The Strong Devour the Weak; the Victor Takes the Crown

The Blackwind Stronghold warrior who had volunteered charged in headlong.

Boom!

With a thunderous crack, the bandit who had stepped forward so eagerly, hungry to prove himself, had barely leaped into the air before he flew backward even faster than he had charged out.

He slammed into a tree trunk twenty meters away, slid to the ground, and lay still.

He was dead beyond any doubt.

"Too slow!"

Lin Chen shook his head and gave the three of them a bright, sunny grin. Across from him, dead silence fell.

Li Qianren felt cold all over...

The sight was like an invisible hand clenching his heart, squeezing so tightly he could barely breathe.

A warrior at the Second Level of the Spirit Martial Realm had been brimming with fighting spirit only a moment ago, launching a probing attack of his own accord.

But in the next instant, he had been blasted away like a sack of rags and killed on the spot. It had looked as easy as swatting a buzzing fly.

"How is this possible..."

Li Qianren's throat went dry. A chill raced up his spine.

He had always considered himself a genius, having reached the Spirit Martial Realm before he turned twenty.

After years of hard cultivation, he had advanced to the Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm at twenty-eight. He had cultivated even faster than his father!

Yet even so, he knew he could not kill a warrior at the Second Level of the Spirit Martial Realm with such casual ease.

Li Qianren looked up at the figure atop the boulder.

That sunny smile now seemed more terrifying than a demon from hell. It chilled him to the bone.

Just then, Mang Shan roared, his voice booming like thunder and shattering the fear gripping them all. "Sixth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm!"

Li Qianren shuddered. Lin Song had guarded the Herb Garden for years with only that level of strength.

But the man before him was several years younger than he was. How had he reached such heights? Li Qianren could hardly accept it.

"I told you. Since you came to my door, you're not leaving."

Lin Chen's voice remained calm, but as he spoke, he stopped concealing his aura and let it surge forth!

His presence rose higher and higher. Spiritual pressure billowed outward, enveloping the entire forest in the blink of an eye.

Branches stirred without wind, leaves rustled, and a crushing pressure descended upon the three men.

"Die."

Lin Chen vanished, leaving only an afterimage behind.

The next instant, streaks of Sword Qi crisscrossed like a vast net of lightning, engulfing all three of them.

Several miles away, atop a rise.

Lin Tie stood quietly with several Lin Family guards, their eyes fixed on the distant forest.

Suddenly, a faint rumble came from that direction. Billowing dust rose, and then swathes of towering trees toppled one after another, as though swept down by a giant blade. Their crashes were audible even from miles away.

A young guard swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "Steward, are we really not going to help the young master?"

Lin Tie shook his head, his eyes full of awe.

"Just carry out the task the young master gave us. Don't stir up trouble."

"Besides, even if we went, our strength would make no difference to the battle. We'd only hold him back."

There was no room for doubt in Lin Tie's voice.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Spiritual power surged, trees fell, and deep pits appeared across the ground. When a warrior at the Sixth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm fought with everything he had, his destructive power rivaled that of a beast in human form.

By now, the battle was nearing its end.

The weakest warrior had died long ago. Even Li Qianren and Mang Shan were on the verge of collapse, barely holding on.

"I'll take you down with me!"

Driven into a corner, Li Qianren's eyes turned bloodred. He poured out all his spiritual power, even burning his vital blood. His Ghost-Head Great Saber became a sickly green curtain of blades that hacked wildly toward Lin Chen. He had abandoned all thought of survival.

Mang Shan forced out the last of his spiritual power and attacked from the flank, making one final desperate bid.

But Mang Shan had already lost an arm. Even at his peak, he would have been no match for Lin Chen at the Sixth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm.

After all, those who could challenge opponents above their level were few among the few, geniuses among geniuses.

Facing their desperate combined assault, Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. He drove the Evergreen Art to its limit, and the Greenedge Sword rang out with a clear cry.

His sword struck, seeming to draw on the energy of heaven and earth. Lightning surged over the blade and became a dazzling arc of sword power, crashing head-on into their attacks with unstoppable force!

Boom!

The blast echoed through the mountain ravine. Amid the rising dust, Mang Shan's remaining right arm broke apart inch by inch. He flew backward like a ragged sack and slammed into the cliff face.

His spent body could bear no more. Mang Shan slumped to the ground and gave Lin Chen a bleak smile.

"Good... good swordsmanship... The Lin Family has produced a True Dragon..."

Before he could finish, Mang Shan's head lolled to one side, and he died.

On the other side, the sickly green curtain of blades shattered instantly. The Ghost-Head Great Saber was knocked from Li Qianren's hand, and he flew backward, grievously wounded as darkness crept across his vision.

Li Qianren knew he was going to die.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps approached. Lin Chen stopped before him and looked down at him.

"In the past, we of Blackwind Stronghold oppressed the common people and committed every evil under the sun. Yet no one could do a thing to us. We lived free and easy on Blackwind Cliff."

"But just when we discovered the Black Iron Ore Vein, when our fortunes were finally turning and Blackwind Stronghold was about to rise, word leaked out and brought disaster down on us. How ironic."

Now that death was upon him, Li Qianren was no longer afraid. He looked at Lin Chen and spoke coldly.

"The strong devour the weak. The victor takes the crown, and the loser pays the price!"

"I have nothing else to say. I lost, so kill me."

Li Qianren showed no regret and begged for no mercy. His expression was calm as he finished speaking and closed his eyes.

"Fine."

Lin Chen nodded. Without hesitation, he swept the Greenedge Sword past in a cold streak of light, and Li Qianren died.

Whatever hatred, resentment, convictions, or ambitions he had held in life vanished with the blood pouring from him, leaving only the cold silence of death. None of it mattered anymore.

"His strength was nothing special, but at least he died with some backbone."

Lin Chen murmured and shook his head.

If he had been in Li Qianren's place, he would never have planned an attack on the Herb Garden.

The Herb Garden was important, but in the larger scheme of things, it was only one of the Lin Family's holdings.

Raiding it would certainly have dealt the Lin Family a heavy blow, but it would not have broken their bones.

A gentleman can wait ten years to take revenge.

If it were me, I'd never risk attacking the Herb Garden. I'd flee far away, evade the Lin and Li families' pursuit, and devote myself to cultivation elsewhere.

Once I broke through to the Profound Martial Realm and had the strength to sweep through Kaiyang City, I'd return and tear my enemies out by the roots.

Lin Chen considered this calmly. He reached out with his right hand, and the Ghost-Head Great Saber flew from the distance into his grasp.

Then he took Li Qianren's Storage Ring, erased its former owner's mark, and imprinted his own aura on it.

With that done, Lin Chen flicked a finger. A spark fell and blazed into a roaring fire, burning the corpses to ash.