Chapter 38

Wan Hong hovered in midair, his whole body stunned, his jaw almost dropping.

He stared fixedly at the golden light shield below, covered in cracks yet stubbornly holding up, hardly believing what he saw.

His furious 【Black Fiend Claw】, a full-power strike at Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak—actually…actually only cracked this broken shield? Couldn't he crush it with one claw?!

How the hell is this possible!

"Second tier! This is definitely a second-tier array! And it's not ordinary junk!" Wan Hong's heart surged with shock, a crazy thought sprouting: "Where did that old bastard get this treasure?!"

He had thought, relying on his status as Luo Bay County's top expert, crushing the Wang Family's little ant would be a mere flick of the wrist. Who would have imagined that the Wang Family's "tortoise shell" was extraordinarily hard, actually withstanding his signature move!

This slap… crackling! Where can he put his old face at the Ninth Layer Peak?

A feeling of defeat mixed with anger surged in his chest; at the same time, he genuinely felt a tiny… indescribable something toward Wang Shan's hidden trump card—perhaps called wariness? Pah! Impossible!

Inside the Array Core.

Wang Shan's chest heaved violently, a sweet‑sour taste surged in his throat, threatening to spit out another mouthful of old blood.

Blocking Wan Hong's claw came at a huge cost! His qi and blood churned violently; the spiritual power he had painstakingly gathered was gone nearly half! Worse, he could clearly feel the light of the middle‑grade spirit stone at the Array Core dimming to the brink, about to sputter out at any moment!

He cannot fall! Absolutely cannot show weakness now!

Wang Shan forcibly swallowed the bloody taste, casually wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve—this move had to be quick, so the Protective Courtyard Array outside wouldn't notice! He stiffened his somewhat hunched spine, lifted his head, and looked up at the demon‑qi‑filled figure in the air.

"Hehe…" Wang Shan suddenly laughed, his voice transmitted through the array, tinged with indescribable mockery: "Wan Hong, old dog! Is this the power of your Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak? After all that fuss, this is all you've got? Tsk tsk, not much at all!"

He deliberately paused, letting his words hit harder: "You can't even pierce this little Protective Courtyard Array of mine, yet you keep shouting you'll annihilate my Wang Family? I think you're living in a spring‑autumn daydream! Hurry back to your Wan clan to play with your grandchildren—don't embarrass yourself here!"

These words are naked provocation! They're a goading tactic!

Wang Shan knew full well the array couldn't withstand a second blow. His only option now was to stall for time as long as possible—even gaining a single breath was a lifeline! He must provoke Wan Hong, make the old dog lose his reason, best to anger him into thoughtlessly lashing out again—then perhaps he could wait until the Spirit Plant Points were complete!

Sure enough, a deafening roar came from the air!

"Old coot! You're asking for death——!!!"

Wan Hong was already seething from his ineffective strike; Wang Shan's merciless mockery was like dumping another bucket of oil onto his blazing fire—boom, his remaining rationality was utterly burned away!

"Roar!!!"

His beard and hair bristled; the thick, inky black Demon Qi around him surged like boiling water, wilder and more evil than before! The huge black claw shadow hovering above his head, which had grown faint from consumption, instantly solidified again—becoming even larger and more horrifying! The dark light at the claw's tip almost blinded the eyes.

"Give it to me—break!!!"

Wan Hong had gone mad with rage, not bothering to wonder why Wang Shan acted so fearlessly; his sole thought was to rip apart that damned tortoise shell below—and the damned old thing inside—into shreds!

He again poured his surging Spiritual Power and Demon Qi unreservedly into the 【Black Fiend Claw】, then fiercely slammed it down onto the cracked, tottering golden shield below!

This strike's might exceeded the previous by three tenths!

"Crack——!!"

"Crack-crack——!!!"

The piercing shatter sound instantly merged into a roar that echoed through the entire Wang Family Courtyard!

Seeing the cracks on the golden shield, as if infused with life, they frenziedly expanded and spread! In the blink of an eye, they spider‑webbed across the whole shield! Each fissure flickered with unstable light, as if it would shatter completely the next second!

At the same time, at the Array Core, the struggling middle‑grade spirit stone finally let out a groan of overload, its last gleam utterly extinguished, turning into a dull, useless rock!

Deprived of its core energy, the entire golden shield shuddered, its light rapidly dimming, becoming utterly illusory—appearing on the verge of total collapse and dissipation!

"Hahaha! Broken! Finally broken!" Far off, the ever‑watchful Chen Tianfeng saw this, his face instantly overtaken by wild joy, nearly jumping up: "Wang Shan, old dog! Your time has come! See how you'll block this now!"

Wan Hong's four underlings who had retreated to the side also wore bloodthirsty grins, each cracking their knuckles, their Spiritual Power stirring; they waited only for the array to vanish completely, then would rush in at once, opening a slaughter to exterminate the Wang Family top to bottom!

Within Luo Bay County, the various forces hidden in the dark, silently watching the battle, all reached the same conclusion: the Wang Family is finished! The tide has turned; there's no turning back!

Array Core.

Wang Shan clearly felt the array's final signal of impending collapse. His Spiritual Power had long been exhausted, his Dantian Qi Sea empty, his meridians throbbing with sharp pain.

But he had no leisure to mind these now!

All his attention was nailed to that phantom system interface in his mind!

【Spirit Plant Points: 3982/4000】

Just a little more! Just a tiny bit!

The shield's cracking grew denser and louder, like the footsteps of death hammering his heart! The black, sky‑covering giant claw above him, radiating Demon Qi, mercilessly pressed down!

Quick! Quick!

Wang Shan's heart pounded wildly, nearly leaping out of his throat!

Just as the golden shield was about to completely turn into a sky of Light Spots—

Just as that terrifying black giant claw was about to touch the Wang Family's structures—

On the system interface, the icons of the final batch of ripened 【Clear Heart Grass】 finally flashed with the mature, lustrous green light!

Done!

"Harvest! Exchange for 【Obstacle‑Breaking Pill】!!"

Wang Shan, using nearly all his last strength, sent out this urgent, ecstatic shout from deep within!