“No wonder you’re so arrogant. So you’ve reached the minor achievement stage of the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art. But do you really think that’s enough to challenge me?”
Ling Feifan stared coldly at Ling Xiao.
He admitted he’d underestimated this guy a bit, which was why he hadn’t gone all out. That earlier punch had only used less than thirty percent of his strength.
Now, he had to get serious. Otherwise, he’d become the biggest laughingstock of today’s finals.
“I’ll break your golden body in three moves!”
“Didn’t you just say you’d cripple me in one move?” Ling Xiao scratched his head and grinned. “Was that just hot air?”
“You!”
Ling Feifan gritted his teeth but ultimately held back his temper, growling, “I won’t waste words with you!”
Though he restrained himself from cursing, his fury transformed into a blazing passion for battle.
His entire body seemed to ignite, radiating a terrifying aura.
Flaming Fist!
This punch was clearly far more powerful than the last. The searing heat forced several disciples to shuffle backward.
Even from over ten meters away, it felt as though their bodies might burst into flames.
The attack hadn’t even landed, yet it was already unsettling its target’s mind.
That was the terror of the Flaming Fist.
“An advanced fist technique? And at the perfected stage, no less! This punch is at least twice as strong as the last one!”
Ling Shuang glanced at Ling Yihang beside her. “If your friend doesn’t have any other tricks up his sleeve, he’s done for with this hit.”
“Not necessarily!”
Ling Yihang shook his head. “Haven’t you noticed? Ling Xiao hasn’t even broken a sweat yet. Facing flame qi without perspiring, his strength is likely far beyond what you or I can imagine.”
“Is that so?”
Ling Shuang didn’t argue this time as she had before, since her earlier judgment had already been proven wrong.
“Ling Feifan, you’re disappointing me. Why not use your top-tier martial skills? Thinking you can break my golden body with an advanced fist technique, you’re underestimating me too much, aren’t you?”
Ling Xiao felt dissatisfied. Though Ling Feifan had upped his power to fifty percent and employed a stronger technique this time, it still posed no threat to him.
He decided to step things up a bit. Otherwise, this was just too boring!
Bull Demon Technique: Barbaric Bull Transformation!
Ling Xiao remained rooted in place, but his hands moved.
His figure seemed enveloped in a dark, shadowy silhouette, forming the shape of a bull demon.
Boom!
Crash!
This time, their fists collided, and their qi clashed, both infused with flame attributes.
Ling Xiao hadn’t activated the Snow Lotus Qi Art. He was still using the Scarlet Yang Technique.
The transcendent-stage Scarlet Yang Technique produced flame qi that rivaled the minor achievement stage of a top-tier internal cultivation method.
So his flame qi wasn’t the least bit weaker than Ling Feifan’s.
After all, Ling Feifan was still holding back.
Probably saving his strength for Ling Yun.
In the end, Ling Feifan still didn’t see Ling Xiao as a real opponent.
But this time, he was destined to pay a price for his arrogance!
Ling Xiao wouldn’t let him lose.
Such a good opponent, defeated too quickly, would be far too dull!
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Their fists met, and their qi exploded.
Flames soared, warping the protective barrier around the stage.
It was only thanks to a few Ling family experts constantly reinforcing it with their own qi that the barrier didn’t shatter outright under the onslaught of their attacks.
“What’s going on?”
The spectators were stunned.
Because they saw that Ling Xiao still hadn’t budged an inch, while Ling Feifan had been forced back over ten meters, his arms trembling uncontrollably.
“Idiot. If I hadn’t held back this time, you’d already be dead from that punch!”
Ling Xiao looked at Ling Feifan. “Facing an opponent whose strength you don’t know and still underestimating them repeatedly, do you think your life’s too long? The Ling family’s top genius? What a joke!”
“You! You’ve successfully pissed me off! Die!”
Ling Feifan decided to throw caution to the wind. He’d kill this guy, this punk who’d made him lose all face.
Whoosh!
A spear appeared out of thin air in his hand.
“A storage ring!”
“Tsk, tsk, so jealous! Among all the Ling family disciples, only Senior Brother Feifan has a storage ring!”
“That idiot Ling Xiao actually forced Senior Brother Feifan to pull out his spear. He’s dead now!”
The crowd in the stands buzzed with excitement.
Ling Yun, meanwhile, clenched his fists so tightly his teeth ground together. “Ling Xiao! Ling Xiao! Ling Xiao, you bastard! Even I haven’t been able to force Ling Feifan to use his spear, and you did it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
He was starting to lose it.
This was an unacceptable scene.
Even Ling Yihang and Ling Yixue, who had faith in Ling Xiao, grew worried. They hadn’t known Ling Feifan was a spear expert.
“I forgot to mention, Ling Yihang, Ling Feifan’s always been best with a spear. In the past three years of finals, no one’s been worthy of making him draw it. Only three years ago, during that grand competition, was he forced to use it. That terrifying power shocked everyone.”
Ling Shuang’s voice trembled as she recalled it. “His spear is too frightening.”
“But didn’t he come in second in that competition three years ago?” Ling Yihang asked, frowning.
“Right. You weren’t a Ling family disciple back then. He lost to someone else, the most outstanding genius in Ling family history before him, once pinned with high hopes. Sadly, that person was later lured away by a passing vagrant and hasn’t been heard from since.”
Ling Shuang sighed.
“So there’s a hidden story like that.” Ling Yihang nodded. “What was that person’s name?”
“Ling Chen!”
As the two spoke, new developments unfolded on the stage.
With spear in hand, Ling Feifan’s aura shifted dramatically. The reddish flame qi from before turned a sinister purple-black, giving him an almost evil air.
“Die!”
“Go to hell!”
With a flick of his spear, Ling Feifan was instantly in front of Ling Xiao.
“Mastery-stage top-tier spear technique paired with a mastery-stage top-tier movement skill! Is this invincible?”
Finally, many in the stands couldn’t sit still.
Ling Feifan’s terror made them feel an urge to flee.
That spear thrust came with purple-black flames that seemed capable of annihilating everything, poised to pierce straight through Ling Xiao!
“Nice! Now this is more like it!”
Ling Xiao didn’t dare underestimate this. He could feel the terror of this strike. Though it still wasn’t necessarily Ling Feifan’s full power, it was far beyond what he could handle casually like before.
He fully activated the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art, pushing it to the sixth transformation.
Then he maxed out the Scarlet Yang Technique.
For his attack, though, he stuck with Bull Demon Technique: Barbaric Bull Transformation.
Through his Mountain and River Martial Soul, he could precisely analyze the power of his opponent’s strike, allowing him to counter with the most suitable technique.
From timing to force to exploiting weaknesses, he could achieve near perfection.
So underestimating his opponent was never an option for him.
Clang!
Crack!
The spear struck Ling Xiao’s fists, producing a sound like metal clashing. Their qi erupted, and the purple-black flames and reddish flames morphed into two dragons tearing at each other in midair.
