Giving Face But Not Taking It? Suppress With One Move!

The atmosphere in mid-air had frozen to the extreme.

Fall was currently suspended dozens of meters above the ground.

Her body was wreathed in scorching flames, causing the surrounding mist to evaporate with a sizzling sound.

Yet, her expression was uglier than the bottom of a pot.

She stared fixedly at the black-clad youth who had suddenly appeared and was now treading on thin air.

Just a moment ago, this young man had used nothing but an invisible force to effortlessly tear apart her pride-and-joy flame slash. That display of handling the heavy as if it were light caused alarm bells to ring in her heart.

Who is this person?

Fall felt a mixture of suspicion and shock.

As a Councilor-level powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of humanity, she knew almost every expert of note across the globe.

Yet, this face—which looked excessively young—was a complete blank in the intelligence database she had spent decades building!

Although the opponent had only shattered a casual strike of hers, for some reason, the profound, abyss-like aura emanating from this youth made even her, a being beyond the War God level, feel pressured.

This sense of oppression was unparalleled!

In truth, one could hardly blame Fall for her ignorance.

Originally, the battle in which Lin Yuan slew the Phantom Cat Emperor in Europe had already caused a sensation throughout the global War God Palace.

Under normal circumstances, Fall, as a core executive of the HR Alliance, would have received the data immediately and gained a basic understanding of Lin Yuan.

However, it was an unfortunate coincidence that for the past month, she had been in seclusion within ruins deep in the Australian Continent to break through a bottleneck, ignoring all worldly affairs...

She had only rushed over after receiving news about Mist Island just now.

Thus, she knew absolutely nothing about the now world-renowned "Inspector Lin."

"Hmph!"

Fall let out a cold snort, suppressing the strange feeling in her heart. Her flame-burning eyes held a condescending scrutiny as her icy voice echoed through the air:

"A fine trick, Your Excellency! However, hiding one's head and showing one's tail is not the style of a powerhouse. What exactly is your identity? State your name!"

Facing the interrogation of a Councilor-level powerhouse, Lin Yuan's expression remained light and breezy.

With his hands behind his back and his black windbreaker snapping in the gale, he looked at Fall with calm eyes and spoke candidly:

"Lin Yuan. For the time being... consider me the sixth Inspector of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall."

The voice was not loud, yet it reached the ears of everyone present with perfect clarity.

"The sixth... Inspector?"

Fall froze for a moment, her brows furrowing as she seemed to struggle to search her memory.

A moment later, as if she had recalled something, the wariness in her eyes vanished, replaced by a flash of realization followed by contempt.

"Oh... I remember now."

A mocking curve tugged at the corner of Fall's mouth. "So it's you. That lucky brat who was promoted by the First Speaker two years ago to serve as an 'Honorary Inspector' despite only being at the War God level?"

That incident had caused quite a stir at the time, with various factions gossiping and speculating about who this Lin Yuan really was.

But as time passed, this Lin Yuan had neither broken through to the Councilor level nor produced any astonishing combat records; he had even disappeared from the public eye for a time, earning the nickname "the slacker Inspector" from the outside world.

Gradually, he had faded from the view of top-tier powerhouses.

"So, just an outdated genius living off his past reputation."

Having learned of Lin Yuan's "background," Fall's previously taut nerves relaxed completely, and her expression turned gloomy.

In her view, as long as one hadn't crossed that threshold, a War God was, in the end, just a War God!

"Vulture" Li Yao and the others standing behind Fall, who had been so frightened their legs went weak upon hearing the word "Inspector"...

Now, seeing the attitude of Councilor Fall, their hearts steadied, and the looks they cast at Lin Yuan were once again filled with malice.

And on the ground.

At this moment, Luo Feng was staring wide-eyed at the back in mid-air.

"Lin Yuan... Inspector?"

A stormy sea surged in Luo Feng's heart.

He could tell that this Lin Yuan didn't look more than two or three years older than himself, yet he was already an Inspector?

Whatever! Since he is an Inspector of the Martial Arts Hall, he is one of our own!

Luo Feng let out a long breath, his taut nerves finally relaxing. He knew that his life today was saved.

The scales of the situation had leveled out.

Oh, wait—looking at Lin Yuan's unruffled demeanor, the scales... seemed to be tipping in his own favor!

After a brief standoff, Fall was the first to break the silence.

Although she looked down on Lin Yuan's strength, he did, after all, represent the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, and the necessary pleasantries still had to be exchanged.

"Lin Yuan."

Fall pointed at Luo Feng below, his tone aggressive, "It was your Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Luo Feng who snatched the Spirit of Vegetation discovered by our HR Alliance first."

"He also wounded several of our Alliance's War Gods. In this matter, you are clearly in the wrong! What, are you planning to shield him?"

Hearing this, Lin Yuan laughed.

His laugh was playful, even a bit arrogant.

