Chapter 655: Puzzlement

The Demon King wasn’t even intimidated by Yan Liqiang’s flying fist. He struck out with his own fist without thinking too and met Yan Liqiang’s Eight Extremities Fist technique head-on.

BOOM…!

The loud noise echoed throughout the pine forest, sending the piled snow under the Demon King’s feet fluttering away in the air. The Demon King himself also was sent flying backward by the impact from the collision of their fists. Blood and Qi rolled in his body as his arms went shockingly numb.

On the other hand, Yan Liqiang chased after the Demon King closely as though he was his shadow. Before the latter could even catch his breath, Yan Liqiang struck out the second time with his fist, and this time, the force in it was so much stronger than the first…

Losing his golden opportunity, the Demon King had no choice but to brace himself and receive Yan Liqiang’s attack with both palms.

The moment Yan Liqiang’s fist smashed into the Demon King’s palms, the latter let out a soft noise. His loose official robes instantly inflated like a balloon, lifting him a few meters off the ground before quickly deflating again, taking him tens of meters backward like a kite being blown away by a gale. That instantly absorbed half of Yan Liqiang’s terrifying force, and also helped him get away from Yan Liqiang’s follow-up attack.

“Nice job…” Yan Liqiang’s eyes lit up as he complimented his opponent. The Demon King’s technique in absorbing force was absolutely an eye-opener for him. He didn’t continue chasing after the Demon King, but instead struck out at Situ Fei who tried to run past him to pursue Hua Ruxue.

Having witnessed Yan Liqiang’s terrifying fist technique, Situ Fei immediately withdrew without thinking and noticed a little too late that Yan Liqiang had closed in on him in an instant. Unfortunately for him, Yan Liqiang’s fist wasn’t easy to evade. Even if the Demon King managed to do that, it didn’t mean he was capable of doing so. As Yan Liqiang’s fist was flying toward him, he roared loudly and swung his fan at Yan Liqiang’s fist with both hands…

Crack…! Situ Fei’s steel fan shattered into pieces the moment it met Yan Liqiang’s fist. His hands were covered in blood as he also coughed out blood from the impact of Yan Liqiang’s attack. In such a critical situation, Situ Fei could no longer afford to keep up his scholarly appearance. He took advantage of the impact and rolled tens of meters backward on the snowy ground like a pathetic snowball, only stopping when he bumped against a pine tree…

“DIE…!” Yan Liqiang heard an unpleasantly hoarse voice next to him. The Demon King was once again charging toward him with an angry roar. However, Yan Liqiang instantly found himself surrounded by blurry figures of the menacing Demon King…

His throat, in front of his chest, behind him, above his head, under his armpits… Yan Liqiang’s body seemed to be enveloped by the Demon King’s strange hands as he felt a sinister wind blowing at him…

Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam, Bam…! Yan Liqiang instantly changed his fist technique too as his figure flashed and his rapid movements matched the speed of his opponent. Both parties exchanged ten rounds of attacks before Yan Liqiang finally yelled, “OPEN…!” The force of his punch intensified, and his attack once again sent the Demon King flying.

This time, Yan Liqiang didn’t give him a chance. As soon as he gained the upper hand, he rushed up to his opponent like a bolt of lightning and then delivered the mighty Five Mountain Heaven Smashing Pyke of the Eight Extremities Fist technique on the Demon King.

Boom…! Another loud noise resounded in the pine forest as the Demon King flew like a cannonball again before crashing into Yuhua Pavilion. He broke one of the pavilion’s pillars and two other steles outside before coming to a stop…

Rumble…! With that, Yuhua Pavilion, one of the historical sites in Hui Provincial City, instantly crumbled.

By the time the dust dissipated, Yan Liqiang was long gone from the hill. The Demon King felt his blood boiling as he stood on a stele. A mouthful of blood was coming up his throat but he forced it down. His fists were hidden in his sleeves as they involuntarily shook in anger. The immense power that erupted from Yan Liqiang’s final attack seemed to have overwhelmed the limits of the Demon King’s physical endurance.

Based on his instincts, he knew his opponent shouldn’t be a Martial King like himself. Yet, the strength and speed that the man possessed left a lingering fear in the Demon King. His body was simply terrified of that man.

Lu Tianxing, Situ Fei, and the few remaining experts from the Demonic Night March gathered up around the Demon King in their pathetic state. “G-Greetings… Your Honor…”

“Who was that?” Demon King asked hoarsely…

“We have no idea. When we received the news earlier, we already had this place surrounded and almost caught the rebels! But that man suddenly showed up, killed many of us, and helped the rebels escape…!” Lu Tianxing then mustered up the courage and asked the tough question, “S-So… are… we chasing them…?”

The Demon King looked at the hills that were littered with corpses from the Demonic Night March. He then turned around and heard imperial troops riding toward them from the foot of the hill. He remained silent for two or three seconds, before curling his hands into fists as he seethed, “Retreat…!”

…

When Yan Liqiang was leaving, he didn’t forget to retrieve his sword which had a body nailed to a tree trunk and made sure that he left no traces at the scene. The imperial troops and many people in Hui Provincial City had been alerted. There was no way he could settle the score with the Demon King right now. Besides, Hua Ruxue and the others had gotten away, so there was no reason to stay and continue fighting the White Lotus Society. Hence, leaving now was the best course of action.

Yan Liqiang quietly returned to his room at the inn and shut the door. He took off his hood and shoved it back into his bag, hung up his sword, laid on his bed, and listened to the movements coming from the streets outside his window.

Hua Ruxue’s lovely face filled his mind, and then a string of questions popped into his mind. What was going on in the White Lotus Society? The Imperial Capital was already chaotic enough. If the White Lotus Society was after Hua Ruxue’s life, then why did she run into a hornet’s nest in the capital region? Wasn’t she aware that big groups of experts from the White Lotus Society had gathered to stir things up in the capital regions? Why did she walk right into the trap…?

While thinking about Hua Ruxue, memories of their special night came flooding back and Yan Liqiang realized that he had shamelessly gotten hard…

He cursed under his breath, then realized that it was already pretty late. Since he wasn’t sleepy at all, he got up instead and started to practice Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing in the room. While he was cultivating, he recalled his fight against the Demon King. Although it was a brief exchange, it was Yan Liqiang’s first time fighting an opponent on his level. He had gathered quite a lot of experience and information to digest…

As soon as the sun was up the next day, Yan Liqiang left the inn and rented a carriage. He left Hui Provincial City and headed for the Imperial Capital…