Chapter 56

When they fell, every one of them had shattered bones and severed meridians, completely devoid of any sign of life.

With this single palm strike, the noisy crowd of Star Sect disciples instantly fell silent as cicadas in winter, staring at Tang Tang Tang Bohu with faces full of terror.

They had never expected to be attacked even while hiding behind Ding Chunqiu; this offered far too little sense of security!

The Star Sect disciples were already a cowardly mob of scoundrels; once frightened, they tightly shut their "two-five-three" mouths, daring not to speak up and become the target.

If the opponent unleashed another "Strike the Ox Across the Mountain," the Old Immortal would not be able to protect them.

Ding Chunqiu, who had always loved flattery above all else, flew into a rage upon seeing his disciples lower their flags and drum their retreat; he waved the feather fan in his hand forward, sweeping immense internal energy toward Tang Tang Tang Bohu.

After unleashing "Strike the Ox Across the Mountain," Tang Tang Tang Bohu had long ago opened his mouth to inhale a bellyful of air, swelling his chest, and now he expelled all the accumulated force from his abdomen in one go!

"Whoosh—"

Fierce winds rippled as the internal energies collided, dissipating each other into nothingness.

The residual wind force then spread out in all directions.

Their robes fluttered slightly; several "spectators" standing nearby remained silent, yet suddenly displayed eerie smiles on their faces.

A sharp-eyed Star Sect disciple happened to witness this scene, immediately turning pale with horror, an expression of extreme terror spreading across his face!

Then, one by one, they shoved and pushed each other, scrambling backward.

The various heroes watching the battle, seeing them retreat as if fleeing snakes and scorpions, could not help but feel puzzled.

Suddenly, sounds of bodies hitting the ground rang out in succession.

It turned out that after those people had laughed eerily three times, they directly collapsed face-first to the ground, dying on the spot.

Even in death, smiles remained on their faces.

It turned out that when Ding Chunqiu had waved his feather fan earlier, ostensibly attacking with internal energy, he had actually concealed the poisonous powder "Three-Laugh Carefree Powder" within it, sending it toward Tang Tang Tang Bohu.

This poisonous powder was colorless and odorless, extremely fine, and combined with the dust stirred up by the passing internal energy, it was truly difficult to distinguish.

He had fully expected that although Tang Tang Tang Bohu's martial arts were high, he would absolutely not detect it.

Who could have anticipated that Tang Tang Tang Bohu would blow breath into wind, directly blowing the "Three-Laugh Carefree Powder" back, causing those who had drawn near to suffer disastrous misfortune.

The various heroes watching the battle were all startled; although they did not understand the exact truth, they could guess seventy or eighty percent of it, and hastily retreated a considerable distance.

Watching this excitement... the risk was truly great; one could suffer collateral damage quite confusedly.

"Wah!"

The Three Great Talents of Suzhou shouted even more exaggeratedly, clutching their chests with both hands, putting on an act of "This humble one is terrified!"

Xu Xu Zhenqing said: "What formidable poisonous skills! Could this old monster have been raised on poisonous qi?!"

Zhu Zhu Zhishan said: "His poisonous skills are strong, but what use is that if he cannot hit anyone? Tang Tang Bohu is still the superior one!"

Wen Zhengming said: "Tang Tang Bohu, what move was that just now?"

Tang Tang Tang Bohu was also frightened to the core by Ding Chunqiu's poisonous skills, but despite his apprehension, he still had to put on a show.

So he turned to his three bad friends, flashed a roguish smile, and said proudly: "This is my Tang family's ancestral, peerless divine art for subduing demons, expelling evil, controlling gu, and dispelling poison—Qi~Swallows~the~World~!"

Zhu Zhu Zhishan said: "Wow! So powerful! Both are ancestral arts, but why does it feel even more formidable than my family's 'Milking Dragon Claw Hand'?"

Wen Zhengming said: "My family's 'Two-Finger Zen' also feels ashamed in comparison."

Xu Xu Zhenqing said: "Sigh, don't mention it; my family's 'Iron Crotch Skill' would be utterly useless against such an old poisoner."

"Hm?!"

As soon as Xu Xu Zhenqing finished speaking, Tang Tang Tang Bohu and the other two turned to look at him in unison.

Xu Xu Zhenqing was stunned; under the death stares of the three, his scalp instantly went numb, and he defensively covered his crotch with both hands, saying nervously: "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

Tang Tang Tang Bohu and the other two nodded in unison.

Tang Tang Tang Bohu said: "Utterly useless?"

Zhu Zhu Zhishan said: "Really?"

Wen Zhengming said: "Not necessarily!"

Xu Xu Zhenqing said: "..."

I am often out of place among you simply because I am not perverted enough.

Seeing that Tang Tang Tang Bohu still had the mood to joke and grin at such a time, Ding Chunqiu was furious in his heart and scolded: "You ungrateful brat! Die for this Old Immortal!"

Although he had gained the upper hand in the recent clash, failing to defeat a young man after a prolonged fight and losing several disciples had undoubtedly greatly damaged his reputation.

