The air suddenly grew a few fractions quieter! The tens of thousands of people below the arena held their breath as they watched the scene unfold before them. They clearly saw the azure longsword pierce right into Lin Huang’s chest. What erupted immediately after was the cheering of countless people.
"He’s finally dead! That calamity who brought nothing but ruin!"
"Sigh... he couldn’t even take a single hit. To think he dared to challenge Crown Prince Lingyun, what a joke!"
"It’s just a pity that it wasted a spot in Piaoxue Palace!"
Amid the crowd’s chatter, Crown Prince Lingyun’s lips curled into a smile as he looked at Lin Huang. "You didn’t expect this, did you? The Iron Silver Armor you take such pride in is nothing more than scrap metal in my eyes!" Ever since Crown Prince Lingyun had gotten hold of Ling Huangyi’s longsword, he had been waiting for this exact moment.
Watching Crown Prince Lingyun’s arrogant and triumphant display, Lin Huang pressed his thin lips together before a slow, cold smile surfaced. "Did you really think all I had was the Iron Silver Armor?"
The moment his words fell, killing intent erupted! A flash of blade light burst from Lin Huang’s hand. Like a silver full moon, the falling long saber struck Crown Prince Lingyun’s shoulder with unparalleled sharpness. The entire blade embedded itself deep into his flesh and bone. Blood immediately gushed out!
Crown Prince Lingyun’s body jerked violently with a muffled groan, his facial muscles twisting in pain. His eyes were filled with disbelief as he stared at Lin Huang. He had clearly stabbed Lin Huang in the chest, so how could the boy still unleash such a fierce and decisive attack? He hadn’t even had a fraction of a second to react!
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!
Immediately after, the metallic clatter of the Iron Silver Armor being unequipped rang across the arena. After shedding the ruined Iron Silver Armor, Lin Huang wore a faint smile. There was a spot of dark red blood on his chest, but it was far from the gaping blood cave the crowd had imagined. Beneath his torn robes, a glint of silver skin could vaguely be seen!
"This is impossible!" Crown Prince Lingyun roared. His longsword had pierced straight through the Iron Silver Armor, so why hadn’t it punctured Lin Huang’s body?
He never expected Lin Huang’s physique to be this tough. In fact, not even the tens of thousands of spectators below had anticipated that Lin Huang’s physical body would be so formidable. Even though the Iron Silver Armor had deflected most of the longsword’s power, the remaining force wasn’t something an ordinary body could endure.
Yet Lin Huang had done it! He had used the Iron Silver Armor to lure Crown Prince Lingyun into attacking, only to counter with a slash to the latter’s shoulder. He had calculated this from the very beginning.
Realizing this, the crowd drew sharp breaths. Their gazes deepened as they stared at Lin Huang, a bewildering thought rising in their minds... Did Lin Huang actually have the strength to fight Crown Prince Lingyun?
"Crown Prince, did that slash just now give you a pleasant surprise?" Lin Huang wiped the blood from his blade, a cold smile curling his lips.
"It was quite a surprise indeed, but this is where it ends," Crown Prince Lingyun said, glaring at Lin Huang with a dark expression. His lowered voice sounded like the low growl of an enraged tiger. "I originally wanted to give you a quick death, but because of that strike just now, I’m going to show you a fate worse than death."
The moment his words fell, a massive storm surged around Crown Prince Lingyun. He was enveloped in a boundless golden light, majestic, awe-inspiring, and blindingly radiant. Following that, a gigantic Holy Decree appeared behind him, exuding imperial majesty. As golden patterns flowed across its surface, an invincible pressure that could suppress all directions swept out.
Martial Soul—Fengtian!
"A Profound Tier Middle Grade Martial Soul?" Lin Huang’s gaze gradually sharpened as he looked at the Holy Decree Scroll behind Crown Prince Lingyun, which was overflowing with golden light and radiating an oppressive aura that locked down the surroundings.
