Directly Killing Him, No Mercy!

So fast!

That was the only thought that flashed through the onlookers' minds.

Then, they saw Lin Ming raise his right hand.

He did not use his spear, nor did he unleash any flashy displays of blood qi.

It was simply the most basic, most direct, most tyrannical straight punch!

Dark golden blood qi flowed over his fist like magma, carrying the crushing weight of splitting mountains and shattering peaks, along with a trace of vicious Sha Qi that made souls tremble!

Combined with the terrifying strength of the Indestructible Asura Body and the vast blood qi of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art!

With one punch, wind and thunder stirred!

The vicious grin on Chen Dabiao's face instantly froze, and his pupils contracted sharply! He had never expected his opponent to attack without warning, much less with such speed and terrifying power!

In his haste, he could only roar as his B-rank talent, Fury, activated instinctively. His blood qi surged, and he crossed his arms before his chest, trying to block the punch head-on.

Boom!!!

Fist and arms collided with a muffled blast like thunder!

Crack!

The crisp sound of bones breaking entered everyone's ears!

"Ah—!"

Chen Dabiao let out a pained scream. It was as if he had been struck head-on by a charging rhinoceros, his feet leaving the ground as he flew backward!

He flew more than twenty meters before crashing to the ground, rolling several times before finally stopping. His arms were bent at unnatural angles, his chest throbbed with pain, and his blood qi churned. 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, possessing a B-rank talent and somewhat famous 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 place fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Lin Ming, who slowly withdrew his fist without changing expression, then looked at Chen Dabiao lying in the distance, groaning in pain with disbelief written all over his face. Their minds had gone blank.

This... was it over?

Where was the clash of dragons and tigers? Where was the spectacular duel?

Just one punch?

Su Yunwan covered her mouth as well. Though she had expected it, seeing Lin Ming deal with Chen Dabiao so cleanly and almost crushingly still left her stunned. 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 looked utterly unconvinced!

Lin Ming calmly uttered two words, speaking in a serious tone as though stating a fact:

"So, an attack you can't take..."

He paused, then added clearly:

"...is what you call a sneak attack."

"Pfft—!"

Chen Dabiao, who had only just managed to prop up his upper body, heard that and coughed up another mouthful of blood from rage. His vision went dark, and he nearly fainted for real.

Humiliation, fury, pain, and disbelief intertwined, making him wish he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"Pfft..." Su Yunwan could not hold back and laughed. She quickly covered her mouth again, but her eyes curved into crescents. Lin Ming's merciless follow-up had clearly amused her.

Watching Chen Dabiao's expression as though he had swallowed a dead fly, much of the frustration she had accumulated from Lin Ming's "teaching" actually dissipated.

Serves you right! You kept pestering me and acting so full of yourself! Now you've run into a wall!

Lin Ming could not be bothered to waste time with Chen Dabiao and turned to leave.

But Chen Dabiao had been completely enraged by Lin Ming's contemptuous attitude, especially after being humiliated so badly before the girl he loved!

His fury instantly swallowed his reason!

"Damn it... Fury Possession!"

Taking advantage of Lin Ming's momentary distraction, Chen Dabiao struck viciously!

Crack!

Blood splattered!

Deathly silence swept through the entire training ground like an icy tide.

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 from it, soaking his already tattered training uniform and dripping into the dust at his feet, blooming into a glaring flower of blood.

Across from him, a savage dark red bone spike formed from blood qi protruded from Chen Dabiao's right elbow. It was slowly being pulled from Lin Ming's abdomen, its tip still carrying warm flesh and blood.

The triumphant grin of a successful sneak attack remained on his face, along with a sickly, twisted excitement.

"Ha... 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 brimmed with the pleasure of revenge and madness.

"Kid! Weren't you arrogant? Weren't you strong?! How does getting sneak-attacked feel?! This is what you get for offending me, Chen Dabiao! Today, I'm crippling you!"

He had never intended to hold back. That 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 heart: kill this bastard who had made him lose all face! As for the consequences?

He was the direct heir of the Chen Household. What consequences could there be for killing a backgroundless piece of cannon fodder?

However, his laughter soon caught in his throat.

Because he saw that Lin Ming, despite having his abdomen pierced through, had not fallen. He had not even frowned.

That young face stained with blood remained terrifyingly calm. Only those pitch-black eyes slowly lifted to look at him.

That gaze abruptly cut off Chen Dabiao's wild laughter, as though an invisible hand had seized his throat.

There was no anger, no pain, no fear.

There was only a fathomless coldness that seemed capable of freezing the 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 but exceptionally steady, as though the horrifying wound in his abdomen did not exist.

"Not bad. You finally look somewhat decent."

The moment his words fell—

Boom!!!

An indescribably violent and utterly vicious aura erupted from Lin Ming like an ancient ferocious beast suddenly awakening from slumber!

Dark golden blood qi burst from every pore of his body like tangible flames!

This was no longer ordinary blood qi projection. It carried a savage, ancient battle intent and Sha Qi that seemed ready to tear apart everything! The muscles around the wound in his abdomen visibly writhed and contracted, and the blood pouring from it rapidly diminished!

Indestructible Asura Body—Boiling War Blood!

The heavier the injuries, the stronger the combat power! Pain became strength and clarity!

"Y-you... what kind of monster are you?!"

The vicious grin on Chen Dabiao's face froze completely, replaced by uncontrollable terror and shock!

He could feel that the aura of the young man he had "heavily injured" had not weakened in the slightest. Instead, it was soaring madly at a horrifying speed!

The vicious Sha Qi rushing toward him made every hair on his body stand on end, and even his soul trembled!

He wanted to retreat, 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 scratch.

He took one step forward, and the ground exploded! Dark golden blood qi gathered around him, vaguely forming the phantom of a three-headed, six-armed Asura that silently roared at the sky!

"No! You can't kill me!" Chen Dabiao was finally afraid. Terror-stricken, he screamed hoarsely.

"I'm the eldest young master of the Chen Household! My father is Chen Haidong, a fifth-rank expert! If you kill me, the Chen Household won't let you go! There won't be a place for you anywhere in South River!"

He invoked his household. It was his final talisman and the confidence that had always allowed him to act without restraint.

Yet Lin Ming did not pause in the slightest.

"Fifth rank? Is that strong?" Lin Ming's voice was as cold and piercing as though it came from the depths of hell. "Today, even if the Heavenly King himself came..."

His body became a streak of dark golden lightning, appearing before Chen Dabiao in an instant! His left hand shot out like iron pincers and, before Chen Dabiao could react, firmly seized the wrist of the right arm he had just withdrawn, where the bone spike was still condensed!

Crack!

A bone-crunching crack rang out! Lin Ming crushed Chen Dabiao's wrist bones with raw force!

"Ah!" Chen Dabiao let out a shriek like a pig being slaughtered.

"...he still couldn't save you."

Lin Ming's right fist had already clenched. Dark golden blood qi gathered wildly, and a roaring dark golden flood dragon seemed to coil around his fist!

He did not use the Heaven-Splitting Three Forms. This was merely a punch empowered by the Indestructible Asura Body and driven to the limit by the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art—the purest fusion of strength and killing intent!

One punch smashed toward Chen Dabiao's chest!

"No!!!"

Chen Dabiao saw the rapidly enlarging dark golden fist and Lin Ming's utterly icy eyes reflected in his vision. He let out a final, despairing scream.

Boom!!!

An incomparably muffled explosion rang out, as though a cannonball had detonated inside his chest!