Champion

Just then, Lin Hao's aura began to gradually converge. His eyes were shut tight, his expression calm, as if the endless Space Strangling power had nothing to do with him.

"Giving up?" Liu Qingmeng stared hard at Lin Hao. To be honest, she hadn't expected him to cause her so much trouble.

She'd thought her Time Ability would let her win easily. But what she never anticipated was that Lin Hao would See Through her ability in their brief exchange and counterattack. This had thrown Liu Qingmeng into serious difficulty. If she didn't still have her Space Ability, she'd probably have lost by now.

But in reality, there were no ifs. Seeing Lin Hao abandon resistance under the Space Strangling, Liu Qingmeng let out a long sigh of relief.

"It's over." A graceful curve lifted the corner of Liu Qingmeng's mouth. Not just her—every martial university team member and Principal present, even the two Gods of War, had already sentenced Lin Hao to death.

Just as everyone thought the match was finished, the entire fighting platform suddenly began to tremble. Not just the platform—the whole competition venue started shaking violently.

"What's going on? An earthquake?" Panic swept through the audience. Jiang Tianhai quickly cast a barrier over the spectator stands, then shot a strange look toward the platform.

Lin Hao's aura shifted from convergence to eruption. But this time, the burst wasn't the breath of Black Lightning—it was an aura wrapped in terrifying killing intent. This force easily isolated the Space Strangling at the perimeter. The platform kept shaking as Lin Hao's aura steadily intensified. As it grew, his body began to change. His expression turned indifferent, his blue robe shifting to black. His jet-black short hair gradually turned white, lengthening until it reached his waist.

Lin Hao still kept his eyes shut, his face cold, his presence still surging. At that moment, a pitch-black, ancient Sword Box materialized behind him.

Lin Hao opened his blood-red eyes, formed a sword gesture with his fingers at his chest, and murmured: "Break!!!"

The moment the word "break" left his lips, a terrifying wave of aura erupted from Lin Hao, sweeping across the entire platform. The platform shattered inch by inch, and Liu Qingmeng's Space Strangling and Space Lockdown vanished without a trace.

Now, not only the martial university students and teachers, but even Fang Wei and Jiang Tianhai stared wide-eyed at everything happening on the stage. The only ones present who had seen Lin Hao like this were probably Jiang Weiwei and Su Xiaorui.

"What's wrong with Great God Lin? He transformed?"

"Such terrifying aura—I feel like I can't breathe."

"Great God Lin looks so handsome like this."

Gasps and shouts erupted from the crowd.

Meanwhile, at the military headquarters, a handsome man suddenly furrowed his brow. "That aura has appeared again." He tore open a rift in the space around him and vanished in an instant.

On the fighting platform, Lin Hao lifted his head slightly, looking at the utterly stunned Liu Qingmeng, and spoke calmly: "You're indeed strong, but this is as far as you go."

Sword aura surged around Lin Hao as he shouted: "Sword, come!"

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered over Modu Martial University. Purple thunder rolled within the dense clouds, and the rumbling thunder sounded like the roar of demons from the Netherworld Abyss. The Sword Box floating behind Lin Hao began to tremble slightly, then slowly opened. The Zixiao Sword flew out with a ring and landed in Lin Hao's hand.

Gripping the Zixiao, Lin Hao poured all three layers of Triple Sword Intent into it. The Zixiao trembled lightly, slipped from his palm, and hovered before him. Lin Hao formed a sword gesture with his fingers and pointed at the sky. The Zixiao shot into the clouds like a meteor. The moment it entered, thunder roared violently across the cloud layer, as if the world were ending. Countless purple light swords floated within the clouds. Lin Hao murmured: "Battle Skill: Shadow Hunter Sky Breaker!" Countless purple light swords rained down like a storm.

Facing such a massive sword rain, Liu Qingmeng froze for a moment, then her eyes sharpened. A flash of gold flickered in her gaze. The dense rain of swords vanished into thin air like streams flowing into the sea. Sweat beaded on Liu Qingmeng's forehead. Facing Lin Hao now, she dared not be careless. Her figure flickered and disappeared. But when she tried to use Time Stop again, she found she couldn't move a step within ten meters of Lin Hao.

The Time Stop skill passed in an instant, and Liu Qingmeng stood frozen ten meters away from Lin Hao. "Why... why is my skill useless against you?" Panic surged in her heart. This was the first time her ability had ever failed against an enemy.

