A few minutes later, Xiao Chen arrived in a forest, stopped moving, and stood upright on a tree branch with his hands folded in front of his chest.
"This place is some distance from Shadow. If those little ants notice, it will take them about an hour to get here. An hour is more than enough time for me to deal with the Chief," Xiao Chen sneered, showing no fear despite the Shadow Chief being at the mid-stage of the Golden Core.
"Whoosh!"
Just as Xiao Chen stopped, the sound of something piercing through the air rang out. The Shadow Chief had caught up, and his figure was now suspended in mid-air.
"Xiao Chen, you didn't need to lure me here. I've already ordered my subordinates to stop chasing you!" The Chief sneered, exuding a powerful aura that caused ripples in the space around him.
"Xiao Chen, be careful. This Chief is far more formidable than the Second Chief you killed earlier!" the ancient white tiger warned through a voice transmission.
"Xiao Chen, the formula must be in your hands, right? If you hand it over, I might consider letting you die a swift death," the Chief sneered, his killing intent radiating outward.
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Xiao Chen's face as he coldly replied, "The formula is indeed with me. If you want it, come and get it yourself."
"Arrogant brat!" The Chief's face darkened as he stepped into the void, transforming into a black streak and charging at Xiao Chen.
"Bang!"
As the Chief made his move, Xiao Chen also acted. Activating his true essence, he stomped forcefully on the branch, which snapped under the pressure as Xiao Chen's figure shot out like a black streak.
"Oh? You dare to confront me head-on? Impressive!" the Chief exclaimed in surprise, though his eyes flashed with disdain.
Xiao Chen sneered, "If I didn't have the courage, would I be here to assassinate you?"
"Bang!"
With that, the two clashed violently, their fists colliding with a muffled boom. The impact of their powerful forces caused the space to ripple like waves. Both were knocked back by the force of their exchange.
"What incredible physical strength! How is this possible?" the Chief thought in shock. Known for his brute strength, no one within a hundred miles of Qiushui Town could match him. Most Golden Core cultivators were no match for him, yet this punch from Xiao Chen had pushed him back, even though Xiao Chen was a level lower. The Chief couldn't believe that such a young man could possess such formidable physical power.
Xiao Chen, who had been pushed back, landed on a tree branch, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the Chief in mid-air. He sneered, "Besides being big and burly, your strength isn't that impressive."
Hearing this, the Chief's face darkened with anger. As the leader of Shadow, being looked down upon by a youngster was intolerable. His face contorted with rage as he said coldly, "Xiao Chen, you will die a horrible death!"
The Chief activated his true essence once more, charging at Xiao Chen with increased speed, his fist filled with overwhelming power.
"Bang!"
This time, Xiao Chen did not engage but quickly dodged the Chief's attack, landing on another tree. With a loud bang, the tree he had been on was shattered by the Chief's punch. A tree with a diameter of one meter had been felled with a single punch, showcasing the Chief's immense strength.
"Humph!" the Chief snorted as his punch missed. He charged at Xiao Chen again, shouting, "Brat, if you have the guts, don't run!"
"Did I say I was running?" Xiao Chen sneered, activating his true essence and charging forward.
Seeing Xiao Chen launch an attack, the Chief's face twisted into a sinister smile. He suddenly boosted his power, preparing to deliver a devastating punch as he approached Xiao Chen. If Xiao Chen was hit, he would be smashed into pieces.
"Got you!" Xiao Chen sneered. Just as the Chief's fist was about to hit him, Xiao Chen suddenly stepped into the void, his figure flickering and disappearing. In a few quick movements, he appeared behind the Chief before the latter could retract his fist.
"What?" the Chief's face changed dramatically.
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
Xiao Chen delivered a powerful punch to the Chief's back, sending him crashing to the ground below. The force of the Chief's previous punch had not dissipated, and his fist struck the ground with a loud boom, creating a large crater.
"Xiao Chen, well done! But you're quite cunning!" the ancient white tiger laughed through a voice transmission.
"It's not that I'm cunning; he's the cunning one. I just learned from him. He boosted his power in an instant to try and seriously injure me. Fortunately, I can step into the void, otherwise, I wouldn't have had time to activate my true essence to defend myself," Xiao Chen sneered, his sharp gaze fixed on the Chief, who had created a crater in the ground.
"Xiao Chen, you have some skill. You haven't comprehended flight, but you can step into the void. You used this move when you lured me out of Shadow. Although I don't know how you did it, it certainly surprised me," the Chief said coldly, slowly standing up with a cold and murderous gaze fixed on Xiao Chen. He seemed uninjured.
