Chapter 206: One Punch

206. Chapter 206 One Punch

Swish!

Ruan Bufan's eyes instantly reddened.

It wasn't because of disappointment, nor because Wan Yuexing's words broke his heart.

It was because Wan Yuexing actually called his mother a "bastard"! He even said his mother deserved death! This is something Wan Yuexing could never accept.

"You... what did you say?" Ruan Bufan, his eyes red, croaked hoarsely.

This time he did not again address his father as "son."

"I say you and that bastard mother of yours are the same, both deserve death!"

Wan Yuexing recalled how Ruan Qingzhu once stubbornly refused him, and seeing Ruan Bufan's excited joy upon meeting Xiao Zhangqing, he surprisingly did not side with the Giant Wood Sect but instead spoke for the other side.

His years of effort felt like feeding a dog; the inner fury could not be suppressed.

"Honestly, you wayward son, your bastard mother died not because of a Foundation Establishment failure, but because she offended me and never repented!"

Wan Yuexing said in a cold voice.

In his extreme anger, he no longer wished to hide anything.

Anyway, what he did could not be concealed from the Supreme Elder and Elder Zhuge.

As for the Giant Wood Sect's Foundation Establishment disciples' opinions, he didn't care at all.

Wan Yuexing, after all, was a villainous hero; his manner of conduct was well known throughout the sect.

Ruan Qingzhu, as a mid‑to‑high‑talent disciple of Baihua Valley, had delayed for twenty years and only now, approaching the sixty‑year limit, prepared to break through the Foundation Establishment Realm.

But as long as she is within the sixty‑year range and takes a Foundation Establishment pill, her chance of completing the Foundation Establishment is still high.

Back then she was indeed close to success; it was impossible for her to fail the breakthrough and be gravely injured, but Wan Yuexing covertly obstructed and harmed her, causing Ruan Qingzhu's effort to fall short.

Wan Yuexing's reason for doing so was simple.

Long before Ruan Qingzhu rushed to Giant Wood Immortal City, refusing to reconcile with him and unwilling to persuade her son Ruan Bufan to obey him, Wan Yuexing had already harbored murderous intent.

If Ruan Bufan were not still of some importance to him, and he wished to mend the father‑son bond without letting Ruan Bufan know he had killed Ruan Qingzhu, he would not have gone through extra trouble.

Now nothing matters.

Today's display by Ruan Bufan completely exhausted Wan Yuexing's years of patience, so he resolved to make this wayward son die in great painful remorse, lest his mind remain muddled.

Ruan Bufan's eyes seemed about to burst; his gaze wished he could devour his own father alive.

"Wan Yuexing, you beast with a human face and a beast's heart! Do you know how much suffering, how many crimes, how many cold sneers my mother endured because of you? You... not only did you not think of compensating her, you even sent her to death? In this world, how can there be a person as heartless as you!" Ruan Bufan clenched his fists, his body trembling.

If not for the enormous gap in cultivation, an insurmountable chasm, even if Wan Yuexing stood still and let him attack, he would still find it hard to harm him; at this moment he would surely have rushed forward to kill his father.

Now, recalling the strange signs my mother displayed as the great limit approached, she must have already known that my Foundation Establishment failure and severe injury were caused by that beast Wan Yuexing, but she did not tell me; instead she forced me to heed that beast's words, to avoid facing him, to cultivate diligently, hoping that one day I could form a Golden Core, stand in the Da Yu Cultivation World, and hold my fate in my own hands...

Such actions suggest my mother had long seen through Wan Yuexing's nature and knew how ruthless he was.

For her own safety, my mother concealed all secrets...

Ruan Bufan stared fixedly at Wan Yuexing, yet tears welled up in his eyes.

"I must kill this beast!!"

"No, I cannot act rashly now! I must find a way to leave first! To leave alive!"

"Wan Yuexing this beast is at the peak of the early Golden Core stage; I'm not even as good as a single finger of his. Rushing now would not be revenge, but suicide!"

