Chapter 65: A Torrent of Divine Power

A strong stench of blood permeated the heavens and the earth.

Terrifying force exploded midair; surging winds burst forth, shattering swirling snowflakes into countless powdery fragments!

A hulking, bear-like figure crashed down, slamming into the cleared blue stone pavement.

Gushing blood flowed out, spreading like an ever-growing puddle.

Zhao Xuanhai knelt on one knee as a fine iron spear pierced his chest, ripping his flesh apart and sending shards of meat and bone flying.

Xu Ji Eight-Link Bone-Shattering Spear…

One thrust shattered Zhao Xuanhai’s flesh and bone!

His prized boa sinews and tiger bones were brutally torn asunder; the overwhelming force of the Ogre was far more terrifying than that of the martial fighter himself.

It was unstoppable…

Zhao Xuanhai realized his fate was sealed.

From the moment he stepped into the alley, the instant the arrows locked onto him, he knew his end had come.

One wrong step, and there was no turning back.

Blood dripped unceasingly as Zhao Xuanhai raised his hand to grasp the fine iron spear; his mask was shattered, and his lips, teeth, mouth, and nose bled profusely as heavy, ragged breaths escaped him.

But the Ogre’s dominating aura surged into him, ravaging his meridians and upsetting the balance of his internal organs…

He couldn’t even summon the power of 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】.

Divine Foundation Fragment… the Old Master of the Si Family’s Divine Foundation Fragment!

That higher-level divine power completely suppressed him.

Step by step, it dragged him toward the abyss of death.

Zhao Xuanhai gritted his teeth and fixed his gaze on the Ogre, desperate to catch a glimpse of the face behind the Cute Cow Mask.

“Who… exactly are you?”

With a hoarse, heavy voice, Zhao Xuanhai mustered his last strength to ask.

Yet the Ogre remained icy cold.

“Hell will give you the answer,” it replied.

Thud!

The fine iron spear was suddenly yanked free, carrying a billowing mist of blood as countless droplets exploded outward.

With a slicing sound, the spear clutched by the Ogre swept across Zhao Xuanhai’s massive, unseeing head, cleaving it off without hesitation.

The severed head, clinging to matted black hair like a ragged ball, tumbled across the ground in several rotations.

Li Che regarded the fallen Zhao Xuanhai with cold detachment, his emotions unmoved.

Although Zhao Xuanhai was an Imperial officer and one of the three greatest constables, it hardly mattered.

Besides, he was also a master of the Lingying Sect.

With that, Li Che felt no hesitation in ending his life—indeed, he experienced an unprecedented exhilaration in doing so!

Unblocking the meridians!

Nurturing life like a river!

Ever since the day Zhao Xuanhai, one of the three great constables, failed his forced conscription, his presence had loomed over Li Che like a mountain—until now…

That burden was severed with a single blow, leaving Li Che feeling remarkably light, his muscles and bones resonating with pure exhilaration.

And this was achieved without resorting to his six-thousand-shot Nanmu Gatling, nor his poison-infused Guanyin Blood Lotus or devious Sleeve Crossbow—purely through his martial prowess and divine cultivation.

Delight filled him.

Squatting down, Li Che searched Zhao Xuanhai’s body with practiced precision.

Unexpectedly, he discovered a Qian Kun Jade within the corpse—the very trinket he had once snatched from Si Mu Bai.

Li Che’s eyes lit up in amazement as he instinctively absorbed the Qian Kun Jade into his Pure Heart’s spatial pocket.

They say one Qian Kun Jade cannot contain another, but the refined space of his Pure Heart knew no such limits.

Gazing at Zhao Xuanhai’s body, as if recalling the exquisite sensation of absorbing a constable’s divine power for the first time, Li Che raised his hand and a jade-colored aura began to flow along his arm.

It pressed against the brow of Zhao Xuanhai’s severed head.

The inner world of his core burst to life, unleashing a torrent of divine power.

Like a river bursting through a dam, it surged wildly!

Huh?

Suddenly, a subtle stirring moved within Li Che’s heart.

Inside his chest, the Chess Sage Dao Fruit pulsed gently, as if forming a unique bond with his nascent divine techniques and Thousand Analysis Hand.

Originally, Li Che’s Thousand Analysis Hand could only absorb a limited amount of divine power—too much would exceed its capacity.

But with the Chess Sage Dao Fruit intervening…

Zhao Xuanhai’s life-nurturing 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 divine power was being drawn off continuously by Li Che.

Once his Thousand Analysis Hand reached its limit, the power would be transformed by the Chess Sage Dao Fruit into a black divine chess piece, landing squarely on the board.

Every single piece carried within it the 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 divine power.

Li Che never expected… that the Chess Sage Dao Fruit would have such an effect!

It didn’t feel like a conventional Dao Fruit at all.

