Lei Gangyang's fist was caught head-on by Jiang Chen with a solid, unyielding block. This left him quite surprised, and though fury boiled in his heart, his fighting spirit surged even higher.
He let out a long roar: "That first punch was just an appetizer. Try taking ten or eight more!"
The instant the roar erupted, heaven and earth changed color, and the sun and moon lost their light.
Lei Gangyang's hands crisscrossed as fist energy surged violently. Countless fist shadows burst forth like geysers erupting, transforming into a sky full of blazing suns. In that instant, it was as though a meteor shower were crashing down, turning the air into a rain of fire.
The fist energy was so dense that it sealed off virtually every avenue of retreat.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Chen's expression remained calm, his mind free of dust or blemish, clear as a polished mirror.
He pushed his Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil to its absolute limit, opening all Seven Apertures Spiritual Resonance. In a single thought, he had seen through the true essence of the entire barrage of fists.
His feet shifting in the Astral Steps, Jiang Chen's arms blurred like shuttles as he threw punch after punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jiang Chen's fists blew through the attacks like snuffing out candles—one punch, one out; one punch, one out. In the span of a single breath, the sky full of fiery fist energy had been utterly shattered by Jiang Chen, scattering into fragments that fell limply to the ground.
"I kept my word and gave you a ten-move head start."
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, his face still carrying that same composure, that same ease.
Lei Gangyang was genuinely frustrated this time.
That last technique had been the strongest attack of his Great Sun Thunderclap Hand—the fist energy took physical form, locking down all space. Once caught within it, one could only be trapped inside the attack's range, battered to death by the fist energy, scorched by the lightning, and then incinerated to ash by the fire elemental force.
Yet the scene he had envisioned never materialized.
His opponent had met fist with fist, using fist technique to overwhelm fist technique, smashing his prized Great Sun Thunderclap Hand to pieces in one fell swoop.
Even someone as confident as Lei Gangyang was shaken to his core in that moment.
This was one of his most celebrated signature techniques. Though it wasn't yet his trump card, in terms of raw physical devastation, he was certain that even Long Juxue wouldn't dare face it head-on.
Yet this damnable worldly prodigy had met him fist for fist and dismantled his technique completely.
In truth, it wasn't that Lei Gangyang lacked strength, nor that the Great Sun Thunderclap Hand was a poor technique. Rather, every aspect of this fist art happened to be countered by Jiang Chen himself.
The Great Sun Thunderclap Hand was fundamentally rooted in Lei Gangyang's body of flame and lightning.
One aspect was the power of the blazing sun. The other was the power of lightning.
But Jiang Chen's defenses paid no heed to these supplementary attacks. How could the power of the blazing sun breach the armor of the Scarlet-Scaled Fire Lizard? Not only had it failed to wound Jiang Chen, most of it had been absorbed.
As for lightning—if it had been Jiang Chen of a few months ago, he might well have feared it. But ever since refining the Golden Cicada Thundercloud Wood, his body had long grown immune to the might of ordinary lightning.
So, to Jiang Chen, the supplementary attacks of this fist technique were nothing but empty talk. All that remained was the raw force of the fist energy itself.
And as for that kind of physical attack—how much of a threat could it really pose to Jiang Chen?
Seeing the turn of events on the arena platform, even someone as composed as Long Juxue couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly. For the longest time, she had firmly believed that she was a Innately Perfect Body. Once she entered the sect, it would be like a dragon returning to the sea or a tiger entering the mountains—she would soar to the heavens in a single bound, leaving everyone else far in the dust.
As for Jiang Chen, Long Juxue had looked down on him even more, believing that without sect resources, even if he had made some progress, it would be nowhere near enough to threaten her. He didn't even qualify to make her lift a finger personally.
Yet, only now did she realize she was wrong—terribly wrong.
If the deaths and maimings of the likes of He Yan and Hai Tian at Jiang Chen's hands hadn't caused the slightest ripple in Long Juxue's heart, then Chu Xinghan's defeat had already given her a small measure of surprise.
And today's battle—Jiang Chen had actually been so dominant, smashing through Lei Gangyang's fist technique head-on.
On this point alone, even Long Juxue had to admit she probably couldn't have done the same. She knew full well that Lei Gangyang was unmatched in close-quarters physical combat.
If it came to a fist-against-fist brawl, she, Long Juxue, would lose badly.
But Jiang Chen could go fist-to-fist with Lei Gangyang and actually suppress him.
Did this not mean that Jiang Chen's physical combat ability surpassed even Lei Gangyang's?
In that moment, Long Juxue shed every last shred of her prior contempt and finally began to seriously consider the matter. She had finally come to recognize that Jiang Chen's challenge to her was no empty boast.
This Jiang Chen had absolutely come prepared. His goal was to face her, Long Juxue, right here on this arena and compete for supremacy!
"Jiang Chen, you wretched thing—I, Long Juxue, truly underestimated you. Fine. If you had no strength at all, there would be no sport in tormenting you to death. The stronger you are, the more exhilarating it will be when I do. But before that happens, this young lady wants to see just how you get past Lei Gangyang first!"
Long Juxue was very clear on Lei Gangyang's strength. The Solar Thunder Fist was merely one of his martial techniques. As the former foremost disciple of the sect, Lei Gangyang naturally had plenty of hidden cards up his sleeve.
Sure enough, after his fury peaked, a cold, faint smile crept onto the corner of Lei Gangyang's mouth. He reached out with both hands, and a broad black sword materialized in his grasp.
The blade was three fingers wide, its edge as long as the arm of a grown man.
With this sword in hand, Lei Gangyang's entire aura surged to double its former intensity.
Channeling his spiritual energy, purple ripples immediately condensed along the surface of the black sword, swirling ceaselessly around the broad blade like countless violet serpents.