Lin Changkong stood beside Zhao Heilong's corpse, which had been hacked into four pieces, saber in hand. His expression was cold and utterly unruffled.
The surroundings fell silent.
Hong Ye looked at Lin Changkong's upright figure, her heart pounding wildly as ecstasy flooded her eyes.
"Junior Brother Lin, are you all right?"
Just moments ago, she had thought that both Lin Changkong and Zhou Yue had already met with foul ends. She had never expected Lin Changkong to suddenly emerge at death's doorstep.
And in such a ferocious manner, he had cut Zhao Heilong down.
Xuan Ming's face was equally stricken with horror. Lin Changkong had been too fast just now, and his attacks had been tyrannical and fierce. In only a few strikes, he had dismembered Zhao Heilong.
He had not even had the chance to react and step in to help.
Although Zhao Heilong had expended much of his strength fighting Hong Ye earlier, he should not have been cut down so quickly.
According to the information he possessed, Lin Changkong could not possibly have such strength.
"Senior Sister, I'm fine. Take some pills, and I'll take you killing."
Lin Changkong looked back at Hong Ye and smiled lightly. Speaking as though it were nothing, he pulled out a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills and tossed it to her.
Hong Ye had no idea why Lin Changkong was unharmed, nor why his aura was so powerful and his spiritual energy so abundant. He did not look like someone who had gone through a battle at all.
But there was no time to ask. She opened the small jade bottle, caught the rich medicinal fragrance and spiritual energy, and cried out, "Qi Replenishing Pills?"
She instinctively wanted to ask where Lin Changkong had gotten them, but immediately stopped herself.
No matter where the Qi Replenishing Pills had come from, with them, she could rapidly recover seventy to eighty percent of her spiritual energy. Her odds of victory would rise greatly.
She immediately tipped her head back and swallowed the Qi Replenishing Pills. Spiritual energy swiftly spread through her body, and color returned to her face.
But Xuan Ming's expression darkened. He stared at Lin Changkong with a sinister look.
"How could this be? Why didn't Xuan Ling kill you? Could it be that she never found you?"
In his eyes, Xuan Ling was already at the Qi Gathering Eighth Level, and she had two fellow disciples at the Qi Gathering Seventh Level with her. Against Lin Changkong and Zhou Yue, it should have been an absolute stomp.
Yet Lin Changkong had appeared here, his spiritual energy abundant and his body showing no signs of battle. There was only one explanation: Xuan Ling and the others had missed him.
"Are you talking about this woman?"
Just as Xuan Ming's words fell, Lin Changkong suddenly spoke. He then took something from behind his back and tossed it before Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming looked down, and his heart instantly pounded wildly. It was as though he had been struck by lightning. His pupils contracted, and his body tensed.
What Lin Changkong had thrown out was none other than Xuan Ling's head.
Though it had already gone bloodless, Xuan Ming recognized Xuan Ling's beautiful face at a glance.
Xuan Ling was dead!
"How is that possible?!"
Xuan Ming cried out, utterly unable to believe it. His eyes were fixed on the severed head on the ground, and his mind had gone blank.
He had thought Xuan Ling simply had not encountered Lin Changkong. Instead, Xuan Ling was dead.
How could someone at the Qi Gathering Eighth Level have died like this?
Lin Changkong stared at Xuan Ming. Seeing his widened eyes and heaving chest, he transformed into a shooting star the instant Xuan Ming's mind went blank, slashing at him in a flash.
Xuan Ming was still trapped in shock, unable to accept the outcome, when tyrannical and scorching saber qi came sweeping toward him.
Great Waves Overwhelming!
Xuan Ming instantly came to his senses. Spiritual energy roared from his body, transforming into enormous waves that crashed toward the blazing saber qi.
But he was ultimately a step too slow. Lin Changkong erupted with full force, his Blood Fiend Saber Qi pressing down like a violent storm. It broke through the enormous waves, and the blade struck Xuan Ming's arm.
Clang!
