Chương 93: Chapter 94: Earth-Shaking Finger, Capture!

"Iron-Lock Across the River, First Layer—Unseal!" The roar had barely left Ming Diao Zhanchen's throat before he reached up, his fingers clawing at his own forehead with a violent, tearing motion. A shimmering white rune was ripped asunder, shattering into a thousand fragments of light. In that heartbeat, the spiritual pressure radiating from his body didn't merely rise—it erupted.

Within seconds, his aura surged past the mid-stage barrier, solidifying into the terrifying, heavy weight of the Late Foundation Establishment realm.

"Hiss! To think Ming Diao Zhanchen had a reservoir of pure, distilled essence sealed within his own body!" an observer gasped, his voice trembling.

"Releasing it now is equivalent to forcibly ascending an entire minor realm in the blink of an eye."

"What a monstrous spiritual pressure! Even if it is a temporary surge fueled by external essence, he now possesses the raw power to trade blows with a veteran of the late stage. The sheer density of that Qi is suffocating."

"Reyn of the Xuanxiao Sect may be a once-in-a-century prodigy, but I fear he has met his match. A Mid-stage cultivator facing a Late-stage opponent? There is no precedent for victory here. The gap is simply too vast."

"If I were him, I would concede immediately," another added, shaking his head.

"To continue is to invite a fate worse than mere defeat." Among the delegation from the Qingyan Sect, Ancestor Ming Diao's expression darkened into a mask of cold fury the moment the seal was broken. His gaze toward Reyn flickered with a sudden, predatory malice.

"Damnable brat... to think he possessed the skill to force Zhanchen to prematurely break the seal!" That reservoir of power had been meticulously prepared, a secret technique of the Iron-Lock Across the River scripture designed to store the life-essence of elders whose lifespans had reached their end. It was meant to be refined slowly over years to boost cultivation speed without side effects.

By forcing it open now, Ming Diao Zhanchen had gained immediate power at a terrible cost: his cultivation would remain stagnant for at least two years, a permanent scar on his path to the Dao. Tiandaozi's face was equally grim. The tides of the battle had shifted so rapidly that a knot of unease began to tighten in his chest.

"Perhaps I am overthinking this," he muttered to himself, trying to dispel the growing dread.

"The boy is talented, yes, but once the seal is broken, Zhanchen can rival a Late-stage expert for a significant duration. Victory should be a certainty." Yet, as he looked at Reyn's unmoving silhouette, he found the youth's composure increasingly inscrutable, and his heart grew more restless. Meanwhile, the members of the Xuan xiao Sect were a picture of agonizing tension. Reyn was their final bastion, the last hope for their sect's honor.

If he fell here, the Xuanxiao Sect would not only lose the duel but would be forced to hand over their most promising disciple to their rivals. Such a blow would shatter the sect's prestige; even with two Golden Core masters, they would be forever eclipsed by the Qingyan Sect. This was no longer a mere sparring match; it was a struggle for the very survival and prosperity of their respective lineages. Cold light flickered in Reyn's eyes.

Though Ming Diao Zhanchen's power had reached a terrifying peak, Reyn's gaze remained as steady as a mountain, devoid of even a flicker of panic.

"Ming Diao Zhanchen, today you stood upon your arrogance to insult the entirety of the Xuanxiao Sect. My Sect Master and my Honored Master cannot stoop to discipline a junior like you, so I shall act as the hand of their judgment! You have wounded my brothers and shamed my kin; today, I shall collect that debt in full!"

"I will return every ounce of agony you inflicted upon them. Brothers, keep the tally well—I shall settle the account!" A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Ignorant fool! Do you still fail to see the reality of your situation?" Ming Diao Zhanchen sneered, his black hair whipping wildly in the gale of his own power. Every breath he took sent ripples of intimidating force through the air.

"You truly believe you are still my equal?" Reyn looked at him with a gaze that held no warmth. He extended his right hand, curling four fingers inward while leaving his index finger pointed straight at the heavens. Then, he thrust it forward.

