After You Broke Off the Engagement, I Broke Through Twelve Realms in a Single Day! - Chapter 34:

Chapter 34: Gu Worm Martial Arts

The cold wind wailed, lifting the fallen leaves scattered across the ground.

Zhang Shouzheng’s white hair whipped wildly in the wind. His withered body stood tall and straight, like a divine sword drawn from its sheath. His true energy swept uncontrollably across dozens of kilometers, nearly leveling the surrounding steep mountains!

The nearby Martial Sovereigns all showed fear, their faces tense, afraid that this old man, in his final moments, would drag them down with him.

The Master of the Shouzhen Temple, who had been the loudest earlier, now hid the farthest away. His entire body was covered in dense golden light talismans, and he stood atop the fastest flying sword, ready to flee at any moment!

The Master of the Shouzhen Temple bitterly lamented in his heart.

Merciful Heaven, this old man was really about to explode!

Had he known this would happen, he wouldn’t have spoken so arrogantly. If Zhang Shouzheng targeted him, he feared he wouldn’t escape death.

He had already brought out his strongest defensive measures and, more cautious than ever, watched Zhang Shouzheng from a distance. If Zhang dared attack, he would immediately activate his flying sword, even if it meant being severely injured, to escape dozens of kilometers away.

Being crippled was better than being dragged into the grave and losing his life completely.

As a seasoned Martial Sovereign, he understood better than anyone how terrifying Zhang Shouzheng was.

The Master of the Golden Saber Sect looked at him with a mocking smile and teased, “Yo, Master of Shouzhen Temple, why are you wrapping yourself in so many layers? Weren’t you shouting the loudest just now? Why are you scared now?”

“Merciful Heaven, what do you know!”

The Master of the Shouzhen Temple chanted Daoist mantras, putting on an expression of great compassion. “We Daoists despise killing. I was merely joking with Dean Zhang earlier.”

“Besides, I only said he couldn’t kill us all before his true energy ran out. I didn’t say he couldn’t kill me. As the saying goes, ‘better his misfortune than mine.’ What’s wrong with me being cautious?”

His shameless justification made the nearby Martial Sovereigns all look on with disdain.

Fortunately, Zhang Shouzheng didn’t strike at him. At this moment, his cloudy eyes suddenly shone with piercing light, locking firmly onto the figure twenty zhang away clad in a robe embroidered with colorful worms.

“Swish!”

Without warning, Zhang Shouzheng pointed a finger at Ba Cha from a distance, his entire aura locking onto this traitorous disciple from Jishang Academy.

Ba Cha instantly broke into a cold sweat, his scalp tingling. He hurriedly summoned an [Iron Armor Gu] to shield himself.

Yet Zhang Shouzheng’s finger, from three thousand steps away, easily pierced the [Iron Armor Gu]—capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a 9th stage Martial Emperor—and drove through Ba Cha’s shoulder, blasting him hundreds of steps back. It even shattered the dark clouds stretching hundreds of meters behind him before dissipating.

“Poof!”

Ba Cha coughed up a mouthful of blood, staring in disbelief at the old man who had haunted him with fear for half his life.

Such a casual attack revealed just how terrifying Zhang Shouzheng’s strength was. The most frightening part was that even at the brink of death, he could still unleash such overwhelming power!

“What a monster. Even at death’s door, he’s still this fierce. No wonder he could dominate the martial world of five nations for three hundred years!”

The Master of the Shouzhen Temple’s pupils shrank violently, unable to suppress his amazement.

The Master of the Golden Saber Sect, who was gnawing on a lamb leg, chomped the bone and meat into his stomach before laughing heartily,

“Fantastic! I wish I could have fought him at his peak, even if it meant dying—it would be worth it!”

Even the Ancestor Huo Yun’s eyes ignited with two flames, his mind shaken.

“Father really didn’t lie. He truly is the greatest in the martial world of the five nations!”

Chu Huanhuan, seeing such a powerful Zhang Shouzheng for the first time, couldn’t help but clench her fists in excitement.

Then her gaze dimmed.

Unfortunately, she would never see this version of her father again.

Everyone present marveled at Zhang Shouzheng’s strength. Even the Emperor couldn’t help but applaud.

“Good! Yafu, hurry and kill these traitors for me!”

