“Such boundless arrogance! If a third-level Martial King like you can kill me, what’s the point of our Nether Sky Demon Palace’s Human Demon List? Since you’re so reckless, let me show you the true power of the Human Demon List!”
Ma Yin, thoroughly provoked by Lin Xiao, unleashed a chilling aura. Cold energy surged, his overwhelming presence sending shivers through the crowd, who instinctively retreated.
“Hiss!”
Lin Xiao wasted no words. He reached into his storage ring, pulling out a skeletal hand. Spiritual energy surged from his mind, propelling the hand toward Ma Yin, infused with vast spiritual power.
*Woo! Woo!*
Eerie wails, like ghosts and howling wolves, echoed. Thick white mist and malevolent energy poured from the skeletal hand, a dazzling white light bursting forth, carrying an ocean of wicked force toward Ma Yin.
“What!” Ma Yin’s face twisted in shock. He thrust out both palms, unleashing a torrent of energy like a raging storm, clashing with the skeletal hand’s malevolent force.
“Hiss! Hiss!”
The collision erupted in a fierce roar. Ma Yin’s energy crumbled instantly. Amid his horrified expression, the malevolent force slammed into him.
“No!”
A scream rang out, cut short in an instant. As the white mist cleared, only a stark white skeleton remained where Ma Yin had stood, collapsing slowly.
“What!” The crowd gasped in unison.
A living person, reduced to a skeleton in a blink? What kind of power was this?
The eighty-eighth-ranked Human Demon List disciple, killed in one move, reduced to a skeleton in such a gruesome way?
“How is this possible?” Even Wang Ming’s face showed disbelief, frozen in place.
Yuan Ren was equally stunned. Lin Xiao’s strike was this powerful?
Even he couldn’t kill Ma Yin in one move, let alone so cleanly.
Those who’d mocked Lin Xiao felt a chill deep in their bones. They’d ridiculed him, yet he’d turned the eighty-eighth-ranked disciple into a skeleton with one strike?
They’d been courting death!
Amid the crowd’s shock, Lin Xiao did something even more astonishing. Not only did he kill Ma Yin, but he walked forward and stored the skeleton in his storage ring.
Yes, he took Ma Yin’s skeleton.
This sent another shiver through the crowd. What was Lin Xiao planning with Ma Yin’s skeleton? Some perverse hobby or sinister purpose?
“This guy’s terrifying. We can’t afford to cross him!” the crowd thought, trembling.
He’d killed Ma Yin and taken his skeleton. Despite his harmless, youthful appearance, his actions were ruthlessly wicked.
“You actually killed Ma Yin!” Wang Ming snapped out of his shock, his eyes cold with fury.
Though he wasn’t close to Ma Yin, they were both from the Nether Sky Demon Palace. Lin Xiao’s act was a direct slap to their face.
“Haha, I told you—if you didn’t withdraw, he’d die, and die ugly,” Gu Xuanyuan laughed, his face alight with excitement.
“Hmph, Gu Xuanyuan, don’t get cocky. Once I get the spirit stone and scroll, your Holy Origin Academy will pay!” Wang Ming retorted coldly.
“Who gets the stone and scroll is still up in the air!” Gu Xuanyuan shot back.
“Indeed, it’s not decided yet,” Lin Xiao said, stepping toward the hundred-metre boundary of the youth statue. He paused just outside the test’s range, then sent a surge of spiritual energy toward the fourth-grade spirit stone.
He thought his spiritual energy might bypass the need to enter, retrieving the stone directly.
“Hiss!” But his spiritual energy was repelled, unable to penetrate the space.
His attempt went unnoticed by others.
“It’s like Jun Zang’s gravity palace. Only personal endurance can pass this test,” Lin Xiao sighed inwardly, stepping into the hundred-metre range.
Instantly, a powerful force pushed against him, trying to expel him.
But it was within his tolerance.
“Hmph, overestimating yourself!” Wang Ming sneered.
“Be careful, the repelling force is strong!” the grey-robed youth warned, recalling how they’d been ejected.
Lin Xiao nodded, advancing steadily. His pace was only slightly slower than normal, and soon, he’d covered half the distance.
Wang Ming and Yuan Ren’s eyes narrowed. It had taken them significant time to reach that point, yet Lin Xiao was faster.
“Hmph, his cultivation’s too low. He’ll stall further in,” Yuan Ren thought coldly.
The crowd outside the range no longer dared to mock Lin Xiao. Instead, they watched with anticipation, curious how far he’d go.
In another quarter-hour, Gu Xuanyuan, Wang Ming, and Yuan Ren managed a few more steps but stopped, unable to proceed.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao reached their former position—ten metres from the statue.
Seeing him arrive so quickly, Wang Ming and Yuan Ren’s faces darkened.
A mere third-level Martial King, faster than them?
Even Gu Xuanyuan frowned. Could Lin Xiao actually surpass them?
The crowd was astonished. Lin Xiao’s progress far exceeded their expectations—no one else had reached that point.
Unbeknownst to them, Lin Xiao had faced similar trials in Jun Zang’s gravity palace. Though that was downward force and this was repelling, the principle was similar.
Moreover, Lin Xiao’s body, tempered by the gravity palace and heavenly lightning, was extraordinarily resilient, making this test manageable.
What surprised him was that, within fifty metres of the statue, the space wasn’t just filled with repelling force but also a mysterious energy that seemed to petrify the body, slowing him down.
Otherwise, he’d have reached the statue in less than a quarter-hour.
No wonder even Gu Xuanyuan moved so slowly, and the trio seemed at their limit, barely able to advance.
Pausing briefly, Lin Xiao channelled his immense strength and stepped forward again. In less than half a quarter-hour, he reached the same line as Yuan Ren, Wang Ming, and Gu Xuanyuan.
“Are you three waiting for me?” Lin Xiao grinned, glancing at them.
