In the brightly lit Martial Arts Arena, the atmosphere turned abruptly cold and sinister the moment the seven Yin Soul Ropes appeared simultaneously. The originally crimson lights were now tinged with a faint, eerie emerald green.
The entire arena sank into gloom and hostility. Hundreds of ghost heads roared in unison, spewing out waves of thick gray mist that enveloped the stage and swallowed Lin Huang within it.
"Seven Yin Soul Ropes. Is this the extent of your strength?"
Lin Huang clenched his fists and murmured to himself. He felt a mountain-like pressure bearing down on him, causing the flow of his Primordial Qi to become considerably sluggish.
"Little mongrel, do you still have the guts to bark? With these seven Yin Soul Ropes, even someone at the Earth Element Seventh Heaven wouldn’t be my match. You are nothing but a lowly Earth Element Third Heaven—how dare you be so arrogant!
"No matter how you struggle, you cannot escape your fate of being refined into a ghost head!
"After you die, I won’t let you be lonely. I imagine refining Lin Cangxue’s soul will grant me a massive boost in strength!
"Let this battle end here!"
Jiang Huaiyin let out a sinister cackle. With a wave of his hand, the seven Yin Soul Ropes slithered toward Lin Huang. Though not particularly fast, they gradually wove into a massive cage, threatening to trap Lin Huang completely.
He dared to talk about refining Lin Cangxue’s soul? On the arena, Lin Huang’s brows furrowed like sharp blades, exuding a bone-chilling coldness. As he glared at the black-robed Jiang Huaiyin, his eyes became shot with blood. Slamming his hand against the ground, an unbridled, frenzied murderous intent erupted uncontrollably from his heart.
In that instant, murderous intent surged across the stage like a roaring tide, sweeping over the entire venue. The sharp, desolate killing intent was like a giant beast of the wasteland slowly baring its fangs.
Everyone present felt the enveloping murderous intent, and their expressions drastically changed.
"What kind of Martial Technique is this? How can it have such a powerful aura!"
"What fierce murderous intent!"
"This is impossible! How could he unleash such terrifying power?"
Staring at Lin Huang, who was slamming his hand against the ground on the stage, the crowd murmured among themselves. They felt a chill run down their spines, and their eyes were filled with fear. Yann Qing’er and Yun Feifei also halted in their tracks, watching the scene before them in utter disbelief.
Behind the arena, Nan Yunlie no longer had the demeanor of an old urchin; his expression was unusually solemn. As he looked at Lin Huang, he felt a power capable of rivaling Snow Falling on Earth. Even Jiang Huaiyin’s face turned incredibly grave. Though Lin Huang was only at the Earth Element Third Heaven, he instilled an inexplicable sense of terror in him.
Suddenly, the youth on the stage raised his head, his crimson eyes brimming with terrifying killing intent. He stroked the Demon-Suppressing Blade in his hand, and his voice struck the hearts of the crowd like a heavy drumbeat, sharp and domineering:
"Godslaying! One! Slash!"
The next moment, Lin Huang’s figure abruptly vanished. He could no longer be seen in the arena. Only a streak of blood traversed the void, shooting toward Jiang Huaiyin like an arrow piercing the Nine Heavens.
"Yin Soul Array!"
Lin Huang’s sudden disappearance made Jiang Huaiyin’s expression drastically change, and a wave of unwarranted panic seized his heart. With a rapid wave of his arms, the surrounding Yin Soul Ropes coalesced into an array—an array formed entirely of Yin Soul Ropes.
In an instant, a massive ghost head formed on the stage.
The ghost head was thirty feet tall, wreathed in sickly green flames. Its sunken eyes swirled with pitch-black vortexes. As it opened its maw and roared, Yin Spears swarming with countless ghost heads thrust out in all directions, obliterating the void.
"Wrath of the Three-Armed Celestial Asura!"
Lin Huang remained unseen in the void, but his voice rang out, causing the murderous intent on the stage to become even more terrifying—so terrifying that the ghost head Jiang Huaiyin had conjured dimmed considerably.
Following that, the streak of blood shooting toward Jiang Huaiyin suddenly halted right in front of him. As the crimson line dissipated, the tip of the Demon-Suppressing Blade was revealed. It rested lightly against Jiang Huaiyin’s chest.
Lin Huang’s figure appeared on the arena. He stared coldly at Jiang Huaiyin and said in a chilling tone, "As you said, it ends here!"
A smile crept onto the corners of Jiang Huaiyin’s mouth. "Does it truly end here?"
"Truly!" Lin Huang nodded.
"You and your sister are really one stupider than the other!"
Jiang Huaiyin shook his head and laughed joyfully. Then, his aura drastically changed. Ignoring the Demon-Suppressing Blade pressing against his chest, he violently charged forward. Unexpectedly, the Demon-Suppressing Blade did not pierce into Jiang Huaiyin’s chest. Right there, he wore a Heart-Protecting Mirror.
"Does it still end here?" Jiang Huaiyin laughed heartily, glaring fiercely at Lin Huang. With a wave of his arm, the massive ghost head formed by the Yin Soul Ropes charged at Lin Huang with lightning speed, ready to tear him apart.
"...Truly!" After taking three steps back, Lin Huang nodded earnestly. He then raised the Demon-Suppressing Blade with his left hand, rested it on his shoulder, and broke into a grin.
"You..." Jiang Huaiyin looked bewildered. He didn’t understand why Lin Huang had suddenly put the Demon-Suppressing Blade on his shoulder and smiled.
At this moment, Lin Huang should have been panicking, fleeing, begging for mercy. Why was he holding the Demon-Suppressing Blade with his left hand instead of his right? Then, Jiang Huaiyin felt a slight dampness on his lower abdomen... He reached down to touch it, only to grab a section of his own intestines!
