Demon Slaying, Gaining 60 Years of Cultivation From the Start

Chapter 172: Chapter 155: Battle Within (Three Updates of 10,000 Words, Asking for Subscription!) _1

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Everyone present, including members of the Yao Platform Sect itself, never expected that this year's grand event at Yao Platform would end up like this.

Originally, when they saw Gu Chen single-handedly battling against five of the young martial arts masters including Tang Xiao from the Da Guangming Sect, they only felt dazzled and mesmerized as they watched the spectacle.

But now, in merely the blink of an eye, the situation had developed to the point of no return, spiraling out of control.

Some martial artists sighed in admiration, feeling that Gu Chen's courage was indeed great and his actions were decisive; his strength was formidable, and the incident in Xu'an County was probably true rather than an exaggerated rumor.

Others thought that Gu Chen was too impulsive, recklessly killing the genuine successor of the Heavenly Saber Sect along with the sect leader's daughter, and being short-sighted.

There were also those who cursed Yang Mingyue for being brainless, daring to provoke someone from the Jing Tian Department, and with Gu Chen's violent nature, this was purely seeking her own death.

And yet, there were those who were envious, feeling that Gu Chen only dared to act this way because the Jing Tian Department supported him; if they were in Gu Chen's shoes, they were certain they could do better.

The myriad attitudes and thoughts of all beings were fully displayed at this moment; there were all kinds of opinions.

Of course, most were secretly admiring Gu Chen for his decisiveness in executing Mo Zilin and Yang Mingyue from the Heavenly Saber Sect without hesitation and facing Hu Wanyuan, a Gang Qi Stage martial artist from the same sect, without a trace of fear.

However, such a decisive character, who killed upon a word of disagreement, also made the crowd of martial artists feel a sense of dread.

"Gu Chen, you young fool, you... you dare—"

Hu Wanyuan pointed at Gu Chen, so angry his lips trembled uncontrollably, his entire body shaking, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Gu Chen's eyes were cold and sharp as he looked at Hu Wanyuan and said, "What, you want to join them down there too?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Wanyuan's face changed color; his eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at Gu Chen, his teeth clenched in anger, and he shouted, "Arrogant!"

"If you don't want to die, then scram!" Gu Chen's face was stern, his sword-like eyebrows raised.

Seeing Hu Wanyuan, a Gang Qi Stage warrior, being scolded by a junior like Gu Chen, his face couldn't hold up, making the crowd worry for Hu Wanyuan.

Gu Chen had always been this way, adhering to the principle of not provoking others unless provoked. But now, since the Heavenly Saber Sect had provoked him numerous times, Gu Chen had no reason to be polite with them any longer.

What of the Gang Qi Stage? With his current strength, he might not be weaker than a Gang Qi Stage opponent!

"Presumptuous!"

Hu Wanyuan could no longer suppress the raging fury in his heart. With Yang Mingyue and Mo Zilin dead, given Yang Ling's temperament, even if he returned, he was not likely to be well-received. It was very possible that Tian Dao Yang Ling would demand Hu Wanyuan to pay with his life for his beloved daughter!

With this thought, facing death either way, he might as well drag Gu Chen down with him before dying, since all of this disaster was brought about by Gu Chen.

Seeing Hu Wanyuan make a move, many martial artists who held animosity towards Gu Chen and the Jing Tian Department secretly sneered, thinking that Gu Chen was truly too arrogant, relying on the support of the Jing Tian Department to even dare challenge a Gang Qi Stage warrior.

Was that something you as a Vajra Stage warrior could do? Many martial artists thought so.

"Presumptuous, today I will show you what Gangqi is. I'll make you regret today's actions for the rest of your life!" Hu Wanyuan bellowed, immediately taking action, his entire body surging with energy, and his Gangqi fluctuating violently.

"Master Hu!" The middle-aged beautiful woman from the Yao Platform Sect's complexion changed, wanting to make a move to help Gu Chen.

