20: Chapter 20 Wang Teng Arrives

Boom!!!

The two palms collided solidly! There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a dull thud like a strike against worn leather!

Immediately following was the ear-grating sound of rapid freezing!

The dark figure let out a wretched scream, sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string.

The moment his right palm and forearm made contact with Ye Chen's left palm, they were actually frozen directly into an ice sculpture by that terrifying cold energy!

The cold energy was still rapidly spreading through his entire body!

Thud!

The dark figure slammed heavily onto the ground several yards away, struggling to crawl up, but half of his body was already covered in a thick layer of ice, and his aura rapidly withered.

Ye Chen wasn't faring well either; forcibly unleashing a strike far beyond his capacity caused a stinging pain in his Dantian, and his True Yuan was nearly exhausted.

His left palm, having endured part of the force and poison from the opponent's toxic strike, had turned black and swollen, with waves of numbness washing over it.

He forced up a breath of True Qi to suppress his churning blood and walked step by step toward the dying assassin.

Approaching him, Ye Chen used his uninjured right hand to tear off the man's face mask.

It revealed the pale, twisted face of a middle-aged man covered in eerie green veins.

At this moment, his eyes were filled with terror and disbelief.

"Who sent you?" Ye Chen's voice was icy, laced with killing intent.

The assassin's lips trembled as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he only gave a bizarre smile as the light in his eyes quickly dimmed; his head slumped, and he drew his last breath.

A trickle of black blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, clearly having crushed a poison capsule in his teeth.

Ye Chen looked at the corpse on the ground with a grim expression. Another death soldier!

As Lin Qingxue had said, the Shadow Fiend would never rest until one of them was dead! Moreover, the assassin sent this time was even stronger and used more mysterious methods!

He had to dispose of the body quickly. He took a deep breath and was just about to act when his ears suddenly twitched, and he snapped his head toward the other end of the alley!

Two people had appeared at the alley entrance silently at some unknown moment.

The moonlight barely pierced through the clouds, illuminating the newcomers' appearances.

The one in front was a young man wearing luxurious brocade robes, his face an unnatural pale color, his eyes sinister, and a playful, cold sneer hanging on his lips.

It was Wang Teng!

And half a step behind Wang Teng was a hunched figure shrouded in a wide black robe, their face obscured.

The figure radiated a gloomy aura that made one extremely uncomfortable.

Wang Teng clapped his hands and walked slowly into the alley.

His gaze swept over the assassin's corpse on the ground, then landed on Ye Chen's black, swollen left palm and pale face, as he mocked.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Ye Chen, you really have a tough life. Even Ice Scorpion, a Bronze-rank Assassin of the Shadow Fiend, couldn't finish you off? It seems breaking through to the Fifth Level of Meridian Opening has given you quite a bit of skill."

His gaze was like a venomous snake, tightly coiling around Ye Chen:

"However, looking at you now, you must be at the end of your rope, right? Tonight, this Young Lord will personally see you off. Are you satisfied with this gift?"

Wang Teng's voice sounded exceptionally piercing in the silent alley, carrying undisguised malice and mockery.

The hunched, black-robed figure behind him was like a lifeless shadow, emitting a heart-palpitating, gloomy aura that firmly locked onto Ye Chen.

Ye Chen's heart sank to the bottom.

The numbness in his left palm was spreading up his forearm, and his Dantian was empty; that life-risking strike just now had nearly exhausted all of his True Yuan.

Facing a Wang Teng in perfect condition, plus this unfathomable Black-robed Man, he had almost no chance of winning.

"Wang Teng," Ye Chen suppressed his churning blood, his voice raspy yet cold.

"So it really was your doing."

"What if it is?"

Wang Teng sneered, approaching step by step, his pale face full of smugness.

"Did you think that just because you luckily broke through to the fifth level, you could stand on equal footing with me? Trash will always be trash! Last time at the Lin Residence, you were lucky to win. Today, I want to see who else can come to save you!"

His gaze swept over Ye Chen's blackened left palm, his smile turning even more cruel.

"The taste of Ice Scorpion's Profound Yin Poison Palm is quite good, isn't it? In less than an hour, the poison will attack your heart, and even the gods won't be able to save you! This Young Lord is in a good mood today; I can give you a quick death!"

Before his voice had even faded, Wang Teng moved suddenly, his body glowing with a crimson light like a burning flame as he threw a punch straight at Ye Chen's heart!

It was the killing Move of the Wang Family's Blazing Sun Art—Fiery Sun Punch!

The fist wind was scorching, clashing with the lingering cold energy in the alley and producing a sizzling sound.

The speed and power of this punch far exceeded what he had shown back at the Lin Residence.

Clearly, Wang Teng had also broken through, reaching the Fifth Level of Meridian Opening with a solid Foundation!

There was no way to dodge!

A fierce glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. Enduring the sharp pain in his Meridians, he forcibly channeled his remaining True Qi, condensing cold energy in his right palm. Without dodging, he met the attack with a palm strike carrying a biting chill!

He couldn't retreat; behind him was a dead end. To retreat was to die!

Boom!

Ice and fire collided, and energy surged in all directions!

Ye Chen let out a muffled groan, feeling a surge of scorching, violent force crash into his body through his arm's Meridians.

His throat felt sweet as a mouthful of blood nearly sprayed out.

He stumbled back several steps, his back slamming heavily against the cold wall, shaking loose a cloud of dust.

Wang Teng also swayed, retreating half a step. A flicker of surprise flashed across his face, which then turned into deeper irritation.

"Hmph! At the end of your rope and you still dare to take me head-on! I'll see how long you can last!"

