Chapter 257: Starfire Guidance, Nine Heavens Battle

Wang Yin's "Overturning Heaven Stance" was the most devastating move within his "World-Shattering Fist" technique. Its subtlety lay in the ability of his fist to use his own magical energy to incite and resonate with the enemy's internal magical energy, ultimately causing both internal and external damage. This method, which used the opponent's own magical energy against them internally, was not only incredibly powerful but also impossible to defend against, proving particularly effective at breaking through various defensive martial arts.

He had held back from using the "Overturning Heaven Stance" in earlier fights for one simple reason.

“Don't kill them.”

“How can we sell him for a good price if he's dead?”

“Crippling him too badly isn't good either; healing costs money.”

Unlike Zhang Yu, who was completely absorbed in the fight, Wang Yin's perspective was different. For Wang Yin, this wasn't a battle at all, but merely a segment of his work. His combat decisions were driven by the company's profit margins, not the fight itself. After all, this fight, for him...

“Victory is assured, so the key is to win impressively, create promotional value, and maximize profits.”

“Without the full support of his cultivation technique, the 'Overturning Heaven Stance' wouldn't be at its strongest, but it was perfectly adequate for handling Zhang Yu.”

Wang Yin's fist erupted, carrying immense vital energy, and struck Zhang Yu squarely in the chest. Amidst explosive cracks, the air around them shattered. The ground beneath their feet instantly buckled and cratered under the terrifying force of the impact, as if crushed by a mountain.

As Wang Yin watched his fist press into Zhang Yu's chest muscles, sternum, and internal organs, feeling the opponent's flesh gradually give way under his fist, he was surprised, thinking, “This guy… is all offense, no defense? Has he completely given up on defending himself?”

Simultaneously, a surge of fierce martial energy, unleashed by Wang Yin's punch, surged into Zhang Yu's chest, sweeping through his entire body with destructive force. Wang Yin then discovered Zhang Yu's body was completely devoid of energy; there wasn't a single trace of magical energy to resist. No magical energy meant the "Overturning Heaven Stance" couldn't trigger the enemy's own energy, thus preventing it from achieving its maximum destructive potential.

“This guy knows the secret of the 'Overturning Heaven Stance', so he simply abandoned his defense, not even leaving a shred of magical energy.”

“Hmph, that old devil Xinghuo must have told him, didn't he?”

Amidst a series of explosive bangs and the fierce assault of vital energy, bursts of blood mist erupted all over Zhang Yu's body.

“Even without unleashing the 'Overturning Heaven Stance's' full power, this single blow is enough to gravely injure you.” Wang Yin sneered inwardly, “And this opportunity you gained by risking your life couldn't possibly injure me… What?!”

Almost the instant Wang Yin's "Overturning Heaven Stance" landed a heavy blow on Zhang Yu, wisps of milky-white mist suddenly appeared before him. It was the Formless Cloud Aura. But how could the Formless Cloud Aura bypass the Blood Shadow and appear before him? The next instant, a hand suddenly broke through the layers of blood shadow and shot out, grabbing towards Wang Yin's face. Behind that hand was Zhang Yu, his gaze icy.

“Got you.”

As he felt the hand break through the Blood Shadow and reach out to him, Wang Yin found it inconceivable. Just an hour and a half earlier, without Bai Zhenzhen's help, Zhang Yu had been utterly helpless against his Nether Blood Shadow Veil, yet now he had instantly breached the artifact.

“When did this happen?” Wang Yin wondered, surprised. “His move just now, it actually broke through my Nether Blood Shadow Veil?”

Zhang Yu's full-power burst of Formless Cloud Aura had shrouded his moves in rolling mist, preventing Wang Yin from discerning their subtleties. More accurately, from the very start of this battle, he hadn't taken Zhang Yu's attacks seriously. Yet, just moments ago, precisely as Wang Yin was hitting Zhang Yu with the "Overturning Heaven Stance," Zhang Yu, meanwhile, unleashed 11 consecutive strikes, accumulated within his vital energy points, using his Level 11 Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force.

The moment he struck, True Master Xinghuo's words echoed in Zhang Yu's mind once more.

“Fierce palm power should be delivered with appropriate palm techniques.”

“Drawing power is best unleashed with grappling maneuvers.”

“Conversely, if a palm strike is a horizontal push, but contains a dragging force, how can it unleash its maximum power?”

“Your Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force can accumulate your attacking power, but to unleash its maximum potential, form and force must merge. You must use your own vital energy to sculpt the optimal forms for various power bursts…”

The myriad experiences of Level 11 Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force blossomed in Zhang Yu's mind, as training scenes flashed through his consciousness. Under the intense pressure, the Remnant Ox's Self-Sacrifice Mind Art rapidly circulated, clearing Zhang Yu's mind. He then actively and precisely commanded his body and magical energy, meticulously controlling the details of every subsequent move.

Amidst surging Formless Cloud Aura and rolling mist, Zhang Yu's 11 consecutive strikes transformed into 11 figures of Formless Cloud Aura. Each adopted a different stance—palm strikes, fist blows, grappling, embracing—as they assailed the Nether Blood Shadow Veil.

