Chapter 26: The Power of One Punch

At the entrance of the Demon Beast Forest, two people were standing, a man and a woman.

The woman's hands were bound by ropes, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of her beautiful lips. Her white dress also bore several bloodstains. Clearly, she had fought fiercely before being subdued, but unfortunately, she had been defeated in the end.

Next to the woman stood a burly man with a buzz cut, resembling an Iron Tower. His exaggerated muscles, under his dark skin, appeared even more robust. His nearly two-meter stature made him look like a giant, and behind him hung a huge Iron Axe.

The Iron Axe was black yet thick, obviously heavy.

"You don't need to wait anymore, Xu Nian won't come," the woman's beautiful face showed an unyielding spirit.

She knew that the burly man had brought her here to draw Xu Nian, but Xu Nian had no relationship with her. Why would he risk his life to save her?

The burly man was a Four-star Body Cultivator in the Star Realm, and even if Xu Nian possessed strength beyond his own, he definitely could not match this burly man, so she did not hope for Xu Nian to come and die here.

"Hmph, how do you know he won't come? That lad took an arrow for you; he clearly cares about you a lot. Do you think he can disregard your life and death? Aren't you afraid I will violate you?" the buzz-cut burly man said coldly, his eyes filled with mockery.

Murong Xue was momentarily stunned hearing the young man's words.

Did Xu Nian truly care about her so much that he would come to save her?

Murong Xue recalled the moments she had spent with Xu Nian. She discovered the enigmatic young man.

More often, it was she who cared about him, not Xu Nian caring for her.

Xu Nian's ruthlessness, madness, and his high talents and comprehension without ever being arrogant deeply attracted her, continuously shocking her.

If her heart hadn't already been taken by someone else, she believed that with time, she might have fallen for Xu Nian, since he was the most outstanding among her peers.

Perhaps he wasn't dazzling now, but someday he would stand at the summit of East Field County, even trampling the entire Tianhen Empire under his feet.

"No, Xu Nian absolutely must not come here; he still has a long road to walk and cannot die here," thought Murong Xue anxiously.

She did not want Xu Nian to come here. If Xu Nian died trying to save her, she would feel guilty for a lifetime.

"It seems you do harbor some feelings for that lad. Since that's the case, I will let him die before you later. I'll see if you shed tears," Tie Shan said coldly with a sneer.

Although initially, he had sought to kill Xu Nian for a reward, Xu Nian had now killed two of his brothers, and he hated Xu Nian to the bone, so he definitely wouldn't let Xu Nian die easily.

"You won't succeed!" Declared Murong Xue, determination clear in her attractive eyes. She resolved in her heart that even if she died, she couldn't let Xu Nian die here.

"Swoosh!"

Just then, a faint sound came from the distance.

The buzz-cut burly man immediately smirked and looked at Murong Xue, saying, "Look, your little lover has come."

Murong Xue, hearing this, also quickly looked toward the direction of the sound. Indeed, a figure dashed out from the forest and appeared before them.

Who could it be but Xu Nian?

The moment Murong Xue saw Xu Nian, her eyes instantly welled up. Xu Nian had truly rushed over for her, deeply touching her heart.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she quickly shouted, "Xu Nian, run away, you're no match for him!"

However, Xu Nian, as if he hadn't heard Murong Xue's words, looked toward the buzz-cut young man and said, "Tie Shan, I'm here now. Can you release my companion?"

"Release her? Xu Nian, are you joking? Do you think you still have the right to negotiate with me? You killed my two brothers, and today you must pay for that debt," Tie Shan said coldly, his eyes filled with immense anger as he stared at Xu Nian.

Xu Nian's eyes remained icy as he looked directly at the crew-cut burly man and said, "They brought it upon themselves; they deserved to be killed!"

"You're seeking death!" The crew-cut burly man flew into a rage.

He didn't expect that Xu Nian, facing his imminent death, still refused to bow his head, which instantly stoked the flames of anger in his heart.

Murong Xue was also astonished, not understanding why Xu Nian would provoke the crew-cut burly man at this time.

"If you want to avenge your two brothers, just come at me. If you can avenge them, I, Xu Nian, will call you 'grandfather,'" Xu Nian taunted.

"I'm going to kill you!" Upon hearing this, Tie Shan's anger surged like a tidal wave, and steam billowed from his nostrils as he pulled the giant axe from behind his back and charged at Xu Nian.

Xu Nian, seeing this, a flash of cold light sparked in his eyes. He swiftly drew his long sword from his waist and confronted Tie Shan's mighty axe blow head-on.

"Clang!"

The giant axe collided with the steel sword, creating a shower of brilliant sparks.

Both men were forced a step back by the force transmitted through their weapons.

Tie Shan was somewhat surprised that someone could actually withstand his giant axe head-on, but he didn't think much of it and swung his giant axe down at Xu Nian again.

This time, Xu Nian did not clash directly but instead used the Gale Dragon Step while simultaneously executing the Ling Feng Thirteen Swords.

From the First Sword to the Ninth Sword, Xu Nian's sword moves were a myriad of illusions, effectively suppressing Tie Shan's giant axe with his swordplay.

Especially the Ninth Sword, Glinting Shadows!

Xu Nian's sword light was agile and elusive, continuously meeting Tie Shan's giant axe blows.

Every time Tie Shan chopped with his axe, Xu Nian struck out ten swords in an instant. The tenfold layered swords directly repelled Tie Shan's giant axe.

However, after the Ninth Sword, Xu Nian's internal spiritual energy began to fluctuate wildly, and he soon lost the capability to execute any more sword moves.

"It seems that without using Gang Qi, it is impossible to defeat Tie Shan," Xu Nian muttered to himself.

He was currently using only his spiritual cultivation. The reason he could fight against Tie Shan was due to the exquisiteness of his swordsmanship. Although he had mastered only the first nine of the Ling Feng Thirteen Swords, and could perform the latter four, they were not subtle and lacked the power of the earlier nine.

Moreover, the spiritual energy reserves of a Seven-star Warrior were simply too low. After the nine swords, Xu Nian hardly had any spiritual energy left.

"Ha ha, boy, you've used up all the spiritual energy in your body. I want to see what you can do to resist my Iron Axe now," Tie Shan remarked with a ferocious smirk, swinging his giant axe and charging toward Xu Nian.

Another mountain-cleaving blow came down, the figure surging skyward, slashing horizontally with the force of a thousand jun.

Beside him, Murong Xue's pretty face instantly tensed up, looking at Xu Nian's figure with great concern.

However, Xu Nian's lips curled into a cold smile, then he made a move that shocked Murong Xue.

Xu Nian planted his notched steel sword into the ground and abruptly looked up, his eyes blazing fiercely. He leaped up like a cheetah, landing a punch directly on Tie Shan's chest.

Tie Shan, along with his axe, flew horizontally, crashing into a large tree behind him and spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Murong Xue's eyes went blank in an instant, her pretty face filled with shock.

Tie Shan, clutching his chest, wore an expression of disbelief, unable to accept that this was real; yet the pain in his chest made him realize that everything was indeed true.