A Single Punch Knockout
"Ha ha, good, this is for the best!"
With a loud laugh, Zhang Lingyun flashed forward and leaped onto the arena platform.
"Qin Shaofeng, if you can take three moves from me, I'll admit defeat." Zhang Lingyun's face was full of arrogance and wildness, while a vicious glint flashed through his eyes.
He had long wanted to make a move against Qin Shaofeng. Especially after Qin Shaofeng had made him suffer such a crushing loss at the Beast Arena, he had wanted nothing more than to grind Qin Shaofeng's bones to dust and scatter his ashes.
Now that he had the chance to teach Qin Shaofeng a lesson openly and honorably, he naturally would not let it slip by.
He had already made up his mind. He would defeat Qin Shaofeng by the cruelest means possible, then cripple him completely and turn him into a total cripple.
As for whether he was Qin Shaofeng's match, Zhang Lingyun had never doubted it in the slightest.
After all, he possessed the Body Tempering Ninth Level. In the past, he absolutely could not have been Qin Shaofeng's opponent, but things were different now.
Qin Shaofeng's dantian had already been crippled. Even if he had once been an expert at the Houtian Fifth Level, at most he was now equivalent to someone at the second or third level of Body Tempering.
How could someone like that possibly be a match for Zhang Lingyun?
"Very good!"
A cold smile appeared on Qin Shaofeng's face. He too jumped onto the platform, then looked calmly at Zhang Lingyun and said, "Three moves won't be necessary. If you can take even one punch from me, I lose."
That calm tone made Zhang Lingyun freeze in astonishment. Then his expression instantly darkened.
One punch?
This cripple actually dared to say that one punch would be enough to defeat him?
Zhang Lingyun's heart was filled with towering fury.
The crowd was also stunned. They looked at Qin Shaofeng in disbelief. Could it be that along with his dantian, even his brain had been crippled? How could he dare say something like that?
"One punch?" Zhang Lingyun suddenly burst into laughter. "Qin Shaofeng, if your dantian hadn't been crippled, I might have believed you saying that. But now, you're nothing more than a slap-worthy piece of trash. Defeat me with one punch? You're dreaming a fool's dream!"
Dreaming a fool's dream?
Qin Shaofeng smiled. Not to mention before, even now he was still at the Houtian First Layer. Giving Zhang Lingyun one punch was already showing him respect.
"Words are useless. I'm making my move." Qin Shaofeng did not want to waste any more breath on Zhang Lingyun.
As soon as he spoke, Qin Shaofeng leaned forward slightly and clenched his right hand, then hurled a punch at Zhang Lingyun.
"Hmph, I'd like to see how you, a piece of trash, plan to defeat me with one punch!"
A trace of cruelty flashed through Zhang Lingyun's eyes. Rather than retreating, he raised his own fist and charged straight at Qin Shaofeng's punch.
He held nothing back in this strike. All the Inner Qi of his Body Tempering Ninth Level gathered in his fist. He wanted to finish Qin Shaofeng with one blow and let him know that trash would always be trash.
Buzz!
Under the force of their fists, the air around Qin Shaofeng and Zhang Lingyun suddenly trembled slightly. Surging fist force howled into being, and both their clothes snapped loudly in the wind.
Something about this was clearly not right!
Zhang Lingyun was one thing. A punch unleashed with the Inner Qi of the Body Tempering Ninth Level having such force was perfectly normal.
But why was Qin Shaofeng the same?
And judging from the situation, Qin Shaofeng even seemed to have the upper hand!
Suddenly, Zhang Lingyun's expression changed dramatically, and none of his former confidence remained.
He could feel just how terrifying the pressure from Qin Shaofeng's incoming punch was. But it was already too late to retreat, so Zhang Lingyun could only grit his teeth and meet it head-on.
Bang!
When their fists collided, Zhang Lingyun felt his right fist go numb. A terrifying force surged from Qin Shaofeng's fist, a force so great that he simply could not withstand it.
This was not the strength of the Body Tempering Realm. This was the strength of a Houtian Martial Artist.
Zhang Lingyun was horrified, and at the same time utterly shocked.
Qin Shaofeng was still a Houtian Martial Artist?
"Hmph!"
Before he could think any further, Zhang Lingyun let out a muffled groan. His body abruptly jolted, then flew backward in an instant. Finally, like a ragged scrap of cloth, he crashed straight off the platform.
Not only that, after that heavy fall, Zhang Lingyun violently spat out a mouthful of blood. His face turned deathly pale, and he clearly looked seriously injured.
This...
Everyone present was dumbstruck by the scene!
One punch!
It really had been only one punch, and Zhang Lingyun had been blasted away by Qin Shaofeng without even the slightest power to resist.
Below the platform, Zhang Chongshan's expression instantly turned ugly. Beside him, Zhang Lingtian rose to his feet in shock, staring at Qin Shaofeng on the platform with eyes full of disbelief.
Houtian Inner Qi!
It was actually Houtian Inner Qi!
How was that possible?
I personally destroyed Qin Shaofeng's dantian. How could he still possess Houtian Inner Qi?
"How could this be? How could this be..."
Below the platform, Zhang Lingtian's eyes were dull. He simply could not accept this cruel reality.
Just then, Qin Shaofeng on the platform suddenly spoke.
"Zhang Lingyun, you keep calling me trash. But what about now? You can't even take one punch from this trash. So what does that make you?"
Pfft!
Zhang Lingyun, sprawled on the ground below the platform, heard Qin Shaofeng's words. His expression changed again, becoming incomparably ugly. In the end, unable to endure such a blow, he spat out another mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.
At this sight, the faces of the Zhang Family members all changed, each one looking exceptionally grim. Zhang Chongshan, the Zhang Family Patriarch, looked darker than ever.
