“Boom!”
At this moment, as if the thunder of the nine heavens had exploded, rolling heavenly thunder poured down, channelled through Lin Xiao’s broken sword into his body.
Immediately, Lin Xiao slashed downward with a single stroke. Vast, unmatched heavenly thunder surged from the broken sword, like a river of lightning, crashing onto the evil force approaching him.
“Boom!”
Another earth-shaking thunderous roar erupted. Waves of energy, vast as the sea, burst forth. The evil fist glow shattered continuously under the assault, and the rolling thunder, carrying immense fluctuations and waves, engulfed Xie Yun.
At this point, Xie Yun was already retreating rapidly, but he was still caught by the terrifying thunder and waves. Spitting out a large mouthful of blood, he was blasted out of the formation.
The edges of the formation, struck by the rolling thunder and waves, let out a sharp sizzling sound.
Without the formation’s protection, Xie Yun’s injuries would likely have been far worse.
The crowd was once again shocked. The power of the heavenly thunder Lin Xiao summoned was indeed terrifying, far beyond what a second-level Martial Lord could withstand.
Even a second-level Martial Lord from the eight major sects could not endure it.
Naturally, Lin Xiao did not pursue Xie Yun to deliver a killing blow.
He was not a bloodthirsty killer. Unless someone clearly intended to kill him or was his enemy, he saw no need to slaughter indiscriminately.
“Challenge failed. Next, Spear Dragon Sect, Chen Long!” Before Lin Xiao could step off the stage, the referee announced.
“I’ll challenge Lin Xiao again!” Chen Long declared immediately, leaping into the formation, sparing Lin Xiao the need to leave the stage.
“What power do you want to test this time?” Lin Xiao asked calmly.
“It’s not about testing your power!” Chen Long shook his head. “I want to show you the strength of our Spear Dragon Sect.”
With that, Chen Long’s second-level Martial Lord aura radiated. An intense, supreme yang energy surged forth, pure and majestic, as if it could suppress all evil and unorthodox forces.
In that instant, Chen Long seemed to transform into a righteous warrior, unyielding and upright, radiating purity and nobility.
“This is Noble Righteous Energy!” Lin Xiao’s heart jolted.
Noble Righteous Energy was a supreme, unyielding elemental force. Those who could emit it possessed a pure, yang attribute power known as Noble Righteous Power.
To cultivate such a power, one must have an upright, magnanimous, and righteous character.
Those with impure intentions or excessive killing intent could hardly succeed in cultivating it.
In essence, it was a pure, yang power nurtured through specific techniques under a righteous mindset.
This power was extremely formidable and had the ability to counter evil.
Years ago, the Devouring Spirit Emperor had encountered a powerful Noble Righteous Energy warrior, a figure feared by countless evil cultivators.
Lin Xiao had not expected the Spear Dragon Sect to cultivate Noble Righteous Power.
The eight major sects were indeed extraordinary.
“There is righteousness in heaven and earth, and the spear bestows form upon it!”
Chen Long thrust his long spear forward. Rolling Noble Righteous Energy gathered, and a dazzling golden spear glow shot out. The supreme, unyielding power seemed to represent the heavens, giving form to all things, causing the heavens and earth to resonate and the void to tremble.
Feeling the formidable might of the Noble Righteous Power, Lin Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly. The vast elemental force within his dantian surged.
Righteous power counters evil, but evil power can also dispel righteousness. When one’s power is superior, evil force is the fastest way to overcome Noble Righteous Power.
However, under such Noble Righteous Energy, using evil power felt disrespectful to Lin Xiao.
After all, he had only cultivated the Immortal Skeleton Technique and was not solely an evil cultivator. His heart was not evil, and using evil to suppress righteousness made him uneasy.
Thus, he did not use the Immortal Skeleton Technique. Instead, he unleashed the Yaoguang Sword Technique. “Chi!” Lin Xiao’s body turned transparent, then radiated dazzling white light. The Yaoguang Broken Sword in his hand shone even brighter, as if activated under the infusion of vast elemental force. It trembled faintly, and unmatched fluctuations surged from the sword and his body in all directions.
With a single slash, a brilliant, blinding white sword glow sliced forth. The void seemed on the verge of annihilation, and all things paled before this white sword glow.
“Boom!”
A deafening sound erupted as the white sword glow clashed with the Noble Righteous spear glow. A burst of light, brighter than the sun, exploded, and waves of energy, vast as the sea, surged in all directions.
This strike was evenly matched!
“Righteousness surges to the heavens, the spear hammers ten thousand chisels!” With a resounding shout, Chen Long charged forward, holding his spear with both hands. He leapt high and smashed down heavily.
Rolling Noble Righteous Energy surged, converging with Noble Righteous Power into a massive spear, dozens of zhang long and half a zhang thick. It crashed down towards Lin Xiao from above.
This giant spear, imbued with supreme, unmatched power, seemed capable of shattering everything, utterly terrifying.
“Chi!”
A transparent figure took shape in front of Lin Xiao. The figure’s face was indistinct, devoid of any life force.
Yet, this transparent humanoid seemed to contain earth-shaking power, radiating terrifying spiritual pressure. The moment it appeared, the entire space seemed to tremble.
“Swoosh!”
The transparent figure, like an unrivalled war god, clenched its fist and soared diagonally into the sky, striking directly at the Noble Righteous giant spear.
Clearly, this time, Lin Xiao had summoned the War God Main Spirit.
But that was not all. While summoning the War God Main Spirit, Lin Xiao unleashed the Yaoguang Sword Technique again. A dazzling white sword glow followed the War God Main Spirit, striking the Noble Righteous giant spear.
“Boom! Boom!”
Two deafening roars sounded in succession. A blinding light burst forth, illuminating all directions. Terrifying waves of energy exploded, surging towards Chen Long, who was above.
Like a leaf in a storm, Chen Long was swept upward by the impact, eventually pushed back to the formation’s barrier. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, in this clash, Chen Long was defeated, forced out of the formation!
However, Lin Xiao was slightly surprised. The Spear Dragon Sect’s Noble Righteous Power was indeed extraordinary. Even with his powerful War God Main Spirit and the Yaoguang Sword Technique unleashed through the Yaoguang Broken Sword, Chen Long was only slightly injured.
For other second-level Martial Lords, they would have at least spat out a large mouthful of blood.
“I’ve lost!” Chen Long, showing neither joy nor sorrow, cupped his hands towards Lin Xiao and retreated. He knew Lin Xiao had no intent to pursue and kill.
“I concede!” Lin Xiao stepped back to the edge of the stone platform.
The crowd buzzed with discussion again. Lin Xiao was truly the top of the preliminary summit rankings. Ordinary second-ranked figures from the eight major sects and four major chambers could not defeat him.
So far, no one had shaken Lin Xiao’s position.
Of course, the fourteenth-ranked disciple from the Burial Sect and the fifteenth-ranked disciple from the Ling Sword Sect had not yet had their chance to challenge.
It remained to be seen whether, after being pushed out of the rankings in the next round, they would dare to challenge Lin Xiao again.
Disciples from the Demon Sect, Evil Sect, and Spear Dragon Sect had all fallen to Lin Xiao. When it came to their turn to challenge, they would likely weigh their options carefully.
“Challenge failed. The second round of challenges begins. Xie Yun and Chen Long have one final challenge opportunity.” At this moment, the referee’s voice rang out again.