But at that moment, they heard Gu Chen's long howl: "Elder, there's no need to intervene!"

As soon as the words fell, Gu Chen's figure flashed, actively moving to meet the challenge. Even the middle-aged beautiful woman from the Yao Platform Sect changed her expression, and those who had harbored doubts about Gu Chen thought he was being utterly reckless and arrogant.

"Gu Chen is clearly delirious with successive victories, arrogantly overestimating himself, to the point of daring to engage with a Gang Qi Stage warrior!"

"Just wait and see, it will only take a few moves before he is beaten to the ground by Master Hu!"

A group of martial artists hostile to the Jing Tian Department and extremely envious of Gu Chen secretly had such thoughts.

"Lord Gu!" The middle-aged beautiful woman from the Yao Platform Sect also didn't have high hopes for Gu Chen, and Zi Qing was slightly shaking her head, thinking that Gu Chen was a bit too conceited.

After all, the gap between the Vajra Stage and the Gang Qi Stage was simply too vast. Even if Gu Chen had achieved a body as strong as a savage dragon, it was unlikely that he could stand against a Gang Qi Stage martial artist.

Because once Gangqi was condensed, even the weakest Gang Qi Stage martial artist, after tempering their body with Gangqi, would have a body strength that would not be weaker than that of a Vajra Stage warrior with the body of a savage dragon.

And if the warrior already possessed an extreme physical strength, then after being tempered by Gangqi, they would certainly reach even greater heights.

What's more, the difference between Gangqi and inner energy was like comparing hundred-refined steel to tenderness that could twist around one's finger; there was simply no comparison at all.

This was precisely why there was such a huge gap between the Vajra Stage and the Gang Qi Stage, and why most people were not optimistic about Gu Chen's chances against Hu Wanyuan.

In the entire Nine Provinces, even amongst the most talented martial artists, when at the Vajra Stage and facing a Gang Qi Stage opponent, even just inner Gangqi, the best they could hope for was to fight a few rounds and then successfully escape.

Nobody had ever heard of a Vajra Stage warrior defeating a Gang Qi Stage one. At least in the past several hundred years, there was no such incident in the Nine Provinces.

Boom!

Hu Wanyuan's robust Gangqi surged, his hair and beard stood on end, his robe fluttered loudly, and with a palm strike, the palm wind was so fierce it was akin to a blade scraping the flesh.

Merely standing from a great distance, the onlookers could feel this sensation. Consider then Gu Chen, who was engaging Hu Wanyuan at close range.

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In the center of the battlefield, facing the palm strike from Hu Wanyuan, Gu Chen's expression also became somewhat solemn. This was his first time crossing hands with a warrior at the Gang Qi Stage.

He had witnessed the formidable power of warriors at the Gang Qi Stage in Xu'an County. If it weren't for the fact that Hu Wanyuan cultivated internal Gangqi and he had perfected the Superior Martial Skill known as the Golden Bell Shield, there was no way Gu Chen would have acted so recklessly.

Engaging Hu Wanyuan was also a chance for Gu Chen to test his full strength and see just how much his combat power had reached at present.

The fierce palm wind rushed towards his face, messing up Gu Chen's hair. As his robe fluttered, he chose to meet offense with offense against Hu Wanyuan's incoming palm.

"Ignorant fool!"

Hu Wanyuan's hair and beard stood on end, and his expression was ferocious. Seeing Gu Chen's response, he let out a cold shout, believing that Gu Chen was courting death.

Bang!

The collision of their palms instantly set off boundless waves of energy, with turbulent white crests rippling outward in a circle, causing the earth within several tens of feet to shake violently and countless small stones to shoot up into the sky.

In Hu Wanyuan's palm was a sharp, unrivaled energy, which even made Gu Chen's sturdy body feel bursts of pain in his palm.

