Feng Zikang smiled faintly, hovering in the air, sweeping his gaze down coldly over the enraged, naked figure below.
The dynamic between host and guest had utterly reversed this day.
Back then, the Naked Man had hunted Feng Zikang, his momentum overwhelming the heavens; no matter how many transformations Feng Zikang employed, he was always at a disadvantage. Today, however, everything was different.
Feng Zikang stood proudly atop the Imperial Palace, his aura surging, while the Naked Man scrambled out in disarray—in one moment, out; the next, in. The balance of offense and defense had shifted drastically.
“Good boy!”
The Naked Man leaped into the air, landing atop the eaves of another grand hall, facing Feng Zikang from a distance. His eyes blazed with undisguised malice.
“I never expected you to dare show your face here. A few days apart, and your cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. But do you truly believe that reaching the Core Formation Mid-Stage grants you immunity from this old man’s fists?” the Naked Man sneered repeatedly.
“Today, I shall announce your name, lest you die a nameless ghost!”
Feng Zikang’s voice was chilling, devoid of any discernible emotion.
The Naked Man’s pupils contracted sharply!
The tone Feng Zikang used suggested he was merely stating an obvious fact—that the Naked Man’s demise at his hands was a foregone conclusion. As those words left his lips, Feng Zikang’s presence surged to its absolute zenith.
“Good! Good!” the Naked Man roared with laughter. “Kid, you’re arrogant! But I’d like to see just how you plan to make an old man into a ghost! I am Li Daoling, the Prince of An Yong, the Emperor’s own uncle!”
Within the imperial lineage, there were always a few who secretly yearned for longevity through cultivation.
While this practice was generally forbidden by the conventions of the cultivation world, as long as the secret practitioner wasn't a direct heir destined for the throne, experienced masters often turned a blind eye—unless something as disruptive as the Emperor taking a cultivator as a concubine occurred, which would spark a massive uproar.
Li Daoling was precisely such a case. He was not the biological son of the founding Emperor, but his nephew, adopted into the palace and deeply favored after his father died young.
However, from childhood, he cared little for the art of kingship, devoting himself solely to cultivating Qi refinement, in which he showed considerable talent.
Though the conditions for cultivation within the palace were inferior to the major sects of the Three Teachings and Nine Schools, the accumulated legacy over the years—cultivation manuals, ancient texts, and rare heavenly treasures—was not insignificant. Li Daoling labored diligently for decades, achieving unique Daoist arts and divine powers.
Especially that particular set of boxing techniques…
Feng Zikang nodded slowly. “Since that is the case, then make your move! Let’s see just which of your punches you can land!”
He remained utterly casual, seemingly unconcerned. Li Daoling could not tolerate this; his first punch lashed out!
Feng Zikang smiled faintly. Thousands of sword lights cycled and coiled, sealing the momentum of that strike. With a resounding crash, the sword hum shattered, and the force of the punch dissipated into nothingness.
“Kid, you have certainly improved!”
Upon launching this blow, Li Daoling was secretly shocked. Though the boy had managed to withstand his first punch last time, it certainly hadn't been with such apparent ease. In less than a year, the boy’s strength had progressed by leaps and bounds—how could this not inspire terror?
Feng Zikang, however, remained unfazed. “Again!”
Li Daoling’s second punch had once shattered four Divine Demon statues. Though Feng Zikang did not meet it head-on, he could still sense its terrifying power. Now, he eagerly anticipated testing its true might.
“You’re asking for death, kid!”
Seeing Feng Zikang still maintaining a stance prepared to receive the blow directly, Li Daoling gave a cold laugh. He retracted both fists, bent his arms slightly, roared aloud, and unleashed another punch.
Feng Zikang likewise bellowed, shooting a beam of white sword light from his mouth, which violently collided with the incoming fist force. Feng Zikang somersaulted backward, flying away! Li Daoling also lost his footing, staggering back several steps in quick succession.
Another draw!
Li Daoling’s expression shifted slightly.
He too had been cultivating during the past six months, achieving minor breakthroughs. But this boy’s progress was clearly faster. His two punches today were significantly more potent than the two he threw previously, yet the boy handled them easily. Such advancement was staggering.
Feng Zikang endured the two strikes, circulated his Qi briefly, and found his meridians clear, his energy flowing without the slightest obstruction. He laughed heartily, his confidence in the outcome of this battle soaring.
“Don’t get cocky, boy! Take my third punch!”
The third punch! This was the true turning point!
A savage look contorted Li Daoling’s face. The backlash from the first two punches had been entirely gathered within his body; it felt as if a myriad of ants were gnawing at him, causing unbearable pain, forcing him to unleash the third strike!
Feng Zikang’s expression grew solemn; he dared not be careless. Sword Qi billowed around him, forming a golden arc, far more magnificent and substantial than when he first manifested it.
“Hah!”
Li Daoling struck with his third punch, accompanied by a heaven-shaking roar. The force of the blow resembled a fierce tiger; upon initial contact, it shattered Feng Zikang’s outer golden sword light defense. Feng Zikang blocked with both hands, but a cracking sound echoed—the unmistakable sound of bone breaking!
“Boom!”
Feng Zikang was hurled backward by this punch, barely managing to steady himself a hundred feet away, spitting blood, his face ashen. Both his arms hung limply; they were broken!
“Hahahahaha!”
Li Daoling erupted in a booming laugh. “Kid, you’re still too green! You dare challenge me? You couldn’t handle my third punch before, and you still can’t handle it now! What good is all your effort?”
