"The seventh strike, does the Eldest Senior Brother skip the sixth strike, 'Blazing Thunderclap,' and go straight for the seventh strike, 'Thunder God Descends'?" the tall and thin Third Divine General exclaimed in surprise.

The Seventh Divine General stroked his chin, staring intently at the two peerless experts in the arena. "Whether it's the sixth or the seventh strike, unleashing it causes harm to the Eldest Senior Brother's body! But looking at the strength of this demon 'Alada' now, using the sixth strike probably won't defeat him, so he might as well use the seventh!"

"Eldest Senior Brother only demonstrated this move to us once when he first created it. Decades have passed, and he has never used it in a battle," Erizier whispered softly.

"That's because no one was worthy of it until now!"

All seven Divine Generals were filled with anticipation.

What would be the true might of the strongest move in the Seven Strikes of Heavenly Thunder, unleashed by the current First Divine General, 'Boreimu'?

...

"I haven't disappointed you? However, Brother Boreimu, your previous performance was quite disappointing; my limbs aren't even warmed up yet!" Teng Qingshan slightly moved his joints, causing a faint crackling sound throughout his body. "I hope your seventh strike of the Seven Strikes of Heavenly Thunder doesn't disappoint me."

The arrogance in his words caused many on Mount Tianshen to show looks of indignation, yet just as many looked upon Teng Qingshan with reverence! If one possesses strength, one should be proud!

The men of the Great Steppe most admired powerful warriors!

The high reaches of Mount Tianshen were enveloped in thick white mist, and deep within the clouds, the figure of a loosely robed person could faintly be seen. This portly man with a round face and small eyes, always wearing a smile, seemed to bring cheerfulness even to the surrounding haze.

Within the mist, he looked down upon the battle unfolding on the Cliff of Life and Death.

"This little fellow seems to have brushed against the edge of the 'Dao'," the round-faced old man sighed. "So young, yet he already rivals Boreimu. If this continues, stepping into the Void Realm within a few decades is virtually guaranteed!"

"Boreimu is going to use 'Thunder God Descends'? Among his Seven Strikes of Heavenly Thunder, only this move touches the edge of the 'Dao'," the round-faced old man watched the battle below with a smile.

...

On the Cliff of Life and Death.

Boreimu's face flushed red, and he laughed heartily. "The seventh strike of the Seven Strikes of Heavenly Thunder is named 'Thunder God Descends'! I have never used it in actual combat! Brother Huhe, you shall personally experience the might of this technique!" While speaking, the cyan electric light around Boreimu violently erupted, making him appear as if clad in armor made of lightning!

His mouth suddenly opened wide—

"Suck!"

A massive amount of air rushed madly into Boreimu's mouth. It was visible to the naked eye that his abdomen was continuously swelling! "Chhh~~" Cyan electric light also occasionally merged into his belly.

"What technique is this?" Teng Qingshan immediately grew wary.

If he were to inhale, Teng Qingshan's physique could draw in air far stronger than his opponent's. But—the power generated by inhaling and exhaling attacks was negligible!

"The Eldest Senior Brother is about to unleash his move."

"If we miss this, we might never see it again."

The seven Divine Generals, along with the large crowd of experts watching from the Cliff of Life and Death, held their breath watching this bizarre scene. Boreimu managed to inhale so much that his stomach ballooned round, and then he closed his mouth, ceasing the inhalation, yet his distended belly made everyone worry it might burst.

Teng Qingshan stood with his left foot forward, body sideways, left hand pointing vaguely toward his opponent—still maintaining the Three Stance posture to meet the enemy!

Boreimu’s eyes turned reddish, faint cyan electric light flickering within them. With a sudden "Bang!", Boreimu stomped the ground and transformed into an afterimage, moving with blinding speed along a strangely continuous, curving arc toward Teng Qingshan!

"Something's not right!" Teng Qingshan dared not relax even slightly, locking onto his opponent.

Boreimu, with his bloated abdomen and emanating cyan lightning, displayed a ferocious expression, his tiger-eyes glaring fiercely. Suddenly, he opened his mouth—

"What!" Teng Qingshan clearly saw that inside Boreimu’s mouth was a channel of lightning, formed entirely of electrical energy!

This lightning channel extended from his mouth straight into his body!

"Hiss—"

A sharp, piercing sound, pushed to the absolute limit and utterly bizarre, erupted from Boreimu’s mouth. As Boreimu moved along his strange, curving path, the piercing sounds coming from different directions directly impacted Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan, who had been carefully defending, clearly felt a shock and dizziness in his head!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Teng Qingshan felt his heartbeat reverberate more strongly than ever before, and his ears were instantly filled with ringing, as if a chaotic cacophony of bells, drums, and shattering tiles had erupted.

"Hmph!" Teng Qingshan’s ears automatically clamped shut, sealing them.

The bizarre, sharp sounds came from several directions, precisely targeting Teng Qingshan!

The sounds either amplified or weakened each other after converging on Teng Qingshan. The dissipated sound waves were already much weaker, but even so… among the onlookers a hundred feet away, quite a few paled, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed silently. Those who remained standing were all deathly pale!