It should be noted that his body had reached a level where even commodity-grade treasured weapons would not harm him, but he still felt a twinge of pain at that moment.

Seeing that Gu Chen could withstand his palm strike and not die, with only a few drops of crystal-clear blood beads flowing from his hand, Hu Wanyuan's face suddenly changed.

Boom!

The next moment, the robust inner energy that Gu Chen had cultivated for 510 years surged within him, and a strong burst of energy gushed out from his palm, causing Hu Wanyuan to stagger backward several steps.

This scene shocked the numerous warriors present, causing them to exclaim in shock.

"What?!"

"How is that possible, Gu Chen... Gu Chen actually managed to repel a warrior at the Gang Qi Stage?"

"Is this real, or are my eyes deceiving me?"

The discussions among the warriors naturally reached Hu Wanyuan's ears, which further wounded his pride. He called out loudly, "You brat, if you dare, then take another palm from this old man!"

Gu Chen's demeanor was chilly, his figure tall and slender, as he looked down at Hu Wanyuan and said, "It's not just one palm, even ten would be of no concern!"

"Arrogant!"

With a fierce scream, Hu Wanyuan soared into the air, his hands revolving up and down before his chest, gathering powerful energy between them, and then he violently pushed it towards Gu Chen.

"Flame Wind Knife!"

This was a high-quality martial skill of the Heavenly Saber Sect. Although named a knife technique, it was actually a palm technique. As Hu Wanyuan pushed out with both palms, countless tiny red wind blades gathered in his palm, eventually forming a dazzling three-foot-long fiery red blade light, which flashed in mid-air, arriving almost instantly in front of Gu Chen.

The power of a high-quality martial skill unleashed by an Inner Gang Qi Stage warrior far surpassed that of Vajra Stage warriors.

In the face of this strike, Gu Chen also had to be cautious. He stood straight, staying in place, holding his breath and concentrating, with his palms spread flat and slowly raising from his lower abdomen. As Gu Chen drew breath, the fierce and vast inner energy in his body also followed the circulation of his meridians towards his limbs.

Hum!

A dazzling golden light suddenly appeared on the surface of Gu Chen's body. It was a dragon-shaped illusion about three-feet long that coiled around Gu Chen's body, twining up and down as his hands kept raising.

"Break!"

The next second, Gu Chen exhaled and shouted, his pupils dilating and his gaze sparkling, more brilliant than the dawn's first stars.

Only to see Gu Chen punch out, with the Golden Dragon Illusion wrapping around the arm he used to punch, emitting a high-pitched dragon roar.

Roar!

With this punch, Gu Chen channeled the essence of his full 510 years of cultivation!

Even though his inner energy was far inferior in quality to Gangqi, he compensated for the lack of quality with quantity!

As Gu Chen's punch was thrown, a fierce wind erupted, not to the extent of changing colors in the sky, but enough to stir up dust and rocks, causing the ground beneath him to start sinking, and a heavy pressure loomed over everyone's hearts.

Only now did people realize that, in his previous fights with Tang Xiao and others, Gu Chen had been concealing his strength!

Seeing Gu Chen's true power, Tang Xiao and others, who were seriously injured, all looked dejected, filled with a deep sense of powerlessness.

Members of the Yao Platform Sect were also staring wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Feeling the intensity of the strike, everyone, even those warriors who had previously doubted Gu Chen's strength, had the same thought come to mind.

"Could it be that Gu Chen can actually compete with the top warrios at the Gang Qi Stage while only at the Vajra Stage?!"

At the very heart of the battlefield, Hu Wanyuan saw Gu Chen's punch coming, with the intense pressure and vigorous energy bearing down on him, causing his expression to shift dramatically, filled with disbelief as he yelled, "Impossible, you are but a Vajra Stage warrior, how could you cultivate such profound power!"

But at this moment, there was no chance for Gu Chen to answer him. The fierce and explosive punch had already closed in right in front of Hu Wanyuan's face!