One Punch

Lin Ming's words left Xu Ke speechless.

Xu Ke knew that if things continued like this, he would become the target of everyone's criticism. So Xu Ke sneered and attacked Lin Ming.

Xu Ke's current thought is, once I've won you over Lin Ming, then Lin Ming 'll have no choice but to admit you violated the academy rules, even if you don't want to.

Lin Ming had anticipated Xu Ke's attack, so Lin Ming moved quickly and easily dodged it.

After dodging Xu Ke's attack, Lin Ming mocked, "Oh, so this is the one who boasted about helping the academy take down me, the rule-breaker? How come you couldn't even touch a hair on my head? You, Xu Ke, didn't you also break the rules to enter the Fifth Floor, did you?"

"You're asking for death!" Xu Ke was completely enraged by Lin Ming's words and attacked Lin Ming once again.

Facing Xu Ke's renewed attack, Lin Ming used the Star-Stepping Steps to perfectly evade Xu Ke's attacks time and time again.

Seeing that he had attacked for so long without even touching Lin Ming's clothes, Xu Ke began to feel apprehensive.

However, Xu Ke immediately thought that Lin Ming had only been in the Inner Academy for a year, and his cultivation level was at most at the Peak Dou Grandmaster. How could he, a Three Star Dou Spirit, be afraid just because the opponent was fast?

Knowing that continuing the attack would be futile, Xu Ke stopped and mocked, "I never thought that the dignified leader of the Medicine Gang would be nothing more than a rat, only knowing how to hide. I think from now on, the Medicine Gang shouldn't be called the Medicine Gang anymore, it should be called the Rat Gang."

"Xu Ke, although you can shamelessly claim your skills are worthless and that you can't even touch the enemy, I, Lin Ming, will accept your provocation that insults the Medicine Gang. Let me see what kind of strength you possess, the one who keeps saying I, Lin Ming, am not qualified to enter the Fifth Floor of Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower."

After Lin Ming finished speaking, he no longer concealed his Dou Ling aura and began to unleash it outwards.

"Dou Ling!"

Lin Ming's aura leaked out, surprising everyone present.

Because no one expected that Lin Ming, who had only been in the Inner Academy for a year, would be able to break through the Tier One of cultivation and advance from Da Dou Shi to Dou Ling.

Although entering the Inner Academy grants the blessing of the Fallen Heart Flame, significantly increasing cultivation speed, advancing from Da Dou Shi to Dou Ling is no easy feat.

This is a advancement in cultivation level. A breakthrough represents a qualitative leap, and the difficulty and time required for such a breakthrough are likely close to a year.

This only refers to the time it took for a peak Da Dou Shi to break through to Dou Ling. When Lin Ming entered the Inner Academy, as the number one in that year, these people still knew his approximate cultivation level. In any case, he was at the Early-stage Da Dou Shi.

In the eyes of these people, Lin Ming, as the youngest third-, 4th Grade-, and Tier 5 Alchemist in the academy, naturally possesses exceptional talent and is not lacking in resources to improve his cultivation.

Even so, in their understanding, Lin Ming's current cultivation level is at most at the Peak Dou Grandmaster. If they see Lin Ming reach the Dou Ling cultivation level in another six months, they will find it normal.

All the people present shared this view, which is why Xu Ke Hark had the excuse that Lin Ming had violated the academy's rule that only those with Dou Ling cultivation could enter the Fifth Floor of Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.

Lin Ming's advancement to the Dou Ling was ahead of their expectations of six months. He had already progressed from the Early-stage Da Dou Shi to the Dou Ling realm in just over a year after entering the Inner Academy, which is why everyone was so surprised.

Now, Lin Ming didn't care whether the people present were surprised or not.

Since advancing to the Dou Ling level, Lin Ming hasn't fought a single battle. Now that someone has come out to provoke him, Lin Ming will see just how far he has come after Dou Ling. He will also use this opportunity to establish his authority and let those who think that the Medicine Gang's combat strength has declined since Senior Brother Xu Shilin graduated see for themselves that the Medicine Gang is still the same Medicine Gang.

Using the Star-Stepping Steps, Lin Ming approached Xu Ke at an extremely fast speed.

Knowing he was no match for Lin Ming's agility, Xu Ke chose to meet Lin Ming's attack head-on.

Lin Ming's cultivation level was unexpected by everyone present. Judging from the aura Lin Ming exuded, Lin Ming was only at the level of One-Star Dou Spirit. Xu Ke, on the other hand, was currently at the level of Three Star Dou Grandmaster, making him two stars higher than Lin Ming in terms of cultivation.

Xu Ke admitted that he was not as good as Lin Ming in terms of movement speed, but he was two stars higher in Lin Ming. In a head-on confrontation, Xu Ke did not think he would be weaker Lin Ming.

So when he saw Lin Ming attacking, Xu Ke Hark still had a smile on his face.

However, since Lin Ming had reached the Dou Ling cultivation level, Xu Ke did not dare to be careless. At this moment, he immediately unleashed his most powerful palm Dou Technique, which was comparable to the peak of the Profound Tier High-grade Profound Tier Mid-grade.

"Boom!"

As Lin Ming approached Xu Ke, he unleashed a powerful Mountain Rushing Fist.

"Spirit Wave Palm!"