Jiang Huaiyin’s pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with horror. Looking down, he saw that his abdomen had been completely sliced open. Blood poured out like a ruptured dam. Even his Profound Sea had been utterly crushed.
"Ah!" Jiang Huaiyin finally let out a miserable shriek. He instantly collapsed to his knees in a pool of blood, his face a picture of agony. The shattering of his Profound Sea also caused the massive ghost head on the stage to dissipate into nothingness.
Lin Huang’s expression was razor-sharp and icy as he placed the Demon-Suppressing Blade against Jiang Huaiyin’s neck. "When I say truly, it naturally isn’t false!"
Fatty Bai knew that Lin Huang favored his left hand, but Jiang Huaiyin did not. Long before Lin Huang’s blade had even touched Jiang Huaiyin’s chest, his abdomen had already been sliced open by Lin Huang. Moreover, Jiang Huaiyin did not understand the Godslaying One Slash! Apart from Lin Huang, no one comprehended its true terror.
Watching the scene unfold on the arena, the crowd was left dumbfounded, their faces etched with utter disbelief.
Jiang Huaiyin... had actually lost? How was this possible? That was Jiang Huaiyin! Just a moment ago, he had imprisoned Lin Huang in a cage and bound him with the Yin Soul Ropes. Without even using his full strength, victory had seemingly been in his grasp.
So why did it turn out like this? Lin Huang... had actually defeated Jiang Huaiyin. He had become the true number one of the Outer Sect!
How had he done it? One must know, Jiang Huaiyin was at the Earth Element Sixth Heaven, while Lin Huang was merely at the Earth Element Third Heaven. How could he have turned the tables and placed Jiang Huaiyin under his butcher’s knife?
At this moment, the majority of the disciples in the Martial Arts Arena felt a burning sting on their faces. In a battle where everyone believed Lin Huang was destined to lose, he had miraculously reversed the situation, shattering Jiang Huaiyin’s Profound Sea with a single slash. This disciple, who had been looked down upon since entering the arena, had successfully passed the Battle Eight Directions and become the undisputed number one of the Outer Sect.
And it hadn’t even been half a year since he joined the sect!
As the disciples gazed at the figure on the stage dressed in a Blood Robe, his black hair fluttering in the wind like a heartless Asura, their incredulous expressions were soon masked by a deep sense of inadequacy.
Yun Feifei’s expression had turned entirely frostbitten. She never expected such an outcome—that Lin Huang could fight across a gap of three heavens and decisively defeat Jiang Huaiyin. Looking at the figure on the stage, the murderous intent in Yun Feifei’s eyes became even more resolute. Mingled within it was a trace of dread—a dread of what Lin Huang would become once he fully matured.
Fighting across a three-heaven gap! How familiar this scenario was; Lin Cangxue had done the exact same thing in the past. Yet by comparison, Lin Cangxue had been even more terrifying, having used the Earth Element to kill someone in the Celestial Element.
Thinking of this, Yun Feifei’s cold gaze landed on Lin Cangxue and Lin Huang. The murderous intent and panic deep within her heart intensified. She knew that Lin Huang had not yet practiced Ten Thousand Swords Return to One—the Martial Technique that made Lin Cangxue famous. And then there was Snow Falling on Earth! The Palace Martial Technique of Piaoxue Palace.
Once Lin Huang learned these two Martial Techniques and was given enough time to grow, the consequences would be unimaginable for her. She feared that even the current number one of the Inner Sect, Xie Qinghou, would have to take him seriously. After all, he was the younger brother of Lin Cangxue—the peerless genius who had once suppressed the younger generation of the Four Sects and Ten Dynasties with a single sword.
In contrast, Yann Qing’er and Lin Cangxue heaved long sighs of relief. Looking at Lin Huang on the arena, they finally broke into beautiful smiles.
Yann Qing’er puffed out her cheeks and snorted reluctantly, "This guy isn’t half bad. To think I was actually worried about him a moment ago!"
Lin Cangxue patted Yann Qing’er’s head, her eyes glowing with pride as she looked at Lin Huang. Even she hadn’t expected him to possess such formidable methods.
While the crowd below seethed with excitement, Lin Huang remained utterly cold on the stage. He slowly slid the Demon-Suppressing Blade against Jiang Huaiyin’s neck; with just a slight push, he could sever the man’s head.
"Speak. Who exactly are you, and what is the organization behind you? Why did you plot against my sister back then?"
Jiang Huaiyin looked up, staring sinisterly at Lin Huang. "Don’t waste your breath. Do you think I’d tell you? And even if I did, what could you possibly do?
"You should know that even Xuanyuan Tibing wouldn’t dare easily cross the faction backing me!"
Lin Huang’s expression gradually hardened. "In that case, I truly can’t find a reason to let you live!"
"You..." Jiang Huaiyin’s face changed, not expecting Lin Huang to be so decisive. He then let out a chilling laugh and slumped onto the ground. As he adjusted his disheveled robes, his cough carried a wicked aura, sounding like the screech of a bat.
"Are you really so certain that you can kill me?"
As Jiang Huaiyin spoke, his lowered eyes became crazily bloodshot. Once a blood-red crow condensed in his pupils, he abruptly raised his head. In that instant, an extremely profound and wicked aura coalesced and surged toward Lin Huang. It was as pervasive and bizarre as a spectral song. Catching Lin Huang entirely off guard, it pierced directly into his eyes.
Lin Huang’s expression shifted drastically. Feeling a Blood Crow, formed from that wicked aura, invade his sea of consciousness and attempt to take control of his body, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Eye of the Blood Crow!"