An Unwelcome Guest Arrived Uninvited

After dinner, Lin Hao returned to his room to rest.

Time was precious. Just as Lin Hao sat cross-legged on his bed, a masked man suddenly slipped into his room.

"Hey!"

Lin Hao opened his eyes and frowned slightly as he looked at the intruder.

The man wore black night clothes and a mask, revealing only his eyes. It was impossible to tell who he was.

Lin Hao asked, "Who are you?"

The visitor clearly meant trouble, yet he did not seem to be here to assassinate Lin Hao.

If he truly meant Lin Hao harm, he would not have greeted him after entering the room.

"A man who admires Ya Fei." The man in black smiled smugly.

"You're... Mu Zhan?"

"You have the wrong person. Mu Zhan is my rival in love too. He is qualified to pursue Ya Fei, but you are not. If I were to lose to you, it would be a disgrace to me." Obvious shock flashed through the middle-aged man's eyes.

Lin Hao happened to catch that flicker of emotion.

Although the man in black refused to admit that he was Mu Zhan, Lin Hao had already confirmed his identity.

He had encountered Mu Zhan during the day. Mu Zhan had not caused trouble for Lin Hao on the spot.

Why?

The reason was undoubtedly Lin Hao's identity.

The Misty Cloud Sect was a colossal presence in the Jia Ma Empire. Mu Zhan relied on being a direct descendant of one of the three great clans and usually threw his weight around. But he was not stupid. Randomly provoking a high-ranking member of the Misty Cloud Sect would do him no good.

So here he was, dressed in night clothes, intending to give Lin Hao a warning.

Mu Zhan hoped to frighten Lin Hao away from Ya Fei by giving him a good beating.

Lin Hao smiled, got off the bed, and folded his hands into his sleeves. "So what do you want?"

"A battle between men!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not going to bully you either. I'm a two-star Dou Shi! I'll use only one hand and fifty percent of my strength!" Mu Zhan raised his right hand and proudly gestured a five with his palm, then made a three. "Within three moves. If you can take three of my moves, I lose!"

"I think you should go all out. Otherwise, I'm worried you'll refuse to accept your loss."

"Big words! Take this!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Dou Qi surged around Mu Zhan, pale green energy winding around his right palm.

Sharp gusts rose from his palm. With a blur of movement, he charged at Lin Hao like an arrow loosed from the bow.

Wind Splitting Palm.

Wind Splitting Palm: a low-grade Mysterious Tier Dou Technique. Its palm force was fierce; when struck into the wind, it could split a gale in two.

Facing that heavy, powerful palm strike, Lin Hao's expression did not change. The first Spirit Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

First Spirit Skill: Mountain Moving!

A translucent Mountain Barrier instantly appeared around Lin Hao.

The barrier's patterns were clear, like a miniature of a real mountain—solid, massive, and unyielding.

With a dull bang, the Wind Splitting Palm slammed viciously into the Mountain Barrier.

Pale green Dou Qi erupted at once, spreading across the barrier and sending out faint ripples.

Yet the seemingly fragile barrier did not move in the slightest, standing firm like a towering mountain.

Mu Zhan's palm strike, containing fifty percent of his strength, was effortlessly blocked. His Dou Qi dissipated completely, while a numbing pain spread through his palm. His body paused slightly, and surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Is this a Dou Technique from the Misty Cloud Sect? Why have I never seen it before?" Mu Zhan had never seen the talisman Lin Hao had thrown out earlier.

"That only proves how ignorant you are." Lin Hao smiled.

"Again!"

Having suffered a setback in the opening exchange, Mu Zhan's fighting spirit rose even higher. Dou Qi surged around him once more.

Lin Hao laughed. "You're using more than fifty percent of your strength now, aren't you?"

Mu Zhan fell silent.

His fifty percent strength had just been completely ignored by Lin Hao.

That made Mu Zhan extremely unhappy. Secretly, he raised his strength to seventy percent, increasing it by another twenty percent.

This time, he gathered all seventy percent of his strength into his right fist.

His fist wind was even sharper than his palm strike. Dou Qi condensed into a fist shadow, more solid than the previous palm shadow, and blasted toward Lin Hao's barrier with a howling gale.

Low-grade Mysterious Tier Dou Technique: Stone Crushing Fist.

His fist tore through the air, leaving behind a pale green trail.

Lin Hao remained calm and did not make the slightest movement. He merely activated the power of his first Spirit Skill, making the Mountain Barrier even thicker.

Another dull collision rang out as the Stone Crushing Fist smashed into the barrier. A force stronger than before erupted, and the barrier shook violently once.

Distinct ripples spread over the barrier's surface.

The previously smooth patterns on the barrier wavered slightly, trembling as though a mountain had been struck by an earthquake. Yet not a single crack appeared, and it steadily dispersed the full force of the punch.