Lin Hao beckoned with his hand, and the Zixiao returned to his grasp. "Heh. You have Space and Time Laws, but I have my own Law as well." His indifferent voice fell, and his aura began to skyrocket again. Liu Qingmeng suddenly felt as if she had entered a mysterious domain. Within this range, her Spiritual Power was suppressed to half its strength. She even felt barely able to move.

Liu Qingmeng sensed danger and tried to escape with her Space Ability. But she found she couldn't use it at all.

"How is this possible?" Liu Qingmeng had never encountered such a situation and panicked.

Lin Hao's cold voice rang out: "In my domain, trying to use Law Power is nothing but a fool's dream."

"Domain?" Not just Liu Qingmeng—even Fang Wei and Jiang Tianhai were utterly shocked.

"That's right. This is my domain skill. I call it the Sword Domain!" Lin Hao's faint voice pierced Liu Qingmeng's heart like ten thousand arrows.

Lin Hao wasted no more words. He placed the Zixiao before him. Triple Sword Intent poured into the Zixiao once more. In that instant, the Zixiao began to tremble violently. The purple thunder in the dark clouds, as if answering a summons, merged entirely into the Zixiao. Lin Hao's calm voice sounded: "Beneath the Zixiao, ten deaths, no life. Battle Skill: One Sword Opens the Heavens!" The moment the words fell, the sky cleared, the clouds scattered, leaving only a single sword light wrapped in terrifying purple thunder as Lin Hao slashed downward.

Facing that sword light, every student present felt their legs go weak, as if they saw the Reaper's scythe swinging toward them. Liu Qingmeng had lost all her earlier composure. Her beautiful eyes widened wide—in that instant, she felt as if Death itself was beckoning her.

"Not good!" The two Gods of War reacted fastest. They shot to the air above the platform, unleashing their divine-level auras to block the terrifying sword light. At the same time, a rift suddenly tore open in the sky, widening as a handsome, cloaked middle-aged man stepped out. He calmly glanced at the terrifying sword light, then looked toward the platform.

"So this is the little one? Not bad." He waved his hand, and the sword light dissolved into countless purple sparks, vanishing without a trace.

Jiang Tianhai and Fang Wei quickly flew up into the air. "Greetings, Lord Han Feng."

Han Feng smiled and nodded. "First, finish organizing this Hundred Schools League. Then bring that little one to see me."

The two quickly bowed in agreement.

Lin Hao focused his mind, and the Zixiao flew back into the Sword Box. Jiang Tianhai and Fang Wei landed on the platform. Looking at Lin Hao, who had returned to his normal appearance, and then at Liu Qingmeng, whose mouth was still slightly open, they shook their heads with wry smiles.

"I declare the champion of this year's Hundred Schools League to be Shancheng Martial University!"

The whole venue fell silent. No cheers, only deathly stillness—everyone was still reeling from the shock.

After a long moment, the Shancheng Martial University students cheered first, then the roar of celebration rose wave after wave. Teachers and students from both Shancheng and Jiangnan Martial Universities rushed onto the platform.

The team members lifted Lin Hao and tossed him into the air. Jiang Weiwei, Su Xiaorui, Fang Yao, Lin Yueyue, and Lin Xiaorou all watched from the side, smiling. Lin Xiaorou even hopped up and down, clapping and cheering.

Xing Tianhe walked over to the bitter-faced Liu Qingmeng and gave a helpless smile. "Qingmeng, you have to know there's always someone stronger. Your talent is excellent—you'll definitely match him in the future," he comforted.

Fang Wei and Jiang Tianhai didn't stop the students' rowdy behavior, watching with smiles. Then they suddenly thought of something and exchanged bitter glances. That kid Lin Hao had caught Lord Han Feng's eye—what was left for them? That bet was a complete waste.

After the group had fooled around for a while, Jiang Tianhai finally spoke up: "Lin Hao, come with me. An important person wants to see you."

The Principals were startled. Someone the God of War himself called "important"—there was almost no one like that in the world. Could it be...?

Seeing Jiang Tianhai nod at them, shockwaves rippled through their hearts. That kid Lin Hao was about to soar to the heavens.

Fang Wei led the Principals to handle the rest of the competition, while Jiang Tianhai took Lin Hao to the VIP lounge at Modu Martial University.