Essence Devouring Art

"Second Rebirth! That was definitely a Second Rebirth!"

"More than that, look at the sheer brute force from his Horizontal Training! Hiss... He blew apart the black iron stage with a single stomp!"

"We misjudged him! I never expected him to be hiding his strength so well. This is an Overseas Dragon!"

"Aren’t you all focusing on the wrong thing? That last punch... didn’t it kill Qin Nanchun?"

...

The once-quiet Martial Arts Arena instantly erupted into a clamor of shocked cries, the noise boiling over.

Countless eyes, filled with astonishment, fear, and apprehension, were all fixed on Wu Dao as he slowly withdrew his fist on the stage, as if they were looking at some kind of monster.

"That’s it?"

On the stage.

’That’s it?’

The surging, volcanic torrent of blood and qi within Wu Dao’s body slowly calmed as he scoffed inwardly.

’I thought with all his posturing, this Qin Nanchun might actually offer a bit of a surprise. Turns out he’s just a pathetic clown who can’t even take one punch. He’s not even worthy of being my warm-up.’

"You whelp! How dare you commit such a violent act in public!!"

At that moment, Elder Qin, who was below the stage, finally snapped out of his shock.

He crushed his beloved wine gourd in his hand, his eyes bloodshot and wide with a murderous rage, as if he wanted to eat someone alive.

"This just proves you’re old. If your eyes don’t work anymore, you should just dig them out!"

Wu Dao shook his head and spoke coldly, completely unbothered by the old dog’s impotent barking. He calmly met the crowd’s gazes as he walked off the stage.

Now that his strength was revealed, he had no need to give Elder Qin any face. They were on the same level of power, so no one would make a big deal out of him talking back.

As for committing a violent act in public, that was even more absurd.

With that last punch...

Although it had been incomparably fierce and domineering, he had secretly used his Micro Level control of Power to hold back just enough.

He hadn’t killed Qin Nanchun on the spot.

’But what was that saying again?’

’A taste of his own medicine.’

’He wanted me to suffer a fate worse than death, didn’t he?’

’Then I’ll let him experience for himself what that feels like!’

Not dead?

The crowd looked astonished upon hearing this.

Wu Dao’s punch had been like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, like a mountain collapsing or a tsunami, capable of destroying all things. Anyone below the Transforming Force realm had felt a thick aura of death from it.

But Qin Nanchun, who was at the Harmonizing Force realm... how could he have survived such a blow?

The crowd wasn’t left to wonder for long.

Several Divine Power Realm experts with sharp Eye Power leaped into action, and in the blink of an eye, they had dragged Qin Nanchun out from the dust-choked rubble of the building.

"Chun’Er!!"

The moment Elder Qin saw Qin Nanchun, he let out a heart-wrenching wail and lunged forward, old tears streaming down his face.

The crowd looked over and couldn’t help but shiver.

It was too gruesome!

Qin Nanchun, who just moments before had been arrogant and boasting about crippling Wu Dao, had now been turned into a complete Blood Gourd.

He was already unconscious but was still coughing up large mouthfuls of coagulated blood. His chest and abdomen looked as if they’d been hit by a cannonball—a shocking mess of mangled flesh and shattered bone, his internal organs clearly visible.

"His injuries are severe, but not life-threatening. However..."

An elder from the Elder Council who was skilled in medicine stepped forward to examine him. After a moment, he shook his head and sighed, casting a cold glance at Wu Dao, who was standing nearby with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"His Dantian is shattered. From now on, it will be a great blessing if he can even maintain his Harmonizing Force realm without dropping further."

A Martial Artist’s Dantian.

It only just opens during the Cocoon-Breaking Realm, and because it isn’t yet protected by Innate Primordial Qi, it is extremely fragile. Its durability is linked to the Martial Artist’s physique.

A blow with Power that exceeds the body’s physical limit can easily shatter the Dantian, completely crippling a Martial Artist.

Wu Dao said he hadn’t broken any rules, and he was right.

But crippling Qin Nanchun with a single punch, a method that destroyed his future, was even crueler than killing him!

"Such a malicious move! If we don’t eliminate you, everyone will think our White Whale Martial Arts Hall has become a Demon Cave!"

Elder Qin took out an Elixir Pill and fed it to the barely-breathing Qin Nanchun, his crimson eyes fixed on Wu Dao.

"Cut the crap!"

