“I… I’ll kill you!” Yu Xiang erupted in fury, her Heavenly Martial ninth-rank aura bursting forth. But it was useless. Hu Yue’s palm seemed to carry immense power, striking again, leaving Yu Xiang defenseless.
Slap!
Blood sprayed from the corner of Yu Xiang’s mouth as her body was slapped to the ground.
Yu Xiang’s heart burned with shame and rage. Knocked down, her image shattered, her dignity gone—she was on the verge of madness.
“You… I’ll kill you!!!” Yu Xiang shrieked.
“Still talking tough!” Hu Yue stepped forward, stomping heavily on Yu Xiang’s face, twisting it grotesquely. Another gush of blood sprayed from Yu Xiang’s mouth, her appearance as wretched as could be.
Everyone was dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out.
They knew Lin Xiao was formidable and could afford to be arrogant, but they hadn’t expected this little girl to be so brutal—slapping Yu Xiang, knocking her down, and then stomping her face into the dirt.
No one could believe their eyes. This world was too insane.
Yu Xiang herself was in disbelief, then promptly fainted from rage.
After stomping for a while, Hu Yue finally lifted her foot, clapped her hands, and turned her gaze to the two Heavenly Martial ninth-rank disciples beside Yu Xiang, who were also there to target Tianmen.
They hadn’t yet faced Ba Hu, who was also Heavenly Martial ninth-rank, before the situation spiraled out of control.
Beside them stood a group of disciples ranging from fourth to seventh-rank Heavenly Martial, unscathed because they hadn’t had the chance to attack Tianmen’s lower-rank disciples.
Under Hu Yue’s gaze, the two ninth-rank disciples trembled. Hu Yue’s strength seemed far from simple, or Yu Xiang wouldn’t have been beaten so helplessly.
Yu Xiang was, after all, Heavenly Martial ninth-rank.
Hu Yue, being lower in cultivation, could still attack them.
More critically, they didn’t have Yu Xiang’s backing. They were just here to help. Even if they teamed up and barely won, they’d face endless trouble later.
Not to mention, they had a gut feeling that even together, they couldn’t stop this girl.
So, both deeply regretted tagging along with Yu Xiang’s group.
“If you don’t want a beating, carry them out for me,” Hu Yue ordered.
Her words let the two breathe a quiet sigh of relief, as did the other unscathed low-rank disciples. With Tianmen’s momentum, if their other disciples acted, the outcome was uncertain.
Seeing Lin Xiao and Hu Yue’s methods, they felt dread. Tianmen was no pushover.
“Everyone, get lost!” Lin Xiao’s gaze swept over Yu Xiang’s group, his voice commanding.
The group jolted, quickly hoisting Yu Xiang, Jia Chao, and the others, fleeing the scene at top speed.
“Tianmen’s really fierce, but treating Yu Xiang like that will bring trouble later.”
“At the grand competition, someone’s bound to target them. They’ll probably be in for it then.”
“But these fearless calves aren’t easy to mess with. Better not provoke them unnecessarily.”
The onlookers sighed, dispersing one by one.
Lin Xiao couldn’t help but give Hu Yue a thumbs-up. That stomp was ruthless.
But Hu Yue’s next words choked back his praise.
“No big deal. If a storm comes, you’ll handle it,” Hu Yue said nonchalantly.
“I…” Lin Xiao was speechless.
But she was right.
Of course, now at first-rank Martial King, Lin Xiao wasn’t afraid of trouble. High-ranks couldn’t attack lower-ranks, which was a massive shield for Tianmen.
Later, Lin Xiao learned about the trial from Tianmen’s disciples.
This trial had cost Tianmen dearly, losing several members, the cause being an encounter with You Tian Demon Palace disciples.
The enemy had vented their rage over Lin Xiao killing one of their Martial Venerables, targeting Holy Origin Academy disciples with ruthless attacks.
This ignited Lin Xiao’s fury. If he met You Tian Demon Palace disciples in the future, he’d show no mercy.
In the following days, the news of Yu Xiang being slapped spread, sparking heated discussion. Some came to stir trouble with Tianmen, only to be beaten back brutally by Lin Xiao and Tianmen’s disciples.
After that, no one dared cause trouble. The stronger first-rank Martial King disciples were preparing for the grand competition two months away, and they wouldn’t act for Yu Xiang’s sake.
Even Yu Xiang’s backer, Xiahou Jing, was in secluded training for the competition and didn’t appear.
The conflict between Tianmen and Yu Xiang’s group gradually died down.
Lin Xiao shifted his focus to cultivating spiritual power.
Having reached the Martial King realm, raising cultivation quickly was difficult. His spiritual power, stuck at mid-tier third-grade for a while, was on the cusp of a breakthrough.
He was confident that two months of dedicated spiritual training would elevate it.
And it did, surpassing his expectations. In just half a month, he raised his spiritual power to high-tier third-grade.
With his ability to fight across ranks, he could take on average low-tier fourth-grade spiritual controllers—roughly equivalent to ordinary first- to third-rank low-tier Martial Kings.
But that was only against the most average. To face powerful geniuses with high-tier third-grade spiritual power alone was far from enough.
For the next two months, Lin Xiao threw himself into martial skill training.
The grand competition, two months away, would be filled with powerhouses, especially second- and third-rank Martial King super-geniuses, each with cross-rank combat ability and earth-shaking techniques. Their combat power would be immense, so he needed stronger trump cards.
He trained for two solid months.
During this time, the Holy City’s factions were active, recruiting promising geniuses.
Duan Cangsheng joined the Inner Court Martial Alliance. Huan Die joined the Moon Gate. Dao Yi joined the Blade-Sword Alliance.
Bu Xi joined the Blade-Sword Alliance, Wu Ke joined the fourth-ranked inner court faction, the Tyrant Alliance, and Yu Long joined the Martial Alliance.
Most promising new disciples were absorbed by major factions.
But there were exceptions. Gu Juejin, highly regarded by many, founded his own faction, the First Alliance, in the Holy City. On its founding day, several factions sent fighters of matching cultivation to challenge them.
The results were mixed. Lower-rank disciples were beaten badly, but at first-rank Martial King, Gu Han and others dominated. At second-rank Martial King, Hong Feng defeated five challengers in a row, earning fame in one battle.
Gu Juejin didn’t even need to act.
The First Alliance secured its foothold in the Holy City.
Meanwhile, the equally hyped Shura Butcher took on missions relentlessly upon entering the Holy City, always out on trials, leaving factions unable to recruit him.
Many approached Lin Xiao too, but Tianmen’s disciples turned them away, as Lin Xiao had declared he wouldn’t join any faction and was in seclusion.
Two months later, a radiant glow erupted from Lin Xiao, bright white light illuminating his room. Thankfully, he quickly suppressed it, and being daytime in a large courtyard, the commotion didn’t spread.
Two months of dedicated training had finally yielded the Yaoguang Sword Technique.
Of course, it was merely the basics, far from the mastery of Emperor Yaoguang.
During these two months, Tianmen’s disciples also progressed.
Wang Long solidified his first-rank Martial King cultivation. Hu Yue broke through again, reaching Heavenly Martial eighth-rank. Ba Hu was half a step from Martial King, and three others reached Heavenly Martial seventh-rank.
As Tianmen grew stronger, others were advancing too. These two to three months, everyone was training frantically for the grand competition.
Especially the geniuses newly joined to major factions, who, with abundant resources, made leaps in strength.
As time passed, the much-anticipated grand competition finally arrived.
