Chapter 20: This Punch Still Has Three Parts of Strength

Murong Yun was truly perplexed.

Having traveled the world for more than a decade and crossed paths with all sorts of masters, he had fought in countless battles, easily counting up to thousands. Among those, there were indeed enemies skilled in body refinement who could directly take his fist with their own bodies, but they were all muscle-bound, towering strongmen or giant warriors clad in peculiar armors.

When facing such opponents, hitting them felt like slamming against an iron plate or a brick wall. Even if he managed to break through, the shock would still leave his wrist aching. How could this sweet-looking, petite girl feel anything other than a soft, yielding resilience?

Yet, the force from that punch had indeed been unleashed, and the other party seemed to have taken it head-on, indicating she possessed some genuine skills. But why did the girl allow such an unguarded blow to hit her? That was completely against the norms of martial arts…

Just as Murong Yun was lost in bewilderment over this absurd progression of events, a somewhat dissatisfied voice from a black-haired girl rang out once more.

“Hey, keep going! Show those flashy martial skills of yours! Is that all you’ve got?”

Before he could react, an eerie sensation of danger and shivers descended upon him like a thunderclap!

This feeling was reminiscent of years ago when he and a group of powerful warriors ventured into a secret realm to confront a ferocious beast known as Taotie. The towering, terrifying body and overwhelming pressure of that monstrous creature left him in a state of profound despair and fear.

That existence was the most horrifying he had ever encountered, nearly rendering him incapable of entertaining any thoughts of resistance. Although he had only been playing a minor role in battling the lesser demons under Taotie, the shock of witnessing it from afar was still engraved deeply in his heart.

And now, once again, that terrifying pressure beyond the level of mere mortals awakened within him a lingering, deep-seated fear, causing his palms to instinctively contract as he poured out all the stored power!

“!?”

Once his body reflexively reacted, Murong Yun suddenly realized something was wrong!

An attack of this magnitude had clearly exceeded the standards of a sparring match. Its power was over a hundred times greater than that initial punch. Not to mention this delicate girl; even the previous strongman named San Niu would likely find his bones shattered and die on the spot if he took such a hit directly!

Without even thinking about the fleeting fear he had just felt, Murong Yun hurriedly tried to retract his attack. But the strike was famous for its speed and efficiency; how could he call back an already unleashed attack?

“Quick…?”

He turned around hastily to shout for the guards to summon a healer.

But in the next instant, he was shocked to find the black-haired girl wasn’t crumpling to the ground with her bones shattered.

Instead, a powerful counterforce surged from the point where their shoulders met, emanating from that strange white robe!

“Boom!!”

It felt as if he had been placed on an ultra-powerful spring that had just been compressed to its limits, causing Murong Yun’s body to shoot backward before he could even comprehend what was happening!

“Boom!”

In the courtyard, everyone was left dumbfounded, including those engaged in sparring matches in other areas, as a certain middle-aged man in white sailed through the crowd of guards and crashed into the wall over a hundred meters away, kicking up clouds of dust.

“…?”

Everyone, including Prefect Wen Fu, exchanged bewildered glances, seemingly at a loss for what had just transpired. The courtyard fell into a loud silence, even Ling Feng and Bai’er, who had still been fighting their opponents, shot incredulous looks at the utterly innocent-looking priestess.

The chief assistant even dropped his duties of announcing the result due to sheer shock.

After a moment, Prefect Wen Fu was the first to snap back to reality and quickly rose to issue commands.

“What are you standing around for?! Go help him!”

“Uh, yes… yes!”

A swarm of guards rushed over, frantically trying to extract Murong Yun, who had completely embedded himself into the wall amidst the swirling dust.

However, that guy really did have a tough physique. After taking the counterattack from the Feathered Robe of Glarya and crashing into the wall like that, he still managed to stay conscious and even quickly stood back up with the help of the guards.

If there was any pity in this situation, it would be for his arm, which he had just unleashed that power from.

That artifact’s counterattack was not something to take lightly. Even though it was merely a passive skill, his entire arm was twisted grotesquely, resembling a piece of overcooked pasta, and the palm was a bloody mess. Forget the bones; his whole arm would likely need to be amputated immediately to save his life.

With the help of the guards, the man in white ambled back to his original spot, where Prefect Wen Fu quickly approached, his concern evident as he urged the already prepared healer to attend to Murong Yun while sizing up the clearly mangled right arm with a frown.

“Mr. Murong, what on earth…”

Glancing at the black-haired girl, who was now approaching from not far away, Murong Yun surprisingly felt no resentment, only a bitter smile and a slight sigh of resignation.

“I must concede defeat. I underestimated her skill due to her appearance and was far too complacent.”

Wen Fu quickly reassured him.

“Don’t say that! This was just a spar; how could the other party intend to be so ruthless? I’ll just…”

“Ah, no, Prefect.”

Understanding the circumstances of the earlier battle, Murong Yun raised his uninjured arm to stop him.

“From start to finish, that girl never launched an attack on me. Instead, it was my heart demon at play, using powers that should not have been unleashed in a spar, leading to this result…”

“In the end, it comes down to my lack of skill. I feel extremely ashamed, but Prefect, for the upcoming expedition, I’m afraid I won’t be able to…”

“Oh? You have a rather good mindset, I see.”

The priestess, who had been listening attentively to the dialogue, approached Murong Yun, who was seated in a chair, receiving emergency treatment from the healer next to him. Given her height, it was the perfect opportunity for her to meet him eye-to-eye.

“Come, let me take a look.”

With that, Vilyric lightly tapped the twisted arm of Murong Yun with her fingertip. Just that slight contact sent searing pain shooting through him, causing him to furrow his brows.

“Hey! What are you doing, you little brat? Don’t delay my treatment!”

An old white-bearded man, seemingly the doctor, immediately reprimanded, but Miss Vilyric ignored him, maintaining her observation for a moment.

Seeing that Murong Yun didn’t object, Prefect Wen Fu also chose to watch this play out, seemingly curious about what the black-haired girl would do next.

Soon, Vilyric finished her examination and smiled, nodding slightly.

“That punch was quite impressive. To be honest, it wouldn’t have caused this degree of recoil with a regular striking move. To instantly unleash over three times your body’s limits—that’s something you surely didn’t just come up with on your own… Well, we’ll discuss that later.”

“Radiant Blessing.”

A bit of golden light spread from the fingertip of the priestess.

   

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