A Useless Person's Rise to Power

Chapter 24 A desperate resistance, a final victory or defeat

Every word struck a chord, revealing the true thoughts in everyone's hearts.

Upon hearing this, many of his subordinates wavered even more, instinctively taking a half-step back, fearing they would be drawn into the conflict.

Zhou Hu was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and he almost choked on a mouthful of blood. He hadn't expected that Qin Zhan was not only terrifyingly strong, but also had such a sharp and vicious tongue, completely sowing discord between him and his men with just a few words.

"court death!"

Zhou Hu could no longer contain his anger and was unwilling to be manipulated by Qin Zhan's words any longer. He stomped his foot on the ground, and his vital energy surged violently. Even though it was suppressed by the poisonous fog, his aura was still fierce and sharp, and the rolling wind stirred up the surrounding poisonous fog.

"Since you're so determined to die, then I'll grant your wish! I want to see just how much skill you really have, daring to be so arrogant!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Hu suddenly burst forward, his palm strike gathering powerful energy, accompanied by a whistling sound as it hurtled through the air, heading straight for Qin Zhan's face. The palm strike was domineering and fierce, carrying a ruthless killing intent; clearly, he was using his trump card right from the start, intending to suppress Qin Zhan in one move.

Seeing their leader had already made his move, the surrounding subordinates, though fearful, had no choice but to steel themselves and unleash their cultivation, swarming in from all directions to attack. Blades flashed and clashed, carving cold, sharp lines through the misty poisonous fog, attempting to trap Qin Zhan with sheer numbers.

Faced with the onslaught of fierce attacks, Qin Zhan remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic.

He stood motionless until Zhou Hu's palm strike was about to reach him, then he slightly turned his body, took a light step, and lightly dodged the hateful blow as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.

boom!

Zhou Hu's palm strike missed its mark and instead slammed into the boulder behind him. The hard rock instantly shattered, sending fragments flying and scattering debris mixed with poisonous mist in all directions—a truly terrifying display of power.

Yet, this powerful strike failed to even touch the hem of Qin Zhan's clothes.

Zhou Hu's pupils contracted sharply, his shock deepening. His attack was incredibly fast and powerful, something that would have been impossible for a martial artist of the same level to dodge, yet Qin Zhan had dodged it so effortlessly. This level of agility far exceeded his expectations.

"Is that all you've got?" Qin Zhan said with a playful smile. "All bark and no bite. Looks like you're all talk and no action. No wonder you can only lead a bunch of rabble around like this."

The insults came again, and Zhou Hu was enraged. His eyes turned red, and with a low shout, he pounced again. His palms flew, and his moves were continuous, like a storm, as he attacked Qin Zhan.

At the same time, a group of his men who had surrounded him were already close at hand, their blades sharp and slashing at Qin Zhan's vital points. Together with Zhou Hu's offensive, they formed an encirclement, creating a scene that looked extremely oppressive.

Unfortunately, even this formidable formation proved utterly ineffective in Qin Zhan's eyes.

Within the poisonous fog, he was unaffected, his vital energy circulated smoothly and freely, and his movements were incredibly mysterious and unpredictable. His figure darted and weaved through the flashing blades and palm strikes, like a willow catkin in the wind, seemingly slow, yet always managing to evade every attack perfectly.

Ding ding ding!

The sounds of clashing weapons were incessant. The blades of the group of subordinates repeatedly missed their mark, either striking the air or colliding with each other, unable to even touch a single hem of Qin Zhan's clothes.

Instead, they themselves were surrounded by poisonous fog, constantly being eroded by the toxins. Their cultivation became increasingly sluggish, their movements gradually slowed down, and after a few moves, their breathing became disordered, and their foreheads were covered in cold sweat.

"A bunch of weaklings, daring to block my way, what a waste of my time." Qin Zhan shook his head and chuckled, his tone tinged with a hint of helpless mockery.

Too lazy to waste any more time with them, a cold glint flashed in Qin Zhan's eyes. He stopped dodging and suddenly lunged forward.

With a wave of his hand, the palm wind was sharp and swift, without any fancy moves, yet it contained overwhelming power.

boom!

With a dull thud, Zhao Tianjian, who was closest to Qin Zhan, was struck squarely in the chest by Qin Zhan's palm before he could even react. His face turned deathly pale, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the poisonous swamp behind him. He struggled for a couple of moments before falling silent, completely swallowed by the poisonous mist.

