Ling Tian Sword God

”How is this possible?”

As Linghu Yi fought, his alarm only grew. He had been steadily escalating his combat strength, convinced he could overwhelm Ling Chen and cripple him. But the situation remained the same as at the beginning, unchanged—no, it was even slightly worse. While he increased his combat power, his opponent did likewise. Moreover, his opponent managed to use every ounce of strength perfectly, with no waste and no insufficiency.

Moreover, Ling Chen had previously killed several thousand men; his strength should have been greatly depleted, with at least half of it exhausted. How could he still maintain such full combat power?

This boy’s growth is too swift! Even if it costs him his own limbs today, he resolved to kill this boy at all costs.

”Fatal Fox!”

Lunging forward with Arrow Step, Linghu Yi swung his sword. Amidst the surge of True Qi, he unleashed a fox-shaped blade light. With its head forward and tail trailing, its small eyes locked onto Ling Chen as it transformed into a plume of dark smoke, swiftly rushing towards him.

”Linghu Yi has unleashed his ultimate move!”

The distant spectators held their breath, their eyes wide and unblinking.

Opposite him, Ling Chen’s white robes fluttered, his long hair billowing like silk, yet sharp as swords. His expression was stern, and his already sharp eyes narrowed further. The cold light within them seemed to condense into substance, a tangible chill that even his eyelids couldn’t conceal.

”One Sword Burns the Sky!”

Stepping forward, Ling Chen clasped the Red Sky Sword with both hands. His True Essence of Fire surged to its peak. With power enough to split mountains and shatter boulders, he executed his most formidable Sword technique.

WHOOSH!

A stream of sword qi shot out, seemingly imprinted on the air itself. It tore through the Void, swift as an aurora.

The fox phantom and the crimson aurora collided. There was no sound, no shockwave; the world seemed to fall silent. Only an intertwining sphere of black and red light remained, within which the fox phantom and the crimson aurora were locked in a final struggle.

POP!

A crisp sound echoed as the area where the two attacks converged suddenly exploded. The crimson aurora, now condensed to the thickness of a finger, pierced through the fragments of the exploding fox phantom and abruptly struck Linghu Yi’s chest. It was so fast he had no time to react.

”So Ling Chen’s killing move has the upper hand!”

A Black Market warrior watching the battle cried out in surprise.

”He truly is someone who creates miracles.”

A hint of joy touched Lin Ya’s lips; her woman’s intuition had been correct. As long as one believed in Ling Chen, a turning point was sure to come.

”How can this be? Linghu Yi couldn’t even block that Sword technique?”

On the Puppet Warship, the smirk on Black Chonghou’s face vanished, replaced by boundless solemnity. Ling Chen’s Sword technique, in terms of both rank and power, is exceptionally potent; otherwise, it wouldn’t possess such formidable penetrating power.

THUD!

Linghu Yi was sent flying backward. The sword qi hadn’t pierced his Armor, but the highly concentrated force still made him lose control of his body and blood qi. His ribs creaked, and he felt an unbearable pain, a sensation he had never experienced before.

Ling Chen, however, wasn’t overly optimistic. That last strike hadn’t truly injured Linghu Yi. Strictly speaking, it hadn’t damaged any vital areas. At most, Linghu Yi had suffered some disruption to his blood qi, nothing serious.

Linghu Yi’s eyes fixed intently on Ling Chen, his face darkening. ”Boy, that must have been your strongest Sword technique just now. Unfortunately, it fell a little short and couldn’t truly harm me.”

Being forcefully repelled by Ling Chen greatly vexed Linghu Yi. However, he quickly reasoned that as long as he secured the final victory, a momentary loss of face didn’t matter.

”That move just now was not my strongest Sword technique,” Ling Chen said, shaking his head.

”Not your strongest Sword technique? How is that possible? Trying to bluff me... You’re still too naive, boy!”

Linghu Yi sneered, utterly disbelieving Ling Chen.

That Sword technique just now must have been Ling Chen’s most powerful. Stronger than that? What a joke! Unless Ling Chen has reached the Sky Apex Realm.

”You’ll know soon enough.”

SWOOSH! A layer of flames suddenly ignited on the Red Sky Sword, and the surrounding air grew incredibly hot.

”Haha, well, I’m very curious to see it then!”

With that, Linghu Yi’s aura fully erupted. The giant wolf phantom above his head swelled with the wind, its ferocious and baleful qi flaring.

Opposite him, Ling Chen stood against the wind several li away. He neither drew his sword nor adopted a stance. Instead, his gaze gradually sharpened, locking onto Linghu Yi’s qi.

The night wind whistled. The distant crowd held their breath, eyes fixed on Ling Chen, eager to witness this supposedly more powerful Sword technique.

”Kill!”

A cold glint flashed in Ling Chen’s eyes. He pointed with his right sword fingers, and the Red Sky Sword in his grip transformed into an intensely hot Sword Light, like a shooting star. It shot out at a speed beyond perception—so fast that everyone’s eyes were still focused on Ling Chen, waiting for him to launch his killing move.

But in reality, the killing move had already been launched.

Danger!

Linghu Yi’s scalp tingled. An instant later, it felt as if an electric shock shot from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, then back up again. This wasn’t his consciousness warning him of danger; it was his body’s pure, instinctive reaction. In that brief moment, his thoughts couldn’t even keep up.

CLANG!

Sparks like molten rock erupted from his chest. The heavy, metallic scent of blood filled the air, too thick for the wind to disperse. The next moment, Linghu Yi coughed up a large mouthful of blood and was sent flying dozens of li, as if soaring through clouds and mist. As he flew, blood trickled from his eyes, nose, and ears, like tiny serpents.

”What? Linghu Yi was defeated?”

The spectators were bewildered. They had been waiting for Ling Chen to unleash an incredibly powerful killing move. Yet, all they had seen was Ling Chen make a gesture with his right hand, a flash of fiery light in the air, and then Linghu Yi was spitting blood and sent flying. The sparks erupting from his chest were inexplicable, as if he had suffered some terrifyingly heavy blow.

GASP!

Once the bewilderment passed, the crowd drew a collective sharp breath. A clearly visible killing move wasn’t what was terrifying. What was truly terrifying was being completely clueless about what had just transpired.

After sending Linghu Yi flying, the meteor-like fiery light arced back, its brilliance dimming, and returned to Ling Chen’s hand, reverting to the ordinary Red Sky Sword.

”Did he defeat Linghu Yi using the sword in his hand?”

Only then did the crowd realize that Ling Chen’s killing move involved throwing the Red Sky Sword from his hand, similar to Flying Swords, yet distinct. They were somewhat confused because it had happened too quickly for them to notice the details.

”This Ling Chen... he is undoubtedly The Master of the Cyan Robe Association!”

Elder Tianhong was dumbfounded, muttering to himself.

”Heavens, Chief Rudder Linghu Yi was actually defeated! This Ling Chen... he’s incredibly formidable, practically heaven-defying! I can’t believe it.”

”Me neither! I thought he was just bluffing earlier.”

”So terrifying! To think he could still defeat Linghu Yi after killing several thousand people earlier... He’s not human; he’s a demon!”

The throngs of Black Market experts stared at Ling Chen, then at each other. All were hesitant, none daring to take even half a step forward.