With a roar, Xu Ke thrust his palm forward to deflect Lin Ming's incoming fist. His palm, gleaming with an eerie light, aimed to neutralize Lin Ming's punch.

"Boom!"

The moment the fist and palm made contact, the Dou Qi emitted by both sides collided fiercely, producing a huge impact sound.

At this moment, the two sides were still locked in a stalemate, but if someone were standing next to Xu Ke, they would notice that his arms were trembling involuntarily.

Although Xu Ke's cultivation level was two stars higher than Lin Ming's, the amount of Dou Qi generated by Lin Ming's Cultivation Method made Lin Ming's Dou Qi amount to more than others of the same level. In terms of the quality of Dou Qi, Lin Ming was not afraid of Xu Ke at all.

Therefore, although Xu Ke's cultivation level was two stars higher than Lin Ming's, in reality, there was no difference between Lin Ming in terms of Dou Qi amount and quality of their Dou Qi.

However, Lin Ming has qualities that Xu Ke cannot match.

First of all, besides advancing Dou Ling cultivation to the Dou Ling level, Lin Ming's physical strength has also reached the level of Tier 4 Magical Beast. Relying solely on his physical body, Lin Ming is capable of fighting Xu Ke.

Then, although Lin Ming only used the Mountain Rushing Flood Fist from the Mountain Rushing Fist, the Mountain Rushing Fist alone still possessed the power of Profound Tier High-grade Dou Technique. Xu Ke's Spirit Wave Palm, on the other hand, was only Profound Tier Mid-grade fighting technique. Although it was said to be comparable in power to Profound Tier High-grade Dou Technique Dou Technique, Profound Tier Mid-grade fighting technique was still a mid -Profound Tier Mid-grade Dou Technique, and there was still a gap between it and Profound Tier High-grade Dou Technique.

All of these factors combined have led to Xu Ke now only managing to barely hold on under Lin Ming's command.

Seeing that Xu Ke was barely holding on, Lin Ming smiled and unleashed a powerful punch at Xu Ke with his Mountain Rushing Fist.

With Lin Ming increasing his strength, Xu Ke, who had previously been barely holding on, could no longer maintain his strength and was hit squarely in the chest by Lin Ming's Mountain Rushing Fist.

"Pfft~"

"Thump~"

After being struck by the Mountain Rushing Fist, Xu Ke involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood, and then his flying body crashed heavily to the ground with a thud.

"One move~"

Someone spoke up, breaking the silence.

Those who can enter the Fifth Floor of Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower all possess the cultivation of Dou Ling. The Inner Academy's Strong Ranking only includes the fifty strongest individuals.

Those who cultivate on the Fifth Floor of Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower are not among those who have made it onto the Strong Ranking, because those on the Strong Ranking have their own exclusive Cultivation Room on the Sixth Floor of Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower.

Although the people present are not currently on the Strong Ranking, they still possess the cultivation level of Dou Ling. Everyone knows what Dou Ling cultivation level entails.

Once a cultivator reaches the Dou Ling, the duration of a battle between two sides will be significantly prolonged, especially in situations where their cultivation levels are not much different.

But what they saw now was that Xu Ke, who had the cultivation of Three Star Dou Spirit, was defeated by Lin Ming, whose cultivation was two stars higher, with a single punch.

Although Xu Ke is not on the Strong Ranking, Xu Ke recently challenged the person ranked forty-eighth on the Strong Ranking. The two fought for nearly an hour, and Xu Ke was defeated by a single move.

Therefore, to those in the know, although Xu Ke is not on the Strong Ranking, he is almost equivalent to someone ranked lower on the Strong Ranking.

Lin Ming defeated Xu Ke with a single punch, but that punch left a deep impression on everyone present.

Most of the people present were not even as good as Xu Ke Hark. If Xu Ke couldn't withstand Lin Ming's punch, then these people were even less likely to be able to.

For those present, if Lin Ming previously deterred the Inner Academy members from provoking him by virtue of his reputation as Tier 5 Alchemist, from now on, everyone present will be wary of Lin Ming's actual strength.

"What are you all doing standing around here? Do you think you have too much time to cultivate?" While everyone was still in shock, an old but authoritative voice came from the front of the passage.

The rebuke, imbued with extremely strong Dou Qi, caused all the Dou Ling practitioners present to feel a sense of oppression, and their eardrums to ache slightly.

As the shout echoed, several figures flashed towards the front of the passage.

As these figures approached, the people present respectfully addressed the leader as "Elder Xiong."

The people present were somewhat surprised by Elder Xiong's appearance. As the highest-ranking administrator of the Fifth Floor of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, Elder Xiong rarely appeared.

Although there are few fights on this Fifth Floor, they do happen. There are only so many of the best Cultivation Room on each floor, and when two people want to get their Cultivation Room on one, a fight is inevitable.

In the past, when disputes arose, one or two deacons would usually handle the matter. But now Elder Xiong has come in person.

"What are you doing? Don't you take the rules of the tower seriously?" Elder Xiong glanced at Xu Ke, who was lying on the ground, looked around, and said in a low voice.

Elder Xiong's words caused everyone present to lower their heads. Elder Xiong's tone was quite unfriendly, and they, as mere onlookers, naturally did not want to attract Elder Xiong attention.

Seeing the reactions of everyone present, Elder Xiong withdrew his scattered gaze, looked at Lin Ming, and said, "Lin Ming, tell me what happened."