Chapter 310: The War Begins (Part 5)

The night was like ink; not a single star could be seen in the vast night sky, only a round moon like frost hanging lonely on the horizon.

The night wind howled, and the thick scent of blood and dust made people cough incessantly.

The battle on the Gu Family battlefield had already entered a white-hot stage; the figures of Chen Che and Gu Yuanzong were like two arcs of light, rapidly making contact and then separating, having engaged in countless life-and-death struggles in the blink of an eye.

"Not bad, kid."

Gu Yuanzong stood firm, looking toward Chen Che from atop the ruins, "In these twenty years, you are the first to be able to exchange so many blows with me. But if I am not mistaken, the time for your Secret Technique is almost up, isn't it?"

Chen Che remained silent, only quietly watching Gu Yuanzong.

"Back on Moon Shadow Island, although I suffered a backlash and my final full-force strike didn't unleash its full power, it was at least seventy percent. That you could survive truly exceeded my expectations."

Gu Yuanzong raised a finger, and everything around them began to tremble, slowly floating into the air, "I saw clearly that day that the moves you used in combat were not the methods usually employed by a Martial Artist, so you must know a Secret Technique to boost your realm's strength, as well as some methods of an artisan."

"But this way of obtaining power that does not belong to oneself comes with a price. If I am not mistaken, the Secret Technique consumes your physical stamina and True Qi greatly, which is why your movements were clearly less sharp during the last two attacks."

Gu Yuanzong gave a cold, sinister smile, "If you have any other skills, use them quickly, otherwise you won't have the chance."

As his voice fell, Gu Yuanzong suddenly let out a loud shout, and all the floating debris from the ruins and other objects flew toward Chen Che like bullets.

Chen Che pursed his chapped lips and formed seals with his hands: "Wind... Cloud Coil!"

The Artisan Technique was unleashed; with Chen Che as the center, the airflow accelerated, turning into a small tornado in the blink of an eye.

The incoming debris from the ruins was sucked in layer by layer, and the whirlwind grew larger and larger.

Chen Che was located in the eye of the wind, his feet floating off the ground, his clothes flapping violently in the wind.

"Ha!"

Chen Che let out a roar, and the hurricane connecting heaven and earth bore down on Gu Yuanzong, tearing everything in its path to shreds with its sharp gale.

Even Gu Zhengying, Gu Zhangsheng, and Gu Yao, who were hiding in the shadows, were affected; their clothes were ripped open, and their hands and faces—any exposed skin—were sliced with bloody furrows.

Gu Yuanzong narrowed his eyes, standing steadily in place, his expression unchanged in the face of the roaring hurricane:

"I want to see how much strength you have left after this move!"

Gu Yuanzong let out a cold snort, his figure shooting out like a cannonball; his withered body, like a sharp sword, easily pierced through the hurricane's outer shell and arrived before Chen Che.

Chen Che was suddenly startled, his face showing terror, yet Gu Yuanzong's speed was even faster than he had imagined.

Gu Yuanzong sneered and struck with a palm; the compressed energy mass of True Qi in his palm exploded the moment it hit Chen Che's chest.

"Boom!!!"

After a deafening muffled sound, Chen Che spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward in pain.

As Chen Che flew out of the eye of the wind, the hurricane instantly dissipated, and Gu Yuanzong, his breath steady, landed firmly back on the ground.

Chen Che was in a much more wretched state; he slammed heavily into the ground and slid for dozens of meters.

"Pfft... cough, cough..."

Chen Che clutched his chest, coughing up mouthful after mouthful of blood. Before he could even catch his breath, a familiar turbid energy seized the opportunity to rush into his chest, and web-like red lines immediately appeared beneath his skin, climbing up half of his cheek.

"I only used eighty percent of my strength in that palm strike; I intended to test you further, but it seems this is the extent of your ability. The flare-up of the Great Red Sun Poison means you already used your full strength just now; your Secret Technique cannot save you. Prepare to die..."

Gu Yuanzong suddenly stopped speaking, because he saw Chen Che pull a piece of clothing out from his collar.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary shirt, but on the chest area, there was a clear palm print—the very one left by Gu Yuanzong's strike just moments ago.

"You really did make thorough preparations," Gu Yuanzong said through gritted teeth.

Chen Che looked at the ruined Body Protection Soft Armor and felt secretly relieved; if not for this thing protecting his heart meridian, although he wouldn't have died from that palm strike, the subsequent onslaught of the Great Red Sun Poison would have rendered him unable to move.

However, he was not feeling well either.

In fact, Gu Yuanzong was not entirely wrong in his guess.

Chen Che's own strength was at the Heavenly Master realm, but he simply couldn't unleash it because of the Great Red Sun Poison.

