A violent, scorching aura rushed straight at him. The Crimson Flame Saber was like a blazing rainbow as it slashed toward Zhao Lingfeng.
A smile had still lingered on Zhao Lingfeng's lips a second ago, proud of his own cleverness. The next second, the smile on his face froze.
He actually dared to attack?
Zhao Lingfeng's face darkened as he snorted coldly. "You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. A mere Qi Gathering Fifth Level dares challenge me? I could blow you apart with one hand!"
Zhao Lingfeng decided to keep up the act to the bitter end. He tucked one hand behind his back and only extended the other, clenching it into a fist as he punched toward Lin Changkong's Crimson Flame Saber.
"Mountain Breaking Fist!"
The cultivation of the Qi Gathering Seventh Level erupted. Empowered by spiritual energy, a massive fist imprint condensed around his fist and blasted toward the Crimson Flame Saber.
He was confident that this punch would be enough to knock Lin Changkong's saber flying.
What right did a mere Qi Gathering Fifth Level have to fight him?
"Boom—"
The violent forces collided, stirring up fierce winds that spread out in rippling rings.
In an instant, Zhao Lingfeng's expression changed.
The power behind Lin Changkong's strike was far beyond his imagination!
The Crimson Flame Saber cleaved down. Wherever its edge passed, crimson flames swept forth, unstoppable and invincible.
The massive spiritual-energy fist imprint Zhao Lingfeng had condensed was split apart by a single slash of the Crimson Flame Saber, shattering on the spot.
The blade continued downward. Zhao Lingfeng was greatly shocked and hurriedly mobilized spiritual energy to wrap around his fist. Then he felt an immense force crash down upon it.
His entire body jolted. Piercing pain shot through his fist as he staggered backward with a series of thuds. Every step he took shattered the black stone slabs beneath his feet, leaving behind deep footprints.
A bloody wound split across his fist, so deep that bone could be seen. It had nearly cleaved his palm in two!
One slash had almost crippled another of his hands!
"How is that possible?!"
Zhao Lingfeng's heart pounded wildly, and his pupils contracted.
Lin Changkong's power was far more terrifying than he had expected. How could this possibly be strength that a Qi Gathering Fifth Level could unleash?
Thinking of how he had just boasted that he would give Lin Changkong one hand and still blow him apart with a single hand, Zhao Lingfeng immediately felt as though he had been slapped across the face.
With the power of that strike alone, Lin Changkong's combat strength was absolutely no weaker than his.
Lin Changkong had not been the one boasting wildly. He was!
"Again!"
Before Zhao Lingfeng could compose himself, Lin Changkong closed in once more and swung another horizontal slash at his waist.
Flames howled, surging with scorching heat.
Zhao Lingfeng no longer dared to underestimate him. He hurriedly drew his longsword, infused it with spiritual energy, and slashed out.
"Wind Cloud Sword Technique, One Sword Breaks Wind and Cloud!"
In an instant, an immense sword intent spread outward. Zhao Lingfeng swung his longsword, condensing a gigantic sword as Sword Qi howled and crashed toward Lin Changkong's Crimson Flame Saber.
"Blood Fiend Saber Qi!"
Sensing Zhao Lingfeng's surging sword intent, Lin Changkong immediately activated the saber qi within his body. Saber qi instantly roared forth like towering waves, pouring into the Crimson Flame Saber.
In that moment, saber qi shot forth like a blazing sun hanging in the sky, sweeping horizontally across.
"Boom—"
An even fiercer shockwave erupted from where the two clashed, sending visible rings of spiritual-energy ripples through the air.
The scorching aura was fierce and domineering, immediately gaining the upper hand.
The Blood Fiend Saber Qi surged forth. The instant it collided with Zhao Lingfeng's Sword Qi, the Sword Qi shattered into fragments.
