At that moment, the cloaked youth sitting at the same table as Ling Hu and Lin Xiao was stunned, frozen in place. He never imagined that the young man before him could be so accurate with his words, predicting that this time, the Lanlan Empire would lose.
They all knew that among the Lanlan Empire’s youths under thirty, there seemed to be no one stronger than Ye Yu. The empire’s second choice was supposed to be Prince Meng Sheng, but he had been skipped.
They had thought Wusha and Ye Yu could defeat their opponents, but who could have expected the other side to produce such a monstrous talent?
As things stood, the Lanlan Empire likely had no one left for a fourth contender.
“Are you talking about me? Heh heh.” Noticing the gaze fixed on him from the sky, Ling Hu chuckled and stood up with great interest.
The cloaked youth was instantly taken aback. This guy, could he really have the strength to compete at this level?
Not only the cloaked youth, but others were also surprised.
Ling Hu’s previous two appearances had been too shocking. Even now, with the opponent being older and absurdly powerful, they still had some faith in him.
“Ling Hu, that’s my cousin,” Lin Xiao transmitted to the now-excited Ling Hu.
Ling Hu was startled, replying in shock, “No wonder he’s so strong. So he’s your cousin.”
“In that case, I won’t go up,” Ling Hu chuckled and promptly sat back down. If it was Lin Xiao’s cousin, that made him an ally. Why fight one of their own?
Seeing Ling Hu sit down, the crowd was dumbfounded.
They thought Ling Hu was about to take the stage, but he just stood up for a moment…
However, no one blamed him. The opponent’s strength was overwhelming, and nearly ten years older, not on the same level. It was reasonable for Ling Hu to stay out of it.
Still, his sudden standing and silly grin left them puzzled.
“No, I want you to go up,” Lin Xiao transmitted privately to Ling Hu.
“Uh, you’re not asking me to go up and publicly defeat your cousin, are you?” Ling Hu asked, confused.
“With your strength, my cousin wouldn’t stand a chance. But I’m not sending you up to beat him, I want you to lose to him,” Lin Xiao replied.
Ling Hu was even more baffled. Go up to lose on purpose and embarrass himself? That’s not how you boost your cousin’s reputation…
“I’m sending you up to ask him about my father and others’ whereabouts, and about the two empires…” Lin Xiao explained briefly.
His intention was clear: he wanted Ling Hu to get close to Lin Qinglun and use spiritual sense to ask about his father, Hu Mo, and others’ whereabouts, whether Lin Qinglun had rescued them from the Lanlan Empire, the forces behind the two empires, and whether the Moyu Empire knew about the Chaos Lands.
Spiritual sense, in essence, was a form of perception, used to gauge an opponent’s cultivation.
In combat, attacks, dodges, and reactions—moves too fast for the eyes to follow—relied on spiritual sense for perception.
The path of martial arts held many wonders: martial intent, dantian phenomena, special physiques, unique bloodlines, pressure, aura, and so on. Spiritual sense was one of them. Every martial artist possessed it upon entering the martial path.
However, the lower the cultivation, the weaker the spiritual sense.
Warriors at the initial Yuanwu Realm could only sense their own bodies, a form of inner vision, which was their spiritual sense.
At the Xuanwu Realm, this sense extended beyond the body, clearly perceiving a few yards out; at the Tianwu Realm, it reached a dozen yards; at the Martial King level, tens of yards; and at the Martial Venerable level, hundreds of yards.
Spiritual sense also enabled abilities like transmitting messages.
However, warriors could also detect spiritual sense, especially at close range to someone powerful, making it easy to intercept.
Thus, Lin Xiao had asked Ling Hu to get close to Lin Qinglun for a private transmission, to avoid detection by any Martial Lords present.
Understanding Lin Xiao’s intent, Ling Hu realised he was being sent to gather information, not to lose deliberately.
With that, in full view of the crowd, Ling Hu stood up again.
The crowd, just recovering from their shock, was surprised again. What was this guy up to? Couldn’t he resist and wanted to try his luck?
“Let me test his strength,” Ling Hu grinned, then shot into the sky, facing Lin Qinglun.
The crowd was stunned again. Hadn’t he sat down? Why was he going up now?
Was he unable to resist the crowd’s gazes, rushing up in a moment of hot-headedness?
“Too young,” many sighed inwardly.
The cloaked youth at Lin Xiao’s table was stunned once more.
“Good, I’d like to see your limits,” Lin Qinglun said from the sky, his fighting intent radiating.
Ling Hu grinned, showing no intent to fight, and privately transmitted, “You’re Lin Xiao’s cousin, Lin Qinglun?”
Lin Qinglun’s body stiffened, shocked.
“You know me?” he asked, puzzled. He wore an aura-concealing treasure, unknown to anyone outside his group.
“Seems so. Lin Xiao has some questions for you,” Ling Hu transmitted, relaying Lin Xiao’s words.
Learning Lin Xiao was present, Lin Qinglun was shocked but kept his composure, glancing at Lin Xiao’s position. Lin Xiao nodded back.
The two stood in the sky for quite a while.
“Why haven’t they attacked? Are they still sizing each other up?”
“Could Ling Hu really be so strong that even that youth is wary?”
After a long wait with no action, the crowd’s surprised voices rose.
Amid their murmurs, the two finally moved. Their attacks were simple, striking each other unhurriedly.
Boom!
A loud clash erupted as their fists and palms collided, a terrifying force bursting between them. Ling Hu was pushed back dozens of yards.
The crowd was shocked. Ling Hu could withstand a strike from the Moyu Empire’s iron-masked youth?
This was the same youth who defeated a mid-tier fourth-rank spiritual controller in one move. Was Ling Hu’s strength that formidable?
Though Ling Hu wasn’t knocked away in one move, it was clear his power was inferior. Continuing the fight would likely yield the same result.
This reassured the two empires’ crowds. Ling Hu wasn’t as heaven-defying as feared, not crushing their champions in one move as before, easing their concerns.
“I’m done,” Ling Hu laughed heartily, then swiftly descended.
By leaving, Ling Hu conceded. The two empires’ crowds grew excited, while the Lanlan Empire’s felt a sense of loss.
But they didn’t blame Ling Hu. In their eyes, he’d done his best. The opponent was just too strong.
“Conceded,” Lin Qinglun said, cupping his fists.
Back at the ordinary table, as soon as Ling Hu returned, Hu Yue hurriedly asked, “How did it go?”
When Ling Hu went up, Lin Xiao had informed Hu Yue.
Lin Xiao himself was anxious, delaying action because he wasn’t certain about his father and clan’s fate.
