Ling Xiao simply sheathed the Golden Crow Sword, then threw two bare fists forward, fists wrapped in light force and shadow force.
This was the bluntest way to fight, a head-on clash.
BOOM!
After the thunderous impact, half of Ling Xiao’s body sank into the ground, both fists trembling.
Yet Crane Meng also staggered backwards, only steadying himself after three steps.
“Black Crow generals are truly formidable. Ling Xiao is impressed!”
He meant every word.
If the foe had been Wan Qiufeng or Jia Yun, one blow would have ended them.
Crane Meng was different. Endless battlefield experience, killing aura, battle spirit, none of it yielded to Ling Xiao.
That was grit forged in war.
Facing such men was genuinely perilous.
Ling Xiao would rather duel Jiumozhi Yan than tangle with this sort.
“Pah! Don’t flatter me, you little bastard. You’re no weakling yourself. Looks scrawny, but that strength rivals mine.”
Crane Meng spat bloody saliva and laughed through the curse.
“Same to you!”
Ling Xiao grinned.
“Think flattery will soften me? This is a battlefield. You die!”
Crane Meng snorted, hoisted both hammers again, and smashed straight down at Ling Xiao’s head.
This time the power surpassed the last. Behind him, the faint phantom of a giant hammer appeared.
“Great Hammer Martial Soul?”
Ling Xiao had never seen one.
In the Mysterious Realm, martial souls came in endless forms. A hammer was simply a rarer weapon than sword, spear, or halberd.
Right now Ling Xiao’s lower body was still buried. Crane Meng meant to pulp him while he was stuck.
One exchange had shown him Ling Xiao’s terrifying potential.
Crane Meng was thirty-six. This boy was sixteen, yet matched his raw power. Let the kid live and he would become the Black Crow Empire’s nightmare.
“Watch out!”
The guard captain suddenly roared.
He sensed nothing, only an icy chill in his heart. Every time that feeling struck, disaster followed.
But he was too late.
Ling Xiao could not move, yet his sword could.
The first clash had been a feint.
The true killer lurked inside their overlapping shadows: Void Shadow Crocodile.
CRACK!
Mid-air, Crane Meng’s body split in two. He died bewildered.
Void Shadow Crocodile was merely one of Ling Xiao’s techniques. Its raw power was modest, but for ambushes it was perfect.
If the enemy never saw it coming, death or crippling was certain.
THUD! THUD!
BOOM! BOOM!
Two halves of a corpse and two iron hammers cratered the earth.
Crane Meng breathed no more.
“Crane Meng!”
The guards bellowed, yet it changed nothing.
From the start they should have stopped his reckless charge.
Ling Xiao could never be beaten one-on-one. All eight had to strike together.
“You killed Crane Meng! You murdered my brother!”
The captain roared.
Ling Xiao sighed softly. “I told you I did not want your lives. Clear the path. You chose not to listen.”
Pointless battles bored him.
Killing Crane Meng brought no joy, only wasted energy and exposed a trump card.
Still, he felt no pity. As Crane Meng himself said, this was war. Mercy to the enemy was cruelty to oneself.
He did not kill Crane Meng, Crane Meng would kill him. No third option.
“Now will you step aside? I only want Jiumozhi Yan’s head. You need not die.”
His tone stayed calm.
One Eight Desolate Heavens expert down, three remained. The odds had tilted.
Yet seven foes still ringed him, none easy.
Ling Xiao felt no fear.
He had never flinched before Timur Mutu.
A swordsman must never cower.
No matter how mighty the enemy, face them without dread.
Fear dulled the blade.
“Boss, together! Avenge Crane Meng!”
Rage filled every guard.
The captain nodded, then glared at Ling Xiao. “Save your breath. No Black Crow imperial guard will betray his prince. Even if we all die here, we stop you!”
He raised a hand. The seven closed the circle.
Two Eight Desolate Heavens, five Seven Star Heavens, every realm above Ling Xiao’s.
His cunning and strength had bred deep wariness. They would not underestimate him again.
World Eye opened. Everything within a hundred metres fell under perfect control.
His pupils turned crimson gold, hair followed. Runes flashed inside the colossal eye.
No breeze, no blade of grass escaped his soul sense.
Sword intent boiled!
Crimson mist swirled around him, wrapping the Golden Crow Sword.
Killing sword intent made visible.
Seven warriors, all higher realm, all richer in battle experience, yet he stood fearless.
What was Buddha?
What was god?
What was immortal?
Lofty beings, former overlords of the Mysterious Realm.
Yet at this instant, Ling Xiao’s killing sword intent reached the realm of utter fearlessness.
Buddha blocks, slay Buddha!
God blocks, slay god!
Immortal blocks, slay immortal!
These seven were neither god, Buddha, nor immortal, merely warriors a few realms stronger.
Across the universe, true paragons feared nothing. Only those ready to stake their lives could topple emperors and claim the supreme path!
Shatter every barrier!
Remove every obstacle!
Ling Xiao’s heart blazed with iron resolve.
No fear, no stray thought, only one word: KILL!
The seven already dreaded him. Now that tangible murderous aura rolled over them like a tide, their hearts quivered.
Facing a lower-realm boy, they were afraid.
They could not help it. One move had ended Crane Meng. That alone froze their blood.
