“Using a rod as a weapon? That’s quite rare on the continent,” Lin Yun remarked in surprise.
“You had a chance to live, but you refused it. Now, die!”
Energy surged through the black rod in Li Shi’s hand as he leaped into the air, using the momentum of his descent to tear through the void. With a roar, he swung the rod down at Lin Yun!
“An interesting opponent,” Lin Yun thought.
He quickly drew his Saint-level sword, infused it with his internal energy, and slashed out.
With the combined power of his divine sense, Taixu energy, demon bone, and fused insights, the sword gleamed brightly, its power skyrocketing!
Boom!
The clash of their weapons sent shockwaves rippling out, forcing Li Shi to stagger back.
“Who are you?” Li Shi asked, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
He had clearly sensed that Lin Yun was only at the first level of the Great Ascension Realm. With his own strength, he had been confident that a single strike from his rod would have been enough to kill Lin Yun. Yet, Lin Yun was unharmed, which sent waves of astonishment through Li Shi’s mind.
“I am Lin Yun, and I don’t hide my name,” Lin Yun replied calmly.
There was no point in hiding his identity. Since there were more matches to come, even if he didn’t reveal his name now, Li Shi would eventually find out.
“So it’s you, the Blood Calamity from the Thousand Sects War!” Li Shi’s gaze turned venomous upon hearing Lin Yun’s name.
“That Purple-Scaled Heavenly Crocodile in the cave earlier—you were the one who killed it, weren’t you?” Li Shi stared at Lin Yun.
“Yes, it was me. And who are you?” Lin Yun asked in return.
“I am Li Shi. Remember my name, because I’m the one who will eliminate you in this round!” Li Shi declared loudly.
“Li Shi?” Lin Yun muttered to himself, certain he didn’t know this person.
If Lin Yun could see the Ten Thousand Flowers Leaderboard outside, he would have known that Li Shi was currently ranked second.
As Li Shi finished speaking, dense black runes began to appear on his rod.
At the same time, he released his divine sense, which reached the fourth level of the Divine Sense Realm—two levels higher than Lin Yun’s!
“As expected of the Ten Thousand Flowers Tournament. It’s truly a gathering of prodigies. This guy is a monster!” Lin Yun thought to himself, inwardly amazed.
This was the first time Lin Yun had encountered a peer opponent with a higher divine sense than his own.
Of course, by “peer,” it meant they were both under three hundred years old. In reality, Lin Yun was nearly two hundred years younger than Li Shi.
“Since you were able to kill that demon beast, it proves you have the strength to make me take you seriously!”
“Prepare to die!”
Li Shi swung his rod with a force far more ferocious than before, smashing it toward Lin Yun!
The sheer momentum of the attack was something that someone like Gu Dong would never have been able to withstand!
Lin Yun didn’t dare to be careless. He surged his internal energy and quickly countered.
Boom!
Their attacks collided, creating a violent gust of wind that shook the mountains!
Li Shi instantly changed his stance, sweeping his rod toward Lin Yun.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their attacks became a blur, and Lin Yun was forced to continuously block and retreat.
“What a fierce rod technique!”
Lin Yun was shocked by the terrifying power contained within Li Shi’s rod.
He immediately realized that this guy was far stronger than Gu Dong!
His rod technique was not only incredibly powerful but also remarkably agile!
After a brief exchange.
Boom!
While Lin Yun was retreating and defending, Li Shi finally seized an opportunity. His rod broke through Lin Yun’s defenses and struck Lin Yun’s thigh with a heavy blow.
Hiss!
Lin Yun staggered, his face contorting in pain.
If not for Lin Yun’s strong defenses, that strike could have shattered his leg.
Even though his leg wasn’t broken, Lin Yun felt a searing pain, and his entire leg went numb and swollen.
“This is bad!”
From a distance, Mo Qing and Zhi Jin, who had seen Lin Yun get injured, turned pale.
