Chapter 273

Chapter 273: A Single Punch

The Black Cloak Pavilion made the first move. Their assault was clearly premeditated. Three hundred elite assassins, new-generation prodigies nurtured by the pavilion surged forward, trained to strike in perfect unison for maximum lethality.

A wave of boundless darkness radiated from their bodies, blotting out the sky and sun, shrouding the Green Sparrow Palace in an abyss.

It was the perfect battlefield for their deadliest assassination techniques. Yet, Zhang Yang merely stood with his arms crossed, watching the sky darken.

BOOM!

Thunder roared.

In the next moment, dazzling killing thunder erupted from Zhang Yang’s body.

Lightning surged skyward, transforming into an overwhelming storm of electricity, a tempest of flashing arcs and deafening booms.

But this was no ordinary lightning. This was Holy Lightning.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, the darkened sky was torn apart, revealing the clear blue heavens once more. Only Zhang Yang’s tyrannical killing thunder remained, raging and unforgiving.

One after another, bodies plummeted from the sky—lifeless assassins crashing to the earth.

Some fell directly in front of Princess Mu Xiaor.

Her face darkened, and her voice was cold.

"Are you provoking me?"

Zhang Yang replied lightly, his tone indifferent.

"Isn’t the Black Cloak Pavilion supported by your Great Xia Empire? No need to look at me like that. No need to be nervous. I have no evidence, but the Black Cloak Pavilion behaves like your lapdog, highly suspicious."

He continued.

"I once asked Chi Sheng, and he told me that a thousand years ago, the Mu family, the most powerful martial clan in the Southern Region, was divided. They fought over whether to establish an empire, and some members left. Centuries later, the Black Cloak Pavilion underwent a drastic transformation. Two to three hundred years after that, rumors surfaced—whispers that the Great Xia Empire secretly supported them. So tell me, Princess… am I wrong to suspect?"

His voice was calm, but the weight of his words crashed over the crowd like a tidal wave.

The entire battlefield erupted into an uproar.

Even Yue Longxiang, Demon Sword Yi, and Divine King Zhen Tian turned to look at Princess Mu Xiaor.

It was widely known that the Southern Region was home to the Ten Major Holy Places. With the Vast Forest included, there were now eleven. However, it was also vaguely understood that the two assassin organizations held a special status. Backed by unknown yet powerful forces, they had never been targeted by the major holy places. Many suspected they had saints supporting them from the shadows.

For this reason, they were often intentionally or unintentionally classified among the Saint-level forces.

Princess Mu Xiaor’s gaze was cold.

"Ah, so your so-called challenge to the people of the Southern Region hides something sinister. Deliberately framing others now, are we?"

Zhang Yang smiled.

"If you want to think that way, it doesn’t matter. I simply expressed my feelings."

"Your feelings don’t matter. Die!"

Princess Mu Xiaor lunged forward without hesitation.

She was already furious.

As she struck, a terrifying Opening the Sky realm aura erupted around her.

Both Ding Yilong and Xin Yichen, whom Zhang Yang had defeated in the past, were nothing compared to her—mere ants before a lion.

However, Princess Mu Xiaor lacked a Holy Body. She had neither Saints’ Laws nor holy blood. She had yet to step onto the path of a saint. But her realm provided a massive advantage, and her battle tactics were equally tyrannical.

As she charged, her sword unsheathed.

It tore through the void.

For a moment, the entire battlefield was consumed by that single sword strike.

Even Zhang Yang nodded in admiration.

Had the Seventh Prince not been in seclusion during his grand metamorphosis, even he might have struggled against this blade.

Yet, Zhang Yang merely smiled and stepped forward.

Hummm!

A terrifying Holy Might exploded forth.

A dragon’s roar shook the heavens as his Vajra Holy Dragon semblance awakened.

Fully developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power!

He used only a fraction of its strength, not even close to its peak.

This strike did not deserve his full exertion.

Yet even in this restrained state, his power radiated unimaginable dominance. Zhang Yang questioned whether even a small developed power or an initial awakening might have sufficed.

This was not underestimating Princess Mu Xiaor.

It was simply a testament to his growth—his cultivation now standing at the sixth level of the Ascending to Heaven realm.

His Nine Extremes True Essence flowed abundantly, allowing him to unleash his abilities flawlessly, a stark contrast to his constrained state back at the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins.

The unleashed Holy Might shattered reality itself.

Its invisible pressure surged forward in tangible waves, colliding with the princess’s sword.

One by one, her sword’s gleams shattered, breaking beneath the sacred onslaught.

Only when the shockwave reached the core of her blade did it finally begin piercing through.

Their duel unfolded in slow motion—a phenomenon caused by the sheer interference of Holy Might.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Even elites like Yue Longxiang, Demon Sword Yi, and Divine King Zhen Tian narrowed their eyes.

So this… was the true power of Holy Martial Arts.

Despite Yaoruoxian’s research, the Seventh Prince’s intelligence, and Phoenix Woman Mu Lin’er’s reports, none had expected the reality to be this terrifying.

Shhhink!

Defying all expectations, Princess Mu Xiaor pierced through the saintly pressure despite not having stepped onto the saintly path.

With deathly resolve, she charged at Zhang Yang.

His response was simple.

A raised hand.

A clenched fist.

A single punch.

Bang!

Fist met sword’s tip in a primordial collision.

Though her quasi-saintly weapon trembled on the verge of transcendence, it bent violently beneath his knuckles.

Holy power surged through the blade, launching Princess Mu Xiaor into the air.

A first-level Opening the Sky realm expert… vanquished by a single blow.

The crowd instantly recognized Zhang Yang’s restraint.

A strong suspicion arose, he had deliberately held back, and the truth confirmed it.

Even with just his small developed Diamond Dragon Holy Power, she had been completely overwhelmed.

The princess skidded backward, barely regaining balance by stabbing her sword into the ground.

Fresh blood sprayed from her lips as she trembled violently, crimson dripping from her weapon hand.

Her voice was unwavering.

"Why spare me?"

Zhang Yang’s reply was cold.

"To foil the Seventh Prince’s schemes."

He stared at her.

"He killed the Fourth Prince and Kou Feiyan in Mo City, then conveniently went into seclusion during my Southern Region challenge. Isn’t it obvious? He’s sacrificing you to eliminate his rivals. Shall I play his pawn?"

A flicker of shock crossed the princess’s bloodied features.

Zhang Yang’s gaze swept the battlefield.

"Among all my foes," he continued, "only the Seventh Prince stirs my hunger for battle."

"Not even Yaoruoxian compares."

"Does anyone else here warrant such regard?"

For a moment, silence reigned.

Then, furious shouts erupted.

Princess Mu Xiaor wiped the blood from her lips, cast Zhang Yang an indescribable look, and vanished through the ancient teleportation array.

Her departure marked the battlefield’s transformation.

Three thousand combatants surged forth.

Eighth and ninth-level Ascending to Heaven realm experts, alongside newly advanced Opening the Sky practitioners, a calculated human wave tactic.

Zhang Yang laughed coldly.

"Primitive strategy."

His voice rang across the battlefield.

"Numbers mean nothing to me."

Then, he roared.

Boom!

Killing thunder descended from the heavens, blanketing the sky in a storm of lightning.

Broken bodies rained down like falling stars.

Yet amid the electric onslaught, two figures emerged.

One breached the stormfront, forcing through sheer might.

Another shadowed behind, using the chaos to conceal a fatal strike.