The Qin Family, on the other hand, wore many smiles. Old Master Qin even narrowed his eyes, stroked his beard, and beamed with delight.
"Qin Shaofeng!"
Seeing his younger brother injured and collapsed, then mocked and humiliated into unconsciousness by Qin Shaofeng, Zhang Lingtian suddenly stood up. He glared fiercely at Qin Shaofeng with blazing rage and let out a low roar.
Qin Shaofeng paid no attention to Zhang Lingtian's fury. He turned to face him directly and said indifferently, "Come up."
The venue fell silent again.
Though they did not know why, everyone could be certain of one thing: Qin Shaofeng seemed to have repaired his crippled dantian, and his cultivation had recovered to the Houtian First Layer.
The reason no one had sensed it earlier was that Qin Shaofeng had deliberately circulated the Yi Jin Jing to conceal his aura.
But once he erupted, his aura was clearly revealed.
Houtian First Layer. There was absolutely no mistake.
Yet everyone also knew that Zhang Lingtian possessed the Third Layer of the Houtian Realm, and was even at the peak of the Third Layer of the Houtian Realm. Yet Qin Shaofeng still looked utterly relaxed.
Could he have some other trump card?
No one knew, but they began to look forward to this contest that had originally seemed all but predetermined.
At this moment, Zhang Lingyun was both shocked and enraged. He had actually been provoked.
That was right. In Zhang Lingyun's eyes, Qin Shaofeng's indifferent words were a provocation.
"Since you're begging for death, I'll grant your wish!"
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes. Zhang Lingtian shouted low, then sprang into the air and landed directly on the platform.
Qin Shaofeng had not only seriously injured and humiliated his younger brother, but had even dared to provoke him. He had to die!
The moment Zhang Lingtian landed on the platform, his entire body shuddered, and his aura surged out wildly.
In an instant, with Zhang Lingtian at the center, faint whirlwinds appeared around him. Zhang Lingtian stood proudly amid them, his bearing incomparably imposing.
"Inner Qi Manifestation! That's Inner Qi Manifestation! Heavens, Zhang Lingtian has broken through to the Houtian Fourth Level!"
At this sight, someone in the crowd suddenly cried out in alarm, and the scene immediately erupted into noise.
Inner Qi could be stimulated at the third level of Body Tempering. After passing through the Body Tempering Realm, Inner Qi transformed into Houtian Inner Qi.
Houtian Inner Qi was far stronger than the Inner Qi of the Body Tempering Realm, and it was also exceptionally easy to control.
More importantly, once Houtian Inner Qi had been cultivated to a certain level—when one reached the Houtian Fourth Level—one could initially grasp its use and form tangible Inner Qi attacks outside the body.
Clearly, no one had known that Zhang Lingtian had suddenly reached the Houtian Fourth Level.
At this moment, Zhang Lingtian deliberately displayed Inner Qi Manifestation in order to suppress Qin Shaofeng in terms of momentum. He wanted Qin Shaofeng to understand that there was now an enormous gap between them.
He was no longer the eternal runner-up among Lanjiang City's younger generation, and Qin Shaofeng was no longer Lanjiang City's greatest genius.
Unfortunately for him, the moment Qin Shaofeng saw him, he had used Fiery Golden Eyes on him and learned his exact information.
Name: Zhang Lingtian Level: Houtian Fourth Level Inner Qi: 150/150 Skill: Extreme Collapse Fist ...
Although Qin Shaofeng's realm was lower than Zhang Lingtian's, because he cultivated the Yi Jin Jing, Qin Shaofeng possessed four times as much Inner Qi as his opponent.
This was extremely advantageous for Qin Shaofeng.
"Make your move. I'll give you three moves!"
Zhang Lingtian stood with his hands behind his back and said softly to Qin Shaofeng with the bearing of a master.
Three moves again?
The crowd was startled, unable to help recalling Zhang Lingyun from earlier.
But Zhang Lingtian's three moves meant that he would give Qin Shaofeng three moves, not that he would defeat Zhang Lingyun within three moves.
Yet precisely because of that, it showed Zhang Lingtian's confidence all the more.
In truth, Zhang Lingtian had done this deliberately.
He wanted revenge for his younger brother, so he said he would give Qin Shaofeng three moves.
Then, once those three moves had passed, he would finish Qin Shaofeng in one move!
Three moves?
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Qin Shaofeng's mouth, but this time, he did not say anything.
In fact, this was exactly what he had hoped for. The more confident Zhang Lingyun was, the more he looked down on Qin Shaofeng, the better.
When Qin Shaofeng had used Fiery Golden Eyes on Zhang Lingtian earlier, aside from obtaining his attributes, one piece of information had caught Qin Shaofeng's attention.
Weakness: Dantian
Another ability of Fiery Golden Eyes finally revealed itself at this moment.
Zhang Lingyun's weakness had been exposed just like that.
The dantian's location?
Qin Shaofeng narrowed his eyes slightly, having thought of something.
If he used that move, Zhang Lingtian probably would not be able to withstand it, would he?
But that was fine. Hadn't Zhang Lingtian crippled his dantian?
No matter what, he needed to return the courtesy in kind!
As he pondered, Qin Shaofeng suddenly moved.
In an instant, Qin Shaofeng's Inner Qi decreased by 10 points. Then a stream of Inner Qi flowed from his dantian into his legs, and Qin Shaofeng's speed abruptly increased by a great deal.
This was the application of Houtian Inner Qi. Compared with the Inner Qi of the Body Tempering Realm, once assisted by Houtian Inner Qi, one's attack power and physical defense could both increase substantially.
The same was true for movement speed. It too could be enhanced by Houtian Inner Qi.
That was precisely why there was such an enormous gap between the Body Tempering Realm and the Houtian Realm.
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