Chen Tian and Tian Wuzi collided. Facing a physique owner like Chen Tian, Tian Wuzi did not want to clash head-on. A head-on collision would be suicidal. Cultivators generally do not cultivate their physique; they condense Qi, condense spirit, and reach the Qi Sea realm to comprehend heavenly and earthly energies and use their strength to enhance their attacks and strengthen their bodies.
When faced with equal strength, if the opponent's physique far surpassed his own, Tian Wuzi dared not clash. This led to Tian Wuzi constantly dodging. Facing Chen Tian's punches, he had no intention of resisting. If Tian Wuzi had known that Chen Tian's physique had only just awakened and was not fully awakened, he would have gone all out to subdue Chen Tian. Unfortunately, Tian Wuzi's caution prevented him from noticing this situation.
Chen Tian threw a left hook. Tian Wuzi dodged backward. Chen Tian's right fist, appearing out of nowhere, swung towards Tian Wuzi's right flank. Tian Wuzi's figure flickered, as if made of cotton, drifting wherever the wind blew, easily evading Chen Tian's attacks. Chen Tian looked at Tian Wuzi, noting that this evasive style resembled his own Limitless Dodge.
Chen Tian vanished, unleashing a hundred punches in rapid succession, his fist shadows filling the air. Tian Wuzi was entirely encased in a barrier. Numerous fist shadows struck the barrier, making resounding noises. Chen Tian and Tian Wuzi paused their fight. Chen Tian had underestimated Tian Wuzi; this guy was defending to such an extent. He glanced at the vine cage behind them, resolving to defeat Tian Wuzi before these people emerged.
His eyes, filled with determination, flashed with a cold glint, like a beast fixing its gaze on prey. Chen Tian unleashed his full speed, stars dotting his eyes. This change was noticed by Tian Wuzi, who then spoke, "So your physique hasn't fully awakened yet! You actually managed to trick me earlier."
"Now, how do you plan to die?"
As Tian Wuzi finished speaking, he charged towards Chen Tian. He knew, upon seeing the stars in Chen Tian's eyes, that Chen Tian's physique was not fully awakened, likely at thirty to forty percent completion, with some time needed for full awakening.
A fully awakened physique, like Chen Tian's Starry Physique, would manifest as a body covered in starry armor, enveloped by starlight, resembling a child of the stars, wielding the power of starlight.
However, Chen Tian's current transformation was confined to his eyes; there was no starlight elsewhere. This indicated a nascent, newly awakened physique that had not yet fully coalesced. The moment Tian Wuzi realized this, he felt he still had a chance to kill Chen Tian, as the gap between them was not solely determined by physique.
Tian Wuzi's palms were entwined with a black energy that exuded an ominous, uneasy, and fearful aura, unsettling Chen Tian's heart. His palms collided with Chen Tian's fists. Affected by the aura, Chen Tian retreated a few steps. He looked at the black energy on Tian Wuzi's palms and murmured, "What a strange aura; it actually affects my primordial spirit."
"It seems I cannot come into contact with that aura. Otherwise, splitting one's focus in battle is a grave mistake."
Chen Tian made his decision. His fists were wrapped in a gentle breeze, which coalesced into a pair of gauntlets. In front of these gauntlets, the aura would be dispersed by the breeze, preventing it from reaching Chen Tian.
Tian Wuzi saw Chen Tian's swift reaction and praised him, "Not bad. This method indeed prevents my Black Misfortune Heavenly Mandate from making contact. But do you think the Black Misfortune Heavenly Mandate's function is only this? Far from it. Its ability is to devour the heavenly mandate and luck of everything around it. I just devoured a bit of your luck and heavenly mandate, and my strength has increased again. You are truly a fine training tool."
"I almost don't have the heart to kill you."
After speaking, Tian Wuzi licked his lips, his tongue flicking out.
He looked at Chen Tian with an expression of longing. Chen Tian felt his scalp tingle; such a look was unsettling.
Chen Tian attacked directly, unwilling to waste any more time. Cracks appeared in the vine cage behind him, leaving Chen Tian with little time. The elemental power in this world was too weak. Chen Tian mastered elements, but the elemental power itself was not strong enough. If he had the wood elemental control from the divine realm, he wouldn't need to act himself to kill these people in this forest.
Chen Tian stepped forward, his body shrouded in a gentle breeze. Even though the wind element was weak, it at least provided a speed boost, increasing Chen Tian's speed by more than double. He instantly appeared before Tian Wuzi and unleashed a punch, entwined with elemental power. Water and fire energies merged, though for Chen Tian, who possessed the Elemental Godly Physique and prior experience, merging water and fire was as easy as drinking water.