If he did not teach the other party a painful lesson, how could he, the Star Sect Old Immortal, continue to mix in the martial world?

His figure flickered, his large sleeves swaying with an extremely elegant posture that nonetheless concealed deadly intent as he pounced toward Tang Tang Tang Bohu.

Tang Tang Tang Bohu's expression turned solemn, his gaze heavy, and he said in a cold voice: "Good! You are forcing me to do this!"

Speaking thus, he drew large circles with both hands, circulating his true energy into his palms, rapidly refining and compressing it to form a blue-white spherical orb of true energy.

Terrifying power surged, ready to erupt; when Ding Chunqiu came within two zhang, he struck out boldly!

"Kamehameha!"

Accompanied by successive explosions of true energy, a powerful shockwave spread out like ripples on a lake, sweeping across Ding Chunqiu in a crescent shape...

The moment Ding Chunqiu entered the range of the shockwave, he felt his body go numb; a force akin to electric current blasted him into the sky while simultaneously drilling into his body, seeking to destroy his internal organs and meridians.

Zhu Zhu Zhishan said: "Wow, given this scene and situation, it is fitting to use my family's ancestral 'Poisonous Dragon Heart-Piercing Drill'!"

Xu Xu Zhenqing said: "Isn't your family's ancestral art the 'Milking Dragon Claw Hand'?"

Wen Zhengming said: "Obviously, his family's ancestral martial arts include more than one style. Just like my family, we also have one called 'Ice and Fire Double Heaven'."

Hearing the three shouting and clamoring, the various heroes watching the battle were all speechless.

Are these the Four Great Talents of Suzhou?

These are damn well the Four Great Ruffians!

Tang Tang Tang Bohu paid no attention to his three bad friends; fearing that Ding Chunqiu might not die, he leaped into the air and thrust his spear straight at Ding Chunqiu's heart.

Suspended in mid-air, Ding Chunqiu hastily circulated his "Skill of Dissolving Meridians" to neutralize the invading true energy, and his paralyzed body returned to normal.

Seeing Tang Tang Tang Bohu thrust his spear forward, he gave a grim smile and flicked his sleeves repeatedly.

Over a dozen emerald-green phosphorescent sparks transformed into "fire arrows," shooting downward from above to strike every part of Tang Tang Tang Bohu's body.

"Disaster! He can actually still move!"

Tang Tang Tang Bohu's expression changed drastically; he shook his spearhead and rapidly flicked the tip, deflecting the phosphorescent sparks.

Yet he could not feel the slightest joy, only a surge of despair.

For what made Ding Chunqiu most feared was neither his Grandmaster realm nor these flashy phosphorescent flames, but his Poison Arts!

On the ground, he could still dodge and employ guerrilla tactics, but suspended in midair with no leverage, how could ordinary true energy possibly withstand a poison assault?

As expected, Ding Chunqiu showed no mercy; following the phosphorescent flames, he flicked his sleeve to release a vast cloud of poisonous powder.

The Three Great Talents cried out in alarm, their faces turning pale.

Never did they expect that Tang Tang Tang Bohu, who had been evenly matched with Ding Chunqiu just moments before, would plunge himself into a desperate situation due to a single misjudgment and a slight miscalculation.

This showed that when experts clashed, every move was perilous; victory or defeat often hinged on a single thought, life and death decided in an instant!

Just as everyone believed Tang Tang Tang Bohu faced grave danger, a powerful sword qi suddenly surged into the fray, sweeping horizontally to scatter all the poisonous powder!

Someone had intervened!

A white-clad swordsman with an elegant demeanor leaped into the arena, grabbed Tang Tang Tang Bohu, and flung him backward.

Then, with a single draw and sheathe of his sword, he directly slashed the relentless Ding Chunqou three zhang away.

"Superb lightness skill!"

"Superb sword art!"

Among the crowd of spectators, many silently voiced their admiration.

Countless gazes converged upon him, revealing a young man barely past twenty, possessing sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, extraordinarily handsome.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly upward; even without smiling, he retained a hint of amusement, his demeanor lazy and indifferent, as if nothing mattered to him.

This appearance prompted many more to silently acclaim: "What a handsome youth!"

Even Huang Huang Yaoshi and Zhao Zhao Tianhao nodded repeatedly in approval.

Jiang Sishui looked at that rather familiar face, a vague suspicion forming in his heart, though he dared not be certain.

Of course, where there were admirers, there were also those who felt disgust.

South South Murong Fu had already felt deeply displeased upon seeing Tang Tang Tang Bohu, who was younger than him yet possessed martial arts roughly equal to his own, feeling that the title "Southern South South Murong" had been challenged.

Now, seeing the white-clad swordsman forcefully force back Ding Chunqiu the moment he entered the arena, his expression sank even further.

His eyes turned sinister and ruthless; as if recalling some unpleasant memories, he snorted coldly through his nose, turned, and walked away.

The Four Great Retainers exchanged glances, wisely holding their tongues as they followed behind.