A Will Eternal

The fourth level of the Undying Codex, the Undying Bones, had a secret magic known as the Undying Emperor’s Fist, and this was Bai Xiaochun's first time using it. As he did, his aura, his flesh and blood, and even his soul and life force, seemed to be compressing down to the ultimate level.

Cracking sounds could be heard from his bones as the foundation of his heaven-shaking, earth-shattering fist strike was prepared. Within moments, Bai Xiaochun pulsed with explosive power.

That power soon turned into a wild tempest that coursed through him with such power that, if his bones weren’t imbued with such incredible defensive power, it would have crushed him out of existence!

His skeleton was the foundation of it all. The power of his flesh and blood was madly compressed, until finally... it exploded out through his skin.

This was a crucial moment, and a unique aspect to the Undying Emperor’s Fist. Under normal circumstances, the power would have erupted from his skin in explosive fashion and dissipated in all directions. But instead, ninety-nine percent of the locations where that power would normally have vented, were now sealed up! The only place for the power to go... was the fist formed by his right hand!

All of a sudden, a black hole appeared inside of him that seemed capable of crushing everything in existence. As for his right fist, the black vortex that had formed around it emanated an aura that could shake heaven and earth, an aura that seemed impossible to constrict or restrain!

It seemed so powerful that if it were to strike out, Bai Xiaochun’s entire body would be hit by a backlash from the Undying Emperor’s Fist, and destroyed!

Behind Bai Xiaochun, a shadowy figure appeared. It was a man in imperial robes, with an imperial crown. Although his facial features were impossible to make out, there was something domineering about him, as though his imperial will were superior to all creation!

Everything around Bai Xiaochun shattered and twisted. Off in the distance, Gongsun Yi, Xu Shan, the second prince, Chen Manyao, and everyone else all gasped in shock!

Zhou Hong was the closest to Bai Xiaochun, and as soon as he sensed that something strange was going on, a feeling of imminent, deadly crisis rose up within him.

However, before Zhou Hong could do anything, Bai Xiaochun grinned... looked at Zhou Hong and his black streaks of light... and unleashed a fist strike!!

The shadowy emperor behind Bai Xiaochun merged into his fist, causing it to thrum with a domineering, imperial will!

Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth, and a screaming wind kicked up. It was as if an enormous giant were unleashing all of the power in its body! At the same time, a boundless gravitational force sprang up, and the black vortex grew rapidly in size until it was fully 30 meters across. As it did, it sucked in all of the color in the world, becoming the focus of all attention, as if that fist and that vortex were the only things that existed in the world!

As the fist strike rocketed through the air, Zhou Hong let out a miserable shriek. Eyes filling with panic and terror, and heart pounding painfully, he sent streams of green light flowing out of himself to form a long sword. Gripping the sword tightly, he slashed it toward the incoming fist.

“Nine Serenities Slash!!” The mad slash of his sword shook heaven and earth. Green sword light spilled out, shredding the air, and was joined by the black streams of light, which were like a sword rain that shot toward Bai Xiaochun.

The witnesses to the event were reeling in shock at the ferocious scene playing out in front of them. Never before had any of them seen a fight like this between two members of their own generation.

However, it only lasted for the briefest of moments. When the green sword light contacted the black vortex of Bai Xiaochun’s fist strike, a massive boom filled the area!!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

As the deafening sound rolled out, Zhou Hong’s green sword light shattered, and the black streams of light writhed as they were wiped out of existence. A torrent of blood sprayed out of Zhou Hong’s mouth as virtually all the bones in his body were broken. His flesh was instantly lacerated into a mangled mass of bloody strips, and his nascent soul flew out into the open. Immediately rendered unconscious, he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut.

The debut of the Undying Emperor’s Fist was shocking to everyone who could observe it!

Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun hadn’t even used the full power of the fist strike, only about thirty percent. Aware of how devastating it was, he had actually been holding back for fear of killing Zhou Hong.

And yet, even that thirty percent was completely and utterly astonishing.

Just as the description of the fist strike had indicated, it could shake heaven and rock the earth. Its power vastly surpassed the Throat Crushing Grasp and the Mountain Shaking Bash! It was a domineering power that could shake one to the depths of their psyche!

Everyone present felt like they were being struck by heavenly lightning, and only began to gasp after a long moment of shock. Even Gongsun Yi and the second prince were stunned, and subconsciously tried to calculate how they would have fared if struck. It only took a moment for them to come to the conclusion... that only someone far stronger than Zhou Hong would be able to stand up to that domineering imperial will!

Nobody in the Necromancer Kettle could possibly stand up to it!

None of the chosen would ever have been able to guess that Bai Xiaochun had a technique like this at his disposal. It was a fist strike so powerful that it didn't even seem like something from the Nascent Soul level....

Taking advantage of the fact that Zhou Hong had been knocked unconscious, Bai Xiaochun sped forward, grabbed his fleshly body and nascent soul, and then transformed into a beam of light that shot away with lightning-like speed.

The shocked bystanders all prepared to start chasing him, and yet, even before they could take a single step, a haughty voice rang in their ears.

“Don’t provoke me, fools! I can use that same fist strike a hundred more times if I want!”

Because of the haughty and domineering tone, everyone, without exception, stopped moving.... Not a single person dared to give chase!

Even Gongsun Yi was left trembling, a very unsightly expression on his face. There he stood, panting a bit, his leg still hovering above the ground as he stared at Bai Xiaochun fleeing into the distance.

As of this moment, Gongsun Yi’s pride had suffered a major blow.

Then there was the termagant Xu Shan, who was equally stunned as she watched Bai Xiaochun leaving. There was a look in her eyes which was rarely seen... fervent adoration!

The second prince’s eyes flickered as countless conflicting emotions appeared in his heart. As for Chen Manyao, she stood next to the second prince, a mixture of suspicion and astonishment mingling deep in her eyes.

After a long moment, however, people finally began to react.

“There’s absolutely no way he can use a fist strike like that more than a few times!!”

“That's right. If he could, why would he run away? If he really is the type who seeks revenge over the smallest grievance, then why wouldn’t he take advantage of how shocked we were to simply attack us!?”

Gongsun Yi and the other top chosen didn’t say anything, but considering their level and status, they obviously saw through Bai Xiaochun’s ruse.

And yet, even if it was a bluff, the images of what had just occurred were burned into their minds, filling them with fear.

Another moment passed. Finally, Xu Shan took a deep breath and then began to give chase. Next was the second prince, and then Chen Manyao. However, none of those three were interested in fighting Bai Xiaochun. Rather, they had other intentions. Although most of the chosen present couldn’t tell that, Gongsun Yi could.

He stood there quietly for a moment, eyes bloodshot as his desire to do battle slowly grew. “I cannot allow anyone to surpass me. As of this moment, Bai Hao... you have my attention!!”

At that point his cultivation base surged with power as he headed, not after Bai Xiaochun... but toward the Ghost King Orchid! “That’s where you’ll end up eventually, and that’s where I’ll be waiting... to fight you!”

Determination shone in Gongsun Yi’s eyes, as well as the desire to do battle.

Everyone else exchanged awkward glances, and all of them regretted having provoked someone as inhuman as this. And yet, none of them could ever have predicted what had just occurred, that a person they all assumed they could easily crush would actually turn out to be a vicious and dangerous beast.