Just as Ye Fan's fist was about to land on Tian Yongheng, he was suddenly stopped, looking incredulously at his forearm tightly gripped by Tian Yongheng. No matter how he tried to shake off the other party, the bloodied figure of Tian Yongheng didn't budge in the slightest.
The next instance, Tian Yongheng's crimson red eyes glowed with a shimmering golden light, unknown strength seeping into his broken body as he clenched his right fist previously broken and threw a blow right to Ye Fan's face.
*Wham!*
Ye Fan stumbled a few feet back, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and nose. Had he been a ordinary person, this blow would have likely cracked his skull.
*Whoosh!*
With the sound of air being ripped apart, Tian Yongheng's figure flashed past his eyes. By the time he reacted, he felt agonizing pain spread through his body and looked down to see Tian Yongheng's fist landing on his abdomen.
*Bang!*
Ye Fan was blown away from the impact like a broken kite, crashing onto a tree more than ten meters away as he slid down from the trunk. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he looked down only to find that his shirt had been ripped open on the place where Tian Yongheng punched him and a bloody wound appeared on his skin.
At that moment, he felt it. His bones had cracked and internal organs were shaken from that single strike. A hateful, almost jealous expression appeared on his face as he gnashed his teeth, speaking word by word.
"This bastard... Just a mere mortal...and yet... because of that damn physique..!"
Ye Fan stood up slowly, ignoring the pain spreading throughout his body. He clenched his fist, explosive strength running through his veins. He was no longer going to hold back.
In an instant, he disappeared from his original position and directly appeared right above Tian Yongheng's still, dazed form.
Ye Fan clutched his fists together and raised them up in the air, using all his strength to slam down like canon. He was certain that even the strongest of mortals would turn into meat paste if this strike landed on them successfully.
However, at that very moment, Tian Yongheng seemed to have come out of his dazed state and looked up, flashing him a cold and ruthless glare before vanishing on the spot.
*Bang!*
Ye Fan's fists landed on empty ground, cracks spreading across several meters of the surrounding area as stone and concrete was shattered, raising dust.
As the dust cleared, what came into view was a huge crater over 10 feet in diameter and 4 feet deep, with spider web like cracks spread throughout several meters and no trace of Tian Yongheng.
Ye Fan was fuming with rage, but just then, Tian Yongheng's crimson red eyes flashing with golden light appeared in front of him. His hands and legs moved incredibly fast, barraging Ye Fan with attacks from all sides.
*Bam!* *Bam!* *Bam!*
Ye Fan had no chance to fight back at all and could only passively defend himself, raising his forearms in front of him in a defensive stance. The air crackled with every blow, sending waves of shockwaves through the surroundings.
"Tell me... What did you do...! And why...!?"
Tian Yongheng's voice, teeming with rage, echoed through the abandoned building, an inconceivable fury and even a little fear seeping into his mind.
He was afraid because the strength displayed by Ye Fan was far beyond human bounds, and he was even more so surprised of his own sudden strength. He just felt that the world seemed to have become more clear at this moment and he held endless power surging through his body.
Yet, if his parents or younger sister were to encounter a person like Ye Fan...
The consequences would be too dire. There was no saying that they could also erupt with explosive strength like himself at a critical moment.
At this thought, Tian Yongheng became even more anxious. He didn't want to die, but he also didn't want his loved ones to die either.
At that moment, Wang Xiaomei suddenly appeared behind Tian Yongheng, her eyes cold as she gripped a exquisitely crafted black dagger in her hand, it's tip glistening with a silver light. A strange, ethereal energy enveloped it, clearly not an ordinary weapon.
She was surprised that Tian Yongheng was still alive despite sustaining such heavy injuries and actually fighting on par with Ye Fan as just a mere mortal.
"No wonder... The awakened Five-Elemental Spiritual Body is truly extraordinary, capable of fighting Immortal Cultivators as a mortal body..."