Moreover, after his epiphany before the Heavenly Book Stele, his strength had advanced further, and the impact of the Great Red Sun Poison on him had decreased significantly.

But a decrease did not mean it was gone; although Gu Yuanzong had not fully recovered from his serious injuries, he was still a Heavenly Master, and it was extremely risky for Chen Che to try to win in such an uncertain physical state.

"Hmph, you only used eighty percent of your strength. That's because you can only exert eighty percent of your power right now, isn't it?"

Chen Che sneered, silently taking out three Ghost Gate Needles and clutching them in his hand.

Gu Yuanzong mocked with a disdainful expression: "And what if I am? Are you confident you can kill me?"

Chen Che slowly stood up, steadying his breathing: "How would I know without trying?"

"Fine, then let me see how many more tricks you have!"

Gu Yuanzong shot out again; Chen Che waved his arm to stab the Ghost Gate Needles into his own heart, but this action was noticed by Gu Yuanzong, who deliberately threw a punch toward Chen Che's heart.

Left with no choice, Chen Che had to give up and instead thrust the Ghost Gate Needles toward Gu Yuanzong.

"Chen Che is finished, you all should surrender quickly! Hahahahaha........."

Ding Mingchang's eyes bulged, his mouth wide open in a crazed laugh, saliva dripping down his chin.

Everyone on the Gu Family battlefield had witnessed the battle between Chen Che and Gu Yuanzong just now, including the scene of Chen Che being sent flying by a palm strike.

This scene, falling into the eyes of everyone, instantly produced a different effect.

The Huang Family and Ding Family, acting as the Gu Family's lackeys, saw their morale soar, and the Martial Artists under them became even more arrogant.

Excited, Ding Mingchang swallowed a bottle of pills all at once, ignoring the backlash of the medicine, and resolutely charged into the battlefield; several Ma Family Martial Artists were torn in half by his bare hands.

Encouraged, the Ding Family Martial Artists pressed forward even more aggressively, pushing the front line over.

"Elder Ding, the eldest young master is heroic and fearless; he will surely have a limitless future."

Huang Shili and Ding Zhen sat securely in the central command, watching the scene of slaughter ahead.

"Elder Huang is too kind; my son was already unhappy because of my grandson's affair, and he is doing this to kill Ma Zijun and avenge my grandson."

Ding Zhen said slowly.

"Chen Che has already been seriously injured by Elder Gu; once he dies, the morale on this side will vanish, and at that time, these people will be ours to slaughter."

Huang Shili said with full confidence.

"Elder Huang is right; this battle never had any suspense to begin with. We should just wait quietly."

Ding Zhen wore a beaming smile, yet he made no effort to conceal the arrogance of a superior.

Watching the unstoppable Ding Mingchang, Ma Zijun guessed his intentions and turned to say to Ma Youxiang, "Grandfather, you all should leave first."

Ma Youxiang shook his head and said, "Zijun, I know what you are worried about, but I have said it before. Chen Che will not lose, and we will not lose either. Even if a few people must be sacrificed for this, the final victory will surely belong to us."

"Father, but the current situation is unfavorable for us. We can sacrifice ourselves, but we cannot just throw our lives away."

Watching the battlefield gradually become one-sided, Ma Yiren tried to persuade him, "Let us leave first, at least retreat down the mountain."

"That's right, Elder Ma. We all saw it just now; even such a powerful attack from Chen Che was easily neutralized, and he was even injured. Now his life or death is unknown; we cannot make meaningless sacrifices, let's retreat first."

"That's right, retreat first. Only when people are alive is there hope."

"Yes, that's right, let's go, Elder Ma!"

The heads of other influential families also spoke up one after another to persuade him, clearly stimulated by the scene just now, their morale low.

However, Ma Youxiang did not speak, only silently watching Ma Zijun.

Ma Zijun likewise looked into his grandfather's eyes.

"Big brother, we..."

Ma Zicheng could not make up his mind and instinctively asked Ma Zijun.

At this moment, Ma Zijun turned back around and pulled a medicine bottle from his bosom; it was the Pill that the Gu Family had distributed to the influential families of Jinling under the guise of health supplements in preparation for the Ritual on Moon Shadow Island.

Unscrewing the cap, Ma Zijun did not hesitate and poured the entire contents into his mouth.

"Zijun!"

"Big brother!"

Ma Yiren and Ma Zicheng guessed what it was and exclaimed in shock, their faces full of horror.

"The Ma Family never abandons friends, nor do we ever run away. Since we are bound to die, there is only one way to die: die in battle!"

After finishing his sentence, Ma Zijun leaped forward and charged into the battlefield.

………