The ordinary inner strength technique Demon Fox Feather Cloak Technique paired with the ordinary martial skill Nine-Tail Cannon Fist.
Ming Tian slowly swung his fists, a ball of crimson light gathering in his hands, radiating a dangerous aura.
Master Baiyun grew tense, no longer daring to be careless. He could sense that Ming Tian’s punch could kill any martial artist below the early eighth stage of the martial vein.
Whether Ling Xiao would survive, he wasn’t sure.
But he had to be cautious.
Earlier, when Ling Xiao’s arms were torn apart, he hadn’t reacted in time. This time, he couldn’t let that happen again.
“Terrifying!”
Ling Xiao also sensed that, at its current stage, his Divine Prison King Fist was no match for Ming Tian’s Nine-Tail Cannon Fist.
What to do?
Of course, he had a plan.
He drew out the Heavenly Dragon True Essence from within, infusing it into the Divine Prison King Fist. A strange phenomenon occurred.
The death bull’s body seemed to be entwined with a golden dragon, and the aura of the Divine Prison King Fist surged dramatically.
“This isn’t right. The Divine Prison King Fist is only a quasi-ordinary martial art, but this punch’s power is no less than an ordinary martial art. What’s going on?”
Zuo Leng narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Ling Xiao.
Initially, he had dismissed Ling Xiao, but today’s battle changed his mind. Ling Xiao’s endless array of techniques was something even he couldn’t handle.
Unless he suppressed him with cultivation.
Master Baiyun was equally shocked.
He hadn’t anticipated that Ling Xiao could elevate the Divine Prison King Fist’s power to this degree.
“Still not enough!”
Ling Xiao knew that even now, he wasn’t Ming Tian’s match.
At that moment, his body shimmered with golden light as he activated the Heavenly Dragon Golden Body, an ordinary defensive martial art, no inferior to Ming Tian’s ordinary martial skills.
“He can still get stronger?”
Sweat beaded on Ming Tian’s forehead.
He was fully aware that he had unleashed his maximum combat power at early eighth-stage cultivation.
So why did it feel like his opponent was catching up?
“Boom—!”
Once again, the power of Ling Xiao’s Divine Prison King Fist surged. In the dark cherry tree grove, a ghostly ship drifted into view, infusing the punch with an even more terrifying aura.
Finally, their fists collided.
The entire martial arts hall shook. Except for Master Baiyun and Zuo Leng, everyone else was struck with fear, their faces paling.
The terrifying force seeped into their bodies, eroding their true essence, forcing them to sit cross-legged and circulate their energy to expel the dreadful aura.
And this was merely the residual energy from the collision of their fists.
Bang! Boom!
The specially reinforced floor of the martial arts hall trembled under the impact.
The entire hall swayed.
Snap!
The two figures parted.
Ling Xiao floated backward, landing steadily. Though his clothes were tattered, his body bore no injuries.
The Heavenly Dragon Golden Body was truly formidable.
Combined with the ninth turn of the Nine-Turn Golden Body Art’s defensive power, it negated most of the damage from Ming Tian.
The remaining damage was largely transferred to the ground beneath his feet.
In contrast, Ming Tian looked far worse. Not only were his clothes in rags, but his body bore several wounds.
Though the wounds appeared light and faint, unlikely to cause any real harm, he was injured nonetheless.
“Thank you, Senior Brother, for going easy on me!”
Ling Xiao cupped his hands.
“I didn’t go easy. You have every right to be proud!”
Ming Tian frowned, then shook his head, “A loss is a loss. The true essence pill is yours.”
As he spoke, Ming Tian tossed a top-grade true essence pill to Ling Xiao.
But though he appeared to concede, he played a dirty trick. The pill was wrapped in his scorching true essence, designed to make Ling Xiao look foolish if he wasn’t careful.
He didn’t expect to injure Ling Xiao, just to humiliate him.
Unfortunately for him, Ling Xiao didn’t give him the chance. Protected by the Heavenly Dragon Golden Body, the scorching true essence was absorbed completely in an instant.
For Ming Tian, this was like losing both his wife and his soldiers.
“Don’t get too smug. Today, I suppressed my cultivation, so my ordinary martial arts couldn’t perform at their full potential, letting you take a slight advantage.”
Seeing Ling Xiao unscathed, Ming Tian couldn’t help but speak.
“Of course, I understand that.”
Ling Xiao knew that, though Ming Tian’s words stemmed from unwillingness, they were true, not mere nonsense.
Outside the martial arts hall, in the True Spirit Hall.
Master Baiyun, Lin Ze, and Wan Ben sat cross-legged.
The moment Ling Xiao and Ming Tian’s battle ended, Lin Ze smiled and said, “Master, you saw it, didn’t you? Ling Xiao’s potential is far greater than you imagined. With only late seventh-stage cultivation, he defeated Ming Tian, who maintained early eighth-stage cultivation. His potential might even surpass Ming Tian’s!”
“Lin Ze, don’t exaggerate. He just got lucky. If Ming Tian hadn’t underestimated him, he’d have lost long ago.”
Wan Ben naturally didn’t want Lin Ze to gloat.
“This child is peculiar. I misjudged him. But alas, he’s already your disciple, Lin Ze, and cannot become my true disciple.”
Master Baiyun shook his head, his brows tightly furrowed.
This time, he had truly miscalculated.
He never expected Ling Xiao, this freak, to be so formidable.
“Master, I can expel him from my mentorship and let him become your disciple,” Lin Ze said eagerly.
“No need to expel him. Just have him switch mentors.”
Master Baiyun said calmly.
“Wonderful, thank you, Master. I believe Ling Xiao will be thrilled.”
Lin Ze was overjoyed, though deep down, he felt a slight pang of loss. To let go of such a genius was hard.
But he knew clearly that becoming Master Baiyun’s true disciple was far better than staying with him.
“Ming Tian’s about to get serious.”
Master Baiyun suddenly smiled, “Speaking of which, I should thank Ling Xiao. Ming Tian is highly talented but has been playful in his cultivation, not as diligent as Zuo Leng. Otherwise, he’d likely be a peak ninth-stage martial master by now.”
“Next, you’ll see Ming Tian’s serious side!”
Master Baiyun still favored Ming Tian. No matter how outstanding Ling Xiao’s performance, he wasn’t his true disciple or his chosen one, so his attitude was naturally different.
“Come on, all eleven of you, let’s have some fun. I need to vent!”
Ming Tian was indeed fired up.
Fighting while suppressing his cultivation was unsatisfying and frustrating.
“All eleven at once?”
Zuo Leng smirked, “Ming Tian, I get that you want to vent, but are you sure about this?”
“Of course.”
Ming Tian looked at Ling Xiao and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t target you. Feel free to attack!”
“Go play with him, but remember, the purpose of this fight is to gain some insights,” Master Baiyun said with a smile.
Ming Tian was an early ninth-stage martial master.
Among the others, the strongest was Zuo Leng, a peak eighth-stage martial master.
Dai Yuling was an early eighth-stage martial master.
The rest were only seventh-stage martial masters. Whether they could gain insights from the fight depended on their own opportunities.