"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The rebel is lawless and brings chaos to the people. Today, having received the grace of Heaven, I stand as a humble descendant of the royal bloodline. Yet, since I wield authority, I must sever the hearts of traitorous subjects and slay the rebels of this chaotic era. I shall use blood to warn the world, and law to revere the Heavens!"
On the arena, Crown Prince Lingyun’s sonorous voice echoed in all directions. The vast and righteous pressure it carried grew increasingly intense. On the Holy Decree behind him, flowing golden characters surfaced one by one, passing judgment on Lin Huang. Then, those massive golden characters on the Holy Decree flew out like streaks of light, merging into the longsword in Crown Prince Lingyun’s hand. This caused the longsword’s sharpness to skyrocket, with dazzling golden light coiling around the blade, brimming with the majesty of the Celestial Family.
"Kill!" Crown Prince Lingyun bellowed in rage. Shrouded in golden Protective Gang Wind, he charged at Lin Huang once more. His speed and momentum were overwhelmingly more imposing than before!
"The Earth Element Realm!"
Tens of thousands of people in the plaza exclaimed. Looking at the frenzied figure on the arena, their hearts were deeply shaken. Even though they had long guessed that Crown Prince Lingyun had stepped into the Earth Element Realm, seeing it with their own eyes still left them shocked. An Earth Element Realm Martial Artist not even eighteen years old! Although not quite on par with Lin Cangxue and Ling Huangyi, he was still a premier genius within the Great Xia Dynasty.
What shocked the crowd even more was that Crown Prince Lingyun was actually able to draw upon the power of ’By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees’ to execute Lin Huang. One had to know that a year ago, Crown Prince Lingyun could at most utter the two words ’Fengtian’.
"It looks like Lin Huang doesn’t have the slightest hope of winning!"
"A gap of a Great Realm isn’t something that can be reversed just with a Martial Soul and Martial Techniques. Lin Huang is definitely dead!"
"In a battle of life and death, how could one possibly win relying on underhanded tricks!"
Watching the incoming golden Protective Gang Wind, which was brimming with heavy pressure and fierce killing intent, Lin Huang’s face turned solemn. However, he showed no signs of retreating. His eyes were entirely filled with soaring battle intent. He raised his long saber once again, and his deep voice echoed faintly in the air.
"Three Thousand Miles!"
Lin Huang vanished from his original spot. Accompanied by a fierce blade light, he charged straight toward the center of the storm.
"Fool!" Crown Prince Lingyun sneered from within the golden Protective Gang Wind, looking at Lin Huang with intense contempt.
"Slaying Kunlun!"
"Shooting the Celestial Wolf!"
In the blink of an eye, Lin Huang unleashed three consecutive slashes. The power of the wrathful Kunlun-slaying strike condensed entirely onto a single point, before landing with extreme precision right onto the radiant Holy Decree behind Crown Prince Lingyun.
BANG!
Accompanied by a deafening crash, a point of cold light flashed at the tip of the blade. Then, a berserk surge of power violently erupted, domineeringly sweeping in all directions. The terrifying blade light fractured, directly tearing apart the Holy Decree behind Crown Prince Lingyun. Crown Prince Lingyun himself was sent flying backward.
This sudden turn of events left everyone present completely dumbfounded. They wondered what was going on. Had Crown Prince Lingyun actually been sent flying? Was the Martial Technique Lin Huang just used at the Profound Tier Advanced grade?
The crowd couldn’t believe their eyes. Crown Prince Lingyun was an Earth Element Realm Martial Artist wielding the Fengtian Martial Soul, yet Lin Huang, who was merely at the Human Element Eighth Heaven, had actually thwarted him with just three moves of a Martial Technique?
On the arena, Crown Prince Lingyun clutched his chest, blood spraying from the corner of his mouth. He glared at Lin Huang with a dark expression, his fists clenched tight, the fury in his heart unimaginable. He was a mighty Earth Element Realm Martial Artist, yet because of his carelessness, he had been so easily pushed to such an extent by Lin Huang!
