High above, ten miles from the mountain gate.
“Blazing Spear, Annihilate!” A thunderous shout erupted from Liang Ye’s mouth. Radiant golden energy, like roaring flames, converged into a long river, surging towards Duan Dongtian.
“Severing Emperor Fist, Second Stage!”
Duan Dongtian roared, swinging his right fist. A dazzling fist aura, carrying even greater might, struck the blazing river.
“Rumble!”
A blazing light exploded, torrential waves of power surging in all directions, the unmatched shockwaves crashing onto Liang Ye.
“Pfft!” Liang Ye spat a mouthful of blood, his body sent flying backward.
Liang Ye was defeated!
The crowd was shocked. Duan Dongtian, at the Ninth Stage Martial Venerable realm, had defeated a Fifth Stage Martial Lord of the Spear Dragon Sect. His strength was terrifying!
The Spear Dragon Sect disciples were stunned. They had hoped Liang Ye, a Fifth Stage Martial Lord, could restore their honour.
But even Liang Ye fell to Duan Dongtian.
How could the Spear Dragon Sect bear such shame?
The sect’s other two stronger Fifth Stage Martial Lords were in seclusion, absent. Even if they could find another excuse, no one remained to fight.
In other words, Duan Dongtian had single-handedly swept through the Spear Dragon Sect, leaving them utterly humiliated.
“Anyone else unconvinced?” Duan Dongtian shouted loudly.
The Spear Dragon Sect disciples’ faces darkened, unable to retort, filled with frustration.
“If no one objects, then wait for Lin Xiao to come out and face his death!” Duan Dongtian roared, his eyes gleaming with killing intent.
“Elder Zhong, please inform Lin Xiao the moment he emerges. We will wait outside the mountain gate,” Zheren Feng added.
Zhong Moyang and the Spear Dragon Sect members looked grim.
Before Zhong Moyang could respond, a calm voice rang out, “No need.”
As the voice fell, a figure appeared before the crowd.
“Lin Xiao! It’s Lin Xiao!” Someone among the onlookers exclaimed.
Many at the Southeast Region Youth Assembly recognised Lin Xiao instantly.
Zheren Feng and the others narrowed their eyes.
Zhong Moyang and the Spear Dragon Sect members were stunned. Lin Xiao had arrived at this moment?
“Just out of seclusion, I could use a sparring partner. Since someone wants to kill me, that’s perfect!” Lin Xiao said calmly, eyeing the stern-looking middle-aged man resembling Duan Tianya, his heart brimming with battle intent.
Having broken through to the Ninth Stage Martial Venerable, he was eager to test his strength.
A Fourth Stage Martial Lord was no longer his match. This man, capable of defeating a Fifth Stage Martial Lord, was the perfect opponent.
“You’re Lin Xiao?” Duan Dongtian’s eyes narrowed, a glint of killing intent flashing within them as he saw the youthful figure.
“That’s right!” Lin Xiao replied.
“I thought you’d hide for a while, but you dare to show yourself!”
Duan Dongtian’s body radiated intense killing intent, his eyes coldly fixed on Lin Xiao. “Lin Xiao, you dared to kill my son, Duan Dongfeng. Today, I’ll make you pay with your life!”
“So it was you, beast, who killed my son!” Yang Lan, among Zheren Feng’s group, glared with murderous rage. “Dongtian, don’t let him die too easily!”
Nearby, Duan Tianya clenched his fists tightly. Others from the Duan family, Ling Sword Sect, and Xing family also turned cold.
“Rest assured, I’ll make sure he suffers!” Duan Dongtian clenched his fists, his killing intent reaching its peak.
“So, you’re here to avenge Duan Dongfeng!” Lin Xiao’s face showed deep disdain. “The Duan family is truly pathetic!”
“If that’s the case, your Duan family should just skip the next Southeast Region Youth Assembly.”
At this, Duan Dongtian and the Duan family were furious.
“You’re courting death!” Duan Dongtian’s eyes blazed with rage.
“Let’s see how a Ninth Stage Martial Venerable plans to kill me!”
Lin Xiao responded boldly, swinging his spear with a resounding clang. Sunlight glinted off the spear, his intense battle intent surging.
