Chapter 288: Fierce Battle!
"No good…"
Faced with such a bizarre scene, with two versions of his beloved disciple, Ye Yan, appearing before him, even Tian Yunzi was momentarily stunned. The confusion was like a thick fog clouding his judgment for a split second—a split second that could be fatal in a battle of this caliber.
However, what kind of person was Tian Yunzi? He was a peerless giant at the Heavenly Human Unity level, a terrifying existence who single-handedly founded the Netherworld Palace, an organization that made the underground world tremble for decades. His instincts were honed by countless life-and-death battles.
Tian Yunzi reacted instantly, his expression changing from shock to fierce determination. He tried to push away his "beloved disciple," Ye Yan, who was supporting him. Although he couldn't distinguish between them visually or by aura in that instant, he had to get away; one of them was definitely a fake, a deadly trap laid by the enemy.
At the same time, his vast Martial Dao True Essence surged like a tsunami within his meridians, instantly bursting outward to form a shimmering, translucent Qi shield to protect his body. The air around him distorted under the immense pressure.
But it was already too late.
The right hand of "Ye Yan," which was resting affectionately on Tian Yunzi's shoulder, instantly transformed. The fingers hardened, the skin took on a metallic sheen, and it shifted from a palm into a claw, gripping Tian Yunzi's shoulder tightly like a vice of steel, preventing him from breaking free. The force was immense, enough to crush granite.
The other hand, formed into a sharp spear-hand, crackled with flashing purple lightning. The smell of ozone filled the cramped dungeon instantly, pungent and sharp. The lightning seemingly scorched the very air, turning it into plasma as it shot directly towards Tian Yunzi's heart with lightning speed.
Pfft!
The hastily condensed Qi shield, strong enough to withstand heavy artillery, was instantly pierced through by the concentrated lightning strike. It shattered like glass, shards of energy dissipating into the air.
But Tian Yunzi was indeed a Heavenly Human Unity expert. In that fraction of a second, facing imminent death, he narrowly shifted his body with a movement that defied physics. The lightning-infused hand missed his heart by a hair's breadth and pierced into his left shoulder instead.
Sizzle!
Blood splattered, painting the wall red, but was instantly evaporated by the high heat of the lightning, leaving behind a gruesome, cauterized wound. Smoke rose from the injury, carrying the sickening scent of burnt flesh.
Tian Yunzi didn't even frown. His eyes, usually cloudy with age, were now filled with a bone-chilling coldness. He looked at the "Ye Yan" before him not as a master looking at a disciple, but as a predator looking at a threat.
His beloved disciple, Ye Yan, would never attack him. This one before him was definitely fake, an enemy wearing his disciple's face.
How terrifying was a Heavenly Human Unity expert who had reacted and become enraged?
Tian Yunzi erupted instantly!
"Get lost!"
A terrifying Aura, like a hurricane, swept towards the "Ye Yan" before him. The damp air of the dungeon visibly twisted, forming a vacuum. Even the flickering lightning on Shen Anyu's hand was torn apart by the sheer force of the pressure.
Tian Yunzi slapped out with a large hand. His robust Martial Dao True Essence condensed into a giant, almost solid palm print, bringing with it whistling gales that screamed like banshees. Even a heavily armored vehicle would be flattened into scrap metal under this strike.
But the next moment, Tian Yunzi's expression changed. He sensed a greater danger. He disregarded the fake Ye Yan before him, his body swayed like a ghost breaking free from shackles, and he lunged directly towards the adjacent secret chamber.
Because at this very moment, a mechanical roar echoed through the dungeon.
Countless dense bullets, like a fierce storm of metal, shot towards the other Ye Yan inside that secret chamber.
The Ye Yan who attacked him was fake; this one was very likely real. And even if there was a chance he wasn't, Tian Yunzi couldn't gamble with his disciple's life.
Tat-tat-tat…
Hundreds of sharp bullets, trailing tongues of flame, shot towards the defenseless Ye Yan in the adjacent secret chamber.
This dungeon, meticulously modified by Shen Anyu, was a death trap. It had crisscrossing hidden passages and was equipped with dozens of anti-tank armor-piercing guns that could fire automatically, controlled by an AI system. The armor-piercing warheads they used were larger than a palm, possessing immense kinetic energy.
They could easily shoot a person in half.
They could penetrate a meter-thick alloy steel plate like it was paper.
Even a Martial Arts Grandmaster wouldn't dare to rely on a Qi shield to withstand these terrifying armor-piercing rounds. One shot would shatter their defense; a barrage would turn them into paste.
Such terrifying anti-tank armor-piercing rounds cost a hundred times their weight in gold. They were secret products from the Yanxia military industry department's laboratory, not yet in service, and thirty years more advanced than the most cutting-edge anti-material weapons on the market.
If not for Shen Anyu's prominent identity and vast wealth, he wouldn't have been able to acquire them.
Tian Yunzi, however, didn't hesitate in the slightest. He was a master who valued his lineage above his own life. He directly charged into the hail of bullets, his Qi shield expanding rapidly to envelop the cowering Ye Yan within the secret chamber.
Tat-tat-tat…
Every second, hundreds of anti-tank armor-piercing rounds hammered against the shield.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The impact was deafening. Tian Yunzi's external Qi shield vibrated violently, ripples of energy spreading across its surface. It held out for several seconds before, with a thunderous roar, it was directly shattered, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fire.