Li Che reached out with his suspended fingertips.

In an instant, a black chess piece materialized between his fingers.

Sweeping gusts of energy surged forth, ruffling his dark hair.

With a sudden clench, the black chess piece was crushed to dust in his palm!

Boom!

A surge of heat rushed through his entire body in an instant…

A flash of crimson glimmered in Li Che’s eyes for a brief moment!

The 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 divine power erupted in a massive burst!

He could, at will, shatter the chess piece and convert the 【Fen Nu Mi Tuo】 divine power for his own use!

What a marvel his Chess Sage Dao Fruit was!

This meant that any divine cultivator could potentially serve as his power bank!

In high spirits, Li Che continued to absorb divine power with his Thousand Analysis Hand—drawing the life-nurturing energy that Zhao Xuanhai had amassed over decades. In roughly fifteen minutes, he drained it all.

It all materialized into eighteen black chess pieces.

“Nurturing life like a river… did it only yield eighteen chess pieces?”

Li Che murmured.

Or perhaps other cultivators practicing ‘Nurturing Life Like a River’ might produce even more divine chess pieces?

“Depending on the path of divine cultivation, even under ‘Nurturing Life Like a River,’ the magnitude of the river can vary…”

After reconstituting the crushed divine power into chess pieces and storing them away, Li Che adjusted his cap and, in the next moment, clenched Zhao Xuanhai’s body and head in his fist.

Gazing toward the snow-swept alley entrance, a smirk played on his lips.

With a heavy step and nine thick tendons roaring like a dragon, an overwhelming force burst forth, launching Zhao Xuanhai’s massive, bear-like corpse…

completely hurling it away.

…

…

The Xu Family’s carriage was quietly parked at a corner of Long Street, roughly thirty zhang from the Private Workshop Courtyard where Li Che resided.

A distance undetectable by a cultivator of ‘Nurturing Life Like a River’ wouldn’t arouse Zhao Xuanhai’s suspicions.

Snowflakes fell from the sky, rustling against the top of the carriage.

Xu Helil and Xu Beihu sat inside, brewing and sipping tea.

The boiling water in the carbon stove began to bubble as verdant tea leaves were poured in, their aroma rising in steamy tendrils and blooming into a lively green hue.

Hot water cascaded into the teacup, swirling along its walls.

Warmth filled the carriage.

Growing restless, Xu Beihu occasionally lifted the curtain to peek outside.

Xu Helil, however, remained calm, leaning back against a plush goose-down cushion as he read his book.

Reading, sipping tea, and awaiting the fruits of battle—it was all so congenial.

Suddenly, Xu Beihu’s breath hitched; his hand froze mid-motion as he stared in disbelief at the corpse hurled from the alley, arcing through the air before crashing onto the blue stone pavement and kicking up a flurry of snow dust.

“Who?”

Xu Helil asked.

Xu Beihu turned his head stiffly, dropping the curtain as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

“Zhao Xuanhai…”

“Dead. Thrown out—a body dumped on Long Street—and now it’s drawing a crowd, causing a commotion.”

Xu Beihu’s voice was hoarse and laden with bitterness.

Zhao Xuanhai had acted on some tip and headed to that alley to capture Li Che, the newly acclaimed woodcarving master.

But in the end, the woodcarving master eluded him.

He ended up losing his own life.

One constable was dead!

This was…

Big trouble!

Xu Helil’s expression shifted as he abruptly dropped his book, strapped on his sword, and dashed out of the carriage.

Divine power radiated about him as he moved silently over the snow, taking giant strides that spanned thirty zhang and effortlessly bypassed Zhao Xuanhai’s headless, chest-pierced corpse.

He landed at the alley entrance, with wind and snow swirling around him.

Xu Helil gripped his sword hilt tightly, his gaze fixed on the depths of the alley.

Deep within the alley.

A hulking figure clad in black, wearing a cap and hidden behind a Cute Cow Mask!

He regarded him calmly, as if…

as if he had long been waiting in the wings.

Thus, silently…

waiting for him.

“Ogre… Ogre… who exactly are you?”

Xu Helil lost all composure, his eyes narrowing as he charged forward.

But the Ogre stepped forward, sending a blast of white snow into the air that formed a cascading curtain, blurring the view.

When the snowy cascade subsided,

the Ogre had vanished into thin air!

Even Xu Helil’s divine sense couldn’t detect any trace of the Ogre’s disappearance!

Gone again?!

Xu Helil gripped his sword tightly, his eyes steely as he leaned forward, slicing through the wind.

He charged furiously toward Li Che’s Private Workshop courtyard!

Is it him?

Is it really him?!

PS: Please continue reading! Today is the day for the PK against Sanjiang. Old Li earnestly requests everyone to read until the very end—let’s see those top-page rankings. Go, go, go!