Chapter 255: Chapter 145: Reward Settlement
He gathered all the strength in his body and threw out a vicious palm strike.
But in the next instant, a force far more violent than the last surged forward.
In a mere instant, he felt the blow ravage his internal organs.
With a guttural cry, blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
"Still not dead?"
Fang Shuwen’s voice held a note of keen interest.
But when Jue Tong heard this, a wave of despair washed over him.
’This man before me... He wasn’t even taking this seriously!’
’But how is that possible?’
He had no time to dwell on it, because Fang Shuwen was already unleashing another palm strike.
This palm strike was different from the last two. It began without a sound, but his years of fighting in the Jianghu screamed at Jue Tong that he could not, under any circumstances, take this hit... If he did, he would die without a doubt!
But at this moment, even if he wanted to, there was nowhere to dodge.
At the critical moment, he gritted his teeth and abruptly twisted his body, moving most of his vitals out of the attack’s path. Only his left arm remained in the strike zone.
Fang Shuwen’s palm landed on his forearm, but the immense power it contained instantly began to travel up his arm, spreading toward his torso.
Jue Tong’s pupils contracted violently. ’It’s a vibrational power! If it spreads through my body, I’ll be annihilated—not even my bones will be left!’
The old monk’s decisiveness was extraordinary; he immediately struck his own shoulder with his other hand.
His strike landed right where Fang Shuwen’s power was spreading, prematurely detonating the Palm Power.
The terrifying force instantly tore his shoulder to shreds.
But even with Jue Tong’s incredible speed and decisiveness, half of his upper arm and shoulder were still pulverized by the blow.
Blood gushed out, his life force rapidly fading.
With his right hand, he hastily pulled something from within his robes and, without even looking, tried to stuff it into his mouth.
"What’s that? Let me see."
Hearing Fang Shuwen’s voice in his ear, Jue Tong felt his courage shatter. By now, the mere sound of Fang Shuwen’s voice was enough to make him tremble uncontrollably.
His hand moved faster, trying to shove the object into his mouth before Fang Shuwen could stop him.
But he was a step too slow.
Fang Shuwen grabbed his right hand and twisted. A sharp CRACK echoed out.
His wrist shattered. He could no longer hold onto the object in his hand, and it fell, only to be caught by Fang Shuwen’s other hand.
He brought it closer for a look. It was an Elixir Pill.
He brought it to his nose for a sniff but didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary.
’Still,’ Fang Shuwen mused, ’given Jue Tong’s injuries, for him to be relying on this... it can’t be anything ordinary.’
Fang Shuwen pocketed it without a second thought. When he looked back at the old monk, the man was on his last breath.
The monk’s lips parted, but before he could say a word, he coughed up a great deal of blood.
Taking pity on him, Fang Shuwen swept out with his palm and gave him a quick end.
Jue Tong’s head spun several times on his neck before he dropped dead.
"That old monk was pretty tough to kill," Fang Shuwen muttered.
He remembered Shui Qianliu and hurriedly began to drag the old monk’s corpse outside.
’I can turn in the quest now,’ he thought. ’If this old monk hadn’t wasted my time, I’d have my reward already.’
In truth, not much time had passed between him going in and killing Jue Tong.
To the people waiting outside, they had seen Fang Shuwen suddenly vanish, followed by several deafening booms.
They were staring at the breach, eager to see the outcome of the fight.
The next thing they knew, Fang Shuwen was charging out, dragging the old monk’s corpse behind him.
One look was all it took for the crowd to gasp in unison.
It was a horrific sight... too gruesome to bear!
The arm Fang Shuwen was holding had been twisted like a rope, while the other arm, along with a large chunk of the torso, was simply gone.
The once-ferocious face was now a frozen mask of utter despair.
’So this is the Demon Evil God!?’
’Even a grandmaster like Jue Tong, the Abbot of the Joyful Zen Temple, could only meet such a gruesome end at his hands?’
’Just what kind of Martial Arts is this?’
The man who had earlier remarked on how refined Fang Shuwen looked was now shaking uncontrollably.
Making matters worse, Fang Shuwen seemed to remember him. As he emerged, his eyes fell upon the man, and when their gazes met, Fang Shuwen offered him a small smile.
The man felt as if an invisible hand had clenched around his heart. In his eyes, Fang Shuwen’s friendly smile took on a completely different meaning... as if it were saying, ’You’re next!’
This man had been navigating the Jianghu for many years, but never had he been so utterly terrified.
Overwhelmed by this immense terror, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted on the spot.
Fang Shuwen was baffled. ’Why’d he faint?’ he wondered. ’I had a pretty good impression of that Jianghu fellow.’
He casually tossed Jue Tong’s corpse aside and looked up to find Shui Qianliu and the others staring at him in terror.
Fang Shuwen cleared his throat slightly.
"Is everyone all right?"
"..."
The crowd exchanged glances, but no one dared to speak.
Since they remained silent, Fang Shuwen decided to speak. He turned to Shui Qianliu.
"You’re Shui Qianliu? I’ve been looking all over for you..."
Many in the crowd looked at Shui Qianliu as if he were already a dead man.
Shui Qianliu’s mind reeled. ’How did I offend this Evil God?’
He didn’t snap out of it until Shui Qianrou threw herself into his arms. He quickly shielded her behind him and spoke to Fang Shuwen.
