Chapter Forty-Four: Eradicating the Root

All the experts on the deck stood frozen in shock, staring at Leng Tian.

“What was that just now?” Luan Yudie gazed at Leng Tian, but her question was directed at her two companions.

“I’m not sure, but it must be some extremely powerful secret art. The aura just now gave me a profound sense of danger,” Wang Mang answered, his expression grave and his tone heavy.

“There was the aura of a deity,” Li Tianzheng said coldly.

Both turned to look at him in astonishment. “Li, say that again—did I hear you right? The aura of a deity? How could that be possible?” Wang Mang’s facial muscles twitched, betraying his inner turmoil.

Luan Yudie could hardly believe Leng Tian possessed the power of a deity. But judging from Li Tianzheng’s tone, he wasn’t lying. Then how could he be so sure?

Li Tianzheng fixed his gaze on Leng Tian and spoke with deliberate certainty: “It was nothing more than an instinct born of the soul—a premonition. Yes, a premonition made me sense the presence of a deity.” He paused, sounding a little confused. “Perhaps it was my imagination, but I could clearly feel a trace of that divine aura!”

“I’ll kill you… how dare you… how dare you…” The short, stocky man snarled. He was notorious for his cruelty, a disciple of the infamous Elder Cangming—one of the continent’s most notorious rogue cultivators. His master had reached the late peak of the Transcendence Realm, leaving a trail of blood and infamy in his wake.

Yet the man himself was elusive. Many sect leaders on the continent had sworn to kill Elder Cangming, but none had ever succeeded. Quite the contrary—several elders from the great sects had fallen to his hand.

At the time, the supreme Saints were all secluded in closed-door cultivation, indifferent to such matters. After losing a few powerful Transcendence experts, the major sects silently abandoned their pursuit of Elder Cangming and recalled their dispatched elites. The matter faded into nothingness.

Thus, Elder Cangming’s reputation spread far and wide. No power or individual dared cross him. Wherever he went, even the most fearless avoided his path.

Elder Cangming had two personal disciples: the elder, Chen Jiannan, and the younger, Dong Shuo—the very man before them. Dong Shuo was notorious for bullying the weak and fearing the strong. This time, his master had personally chosen him, granting him the Jade Qiong Decree to enter the Ancient Realm in search of rare treasures.

His senior brother, Chen Jiannan, was in seclusion, striving for a breakthrough, so the heavy responsibility fell to Dong Shuo, who was delighted beyond measure.

He had boarded the ship the previous day, intent only on restoring his energy and paying little attention to the others. Dong Shuo well knew that in this gathering of formidable cultivators, only strength could guarantee safety. Any sign of weakness would invite disaster. Only by maintaining his absolute peak could he ensure his own security.

After a night’s rest, his body had returned to its best condition.

Everyone aboard recognized him as Elder Cangming’s disciple and was well aware of their notorious deeds. Thus, they all kept their distance, isolating Dong Shuo. This left him sullen and dissatisfied, though he dared not betray any displeasure.

His master’s name inspired terror across the continent, but here, adrift on the endless sea among the elites of all factions, Dong Shuo had no choice but to endure. These people already held him in contempt—if not for his master’s fearsome reputation, he would have been killed long ago.

As Dong Shuo brooded over his frustration, Leng Tian appeared in his field of vision, and, as if seeing a sandbag for venting his wrath, his mood instantly brightened.

Mistaking Leng Tian for a mere ship’s hand, never imagining he too was bound for the Ancient Realm, Dong Shuo found an outlet for his pent-up rage and issued those earlier provocations, intending to bully this “soft target” for his own satisfaction.

His misfortune was that Leng Tian was no ordinary martial artist—otherwise, he would have been scared out of his wits already, never daring to so brazenly humiliate a powerful expert in front of everyone.

Dong Shuo never expected that, before he could even react, Leng Tian would strike with a force crushing as a mountain, pinning him directly into the ship’s hull. At first, he was too stunned to comprehend what had happened. Once he regained his senses, he was overwhelmed by fury, a wicked fire surging to his head as he burst from the ship with a ferocious roar.

Suspended midair, Dong Shuo’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Leng Tian standing on the deck. He bellowed, “You have some skill, boy, but it won’t change your fate: you’ll be torn to pieces!”

His hands turned into claws in midair, and a pair of eagle-claw weapons glinted on his wrists. Ten blades of greenish light, each over three feet long, shot out like talons, slashing toward Leng Tian with lightning speed.