Wu Dao crossed his arms and retorted sharply with a sneer, "Let me ask you, do you dare tell everyone what kind of poison that little wolf cub coated his claws with?"

’Playing the double standard game? I ought to slap that face of yours raw!’

"You... you!!"

Elder Qin pointed a trembling finger at Wu Dao, his lips quivering. He stammered "you, you, you" for a long time but couldn’t form a coherent sentence.

The people present weren’t idiots.

If he were to twist black and white in front of everyone, it wouldn’t just be a matter of losing face; it would call into question the integrity of the entire White Whale Martial Arts Hall.

In a fair and public duel, you maliciously try to cripple your opponent.

But when you’re not strong enough and get crushed instead, you demand justice?

If the White Whale Martial Arts Hall really acted this way, the news would spread, and they would be ridiculed by their peers in the Jianghu for decades.

You’re allowed to harm others, but others aren’t allowed to fight back? With such a perverse culture, who would dare join your White Whale Martial Arts Hall? They’d be scrambling to get away.

But Elder Qin, pained by his grandson being crippled, had already lost some of his reason.

Seeing he couldn’t win the argument against Wu Dao, he decided to use his authority to suppress him.

His bloodshot eyes turned to a green-robed, long-bearded elder with deep-set eyes, who was seated at the head of the elders’ section. He roared, "Old Chen, you practically watched Chun’Er grow up! Are you really going to do nothing?"

Upon hearing this, the upper echelons of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall, including Qi Canghai on the stage, all frowned, feeling utterly disgusted with Elder Qin.

Elder Qin’s blatant bullying, throwing his weight around like this, was basically dragging the reputation the White Whale Martial Arts Hall had built over many years through the mud.

If they actually gave in to him, it would truly chill the hearts of their thousands of disciples.

The members below would only think that the leaders of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall couldn’t distinguish right from wrong, practiced nepotism, and that the lower-ranking members deserved to be pushed around however they pleased.

If they blatantly set this precedent, then in the long run, what loyalty could the White Whale Martial Arts Hall possibly command?

Therefore, now, facing Elder Qin’s roars and shouts, even Grand Elder Chen, who was of the same faction, looked displeased. Elder Qin was putting him on the spot.

Because with Elder Qin’s roar, all eyes had gathered on him. Everyone wanted to see whether he would choose to save face or throw it away.

If he chose to be shameless, he would be standing against the collective honor of the White Whale Martial Arts Hall.

If he chose to preserve his dignity, there would be dissent within the Elder Council in the future.

It was a lose-lose situation.

Fortunately, Elder Chen lived up to the saying "old and cunning." After a moment of silent deliberation, he stood up, cupped his fist toward Qi Canghai, and said, "Grandmaster, the boy Nanchun was indeed in the wrong first. He has no one else to blame for this tribulation.

However, even if Nanchun was entirely in the wrong, isn’t this young brother Wu Dao also partially at fault?

If he had revealed his true strength beforehand, none of this would have happened today.

Therefore, this old man believes we should punish both sides equally. This is the only way to uphold the rules of our hall and appease the people."

His words, on the surface, seemed impartial and righteous. Someone not quick on the uptake could easily be fooled into thinking both parties were at fault.

But if one chewed on them and thought it over carefully, they would realize it was complete bullshit.

He was avoiding the main issue and engaging in moral blackmail!

It was just like the saying, "it takes two hands to clap"—utter nonsense.

So after Elder Chen finished speaking, many people in the crowd had strange expressions on their faces.

But the Grand Elder’s usual authority was second only to Qi Canghai’s, so no one dared to say anything.

This method of handling the situation, while still somewhat improper and sure to draw criticism, was much better than Elder Qin’s mad-dog-like screams to beat and kill.

Right now, it all depended on how Qi Canghai would handle it.

Wu Dao was completely unconcerned.

’I’m not shamelessly begging to join the White Whale Martial Arts Hall. If Qi Canghai’s judgment is unfair, I absolutely will not stick around to be mistreated. At worst, I’ll just take care of Elder Qin and then flee a thousand miles away. The world has more to offer than just the White Whale Martial Arts Hall.’

’However, that’s basically impossible.’

’Never mind that Elder Qin was the one in the wrong from the start; Qi Canghai himself is at odds with the Elder Council. He probably wishes for nothing more than for this group of tyrannical old geezers to suffer as much as possible. Why would he ever collude with them?’