He pressed his advantage, both fists striking out. Crimson fist shadows rained down like droplets, covering all of Ye Chen's vital points!

With his back against the wall, Ye Chen gritted his teeth and pushed his Mist Transformation Steps to the limit, shifting and dodging within the narrow space, occasionally meeting a Move with his cold-infused palms and fingers.

Every collision made his blood churn, the numbness in his left arm grew heavier, and blood constantly leaked from the corner of his mouth. The situation was critical!

"I've played enough! Time for you to go!"

Unable to land a decisive blow for so long, Wang Teng became flyblown with rage. He let out a loud roar as the red light around him surged, and his right fist condensed an even more terrifying scorching energy.

It was like a miniature sun, carrying a destructive aura as it smashed toward Ye Chen's head!

With this punch, he had used his full strength, vowing to kill Ye Chen under his fist!

The shadow of death instantly enveloped Ye Chen! His pupils constricted; his True Yuan was depleted, and his left arm had almost lost all sensation. He was in a desperate situation!

At this critical moment—

Buzz...

An extremely faint hum, as if coming from the depths of his Soul, rang out.

The jade pendant on Ye Chen's chest, which had always been warm, suddenly turned scalding hot without warning!

A surge of extremely pure Profound Yin cold energy, far exceeding his own level,

Like a waking ice dragon, it suddenly surged out from the jade pendant and instantly flowed through his entire body!

Wherever this cold energy passed, the scorching fist force Wang Teng had injected into his body melted away instantly, like snow under a sun!

The numbing poison in his left palm was also temporarily frozen by this extreme cold force!

A sense of peerless power filled his limbs and bones!

Simultaneously, within Ye Chen's Sea of Consciousness, that phantom jade booklet emerged automatically, radiating a brilliant blue light!

The bond light-chain belonging to Lin Qingxue had changed from the blue of "Mutual Affection" to a deeper indigo of "Soul Resonance"!

[Bond Target: Lin Qingxue]

[Bond Level Up: Soul Resonance (Indigo)]

[In a moment of crisis, Bond Protection triggered: Temporarily borrowing a portion of the target's Origin cold energy!]

[Obtained Temporary Status: Profound Yin Protection (Minor Achievement)!]

All of this happened in a flash! In the outside world, Wang Teng's lethal punch was already before his eyes!

Ye Chen had a sudden moment of insight, and his previously depleted Dantian seemed to gush with new power.

It was a type of incredibly pure Profound Yin cold energy originating from Lin Qingxue!

He subconsciously raised his left hand, which had just regained sensation, and opened his five fingers. Instead of condensing ice spikes, he made a guiding and gathering motion in the air!

Buzz!

With him as the center, the moisture within a radius of several yards was instantly sucked dry!

The temperature in the air plummeted to the point where one's breath turned to ice!

A palm-sized, crystal-clear, and lifelike ice lotus, formed entirely from concentrated extreme cold energy, appeared out of thin air above his palm, rotating slowly!

The moment the ice lotus bloomed, it was breathtakingly beautiful, yet it emitted a terrifying chill that could freeze the Soul!

This was no longer a Move from the Cold Water Arts, but a more profound method of using the Origin of Lin Qingxue's Profound Yin Body!

Under the stimulation of the bond upgrade and the life-or-death crisis, Ye Chen had performed it instinctively!

"What the hell is that?!"

Wang Teng's face changed drastically; from that small ice lotus, he felt a fatal threat!

But the punch had already been thrown and could not be retracted!

The fist, as red as fire, slammed violently into the slowly rotating ice lotus!

There was no loud noise, no explosion.

Only a series of dense, crackling freezing sounds!

Under Wang Teng's terror-stricken gaze, the crimson light on his fist was instantly extinguished.

His entire right arm, starting from the fist, was covered at a visible speed in a thick, crystalline layer of ice!

The cold energy spread frantically, passing his elbow and rushing toward his shoulder in the blink of an eye!

"No!!!"

Wang Teng let out a shrill scream, wanting to retreat, only to find that his feet had been frozen to the ground at some unknown point!

That extreme cold energy was not only freezing his body but also eroding his Meridians and True Qi!

"Young Lord!"

The hunched, Black-robed Man who had been like a shadow finally moved!

He let out a raspy, unpleasant roar, his figure drifting out like a phantom.

A withered, pitch-black palm carrying dense, grayish-black Death Qi struck toward Ye Chen's forehead as fast as lightning!

This palm was incredibly sinister; he actually intended to force Ye Chen to save himself instead of finishing Wang Teng, delivering a lethal blow!

Ye Chen was currently in a wondrous state; with the help of Lin Qingxue's Origin cold energy, his spiritual senses were incredibly sharp.

Without even looking at the Black-robed Man, his left hand holding the ice lotus trembled slightly.

"Bloom."

With his low whisper, one of the petals of that exquisite ice lotus quietly detached.

Whoosh—!

That petal transformed into a pale blue light that was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, silently shooting toward the Black-robed Man's palm!

The Black-robed Man's pupils shrank as he felt the extreme chill and sharpness contained within that light.

He was forced to retract the palm aimed at Ye Chen and instead grabbed toward the streak of light!

Pfft!

The pale blue light made contact with his withered palm and instantly exploded, turning into a cloud of extreme cold mist that froze the Black-robed Man's entire palm along with a small portion of his arm!

The Black-robed Man groaned, his figure retreating several steps as a low roar of shock and anger came from beneath his gray robe.

"Profound Yin Ice Lotus?! How do you know the Lin Family's secret technique?! What exactly is your relationship with Lin Qingxue!"