In the Martial Arts Arena, the crowd gazed at Lin Huang on the stage, their expressions tinged with amusement.
If Lin Huang’s decision to initiate the Battle Eight Directions had caught them somewhat by surprise, his choice to challenge three experts at the Earth Element Fifth Heaven left them completely astounded.
For the Battle Eight Directions, one only needed to face a single opponent who was Two Heavens above their own Realm. Lin Huang, however, had raised that number to three.
Beneath their astonishment lay a deeper sense of mockery. After all, the Battle Eight Directions was already an arduous trial. Challenging three people who were Two Heavens higher in Realm was no different from courting death.
"Lin Cangxue’s brother is certainly built differently!"
The crowd smirked, looking at Lin Huang on the arena stage with playful derision.
Soon after, Nan Yunlie’s voice echoed across the arena once more. "The challenged disciples have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to decide whether they will accept Lin Huang’s challenge. Light the incense!"
"Elder, there’s no need to light incense for something like this!" Luo Hefeng shook his head with a wide grin. "Who would possibly refuse someone actively seeking their own death? Besides, I’m the first person he’s challenging. As for the rest... tsk tsk, they won’t even get a chance to step onto the stage."
Following Luo Hefeng’s words, the other disciples challenged by Lin Huang spoke up one after another, outright declaring their acceptance.
Hearing the crowd’s response, Nan Yunlie did not hesitate in the slightest, hurriedly pinching out the freshly lit incense. The opportunity to witness a Battle Eight Directions was something that excited even him.
"Battle Eight Directions, match one! Lin Huang versus Luo Hefeng!"
The entire Martial Arts Arena boiled over the moment Nan Yunlie’s words fell. Gazing at Lin Huang and Luo Hefeng—the only two left on the stage—unbridled laughter and chatter erupted from the spectators.
"I’m about to witness the fastest defeat in a Battle Eight Directions in the history of the Piaoxue Palace!"
"Challenging Luo Hefeng in the very first match... he really doesn’t know the meaning of death."
"He’s simply too arrogant. He hasn’t clearly assessed his own strength. I’m afraid he’s lived under Lin Cangxue’s glory for so long that he genuinely believes he’s a genius himself."
While the discussions below the stage surged like a tidal wave, the arena itself remained much quieter, with only a tense, explosive atmosphere circling between the two combatants.
"Back then, Lin Cangxue’s elegance was Unrivaled. Like a peerless prodigy, she considered the likes of us beneath her notice. Who would have thought she would end up as miserable as a stray dog, too ashamed to even show her face—and saddled with a brother like you, no less.
"Tsk, tsk. Being able to die by my sword today can be considered your good fortune!"
Luo Hefeng stared at Lin Huang, his half-squinted eyes harboring a trace of twisted madness and viciousness.
"Shut up!"
Lin Huang cast a faint glance at him, his entire being exuding an icy, ruthless aura. Without waiting for Luo Hefeng to say another word, the Demon-Suppressing Blade in his hand was already unsheathed.
"What a guy in a hurry to die!" Luo Hefeng spoke with a look of feigned pity. Casually raising his sword, he advanced toward Lin Huang with nonchalant ease.
Watching the two men charge at each other on the stage, the crowd below shook their heads. They looked somewhat sympathetic, but in truth, they were harboring a thrill of excitement.
"With this strike, I’ll sever your hamstrings!"
As the two closed the distance, a charming smile crept onto Luo Hefeng’s face.
The corner of Lin Huang’s mouth twitched upward. His thin, sharp lips parted slightly, instantly chilling the air around them.
"Three Thousand Miles!"
In an instant, a fierce blade light shot forth from Lin Huang’s hand as his figure abruptly vanished. In the blink of an eye, Lin Huang and Luo Hefeng had already crossed paths.
THUD!
With a heavy thud, Luo Hefeng fell to one knee, letting out a muffled groan. At his ankle, there was a gash so deep the bone was visible, blood pouring out in streams.
"I’ll be taking your hamstrings!"
Lin Huang turned around, staring at Luo Hefeng with a detached expression.
"I’ll make you experience what it means to beg for life and pray for death," Luo Hefeng snarled through gritted teeth, twisting his head to look at Lin Huang, his eyes brimming with chilling killing intent.
As he spoke, the imposing aura around Luo Hefeng suddenly surged, emitting a sinister and fierce energy. Behind him, a longsword etched with dark purple patterns slowly materialized, its menacing, wolf-like presence lunging straight at Lin Huang.
Purple Blood Sword Martial Soul!
Lin Huang looked at Luo Hefeng, who was struggling to his feet, and the sinisterly roiling Purple Blood Sword Martial Soul behind him. Without the slightest change in expression, he coldly spat out:
"Three Thousand Miles!"
Before the words even finished echoing, Lin Huang vanished from his spot once again. With utterly terrifying speed, he instantly pierced through the offensive pressure of the Purple Blood Sword Martial Soul, coming to a steady halt directly behind Luo Hefeng.
The crowd below stared at the scene before them in bewilderment. Luo Hefeng’s momentum had not dissipated, and his Purple Blood Sword Martial Soul was still radiating murderous intent. Yet, Lin Huang was standing openly and calmly right behind him.
"Ah—!"
Before anyone could process what had happened, they abruptly heard a miserable shriek from Luo Hefeng. He dropped heavily to his knees, slamming them into the ground, his severed hamstrings dripping with fresh blood. Simultaneously, the Purple Blood Sword Martial Soul behind him crumbled away.
Seeing this, the spectators’ faces drastically changed.
"What in the world is going on?"
In just two exchanges, Luo Hefeng had paid the price of his legs, while Lin Huang remained completely unscathed. The crucial point was that no one had even seen how Lin Huang executed his moves.
