Tianjie recalled his childhood. After his mother who had taken care of him for six years passed away, all he could do at six was to rummage through the trash piles that extended endlessly for rotten food. But in that impoverished world where even weeds could not survive, no one would waste valuable food. Hence, he found nothing.
As he was on the brink of starving to death, a gigantic, ugly black-feathered bald vulture landed behind him. It spread its four-meter wings and opened its blackish-brown curved beak slightly. It let out a sharp cry, one filled with the desire for the sustenance that stood before it. Its deep, dark eyes locked onto the thin boy.
As the vulture waited for its prey's death, it smelled a rotting smell from the boy. That was the smell of impending death, but to it, it was the fragrance of food.
Tianjie knew that the vulture would rip apart his flesh without any mercy with its beak the moment he closed his eyes. It would drag out his heavy innards and "taste" his corpse bit by bit. He had once seen such a scene; after all, too many had died while searching for food on this trash mountain. Naturally, there were many vultures that fed on these corpses. Although there was only one, perhaps there would be a second or third one in time to come. There might even be a wake of vultures sharing his body.
When he imagined that terrifying scene, the young Tianjie didn't dare die so easily.
His survival instincts made him miraculously last an entire day and night. He didn't dare close his eyes, much less stop his breathing. More and more vultures began awaiting his death as they landed on every corner of the trash mountain. They let out their cries as if they were belting out a song of grace to thank God.
Tianjie, who didn't easily succumb to death, finally made the vultures lose their patience. The largest vulture which seemed to be head of the committee of vultures flew over, opening its gaping beak that spewed a putrid, rotting stench. It had aimed straight for his head.
At that instant, Tianjie felt the horror of Death's descent.
The horror that stirred his heart made it beat at an unprecedented speed. Incredulous strength suddenly surged out of his stiff body as his desire to survive, the fear of death, the hatred towards the world, the need to tolerate anger and coldness at birth, and the indignation of being food to be pulled apart by ugly vultures emerged—all of these negative emotions were converted and turned into power. It made the matchstick-thin boy bravely throw out a defiant fist at the huge beak that was about to swallow him whole.
The punch obliterated the head vulture to pieces. At six, Tianjie awakened his pure Transcendence bloodline while on the brink of death. He instinctively used the Transcendental First Transformation at that critical moment.
The vulture failed to mutilate his body for food and ended up becoming his meal. Although the vulture's raw flesh was revolting, Tianjie's extreme hunger made him find it extremely delicious. He wolfed down the flesh and didn't even spare the innards.
That was the fullest meal Tianjie had ever had since he was born.
After six, Tianjie's life took an extreme turn. His pure bloodline and his innate talent made him the strongest genius in the history of the Transcendents. He slowly clawed his way up from the lowest abject existence on the trash mountain. Invincible among his peers, he eventually defeated combat generals levels stronger than him, ultimately becoming the king of that world.
At the instant he sat on his throne, Tianjie recalled his life. Surprisingly, the weak bald vulture was the only enemy in his entire life that made him experience the threat of death.
He sealed that laughable memory away deep into the recesses of his memory and never thought about it again.
…
Until this moment.
Until that bald man dressed in a red cape and yellow tight suit unleashed his punch at him.
Tianjie finally recalled that fateful day—the horror of being dominated by the bald vulture.
How long had it been since he experienced the warning signs of a near-death experience?
Ever since he awakened, this was the first time the Transcendent King was smelling the aura of Death. It was just like he was being surrounded by vultures on that trash mountain. The helplessness and horror of having nowhere to run appeared once again when One-Pun threw out his punch.
Why?
He had not accumulated any strength and here it was coming without any warning. Why would what looked like an extremely casual punch be so terrifying?
Tianjie didn't have the luxury of time to think. He knew that if he attempted to defend the punch with the Transcendental Third Transformation, it would only lead to his death. Certain death!
The soft-looking fist was already approaching. At that fleeting instant, Tianjie did not hold back at all. In his horror, his survival instincts made him struggle desperately.
Transcendental Fourth Transformation!
Transcendental Fifth Transformation!
Before he could raise his state to the Transcendental Seventh Transformation, One-Pun's fist had arrived. Tianjie had no choice but to use the Transcendental Fifth Transformation to block the fist. When it hit his arms, air distorted, as well as the expression of the Transcendent King who once appeared wild and intractable.
Boom!
An earth-shattering explosion seemed to churn the world. Like a nuclear explosion, the collapsing air transformed into a blinding light. Following that, sonic booms emanated, their aftershocks transforming into tornadoes that swept through building after building. Rocks disintegrated as rubble filled the sky, turning into a grayish-brown mushroom cloud. The quaking of the land was felt in cities five kilometers away. The horrified citizens even imagined that an earthquake had hit them.
The dust and rubble took a long time to settle. The scene of destruction no longer had any rubble or debris left. In an area spanning ten kilometers, there was only an endless ravine left, as well as the gigantic tree that rose high into the sky. However, the tree's twisted roots and scuffed bark clearly implied that they had suffered considerable damage.
Deep in the ravine, the caped baldy, One-Pun, stood alone in the desolate lands. A hundred meters in front of him, there was a green head which was spinning like a rubber ball before it stopped.
The Transcendent King from another world only had a head left. His body had been pulverized.
One-Pun took a deep breath, planning to shatter the head completely, but found himself unable to move. He staggered a few steps backward and collapsed to the ground.
He had used all his strength for that one punch.
What seemed simple and casual was actually to inject all his Psionic Power in his body onto that one fist. Against Tianjie, an enemy who could be graded as a calamity beyond an S Class, One-Pun didn't want to depend on luck. He had to use his enemy's arrogance to finish him with one punch. It was the best opportunity One-Pun had to take.
However, that one punch wasn't One-Pun's strongest punch. As he had deliberately used God's Guardian to seek Shi Xiaobai, he had already expended fifty percent of his Psionic Power. It also meant that his one punch was only half as strong as his strongest punch.
But even at fifty percent, it was not something Tianjie could withstand with the Transcendental Fifth Transformation.
One-Pun had won.
"So close. You nearly killed This King!"
The spinning rubber ball suddenly let out a menacing voice.
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