Fists of red and blue light attacked Tian Wuzi. Tian Wuzi felt a deadly crisis emanating from the fists. He decisively clapped his palms together, then opened them, spinning them to create a vortex of black energy before Chen Tian's fists. Chen Tian punched into the center of the vortex and was surprised to find his ice and fire powers being gradually devoured by the vortex.
Chen Tian tried to pull his fists out, but the vortex, like a black hole, held them fast. Chen Tian could do nothing but let the opponent absorb the power from his fists. Tian Wuzi's lips curved upwards. Then, he turned his body, and the vortex exploded, its shockwave echoing. Chen Tian emerged from the explosion.
His clothes were tattered and torn. However, the previous explosion had no effect on Chen Tian; he merely looked badly off. An explosion of this magnitude was nothing to Chen Tian.
Chen Tian walked up to Tian Wuzi and looked at the black energy in his hands. During the explosion, Chen Tian had sensed a familiar aura, like that of the Evil Spirit Race, yet not quite. It was familiar, but Chen Tian couldn't recall it.
As Chen Tian's clone, it possessed the memories of the main body, though not its strength. However, the aura just now was indeed familiar. Chen Tian thought hard but still couldn't recall it. He looked at Tian Wuzi, trying to discern something special.
Tian Wuzi, unfazed by Chen Tian's gaze, clapped his palms together and rushed towards Chen Tian.
As their palms neared, Chen Tian met them with his own. With a thunderous roar, waves of energy surged outwards, causing trees to collapse and the ground to split as they spread. This demonstrated the immense power wielded by both combatants.
A sound came from behind Chen Tian. He looked back and saw that the entire vine cage was shattering. Chen Tian knew he couldn't delay any longer; if they escaped their confinement, he would have no chance of winning against all four of them.
Chen Tian exerted force with his palms, pushing Tian Wuzi back. He then sprinted to the right. The vine cage burst open, vines flying everywhere, and three people emerged. A young man asked with concern, "Young Master, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Hurry and pursue him; don't let him escape."
Tian Wuzi knew he couldn't defeat Chen Tian alone and had to rely on his guards. The four of them gave chase. In the forest, Chen Tian was still contemplating his options. Four opponents against him—he could handle a one-on-one fight, but a group assault was beyond his capabilities.
Chen Tian looked at the surrounding trees and had a sudden flash of inspiration. He began running through the forest in a specific pattern, scattering green light onto the ground. After running for a while, Chen Tian stopped, standing still as if waiting for Tian Wuzi and the others.
Seeing Chen Tian standing still, Tian Wuzi and the other three rejoiced. Perhaps he had given up!
Tian Wuzi was ecstatic. Once he had absorbed all of Chen Tian's luck and heavenly mandate, he would dismember him. At that point, he would be a Saint and secure a place in the Heavenly Mandate Pavilion. Everyone harbored ambitions, and Tian Wuzi was no exception. He desired to control the entire Heavenly Mandate Pavilion. Only immense power could match such ambition; without power, ambition was meaningless.
Tian Wuzi looked at Chen Tian and said arrogantly, "Kid, running away? Why aren't you running anymore!"
"Run? Why should I run? You're the ones who should be running."
Chen Tian's lips curved upwards, and he stood up. Green light then emanated from his hands. Tian Wuzi shouted, "Stop him quickly! He's going to use that move again!"
"Do you think we'll fall for the same trick twice?"
Tian Wuzi seemed to have guessed Chen Tian's intention, but he was mistaken. Vines began to grow around the entire forest, and within a hundred-mile radius, a maze formed from vines and trees enveloped the area. As the maze appeared, Tian Wuzi and the others were scattered, separated by the vine walls.
Chen Tian began to move. Since he couldn't handle all four of them at once, he would defeat them one by one.
Inside the maze, a young guard looked at the surrounding vine walls and struck them with all his might. To his surprise, his full-force blow left not even a scratch.
Li Wang exclaimed, "These vines are on a completely different level from before. They're completely unharmed by my full-strength attack!"
"Give up. The entire vine maze was designed to separate you. If the four of you cooperated, you might break through it. But an individual's wishful thinking is futile."
Chen Tian's figure appeared behind Li Wang and walked into his line of sight. Chen Tian mastered the wood element, and elemental power was not something a mere Gathering Realm cultivator could overcome; it would take considerable time. Only Saints could disregard elemental power.
Unfortunately, all those present were in the Gathering Realm, not the Saint Realm. Li Wang, seeing Chen Tian, sneered, "You've come to die. It's perfect; I'll capture you and present you to the Young Master."
He stomped his foot, cracking the ground and leaving a deep footprint. Li Wang cultivated both his body and his realm, making his combat power stronger than that of a normal martial artist. In the Northern Yuan Continent, the progress of body cultivators was slower than that of realm cultivators. Chen Tian was not worried that Li Wang could kill him.
