Zhang Teng acted on Lin Bei's instructions with almost no hesitation.
The next second.
Zhang Tao's attack arrived, his brass knuckles aimed straight at Zhang Teng's heart.
In the past, Zhang Teng would certainly have anticipated it and dodged.
After all, this strike was far too dangerous. He could see no opening at all.
But now, he trusted Lin Bei completely. Rather than dodge, he stepped straight forward.
Tai Chi Advancing Step!
Sure enough!
The slight shift of the Tai Chi Steps, combined with his advance, not only evaded the strike but brought him right up close to Zhang Tao.
This sudden change in technique and style left Zhang Tao momentarily stunned.
And that instant of surprise exposed an extremely brief opening.
Zhang Teng was utterly astonished.
Zhang Tao had originally shown no openings, but now he had one!
And Zhang Tao was still at the peak of his initial, all-out surge!
Despite his shock, Zhang Teng did not seize the opening to counterattack.
Instead, he continued following Lin Bei's instructions.
He stepped straight into the Bagua Qian Position.
Almost simultaneously, caught off guard, Zhang Tao had no choice but to use the Splitting Fist from the Zhang Ancestor Long Fist.
Only!
Zhang Teng's movement seemed to have anticipated this attack all along.
This position even allowed him to make perfect use of Tai Chi's ability to redirect and borrow force!
Without hesitation, he used the Supreme Ultimate Pushing Palm to neutralize the attack while borrowing its tremendous force.
Turn the opponent's force against him!
After this strike, Zhang Tao was actually lifted straight into the air.
And what was most terrifying?
In that instant, he had absolutely no defense.
His dantian was exposed directly before Zhang Teng.
Because he had circulated his true qi so fiercely earlier, his dantian could not even squeeze out any true qi to defend itself.
"How is this possible!" Zhang Tao was dumbfounded. He did not even know what had happened.
At that moment!
A vicious light flashed in Zhang Teng's eyes!
Zhang Tao was now a fish on the chopping block.
And all Zhang Teng needed to do came down to two words.
Kill him!
Without another word, Zhang Teng unleashed Tai Chi.
Hardness and softness in harmony, he threw a punch.
The punch struck Zhang Tao's dantian directly.
Zhang Tao's body instantly doubled over like an arched bridge.
The punch blasted him straight into the air.
"Pfft!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood from his heart.
Zhang Tao crashed heavily to the ground, his face filled with horror...
Because he discovered.
That punch from Zhang Teng.
Had driven both bright force and hidden force into his dantian, directly...
Destroying it!
"You... you..."
Zhang Tao lay on the ground, pointing a trembling hand at Zhang Teng.
"You destroyed my... dantian?"
The moment he said that.
The entire crowd erupted!
Many people were still in a daze.
Zhang Tao's attendants, who had surrounded Lin Bei and the others, were especially stunned.
Zhang Tao.
He was a powerful fighter at the dantian sea realm late stage, only a single step away from martial true intent.
And Zhang Teng?
A cripple whose dantian had been destroyed, who had not used true qi even once throughout the fight.
By all rights, Zhang Tao should have defeated Zhang Teng with ease!
But what had happened instead?
Zhang Teng had won! He had even crippled Zhang Tao.
"Does having your dantian destroyed hurt?"
Zhang Teng looked coldly at Zhang Tao, without the slightest pity in his eyes.
"You... what are you going to do?"
Seeing Zhang Teng approach him step by step, Zhang Tao could not stop the fear spreading through his eyes.
He still could not believe he had been defeated in the flash of a spark!
"You lost!"
Zhang Teng's voice turned cold.
"I told you."
"To! Day!"
"We would decide not only victory and defeat, but! Life! And! Death!"
Zhang Teng poured almost all his hatred into those final words, roaring them out.
"You're going to kill me!"
Zhang Tao shrieked, then turned toward his attendants as though clutching at a life-saving straw.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and seize the people from the Martial Arts Grounds! If he dares kill me, kill them!"
The moment he said that.
The attendants exchanged glances, but none dared move.
"Why aren't you moving? Are you refusing to obey your young master now?" Zhang Tao shrieked.
But the attendants still did not dare move.
Why?
Because no one present was a fool.
Everyone understood why Zhang Teng was so strong.
Wasn't it because he had a terrifying master?
Those final sixteen characters, in particular, had filled every servant with fear and sent chills through them!
Just sixteen casually spoken characters of guidance had not only allowed Zhang Teng to turn defeat into victory, but even destroy Zhang Tao's dantian in a single strike.
Now.
Lin Bei stood right before them.
Although he had not made a move.
And had barely said anything.
But... how could these attendants dare attack?
Were they looking to die?
Looking at the struggling, crazed Zhang Tao, Zhang Teng said coldly.
"Even now, you're still trying to survive through despicable means. Do you think they dare make a move?"
"My junior brothers may not be particularly strong, but my master is right there!"
My master is right there! Zhang Teng said those words lightly, yet they were filled with trust.
Zhang Tao instantly froze. Watching Zhang Teng draw closer and closer, he finally felt terror.
"No! You can't kill me!"
"Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor!" Zhang Teng walked toward Zhang Tao, listing his crimes.
"You drugged me, framed me for defiling the Commandery Princess, destroyed my dantian, and stole my position as young master."
"And now you've come to the Martial Arts Grounds to try to kill me, and even tried to threaten me with my junior brothers."
By now, Zhang Teng had reached Zhang Tao. He bent down and stared coldly at him.
Almost through gritted teeth, he said.
"You truly deserve to die!"
With that, he seized Zhang Tao by the throat.
Death was inches away.
Zhang Tao wept and begged for mercy.
"Zhang Teng, you can't kill me! As long as I'm alive, I can prove your innocence! I'm willing to confess, to admit I was the one who drugged you! Don't you want to clear your name?"
"Once your name is cleared, the Nanyang Zhou Clan won't blame you anymore!"
Zhang Teng paused, then looked at Zhang Tao with pity.
"You're truly pathetic! Even now, you still think you can live?"
Zhang Tao hurriedly spoke.
"Even if you kill me, the Zhang Household will send more people, maybe even the clan elders themselves! Even if you can stop the elders, the Nanyang Zhou Clan will still come."
"Killing me will bring you nothing but harm!"
Zhang Tao's voice was frantic.
"Do you really not want to clear your name?"
Zhang Teng sneered.
"It doesn't matter. If one comes, I'll beat one. If two come, I'll beat them both! These people are nothing but stumbling stones on my path of cultivation!"
"With my master here."
Zhang Teng declared confidently.
"The sky! Won't fall!"
At those words, the corner of Lin Bei's eye twitched.
So all of Zhang Teng's confidence came from him?
But Lin Bei knew his own limits. He... he wasn't someone Zhang Teng could rely on!
"You're insane! You've gone insane, you lunatic!" Zhang Tao shrieked.
"Since you're about to die, I'll tell you. Whether I'm innocent no longer matters. Lying beside the Commandery Princess was itself a crime. The Nanyang Zhou Clan won't let me off!"
Zhang Tao froze.
At that moment, Zhang Teng leaned close to Zhang Tao's ear and said coldly.
"Brother, all our past debts are settled. Don't be afraid. It won't hurt!"
Crack!
The sound of his neck snapping echoed through the Martial Arts Grounds.
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