Chapter 143: In Honor of the Legendary Northern Dipper Shit Monster Iron Mask Man

Farialagni never anticipated that someone could hide beneath his very nose and launch such a swift strike within the Seal of Isolation; thus, when Jia Ji sprang up, his expression remained frozen in its former sneer.

Every muscle and bone in his body cracked and popped; instantly, Jia Ji's form swelled by a full circle, his short, coarse black hair standing upright like needles, veins and sinews exposed in purplish-blue, pulsing with unmatched power as he delivered this furious "Hao Yoooo Root" strike straight to the target.

Accompanied by an ear-splitting screech!

"Gwaa!"

The ultimate killing technique of the Northern Dipper Divine Fist!

"Washoiiiiiiii!"

It struck the face full-on, absorbing the full impact!

"Recite a haiku, Farialagni-san!"

He had considered resisting.

But Jia Ji's strength was no match for an ordinary Flame Haze warrior; even the thought of defense or escape vanished under this punch.

He was launched into the air.

The surging punch force crushed his haughty expression into a deep indentation; cracks spread across his skull, revealing lethal blue light seeping through the fissures.

Visible shockwaves and vibrations radiated outward; the terrifying physical kinetic energy of his fist slammed into the head, driving countless air currents and the Red World King's body straight through the ceiling.

Dust swirled, air currents whipped back and forth, hurling several innocent students and surrounding debris against the walls, as dull and sharp impacts rang endlessly.

Had this strike landed on an ordinary person, it would have instantly turned them into a headless corpse—skull shattered, brain and flesh reduced to a slurry splattered in all directions, dead beyond any doubt.

But this was a Red World being; their so-called body was merely a vessel of Existence Power.

Pure physical attacks could still work, but with sufficient Existence Power, they could regenerate at speeds rivaling cellular repair, through flame; even if shattered completely, they might not die—especially a Red World King, the pinnacle among them…

But!

Jia Ji had infused his punch with Battle Qi—a brilliant blue, alien energy not of this world—which, when striking a body built from Existence Power, was nothing short of a specialized counterattack.

Resilient! Invincible! Strongest!

—The ultimate killing art: "Northern Dipper Shatter-Face Fist!"

The surging Battle Qi surged like a tidal wave, piercing the fatal secret acupoint; though this acupoint belonged only to humans, what mattered was not the acupoint—it was the Battle Qi!

Once the Battle Qi was injected, shattering the body under the dual assault like a cannonball, how could he possibly survive? How could he possibly live?

"Sayonara!"

His handsome head swelled suddenly, expanding several times its size…

Like the explosive finale of a Sentai team's introduction—shattering in all directions!

"Master!"

With a cry of shock, Marian finally realized her creator and lover had been reduced to a cloud of smoke by some vicious madman who had sprung from nowhere.

"I won't forgive you!!!"

As she screamed, the Phantasm, destined to vanish entirely within moments of her master's death, surged toward Jia Ji under the grip of furious vengeance, prepared to drag him down in a suicidal explosion.

Shhh—!

In the next instant, a crimson blade radiating divine light pierced through Marian's chest.

Blazing crimson lotus flames spread from the blade's tip across the doll's entire body, reducing her to ash in the blink of an eye, vanishing into nothingness.

It was Xia Na!

She seized the opening as Jia Ji leapt, and eliminated the last lingering threat in one strike.

"Great ambush! You've already reached thirty percent of my power!"

Jia Ji clapped his hands, praising her without restraint.

Yu Er, the ordinary boy lacking the Flame Haze's dynamic vision, had only just realized what had happened—had the Red World King who had been flaunting his power before them really been obliterated in a single blow?

He turned to look at Jia Ji, whose fierce aura had now receded; his messy black hair and rugged face exposed, paired with a row of gleaming white teeth, gave him the savage, oppressive air of a wild beast—even his smile sent chills down the spine.

(Is this his true face…? Am I really going to train under someone like this…?)

The unease in his heart made the boy shiver involuntarily.

"It's not an ambush!"

As everyone knows, one may ambush before greeting—but this attack came after the greeting! Therefore, it is not an ambush!

Xia Na sheathed her great sword within her coat and stomped the floor in frustration; unquestionably, though the battle against the Red World being had ended in victory, for her it was a defeat.

"Forget about that—let's divide the loot first."

Calling Xia Na and Yu Er over, Jia Ji beamed as he gathered up the array of dropped artifacts.

It wasn't that Farialagni was weak—he simply encountered someone utterly unexpected, someone who specifically countered him.

His "Devouring City"—a vast-scale Free Art that turned every person in the entire city into Existence Power—would, if stacked against others, far surpass Jia Ji's capabilities.

But as the caster, Farialagni's entire arsenal was designed for specialized attacks against Flame Haze warriors; he never imagined someone would defy all conventions and land him a direct hit with a Red World Explosion Fist, turning him from a high-attack, low-defense liability into a sitting duck—killed instantly.

"First item: 'Foam Chains'—originally a coin; its afterimage when tossed becomes a chain capable of binding and destroying weapons, unbreakable no matter how hard you cut—known as the 'Little Heavenly Chain.' Yu Er, take it."

"Second item: playing cards… hmm, seems perfect for cosplaying Hisoka. Toss them into your storage coat."

"Third item: handcuffs that seal a Flame Haze's abilities? Uh… are we really going this far?"

……

A chaotic pile of junk, but the most powerful were the handgun artifact "Happy Trigger"—designed to kill Flame Haze vessels with a single shot, causing them to explode—and the ring whose effect was flame suppression: any fire attack, no matter how powerful, could be blocked simply by activating its barrier!

"This one's great! This one's great! From now on, don't call this ring 'Azure'—call it 'Beloved.'"

Farialagni was truly a treasure trove—killing him was more worthwhile than killing ten Red World beings.

After dividing the spoils and arming Sakai Yu Er to the teeth, greatly increasing his safety.

Jia Ji turned his attention to Xia Na, sensing her intense inner frustration; he smiled gently at the girl.

"Don't be discouraged—I still have one final technique tucked away that suits you better."

"What?"

"Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist—Phoenix Roar That Shatters Heaven!"

(End of Chapter)