One-hit kill!

Upon seeing this, the others were terrified. Their attack faltered instantly, their faces filled with horror, and they instinctively tried to retreat and escape.

"Trying to run? Too late!" Qin Zhan shouted coldly, his figure darting into the crowd like a ghost.

With each palm strike, a powerful gust of wind howled, and every move precisely struck the opponent's weak point.

Screams rang out one after another.

With the poisonous fog amplifying his power and his overwhelming strength, these thugs, whose cultivation had been suppressed and whose minds were in disarray, were like clay chickens and earthenware dogs in front of Qin Zhan, utterly powerless to fight back.

Some had their meridians shattered by a single palm strike, collapsing to the ground and losing their fighting ability; others were struck by the strong wind, their bones cracked and tendons severed, howling incessantly; still others collided with each other in the chaos, becoming a disorganized mess and losing their own composure first.

In the blink of an eye, most of the men who had come charging in with such ferocity fell to the ground. The remaining few were so terrified that they lost all will to fight and turned to flee in panic toward the edge of the poisonous fog, wishing they had two more legs.

Zhou Hu was the only one left on the scene, still gritting his teeth and fighting Qin Zhan to the death.

However, he was already in a state of mental chaos, and having witnessed his subordinates being killed one after another, the fear in his heart had long since overwhelmed his anger. His moves became increasingly chaotic and full of flaws, and his originally domineering offensive became powerless.

Qin Zhan calmly dodged his flustered palm strike, closing in on him with a cold smile playing on his lips: "Zhou Hu, look at your men, some have run away, some have fallen, and you're all alone now. How long do you plan to hold out?"

"Are you still going to keep being stubborn, saying that leaving the poisonous domain will make you stronger than me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hu shuddered violently, and the last trace of stubbornness in his eyes was instantly shattered.

Looking around, he saw that his men were either dead or wounded, and the rest had long since scattered like birds and beasts. In the vast, foggy wilderness, he was truly all alone, standing there forlornly, looking both pathetic and ridiculous.

An overwhelming sense of humiliation and panic surged up my spine and straight to the top of my head.

He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, his fists trembling slightly, yet he still forced a smile and roared, his voice a mixture of bravado and fear: "Qin Zhan! Don't be so smug! You're only getting an advantage because of the fog here! If we were facing each other head-on on flat ground, I might not lose by a hair's breadth!"

Even now, he's still stubbornly clinging to his pride and refusing to admit defeat.

Qin Zhan found it amusing, shook his head, and said with a hint of mockery, "Even when people are at their wits' end, their mouths are still as hard as bones."

"Just now, your subordinates were all suppressed by the mist, their cultivation stagnant and their minds scattered. Weren't you the same? You were suppressed the whole time, your moves full of flaws, and you couldn't even touch the hem of my clothes. Where did you get the confidence to say that you could win if you changed locations?"

These words were like daggers, leaving Zhou Hu's face turning ashen, his chest heaving violently, and he nearly vomited blood from anger.

He knew he was in the wrong and had no way to refute it, but he couldn't let go of his pride in the martial world. He could only grit his teeth and once again activate his remaining energy. His body surged with energy waves. He knew that the chances of winning were slim, but he still had to fight like a cornered beast.

"Stop with the empty words! Even if I lose today, I'll take you down with me!"

Zhou Hu's eyes flashed with ferocity as he burned his own vital energy with all his might, his moves suddenly becoming wildly violent and fierce. He was willing to sacrifice his foundation to unleash his strongest killing move, charging fiercely towards Qin Zhan. His palm shadows were like mountains, carrying a resolute determination to perish together with Qin Zhan. The powerful wind tore through the surrounding mist, its imposing presence quite intimidating.

Qin Zhan glanced at it indifferently, not taking this desperate counterattack seriously at all, and a faint smile still hung on the corner of his mouth: "Stubborn to the end, you've brought shame upon yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, he neither dodged nor avoided, but instead raised his hand and pressed down in mid-air.

A vast and boundless invisible force suddenly swept out, like a mountain pressing down, instantly enveloping all directions.

boom!

The two forces collided with a deafening roar.

Zhou Hu exerted all his strength in one strike, but it was as utterly ineffective as an egg hitting a boulder in the face of Qin Zhan's casual palm strike. He felt a terrifying force surge towards him, his limbs and meridians instantly went numb, and his internal energy surged and churned uncontrollably.

Wow!...