent collision of fist and palm—the impact of bone, muscle, and vast quantities of Battle Qi—Qian Jin’s arm warped slightly more completely. Strips of bleached white bone pierced through the muscle and skin, barely exposing a tiny segment!

"Hah... cold..." Qian Chenguang floated backward, the palm bone in his hand throbbing with sharp pain. His face showed both shock and delight. This kid’s Battle Qi rotation speed is probably no less than mine! How can it be so fast? And his other abilities seem to be only at the Demon-Subduing Nine Battles level? But, thankfully, his arm bone is completely...

Pfft... pfft... loof-pfft-pfft...

In the blink of an eye, over thirty finger-sized bloody holes burst open across Qian Chenguang’s body. Bright red blood sprayed wildly into the air. Strange surges of Battle Qi suddenly tore directly through his Battle Apertures, Battle Meridians, and the circulation of his Battle Qi.

What is this? Qian Chenguang spat blood onto the ground and staggered back several steps, staring in terror at the wounds on his body. "What is happening? What exactly is going on? Why am I injured? And so heavily? These damned Battle Qi currents, disappear for me..."

His roar erupted alongside the Battle Qi of the Demon-Slaying Nine Battles. Instead of improving, his wounded body exploded in ten more bloody rents. In a blink, he became a living blood-person. Crimson and dark-blue blood spurted violently from various locations. The sudden eruption of the Sub-Thunder Combat Skill meant he could no longer suppress Duan Fengbuer’s snake poison.

The uncontrolled snake venom instantly turned Qian Chenguang’s arm completely black, emitting a repulsive, fishy stench. The condescending, utterly confident expression that had graced Qian Chenguang’s face vanished, replaced entirely by the fear of death that permeated his face and pupils. Only one thought remained in his mind: Flee!

Escape immediately! This group, with Qian Jin included, is terrifyingly powerful! I must flee! Return to the Qian family, heal from all this, and then...

Puff-puff-puff...

Three new bloody holes appeared on Qian Chenguang’s body, extinguishing any thought he had of collecting interest before leaving. Heaven-Stealing Steps instantly activated in his toes.

"Trying to leave..." Qian Jin shook his shoulder; the unique elasticity snapped the exposed bone back into the muscle sheath. Wanying erupted beneath his feet again, chasing directly after the Heaven-Stealing Steps.

Boom-boom...

Two sharp sounds, like the snapping of a strong bowstring, signaled the release of two potent arrows from Fen Tucang’s hand. They shot through the air, intercepting Qian Chenguang’s escape route.

The Demon-Subduing Seven Battles dares to block me? Qian Chenguang’s anger surged. A person he could normally crush with one hand was forcing him to change his trajectory today.

Destruction Demon Eye!

Two scorching black flames, possessing immense lethality, whistled through the air, intercepting the other two potential escape routes for Qian Chenguang.

All three routes were cut off! Qian Chenguang's pace instantly slowed as he evaded the three attacks that threatened severe injury or even death.

"Stay here for me..."

With that brief pause, Qian Jin had already caught up behind him. His unbroken arm was raised high above his head, a wisp of strange, warm energy flowing within it.

No path ahead, pursuers behind! Under the shadow of death, Qian Chenguang's savage nature, like that of a cornered beast, was utterly ignited. He spurred the Battle Qi within his body recklessly, ceasing to suppress the invading poison and Combat Skill. If he must die, he would drag Qian Jin down with him!

Qian Family’s Kun Combat Skill! Explode! Ten Times Gravity!

The colossal gravitational force instantly crushed down upon Qian Jin, momentarily arresting his speed and everything else. The shattered power of the Kun Combat Skill was far more potent than when normally displayed.

The smooth golden sand rapidly collapsed by more than half under the impact of the tenfold gravity. Much of the shattered Combat Skill power was still gathering on Qian Chenguang's fist; otherwise, the gravity would have been at least fifteen times.

This punch! Even if the opponent were Qian Chenyu, Qian Chenguang was confident he could shatter two of him with a single blow! His raised left hand was already positioned to block Qian Jin's incoming fist. With the might of the shattered Kun Combat Skill, he should be able to easily meet this—Wait?

Qian Chenguang’s pupils violently constricted as he stared at the descending fist. It seemed to twist and distort unnaturally in the air, giving the impression that it was not a fist at all, but a hammer! Yes! It looked strikingly like the heavy hammer wielded by a blacksmith in an iron shop, yet he couldn't articulate precisely what the difference was.

Is this... even a Combat Skill? It looked more like the crude, clumsy fighting style used by ignorant blacksmiths lacking any real combat experience.

Qian Chenguang twisted his shoulder, bringing his entire arm around like a striking python to entwine Qian Jin’s attacking arm. Qian Jin's expression was placid, his pupils rapidly expanding as he watched the coiling arm. The first strike of the Ascending Peaks Eighteen Hammers, practiced countless times, easily bypassed the arm that shouldn't have been bypassed—the one acting like a massive python.

Qian Chenguang’s head, in Qian Jin’s eyes, had become a piece of red-hot raw iron. Without the slightest hesitation, it swung downward.

It's over! Qian Chenguang instinctively smelled the true scent of death. While his heart pounded wildly, his right hand accelerated its strike: If I die, you die with me! All your strength is in that punch, so your other arm, the one defending, must have insufficient Battle Qi!

His life-or-death struggle forced Qian Chenguang’s fist to land first on the fist Qian Jin had used to guard his chest. Powerful Battle Qi splattered wildly. The corner of his brow flickered with a final jolt of shock: How can the Battle Qi be this strong? All Ten Thousand Turns of Battle Qi concentrated in this single fist for defense? Then why does his other fist still exert such immense pressure?

Bang! The Ascending Peaks Eighteen Hammers smashed into Qian Chenguang’s head. Red, white, and various other bodily fluids instantly sprayed everywhere. The last thought Qian Chenguang held, in that final instant, became his only realization: Two Battle Hearts?

Dead! Qian Chenguang of the Demon-Slaying Nine Battles, even in the dual cultivation state of the Spirit King Bloodline Body, had only engaged in two rapid exchanges with Qian Jin before paying for his complete defeat with his life.

Lucifer Flow vigorously rubbed his eyes, looking at Qian Jin’s swaying figure in the yellow sand. What happened? His body showed little sign of recovery; the severe injuries remained, yet in this state, which looked like he could return to the embrace of the stars at any moment, he had killed a peak Demon-Slaying Nine Battles expert, a haughty inheritor of the Spirit King Bloodline, in just two strikes.