Ling Tieshou let out a cold snort, and the aura around him surged dramatically. Faintly, one could almost see the shadow of a giant behind him.
The ferocious momentum was the true essence of the Giant Spirit Palm!
“What an aura—way stronger than that useless Ling Chong!”
Ling Xiao’s spirit jolted. He had to admit, Ling Tieshou was impressive.
Standing opposite him, Ling Xiao could clearly feel an immense pressure bearing down on him.
This was something Ling Chong could never achieve.
“Giant Spirit Palm, First Form!”
Ling Tieshou stepped forward, thrusting out a palm as his body lunged toward Ling Xiao.
The palm wind rushed forward, so forceful it made breathing difficult.
Even with just the first form, Ling Tieshou’s execution was several times stronger than Ling Chong’s.
However.
Ling Xiao was no longer the Martial Vein First Layer weakling he once was.
With a light tap of his foot, he swiftly retreated. Ling Tieshou’s strike was overwhelmingly fierce, and he had no intention of meeting it head-on.
After all, the annual competition was drawing near, and he didn’t need to reveal his full strength just yet.
Surviving ten moves would be enough.
“Such nimble footwork!”
“Ling Tieshou’s footwork isn’t bad either!”
Ling Xiao kept retreating, trying to evade Ling Tieshou’s palm, but his opponent wasn’t to be underestimated. With a sudden burst of force underfoot, Ling Tieshou’s speed doubled or tripled, closing in fast.
“Impressive! So this is the strength of the Elite Hall’s fourth-ranked disciple. Not bad at all!”
Ling Xiao was somewhat surprised.
Though he wasn’t using his Mountain and River Martial Soul or the Bull Demon Technique, relying solely on the Soaring Cloud Steps to dodge, the fact that Ling Tieshou could push him this far showed real skill.
At times, Ling Xiao even felt like he wasn’t facing Ling Tieshou, but a towering giant!
“Heh heh, let’s force out your full strength.”
With that thought, Ling Xiao boosted his true qi, shifting to the third level of the Soaring Cloud Steps, increasing his speed again.
“Boom!”
Ling Tieshou’s strike missed, slamming into the ground instead, shattering a foot-thick stone tile.
“Hahaha, Senior Brother Tieshou, I’m over here! Don’t take it out on the bricks!”
Ling Tieshou was furious, realizing brute force wouldn’t work.
So he switched tactics.
“Giant Spirit Palm, Ninth Form: Heaven and Earth Net!”
As he unleashed this move, palm shadows filled the sky, seemingly flawless.
Ling Xiao sucked in a breath, quickly ramping up his true qi usage to the fifth level of the Soaring Cloud Steps, boosting his speed once more.
What followed was a bizarre scene.
Ling Tieshou pursued relentlessly, his palm shadows enveloping Ling Xiao.
Meanwhile, Ling Xiao darted around like a cunning swallow.
“Fight face-to-face if you’ve got the guts! What’s with all this running?” Ling Chong gnashed his teeth in frustration.
“What a joke. I’ll face him when he can touch my clothes. My advantage is my footwork—why wouldn’t I use it?”
Ling Xiao was deliberately creating a misconception: that aside from his impressive footwork, he was average in everything else.
His duel with Ling Fei and the so-called scavenging in the Fulong Mountains required good footwork—without it, none of that would’ve been possible.
So this act would surely convince everyone.
“He’s got the leisure to talk? His footwork might even surpass Ling Fei’s!”
“Yeah, six moves already, and Ling Tieshou hasn’t touched his clothes!”
The Ling family disciples couldn’t help but exclaim.
“What do we do, Brother Feng? How’s this little beggar so strong?”
Ling Yu was visibly panicking.
“What’s there to fear? Fast footwork means nothing. There are plenty of ways to counter speed, or Ling Fei would’ve been Elite Hall’s number one long ago!”
Though Ling Feng said this, he too felt uneasy. Ling Xiao’s progress gave him the unsettling feeling of being watched.
It wasn’t pleasant.
The most panicked was Ling Chong.
He’d thought with his cousin stepping in, a guy like Ling Xiao would be an easy takedown.
Ten moves wouldn’t even be necessary.
But now, six moves had passed, and his cousin hadn’t even grazed Ling Xiao. It left him utterly shocked.
In this chase, they quickly reached the seventh move.
“You’re good! Really good! But just dodging won’t help!”
On the seventh move, Ling Tieshou suddenly stopped, forming an odd gesture.
“Brother Feng, what’s Ling Tieshou doing?”
“That’s his secret technique—Instant Strike!”
“Instant Strike?”
“Yes, it boosts speed by over ten times instantly, designed to counter speed-type opponents! I’ve faced it before and nearly lost. Ling Xiao’s done for this time.”
Ling Feng grinned, eager to see Ling Xiao slammed to the ground.
“Instant Strike · Giant Spirit Palm!”
As Ling Tieshou’s true qi built to a peak, his body seemed to shoot forward.
The speed was so fast it looked instantaneous.
Hence the name Instant Strike!
With no time to think, sensing the immense threat, Ling Xiao pushed the Soaring Cloud Steps to the sixth level!
His speed surged several times over!
“He missed!”
“Good heavens, what kind of footwork has Ling Xiao trained? That speed’s insane—could it be an advanced technique?”
“Again! Full power Instant Strike!”
Ling Tieshou didn’t give up. Though he’d just used Instant Strike, he’d only used seventy percent power, saving some for follow-ups.
But missing made him furious, so he unleashed it at full strength.
“Ling Tieshou’s really pissed now!”
“But if this move misses, his true qi will be drained, and he’ll be a sitting duck.”
“Ling Xiao looks like he’s at his limit too. This ninth move should settle it.”
*Soaring Cloud Steps · Dragon Transformation*!
Ling Xiao could tell that without further boosting his footwork speed, he’d get hit.
So he decisively used the level he’d only recently broken through.
In that instant, he seemed to transform into a dragon, the sky his ocean.
With an almost indescribable maneuver, he effortlessly dodged Ling Tieshou’s attack.
Then he landed steadily.
Meanwhile, Ling Tieshou collapsed, panting and pale.
“Tenth move! You lose!”
Though Ling Xiao was also heavily drained, he was far better off than Ling Tieshou.
He walked over, lightly patting Ling Tieshou’s face. “Elite Hall’s fourth? That’s all?”
“You!” Ling Tieshou’s eyes blazed, but he was helpless.
He’d been too impatient. If he hadn’t used the secret technique Instant Strike twice in a row, he wouldn’t be in this state.
But there were no do-overs. A loss was a loss.
Honestly, if Ling Tieshou had stayed calm, beating him would’ve been tough for Ling Xiao without pulling out all his tricks.
But Ling Tieshou had tried to crush him in one blow—proof that if you don’t court death, you won’t die!
This scene left countless Ling family disciples gaping in shock.