Teng Qingshan’s powerful physique allowed him to immediately break free from that state, but in that instant of dizziness, Boreimu’s fierce form had already charged right in front of him.

"You lose!" Boreimu slapped toward Teng Qingshan's chest with his left hand, while his right hand struck toward Teng Qingshan's back!

"Hmph!" Teng Qingshan's gaze was clear.

Because he had regained consciousness a fraction too late, Teng Qingshan couldn't swing his hands in time.

"Hoo~~~" Teng Qingshan let out a low cry.

His left hand, originally positioned to block his chest, immediately moved to intercept the front strike, while simultaneously, his body moved like a clumsy great bear about to lose its footing, actually leaning backward to meet the strike aimed at his back! At the moment of contact, a section of muscle on Teng Qingshan's back bulged, fully suffused with Internal Force.

"Bang!" This bracing impact not only absorbed Boreimu’s front palm strike but also sent Teng Qingshan’s entire back crashing into Boreimu’s chest!

Boom!

With a heavy resounding crash, the lightning True Essence shield covering Boreimu’s chest shattered, and he was thrown back dozens of feet as if struck by a mountain, before landing directly on the gravel-strewn ground.

Everyone stared at the scene, dumbfounded!

Previously, because of the 'Thunder God Descends' technique, many in the distance had fainted, and the experts who remained conscious had marveled, each convinced the First Divine General would win. But in the blink of an eye... the First Divine General was sent flying by an incredibly clumsy move—a back-brace collision?

Even his protective shield was shattered—he was severely injured?

"Pfft!" Boreimu, lying on the ground, couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood, which splashed onto the ruined earth.

"How is this possible?" Boreimu couldn't believe it. "How could his back-brace strike have such immense power? The body’s extraordinary meridians and the twelve main channels! The greatest power release comes from the hands and feet. How could the back possess such formidable power? Moreover, we were that close; how could he withstand my palm strike with that back-brace and still unleash the force to shatter my protective shield?"

He couldn't understand!

Boreimu simply could not comprehend it!

For the body's extraordinary meridians and twelve main channels, even innate experts rarely have them completely cleared. Even if they are all open, the human body contains numerous collateral branches, as well as tiny, unknown meridians connecting to the skin! Generally, when one first cultivates internal strength, those minor meridians become blocked!

Logically, for all innate experts, those minute meridians should be blocked!

Even if the minute meridians were clear, the True Essence power erupting from such thin channels should not be this overwhelmingly strong!

...

"Strange!" In the mist, the portly round-faced elder observing the battle below frowned. "Could it be that he has cleared even the minute, collateral meridians? That's something achievable upon reaching the Void Realm! But this little fellow is clearly not in the Void Realm!"

"Even if all his meridians were clear, a back-brace strike shouldn't unleash such devastating power!" The round-faced elder was equally perplexed.

Even a Void Realm expert couldn't discern that what Teng Qingshan used was purely physical strength! Not True Essence! The extent of physical power cannot be discerned from outward appearance.

...

Looking at the injured Boreimu lying on the ground, Teng Qingshan mused inwardly, "Does he think that my lineage of Internal Martial Arts is the same as yours, where attacks must rely on hands and feet? In my lineage of Internal Martial Arts, can any part of the body—head, back, knees—not be used as a weapon?"

That move just now was 'Bear Crashing Mountain,' one of the stances from the Twelve Forms of Xingyi.

It appeared clumsy, but the instantaneous burst of power from the body was immense.

"Haha, Brother Boreimu!"

Teng Qingshan laughed and walked to the cliff wall, drawing his weapon, the 'Black Flame Cudgel.' He then flicked and vibrated the cudgel, sending Boreimu’s weapon, the 'Divine Mace,' flying back toward him. Boreimu immediately reached out and caught his weapon.

"Brother Boreimu, we have already sparred barehanded; now, shall we test our skills with weapons?" Teng Qingshan called out cheerfully.

Boreimu stood up, wiped the corner of his mouth, and laughed heartily. "Brother Huhe, if I brazenly insisted on fighting you again with weapons, I’d surely be laughed at by everyone! You broke my 'Thunder God Descends' move; even if I used my weapon, I would still lose! This fight... I, Boreimu, have lost, and I accept the defeat wholeheartedly!"

"Brother Boreimu, I only won by a narrow margin. Earlier, if I had woken up slightly slower, I would have been caught," Teng Qingshan smiled. "This battle is concluded; I have matters to attend to, so I will depart now!"

Boreimu tried to persuade him to stay.

But Teng Qingshan walked directly toward Li Jun’s position. Li Jun's face was alight with excitement. Walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Teng Qingshan, once they were far enough from the others behind them, Li Jun lowered his voice excitedly. "Brother Teng, you won!"

"It was close," Teng Qingshan chuckled lightly.

Suddenly—

A cry of astonishment came from the group behind them. "Lord Alada, it seems he was only defending from start to finish! He won with a simple back-brace at the very end. And that back-brace could technically be counted as a defensive maneuver."

"Yes, Lord Alada, he truly didn't attack from beginning to end, yet he won. That’s incredible!"

Hearing the exclamations from behind, Teng Qingshan couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.