Celestial Human Diagram

With reinforcements from the action committee joining the fray, the density of fire from the tall buildings on both sides weakened considerably. The mercenaries moving between them were able to pick up their pace, gradually approaching the Rift.

Fang Zhixin was tied up by Yu Lie and couldn’t advance to stop them. If the situation continued, these men would be able to enter the Rift, recover and destroy the splinter-body, and the Rift would lose its stabilizing anchor.

However, all of this was predicated on no one else intervening.

Old Hu stared coldly at Chen Bitong, waiting for his response. Even if Chen Bitong managed to restrain himself and do nothing, once the splinter-body was recovered, Old Hu had enough patience to wear him down.

But he knew Chen Bitong. A man of his character would never wait that long. He would respond swiftly and decisively.

Therefore, while he appeared relaxed on the surface, he had actually heightened his guard, ready to counter an attack at any moment.

Chen Bitong, however, wasn’t looking at him. Instead, he glanced into the distance.

Chen Chuan was watching from a window. He could feel that the gaze was directed right at him—or more precisely, at the building where the three of them were.

’He knows we’re here.’

This was not surprising. For someone whose Spiritual Power cultivation had reached Perfection, it was impossible not to notice being observed for so long.

Yang Shen and Nie Guanshan, in particular, made no effort to conceal their scrutiny, seemingly wanting to use it to add pressure on him.

Chen Bitong withdrew his gaze and met Old Hu’s eyes again. Old Hu showed no reaction, but in reality, every nerve in his body was tensed.

He started walking toward Old Hu. His movements seemed slow, but after one step, his figure flickered and reappeared further ahead. Another step, and he advanced another great distance.

But his movements were not predictable. With each step, he might sometimes even move backward or appear in a completely different direction.

He was using the Rift to traverse and reposition himself. It seemed he could appear anywhere at any moment.

Old Hu stood his ground, unmoving. His chilling eyes seemed to lose focus, as he was no longer relying on his physical senses to judge, but using his spirit to track his opponent’s movements.

At one point, Chen Bitong’s figure even appeared less than three meters in front of him. For people of their level, this was practically point-blank range, yet he remained unmoved, still waiting for something.

After a few more breaths, he suddenly sensed something. His gaze sharpened abruptly as he swung a palm to the side. BANG! With the impact, Chen Bitong’s figure materialized there.

BOOM!

Unlike before, the two streams of Power collided, and the point of contact exploded like a cannonball, sending a huge cloud of dust billowing outward.

Then, Old Hu felt that after the initial clash of Power, all the Power he unleashed afterward struck nothing but air. And while the image of Chen Bitong to his side had yet to fade, a second Chen Bitong appeared on his other side, thrusting a palm at him.

He was prepared. His body remained still as his left hand shot out from under his right. The two palms slammed into each other, once again producing a thunderous explosion.

The two Chen Bitongs on his left and right were still there as a third one now appeared behind him, reaching a hand for the back of his head.

This was because his speed of traversing the Rift was so fast that even though he had already moved, his afterimage and a trace of his Spiritual Power remained at the original spot.

Furthermore, during this movement, his spiritual aura had spread everywhere, creating a certain amount of confusion for Old Hu’s perception.

Old Hu’s hands were still engaged with the two figures, seemingly leaving him unable to parry the attack from behind. However, he just tilted his head, whipping his stiff hair backward. It carried a fierce Power that collided with Chen Bitong’s attack, and this third figure seemed to show faint signs of dissipating.

At that very moment, back at the spot where Old Hu had first clashed palms with Chen Bitong, that figure suddenly solidified from an ethereal image, and an immense Power surged forth from within it.

He sneered inwardly. ’Just as I expected!’

He had unleashed his Power three times in a row, each a full-force blow. Normally, even if he wanted to launch another fierce and overwhelming torrent of Power, he wouldn’t have the strength. Therefore, even if Chen Bitong couldn’t finish him with this strike, he could safely retreat after the impact and look for another opportunity. However, he had made ample preparations for this day.

From the very beginning, he had taken a drug specially prepared for him by the action committee. Now, he forcefully activated its effects. In that instant, both his body’s Mutated Organization and his spiritual-energy field surged to their absolute peak. He then aimed at Chen Bitong and unleashed a full-powered blast of Splitting Force!

Under this assault, at the point where their hands met, Chen Bitong’s arm began to break, section by section. The damage extended all the way to his shoulder, with shattered bone and flesh clearly visible. If the Power continued to transmit successfully, it would have shattered his shoulder and even half his torso in one fell swoop, leaving no doubt as to the outcome of the battle.