"Right! I must get Symbol Master Xiao to escape quickly, and... bring me along! I need to hide and devise every way to boost my cultivation!"

"One day in the future, when I have formed a Golden Core, I will definitely return to slay that beast Wan Yuexing's wretched life!"

Ruan Bufan's magical energy surged, vaporizing and scattering the tears in his eyes; his face bore hatred and fury, as well as resolve and determination.

If today he had a chance to slay Wan Yuexing, he would not hesitate even at the cost of his own life.

But the problem is the gap is too great; even sacrificing his life would be insignificant, unable to cause a decisive end.

The only possible way to break the deadlock is Symbol Master Xiao! According to the testimonies of several Giant Wood Sect members just now, Symbol Master Xiao has been absent for nearly twenty years; compared to his strength back in Nanshan Fang, his cultivation has surged, and he is now a Golden Core Real Person.

Moreover, among Golden Core Real Persons, he is not the weakest.

When that beast Wan Yuexing tried to kill him earlier, Symbol Master Xiao briefly displayed his skill, revealing his strength as certainly that of a Golden Core Real Person.

He might even not be weaker than Wan Yuexing at the peak of the early Golden Core stage.

But now, the Giant Wood Sect side has not just Wan Yuexing as a Golden Core, but three of them.

Among them, the Supreme Elder Chang Xu, a Real Person, enjoys considerable fame throughout the Da Yu Cultivation World, reputed to match late‑stage Golden Core cultivators! Even though Symbol Master Xiao has extraordinary talent, he is ultimately of Scattered Cultivator origin.

Reaching this point is already legendary.

Yet compared with more than half of Giant Wood Sect's high‑end forces, the gap remains huge; there is not even a one‑percent chance. A direct fight is unwise, but escape offers a chance.

Especially since Symbol Master Xiao holds a treasure that the Giant Wood Sect covets.

Just as Ruan Bufan forced himself to suppress his inner sorrow and anger, beginning to devise how to escape safely today.

Xiao Zhangqing said coldly: "What a Wan Real Person, indifferent even to his own son and the son's mother, killing at a whim! Such a vicious heart—honestly, I've seen many Golden Core Real Persons far stronger than you, but none as ruthless as you!"

From the brief father‑son exchange just now, though only a few words, he roughly understood what was happening.

This Wan Yuexing, the Wan Real Person, who once abandoned his wife and child, leaving Ruan Qingzhu alone to bear Baihua Valley's punishment, has now become even less human.

One could say he is utterly inhuman! The key is that Ruan Qingzhu and Ruan Bufan did nothing wrong to him.

"Even if Ruan Bufan seemed to be on my side just now, persuading the Giant Wood Sect, it still doesn't merit death, does it?" Wan Yuexing said coldly, "A son and a woman, what do they amount to before a sect? Since they're ungrateful wolves that don't even safeguard the sect's interests, such a wayward son should be killed as soon as possible!"

Xiao Zhangqing clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Truly 'deeply understanding the great righteousness'! All of you Giant Wood Sect are as ruthless as Wan Real Person, willing to abandon wife and child for the sect, or is Wan Real Person the best among you?"

"When you die, you'll know!"

Wan Yuexing gave no further reply; his peak early Golden Core magic erupted violently, forming a dazzling beam like a rainbow piercing the void, his whole body turning into a flash of light that surged straight at Xiao Zhangqing.

Magical energy also surged around Xiao Zhangqing, and a massive flaming palm formed in the sky, slamming fiercely toward Wan Yuexing.

"Crimson Flame Giant Palm? Li Huo True Technique? It seems you've indeed been hiding in Character: Liyang Zhenren City these years, secretly taking Character: Liyang Real Person as your master?"

Wan Yuexing snorted coldly, straining to channel his magic to intercept the flaming giant palm.

