“Breeze Over Willow!”
As Ling Feng executed his sword technique, the crowd below couldn’t help but gasp.
This move, infused with gang qi, had its power, speed, and unpredictability amplified several times over.
Could Ling Xiao still stand undefeated?
“What a pity, that kid called Ling Xiao could’ve kept his winning streak, but alas, he’s up against Ling Feng, who’s condensed gang qi.”
From the spectator stands, Ling Zhan, ranked fourth in the Genius Hall, let out a sigh.
“If even Ling Zhan says so, then it must be true.”
“Let’s see how you dodge this!”
Ling Feng’s eyes gleamed with resentment and excitement, knowing victory was just a step away.
Many in the crowd below wore expressions of schadenfreude.
Ling Chong, Ling Tieshou, Ling Ziran—these were all people who’d lost to Ling Xiao, yet their narrow-mindedness left them bitter and unaccepting of defeat.
They felt it was a disgrace for a lowly beggar to stand above them!
Ling Yu’s reaction was even more dramatic, her pretty face flushed with excitement, she stood trembling, eagerly awaiting the moment Ling Xiao fell.
She wanted to cheer!
If it weren’t for Ling Xiao, she could’ve advanced to the semifinals, she wouldn’t have been eliminated in the ten-thousand-person tournament.
The eerily unpredictable Willow Breeze Sword closed in on Ling Xiao.
Some watched with worry, others with excitement, and a few with glee.
Yet, facing this move, Ling Xiao merely laughed and said, “Well done!”
Then he thrust both fists forward.
In that instant, a faint shadow of true qi emerged around him.
It was still a barbarian bull.
But this bull was different.
It was noticeably larger than before, with longer horns.
“He’s still using a basic martial skill?”
One of the referees cried out in shock.
“No, wait, this isn’t in the realm of basic martial skills anymore, this is at least an advanced martial skill!”
The head referee shook his head and said, “This kid can actually modify martial techniques himself?”
Of course, Ling Xiao didn’t have the ability to modify martial techniques on his own, it was all thanks to the Bull Demon Technique and the Mountain River Martial Soul.
“Bull Demon Technique: Savage Bull Transformation!”
With a roar, terrifying true qi surged into his fists, those fists acting as the bull demon’s horns, meeting the gang qi of Ling Feng’s Willow Breeze Sword.
“What a shame, even an advanced martial skill can’t stand up to gang qi!”
“Hmph, this Ling Xiao’s overestimating himself, he’d be better off surrendering cleanly!”
“Young people, a bit of arrogance is normal.”
Many of the clan experts in the stands weren’t optimistic about Ling Xiao’s punch.
“Die! Ling Xiao, fall for me!”
Ling Feng roared, finally releasing the pent-up fury in his chest, countless willow-like sword qi struck Ling Xiao in unison.
“Pop! Pop! Pop…”
The continuous strikes landed on Ling Xiao, sounding like rain hitting the ground.
“That’s not all!”
The willow sword qi wasn’t strong and failed to breach Ling Xiao’s defence, though this surprised Ling Feng, it was within his expectations.
His real killing move was the wind strike hidden within the willow sword qi!
“Hmph! Your gang qi’s nothing special!”
Ling Xiao felt a bit disappointed, it seemed the concentration of gang qi determined its power, with only ten percent of one meridian’s gang qi, Ling Feng wasn’t worthy of forcing him to use his own gang qi, or even stronger moves.
“Get back!”
Ling Xiao roared, his fists slamming into the gang qi-formed wind.
In that moment, he looked more like a bull demon shrouded in true qi, his figure seeming to grow larger.
Boom!
First, the willow sword qi was blasted apart, scattering in all directions.
Clang!
Then, the gang qi condensed into wind was sent flying back!
“What!”
“Such a domineering punch!”
“Is this still true qi?”
“Advanced martial skill at perfection! It must be! This kid not only upgraded the Barbarian Bull Strength, but cultivated it to perfection, wait, no, even perfection wouldn’t be this strong, this is transcendence!”
“Advanced martial skill at transcendence! How is that possible!”
The sharp-eyed experts finally pinpointed the truth.
First a basic martial skill at transcendence.
Now an advanced martial skill at transcendence, just how many secrets was this Ling Xiao still hiding?
While they marvelled.
Ling Feng’s face was filled with terror.
His gang qi was completely depleted, facing this punch from Ling Xiao, he had no means to resist, only hastily swinging his sword to block.
Clang!
The longsword was knocked flying!
Thud!
“Ah—!”
Clean and decisive, Ling Feng had no recourse, his body flew backwards like a kite with a cut string, blood spraying from his mouth in a graceful arc through the air.
He flew over ten metres before crashing heavily to the ground.
This scene stunned everyone!
Including the disciples watching from the Genius Hall.
Even Ling Yihang!
True qi clashing head-on with gang qi, it was unheard of!
How could they know that Ling Xiao’s body, enhanced by the Mountain River Martial Soul, had reached a terrifying level, rendering gang qi meaningless against a warrior of the same rank.
It couldn’t breach his defence at all.
Phew—!
Retracting his fists, Ling Xiao steadied his surging true qi.
Though he wasn’t injured, facing an opponent with gang qi for the first time had left his internal true qi slightly chaotic.
“This! This! This is just too domineering! Only thirteen years old, and he can create his own martial techniques? Using true qi to overpower gang qi and win, even Ling Feifan can’t compare to such genius!”
Many clan elders stood up.
Including the incredibly powerful head referee.
He’d already held Ling Xiao in high regard, but this fight still caught him off guard!
“Seems like I made a bit too much noise.”
Ling Xiao scratched his head, he hadn’t expected Ling Feng to be so fragile, if it were Ling Yixue or Ling Yihang instead, true qi alone likely wouldn’t have secured victory.
In this regard, Ling Feng was still far behind.
“Ling Xiao wins!”
The head referee personally announced the victor of this match.
Shock aside, two fights remained, the elimination tournament had to continue.
“Feng’er!”
Ling Shisan turned into a blur, rushing to his son, quickly channelling inner force to aid his recovery.
“Feng’er, are you alright?”
“Father, I lost! I actually lost! How could I lose to that little beggar! Father, you have to avenge me!”
Ling Feng lay motionless on the ground.
The backlash from his gang qi had turned against him, nearly shredding his meridians entirely.
This couldn’t be blamed on Ling Xiao, that gang qi was Ling Feng’s own, he simply couldn’t control it properly.
Ling Feng was soon carried off by the medicine hall for treatment, likely missing his upcoming match with Ling Yihang.
But it didn’t matter, he wouldn’t recover within a month, meaning this year’s grand tournament was over for him early.
His own harsh words had come back to bite him.
“Villain! What grudge did my son have with you for you to strike so ruthlessly! You’ve shattered his meridians, severed his martial veins!”
Watching his son being taken away by the medicine hall.
Ling Shisan snapped.
He leapt onto the combat stage, ignoring all rules.
He knew the Ling Clan had rules against killing fellow disciples, but in his rage, he couldn’t care less.
Besides, if killing wasn’t allowed, crippling Ling Xiao should be fine, right?
