Battle!

Let's leave aside the many thoughts swirling in the minds of the powerful figures in Qingyun Peak's Great Hall and return to Ling Tian and the others.

"Trash, listen up. My name is Gao Fei, and I'm a disciple of Huang Se Peak Master of Qinghuang Peak." The disciple shouted angrily, introducing himself. It was customary to do so before fellow disciples sparred.

"If you want to fight, then fight. Why all the nonsense?" Ling Tian said with a cold snort, his tone full of disdain.

"You..." Gao Fei flew into a rage and lunged at Ling Tian. He hadn't reached the Qi Solidification Stage yet, so naturally he couldn't fly. Even if he could, he probably wouldn't bother using it against a piece of trash like Ling Tian.

Smack! Thud!

With just two sharp sounds, the fight was over, simple as that. The scene everyone had expected—Ling Tian getting beaten—never came. Instead, Ling Tian slapped Gao Fei hard across the face, sending him flying far away. Gao Fei's face swelled up like a hill, and two or three teeth flew out.

"Whoa, an afterimage! He's so fast!" someone nearby exclaimed.

"Heh. If I'm trash, then what does that make you?" Ling Tian sneered, looking at Gao Fei with disdain.

Of course, Gao Fei couldn't answer. He'd already passed out.

"Who else wants to teach me a lesson? Come on, bring it! I'll take on every one of you today!" Ling Tian swept his gaze over the crowd, his expression carrying a hint of arrogance and a hint of wild abandon.

"Let me do it. I can see your body cultivation is pretty good, young brother. I used to look down on you, but I know now that I was wrong about you. I'm Shi Tou. I'd like to test myself against you." Shi Tou's fighting spirit was roused. He'd once thought Ling Tian relied on Lingyun's reputation while secretly calling him trash, but now he'd changed his mind. It turned out Ling Tian had real talent.

"Heh, sure. Martial Brother Shi Tou, I'm Ling Tian. Please." Ling Tian recognized Shi Tou from a previous meeting. Seeing how forthright and unpretentious he was, Ling Tian thought well of him and treated him with extra courtesy.

"Come!" Shi Tou didn't hold back. He gave a low shout and walked toward Ling Tian, step by step, like a mountain. The ground trembled beneath his feet.

Ling Tian had meant to rely on his speed, but Shi Tou had said they would compete in physical strength, so he didn't use his footwork. He walked slowly toward Shi Tou, imitating him as he raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

Thud!

Their fists collided, and their force surged outward, kicking up clouds of dust. Both of them stumbled back. Shi Tou retreated three steps before barely managing to stop, while Ling Tian swayed and stepped back twice and a half. He couldn't keep his balance and took another half-step, making it clear that he had the slightest edge.

"Hahaha, that was great! Again!" Shi Tou was delighted. He shouted and charged forward once more.

"Ha!" Ling Tian gave a low shout. The pent-up frustration of all these years seemed ready to pour out through the fierce, exhilarating battle, making him look forward even more to crossing fists with Shi Tou.

Thud, thud, thud...

Their fists clashed again and again, and in an instant they exchanged well over a hundred blows. From their momentum, they seemed evenly matched.

"Hahaha, that was satisfying! It's been ages since I've had such a good fight. Brother Ling Tian, watch my secret move!" Shi Tou roared with laughter. A hazy, earthy-yellow glow spread over his fists; it seemed he was giving it everything he had.

"Big Brother Shi Tou, bring it on!" Ling Tian was thoroughly enjoying himself and stopped holding back, putting all his strength into his fists.

Thud!

Their final exchange shook the entire peak until it trembled faintly. Both men were sent staggering back. For a moment, they were panting and could barely keep their feet.

"Whew. Big Brother Shi Tou, I really have to hand it to you. Your body is incredibly strong." After a moment, Ling Tian was the first to recover, and he couldn't help admiring Shi Tou.

"Brother Ling Tian, you're making this old man feel ashamed. You're so young, yet you can match me in physical strength without falling behind—you even seemed to have a slight edge. I know you're much faster than me, and you held back for my sake. I'm convinced. I lost." Shi Tou knew Ling Tian was much faster and had gone easy on him. He admitted defeat without hesitation. A loss was a loss, and he was willing to own it.

"Big Brother Shi Tou, you're too kind. We agreed to compare physical strength, so naturally we were only testing our bodies." Ling Tian smiled faintly, admiring Shi Tou's straightforward nature even more.

"Hehe, after hearing you say that, I'll call you my brother. You're the first person to show Shi Tou so much respect." Shi Tou was so moved that it felt as if he'd found a kindred spirit.

"Hehe, Big Brother Shi Tou, I'll call you my brother too. You're the first person to call me that." Ling Tian was moved as well. So this was what it felt like to have a brother. All the frustration that had built up over the years was swept away by that one battle.

In Qingyun Peak's Great Hall, several powerful figures were utterly astonished.

"Ling Tian is incredibly fast. At such a young age, he's already cultivated afterimages." Gu Yuan sounded amazed.

"Some people's disciples certainly aren't trash. He got knocked down in one blow." Yuan Ming looked at Huang Se mockingly.

"You... Hmph." Huang Se was furious, but there was nothing he could do when his disciple had failed so badly. He simply fell silent, then secretly began transmitting his voice to someone. No one knew whom he was contacting.

"Ling Tian's physical cultivation is impressive, but I like Shi Tou even more. That build, that temperament—they're just like mine. Why didn't he join my Qingshi Peak?" Xiong Xiong praised Ling Tian, but liked Shi Tou's character even more. He couldn't help lamenting that Shi Tou hadn't joined his sect.