Lin Hao smiled. "I told you, you should use all your strength!"

"Fine, as you wish." Mu Zhan silently admitted that he had underestimated Lin Hao and misjudged him. At this point, he could not care less about being embarrassed by Lin Hao.

For him, there had been only one purpose in seeking out Lin Hao late at night: defeat him and make him leave Ya Fei's side.

With a flick of his right hand, an ancient storage ring glimmered faintly, and a pitch-black spear appeared out of thin air in Mu Zhan's hand.

Fine patterns were carved along the spear shaft, while its tip gleamed coldly and radiated fierce killing intent. It was clearly no ordinary weapon.

The instant he gripped the spear, Dou Qi surged wildly around Mu Zhan. He no longer held back any of his power. Pale green Dou Qi spread from his arms to the spear, enveloping it completely as a dazzling green light formed at its tip.

He gripped the spear with both hands and leaped into the air, raising it high before thrusting fiercely at Lin Hao.

The spear strike was like a thunderbolt piercing the sun, incomparably fierce.

The spear tip sliced through the air with a piercing shriek.

Thunderbolt Piercing Sun Spear.

Thunderbolt Piercing Sun Spear: the Mu Clan's ultimate art, a high-grade Mysterious Tier Dou Technique.

The spear carried a heaven-shattering momentum as it stabbed directly toward Lin Hao's Mountain Barrier, determined to shatter it in one blow.

Lin Hao's gaze narrowed slightly. He still did not use any other Spirit Skills and only activated his first Spirit Skill with all his might.

The barrier's power was pushed to its limit.

The Mountain Barrier became even thicker. Its pale brown glow deepened, and its patterns became clearer.

With a crisp clang, the spear tip stabbed violently into the barrier. Fierce Dou Qi erupted at once and spread madly along its surface.

This time, the barrier could no longer remain completely unmoved. Dense cracks instantly appeared across its surface like glass struck by a boulder, spreading continuously as though it would shatter at any moment.

"You're going to lose!"

Wild delight flashed through Mu Zhan's eyes. He exerted strength with both hands and poured all of his Dou Qi into the spear. The green light at its tip grew even more dazzling.

The force continued to increase. More and more cracks appeared in the barrier, growing deeper and deeper, making it seem as though it could break apart at any time.

Lin Hao stood within the barrier, his expression still calm.

When the cracks spread across the entire surface and the barrier was on the verge of shattering, Lin Hao spoke.

"You promised to defeat me within three moves. This is already your third move. How about you try taking three of mine?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the second Spirit Ring beneath Lin Hao's feet flashed with yellow light.

The light flickered as energy condensed into a blue talisman in his hand.

"Go!"

With a wave of Lin Hao's hand, vast water-element energy burst forth from the talisman.

Second Spirit Skill: Sea Overturning!

The talisman vanished, replaced by two enormous waves.

The waves surged violently, charging toward Mu Zhan with unstoppable momentum.

The two waves overlapped, each one stronger than the last. In an instant, they reached Mu Zhan and crashed violently into him.

Caught off guard, Mu Zhan was sent flying by the waves' impact. The spear in his hand also flew free and slammed heavily into the wall with a crisp clang.

The tremendous impact sent Mu Zhan tumbling through the air several times before he crashed heavily onto the floor, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

What caught him even more off guard was that the lingering force of the two waves swept across his face and violently tore away his mask, revealing his true appearance.

It was indeed Mu Zhan, whom Lin Hao had encountered during the day.

At that moment, Mu Zhan's hair was disheveled, his face pale, and his eyes filled with stunned disbelief. He clearly could not accept that after going all out, not only had he failed to defeat Lin Hao, but he had even been injured by him.

Mu Zhan quickly got to his feet and stretched a hand toward the spear. With a ringing clang, the spear flew back into his grasp.

Even so, Mu Zhan still refused to admit defeat. "What about the second move? If you can't defeat me in three moves, you must leave Ya Fei's side on your own!"

Lin Hao slowly raised his hand. A faint glimmer appeared in his palm, and a completely green longsword materialized in his grasp.

The sword's blade was green like bronze, carrying a faint sheen.

Holding the longsword, he slowly raised his arm. Energy around him began to churn wildly as pale green wind-element energy swirled around his body, releasing tangible pale green ripples. As the ripples spread, the air throughout the room became thick and heavy.

Lin Hao raised the sword, pointing its tip directly at Mu Zhan, who was slumped on the ground. The wind-element energy around him grew increasingly dense.

Moonlight from the sky streamed through the window, continuously gathering toward the longsword.

The sword's glow grew brighter and brighter, more and more dazzling, like a second moon rising in the sky and illuminating the entire room as brightly as day.

"Take this, Extreme Wind: Sunset Shine!"