"In the wrong?"

Lin Yuan lifted his head slightly, his gaze as sharp as a blade, and retorted domineeringly, "Councilor Fall, has your brain been damaged by your cultivation? In the wilderness, on Earth, when has there ever been talk of being 'in the wrong'?"

"Here, whoever has the bigger fist, whoever is stronger, has the right to speak! That is the only truth!"

These words nakedly tore away the fig leaf of the world of the strong; it was utterly arrogant!

"You!"

Fall laughed out of extreme anger, the flames around her body surging violently, dyeing half the sky red.

"Fine! A fine 'whoever is stronger has the right to speak'!"

Her voice grew increasingly cold, her killing intent no longer concealed, "So, Lin Yuan, are you determined to make an enemy of me?"

Fall approached step by step; with every step she took, the temperature in the air rose by a few degrees.

"You haven't even awakened a 'special ability' yet, have you?"

The so-called special ability was the innate talent brought about by genetic mutation after a martial artist broke through to the Planet level, such as her flames, the Ice Emperor's frost, or the ability to fly.

In Fall's perception, there were no elemental fluctuations belonging to a Planet-level powerhouse on Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan remained silent.

He indeed had not awakened an elemental special ability.

Because his martial artist realm was indeed still stuck at the half-step Planet level. What he relied on was his terrifying spiritual force, which had already broken through to the Planet level first!

Seeing Lin Yuan silent, Fall thought she had hit a sore spot, and the smile at the corner of her mouth deepened.

"Those who know the times are wise."

Fall wore an expression of holding the winning hand, lifting her chin slightly as she said with a tone of charity, "In consideration of your status as an Inspector, I won't make things difficult for you."

"As long as you step aside and let me take back the Willow Wood Heart, I can give you one. For someone who is still a War God, this is a great tonic, so it would be perfectly reasonable."

In her view, this was giving Lin Yuan a way out, and the greatest of favors.

However, Lin Yuan still did not speak, merely looking at her with the eyes one might use for an idiot.

"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

Fall lost her patience.

"Since you won't move, I'll take it myself!"

BOOM!

Before the words had even faded, Fall transformed instantly into a burning meteor, bypassing Lin Yuan in mid-air with incredible speed!

Her plan was meticulous—since Lin Yuan was a War God, his speed surely couldn't keep up with hers. As long as she took down Luo Feng first and created a fait accompli, what could Lin Yuan do to her?

"Die!"

Looking at the terrified Luo Feng below, a flash of cruel pleasure crossed Fall's eyes.

However.

Just as she was less than ten meters from Luo Feng and her flaming sword was about to strike.

HUM--!!!

An invisible yet suffocatingly massive force descended without warning!

It was not wind, nor fire, but the purest, most extreme pressure of spiritual force!

This pressure was so strong it felt like a mountain crashing down, as if space itself had been solidified.

"What?!"

The savage grin on Fall's face froze instantly.

She felt like a bird flying at high speed that had suddenly crashed into a mass of thick glue.

The violent flames around her body, under this pressure, were like a chicken whose neck had been grabbed—with a sudden "pfft" sound—they extinguished!

Not only that, her pride-and-joy flight ability failed instantly, and she plummeted from the low altitude like a kite with a broken string, looking utterly wretched.

And just as her feet were about to touch the ground, a black afterimage appeared like a ghost in front of her landing spot.

It was Lin Yuan!

He was expressionless, his eyes as cold as ice.

No flashy moves, no unnecessary chatter.

Lin Yuan used his forward momentum, his right leg snapping up violently, his knee acting like a heavy hammer, carrying the terrifying brute force bolstered by Nine Star Transformations in a clean, decisive knee strike!

"No—"

Fall's pupils constricted sharply; he wanted to dodge, but under the shadow-like restraint of the telekinetic force, he was completely unable to move!

BANG!!!

A sickening, muffled thud, accompanied by the sound of shattering bones, exploded through the silent jungle.

Fall was sent flying backward faster than he had arrived, as if he had been struck head-on by a high-speed train!

Rumble...

His body snapped a dozen towering trees in succession before finally slamming violently into a rock face, kicking up a sky full of dust and debris.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Li Yao's mouth hung wide open, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.

Luo Feng was left completely dumbstruck, having entirely forgotten how to breathe.

The entire sequence had lasted only an instant!

A high and mighty Councilor-level powerhouse had been effortlessly suppressed in a single move!

It was an absolute, humiliating disgrace!

As the dust settled, Lin Yuan slowly retracted his right leg and lightly brushed some non-existent dust off his trousers.

He didn't even glance at Fall, who lay in the distance, his life or death unknown, and merely spat out a cold sentence—the volume was low, yet it brimmed with overbearing dominance:

"I offered you respect, but you chose to throw it away."

"You dare move against my people right in front of me? If I had actually let you get to him, I might as well consider resigning the moment I get back."