Stranger Danger

Chapter 593: Wind And Thunder From My Fist

Crack... crack...

Chu Wangsun continued to tighten his grip around the Soul Refining Furnace until it began to warp and crack. Spider webs began spreading across its surface, and black liquid leaked out of the cracks.

The black liquid was filthy and tainted. As it slid down Chu Wangsun’s fingers, they transformed into all kinds of faces that made all kinds of noises. There were children, old men, beauties and scary-looking men; cries, laughter, begging and threats...

But Chu Wangsun ignored it all. A selfless person needed not be plagued by the troubles of red dust.

In the end, a hateful, defiant scream erupted from the Soul Refining Furnace before it exploded into smithereens.

Buzz!

The wind changed, and the clouds trembled. A shockwave so potent it felt like it could flatten mountains and overturn seas washed out from the Soul Refining Furnace.

The thick, earthen ground was flipped upside down, the tough Withered Trees were uprooted like nothing, and even the morning sun was blown off the sky.

At that moment, heaven and earth changed places, and the wind and rain howled like the apocalypse.

The white-robed man at the center of the shockwave remained unmoved, however. The wind could not push him, and the rain could not touch him. Small he might be, he was as tough as an immovable rock in a raging river. He could not be no moved no matter how hard the elements tried to wear him down.

The shockwave lasted about a dozen or so breaths. By the time it finally ended, everything within several kilometers was completely destroyed. What was once a forest was now just a barren, empty wasteland.

Chu Wangsun remained untouched, however. Not one corner of his white robe was ruffled, and his indifferent expression had not changed one bit. If someone didn’t know better, they would have thought that nothing had happened at all.

He took a moment to wipe away the dust that had attached themselves to his sleeves and straightened his attire. Once done, he got ready to leave. At that moment, there was no doubt that he looked both cool and impressive.

However, Chu Wangsun had just lifted his foot off the ground when suddenly, his brow wrinkled a little. Then, he moved his hand forward.

The gesture seemed as harmless as it was ordinary, but it resulted in a surprise thunderclap that deafened the ears. The ground beneath his foot also rippled like waves. It looked calm and peaceful, but it was anything but.

The next moment, a person abruptly appeared in front of Chu Wangsun. Their fist was caught firmly in Chu Wangsun’s palm.

“Who are you?” Chu Wangsun asked indifferently. He sounded so calm it was almost as if he was speaking to a harmless stranger, not a dangerous warrior who just tried to ambush him.

Instead of answering, the man raised and dropped his shoulders. His movements looked simple, but it was really like he was shaking off a mountain range from his shoulders: vast, heavy, and unshakeable.

The arm pressed up against Chu Wangsun’s palm relaxed and tightened in tandem with the gesture. When it relaxed, all was calm, and not a ripple could be spotted across the four seas. When it tightened, wrath filled the heavens, and dragons got ready to turn the earth upside down.

BOOM!!!

A thunderclap erupted from the point between the fist and the palm once more. It was shorter but louder than the previous noise.

As soon as the thunderclap happened, the space surrounding the duo shook violently. Then, it began to shatter bit by bit like glass.

Wind and thunder could happen in a room. A world could be held at the center of one’s palm.

Slowly, a hint of astonishment spread across Chu Wangsun’s face. His arm was slowly being pushed backward, and every time it was pushed back an inch, his spotless sleeve would crumble a little. Three inches later, the sleeve was completely destroyed, and his elbow just happened to hit him in his chest.

BANG!

It sounded like a celestial striking the gong of heaven, loud and powerful. The ground behind Chu Wangsun’s back abruptly soared at least dozens of meters into the air like a wave that struck a reef.

“Who sent you?”

Despite looking like he had lost the bout, Chu Wangsun remained as calm as ever.

He wasn’t arrogant, he just knew that he could not be beaten. After all, his opponent was just an early-stage Spirit Master.

In his opinion, there was no qualitative difference between an early-stage Spirit Master and an ant. Both could be squashed with a single finger.