True Master Xinghuo's earlier instruction resurfaced in Zhang Yu's mind: “…A single move of Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force can contain multiple strikes, which must be coordinated.”

“For instance, if three people simultaneously attack a burly man, is it more effective for all three to use the 'Black Tiger Steals Heart' technique and strike him in unison?”

“Or is it more effective if one pushes horizontally, one pulls his head, and one trips his legs?”

“When multiple strikes are unleashed in an instant, and different techniques are combined, only then can astonishing damage be inflicted.”

Back on the battlefield between Zhang Yu and Wang Yin, the 11 vital energy figures erupted. The first two vital energy figures, one on the left and one on the right, used the Formless Cloud Aura as their medium. Employing the "Dragon-Elephant Crushing Mountain Palm" technique, they unleashed the full force of Zhang Yu's palm strike, heavily bombarding the Nether Blood Veil.

As the blood shadows shifted to block on both sides, thinning in the middle, Zhang Yu thought, “True Master Xinghuo was absolutely right.”

“The Nether Blood Shadow Veil is only guided by a rudimentary artifact spirit, lacking advanced intelligence. Its primary function is to defend wherever an attack originates.”

“And since Wang Yin crippled his own cultivation, he struggles to control this Nether Blood Shadow Veil freely. That means I can actively create weaknesses in the artifact.”

“First, use the initial two strikes to draw the blood shadows to the left and right, and then…”

The remaining nine vital energy figures then simultaneously attacked the center line. One delivered a horizontal palm strike to the Nether Blood Shadow Veil, creating an opening. Another used grappling to preemptively sever the blood shadows’ support. Some vital energy figures used the opponent's force against them, causing the reinforcing blood shadows to crash into each other with a single move. Still others used a punch to shatter the path ahead, blasting open an even larger gap.

Under nine consecutive strikes, a variety of techniques combined, as if nine Zhang Yus were exerting their full strength. Before an incredibly solid rock formation, they dug, shored, and moved stones, carving out an incredibly narrow but resolute path forward. As the 11 vital energy figures unleashed their full-power strikes and gradually dissipated, Zhang Yu's palm had already penetrated the Nether Blood Shadow Veil through the briefly created gap and grabbed Wang Yin's face.

The twelfth strike! Zhang Yu's own full-power palm strike!

Wang Yin's head snapped back as if struck by a heavy cannon.

“Impressive…” Even as his head reeled from the palm strike, a hint of admiration arose in Wang Yin's mind: “He knew he couldn't outlast me, that the longer the fight, the lower his chances of victory. So he abandoned defense from the outset to deliver this desperate blow.”

“He even managed to open a genuine flaw in my Nether Blood Shadow Veil.”

“Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu, even if you bare your fangs at me and try to bite me back, I must admit…”

“You are indeed a fine dog.”

At the same time, a cold sneer touched Wang Yin's lips. He had already absorbed Zhang Yu's twelfth strike, enduring the palm, and slowly brought his head back from its backward tilt.

“No matter your countless schemes, you cannot break through this artifact skin of mine.”

“This is the absolute gap in our power.”

Wang Yin's other hand clenched slightly, ready to unleash a second "Overturning Heaven Stance." He was confident this strike would completely incapacitate Zhang Yu.

“It's over…”

But the very next moment, Wang Yin's expression shifted. He suddenly felt that the residual fist force and vital energy from the "Overturning Heaven Stance" he had just delivered were being rapidly absorbed, as if by a black hole. The power of the "Overturning Heaven Stance" was channeled by Zhang Yu along his body, then externally, into the apertures of the Formless Cloud Aura, and then…

The thirteenth strike!

Overturning Heaven Stance!

This was the unique effect of Level 10 Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force cultivation: the ability to absorb an opponent's incoming moves, channel them into one's own energy apertures, and then release them again, using one's own vital energy as a medium. The amount of power that could be absorbed depended on Zhang Yu's own cultivation level. The higher his cultivation, the more power he could absorb through his energy apertures.

“What?!”

As he felt the familiar vital energy surge into his body, even beginning to stir his own internal magic, Wang Yin's face was contorted with disbelief.

“Overturning Heaven Stance? How could he possibly know the World-Shattering Fist technique?”

“No, that's not right. It must be some kind of martial art that uses an opponent's own force against them, or even absorbs their techniques?”

“To achieve such a level… could it be a military-grade technique?”

With no time to think, Wang Yin immediately circulated his cultivation to suppress the surging magical energy within him. Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Yu slipped through the opening before the Nether Blood Shadow Veil could close again.

Zhang Yu recalled True Master Xinghuo's teaching: “The Nether Blood Shadow Veil has a defensive radius; it's like a glass dome covering Wang Yin, not a skin-tight defense. Otherwise, his daily movements would be hindered.”

“That means… as long as you create an opening, slip inside, and engage him in close combat, the artifact won't be able to defend against you.”

He concluded, “Remember this: every magical artifact in this world has flaws. Only our own bodies and will, tempered through countless trials and capable of adapting, can surpass all artifacts.”

At the time, Zhang Yu, lying on the operating table, secretly wondered, “Isn't it really just because we're too poor and have no choice but to rely on ourselves?”