“Lin Xiao, be careful. He suppressed his cultivation with a secret technique. His strength isn’t weak,” Zhong Moyang warned.
Lin Xiao nodded, having already guessed this. Otherwise, defeating a Fifth Stage Martial Lord genius as a Ninth Stage Martial Venerable would be nearly impossible.
“Chi!”
A powerful Ninth Stage Martial Venerable aura radiated from Lin Xiao, his righteous energy surging, denser than even Lu Chuyou’s.
“You broke through to the Ninth Stage Martial Venerable?” Duan Dongtian, high above, narrowed his eyes, his expression growing serious.
Before coming, he heard Lin Xiao was only at the Seventh Stage Martial Venerable with Fifth-Grade High Spiritual Power.
And that was just after the Southeast Region Youth Assembly.
Now, in just one month, Lin Xiao had advanced two realms?
And it seemed he had successfully cultivated the Spear Dragon Sect’s righteous power.
How could his progress be so fast?
With Seventh Stage Martial Venerable and Fifth-Grade High Spiritual Power, he could kill Yang Xiu, a Fourth Stage Martial Lord.
Now, at Ninth Stage Martial Venerable with Fifth-Grade High Spiritual Power, how much stronger was he?
Zheren Feng, the Ling Sword Sect, Duan family, and Xing family were shocked. In just one month, Lin Xiao had advanced two Martial Venerable realms.
Duan Tianya’s expression grew serious. He knew how formidable Lin Xiao’s cross-tier combat ability was.
At Ninth Stage Martial Venerable, it wouldn’t be as easy for his father to kill Lin Xiao. Yang Lan’s face darkened, but she remained confident in Duan Dongtian, sneering inwardly, “Hmph, so what if he reached Ninth Stage Martial Venerable? He relied on Fifth-Grade High Spiritual Power and special abilities to defeat a Fourth Stage Martial Lord. Just increasing his base power, without boosting his special abilities or spiritual power, he won’t be Dongtian’s match!”
Unbeknownst to them, Lin Xiao had already broken through one realm after entering Shengshi Temple.
In the month since leaving Shengshi City, he had only advanced one Martial Venerable realm.
Even so, the Spear Dragon Sect disciples were shocked.
“Cultivating righteous power in one month? That’s insanely fast! It took me a year.”
“His speed surpasses even Brother Zhan Lan, who took three months!”
“His righteous energy is denser than Brother Lu’s, and he broke through a realm too. What a monster!”
“Indeed, the top genius of the Southeast Region Youth Assembly! But having just cultivated righteous power, he probably hasn’t mastered the Righteous Spear Technique’s moves yet, right?”
“How could he? Cultivating righteous power in a month is already impressive. That’s just the foundation. The three attack forms of the Righteous Spear Technique are harder than cultivating righteous power. Even Brother Zhan Lan took a year. Lin Xiao, no matter how fast, would need four or five months.”
“We took years to master the first form, and only a few succeeded. The second form? Only a handful mastered it. The third? Even Brother Zhan Lan might not have learned it. If it were that easy, our Righteous Spear Technique wouldn’t be so powerful.”
Amazed voices rose and fell, the Spear Dragon Sect disciples’ faces filled with shock and excitement.
Even Zhong Moyang was stunned, exclaiming, “I thought he’d cultivate righteous power in two months, but he did it in one. Faster than we imagined!”
In a hidden corner of the Spear Dragon Sect, the Second Elder sighed, “This kid is truly unexpected!”
At the mountain gate, the disciples’ discussions continued.
“Righteous power is formidable. Even basic spear techniques are powerful. We’re eager to see how strong Lin Xiao is at Ninth Stage Martial Venerable with righteous power!”
“He’ll definitely beat that Duan guy!”
“Lin Xiao, crush him! Crush that arrogant jerk!”
“Defeat him! Show them they can’t act cocky in our Spear Dragon Sect!”
“Make them leave!”
After the shock, the disciples shouted excitedly. Duan Dongtian had swept through their sect, shaming them. Lin Xiao’s appearance would surely restore their honour.
