Strength

"Looks like you're disappointed. I can control them just fine." Lin Ming looked at Elder Zuo, whose expression was constantly changing, and couldn't help but chuckle.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the hall that was trembling from the low growls of the Four Spirits.

Lin Ming then smiled and looked at Elder Zuo, asking, "Elder, are you still planning to stop me here?"

His tone was light and casual, as if he were asking someone blocking his way, "Are you still not going to let me pass?" There was neither arrogance nor aggressiveness, but it was precisely this nonchalant composure that made Elder Zuo's expression even more unpleasant.

His withered hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his lips were pressed into a thin line, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down but he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

"Youngster, don't be so arrogant! What haven't I seen? You think you can intimidate me with these things? You're being too naive. Besides... humph, who knows if you, this cunning youngster, are just putting on a show of composure?" After a long while, Elder Zuo finally spoke with a sinister look in his eyes.

The muscles on his gaunt face twitched slightly, like a piece of old tree bark that had been twisted.

He was indeed shocked by the Trump Card Lin Ming had revealed, but no matter what, he was a genuine Lower-Rank Earth Sovereign, how could he possibly back down just because of a few words from Lin Ming?

Hundreds of years of cultivation and killing forged the arrogance in his bones. Even with only 50% of his strength remaining, the dignity of an Earth Sovereign would not allow him to show weakness in front of a junior of such a young age.

"In that case..." Lin Ming smiled slightly upon hearing this.

There was no anger in that smile, like a chess player calmly placing a piece after their opponent refuses to concede.

"Then please, elder, help me test just how much power my Four Spirits possess."

Roar! Roar!

As soon as Lin Ming finished speaking, the Four Spirits roared out.

The Emperor Flame Fire Dragon charged out first, its tail swishing and shattering the fiery clouds beneath its feet. Its form was like a colorful lightning bolt as it pounced on Elder Zuo.

Immediately afterward, the Glacier Ice Phoenix flapped its wings, and a surge of azure cold air erupted from between its feathers, sweeping down towards Elder Zuo like an inverted icefall.

The Bodhi Ancient Tree remained motionless, rooted in place, but its canopy suddenly expanded, with countless emerald green vines shooting out from its branches like living snakes, intertwining with the flames of the fire dragon and the chill of the Ice Phoenix, like a giant net woven from three colors.

The Earth Spirit Turtle slowly raised one of its front paws and then stepped forward.

That seemingly clumsy step caused the entire floor of the hall to tremble violently where it landed, and a Shockwave of earthy yellow surged forward from under its claws, like a giant beast running wildly underground.

With the Four Spirits unleashed, space shattered, and the four-colored light, like a toppled colorful wall, enveloped Elder Zuo in a crushing manner.

This offensive may seem simple, but only by standing in front of it can one truly feel how unstoppable it is when it comes crashing down upon you.

Those four Spirit Avatar contained not only a pile of Spiritual Energy, but also the embodiment of four fundamental Law, as if an entire world had been crushed and was being smashed at you.

If an ordinary Tier 9 Supreme Perfection being were in front of them at this moment, they probably wouldn't even have their bones left after being swept away.

Because that power was formed from the terrifying will of the Four Spirits, that will was like a group of Fierce Beasts that roamed the land in ancient times baring their teeth at you at the same time. Just the ferocity that rushed towards you was enough to make one's Divine Soul tremble.

Four kinds of light filled his eyes and rolled in. At this moment, Elder Zuo's face also became extremely solemn.

He could sense the terrifying power contained within that light; even he dared not underestimate it.

The four-colored light made the flow of his Spiritual Energy slightly sluggish, like a person walking against the wind suddenly finding that the wind was several times stronger than expected.

"That kid!"

Elder Zuo gritted his teeth. He had thought it would be a piece of cake, but the situation had turned out so messy. How could this not make Elder Zuo extremely angry?

Elder Zuo's hand emerged from his sleeve. The skin of his hand was as delicate as a baby's, forming a stark contrast with his withered old face.

Between his five fingers, a jade-like luster shimmered, like a piece of finely polished mutton-fat jade.

He stretched out his palm, which seemed to swell as if facing a storm. His five fingers suddenly expanded in the air, each growing to a length of a hundred feet, and together they formed a giant hand a thousand feet long.

The giant hand pressed down horizontally, with densely packed Law patterns flowing in its palm, like a millstone engraved with runes.

With a single palm strike, space itself seemed to shatter. Wherever the giant hand passed, the void cracked silently, like thin paper pierced by a red-hot iron plate, revealing dark ravines. The palm struck the oncoming light.

Boom!

The two clashed head-on.