"The strength you rely on is absolutely worthless in my eyes. So what if you’re at the Earth Element Fifth Heaven?" Lin Huang turned around, gazing down at the kneeling Luo Hefeng. His face was entirely devoid of warmth. "Your greatest mistake was insulting my sister to my face. Xue Ping and Elder Meng Zhiqiu from a few months ago should have been your cautionary tales."
With that said, the Demon-Suppressing Blade in Lin Huang’s hand was raised once more.
"If you truly think you can kill me, you’re giving yourself far too much credit!" Luo Hefeng lifted his head and spoke with seething murderous intent, his ferocious glare looking as though he wanted to slice Lin Huang into a thousand ribbons.
"To kill you, I don’t even need the Godslaying One Slash. Three Thousand Miles combined with Asura’s Fury will be more than enough. If you can break it, I die and you live. If you cannot, your arrogant bluster is nothing but your dying words!"
The moment his voice fell, Lin Huang charged at his opponent once again.
At the same moment, Luo Hefeng erupted in a violent frenzy. His entire body practically overflowed with a sinister aura as he shot toward Lin Huang like a sharpened blade, aiming for a lethal strike.
Mid-sprint, Lin Huang let out a cold laugh. The Demon-Suppressing Blade in his hand abruptly flipped as his ruthless voice rang out again:
"Three Thousand Miles!"
"Asura’s Fury!"
The arena shook in tandem with his words. Luo Hefeng crashed heavily onto the ground, his sword-wielding wrist viciously slashed open.
"No one is allowed to insult my sister, not even the number one disciple of the Outer Sect!"
Staring at Luo Hefeng, who had collapsed on the ground once more, Lin Huang’s expression turned increasingly frigid before he struck again.
"Three Thousand Miles!"
"Three Thousand Miles!"
"Three Thousand Miles!"
...
On the stage, Luo Hefeng’s wrists and hamstrings had all been severed by Lin Huang. He was entirely stripped of any combat capability; though he could still weakly struggle, he was no longer a match for Lin Huang.
Every time the words "Three Thousand Miles" echoed in his ears, Luo Hefeng’s face paled, because it was guaranteed to be accompanied by a new gash across his body. To him, those words had completely transformed into a Nightmare.
In less than half a quarter hour, Luo Hefeng was covered in scars, totaling more than thirty cuts. It was the exact same way he had sadistically toyed with Lu Panshi earlier.
By the end, whenever Lin Huang uttered "Three Thousand Miles," Luo Hefeng’s body would curl up involuntarily. His once murderously intense eyes had long been replaced by profound terror.
Watching this unfold, the spectators below suffered an immense psychological impact. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine this outcome.
They could never have anticipated that the seemingly harmless Baiyi Lin Huang would be so terrifying, plunging Luo Hefeng into the abyss in less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn. From the champion of the Outer Sect to the puddle of mud now lying paralyzed on the stage.
And from start to finish, Lin Huang had used only a single move. Repeating the very same move over and over, he had rendered Luo Hefeng—an expert at the Earth Element Fifth Heaven—completely powerless to fight back, butchering him like a dog.
As their gazes landed on Lin Huang, the crowd fell into a heavy silence. Even Nan Yunlie, watching from the side, frowned. Recalling Lin Huang’s "Three Thousand Miles," he wore an expression of deep contemplation.
"S-spare... spare my life. P-please!"
Luo Hefeng’s Mental Realm ultimately collapsed. He could no longer endure Lin Huang’s endless butchery. Every single cut was agonizingly painful, yet none were instantly fatal, leaving him utterly incapable of retaliating.
In Luo Hefeng’s eyes, the edge of the Demon-Suppressing Blade now resembled the smile of a devil, sending a chilling frost through his entire body. It forced him to grovel at Lin Huang’s feet, bitterly begging for mercy.
Gazing down at Luo Hefeng, whose body was drenched in blood that bubbled up like crimson springs, Lin Huang’s expression remained perfectly still. He simply patted the man’s head.
"Do you know why I didn’t participate in the Outer Sect Battle?"
"W-why?"
"Because I came here for revenge. Naturally, I have to choose my own opponents. Originally, you weren’t among the eight people I planned to challenge. But you succeeded in triggering the killing intent in my heart!"
"You... You..." Luo Hefeng stared at Lin Huang in absolute horror, his body instinctively shrinking backward. He hadn’t expected such a deep-seated reason behind all of this.
Lin Huang hadn’t chosen the Battle Eight Directions merely to enter the Inner Sect. It was to exact revenge for Lin Cangxue.
Among the eight people Lin Huang challenged, every one of them had insulted Lin Cangxue in some capacity. During the fall of the East Spirit Legend, they had been the ones kicking her while she was down.
"P-please... spare me! I promise I’ll never say those things again. A-apologize, I’ll go apologize to Miss Cangxue!" Luo Hefeng cried out, his face etched with terror as he lay paralyzed on the ground.
"It’s a pity, but I don’t plan on giving you that chance. Rest in peace!"
A smile finally surfaced on Lin Huang’s cruel face. However, this smile only instilled an even deeper fear within Luo Hefeng. A moment later, all he saw was a flash of blade light sweeping past his eyes.
THUD!
Luo Hefeng was kicked off the arena stage by Lin Huang.
"Elder, you may begin the second match!" Lin Huang said with a smile as he turned around.
Gazing at Luo Hefeng’s limp body on the ground, the surrounding disciples instinctively held their breath. Then, their faces paled in sheer terror as they noticed a faint, thin line of blood across his neck.
An instant later, a geyser of blood erupted, shooting thirty feet into the air!