At most, it would be a fifty-fifty match, and Chen Tian still had a chance to defeat him. He had never lost a one-on-one fight, and this was Chen Tian's confidence.
Chen Tian spread his arms, facing Li Wang's fists. He clenched his fists tightly, and then Li Wang was lifted by Chen Tian's arms and slammed into the ground with a deafening roar.
Li Wang tried to break free from Chen Tian's grip, but he found that no matter how much strength he used, he was firmly controlled by Chen Tian, unable to resist at all. Chen Tian rotated his arm.
"Crack!"
"Ah!"
The sound of bones breaking and screams echoed. Chen Tian stomped down twice on Li Wang's body with full force. Li Wang's body instantly lost its life.
Chen Tian had not expected Li Wang's attacks to have so many flaws. It seemed this fellow had rarely experienced combat. Chen Tian had exploited the flaws and easily dealt with Li Wang.
Li Wang's tragic screams reached Tian Wuzi, who broke out in a sweat. Hearing the screams, he knew someone had suffered a terrible fate. Tian Wuzi's face contorted in fear. "Damn it, why can't these vine walls be broken!"
He unleashed countless punches and palm strikes, but the vine walls only trembled slightly. Tian Wuzi was helpless against them.
Tian Wuzi understood Chen Tian's intention: to defeat them one by one, leaving only him to face Chen Tian in a one-on-one duel, not a group fight.
The vine walls were formed by Chen Tian's spiritual power and elemental power, creating a maze from which no sound could be transmitted. This meant Tian Wuzi and the other two could only wander within the maze.
If they could communicate, the three would quickly reunite, and Chen Tian would have no opportunity to strike. However, the current situation did not permit it. Without communication, they could only wander aimlessly through the maze.
Wang Yuan looked at the wall ahead; it was a dead end. He had taken another wrong turn. The maze was designed based on the Chinese mazes in Chen Tian's memory. With the intelligence of Tian Wuzi and the others, the idea of them finding each other and escaping was as likely as a sow climbing a tree—a pipe dream.
Just as Wang Yuan was about to retrace his steps and leave the dead end, Chen Tian's figure appeared, blocking the entrance. Chen Tian said with a smirk, "You really know how to find your own grave. This place is quite good."
"Kid!"
Wang Yuan attacked immediately. This was the person the Young Master had specifically targeted. He would capture Chen Tian and bring him before the Young Master. If Chen Tian resisted, he wouldn't hesitate to teach him a lesson.
He dashed towards Chen Tian. With a swoosh, Wang Yuan, who primarily cultivated speed-type techniques, moved with extreme swiftness. In the next second, he was before Chen Tian, launching a flurry of kicks like a tempest, like thunder, like a tidal wave—fierce, rapid, and entwined with power.
Wang Yuan unleashed his strongest martial art from the outset: the Gale Thunder Dragon Sea Kick. This was a Heaven-grade martial art. When practiced to perfection, the kick would be imbued with the power of wind and thunder, and the dragon sea. His feet could split the earth and part the seas.
As his legs attacked, Wang Yuan already envisioned Chen Tian's miserable state under this move, begging for mercy.
Chen Tian observed the attack. The speed of the kicks was too slow. In Chen Tian's eyes, the speed was far too slow. The main difference was in experience. Even at great speed, such combat was like a drizzle to Chen Tian, with which he was accustomed. The clone did not possess the main body's strength but had its combat experience, making it difficult for ordinary martial artists to contend with.
Chen Tian swung his arms in quick succession, three times. Two blows collided with Wang Yuan's legs. Wang Yuan was astonished that his attack was so easily resisted. Just as he was about to change his move, Chen Tian's arm flashed, and Wang Yuan was sent flying.
Embedded in the vine wall, Chen Tian threw a punch. A mouthful of blood spurted from Wang Yuan's mouth.
"Pfft!"
Crimson blood flowed. Wang Yuan fell to the ground, looking at Chen Tian with terror. This guy was not human. The difference between them was a full major realm and three minor realms, yet he couldn't withstand a single move from Chen Tian.
What kind of monstrous anomaly was this!
While Wang Yuan was still contemplating, Chen Tian flashed and grabbed Wang Yuan by the neck. Wang Yuan's martial arts were powerful, but his actual combat experience was lacking, with too many openings. Chen Tian easily broke through his techniques. If Tian Wuzi had been the one releasing the attacks, Chen Tian would not have been able to resolve it so easily.
It could only be said that the difference in combat experience was evident at this moment. Chen Tian twisted his hand slightly. A crisp snapping sound came from Wang Yuan's neck. Was it a pleasant sound? A pleasant sound meant a good neck.