Not long after, the massive stone platform, spanning a thousand zhang, came into Lin Xiao’s line of sight.
By now, the dazzling light on the platform had faded, the towering pillar of light had dissipated, and the rolling dust had settled. The white bone powder within a radius of several thousand zhang had been blown away, leaving only the stone platform sitting there.
The Nether Black Fireflies had also vanished completely, scared off by the descent of the giant stone platform.
One by one, figures began to appear around the stone platform. In no time, all the survivors gathered here, staring at the platform in shock.
The true “Monarch’s Cache” was actually here.
“Those who concede defeat may leave this realm. When only a hundred remain, the destined one will receive the inheritance.”
A grand, resonant voice boomed out, and a brilliant, dazzling light spread in all directions, enveloping everyone within it.
An inexplicable force emerged, and the crowd felt their bodies tremble as they were pulled into the thousand-zhang stone platform by this mysterious power.
In a flash, Lin Xiao found himself standing on the platform. The young commander of the Tiger Guard, along with his beast, and Hu Yue stood beside him.
“My cultivation has been suppressed to the ninth tier of Heavenly Martial!” The young commander of the Tiger Guard glanced at his body, exclaiming in surprise.
“Roar!” The three-striped golden tiger let out a bellow, its aura reduced to the high third-tier realm.
“Our cultivation has been capped at the peak of Heavenly Martial!” Not far off, the old man in the dark robe and Guan Shuo both cried out in astonishment, as did Liu Yan, Gong Hongyun, and the other Martial King powerhouses.
Recalling the grand voice, a sharp glint flickered in their eyes.
There were likely two to three thousand people on the platform now. To unlock the inheritance opportunity, they would need to eliminate the others.
Those with cultivation at the higher tiers of Heavenly Martial quietly breathed a sigh of relief. With cultivation suppressed, they had a chance to remain. Otherwise, how could they compete with Martial Kings and Martial Venerables?
Seeing the crowd’s reactions, a broad smile spread across Lin Xiao’s face. With cultivation suppressed to the ninth tier of Heavenly Martial, whom did he have to fear?
He could even kill low-tier Martial Kings, let alone those at the ninth tier of Heavenly Martial.
“Hehe!” Lin Xiao’s grinning gaze turned toward Liu Yan and Gong Hongyun. With cultivation suppressed to the same realm, these two, with whom he had deep grudges, needed to be dealt with.
Catching Lin Xiao’s look, both men’s hearts quivered, especially Liu Yan’s. He knew Lin Xiao’s strength—back then, Lin Xiao had injured several Martial Kings with explosions. If he could unleash that now, even at the Martial King level, Liu Yan had little confidence in stopping him.
The two sixth-tier Martial Venerables weren’t as wary of Lin Xiao, but they were deeply cautious of Hu Yue, for she held the Sky Spider Demon Silk.
“Same realm or not, I can still kill you. Lin Xiao, dare to face me alone?” At that moment, the grey-robed youth stepped forward, pointing at Lin Xiao and issuing an angry challenge.
Having been ambushed by Lin Xiao at the stone gate, he had long harboured a grudge against him.
As a genius of his generation, he naturally didn’t fear Lin Xiao. He had never seen Lin Xiao truly fight and didn’t take him seriously at all.
In truth, the black-robed youth beside him harboured even stronger killing intent. Having been beaten and stepped on by Lin Xiao, he was itching to act, but since the grey-robed youth had already stepped up, he didn’t rush forward.
The others weren’t eager to act either. Letting these powerful figures fight first was advantageous for them.
Neither the old man in the dark robe nor Guan Shuo moved hastily. They too wanted to gauge Lin Xiao’s strength, letting the grey-robed youth test him.
Of course, Guan Shuo was slightly concerned. The grey-robed youth wasn’t one of his people. If he won, Lin Xiao’s possessions might fall into the grey-robed youth’s hands.
At the same time, he was preparing to snatch Lin Xiao’s belongings if he lost.
Deep down, he was more excited about the inheritance of this platform. Lin Xiao’s previous inheritance might not be as impressive as imagined—perhaps he hadn’t gained any true inheritance, only some treasures to control skeletons.
The real inheritance likely lay within this platform.
“Don’t kill him!” the black-robed youth warned the grey-robed youth. Inheritance aside, he still had a score to settle with Lin Xiao personally and wanted to see him suffer.
“Relax, I’ll make him beg for death,” the grey-robed youth replied coldly. He stepped forward, his figure blurring into an afterimage as he shot toward Lin Xiao.
“Lin Xiao, some people aren’t for you to offend!” As the grey-robed youth charged, he gripped his long sabre tightly with both hands, leapt high, and brought it crashing down toward Lin Xiao.
The sabre, radiating overwhelming power and brilliant light, descended like a mountain, piercing the air with a sharp, bamboo-splitting sound.
The immense pressure from the sabre made the surrounding crowd’s hearts pound. They inwardly admitted they couldn’t withstand such force.
Yet, at that moment, Lin Xiao hadn’t even moved, standing still as if rooted to the spot.
“Is he scared stiff?”
“One strike to kill!”
Such thoughts flashed through the crowd’s minds.
Boom!
But to everyone’s shock, the grey-robed youth’s sabre veered slightly off course, crashing heavily into the ground beside Lin Xiao.
The grey-robed youth had missed!
“He used a Spirit Controller technique!” someone exclaimed.
At that instant, Lin Xiao’s sword swung out with force, slashing toward the grey-robed youth at his side.
Lin Xiao had been preparing this move for a while, risking everything to use his spiritual energy to subtly shift the grey-robed youth’s body off balance. Then, with perfect timing, he unleashed a swift, precise, and ruthless sword strike aimed at the youth’s neck.
This blow carried every ounce of strength in his body.
“No!” The grey-robed youth cried out, his expression shifting to one of shock, regret, anger, and fear.
He could never have imagined this outcome.
“Pfft!”
Blood sprayed as the grey-robed youth’s head flew sideways.
“…”
Everyone stared, dumbfounded. One strike—just one strike—and the grey-robed youth’s head was severed, killed instantly.
A generation’s young Martial King had fallen just like that, without even showcasing his true strength or talent.
“You!” The old man in the dark robe trembled. A genius he had brought was dead, a result completely beyond his expectations.
He never imagined Lin Xiao would be so reckless—not defending against the grey-robed youth’s attack but instead biding his time to deliver a full-force killing blow.
In such a situation, the grey-robed youth hadn’t had a chance to strike again, dying unjustly on the platform.
The old man’s eyes seemed to blaze with fire, boundless killing intent surging within them.
The black-robed youth and purple-robed youth’s faces darkened ominously.
The onlookers’ expressions shifted, inwardly stunned by Lin Xiao’s boldness and ruthlessness.
“With so many people waiting for me to fight, I don’t have time to play around with you. One strike to kill,” Lin Xiao said calmly, glancing at the grey-robed youth’s fallen body. He appeared unfazed, as if he had merely swatted a fly.
