.
“Originally, you didn’t have to die, and you could’ve even killed me. But alas, you were too slow. Now, you can go die!”
With those words, Lu Hong struggled to throw a punch, unleashing a faintly glowing fist beam.
The radiant beam, carrying only one or two tenths of a Martial Venerable’s power, shot toward Lin Xiao.
Though Lu Hong’s heavily injured state weakened the attack, for Lin Xiao, whose vital energy was sealed, it was surely a fatal blow.
Lu Hong could already picture Lin Xiao being obliterated by the punch.
“Don’t you notice I’m still standing in the void?”
But then, Lu Hong heard Lin Xiao’s slightly cold voice. Immediately, he saw a massive spiritual seal burst from Lin Xiao’s forehead, blocking his fist beam.
With a “boom,” Lu Hong’s fist beam shattered, merging with the spiritual seal into rolling waves of energy that dispersed in all directions.
“You, you’re a fourth-rank advanced Spirit Controller!” Sensing Lin Xiao’s spiritual energy, Lu Hong’s expression changed drastically. Only now did he realise that, despite Lin Xiao’s vital energy being sealed and his vital energy wings gone, he remained standing in the void. This meant Lin Xiao could control flight, a hallmark of a Spirit Controller.
It was obvious, but he hadn’t noticed earlier.
The Body-Penetrating Essence-Blocking Powder only sealed vital energy, leaving mental spiritual power unaffected. As a fourth-rank advanced Spirit Controller, Lu Hong, in his injured state, wasn’t just unable to kill Lin Xiao—he might not even escape.
Lu Hong began to regret scheming to kill Lin Xiao with his meager strength.
His precious Body-Penetrating Essence-Blocking Powder couldn’t kill a fourth-rank advanced Spirit Controller like Lin Xiao.
If he’d known, he wouldn’t have used this method, wasting the powder and thoroughly offending Lin Xiao, landing himself in danger.
“Lin Xiao, you, you can’t kill me! I’m Lu Yu’s grandson. If you kill me, my grandfather won’t let you go!”
Terrified, Lu Hong resorted to threatening Lin Xiao with Lu Yu’s name.
“I’m not afraid of Cao Tianchao, so why would I fear a mere Lu Yu?” Lin Xiao’s face flashed with anger, a glint of killing intent in his eyes.
Though the powder’s effect would wear off in an hour and posed little threat, encountering a strong expert or spirit beast in that time could cause him serious trouble.
“Now, you can die!” Lin Xiao prepared to act, but just then, a booming shout came from ahead, “Stop!!!”
Amid the shout, figures riding vital energy wings sped toward them.
Ten in total—eight were low-tier Martial Venerables, ranging from First to Third Rank, with only two at Fourth Rank.
The moment they appeared, they surrounded Lin Xiao, standing in the void.
“Does my killing him concern you?” Lin Xiao frowned, asking coldly.
This place wasn’t large, with likely only a thousand Martial Venerable youths inside. The commotion had quickly drawn a crowd.
“We’re not tied to the Lu family, but we’d like to save their people,” said a grey-robed youth, nearly thirty and a Fourth Rank Martial Venerable, speaking bluntly.
“Stop him, and I, Lu Hong, swear the Lu family will befriend you!” Seeing the group, Lu Hong’s hope reignited, and he quickly addressed the grey-robed youth.
He knew the youth aimed to curry favour with the Lu family.
In a place like this, aligning with one of the three major families offered significant benefits.
“Clever idea, but let’s see if you have the ability!” Knowing their intentions, Lin Xiao wasted no words. His mental spiritual power surged, unleashing the Devouring Sky Azure Flame spiritual energy.
In Lu Hong’s current state, he likely couldn’t muster another attack. Pure spiritual energy, without a technique, was enough to kill him easily.
“Spiritual energy!” Lu Hong and the ten others were shocked, never expecting Lin Xiao to possess it.
“Attack!” Amid the shock, the grey-robed youth shouted, charging forward with a slashing sword beam.
The others attacked too, surrounding and assaulting Lin Xiao.
But their attacks were too slow. Lin Xiao’s Devouring Sky Azure Flame spiritual energy reached Lu Hong, surging toward his body.
“Swoosh!”
At that moment, a brilliant light enveloped Lu Hong, pulling him back at incredible speed to a mountain peak a thousand zhang away, outside the group’s encirclement.
“Escape talisman!” Lin Xiao was slightly surprised. Lu Yu clearly doted on Lu Hong, giving him so many life-saving tools.
After missing, Lin Xiao redirected his Devouring Sky Azure Flame toward the Fourth Rank Martial Venerable’s sword beam.
Simultaneously, he used his spiritual power to propel himself skyward.
The group’s attacks missed, colliding with each other, unleashing torrents of energy and massive shockwaves.
Under the powerful waves, Lin Xiao’s body was pushed higher.
Fortunately, the attacks came from low-tier and two Fourth Rank Martial Venerables. His spiritual power speed matched theirs, so he was only pushed back, not truly harmed.
“Kill him! Quick, kill him! His vital energy is sealed by the Body-Penetrating Essence-Blocking Powder, so he can only use spiritual power!” From the mountain peak, Lu Hong shouted frantically, his voice full of rage and killing intent.
“So that’s it!” The grey-robed youth and others understood why Lin Xiao’s strength didn’t match the rumours.
“Kill him! He carries great treasures, and the Xu and Lu families offer huge rewards!” Another Fourth Rank Martial Venerable youth shouted, soaring toward Lin Xiao.
At this, the others, as if injected with adrenaline, surged with enthusiasm, pushing their speed to the limit.
“So, saving the Lu family’s people was just a side goal. Killing me is your real aim, isn’t it?” Lin Xiao sneered at the oncoming group, his mental spiritual power surging as he activated the Devouring Sky Technique. His fourth-rank advanced spiritual power could already contend with fifth-rank beginner Spirit Controllers or low-tier Martial Venerables. With spiritual energy and techniques, he feared these ten not at all.
