263: Chapter 263 One Punch Shatters the River, Unprecedented Strength

Above the scorched earth, the wind swirled with ash, and the distant rock wall still bore the indentations left by Blood Butcher's impact.

He knelt on one knee, his chest heaving violently, his knuckles digging deep into the brittle, burnt soil. A metallic sweetness kept rising in his throat, only to be forcibly swallowed back down.

Chen Wuwang stood ten yards away, the mecha's feet sunk half a foot into the ground. Ion Streams jetted from the cracks in the armor, emitting a low hum.

The countdown continued to echo in his ears: 2 minutes 47 seconds... 2 minutes 46 seconds...

He didn't move, only slowly raising his right arm, aiming his fist at the core of the blood river.

The Charging Ring spun at high speed, and Psionic Particles condensed into a crackling spiral arc on the surface of his fist.

Blood Butcher grit his teeth as his remaining Qi surged wildly through his Meridians, like countless needles piercing his body from within.

He knew that the blood river was his final barrier—

Three hundred years of refined essence, every bit of it imprinted with the Origin will of the Blood River Demonic Art.

As long as it wasn't extinguished, he could rise again.

"Give... me... CONDENSE!" he roared, slamming his palms together. The residual blood mist churned like a tide, actually manifesting a crimson river before him once more.

Before the river could stabilize, it began to collapse and reorganize, fine runes surfacing on its exterior. This was him using his Divine Soul as a catalyst to forcibly drive his Bloodline into reverse flow.

But just as the blood river was about to take shape—

Chen Wuwang moved.

The left foot Thruster ignited with a roar, the recoil spinning him half a turn in place, channeling all the kinetic energy into his right arm.

The red light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flared, instantly capturing the energy fault line during the blood river's reorganization—

Right in front of the heart, that one-inch vortex node that had yet to close.

"Shatter—for me!"

A low shout exploded as the right fist's Charging Ring went to full power, compressing psionic energy to its critical point.

The armor on his entire arm burst open, revealing the embedded Quantum Oscillation Fist Core, glowing with a ghostly blue light.

In the next instant, the punch was thrown!

The air was torn apart, the pressure of the punch creating a conical shockwave. A straight trench exploded into the ground, sending gravel flying to both sides like bullets.

The moment the fist struck the blood river, there was no heaven-shaking explosion, only a muffled thud, like the deep echo of a glacier fracturing.

Crack—

The blood river shattered upon impact.

A crimson mist rained down, sizzling as it hit the scorched earth and releasing plumes of white smoke.

The blood essence that Blood Butcher once regarded as his lifeblood began to evaporate and disintegrate the moment it touched the air, turning into useless, turbid Qi.

"No... impossible!" Blood Butcher's pupils shrank, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He felt a pillar within his body collapse. His Meridians reversed, and his internal organs felt as if they were being crushed by a massive invisible hand.

Pfft—

He spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with several dark red crystalline grains—those were the Origin fragments condensed from three hundred years of bitter cultivation, now disintegrating along with the blood river.

He staggered back and knelt on one knee, bracing himself with one hand on the ground to keep from collapsing entirely.

Looking up at the slowly approaching black mecha, a look of disbelief appeared in his eyes for the first time.

"You... how can you possibly be this strong?!"

His voice was hoarse and trembling, forced out from the depths of his throat. "You're just a Heretic who tinkers with mechanisms! Your power shouldn't exceed the Nascent Soul Peak! This isn't power that fits your Realm!!"

Chen Wuwang did not answer.

He walked forward step by step, the ground cracking in a circle with every footfall.

The mecha's fists charged alternately, electrical arcs dancing across their surfaces, the air thick with the smell of burning metal.

The loudspeaker transmitted a cold whisper: "Now—it's my turn."

As the words fell, he arrived.

The mecha leaped, both fists striking out together.

The first punch smashed toward the head. Blood Butcher instinctively raised his arm to block, but when the force landed, his entire right arm twisted and deformed on the spot, the sound of breaking bone clearly audible.

The second punch swept low across the ground, hitting his lower body.

Blood Butcher lost his footing and was flipped over, his back slamming heavily into the scorched earth, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The third punch pressed down vertically, the wind pressure bending his spine and forcing his face nearly against the dirt, even suppressing his breathing.

Three punches in a row, without a single gap, like a blacksmith forging stubborn iron—each strike fiercer and heavier than the last.

Blood Butcher tried to form a hand seal, but as soon as his fingers moved, the fourth punch hit his Jianjing point. His Qi dissipated, and the seal died before it could form.

He wanted to roar, but the fifth punch arrived, hitting just above his Dantian, shaking his Golden Core so hard it nearly shattered on the spot.

He could only hold on desperately, his nails carving four deep grooves into the mud, veins bulging on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot.

"You say... I shouldn't exist?" Chen Wuwang finally spoke, his voice coming through the loudspeaker with a hint of a manic smile. "You say technology is a profanity? A heresy?"

The sixth punch fell, hitting his chest. Blood Butcher was buried two inches into the ground, blood seeping from his seven orifices.

"Then tell me—" the seventh punch smashed down, cracks spreading like a spiderweb across the ground, "Who is the one talking while kneeling now?"

Blood Butcher coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam mixed with bits of internal organs, his teeth chattering.

He wanted to argue, to curse, but only a wheezing gasp remained in his throat.

Chen Wuwang withdrew his fist and stood before him, looking down from above.

The red light of the Mechanical Prosthetic Eye remained lit, and his silver-white hair fluttered wildly in the hot wind of the Ion Stream.

"You don't understand," he said quietly. "I didn't win because of my Realm. I won because... I calculated the rhythm of your every breath, and the direction of every drop of blood flow."

He raised his right fist, the blue light of the core flickering in and out.

"When a Programmer fights, they never look at the Rank." He paused, his mouth curling into a grin that revealed pearly white teeth. "We only look for—where the bugs are."

The eighth punch smashed down!

BOOM!!!

The pressure of the punch buried Blood Butcher into the soil, his face contorted, his consciousness nearly fading.

His Blood River Demonic Art completely disintegrated, and the Qi in his Meridians ran like a wild horse, crashing everywhere and rebounding against himself.

In the distance, the wind swept over the scorched earth, swirling a few charred strips of cloth. The sky was gloomy, with neither sun nor moon in sight.

Chen Wuwang slowly withdrew his fist. The mecha's energy readings continued to drop: 18.3%... 17.9%...

The countdown was still ticking: 2 minutes 11 seconds... 2 minutes 10 seconds...

He didn't pursue, nor did he finish it.

He just stood there quietly, like a god of war stepping out of the flames, looking down at the loser struggling for breath at his feet.

Blood Butcher lay on the ground, his fingers twitching slightly, his lips moving as if he still wanted to say something.

But Chen Wuwang was no longer looking at him.

He just slowly raised his right hand, pointing at his opponent once more, his voice as cold as a wind blowing from the depths of an ice cave.

"Next—"