Yet this slash did not sever Xuan Ming's arm. It merely cut open his skin and left a bloody gash.
Lin Changkong narrowed his eyes slightly. The sight reminded him of his earlier battle with one of the Mystic Moon Sect's Qi Gathering Seventh Level disciples.
An ordinary Qi Gathering Seventh Level cultivator would die beneath three of his slashes, but that disciple had taken four.
And the same thing had happened then. That person's physical body had been stronger than others at the same level.
"Body refinement?"
Lin Changkong immediately thought of that possibility. The Mystic Moon Sect must possess some sort of body-refining technique, and many of its disciples had cultivated it.
So many practitioners of Spirit and Body Dual Cultivation—the Mystic Moon Sect was no simple sect after all!
"Bastard! You dare injure me? You're courting death!"
Xuan Ming finally recovered completely. Spiritual energy surged, and his Qi Gathering Eighth Level cultivation burst forth in full. At the same time, a faint luster flowed across his skin, like white jade, yet carrying an air of toughness.
In an instant, his spiritual energy became enormous waves that crashed relentlessly toward Lin Changkong.
Lin Changkong's Crimson Flame Saber swept up layers of saber qi. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged dozens of attacks, and heat billowed through the surrounding air.
Wind Cloud Sword Technique!
With the aid of the Qi Replenishing Pills, Hong Ye had also recovered sixty to seventy percent of her spiritual energy. She immediately charged in with her sword.
For a moment, sword light flashed brilliantly, like a white rainbow piercing the sun.
Though Xuan Ming practiced Spirit and Body Dual Cultivation, he could not withstand the joint assault of two people. Before long, he was forced back step by step.
Lin Changkong did not say anything about fighting one-on-one. Killing was the ultimate goal; what methods were used along the way did not matter.
"Pfft—"
Lin Changkong found an opening and slashed Xuan Ming across the chest. Unable to withstand their combined assault, Xuan Ming's chest split open, several ribs cut through along with it.
"Ah—"
A miserable scream tore from his throat. Xuan Ming pulled away and retreated, intending to flee, but how could Lin Changkong and Hong Ye give him that chance?
Saber qi and Sword Qi swept out together, striking him one after another and sending Xuan Ming flying.
"Stop! You can't kill me! I rank tenth in the Mystic Moon Sect's Outer Sect. If you kill me, the Mystic Moon Sect won't let you off..."
Pfft!
Lin Changkong turned a deaf ear. He stepped forward and drove his saber into Xuan Ming's chest, then followed with another strike, severing his head.
Lin Changkong had always believed that finishing off the wounded after killing someone was a professional habit every cultivator ought to have.
Xuan Ming's face was filled with terror. His lips trembled, but he could no longer speak. Only boundless horror flickered in his pupils.
Until his death, he could not understand why Lin Changkong had survived Xuan Ling's hands, much less killed her instead.
Looking at Xuan Ming's headless corpse, Hong Ye let out a breath, overwhelmed by the relief of having survived a calamity.
Then she looked at Lin Changkong, her eyes filled with astonishment.
"Junior Brother, you killed Xuan Ling?"
Lin Changkong said, "Yes. I found a few Qi Replenishing Pills in a hidden chamber, then hacked them all to death."
Seeing how lightly Lin Changkong spoke of it, Hong Ye was momentarily speechless. All she could hear was her own heart pounding madly.
Lin Changkong made it sound easy, but she knew that Xuan Ling had truly been at the Qi Gathering Eighth Level. Even with Qi Replenishing Pills to help, the difference in cultivation should have allowed someone at the Qi Gathering Eighth Level to erupt with crushing force.
Yet Lin Changkong had killed Xuan Ling. That meant that, at his current level, the power he could unleash was already enough to rival, or even surpass, an ordinary Qi Gathering Eighth Level cultivator.
Junior Brother Lin... was far more terrifying than she had imagined!
Hong Ye raised a thumb. "Junior Brother, you're really badass!"
Lin Changkong replied solemnly, "Senior Sister, you're right!"
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