“Ba Cha,” Zhang Shouzheng’s voice was hoarse, “Back at Jishang Academy, I misjudged you, leading to today’s disaster. A master’s laxness is a fault. Today, I will personally teach you the third level of the [Heavenly Man Codex], so you can die with honor!”

Ba Cha grinned, showing his bloodstained, worm-toothed rotten teeth.

“Thank you for the lesson, Master, but I don’t believe the third level of the [Heavenly Man Codex] is stronger than the martial path I have now. Gu Dao is the only true path to immortality!”

From his sleeve crawled a translucent jade cicada, its wings covered in blood-red patterns.

“Like this Heart-Eater Cicada—it looks harmless but allowed Mistress to die without pain. Do you remember her look of disbelief when it severed the veins in her neck, the way she couldn’t even close her eyes in death? It was delightful.”

“Shut up!” Zhang Shouzheng roared, and his true energy erupted, crashing toward Ba Cha like a comet.

The old man’s withered right hand grasped at the air, and three ancient copper coins shot out from his sleeve.

They turned into streaks of light, targeting Ba Cha’s throat.

However, just three inches away, they suddenly stopped.

In that instant, countless [Corrosion Gu] worms, too small for the naked eye to see, formed a barrier, and the copper coins corroded and dissolved visibly.

“Master, still using your old tricks,” Ba Cha sighed and shook his head.

“Even the third level of the [Heavenly Man Codex] can’t overcome me as long as I have my Gu worms.”

He suddenly spread his arms, his worm robe flapping wildly.

“Today, I will show Master the martial path I created—Gu Master Martial Arts!”

With his crazed laughter, the sky suddenly darkened.

“Ssssss…”

“Rumble!!!”

First came the faint rustle, then thunderous roaring.

From Ba Cha’s sleeves, collar, even his pores, surged out a tide of worms like a black tsunami.

Countless types of Gu worms also flooded from the cracked earth and gloomy mountains!

The sky was obscured, the ground shook, and the sea of insects advanced in waves, destroying everything in their path.

The first to charge toward Zhang Shouzheng were the crimson [Burning Body Gu], leaving nothing alive in their wake, flowing like molten lava and incinerating everything.

Even the Ancestor Huo Yun, famed for his fire techniques, had to retreat temporarily.

“Ba Cha uses true energy to control Gu worms and created an entirely new martial path. Truly monstrous!”

Zhou Danxin had arrived at the battlefield at some point and marveled at the insect tide before her.

“Senior Zhou, can you tell me Ba Cha’s story?” Li Feng also grew curious about Ba Cha and asked her.

“Ba Cha only ever cultivated the [Heavenly Man Codex] to the second level—[Heaven and Man Resonance],” Zhou Danxin nodded slightly, her eyes flashing with reminiscence as she spoke.

“While at Jishang Academy, Ba Cha tried to steal the Codex. Mistress Chu Guanyue caught him. After being exposed, Ba Cha killed her in a sneak attack and fled to the Yun Empire.”

“Since then, he could only cultivate to the second level—[Heaven and Man Resonance].”

“However, Ba Cha had extraordinary talent. With only the second level, he carved out a unique martial path.”

“By mastering [Heaven and Man Resonance], he learned to communicate with Gu worms unique to the Yun Empire, gaining the ability to control them and absorb their traits.”

“Fifteen years later, he used one such trait from the [Accumulation Gu] to break into the Martial Sovereign Realm!”

“[Accumulation Gu] has a special trait—it can absorb and store a martial artist’s true energy and release it later to deliver unexpected attacks.”

“Based on this, Ba Cha first stored his own true energy in billions of [Accumulation Gu] worms, and when he reached the 9th stage Martial Emperor Realm, he absorbed all that energy back, breaking through the barrier to become a Martial Sovereign by an alternative method!”

“After tasting success, Ba Cha became even more obsessed with studying Gu Martial Arts.”

“Different Gu worms have different abilities, and even the weakest can unleash unimaginable power if used properly.”

“Eventually, Ba Cha built an army of Gu worms, as terrifying as a tide of demons, carving out territory for the Yun Empire comparable to that of the Great Qing Empire, becoming the greatest threat in the eyes of neighboring countries!”