“This guy is too strong!” Lin Yun thought to himself, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Li Shi’s attacks were ferocious, and his rod technique was incredibly agile. Compared to the Purple-Scaled Heavenly Crocodile Lin Yun had fought earlier, Li Shi seemed even more troublesome.
The crocodile’s greatest strength lay in its raw power, and its most challenging aspect was its terrifying defense. However, it was relatively slow and lacked agility.
In contrast, Li Shi’s attacks were not only overwhelmingly powerful but also extremely flexible, putting immense pressure on Lin Yun.
“Hand over the point orb and your storage ring, and I’ll spare your life!” Li Shi’s voice boomed like a bell.
“Green Cloud Illusion Technique!”
A wave of divine sense surged toward Li Shi.
Lin Yun attempted to use the same technique he had used against Gu Dong.
“A petty trick! Do you really think it’ll work on me?” Li Shi sneered, completely unaffected.
“His divine sense is higher than mine. Illusions won’t work on him!” Lin Yun realized with dismay.
“I can’t fight him head-on. I need to run!” Lin Yun decided.
With that thought, Lin Yun turned and burst into full speed, transforming into a streak of light as he fled at his maximum speed.
Lin Yun’s condition wasn’t at its best. After exhausting himself fighting the Purple-Scaled Heavenly Crocodile earlier, he had only recovered half of his strength. Then, after hunting demon beasts for so long, he was far from his peak.
Given the strength Li Shi had displayed, Lin Yun knew that continuing to fight would only lead to disaster.
He couldn’t afford to engage in a direct confrontation.
The best strategy was to retreat!
As he fled, Lin Yun used his divine sense to send a message to Mo Qing and Zhi Jin, telling them not to reveal themselves and to escape quickly.
Mo Qing and Zhi Jin, upon receiving Lin Yun’s message, didn’t dare to move. They knew that revealing themselves would only cause trouble for Lin Yun and hinder his escape.
“Trying to run? You won’t escape today!” Li Shi roared, bursting into speed as he transformed into a streak of light and chased after Lin Yun.
The battle had been witnessed by at least a dozen people in the canyon.
“Heavens, that Li Shi is incredibly strong!”
“The Blood Calamity, Lin Yun, is no weakling either. To be able to unleash such combat power at the first level of the Great Ascension Realm is already beyond my expectations. Unfortunately, he’s still no match for Li Shi.”
“I wonder if Lin Yun can escape Li Shi’s pursuit.”
…
The cultivators who had witnessed the fight were all amazed.
“Lin Yun will definitely be fine!” Mo Qing clenched her fists, her heart filled with anxiety.
Meanwhile.
Lin Yun and Li Shi were engaged in a chase, with Li Shi clearly faster than Lin Yun.
“Lin Yun, you can’t escape!”
“Black Prison Rod, rise!”
Li Shi threw his rod into the air, and it instantly expanded to hundreds of meters in length and as thick as five people combined. It descended from the sky, smashing toward Lin Yun with terrifying force!
Boom!
The massive rod tore through the sky, causing the space around it to collapse!
Lin Yun tried his best to dodge, but there was no way to avoid the incoming rod.
“Damn it!”
Lin Yun’s expression changed drastically. With no way to evade, he could only turn and swing his sword, using all his strength to block.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed through the heavens.
The shockwave from the collision sliced off the top of the mountain behind Lin Yun.
“Pfft!”
Lin Yun spat out a mouthful of blood, using the force of the impact to propel himself backward and create some distance.
“You’re dead, kid!”
Li Shi retrieved his Black Prison Rod and continued his relentless pursuit of Lin Yun.
The point orb in Lin Yun’s arms continued to emit a glow, making it easy for Li Shi to track his position.
As Lin Yun fled at full speed, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. That last strike had left him disoriented and in immense pain.
Looking back, he saw Li Shi closing in again, the distance between them slowly shrinking.
“Damn it!”
Lin Yun knew that his speed was no match for Li Shi’s. It wouldn’t be long before Li Shi caught up and attacked again.
What should he do?