Zhao Lingfeng's pupils shrank. He had already used his full strength in that strike and could not unleash a second one anytime soon. He could only watch as Lin Changkong's Crimson Flame Saber shattered the Sword Qi and continued onward, striking his longsword.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out. Zhao Lingfeng felt an immense force pressing down, and the sword in his hand was nearly jolted out of his grasp.
Even though he barely managed to hold onto it, his body was sent flying backward several zhang, utterly unable to steady himself.
Before he could stabilize his footing, Lin Changkong had already charged in again with his saber.
Zhao Lingfeng was terrified. With a roar, he desperately poured all the spiritual energy in his body into the longsword in his hand, trying to unleash another strike.
But Lin Changkong was too fast. He gave him no chance to gather strength as the Crimson Flame Saber slashed through the air once again.
"Bang!"
Several times more Blood Fiend Saber Qi burst forth from the Crimson Flame Saber. Zhao Lingfeng watched his spiritual-energy Sword Qi shatter instantly. The moment the blade struck the sword, its body cracked apart and fragments flew everywhere.
The crimson blade continued its unstoppable descent. He had no time to dodge, no time to block, and no time to defend.
"Pfft—"
The saber tip slashed down through the middle of his shoulder. Like chopping melons and slicing vegetables, it severed half his shoulder along with one arm from his body, sending them flying away on the raging wind.
Blood splashed through the air!
Before his scream could even escape, Lin Changkong delivered another explosive kick to his chest. Zhao Lingfeng shot backward with his body bent over like a meteor, flying five or six zhang before crashing into the wall of the training ground.
With a boom, even the wall caved inward, forming an arched crater.
Zhao Lingfeng was embedded in the wall, impossible to pry out.
Blood streamed from his mouth in a continuous line, while blood gushed wildly from his severed shoulder, quickly staining the wall crimson.
Lin Changkong stood where he was, holding the Crimson Flame Saber. Spiritual energy surged around him like burning crimson flames, radiating an overwhelming sense of power.
The entire training square instantly fell deathly silent.
Dozens of pairs of eyes looked from Zhao Lingfeng, embedded in the wall and drenched in blood, to Lin Changkong standing with his massive saber. They felt as though their hearts had been struck by a heavy hammer.
Their hearts pounded madly as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, filled with terror.
Zhao Lingfeng had lost!
From beginning to end, Lin Changkong had used only three strikes!
Heavy breathing came from everyone's nostrils. As they stared at the scene before them, their hearts seemed ready to leap out of their throats.
They simply could not accept it. They did not dare believe it!
Zhou Qing staggered several steps backward. Looking at Zhao Lingfeng on the wall, who had only half his life left, he felt as though the sky had fallen.
Zhao Lingfeng, a Qi Gathering Seventh Level cultivator, had actually lost—and he had been utterly crushed in a one-sided defeat.
In only three strikes, Lin Changkong had severed one of the arms of an expert ranked thirtieth in the Outer Sect and crippled him!
"How could this be? Th-this, this, this..."
Zhou Qing's voice and body trembled. He was stammering.
There was even less need to mention everyone else around them.
Lin Changkong looked calmly and indifferently at Zhao Lingfeng on the wall, then sheathed the Crimson Flame Saber behind his back.
He smiled.
"You couldn't even take one slash from me, yet you were crippled after three. You still had the nerve to arrange a battle with me ten days from now? Ten days from now, you won't even be qualified to challenge me!"
"Trash!"
With that, he turned around without sparing him another glance.
Embedded in the wall, Zhao Lingfeng watched Lin Changkong's departing back. The confidence and dignity in his heart had long since crumbled into nothing.
He had actually lost—and been completely crushed.
Lin Changkong's saber was absurdly powerful!
"You..."
He still wanted to say something, but the moment he opened his mouth, he fell from the wall. His vision went dark, and he immediately fainted, losing consciousness.
Lin Changkong did not even turn his head. His gaze swept over the surrounding crowd, his eyes ice-cold.
He remembered that nearly all these people had mocked him with cold words just now.
He had not bothered arguing with them yesterday, but if they came again today, then even a passing mosquito deserved a slap.
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