It was also why he wanted to know what gave an early-stage Spirit Master the audacity to ambush him.

Had he had enough of life?

Or was he acting under someone else’s orders?

Chu Wangsun personally believed that it was the latter. Despite being an early-stage Spirit Master, the fist art his attacker displayed was most sublime. He could not possibly be a nobody. That was why he asked that question.

He had come to Bei You for the Dark Overlord’s inheritance. He hadn’t exactly kept a low profile, but he certainly wasn’t announcing his itinerary for all to know either. So why did someone try to kill him as soon as he arrived at Bei You?

He wanted to know who was the mastermind behind this. That was why he hadn’t killed the attacker immediately or asked them about their objective.

The answer he got was a fist to the face. Frowning, Chu Wangsun pressed his index and middle fingers together and thrust it toward the fist.

The gesture looked harmless, but rules existed even in the middle of nowhere, and the traces of the sages were everywhere. It was as if the world was a classroom, and the traces were the marks a sage left behind while educating a disciple.

A finger was both a ruler and a rule of some sort. More importantly, it represented the words of a sage.

A disciple could not help but obey the words of a sage, no?

That was why the technique Chu Wangsun used was called, “Follow The Rule”. It was proper etiquette for a disciple to follow a rule, and when someone was following a rule, they should withdraw their force, quell their intent, extinguish their qi, and bow their heads. After all, what kind of disciple would tower over his teacher?

The fist was overflowing with power and speed at the beginning, but over time, it grew slower and gentler.

What was a fist with neither power nor speed? A toothless tiger. And what could a toothless tiger kill? Nothing.

When Chu Wangsun’s fingers made contact with the person’s fist, they immediately let out a muffled groan. Their arm popped and cracked like the muscles and bones were shattering inch by inch, their complexion kept alternating between blue and white, blood was spurting out of their orifices, and their legs sank all the way to the knees. Thunder could be heard rumbling beneath the earth.

But Chu Wangsun was surprised. He knew full well how powerful his technique was. Influenced by “Follow The Rule”, his opponent’s fist force, fist intent and strength were weakened to the max. It would not be an exaggeration to say that ninety-nine percent of their power was suppressed.

That was why few people at his cultivation level could take the technique head on, much less an early-stage Spirit Master. And yet, his attacker did.

This was the end of the line for them though. His technique had broken their arm bones and damaged their internal organs. They should not be able to put up a fight anymore.

He was wrong. As the man’s feet sank into the ground, he abruptly loosened his clenched fingers and turned his wrist around. At the same time, a series of crisp and dense pops erupted from his arm like a string of firecrackers.

The person’s fingers wrapped around his wrist, and a tremendous strength pulled Cu Wangsun forward. Even with his power, he was caught off guard and pulled forward against his will. The person themselves were leaning toward him as well.

From a distance, it looked like two best friends who hadn’t seen each other for years hugging each other to express their boundless joy. In reality, the scene was nowhere as touching or harmless.

For the first time, anger appeared on Chu Wangsun’s face. It was because he knew his attacker had tricked him—or more accurately, he had underestimated their strength.

The power his opponent had displayed up until now was that of an early-stage Spirit Master. Although their explosive power and the perfect blend of strength, force and intent were quite something, it was at most equal to the full-powered attack of a middle-stage Spirit Master. To him, it was akin to a child reciting a poem at the age of three. It was impressive, but that was it.

But now, the strength of the pull told him loud and clear that his opponent had been hiding their strength. He wasn’t an early-stage Spirit Master at all—they were a late-stage Spirit Master.

They were no ordinary late-stage Spirit Master either. They were a body-tempering late-stage Spirit Master.

It was never a good thing to allow a body-tempering warrior to get within melee range. Although he was a Half-Step Grandmaster who was accomplished both in the way of literature and martial, he did just endure the explosion of Pei Qiansui’s Yin God and singlehandedly quelled the resurrection of a Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact. He was quite tired to say the least. That was why the attacker’s ploy made him feel just a little threatened, and why he was angry.