Two figures, one man and one woman, appeared. The man was broad-shouldered and muscular, with a resolute face. The woman was graceful and full of vitality, as beautiful as a celestial being, with a charming and captivating allure.
“Zi Ling and Ling Hu!” Seeing their faces, the crowd was momentarily stunned, assuming the two had been hiding with Lin Xiao. Unexpectedly, they appeared at this critical moment.
Cao Youwei, Lu Chao, and others narrowed their eyes slightly. Of the two, one was a genius of the Zi family, and the other was from the Ling family, protected by the Jin family, and the son of Ling Xiao. Using them to threaten Lin Xiao into revealing himself might work, but actually harming them would cause significant trouble.
If it were just Ling Hu alone and he died in the Yuan Ling Pool secret realm, no one would dare claim it was their doing.
But with Zi Ling present, they absolutely couldn’t kill her. If they killed Ling Hu while Zi Ling was there, it would mean attacking someone from the Ling family, defying the Jin family’s martial emperor decree. If Ling Xiao pursued the matter openly, the consequences would be severe.
With the Yuan Ling Pool secret realm about to open, capturing the two to threaten Lin Xiao might not give enough time to force him out before the realm opened. Their top geniuses would rush into the Yuan Pool to absorb and refine its energy.
Even if Lin Xiao appeared later, the others lacked the strength to confront him.
Moreover, everyone’s focus would be on the Yuan Ling Pool, making it hard to unite against Lin Xiao.
Thus, the three major families hesitated, none taking the lead to act.
However, they also realised that the appearance of the two wasn’t entirely disadvantageous.
When the Yuan Ling Pool closed, as long as the two were still there, they’d have a two-hour window to force Lin Xiao to show himself.
Once inside the Yuan Ling Pool, a mysterious force would envelop those within, preventing any fighting and forcing them to focus on refining the pool’s energy.
But in the two hours before the Yuan Ling Pool secret realm ended, the pool would vanish. In past events, this was when the major forces clashed.
Even if Zi Ling and Ling Hu overcame the spirit beasts’ barriers and entered the Yuan Ling Pool, or if Lin Xiao somehow got in midway, they couldn’t stay inside forever.
Once the Yuan Ling Pool disappeared, they’d have their chance to strike.
“With so many people ganging up on a single skeleton, aren’t your Lu family a bit too shameless?” Zi Ling immediately called out to the Lu family members preparing to act.
At her words, Lu Qi and the Lu family members were furious. A mere dead object, and she accused them of bullying?
“Miss Zi Ling, I’m afraid your Zi family has no say in how my Lu family deals with a dead thing, do they?”
At this moment, Lu Chao, clad in red robes, spoke up, declaring, “This skeleton has caused my Lu family considerable trouble. Naturally, we must eliminate it. Please, Miss Zi Ling, do not interfere.”
As he spoke, Lu Chao glanced at Lu Qi and the others, his meaning clear: they should act, and if Zi Ling and Ling Hu interfered, they should suppress them.
This was a Lu family matter. If Zi Ling meddled, it would be overstepping, and they’d be justified in suppressing her, even if the Zi family elders came knocking.
“Kill!” Lu Qi commanded the group of Lu family youths beside him.
The group nodded, and a powerful aura of Martial Venerables erupted as they charged towards the skeleton’s position.
Including Lu Qi, there were eight in total.
Another twenty or so Lu family youths stood with Lu Chao, observing.
In their view, this force was more than enough to deal with a skeleton and Zi Ling and Ling Hu.
The eight charged at the skeleton, their unmatched blade lights and sword beams bursting forth, slashing towards it.
“Have you asked me, Ling Hu, before touching my brother’s things?”
At that moment, Ling Hu roared, his quadruple Martial Venerable aura surging out. Then, the sound of ripping clothes and tearing flesh followed as the skin on his right arm split apart.
His entire arm rapidly swelled into a massive beast claw. As it emerged, it seemed to shake the very void, an extremely terrifying aura radiating from his arm.
Boom!
Right from the start, Ling Hu unleashed a ferocious attack. With a swipe of his claw, a blood-red giant claw formed in front of it, exuding an overwhelming pressure as if from ancient primordial times, its wild and violent momentum shaking the heavens.
“Five Yin Demon Claw!”
With a thunderous shout, five blood-red giant claws shot towards the eight attackers, carrying terrifying power and crashing into the combined force of Lu Qi and the seven other Martial Venerables.
At the same time, Zi Ling’s body suddenly radiated purple light, dazzling and brilliant, illuminating the surroundings. A fearsome aura erupted from her.
A vast wave of spiritual energy surged from her head, spreading in all directions.
“Boom!”
A spiritual seal emerged from between her brows, rapidly expanding into a massive seal brimming with immense spiritual power. Alongside Ling Hu’s blood-red giant claw, it struck the eight attackers’ blade lights and sword beams.
“Rumble!”
In that instant, a thunderous roar echoed as vast waves of energy exploded, surging mostly towards Lu Qi and the others. All eight, including Lu Qi, were forced back by the terrifying force, and some of the weaker Martial Venerable youths even spat blood.
Everyone was shocked. Wasn’t Zi Ling just a fifth-grade junior spiritual controller? What was that purple light radiating from her? The spiritual seal she unleashed was incredibly powerful.
And Ling Hu, hadn’t he just recently burned his essence blood? How could he still unleash such a formidable attack?
Back in Ling family city, his cultivation was only at the second level of Martial Venerable. How had he reached the fourth level now?
Even at the fourth level, without burning essence blood, he shouldn’t have such overwhelming combat power.
After all, Lu Qi was the Lu family’s second-ranked genius, a seventh-level Martial Venerable, and with seven other Martial Venerables, even without using core martial techniques, their combined power was immense.
Yet, Zi Ling and Ling Hu’s combined strike had repelled all eight, even causing the weaker youths to spit blood.
Even Lu Chao, who had previously dismissed the two, showed a look of shock, especially puzzled by Zi Ling’s actions.
Zi Ling primarily cultivated spiritual power, with little focus on elemental power. Yet, when that purple light shone, her spiritual power surged, clearly exceeding that of a fifth-grade junior.
What kind of physique could enhance spiritual power in the mind?
He had never heard of such a thing.
Cao Youwei and Xu Changkong, hiding in the crowd, were also filled with doubt.
With their insight, they could tell Zi Ling had activated some special physique that boosted her spiritual power.
But even with their experience, they couldn’t fathom what kind of physique could enhance spiritual power.
Typically, special physique talents only boosted elemental power, unrelated to the mind’s spiritual power. Zi Ling’s case was truly an exception. If they weren’t mistaken, it was likely an extremely rare and terrifying physique.
