Tension Mounts

"No... impossible!"

Deep in the jungle, the dark-skinned youth wore a look of utter shock. The short blade in his hand was pressed against the skin of Lin Ge, yet it could not advance even a fraction of an inch.

"You are all too weak."

Lin Ge shook his head helplessly, then moved with a flicker of motion. He easily knocked the three of them unconscious, casually relieved them of their tokens, and continued on his way at a leisurely pace.

As he drew closer to the massive stone platform on the mountain peak, Lin Ge soon encountered several more people. Their strength was similar to the three who had previously blocked his path—all at the seventh level of Body Tempering.

Lin Ge showed no mercy, knocking them unconscious and seizing the tokens from their bodies.

"Calculating the time, they should all be nearing the stone platform by now."

After a while, Lin Ge squinted at the massive mountain platform in the distance and slowly drew the refined steel sword from his waist.

Not far from the platform, he could already vaguely sense several people approaching rapidly.

Lin Ge already possessed ten tokens, enough to qualify for the platform, but he did not wish for others to ascend, so he had no choice but to strike.

"Sword Art: Mountain Breaker!"

As Yuan Power surged into the weapon, the iron sword in Lin Ge's hand began to shimmer with light, and he slashed it fiercely toward the platform!

A beam of sword light, carrying an incomparably terrifying aura, moved as fast as lightning. With a piercing whistle, it cut across several miles of jungle and flew toward the stone platform!

At this moment, four people were approaching the platform: Lei Li of the Lei Clan, Xie Yingying of the Xie Clan, a member of the Mad Blade Martial Hall, and Lin Dong of the Lin Clan!

The expressions on the four were varied; Lei Li and Xie Yingying wore gloomy faces, their peripheral vision flickering with intense hatred as they glanced at Lin Dong.

Lin Dong remained calm, as if he had not noticed the vengeful glares of Lei Li and Xie Yingying.

As for the member of the Mad Blade Martial Hall, his situation was less complicated. Seeing the platform drawing near, he felt a slight sense of relief, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Whoosh, whoosh~~

A faint whistling sound arrived, and the four suddenly sensed a hair-raising aura, causing them to retreat violently!

At that very instant, a flash of sword light streaked past, and the path leading to the stone platform was instantly severed!

"Who goes there!"

The sudden attack caused Lei Li, already brimming with anger, to completely explode. He scanned his surroundings with murderous intent, wanting to see who dared to launch a sneak attack!

It was not just Lei Li who was enraged; Xie Yingying and the member of the Mad Blade Martial Hall were equally incensed. If their senses had not been sharp, they would have been killed by that strike.

Lin Dong, however, was not as furious as the other three; he merely stared at the fissure before him, his expression exceptionally grave.

In his knowledge, there was only one person who possessed such power and used a long sword as a weapon: Lin Ge!

Swish!

Just then, Lin Ge emerged from the jungle, leaping into the air and appearing before the four of them.

"Who are you?"

Lei Li asked coldly, his face dark as he suppressed the fury in his heart.

Given Lei Li's temper, he should have moved to cripple the youth before him long ago, but he uncharacteristically refrained from doing so.

It was not that he had a change of heart or become kind; it was that the waves of sword intent radiating from the long sword in Lin Ge's hand were so sharp and fierce that he dared not act rashly.

Beside him, Xie Yingying and the member of the Mad Blade Martial Hall wore solemn expressions; like Lei Li, they were deeply wary of the long sword in the youth's hand.

"It really is you, Lin Ge!"

Lin Dong took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

"He is Lin Ge!"

Lin Dong's words shocked the three people present!

All three had heard of Lin Ge's exploits, especially Xie Yingying, who had heard Xie Ting describe Lin Ge's strength firsthand.

The title of "Number One Genius of Green Sun Town" was something the people present didn't truly care about, but not caring didn't mean they would allow someone to ride on their heads. Thus, upon hearing that Lin Ge was also participating in the hunt, all three had harbored thoughts of defeating him. They just hadn't found an opportunity since the competition began—never expecting that the one blocking their path to the platform would be him!

Lin Ge took in the expressions of the four, a faint smile on his lips as he said, "Congratulations on making it here. It is a pity that your journey ends here as well."

"What do you mean by that?"

Lei Li's face darkened, the Yuan Power within his body quietly surging.

"Don't you understand? I am saying that none of you will be ascending the stone platform!"

Lin Ge pointed his sword at Lei Li, his calm words laced with a sense of dominance.

Facing the most formidable geniuses of Green Sun Town and speaking such arrogant words, not only were Lei Li and the others shocked, but even the people sitting on the stone seats were stunned.

"Father... what exactly is he trying to do??"

Lin Ken had clearly seen what happened at the stone platform. Watching Lin Ge's actions, his expression gradually turned serious, and a faint sense of unease stirred in his heart.

Lin Zhentian's expression also grew increasingly grave, his hands clenching tightly.

Lin Ge's actions had already exposed his intentions: he wanted to take on all four of them alone!

This was a crazed act, and even more so, a suicidal one.

One had to remember that the people Lin Ge was facing were four geniuses who had stepped into the Earthly Origin realm, not mere Body Tempering cultivators.

Even if Lin Ge were powerful, how could he possibly win against four experts at the Earthly Origin Stage?

"This brat... he is truly courting death!"

Lei Bao's face was gloomy as he stared coldly at Lin Ge on the stone platform, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"If he wants to die, then let us grant his wish."

Beside him, Xie Qian was still smiling, but anyone could hear the chill hidden within his laughter.

"Lin Ge, don't think that just because you are the so-called number one genius of Green Sun Town, you can be this arrogant. Today, let me teach you a lesson!"

Lei Li roared, his figure suddenly springing up as a fierce gust of wind from his fist headed straight for Lin Ge.

"Arrogant? I don't consider it arrogance at all."

This strike, fueled by Lei Li's rage, was incredibly powerful; even Lin Dong, who was also at the Earthly Origin Stage, would not dare to take it lightly. Yet, Lin Ge dismissed it with disdain, meeting the attack with a fist of his own!

"Bang!"

When the two fists collided, there was no intense clash, but rather a one-sided suppression.

Lei Li was sent flying several meters, snapping a few large trees before finally crashing to the ground.

This display by Lin Ge shocked the crowd once again.

At this moment, they finally understood that Lin Ge was not being arrogant; he truly possessed such formidable strength that he could take on all four of them at once!

"If you all attack together, there might be a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, you will undoubtedly be defeated."

On the stone platform, Lin Ge looked down at the four of them, speaking with a calm expression.

Below, the expressions of Lin Dong and the others shifted from unsightly to grave, and the Yuan Power within their bodies began to churn.

It was clear that they had decided to join forces and battle Lin Ge!

In an instant, the entire arena was filled with a tense, hair-trigger atmosphere.