At this moment, however, Old Hu suddenly felt a void in front of him. The opposing Power was only a thin layer at the very front; there was none of the solid force he had imagined behind it.

His pupils contracted involuntarily. At the same time, to his right, the figure of the second Chen Bitong suddenly solidified, as if a torrential Power was about to surge from it.

But at that same moment, a faint threat emanated from behind him as well.

’Where is it really coming from?’

Because the Spiritual Power was distributed in multiple locations, in his haste, he could no longer discern where the true attack was coming from.

But based on his understanding of Chen Bitong, the fatal blow was most likely to come from behind—his blind spot and weakest point. Even if the attack failed, Chen Bitong would lose nothing. So, he transferred all his remaining Power into his hair, directing it backward.

Unexpectedly, the real attack came from the spot where he had just severed Chen Bitong’s arm—the very position of the first attack.

Only now did he realize with a jolt that Chen Bitong had, in fact, been there the entire time since his arm was broken. He hadn’t moved at all.

The attacks from the right and from behind were nothing more than feints created by Spiritual Power. The Power they seemed to carry was only superficial, collapsing on contact. In reality, even if he had ignored them, they would have caused him no harm.

But he realized it too late. All his Power had been diverted elsewhere. He could only watch helplessly as Chen Bitong raised his other, intact hand and punched him in the shoulder blade. A surging, tenacious Power poured into him, rushing irresistibly into every part of his body.

A series of sharp cracks erupted throughout his body as bones shattered and joints snapped.

String Void Force was a type of Power with extremely strong penetration and infiltration abilities. It wasn’t designed for a one-hit kill, but it was intensely destructive. Anyone hit by it would suffer severe shock and damage to their Mutated Organization, bones, and internal organs in an instant, rendering them incapable of mustering their full Power ever again.

Thus, after that single blow, Old Hu had, in effect, lost all combat capability.

Old Hu knew that one misstep had cost him everything; he had no chance left. He stared at Chen Bitong and said, "This level of Spiritual Power... could it be you..."

Chen Bitong seemed to know what he wanted to ask. He said in a low voice, "Almost. But... not far now..."

As he spoke those words, his figure grew ethereal. It was clearly just an afterimage left in place.

Old Hu’s eyes turned blood-red. The next moment, a violent explosion erupted from within his body. A thick plume of smoke shot a hundred meters into the air as a powerful shockwave expanded outward.

Dozens of meters away, Chen Bitong stood watching. He knew Old Hu. He knew the man would rather commit suicide than die by his hand. Rigging his own body with a powerful explosive was exactly the kind of thing he would do. That last question was most likely just a trick to keep him in place, which was why he had moved away a step ahead.

Just then, a black object fell from the sky, hitting the ground not far in front of him with a CLATTER. It bounced a few times before coming to a stop.

It was the half-face mask Old Hu had been wearing, though it was now twisted and deformed beyond recognition.

He glanced at it silently, then looked at his own dangling left arm.

It was broken in at least seven or eight places, a mangled mess of bone and flesh, completely ruined. In some spots, only a few strands of muscle and sinew barely held it together.

He then used his other hand to set it, piecing it back together. Essence Blood surged from his heart. After a moment, the bones slowly healed and fused, and the flesh reconnected. A little while later, the surface of his arm showed almost no sign of injury.

Watching this from behind, Yu Lie’s heart went cold. Old Hu was dead. What was the point of him continuing to fight? He immediately leaped backward, and Fang Zhixin did not pursue.

Chen Bitong said, "You can go."

But Yu Lie grinned. "I’m not leaving. I can’t beat you, Teacher Chen, but I believe I can hold off those cavalrymen from the Old Imperial Family. I’ll stay and block them, but I won’t participate in any further actions against you."

Chen Bitong said nothing more, seemingly giving his tacit approval.

With Old Hu’s death, the mercenaries lost all will to fight. Without waiting for orders, they abandoned their objectives and fled the plaza in a rout.

At that moment, someone notified Mr. Chu, who was positioned in the rear. In a panicked voice, they said, "Mr. Chu, Mr. Hu is dead."

Mr. Chu’s expression showed no hint of change. He stood in the observation post, half his face cast in shadow from above. "Useless," he said, his tone grim.

Meanwhile, in the distant high-rise, Chen Chuan and the other two had witnessed the entire event. Yang Shen spat out what must have been his umpteenth cigarette and stretched his neck, producing a few cracking sounds. "It’s over," he said. "The ad hoc special committee failed. I guess it’s our turn."

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