So fast!
That was the only thought the onlookers had time to form.
Then, they saw Lin Ming raise his right hand.
He did not use his spear, nor did he unleash any flashy blood-energy radiance.
It was simply the most basic, most direct, most domineering straight punch!
Dark-gold blood energy flowed over his fist like magma, carrying the heavy intent of a Mountain Splitter breaking peaks, along with a trace of ferocious killing aura that made souls tremble!
Combined with the terrifying strength of the Indestructible Asura Body and the vast blood energy of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art!
With one punch, the wind and thunder stirred!
The ferocious grin on Chen Dabiao's face instantly froze, and his pupils contracted sharply! He had never expected his opponent to strike the moment he said he would, nor had he expected such speed and such terrifying power!
In his haste, he could only roar as his B-rank talent, Fury, activated instinctively. His blood energy surged, and he crossed both arms before his chest, trying to block the punch head-on.
Boom!!!
Fist and arms collided with a thunderous boom!
Crack!
The crisp sound of bones breaking reached everyone's ears!
"Ahhh—!"
Chen Dabiao let out a painful scream. It was as if a charging rhinoceros had struck him head-on; his feet left the ground as he flew backward!
He flew more than twenty meters before crashing heavily to the ground, rolling several more times before coming to a stop. His arms bent at unnatural angles, pain wracked his chest, and his blood energy churned violently. He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the ground before him red.
One punch!
Just one punch!
Chen Dabiao, at the fourth level of the Second Realm, with a B-rank talent and some reputation among South River's younger generation, had been sent flying by Lin Ming's single punch, both arms broken as he vomited blood and collapsed!
The entire venue fell silent.
Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Lin Ming, who slowly withdrew his fist with an expressionless face, then looked at Chen Dabiao lying in the distance, groaning in pain and disbelief. Their minds were blank.
This... was it over already?
What happened to the clash of dragons and tigers? What happened to the spectacular duel?
Just one punch?
Su Yunwan covered her mouth as well. Though she had anticipated it, she was still stunned to see Lin Ming deal with Chen Dabiao so cleanly and decisively, nearly crushing him. Just how deep did this guy's strength run?
"This doesn't count! That was a sneak attack! I wasn't ready yet!"
Chen Dabiao's face was full of indignation!
Lin Ming calmly uttered two words, speaking in a serious tone as though merely stating a fact:
"So, an attack you can't take..."
He paused before clearly adding:
"You call that a sneak attack."
"Pfft—!"
Chen Dabiao had only just barely propped up his upper body when he heard that. Anger and humiliation surged into his chest, and he spat out another mouthful of blood. His vision darkened, and he nearly fainted for real.
Humiliation, fury, agonizing pain, and disbelief intertwined, making him wish he could crawl into a crack in the ground.
"Pfft..." Su Yunwan could not hold back her laughter. She quickly covered her mouth again, but her eyes curved with amusement. Lin Ming's merciless follow-up had clearly entertained her.
Seeing Chen Dabiao's expression as though he had swallowed a dead fly, much of the resentment she had built up from Lin Ming's "teaching" unexpectedly dissipated.
Serves you right! You kept pestering me and looking down on everyone! Now you've run into someone you can't handle!
Lin Ming could not be bothered to continue tangling with Chen Dabiao and turned to leave.
But Chen Dabiao had been thoroughly enraged by Lin Ming's dismissive attitude, especially after being humiliated so badly before the woman he loved!
His rage instantly swallowed his reason!
"Damn it... Fury Possession!"
Taking advantage of the moment Lin Ming was distracted, Chen Dabiao struck without warning!
Crack!
Blood splattered!
A deathly silence, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed the entire training ground.
Everyone, including Su Yunwan, widened their eyes in disbelief as they stared at the center of the field.
Lin Ming lowered his head and looked at the fist-sized hole punched through his abdomen.
Dark-red blood gushed out, soaking through his already tattered training uniform and dripping into the dust beneath his feet, where it spread into a glaring blossom of blood.
Across from him, a savage dark-red bone spike formed from blood energy extended from Chen Dabiao's right elbow. It was slowly withdrawing from Lin Ming's abdomen, its tip still carrying warm flesh and blood.
A victorious sneer lingered on his face, along with a sickly, twisted excitement.
"Haha... hahaha!" Chen Dabiao looked at the wound in Lin Ming's abdomen, then at his bloodstained bone spike, and burst into wild laughter. His eyes shone with the delight and madness of revenge fulfilled.