In an instant, the stone pillars in the main hall, which were as thick as two people could hug, shattered in the middle as the Shockwave swept through. The upper half collapsed with a bang, while the lower half remained standing, with rubble flying like rain from the broken surface.

Visible ripples spread outwards in layers, constantly distorting and shattering the space. The ripples surged in all directions from the point of impact, tearing away layers of stone bricks on the ground, peeling off pieces of the reliefs on the palace walls, and even causing the remaining stone beams on the dome to creak.

This was merely a seemingly casual exchange, yet its destructive power far surpassed that of Tier 9 Peak master's fully activated divine power technique.

A terrifying surge of Spiritual Energy swept through the hall, causing Elder Zuo to tremble slightly and take a half-step back.

That half-step back was extremely difficult; his soles plowed a shallow furrow in the ground before he regained his balance.

His face was gloomy, and the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably a few times.

Clearly, he had been subtly losing ground in the previous exchange. In his prime, he would naturally not fear Lin Ming and the other Four Spirits, and could fight or retreat at will. But now, having paid a heavy price for entering the Ancient Heavenly Palace, his power was less than half of what it was at his peak.

If they were to actually fight, he might not be able to withstand the onslaught of such terrifying willpower.

Each of the Four Spirits contains the fundamental Law of heaven and earth, and the level of those Law is no lower than that of the Law he, Lower-Rank Earth Sovereign, possesses. The four combined are like a pack of hungry wolves surrounding a wounded tiger. Although the tiger is still fierce, it cannot withstand the sheer number of wolves.

Roar! The Four Spirits roared once more. The Emperor Flame Fire Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a colorful pillar of fire.

With a flap of its wings, the Glacier Ice Phoenix unleashed dozens of icy blue ice cones that poured down like a torrential rain.

The vines of the Bodhi Ancient Tree burst forth once more, their tips resembling slender, emerald-green swords.

The Earth Spirit Turtle opened its mouth and let out a deep groan, from which a beam of earth-yellow light shot out.

The four attacks converged, and instantly countless beams of light shot out like a rain of arrows, enveloping Elder Zuo.

"Aspect of Heaven and Earth!" Elder Zuo dared not be negligent at this moment.

He stomped his foot and roared, his voice filled with the frustration and embarrassment of someone cornered.

At that moment, the Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth rapidly converged, surging towards him from every corner of the hall, like a group of taxi drivers being summoned.

The Spiritual Energy condensed into a massive mountain in front of him.

The mountain peak was several hundred feet high, crystal clear, and shimmering with five colors. It was formed from the purest Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth.

This is a true materialization, as if a Spiritual Energy mountain had been created out of thin air.

Only beings at the Earth Sovereign level can achieve this ability, compressing Spiritual Energy to its extreme and condensing it into a physical form, much like pressing water into ice.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The Spiritual Energy mountain stood like a barrier in front of Elder Zuo, blocking all the countless beams of will that shot towards him.

The pillars of fire, ice spikes, vines, and beams of light crashed against the mountain peaks, producing a series of dense, crisp sounds, like a torrential downpour hitting a tin roof.

However, when all the light of will fell, the Spiritual Energy mountain, which was as solid as a physical object, was riddled with holes, its surface covered with dense pits and cracks, like a piece of wood that had been eaten by insects a thousand times.

Finally, it exploded and shattered, turning into countless points of Spiritual Energy. These points of energy fell like colorful snowflakes throughout the hall.

"You arrogant brat! Do you really think I can't suppress you?" Elder Zuo's face was ashen as he was being attacked by Lin Ming in turn.

He let out a cold snort, his jade-like hand suddenly flipped over, and with his other hand he pointed out a finger.

As he turned his palm down, Lin Ming felt as if the world around him had shrunk. It was like a frog at the bottom of a well suddenly discovering that the well opening had been covered with a large stone slab, and the surrounding world was contracting inwards.

In the darkness, an endless jade pillar descended from the sky. The pillar shone with a lustrous white light, like a white jade pillar standing upright, its surface smooth and without a single flaw. As it descended, it carried a crushing weight, as if a pillar supporting the heavens had been pushed down from the sky and pressed down on Lin Ming's head.

"Hey, if you were in your prime, it wouldn't have been easy to defeat you like this today. But in your current state, what makes you think you can fight me?"

Lin Ming looked up and stared at the boundless jade pillar hanging down. He knew that it was actually a finger of Elder Zuo. Beings at the Earth Sovereign level could fuse their limbs and Spiritual Energy to transform into a giant hand a thousand feet long or a jade pillar ten thousand feet long. Each strike contained their own Law and will.

Huff. Lin Ming took a deep breath, a breath that was extremely deep and long, like a whale drawing in its last breath in the deep sea.

The next instant, Lin Ming's roar, as thunderous as lightning, resounded. "Four Spirits, kill!"