"Hehe, so Ling Tian is that strong. It seems he learned a lot from Senior Lingyun. Senior Lingyun must have plenty more techniques up his sleeve. It looks like Min'er being with him isn't such a bad thing after all." Ye Feidie's eyes lit up, and she began to approve of his relationship with Hua Min'er.

"What a pity. That little fellow didn't join my Qingsong Peak back then." Wu Yun regretted it in silence.

"Who else wants to come?" By now, Shi Tou had already stepped aside. Seeing that no one else was shouting, Ling Tian looked at the crowd with a touch of contempt. If they didn't even dare to fight, how could their cultivation ever progress steadily?

"Ahem. Let me give it a try." A tall, thin man, as slender as a bamboo pole, gave a dry cough and stepped out of the crowd.

"Huang Feng, you've got some nerve... Tsk, tsk. You're a Qi Solidification Stage expert, yet you're going to bully a child who can't cultivate?" Chu Yun, standing beside Shi Tou, couldn't help mocking Huang Feng. He had begun to admire Ling Tian too, and besides, Ling Tian was the newly acknowledged brother of his junior brother, Shi Tou.

"Exactly, Huang Feng. Have you spent the past few years cultivating your thick skin?" Shi Tou couldn't resist mocking him either, looking at Ling Tian with concern.

"It's just a friendly spar," Huang Feng said helplessly.

In truth, Huang Feng hadn't wanted to step forward, but his master, Huang Se, had just sent him a voice transmission. He had no choice but to go. With his Qi Solidification Stage cultivation, bullying a child would bring him no honor if he won, and he'd be humiliated if he lost. But he couldn't disobey his master's command, so he could only grit his teeth and go out there.

"That's fine. Come on!" Ling Tian cast a grateful glance at Chu Yun and Shi Tou, then spoke calmly to Huang Feng.

"Huang Feng, at your service!" After saying that, Huang Feng fell silent. He summoned his flying sword, controlled it, and sent it hurtling toward Ling Tian.

"Bah, he's actually attacking with a flying sword? Shameless!" Shi Tou spat, his disdain plain.

"Huang Feng's getting more and more spineless, hehe." Chu Yun couldn't watch any longer and cursed under his breath.

When Ling Tian saw Huang Feng really coming at him with a flying sword, he grew angry and cursed him for being shameless. Still, he wasn't too worried. He secretly took a heavy spear from his Storage Ring. His father, Lingyun, had prepared it for him. It was a decent weapon. Though it couldn't compare to that bow or the Small Sword meant for Hua Min'er, it wasn't far off.

"Go!" Huang Feng controlled the flying sword in the air, sending it streaking toward Ling Tian.

When Ling Tian saw the flying sword coming at him, he didn't panic. He darted aside, dodged it, and charged straight toward Huang Feng. Huang Feng knew how strong Ling Tian's body was. He formed several hand seals, and a faint light appeared around him as he activated the protective treasure inside his body.

Boom!

A loud crash rang out as Ling Tian kicked Huang Feng in the chest. Ripples of light flashed across Huang Feng's body, followed by several cracking sounds. Huang Feng hurriedly formed hand seals and added several protective wards around himself. Only then did he barely manage to withstand Ling Tian's attack. Even so, Ling Tian's kick sent him stumbling back more than ten steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Sigh, Qi Solidification Stage defenses really are strong. Looks like I can't do this without a weapon, Ling Tian thought.

This kid's body is really strong. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I'd have been seriously injured by now. Huang Feng felt a brief chill in his heart, but it was soon replaced by Li Mang's viciousness. Hmph. I can't kill you, but I can beat you half to death.

He didn't dare actually kill Ling Tian. After all, Lingyun was someone even Huang Se feared. But injuring him wouldn't cause any trouble. His hands moved faster as he unleashed a powerful killing move.

In an instant, the flying sword transformed into countless streaks of sword light and rushed toward Ling Tian, surrounding him from every direction.

Surrounded by layers upon layers of sword shadows, Ling Tian showed no fear. His eyes narrowed, the anger in his heart plain; a trace of Baleful Intent appeared. Huang Feng had truly enraged him. Ling Tian raised a hand, and a spear appeared in it. The spear was more than ten feet long, its shaft a deep black, its build solid and imposing. It looked extremely heavy, and even Ling Tian's strong body felt the strain of holding it. Gripping it with both hands, Ling Tian swung it fiercely at the sword shadows. The spear blurred into layers of afterimages, its tip crashing down onto the flying sword at the heart of the sword formation.

Crack!

The spear swept through the flying sword like a withering gale through dry grass, breaking it in two. The sword burst into countless fragments that scattered everywhere. The power of Ling Tian's single blow was terrifying.

Pfft!

Huang Feng's face turned pale. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, and he could no longer hold himself up. He collapsed onto the ground. He had spent a long time nurturing a spiritual connection with that flying sword; it contained a trace of his soul, linking their minds. When the sword shattered, his own spiritual energy was badly damaged. The fact that he could remain seated at all was remarkable.

"Ahem. A ninth-grade Magic Artifact—no wonder it's so much stronger than my fifth-grade flying sword." Huang Feng coughed up several mouthfuls of blood and murmured. Ling Tian's spear was a ninth-grade Magic Artifact, just a hair's breadth from a Near-Spirit Artifact. It was only natural that it could break his flying sword.

"What a terrifying spear. The killing intent packed into it surges like a raging tide. No wonder it's practically a Near-Spirit Artifact." The people around them were in an uproar, unable to hold back their amazement.