Chapter 158 Body Rupture

Until his cultivation realm broke through to the early stage of the First-Grade Bone-Refining Realm, having successfully tempered thirty-two bones in his lower limbs, Yang Ze was finally able to unleash a fraction of the Blood-Shattering Saber's true might, no longer wielding this superior-grade lethal weapon like a blunt instrument to hack away blindly as he did in the past.

As a single saber strike descended right toward him, Yu Haibiao remained entirely calm without a shred of panic, a sinister grin spreading across his filth-covered face.

The very next instant, Yu Haibiao thrust his right palm forward. The turbulent aura of blood and vitality surging within his body dispersed instantly with the force of this palm strike, colliding head-on with Yang Ze's incoming blade.

The razor-sharp saber Qi and the pungent aura of blood clashed violently against each other. Yang Ze instantly felt a formidable shockwave rebound through his hands, causing the Blood-Shattering Saber to emit a resonant humming vibration.

Gritting his teeth, Yang Ze dared not let go. The muscles in his right arm gripping the saber trembled slightly, and shadows gradually began to morph and materialize along the blade's body.

"Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber, Twelve Transformations!" Twelve distinct saber phantoms materialized along the blade, fully energized as they slashed toward Yu Haibiao.

Yu Haibiao's expression remained indifferent. He retracted his right hand and struck out once more with a fierce, howling gale of palm wind that froze the twelve saber phantoms mid-air, rendering them completely unable to advance an inch.

With an enraged roar, Yang Ze tensed his right arm and swung the long saber in a complete circle, unexpectedly generating four additional saber phantoms. These merged with the previously halted twelve, forming a total of sixteen saber phantoms that jointly empowered that single stream of saber Qi, causing it to swell several-fold in size.

With malevolent Qi concentrated heavily upon the blade energy, Yang Ze let out a mighty roar, driving this formidable stream of saber Qi to tear open a gap in the turbulent aura of blood before slashing directly downward.

Until this very moment, Yu Haibiao's expression finally showed a ripple of agitation. His left hand made a grabbing motion, unleashing a powerful suction force from his palm that drew the six test subjects directly toward him to form a human shield right in front of his body.

No sooner had he completed this maneuver than the torrent of saber Qi cleaved downward. With a deafening boom, the saber Qi swept outward, instantly shattering four of the six test subjects into powder, while the remaining two were shredded into a bloody, unrecognizable mess of flying flesh.

Enduring the severe exhaustion gripping his body, Yang Ze channeled the lingering true Qi left within his Dantian. The saber momentum surged once more, and he delivered one final, decisive slash.

The lingering force from his previous strike had not yet dissipated, and it was now drawn in by Yang Ze's fresh attack. The residual pressure of the saber Qi surged anew, continuing its descent to strike Yu Haibiao directly.

Boom!

A destructive shockwave swept outward, tearing away a layer of earth and kicking up a storm of dust. Yang Ze could no longer hold his ground; caught in the shockwave, his entire body was blasted backward through the air.

He slammed hard into the ground and tumbled a great distance, coughing up mouthfuls of fresh blood. His once-ruddy complexion turned deathly pale, yet he managed to push himself up by leaning on the Blood-Shattering Saber.

This was the first time since his secluded cultivation that he had unleashed his full strength, even employing the Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber technique he had only recently mastered.

Do not underestimate that final strike of his. It had drained fully ninety percent of the true essence and bone-refining power within his body just to barely pull it off. Furthermore, Yang Ze's bone-refining power was far superior to that of ordinary First-Grade martial artists; the sheer might of that slash had already reached the perfection level of the Bone-Refining Realm.

A wave of excitement stirred within Yang Ze's heart. Choosing this Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber technique back then had indeed been the right decision; the terrifying power of this saber art did not disappoint him.

Just like martial arts and cultivation techniques, his Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber was classified in the Scripture Pavilion as a Profound-grade low-tier martial art.

The reason it was rated as a Profound-grade low-tier martial art was because the technique was incomplete. The only portion accessible to him was on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, which contained merely the first half of the Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber. According to the records within the manual, combining both the upper and lower halves would yield a complete Profound-grade high-tier martial art.

However, because the Misty Martial Academy only possessed the first half of the Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber, such a powerful Profound-grade martial art was relegated to the first floor. After all, cultivating an incomplete martial art carried a high risk of deviation.

The Earth-Fiend Astral Qi Saber contained seventy-two distinct transformations. The upper half obtained by Yang Ze contained thirty-six transformations, and mastering even these thirty-six required at least the cultivation realm of the Blood-Condensation Realm's perfection stage.

Moving further down, for a martial artist in the First-Grade Bone-Refining Realm, executing twelve transformations was already the absolute limit.

The reason Yang Ze was able to unleash sixteen transformations this time was twofold. First, his foundation was exceptionally formidable; his foundation at the early stage of the Bone-Refining Realm was in no way inferior to a martial artist at the perfection stage of the same realm. Second, the saber technique was incomplete, lacking the specific formulas required to refine and smelt earth-fiend energies, which slightly reduced its overall destructive power while simultaneously lowering the difficulty of executing it.

Even so, this saber technique remained Yang Ze's strongest trump card. Facing an enemy as formidable as Yu Haibiao, he had not hesitated for a second to unleash it, hoping solely to halt Yu Haibiao in his tracks.

As Yang Ze stood there unsteadily, pulling a Qi-Restoration Pill from his storage bag to replenish his true essence, a cold laugh echoed from the epicenter of the explosion right across from him.

"I truly underestimated you. It seems you are no ordinary outer sect disciple within the Misty Martial Academy to possess such power while only in the early stage of the Bone-Refining Realm.