"Humph!" Xiao Chen snorted without speaking.
"However, you made a mistake choosing this forest to fight me!" the Chief sneered, activating his true essence. He then formed seals with his hands and slammed them into the ground, shouting, "Ultimate Wood! Transform Wood into Swords!"
"Wood attribute true essence!" Xiao Chen's face changed slightly as he carefully observed his surroundings.
In the forest, dozens of swords formed from wood shot out from the trees, rapidly attacking Xiao Chen.
"Xiao Chen! Quickly burrow underground!" the ancient white tiger urged through a voice transmission.
"Burrow!" Xiao Chen quickly descended from the tree branch, his body rapidly burrowing into the ground, narrowly avoiding the barrage of wooden swords.
"Humph! Do you think you can escape?" the Chief snorted, forming seals with his hands again and shouting, "Ultimate Earth! Earthquake Roll!"
In the forest, the ground began to churn and rotate like ocean waves, causing Xiao Chen, who had burrowed underground, to spin and roll, unable to move.
"This bastard has earth attribute true essence too!" Xiao Chen cursed, activating his true essence. With a burst of violent energy, he shouted, "Break!"
"Boom!"
The next moment, Xiao Chen punched upwards, breaking through the earth with a loud explosion and soaring into the air.
"Humph! I've been waiting for you!" the Chief snorted, a sinister smile appearing on his face as he charged at Xiao Chen.
"What?" Xiao Chen's face changed dramatically. The Chief's aura had locked onto him, leaving him no time to evade.
"Bang!"
Prepared in advance, the Chief delivered a powerful punch to Xiao Chen, sending him flying and crashing through several trees along the way.
"Humph! Brat, I told you, you'd die a miserable death!" the Chief snorted, quickly chasing after the flying Xiao Chen, not giving him a chance to catch his breath.
As Xiao Chen flew through the air, he used the momentum to forcibly twist his body, performing a backflip and landing on a tree. His body slightly bent, he activated his violent true essence, forcefully stomping with both feet, and shot forward. He continued to step into the void, his speed increasing with each step, as if his speed could stack, each step making him faster.
"What?" Seeing this, the Chief was stunned. He hadn't expected Xiao Chen to counterattack with such astonishing speed.
"Bang!"
Xiao Chen's speed was like lightning, catching the Chief completely off guard. Before the Chief could even react, Xiao Chen's fist had already struck his face with a resounding thud, causing the Chief to spit out a mouthful of blood along with a tooth, his massive body sent flying.
"Bang bang bang!"
As the Chief's massive body flew through the air, it shattered several trees. Shocked, he thought, "How is this possible? A Golden Core early-stage brat has such strength and speed?"
"Big guy, this is called 'an eye for an eye!'" Xiao Chen sneered, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth indicating that the Chief's punch had injured him.
"Bastard! How dare you break my tooth! Unforgivable! I'll kill you!" the Chief roared in anger, his veins bulging as his icy killing intent seemed to freeze the air. He grabbed a large knife from the air.
"Buzz buzz!"
The Chief quickly activated his true essence, causing the ground in the forest to hum and vibrate. The blade began to glow blue, emitting an overwhelmingly powerful blade aura.
"Three Soul Blade Technique! Soul Severing Slash!" The extremely enraged Chief roared, gathering all his strength and slashing down.
"Whoosh!"
A several-zhang-long blue blade light charged at Xiao Chen with unstoppable momentum, felling rows of trees in its path.
"Chaos Sword Technique! Sky Splitting Slash!" Xiao Chen drew his divine sword, activated his true essence, and performed the powerful sword technique in a single fluid motion.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
The domineering sword light shot out, colliding with the blade light and instantly exploding. The deafening explosion echoed through the forest as the powerful blast spread, causing both Xiao Chen and the chief to spit blood and fly backward. In the blink of an eye, the explosion turned the forest into a flat expanse.
"This... this is impossible! A mid-stage Golden Core losing to an early-stage Golden Core? Such a thing simply can't happen!" The chief, now lying on the ground, was covered in blood, his face full of shock.
"Isn't it happening now?" Xiao Chen sneered from a distance, breathing heavily as he walked towards the chief. Xiao Chen's face was pale, and though he was severely injured, he was in better condition than the chief.
"What?" Seeing that Xiao Chen could still move, the chief's face turned ashen.
"From today onwards, the Shadow organization will no longer exist in the Tianyue Continent!" Xiao Chen coldly declared, slashing with the divine sword in his hand.