"Kid! Weren't you arrogant? Weren't you good at fighting?! Well? Does getting ambushed feel good?! This is what you get for offending me, Chen Dabiao! Today, I'll cripple you!"
He had never intended to hold back. That earlier punch had not only broken both his arms, but also shattered all his pride and dignity, turning him into everyone's laughingstock.
His Fury talent had fully erupted under extreme humiliation and killing intent, temporarily making him forget the pain. Only one thought remained in his mind: kill this bastard who had made him lose all face! As for the consequences?
He was a direct descendant of the Chen Household. What consequences could there be for killing a backgroundless nobody?
However, his laughter soon caught in his throat.
Because he saw that Lin Ming, whose abdomen had been pierced through, not only had not fallen, but had not even furrowed his brow.
That young face, stained with blood and grime, remained chillingly calm. Only those pitch-black eyes slowly lifted to look at him.
That gaze abruptly cut off Chen Dabiao's laughter, as though an invisible hand had seized his throat.
There was no anger, no pain, no fear.
Only a bottomless coldness that seemed capable of freezing one's soul—and beneath that coldness, battle intent and killing intent that burned madly like a volcano on the verge of eruption!
"A sneak attack?" Lin Ming spoke, his voice hoarse yet remarkably steady, as if the horrific wound through his abdomen did not exist.
"Not bad. At least you finally look the part."
The moment his words fell—
Boom!!!
An indescribably violent and incomparably ferocious aura erupted from Lin Ming like an ancient beast suddenly awakening from its slumber!
Dark-gold blood-energy radiance burst from every pore of his body like tangible flames!
This was no longer ordinary external blood-energy release. It carried a savage, ancient battle intent and killing aura that seemed ready to tear everything apart! The muscles around the wound in his abdomen actually squirmed and contracted at a visible speed, and the blood pouring out rapidly diminished!
Indestructible Asura Body—Boiling War Blood!
The heavier the injury, the stronger the combat power! Pain became strength and clarity!
"Y-you... what kind of monster are you?!"
The sneer on Chen Dabiao's face completely froze, replaced by uncontrollable terror and shock!
He could feel that the aura of the young man he had "heavily wounded" had not weakened at all. Instead, it was rising madly at a horrifying rate!
The ferocious killing aura rushing toward him made every hair on his body stand on end, and even his soul trembled!
He wanted to retreat. He wanted to run. But his legs felt as heavy as lead.
"That punch earlier was a lesson." Lin Ming's voice rang out again, cold and devoid of all human emotion. "This one is interest."
He moved.
He ignored the wound in his abdomen as though it were nothing more than an insignificant scrape.
With one step, the ground exploded! Dark-gold blood energy gathered around him, vaguely taking the form of a blurry Asura phantom with three heads and six arms, roaring soundlessly toward the sky!
"No! You can't kill me!" Chen Dabiao was finally afraid. Terror seized him as he screamed hoarsely.
"I'm the eldest young master of the Chen Household! My father is Chen Haidong, a Fifth Tier expert! If you kill me, the Chen Household will never let you go! There won't be anywhere for you in all of South River!"
He invoked his family. It was his final protective charm, and the foundation of the arrogance that had always let him run rampant.
Yet Lin Ming did not pause in the slightest.
"Fifth Tier? Is that strong?" Lin Ming's voice was as icy and piercing as if it came from the Nine Nether. "Today, even if the heavens themselves came..."
His body had already become a streak of dark-gold lightning, appearing before Chen Dabiao in an instant! His left hand shot out like iron pincers, firmly seizing the wrist of Chen Dabiao's right arm—the arm he had just withdrawn, still bearing the bone spike—before Chen Dabiao could react!
Crack!
A bone-shattering sound that made teeth ache rang out! Lin Ming crushed Chen Dabiao's wrist bone with brute force!
"Ah!" Chen Dabiao let out a shriek like a slaughtered pig.
"They still couldn't save you."
Lin Ming's right fist had already clenched. Dark-gold blood energy gathered madly around it, as though a roaring dark-gold flood dragon coiled around his fist!
He did not use the Heaven-Splitting Three Forms. This was merely the most pure punch of strength and killing intent, empowered by the Indestructible Asura Body and driven to its utmost limit by the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art!
One punch struck toward Chen Dabiao's chest!
"No!!!"
In Chen Dabiao's eyes, the dark-gold fist rapidly enlarged, along with Lin Ming's eyes, cold to the extreme. He let out one final, despairing scream.
Boom!!!
An incomparably muffled explosion rang out, as though a cannonball had detonated inside his chest!
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