"If Character: Liyang, the True Person, hadn't fled in disgrace to another country and run away, and had come here in person today, perhaps he could still save your life. But now you are only at the early Golden Core stage—what can you use to fight me? What courage do you have to defy the authority of my Giant Wood Sect? On this day next year, it will be your day of sacrifice!"

Wan Yuexing let out a roar, his magical power and aura surged dramatically, almost reaching the mid Golden Core threshold, and in the air he traced a massive palm imprint that slammed toward the Crimson Flame Giant Palm.

He was determined to shatter Xiao Zhangqing's spell and crush both Xiao Zhangqing and Ruan Bufan below with a single strike.

"Xiao Symbol Master, be careful…"

Ruan Bufan shouted urgently; he could not gauge how powerful Wan Yuexing's strike truly was, but he could feel the terrifying momentum within it, making him feel as insignificant as an ant, surpassing Xiao Zhangqing's spell.

What Ruan Bufan never imagined was that, faced with such a terrifying blow, Xiao Zhangqing neither produced a powerful defensive artifact nor a Talisman Script, nor dodged. Instead, his body swayed as if sprouting a pair of wings on his back, like a high‑rank flying demonic beast of an extraordinary bloodline, and he lunged at Wan Yuexing with lightning speed.

Buzz! Immediately, Xiao Zhangqing's magical power and aura surged as well, not weaker than Ruan Bufan's, reaching the peak of early Golden Core, nearly the mid Golden Core level, and the power of the Crimson Flame Giant Palm escalated further.

Heh heh… clang!

The two giant palms collided and dissipated in the air, the overflowing magical energy forming a gale that lifted a storm of sand across the sky.

His all‑out attack failed to achieve the imagined effect; Wan Yuexing's eyes showed a hint of astonishment, and he exclaimed, "Your cultivation has already reached this level?"

Xiao Zhangqing's magical strength was no weaker than his.

But Xiao Zhangqing's age and starting point are far lower than his; how could he catch up?

According to the information he gathered, twenty years ago Xiao Zhangqing had only just begun the Foundation Establishment stage.

Yet twenty years ago he was already a Golden Core True Person! After twenty years of diligent cultivation and exhausting countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures, he finally managed to raise his cultivation to near the mid Golden Core stage.

When the Supreme Elder reaches his limit, he will become the Giant Wood Sect's top master, a pillar‑like presence.

And now he is being overtaken by a nameless Scattered Cultivator?

Having no time to think, he watched Xiao Zhangqing charge into the swirling yellow sand at the explosion's core, then rush toward him at terrifying speed, a sight he could not comprehend.

If Ruan Bufan did this, it would be normal.

He's gone mad, recklessly wanting to engage in close combat, as if to bite off a piece of my flesh.

But Xiao Zhangqing, a cultivator at the peak of early Golden Core, charges forward with his bare body without hesitation—what is he trying to do? "Seeking death? Shall I grant it?"

Ruan Bufan sneered, immediately enveloped himself in a protective shield capable of withstanding a full‑power strike from a peak early Golden Core cultivator, then swiftly began to channel his magical power, gathering his next killing move.

But just as he released the shield, he had no time to channel his power and form the killing move; in an instant, Xiao Zhangqing was already in front of him.

Before he could react to what had happened, he heard a crack.

His shield shattered like foam, and then a fist slammed down; the glow of his magical robe flickered out in an instant, and a large chunk of his chest caved in, blood and organ fragments spurted out, his body was violently slammed onto the ground, forming a huge deep pit.

In his excruciating pain, nearly fainting, his whole body weak as if shattered, his Golden Core shattered, Xiao Zhangqing seized him again, sealed him, and tossed him out like a dead dog, where he rolled to the feet of his "renegade" Ruan Bufan.

"Come, avenge your mother."

With Ruan Bufan's incredulous, stunned gaze, Xiao Zhangqing said lightly.

His tone was nonchalant, casual, as if he had merely captured a mortal. (End of chapter)