“Truly a freak! There’s no way Ming Tian could surpass Ling Xiao at this level of cultivation.”
Dai Yuling finally understood—Ling Xiao was the true genius. In front of him, a talent like Ming Tian lost all advantage.
Simultaneously unleashing two ultimate techniques was unimaginable for most martial artists, as the energy consumption was simply beyond their capacity.
But Ling Xiao was different.
His true essence was extraordinarily abundant. In terms of sheer true essence, he was now comparable to a peak eighth-stage martial master.
Moreover, through the special effects of his Mountain River Martial Soul, he could continuously absorb true essence to replenish his expenditure, making it effortless to execute two ultimate techniques.
“No—!”
“Impossible!”
Ming Tian’s face turned grim. He was well aware of the power behind Ling Xiao’s attack.
In that instant, his aura surged rapidly, climbing from the late seventh stage of the martial vein to its peak.
“Not enough, it’s still not enough!”
Ming Tian’s expression grew darker.
Even after pushing his cultivation to the peak of the seventh stage, he still felt he couldn’t withstand Ling Xiao’s attack.
Boom!
A loud crash.
Blood-red claws collided with two streams of sword qi.
Ling Xiao was sent flying, tumbling over a dozen times before steadying himself. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Both of his arms were broken, snapped by the crimson claws.
On the other side, Ming Tian was unscathed, but his face was far from pleased.
He had just forcibly raised his cultivation to the early eighth stage of the martial vein, relying on this superior cultivation to gain the upper hand in this clash.
“It’s over?”
Shi Lei asked, stunned.
“Ming Tian, that was too harsh! The rules of the spar forbade causing severe injuries. Were you trying to cripple Ling Xiao?”
Master Baiyun had intended to intervene, but it was already too late.
The situation had escalated too quickly. He hadn’t expected Ming Tian to be pushed to the point of using early eighth-stage cultivation.
Ming Tian lowered his head in silence, feeling only humiliation. Despite mastering two ordinary martial arts at the great accomplishment stage, he had to rely on superior cultivation to suppress his opponent.
How embarrassing.
A few geniuses from Tianren Academy flashed fleeting smiles.
In their hearts, they cursed that Ling Xiao deserved it.
If Ling Xiao was crippled, his potential, no matter how great, would mean nothing.
“Junior Brother!”
“Young Master!”
From the Qianlong Camp, Ling Yixue and Leng Mei rushed to support Ling Xiao.
Ling Yixue’s face was dark with fury. She swore to cripple Ming Tian in the same way to avenge Ling Xiao.
“Don’t come over!”
To their surprise, Ling Xiao shook his head and shouted, “Senior Brother Ming Tian, our fight isn’t over yet. Early eighth-stage martial vein cultivation—that’s more like it.”
“Ling Xiao, stop being reckless. We understand how you feel, but with both arms broken, how can you keep fighting?”
Master Baiyun, Shi Lei, and others thought Ling Xiao was acting out of madness due to his injury.
“Broken arms?”
Ling Xiao smiled, and suddenly, a golden light shimmered around his arms. In mere moments, the broken limbs had regrown.
“Limb regeneration!”
“How can a mere martial master achieve limb regeneration? Isn’t that something only extraordinary martial artists can do?”
“I’ve heard that cultivating the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art to the ninth turn, combined with a large amount of gold, can achieve this. But apart from the creator of the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art, no one else has reached that level!”
“Hahaha, this kid—always full of surprises.”
Shi Lei laughed heartily.
Meanwhile, the geniuses from Tianren Academy, who had been smirking, now looked utterly awkward.
They thought Ling Xiao’s disability would eliminate him as a threat, but he’d once again slapped them in the face, delivering yet another shock.
“Senior Brother Ming Tian, let’s continue.”
Ling Xiao flexed his arms, feeling they were exactly as before.
The Nine-Turn Golden Body Art was indeed miraculous. Though restoring his arms cost him two million taels of gold, it was worth it.
“Continue?”
Ming Tian frowned, “Do you really think you can challenge my early eighth-stage combat power with your late seventh-stage cultivation?”
Though early eighth-stage was still far from his true cultivation of early ninth-stage, at this level, his mastery of ordinary martial arts was far more refined, and his overall abilities were significantly enhanced.
He didn’t believe Ling Xiao could defeat him.
“Defeating you at early eighth-stage cultivation? I’d say I have a twenty percent chance. But fighting to a draw? I’m fifty percent confident.”
Ling Xiao said calmly, “How about this, Senior Brother? That top-grade true essence pill from earlier—if I can hold my own without losing, how about you give it to me? We can overlook your rule-breaking power boost earlier.”
To challenge Ming Tian, who had raised his strength to early eighth-stage cultivation, Ling Xiao was going all out.
Fighting such a formidable opponent would bring him immense benefits.
Only under such immense pressure could he achieve breakthroughs in all aspects more quickly.
“Fine, I’ll indulge you!”
Ming Tian gritted his teeth.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. Since Ling Xiao could regenerate limbs, he wouldn’t hold back. He’d teach this guy a lesson.
He knew that even with limb regeneration, the pain was still real.
This was the perfect chance to make Ling Xiao suffer, so he’d stop acting so arrogantly.
Though both were disciples of Master Baiyun, Ming Tian was a true disciple, while Ling Xiao was merely an entry-level one.
He couldn’t tolerate his repeated humiliations.
“Come on!”
With a roar, his aura surged. The demon fox feather cloak became more solid, and the howl of the nine-tailed ninja spirit behind him was deafening.
He refused to believe that with a complete ninja spirit, early eighth-stage cultivation, and an ordinary inner strength technique, he couldn’t firmly suppress Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. The blood blade remnant soul and giant sword remnant soul behind him vanished, replaced by a cherry tree.
But this cherry tree was peculiar—pitch black, even its petals were dark as night.
“Cherry Tree Martial Soul?”
“A complete martial soul!”
“Ling Xiao actually has a complete martial soul. How many trump cards does this kid still have hidden?”
The repeated shocks had left the onlookers somewhat numb.
Only Fei Yu and Fei Mu glared with eyes that seemed to bleed.
They knew Ling Xiao’s Cherry Tree Martial Soul was the Cherry Tree Ninja Spirit he’d taken from Fei Mu.
Ling Xiao paid no heed to Fei Yu and Fei Mu’s gazes. He was well aware that Ming Tian, suppressing his strength to early eighth-stage cultivation, was far stronger than a martial master of the same level.
So now, he would attack with full force.
Divine Prison King Fist, First Form—Bull Head Crack!
The black cherry tree, a blossom from hell, filled the arena with an aura of decay and death, enveloping the entire martial arts hall.
In the cherry tree grove, a death bull snorted black mist from its nostrils, its blood-red eyes locked on Ming Tian in the distance.
Unknowingly, Ling Xiao’s body had been enveloped by the death bull.
This was a special effect of the Bull Demon Technique under the Divine Prison King Fist.
Seeing this, Ming Tian abandoned all underestimation.
After two humiliations, he’d grown more cautious. He would now unleash his strongest attack at early eighth-stage cultivation.
