Volume One: The Celestial Cloud Palace Chapter Forty-Nine: Yu Nan’s Lethal Intent

Chapter Forty-Nine: Yu Nan’s Murderous Intent

Zang Sheng’s tall and burly frame was sent flying twenty meters by Zhou Hao’s fist. Yet, the disciples from the surrounding immortal halls who watched from the edges of the Ascension Platform were no longer all that surprised. In previous rounds, Zhou Hao’s opponents had all been famed for their physical strength, but none had proven to be any match for him—Zhou Hao’s fists were simply too formidable, and every single one had succumbed without exception.

Everyone found it perplexing. Even those closest to Zhou Hao, like Cao Shuang and Yu Nan, were full of doubt—how could Zhou Hao’s physique have become so astonishingly powerful?

First there was Long Bow Mao from the Fierce Mountain Hall, then San Yi and Bang Le, two brothers from the Tail Turret Hall, and now Zang Sheng from the Beast Soul Hall. The first three were all renowned for body refinement, yet Zang Sheng also walked a path of raw, domineering might. The Beast Soul Hall was a unique immortal hall where disciples trained by using savage beasts as living targets.

Their training was harsh to the extreme: disciples were thrown into ferocious beast forests raised within the hall, forced to fight for their lives. Through such combat, their bodies were honed. But more importantly, they could obtain essence pearls from slain beasts. As everyone knew, obtaining essence pearls was exceedingly difficult—the demon beasts would self-destruct their pearls at the moment of death, never allowing the slayer to take them.

The Beast Soul Hall was not foolish. Elders would secretly accompany the disciples into the beast forests—not only to ensure their safety, but to help seize the pearls at the crucial moment. Since the beasts were all below the Golden Immortal level, the elders, with their superior cultivation, could easily immobilize the beasts and prevent the pearls from being destroyed.

Such training was ingenious: not only did it temper the body through real combat, but the essence pearls also enhanced immortal power—a double benefit.

At the center of the Ascension Platform, Zang Sheng quickly got back to his feet. In that moment, his aura changed dramatically. A savage air radiated from him, making him seem less human and more like a humanoid beast.

Indeed, Zang Sheng had transformed. Already physically imposing, his muscles now swelled to monstrous proportions, bursting his clothes. A blood-red gleam appeared in his eyes.

With a clang, Zang Sheng reached out and summoned the bronze spear to his hand. The spear’s tip struck the platform, ringing with a tremor that was like the prelude to a gathering storm.

“What a powerful physical aura! His strength has increased by several levels,” Zhou Hao muttered, frowning as he watched Zang Sheng, now twenty meters away. Something was very wrong.

How could a person suddenly become so much stronger without reason?

But Zhou Hao had no time to wonder. His eyes grew resolute, and the sword in his hands burst forth with golden light, its keen aura seeming capable of severing all things.

“Kill!”

The word, cold and devoid of feeling, rang out. Zang Sheng, wielding his spear with one hand, charged straight for Zhou Hao. The tip of the spear aimed at Zhou Hao’s heart, yet Zhou Hao stood his ground, gripping his immortal sword with both hands, calmly awaiting the attack.

Suddenly, just as the tip of the spear was half a meter from Zhou Hao, Zang Sheng let out a thunderous roar—a sound like the bellow of a beast king, shaking the entire arena. Those of weaker cultivation among the onlookers immediately suffered ruptured eardrums, blood streaming as they collapsed in spasms.

And these “spectators” were only at the outer edges of the Ascension Platform. The effect on Zhou Hao, in the very center, was even more devastating. Blood oozed from his seven orifices, and Zang Sheng’s spear pierced his left shoulder. It was not his heart only because Zhou Hao, unable to stand from the shock of the roar, had fallen to his knees.

“Zhou Hao!”

Among the crowd, Cao Shuang, Yu Nan, and others cried out in horror at the bloody sight of Zhou Hao’s shoulder run through by the spear, blood pouring out. The rage and anxiety in their hearts was palpable.

“Let me go, I need to see Zhou Hao—he’s bleeding so much…” Yu Nan’s tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes red. Instinctively, she tried to rush to Zhou Hao, but Cao Shuang and Xiao Shanshan quickly held her back.

“Don’t go. Trust my brother—he can endure this. If you go to him, he’ll lose his right to continue the match. Do you understand?” Cao Shuang, though anxious himself, knew he could do nothing. This was a grand immortal hall competition; no friend could intervene simply because a contestant was injured.