"My combat capability was severely crippled while deep in my cultivation state, allowing me to muster only the battle strength of the Bone-Refining Realm's perfection stage, which almost caused me to fall into your trap. However, since you destroyed my test subjects, the cultivation energy I had injected into their bodies has returned to me, restoring my strength to its peak. But at the same time, my remaining life force has begun to drain rapidly. I shall drain you right now to prolong my life for a little longer!"

The moment those words fell, Yu Haibiao's body lunged forward. Within the span of a few breaths, he was standing directly before Yang Ze, his cultivation realm at the late stage of the Second-Grade Blood-Condensation Realm now fully and unreservedly displayed.

Yang Ze's heart sank. Having suffered heavy injuries, his reaction time was severely sluggish, and he only managed to react when Yu Haibiao was right upon him. He raised the Blood-Shattering Saber horizontally to block, but the very next instant, his body was sent flying like a cannonball.

Pain—Yang Ze felt as though his internal organs were vibrating in agony. It was just a single punch; if not for the extraordinary nature of the Blood-Shattering Saber blocking the bizarre force embedded within Yu Haibiao's fist, he likely would have perished on the spot.

Yu Haibiao withdrew his right fist and looked down at Yang Ze sprawled upon the ground, saying with a hint of surprise, "As expected of a superior-grade lethal weapon, this blade saved your life just now. But that is the end of it. Once I drain you dry, everything you possess will belong to me."

Taking a step forward, Yu Haibiao unleashed his turbulent aura of blood and vitality, lunging his right hand straight toward the crown of Yang Ze's head.

In this moment of grave crisis, Yang Ze did not hesitate. He executed the Exploding Qi Leg technique, kicking out with an explosive blast against the ground that propelled him sideways in a flash of motion.

Yet no sooner had he dodged than Yu Haibiao's figure pursued him relentlessly, closing the distance instantly. Slamming his right hand directly into Yang Ze's back, Yu Haibiao inflicted a devastating blow that sent Yang Ze crashing violently toward the entrance of Eagle-Beak Ravine.

Even with Yang Ze's sturdy physical body, enduring so many consecutive attacks proved to be his limit. His internal organs were displaced, and under this final impact, his meridians were torn apart.

This time, Yang Ze could not even manage to stand. Watching Yang Ze collapsed upon the ground, Yu Haibiao grinned hideously, lunging forward to grab his prey.

At this very moment of life and death, a streak of white light suddenly shot forth from high above Eagle-Beak Ravine, descending into the sky above the ravine. The white light spun rapidly before revealing its true form—it was a round disc.

The moment the disc appeared, the expression on Yu Haibiao's face shifted dramatically. Abandoning his attack, he abruptly pivoted his body and attempted to flee toward the opposite end of Eagle-Beak Ravine.

However, the disc began to spin, emitting several streams of white light that shot outward like chains, wrapping tightly around Yu Haibiao's body and binding him securely.

Charging forward as he was, Yu Haibiao had no means of escape against this white light; he was instantly captured, struggling desperately in a futile attempt to break free from the glowing bonds.

Yet the harder he struggled, the more intensely the white light poured out, enveloping him completely and forcing agonizing cries of torment from his lips.

"Practicing evil arts and clinging to a wretched existence—let us see where you think you can escape today." Instructor Li's voice echoed from outside Eagle-Beak Ravine, followed shortly by his appearance within the ravine, accompanied by Pan Fang and the others.

Yang Ze breathed a sigh of relief, stowing away the item hidden in his left hand. Moments ago, he had been on the brink of falling victim to Yu Haibiao's deadly assault and had even intended to deploy the life-saving artifact given to him by Ning Teng. Fortunately, Li He had arrived in time, sparing him from wasting such a precious treasure.

Upon catching sight of Li He, Yu Haibiao's expression turned instantly frantic as he shouted in horror, "A Fourth-Grade Unity Realm expert!"

As he screamed, several flesh tumors on his left arm burst open, instantly multiplying his strength severalfold. A circle of grayish-green light erupted from the surface of his skin, managing to shatter and cast off a portion of the binding white light.

Witnessing this scene, Li He let out a cold snort. Pinching a hand seal with his right hand, he directed streams of true essence into the disc hovering in mid-air. The disc vibrated, raining down an even greater volume of white light that forcefully suppressed Yu Haibiao once more.

"Struggling even when death is at your doorstep! Tell me where you acquired this evil art, and I might grant you a swift death," Li He rebuked coldly.

Yu Haibiao's expression contorted in struggle. He suddenly opened his mouth as if attempting to speak, but before a single word could escape, his body violently withered and curled inward. The next instant, he exploded entirely, extinguishing the surrounding white light in a shockwave of blood.

Sensing the abnormal changes within Yu Haibiao's body beforehand, Li He had moved to intervene, but he was a fraction of a second too late. Yu Haibiao had ultimately chosen self-detonation, leaving behind nothing more than a pool of bloody slush upon the ground.

With a dark expression, Li He murmured, "It seems the person who gave Yu Haibiao this evil art prepared for this long ago; the moment Yu Haibiao showed signs of failure, they silenced him completely."

Hearing this, one of the outer sect disciples nearby asked in astonishment, "Does Instructor mean that Yu Haibiao was murdered?"

"Naturally. To practice such an evil art, turning oneself into a grotesque monster and ultimately being manipulated to one's death—Yu Haibiao was truly a fool to dare collude with the people of the Absolute God Cult," Li He declared. Hearing these words, Yang Ze cast a surprised glance toward Li He.