Ignoring the crowd’s reactions, Lin Xiao stepped forward, stopping in front of Wei Dao. His eyes fixed on An Xuanhhao across from him, and he spoke calmly, “Who says disciples on the Human Star List don’t dare challenge you? I’m Lin Xiao, the top-ranked disciple on the Human Star List. Now, I’ll fight you to decide who stays. If we lose, the Saint City disciples will leave and never set foot here again. If you lose, you’ll get out and never return. Do you dare?”
At this, An Xuanhhao’s expression hardened. He had seen Lin Xiao defeat Mo Jiutian, but he didn’t believe Lin Xiao was his match. A mere top-ranked Human Star List disciple daring to challenge him like this?
The Saint City disciples’ expressions grew tense. Lin Xiao’s words meant that if the opponent agreed, this fight would determine the fate of both factions.
“Just you? Can you represent Saint City?” An Xuanhhao sneered.
Lin Xiao crossed his arms, saying nothing. At that moment, Ma Bi chimed in cooperatively, “That’s right, just him. He’s the top-ranked disciple on our Saint City’s Human Star List. His word represents ours.”
“I agree!” Hu Yue quickly raised her hand in support.
“I agree too!” Niu Bi added.
“No objections!” said the Asura Butcher.
“I support his decision,” Gu Juejin said with a faint smile.
An Xuanhhao and a few others from Black Cloud Valley inwardly scoffed. Of course, Lin Xiao’s close allies would agree.
“That’s right, his word is our word. As the top-ranked on the Human Star List, he has the authority to represent us,” Wei Dao finally declared.
With Wei Dao’s endorsement, others followed suit, most of them being part of the group Wei Dao had gathered.
“Very well, then let’s fight. One battle to decide who stays—and who lives or dies!” Seeing the Saint City group’s response, An Xuanhhao’s lips curled into a peculiar smirk as he drew a long spear.
“I fully agree with you!” Lin Xiao nodded approvingly. With a surge of spiritual power, he attached it to An Xuanhhao’s spear. With a sudden jerk, the spear smashed towards An Xuanhhao’s own chest.
Feeling the powerful force controlling the spear, An Xuanhhao was startled and hurriedly summoned his strength to stop it. Though he managed to weaken the force in his haste, the spear still struck his chest. This unexpected move, before the fight had even begun, stunned the crowd.
At that moment, Lin Xiao’s figure shot forward like lightning, reaching An Xuanhhao in an instant. A fist, seemingly turned to stone, slammed heavily into An Xuanhhao’s chest.
“Pfft!” An Xuanhhao spat out a mouthful of blood, his body hurtling backwards.
“Uh…”
In that instant, everyone was dumbfounded. The fight hadn’t even started, and An Xuanhhao was already injured by a single punch?
The once-domineering An Xuanhhao had been sent flying by Lin Xiao in mere moments?
The onlookers were utterly shocked.
The Nether Heaven Demon Palace group stood in stunned silence, while even the Saint City group showed disbelief. The outcome was too sudden.
“Whoosh!”
Seizing the advantage, Lin Xiao pressed forward. A skeletal palm shot out at incredible speed towards An Xuanhhao.
The stone hand’s power was immense. With Lin Xiao’s refined strength and An Xuanhhao caught off guard, the earlier punch to the chest was sure to have seriously injured him.
Now, following up with the spiritually powered skeletal palm, it would be difficult for An Xuanhhao to muster a strong defence in time, making this the perfect moment to strike.
As An Xuanhhao was still tumbling through the air, he saw the skeletal palm shooting towards him, his brows furrowing deeply. He hadn’t expected Lin Xiao’s consecutive attacks to be so swift, leaving him barely able to react. He hurriedly raised his spear to block his chest. Though he couldn’t muster much strength in time, it was better than taking the skeletal palm directly to the chest.
Clang!
The skeletal palm struck the spear heavily, producing a piercing metallic clash.
Simultaneously, eerie ghostly wails rang out. A sinister, evil aura surged from the skeletal palm, and a dazzling white light burst forth, carrying an ocean-like wave of malevolent power. Rolling white evil energy enveloped An Xuanhhao.
“No!!” An Xuanhhao let out a terrified scream. Then, his entire body was corroded by the skeletal palm’s power into a skeleton, meeting his end.
As the rolling evil energy dissipated, An Xuanhhao’s body had vanished from the crowd’s view, leaving only a stark white skeleton in its place.
Everyone was speechless, their jaws practically dropping to the ground, their expressions frozen.
A Martial King seventh-stage powerhouse on the Earth Demon List had been reduced to a skeleton in just two moves?
The scene was simply too unbelievable.
While the crowd was still in shock, Lin Xiao flew to the skeleton, and with a surge of spiritual power, he collected the entire skeleton.
A Martial King seventh-stage skeleton was decent material…
Seeing Lin Xiao not only kill An Xuanhhao but also collect his skeleton, the crowd gasped.
This guy was too bizarre—not only did he turn someone into a skeleton, but he didn’t even let the skeleton go. Did he have some kind of fetish?
After storing An Xuanhhao’s skeleton, Lin Xiao turned to the thirty or forty Nether Heaven Demon Palace disciples and said, “From now on, you’re not to set foot here again. But before you leave, lend me your skeletons!”
With that, the skeletal palm shot out towards the clustered group of thirty to forty people. Rolling evil energy erupted, and an ocean-like surge of malevolent power poured forth.
“Run!” The group was horrified. If even An Xuanhhao had been turned into a skeleton, they had no courage to resist. They scattered in all directions.
Now, with Lin Xiao’s even stronger spiritual power, comparable to an ordinary fourth-grade intermediate Spirit Control Master, the evil force unleashed through the skeletal palm was even more terrifying. Though these opponents weren’t weak, over a dozen were completely corroded into skeletons. A few had their arms or legs corroded, and those who reacted quickly used their vital energy to block, though they were still injured.
“Stop them!”
In that instant, Lin Xiao moved, throwing a punch that sent one fleeing opponent crashing to the ground.
At the same time, the Saint City group sprang into action. The Asura Butcher charged forward, his black blade flashing, instantly killing one opponent.
Gu Juejin also moved, his sword slicing through the air, decapitating another.
Hu Yue unleashed her assassin instincts, swiftly beheading an opponent.
Ma Bi, Niu Bi, Wei Dao, and the others also acted. With their opponents fleeing, it was the perfect chance to deal a heavy blow.
Seeing the methods of Gu Juejin, Hu Yue, and the others, Lin Xiao hurriedly shouted in distress, “Don’t break their bones!”