“I swear, if Zhou Hao is killed by Zang Sheng, I will slaughter the entire Beast Soul Hall!” Yu Nan’s eyes blazed red with murderous intent, stunning Cao Shuang.

The murderous force she exuded was terrifying to the soul. For a moment, Cao Shuang seemed to see before him a towering, blood-red figure, surrounded by mountains of white bones, as if a god of slaughter had descended.

But the murderous intent passed as quickly as it came. After her threat, Yu Nan fell silent, watching the events at the center of the platform with unblinking attention.

Cao Shuang, however, was deeply unsettled. Yu Nan’s display defied all reason. He had always assumed her strength was limited, since she’d been eliminated in the second round’s sixty-person group battle. But that terrifying murderous aura, that chilling power—it could have obliterated even the six strongest disciples in the arena combined.

Why was Yu Nan’s murderous intent so dreadful? Did she harbor some secret, hidden power? Could she truly destroy the Beast Soul Hall if unleashed?

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He dared not even glance at Yu Nan, but resolved to tell Zhou Hao about this at the first opportunity.

On the central platform, Zang Sheng held the bronze spear with one arm, its head still embedded in Zhou Hao’s shoulder. Blood streamed from Zhou Hao’s seven orifices—a result of the roar. Just then, Zang Sheng gave a cold, mocking smile and slowly lifted the spear higher.

A collective gasp rose from the disciples. Zhou Hao was hoisted into the air, impaled and motionless, as though dead. Drop by drop, his blood fell to the ground, his strength seemingly spent.

In the crowd, Yu Nan’s delicate hands clenched until her knuckles cracked, her lips bitten so hard blood welled forth. Su Qing, even while locked in fierce battle with her opponent, was distracted; her brows knit, her attacks grew more swift and forceful, and when her limpid eyes glimpsed Zhou Hao’s plight, her pupils shrank to pinpoints.

“It hurts… it really hurts…”

Dangling in midair, Zhou Hao’s eyes were half-closed, his face contorted in agony, white teeth biting into his lip. His mind was muddled from the roar, but the searing pain in his shoulder cut through the confusion and brought him back to his senses.

“Zhou Hao, before me you are nothing but a failure. Your victories end here!” Zang Sheng sneered coldly.

With that, he hurled the spear downward, intent on snapping Zhou Hao’s bones and sinews.

But Zhou Hao was not about to let Zang Sheng have his way. At that critical instant, Zhou Hao seized the lower end of the spear with both hands, and with a surge of strength, pulled the sharp tip free from his own shoulder.

Streams of blood arced through the air as Zhou Hao grunted in pain, his face twisted in agony—but the pain also cleared his mind completely.

His feet touched the ground once more, but before Zhou Hao could steady himself, Zang Sheng charged at him again, aura menacing and oppressive. Zhou Hao knew he could no longer match him blow for blow, so he chose to evade.

Unleashing the Ethereal Immortal Steps, Zhou Hao moved like lightning, leaving afterimages across the platform. Zang Sheng, though quick to react, simply could not keep up with such incredible speed.

A great beastly phantom appeared behind Zang Sheng—a lion-like creature with a single horn crowning its head, its massive form like a mountain, black light swirling about it, blood-red eyes glaring at the sky.

“Again?” Zhou Hao’s anger boiled over at the sight. He had been caught off guard by Zang Sheng’s sonic attack before, but now Zang Sheng dared use the same move against the Ethereal Immortal Steps? Zhou Hao’s fury was beyond words.

He thrust his palm forward, and from his palm two miniature suns spun out, casting golden light in all directions. Two massive golden palm prints crashed toward Zang Sheng like blazing suns. This time, the beast’s roar had no effect on Zhou Hao at all—the golden palm prints blocked all external forces, defending from within and attacking without.

The situation was entirely different for Zang Sheng. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to lose so utterly. Those palm prints were like twin suns exploding in his face. The black-horned lion behind him was instantly obliterated, his transformed body just as helpless before the attack.

The Great Radiant Sun Palm tore through the air, leaving an arc of dazzling gold across the Ascension Platform. Under the gaze of all the disciples, it punched through Zang Sheng’s body, leaving one side of him charred black. The hand grasping the spear exploded in a mist of blood.

Zhou Hao let out a long breath and smiled. His arm dropped limply, and he fell straight back onto the platform. In the final instant before he lost consciousness, he saw a red-clad figure flying rapidly toward him…