Leng Tian had no idea who this man was or why he had been targeted the moment he appeared—was it simply his apparent weakness that made him a target for amusement?

Suddenly, a voice sounded in his mind: “Brother, this man is Dong Shuo, the infamous personal disciple of Elder Cangming. You have two choices: run now, or kill him here. Otherwise, you’ll face endless trouble. No one present will help you—it’s all up to your own ability.”

Leng Tian’s heart jolted. “Who is this? Why offer such advice?” But the implication was clear: he was being shown a path.

Flight was not an option for Leng Tian. That left only one course—slay Dong Shuo. If he failed to make an example today, his situation would only grow more perilous in the Ancient Realm. This was his chance to show the gathered experts that he was not to be trifled with.

In a flash, the Three-Colored Divine Gang Qi surged around him. Behind him, a phantom of a pitch-black mountain loomed. His right fist, enveloped in the divine gang energy, swung directly and unceremoniously at Dong Shuo’s chest.

Dong Shuo was still in midair, his ten green blade-talons tearing toward Leng Tian, convinced his opponent was frozen with fear. Just as he felt smug, the same crushing force descended upon him again.

A moment before, Leng Tian had given no sign of resistance—now, suddenly, he lashed out with his fist, and behind him towered a mountain hundreds of feet tall. The pressure emanated from that colossal shadow!

Dong Shuo was forced down by the crushing force, but his attention was fixed on the looming mountain, not Leng Tian’s fist. Ecstasy bloomed in his heart: “This must be a high-grade ancient treasure! If I can seize it, I’ll be unstoppable!”

Leng Tian’s fist was already upon him, but Dong Shuo found it laughable. For a mere Heaven-ranked warrior to try to injure him with a punch—it was the height of absurdity. Even the backlash from his own protective energy would skin the upstart alive!

Dozens of experts on the ship watched the duel with interest. Few had faith in Leng Tian, despite the strangeness of his technique and the mountain phantom. Most credited it to some ancient artifact and pitied Leng Tian for becoming Dong Shuo’s target.

But in the next instant, their opinions were utterly shattered.

Leng Tian’s fist crashed solidly into Dong Shuo’s chest. In the eyes of the gathered experts, their pride—their protective gang energy—shattered like brittle ice before Leng Tian’s three-colored fist.

Dong Shuo’s protective aura, three inches thick, was smashed apart by Leng Tian’s punch. The fist drove into his chest like a battering ram.

“Aaah—” Dong Shuo screamed as his chest caved in and blood fountained from his lips, flecked with fragments of shattered bone. His body was flung backward.

Leng Tian’s eyes remained calm as still water. With a flash, a streak of blood appeared in his hand; his form vanished, pursuing Dong Shuo through the air. The assembled experts saw only a flash of blade light as Leng Tian passed through Dong Shuo’s tumbling body.

Leng Tian sheathed his blade and, in a blink, appeared at the prow of the ship. Dong Shuo’s body, still flying backward, suddenly stiffened where Leng Tian had cut through him. Crimson spread across his form, and with a sickening sound, his body burst apart into countless chunks of flesh, scattering in all directions. The onlookers hurriedly took to the air, lest their clothes be soiled.

A blood-stained object shot from the corpse and flew over the side of the ship. Luan Yudie’s beautiful eyes lingered on it for a moment; her jade cheeks flushed scarlet as she averted her gaze and hurried into the cabin, unwilling to watch further.

Li Tianzheng and Wang Mang noticed as well, their eyes flickering, curious to see what could have embarrassed Luan Yudie so. When they looked, their facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.

Just as the object was about to fall into the sea, a large yellow-scaled fish leaped from the water and swallowed the still-dripping item whole.

“Damn—” Wang Mang blurted a curse, unable to help himself. Even Li Tianzheng’s eyes were filled with mirth. The object, in truth, was none other than Dong Shuo’s manhood.

Many had witnessed this scene and broke out in a cold sweat. Such swordsmanship—ruthless, precise, and as swift as lightning!

A shrill scream rang out, startling Li Tianzheng and Wang Mang. Guoguo, hands covering her face, fled into the cabin. Only now did the young girl realize what that object had been, and in her shock and embarrassment, she cursed Leng Tian as a pervert.

Wang Mang grinned mischievously at Leng Tian. “Brother Leng, your skill truly is extraordinary—talk about eliminating the root!”

His words set off a roar of laughter among the crowd…

Martial Peak, Chapter 44: Eliminating the Root—End of Update.