Wang Xiaomei muttered under her breath before a ruthless, indifferent look appeared in her eyes. She finally understood how Tian Yongheng had managed to stay alive and hold on until now, which gave her even more of a reason to kill him.
Seeing her, Ye Fan immediately began to counterattack, no longer caring about the hits landing on his body as he managed to push Tian Yongheng away, towards Wang Xiaomei.
Tian Yongheng, who was entirely focused on Ye Fan, did not notice Wang Xiaomei behind him at all. She raised the dagger and struck down, stabbing through Tian Yongheng's shoulder, carving a deep wound on his back.
Feeling the sudden sensation of pain on his back, he was momentarily distracted which led to Ye Fan taking the advantage and striking him on the chest with a heavy palm strike, sending him rolling on the ground before he crashed onto a wall.
*Wham!*
As he tried to get up, he felt a stinging pain spreading throughout his entire body, his bones were shattered, his muscles torn apart, and internal organs damaged. It was a miracle he was still alive at this point.
Yet, he was still about to die, without even knowing why. He didn't want to die.
His previous strength seemed to be completely drained at this point, and he couldn't even utter a single sentence from his mouth right now.
Why did they have to do this? What was the purpose? Why me and my family, of all people?
A barrage of questions arose in his heart.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get the answers to any of them.
His consciousness was fading away, and all he could think of were the last time he saw the people closest to him before the faces of Ye Fan and Wang Xiaomei appeared in his mind. His spirit burned with immeasurable hatred at this moment.
"This guy is really tough. Even before stepping onto the path of Immortal Cultivation, he's still so powerful just after awakening that accursed Five-Elemental Spiritual Body at the last moment. I'm already at the Second Level of Acupoint Opening Stage, and my true strength far surpasses even Third Level Acupoint Opening cultivators. Yet, he was able to not only keep up with me, but even suppress me. If it weren't for you, I would have had to flee right now. I owe you for this one."
Ye Fan squinted his eyes, looking at the near death state of Tian Yongheng before turning away to speak to Wang Xiaomei.
"He really deserved the title of supreme genius in the previous timeline, attaining the Tribulation Transcendence Realm before ten thousand years of age. The most dazzling genius of the Spirit Qi Revival Era, now reduced to such a state before the glorious age even began. It's just a pity..."
Wang Xiaomei spoke with lingering Regret before her eyes gleamed with coldness, looking at Tian Yongheng's bloodied form with a hint of disdain.
Tian Yongheng couldn't make out whatever they were saying, but he heard two words extremely clearly.
Immortal Cultivation.
He felt a pang of bitterness rising in his heart, knowing that he could never walk this path even after knowing of it now.
Perhaps, if there is a next life... I would like to become the strongest cultivator the world has ever seen, transcend space and time, and come back to this world to help the current version of myself...
Slowly, his body began to turn cold as his consciousness gradually faded away.
His soul, golden in color and exuding a divine light from its depths, exited his body and flew across realms and dimensions on its own.
...
Netherworld, Hall of Souls.
A golden soul flowed inside of the hall exuding a powerful, deathly aura before lining up along with countless souls. Most of these souls were gray in color, which was the norm, but there were also souls that were red, blue, green, or even golden in color.
However, even the golden souls did not have the divine light that exuded from depths of Tian Yongheng's. There was a clear difference.
When the surrounding Yin Soldiers and Ghost Immortals noticed the strange sbnormality of Tian Yongheng's soul, they exchanged glances.
None of them had seen how this soul got here. Yin Soldiers were the ones who usually went to the realm of the living to retrieve the souls of the dead, otherwise, if they were even a bit late, the soul might become an evil spirit. But it seemed none of the ones present had gone to pick it up this time, and it had naturally gotten to the Netherworld all on its own.
Such a thing, most of them had never even heard of it, much less seen it with their own eyes.
No one dared to think further, and someone hurriedly contacted a high level official of the Netherworld.
It seemed that this soul was extremely special, and it would be a disaster if they did something rash.