Feng Zikang smirked coldly, slowly dropping a Huāshēng Dān (Life Transformation Pill) into his mouth and swallowing it whole.
“Whatever skills I possess, why don’t you try again and find out!” Li Daoling, far from being angered, laughed instead. “Since you are so eager to die, then blame Sun Xuan! Wait for my fourth punch!”
In their previous fight, Li Daoling never reached the fourth punch before Feng Zikang was gravely wounded and retreated. Now, with the fourth punch imminent, the heavens and earth seemed to change color.
Feng Zikang smiled proudly. “Come then!” Though his arms were broken and a trace of blood still clung to the corner of his mouth, his sword light did not dim, and his imposing presence had not bowed in the slightest.
“Seeking death!”
Li Daoling roared in fury. Unleashing the fourth punch would naturally inflict significant damage upon his own body, but this boy was too hateful, and his potential too limitless; if he wasn't obliterated today, he would surely become a scourge in the future!
The fourth punch!
It seemed as if the entire world fell silent. This blow was the ultimate embodiment of power, arriving like a flash of lightning and flint. In comparison, everything around it appeared agonizingly slow!
Feng Zikang had absolutely no time to raise a defense.
“Crash!”
A single punch struck him squarely in the chest. Feng Zikang shot backward, a thin line of blood trailing from his mouth!
Li Daoling was about to laugh triumphantly, but a sense of wrongness struck him. He retracted his fist and looked, puzzled, only to see Feng Zikang casually standing up, laughing loudly. “Li Daoling, this punch of yours is even weaker than the third!”
“What?”
Upon seeing Feng Zikang hale and hearty, Li Daoling could scarcely believe his eyes. How was this possible?
However, in the moment the fist struck his body just now, Li Daoling distinctly felt a deep palpitation, as if all his strength had suddenly dispersed—even with the might of heaven and earth, he felt strangely constrained, unable to exert even a fraction of his power!
The Divine Ability, Strong Man Binds a Thousand Armies!
Feng Zikang smiled faintly. “Your boxing technique is formidable, but it’s too direct. Once locked down by my divine ability, what use is it?”
So that was it!
A flash of anger crossed Li Daoling’s face, which suddenly dissolved into hearty laughter. “Kid, you managed to exploit a loophole. But alas, no matter how potent your binding ability is, I will break cleverness with sheer force. I want to see if you can bind my fifth punch!”
A binding divine ability always had its limits. Ropes made of fine hemp might restrain a frail youth, but a robust warrior would require thick cowhide cord. If the person practiced internal arts successfully, one would need chains of refined iron. When dealing with a cultivator, without the use of Daoist magic, binding was utterly futile. The greater the power, the stronger the binding tool required.
Li Daoling’s fourth punch represented the very limit of the Strong Man Binds a Thousand Armies ability; double that force, and it certainly could not be resisted!
Feng Zikang sneered coldly. “Try me and see!”
“Good!”
Li Daoling’s bones creaked audibly. The backlash from the first four punches already tormented him beyond endurance, but this fifth punch required absolute calm to unleash. He closed his eyes, shaping his fists into a dragon posture before his chest.
Between his fists, the swirling vital energy radiated a brilliant glow, like a searing lantern illuminating the palace.
“Break for me!”
Li Daoling roared, finally unleashing the fifth punch. Simultaneously, a blood-red light burst forth from his entire body, clearly indicating that his skin and flesh could no longer withstand the immense backlash, beginning to shatter inch by inch.
But this punch remained unstoppable.
“Bind!”
Feng Zikang’s expression changed slightly. He activated his Strong Man Binds a Thousand Armies divine ability, but under this tremendous force, it proved useless. Upon mere contact with the fist’s momentum, the ability shattered, rendered inert.
Feng Zikang’s face turned pale as he flew backward, but he was still caught dead center by the pursuing force!
“Pfft!”
Both his knees shattered into a paste of flesh!
At the same instant, Li Daoling also flew out, his entire body ruptured, collapsing into a bloody mess!
The Divine Ability, Elephant's Sorrow, Elephant’s Joy!
Feng Zikang absorbed this blow head-on, with no trickery involved. He felt as if his body was on the verge of splitting apart. Fortunately, as he flew up, only his lower limbs were struck; a direct hit to the chest might have blown a gaping hole through him, perhaps even splitting him in two!
But equally, he had used his reflective ability to grievously injure Li Daoling! Li Daoling, already suffering immense backlash, could not possibly withstand the counter-reflection. He was injured even more severely than Feng Zikang, letting out a beast-like howl of agony!
“Good skill! Good boxing!”
Feng Zikang suppressed the searing pain in his body and chuckled. “Li Daoling, your boxing technique is truly peerless. It managed to wound me to this extent. A pity, however, this will be the last time you can use this technique today!”
He snorted coldly, his iron sword dancing before him, flickering with starlight. “Since you have unleashed five punches and now have no strength left to resist, allow me to send you on your way!”
Li Daoling lay on the eaves like a puddle of minced meat, slowly writhing, not a single patch of sound flesh remaining on his body. The onlookers were stunned, awed by Feng Zikang’s might; not a single soul dared to utter a sound.
“Hahahaha hahaha!”
The mass of meat pulp on the eaves suddenly emitted a heart-stopping, long peal of laughter. “Boy, do you think you’ve won?”
That pulp slowly began to stand up. “You are indeed strong, but what you failed to anticipate is… I can throw one more punch!”
“The Sixth Punch!”