The might of the Heaven-Serving Martial Soul actually hadn’t had much of an effect on Lin Huang. He absolutely could not let this stand!
Even the expressions of the Four Great Sects’ Elders behind the arena changed slightly. Shen Diexin was naturally beaming with smiles, while Hann Shan and Qii Lie frowned.
Hann Ming had said before that Lin Huang’s Martial Techniques were far from simple. Seeing it today, it was indeed extraordinary. At the very least, relying on the foundations of the Four Great Sects, apart from their Sect’s Martial Techniques, there were hardly any scrolls of Martial Techniques that could compare to the moves Lin Huang had just executed. Otherwise, Lin Huang wouldn’t have been able to rely on such lightning-fast methods to so abruptly tear apart the Holy Decree behind Crown Prince Lingyun.
An ordinary person would have been shredded to death by the Protective Gang Wind surrounding the decree the moment they got close. Yet Lin Huang, relying on his formidable physique and exquisite Martial Techniques, had broken through it in just a few breaths!
In the stands, Hann Shan and Qii Lie exchanged a glance, both of their eyes flashing with wariness and killing intent. It was this very wariness that birthed their desire to kill him!
Thinking carefully about Lin Huang’s growth, it truly gave them a bit of a shock. Being able to fight above one’s realm was already an uncommon feat. The reason Lin Huang could achieve this wasn’t just because of the power of his Martial Techniques, but also due to his incredibly solid foundation and incomparably rich combat experience.
"The Holy Decree is already torn. What other tricks do you have? Bring them all out!" On the arena, Lin Huang looked at Crown Prince Lingyun ahead of him, flashing a mocking smile.
Before his duel with Crown Prince Lingyun, his only worry was that the latter would break through to the Earth Element First Heaven. If that happened, even if he had Three Thousand Miles, Slaying Kunlun, and Shooting the Celestial Wolf, it would have been to no avail. If his meridians hadn’t been damaged in the battle in the rainy alley seven days ago, he would have prepared the Godslaying One Slash early on and finished Crown Prince Lingyun in a single strike.
"Do you really think you’ve defeated me that easily?" Crown Prince Lingyun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up like an injured, vicious tiger. His handsome face was now twisted with savage fury. "To think a piece of trash like you dared to dream of standing on equal footing with me. What do you take yourself for? Three years ago, I was able to leave you paralyzed in bed, and today, I can make you lose your life right here. From beginning to end, you’ve been nothing but my plaything!"
With that said, Crown Prince Lingyun flipped his palm, tossing a pale azure, longan-sized Elixir into his mouth...
"A Spirit-Breaking Pill!"
Seeing the Elixir Crown Prince Lingyun swallowed, Lin Huang’s expression grew noticeably more solemn. The greatest use of a Spirit-Breaking Pill was to stimulate the human body’s potential in a short period of time, forcefully tearing open the Profound Gates within the body in an extremely domineering manner. As long as one was below the Celestial Element Realm, taking a Spirit-Breaking Pill would elevate their strength by one First Heaven.
Lin Huang had this item too! However, a Spirit-Breaking Pill caused immense harm to a Martial Artist and damaged their Martial Arts Foundation. Unless it was a true Life and Death Realm situation, Lin Huang would absolutely never take something like this. He had not expected Crown Prince Lingyun to be so resolute just to kill him.
Upon taking the Spirit-Breaking Pill, an incredibly formidable power rose within Crown Prince Lingyun’s body. The Holy Decree behind him, which had previously dimmed, became wreathed in brilliant light once more.
"The Holy Decree may be ruined, but I still have a National Treasure!" Crown Prince Lingyun sneered coldly. As Primordial Qi circulated around his body, streams of profound power continuously poured into the torn Holy Decree. The blood-red stamp of the Jade Seal on the now-glowing Holy Decree slowly began to float.
In merely a few breaths, the blood-red stamp emanated an intense brilliance. A massive ’Suppress’ character pattern swept into the air, its fierce and domineering aura suppressing the entire venue...