"Earth-Shaking Finger!" As the finger pointed out, the very heavens seemed to recoil! When Reyn had been at the 7th level of Qi Condensation, this technique could already mimic the strike of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Now, at the 16th level of Qi Condensation—with a foundation rivaling the mid-stage and a Divine Sense that could match the late-stage—the power he unleashed was transformative. This was a strike that approached the devastating threshold of a False Core master.

Furthermore, the Earth-Shaking Finger possessed a unique, predatory trait: it could forcibly siphon ambient spiritual energy to nourish itself. As long as it remained within the limits of Reyn's soul-control, it would only grow more lethal as it traveled. A colossal finger, forged from pure, crystalline azure energy, materialized in the void. The surrounding Qi acted as if caught in a vacuum, screaming as it was sucked into the construct.

As the energy condensed, the finger became terrifyingly vivid, manifesting intricate whorls and fingerprints that glowed with divine light. The spiritual pressure it exerted caused the very air to groan under the weight. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The Earth-Shaking Finger tore through the atmosphere, its forced absorption of energy creating a series of sonic booms that turned the faces of the gathered cultivators pale with shock.

"What a terrifying technique! It actually feeds on the world itself to grow stronger... how can a junior possess such a bizarre and potent ability?" Xuan Wuqing's eyes widened in disbelief. Reyn's repeated displays of hidden depth were beginning to shatter his understanding of the possible.

"Why does such a disciple not belong to my Earth Fiend Sect?" Ancestor Bai Sha's face was a mask of gloom. His eyes darted between the two combatants, his thoughts turning dark.

"Both are geniuses of the highest order. If they are allowed to grow, the Golden Core realm—or even higher—is within their reach. Since this boy is not of my sect, if the opportunity arises, perhaps..." BOOM! Amidst the collective shock, the Earth-Shaking Finger collided head-on with Ming Diao Zhanchen's Earth-Yellow Scale Shield. CRACK! The layers of amber light that had previously withstood the Spectral Hand were pulverized instantly.

The shield's physical body groaned as deep fissures spider-webbed across its surface. With a mournful wail of failing magic, the artifact shattered, falling to the stage as a heap of useless scrap.

"Pfft!" Without the protection of his treasure, the full weight of the Earth-Shaking Finger slammed into Ming Diao Zhanchen. He was hurled backward, a fountain of crimson erupting from his mouth as his face turned the color of ash. His bolstered Late-stage cultivation was proven fragile before this single finger; he had been broken in an instant!

"Capture!" Reyn growled, his voice a low vibration in the air. He reached out and closed his hand into a fist. The massive azure Spectral Hand manifested once more, its fingers coiling around the crippled Ming Diao Zhanchen like an iron cage. No matter how the latter struggled or how venomous his glare, he could not break the spiritual shackles.

"Senior Brother Hei Shi, what is the extent of your injuries?" Reyn's black hair billowed in the wind, his azure robes snapping like a banner as his aura reached its zenith. He stood there like a god of war, radiating a pressure that demanded silence.

"Senior Brother Hei Shi suffered thirteen shattered bones and twenty-one ruptured meridians!" Below the stage, the Xuanxiao Sect disciple tasked with tending to the wounded stood up, his face flushed with a mix of adrenaline and vindication. He bellowed the numbers with every bit of strength in his lungs.

"Good!" Reyn shouted. The Spectral Hand flared with a blinding azure light as it began to constrict. A sickening chorus of pops and cracks echoed through the arena as Ming Diao Zhanchen's bones began to give way. Blood leaked from his eyes, nose, and ears. Yet, despite the agony, the youth from the Qingyan Sect merely hissed through gritted teeth, staring at Reyn with the unyielding, murderous eyes of a cornered beast.

"And what of Senior Brother Hei Feng?" Another disciple, who had been waiting for this moment, roared back instantly: "Nineteen shattered bones and twenty-seven ruptured meridians!" Reyn's eyes flashed with a lethal, icy light. Without a word of mercy, he tightened his grip. Another wave of staccato snaps erupted from within Ming Diao Zhanchen's body as the debt was repaid, bone for bone, and inch for inch.