At the training ground.
Ling Chong also spotted the furious Ling Xiao approaching.
A sneer of disdain crept across his brow.
“What’s this, trash? Here to avenge your grandpa?”
“Hahaha!”
Ling Chong’s mocking question sent the surrounding Ling Clan main family disciples into fits of laughter.
They found Ling Xiao’s defiance laughably overconfident.
“You’ve humiliated me time and again, and I let it slide because my skills weren’t up to par. But you hurt my grandpa—I won’t forgive you!”
Ling Xiao glared at Ling Chong. Though his heart thumped with nerves, it also surged with powerful confidence.
The emergence of the Mountain and River Martial Soul had opened a gateway to success for him.
Today’s clash with Ling Chong was the perfect test.
“You won’t forgive me?”
Ling Chong acted as if he’d heard the world’s greatest joke, sneering, “I broke that old beggar’s ribs, and I can break yours too!”
“Ling Chong, one palm should settle it. This kid’s as useless as that old beggar,” someone jeered from the sidelines.
“Hahaha! If I can’t take down this trash with one strike, what face would I, Ling Chong, have left in the Ling Clan?”
Amid the laughter, Ling Chong sprang into action. His entire figure seemed to transform into a towering giant looming over Ling Xiao.
The oppressive aura made it hard for Ling Xiao to breathe.
Was this the power of a Second Stage Martial Vein martial artist? Just one stage apart from the First Stage, yet the gap felt immense.
The onlookers smirked at Ling Xiao’s stunned expression, delighting in his misfortune.
In their eyes, the fight was over before it even began.
How could Ling Xiao possibly stand a chance against Ling Chong?
Suddenly, Ling Chong thrust a palm toward Ling Xiao. Though it appeared the size of a normal hand, in Ling Xiao’s eyes, it swelled into a massive millstone-sized strike, like the hand of a true giant.
The palm conjured an image of a colossal figure capable of crushing him with ease.
“That’s the Giant Spirit Palm, isn’t it? I think it’s an advanced martial art!” a sharp-eyed Ling Clan main family disciple exclaimed.
“No way! Ling Chong’s strong, sure, but he’s just a Second Stage martial artist. What qualifies him to learn an advanced martial art? I’m at his level and can only pick elementary ones—mid-tier arts are out of my reach.”
“How can you compare to him? Ling Chong’s got a powerful father—our clan’s Ninth Lord! His grandfather’s the old patriarch himself…”
“No wonder Ling Chong’s so arrogant. He broke that old beggar’s ribs and faced no punishment.”
“With the advanced Giant Spirit Palm unleashed, Ling Xiao has zero chance of winning.”
“Did he ever? Unless he’s some unparalleled genius, crossing stages to challenge someone is pure fantasy.”
The overwhelming advantage of an advanced martial art put pressure even on clan members stronger than Ling Chong.
Martial arts were graded for a reason—higher tiers meant greater power and effect.
A Second Stage martial artist wielding an advanced technique could very well defeat a Third Stage opponent.
“Ling Chong, you really think highly of me, using an advanced martial art!”
Ling Xiao couldn’t help but feel a twinge of awe. Without the Mountain and River Martial Soul, he’d be nursing broken ribs today.
Someone like him couldn’t even access elementary martial arts, stuck with basic ones. He’d been left behind at the starting line.
Without the Mountain and River Martial Soul, rising above would’ve been near impossible.
In that moment, under the crushing pressure of the advanced technique, Ling Xiao smiled.
And why wouldn’t he?
In the Mountain and River painting, another Ling Chong appeared, his Giant Spirit Palm laid bare—every weakness and flaw meticulously pointed out.
Of course, no one else knew this. Only Ling Xiao did.
But even knowing Ling Chong’s vulnerabilities, landing a precise blow required seizing the right moment.
Fortunately, his year of relentless training—coupled with constant harassment from Ling Chong—had honed his combat experience.
Moreover, his body, refined by the Mountain and River Martial Soul, had reaction speed and senses heightened several-fold. That was his key to victory.
Seeing the smile on Ling Xiao’s face, a chill ran through Ling Chong. It felt as if Ling Xiao had seen right through him.
“Playing tricks! Taste my Giant Spirit Palm—Destruction!”
The Giant Spirit Palm had just four moves, and Destruction was its most powerful, a lethal strike.
Though Ling Chong’s strength limited its full potential, he still thought it more than enough to crush a First Stage Ling Xiao.
Destruction carried the momentum of annihilating heaven and earth.
Ling Chong couldn’t fully achieve that, but to the onlookers, he seemed to conjure a true qi shadow—a massive golden palm crashing down on Ling Xiao.
“So fast! So brutal!”
The terrifying aura forced the spectators back, deepening their awe of advanced martial arts.
With this move, Ling Xiao wasn’t just defeated—he was as good as dead!
Though the Ling Clan forbade disciples from killing each other—mere injury was fine—murder carried harsh penalties.
But Ling Chong, son of the Ninth Lord and grandson of the old patriarch, feared no one.
Just as many thought Ling Xiao’s fate was sealed, he moved.
His body transformed into a charging bull, barreling straight into Ling Chong’s chest.
Ling Chong didn’t even register what happened. His body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string.
Strike the snake at its seventh inch!
Though Ling Xiao used a basic martial art, he hit Ling Chong’s exact weakness, turning that grandiose palm into a joke.
What just happened?
Why was Ling Chong the one flying?
Ling Xiao’s speed was so blinding, they hadn’t even seen what occurred.
“My ribs!”
Ling Chong hit the ground, wailing in agony.
“I told you—anyone who hurts my grandpa, I won’t forgive. You wanted to take me down in one strike? I’ll defeat you in one move!”
Though his heart raced with tension and excitement—hardly believing it himself—Ling Xiao, raised among beggars, showed a composure beyond his years.
He knew why he’d won.
The Mountain and River Martial Soul’s analysis and simulation, combined with his relentless effort, had forged this outcome.
But something puzzled him. In the instant he attacked, it felt like his body turned into a gust of wind.
That speed—it was far faster than usual!
Was that another effect of the Mountain and River Martial Soul?
“Ling Chong lost? My heavens, am I seeing this right?”
“He really lost—and with broken ribs!”
“What just happened with Ling Xiao? Is Barbarian Bull Strength that strong?”
The training ground erupted into chaos. They were stunned—Ling Xiao, the underdog, had crippled Ling Chong in one move.
…
“Ling Xiao, you’re too vicious! I didn’t even use my full strength, and you tried to kill me!”
More than the pain of broken ribs, Ling Chong cared about his pride. So he lied, spouting utterly absurd nonsense.
Yet, unbelievably, some bought into this ridiculous excuse.
“No wonder Ling Xiao won. Ling Chong was holding back. This Ling Xiao’s so ungrateful!”
A main family disciple in the crowd nodded sagely.
Ling Chong’s defeat reflected on all main family disciples. Losing so disgracefully was a humiliation to them all.
“Holding back?”
Ling Xiao let out a cold laugh. According to the Mountain and River painting’s analysis, that palm had been meant to kill him. “Holding back” was pure nonsense!