Even the Qi shield of a peerless expert at the Heavenly Human Unity level could not withstand the concentrated bombardment of hundreds of thousands of anti-tank armor-piercing rounds indefinitely.
The alloy-forged underground prison was being reduced to ruins. The alloy steel walls, over a meter thick, were torn to shreds, metal twisting and screeching under the assault. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring vision.
But Tian Yunzi's expression showed no panic. His eyes shone with a divine light.
His hands moved so fast they left afterimages, creating a net of palms in front of him. He actually blocked these anti-tank armor-piercing rounds with his bare hands!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as his hands, reinforced with True Essence to be harder than diamond, deflected the rounds. It was like an insurmountable Wall of Sighs, protecting Ye Yan behind him.
And that wasn't all!
As Tian Yunzi flicked his fingers, utilizing a profound technique of "borrowing force," these bullets actually flew backward!
They shot towards the fake Ye Yan with even greater speed than they had arrived.
But the next moment, Tian Yunzi's pupils contracted to the size of pinholes.
These countless bullets, imbued with his power and reflecting back like a deadly rain, suddenly stopped.
They froze in mid-air, suspended by an invisible force, vibrating with kinetic energy but unable to move forward an inch. Then, with a collective clatter, they fell to the ground, harmless.
"Telekinesis... such telekinesis... even the strongest telekinetic Masters of the Western nations couldn't compare to this precision and power. And the lightning from before… possessing such terrifying levels of both telekinesis and lightning abilities, who exactly are you?"
At this moment, the guns had run dry, and the bullets had stopped. Tian Yunzi stood amidst the wreckage, looking at the fake Ye Yan before him. His expression was solemn, his breathing slightly heavier. He asked word by word, his voice carrying the weight of a mountain.
The thousands of anti-tank armor-piercing rounds over the past few seconds had only consumed a considerable amount of his Martial Dao True Essence, causing no actual harm to his body.
However, the lightning-infused hand from earlier had caused him no small amount of damage. The lingering electricity was still paralyzing part of his shoulder muscle. If he hadn't shifted in time to avoid a vital spot and hadn't been stabbed in the heart, Tian Yunzi, the legend of the Netherworld Palace, would not have survived the first second of this ambush.
Tian Yunzi's gaze swept over the penetrating wound on his left shoulder; the blood had already congealed due to the heat, and the flesh was charred black.
This was the first time in many years that anyone had been able to injure him. Even if it was a sneak attack, it was by no means ordinary. The attacker was formidable.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
At this moment, the fake Ye Yan before him smiled slightly. The malice in his eyes vanished, replaced by an appreciative calmness. He actually clapped his hands gently, the sound crisp in the silent ruin.
"As expected of a peerless Master at the Heavenly Human Unity level, a Martial Dao giant, truly formidable! To block such firepower with bare hands... I am impressed."
As the praise continued, the appearance of the fake Ye Yan rapidly changed.
It was like magic. His thick lips began to thin, his slightly sunken nose gradually became more prominent and refined, and his bronze-colored skin visibly turned fair and smooth like jade…
A handsome, noble Young Master appeared, dressed in a ruined suit that still couldn't hide his elegance. There was a faint, mocking smile in his brows—it was Shen Anyu.
Shen Anyu was not surprised that these arrangements failed to kill Tian Yunzi. He never expected mere guns to kill a legend. They were originally intended to deplete Tian Yunzi's Martial Dao True Essence, to whittle down the mountain before attempting to move it.
Heavenly Human Unity experts were not so easily killed. Otherwise, great nations wouldn't be wary of them, and they wouldn't hold such high status in the global hierarchy.
Like Shen Anyu's maternal grandfather, who could be called the pillar of the nation and the soul of the army—this was the weight of a Heavenly Human Unity expert. They were living nuclear weapons.
Shen Anyu's various arrangements—the disguise, the lightning strike, the trap, the guns—were all aimed at weakening Tian Yunzi from all sides, bleeding him drop by drop, ultimately leading to a decisive victory and the end!
At this moment, Ye Yan, whose acupoints had been unsealed by Tian Yunzi's sleeve during the chaos, could now move and speak. He crawled out from behind his master, his eyes wide with hatred.
He roared hoarsely, his voice cracking with emotion:
"Master, he is Shen Anyu! He is my greatest enemy! Master, help me get revenge! You must help me get revenge! Kill him! Kill him for me!"
Ye Yan's voice was filled with deep resentment and anger, echoing off the twisted metal walls.
If not for Shen Anyu, he wouldn't have become so miserable—a cripple tortured in a dungeon. If not for Shen Anyu, his beloved sister-in-law Lin Keqing wouldn't have been taken from him. If not for Shen Anyu, the Netherworld Palace wouldn't have been annihilated, his brothers dead.
His hatred for Shen Anyu even surpassed his hatred for the Shen Family as a whole. It was personal. It was bone-deep.
Just now, in the secret chamber, Ye Yan was so worried. He was terrified that his Master Tian Yunzi would be harmed by Shen Anyu, who had disguised himself so perfectly as him.
But now, seeing his Master standing tall, having repelled the ambush, hope reignited in his heart. Master Tian Yunzi was still powerful, a god among men. He was not someone Shen Anyu, a mere rich playboy with some tricks, could deal with.
As long as Master made a move, he would surely kill Shen Anyu…
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