With a thunderous crash, the palm force struck Li Tuofeng squarely. He was sent flying like a ragged doll, landing heavily, spitting blood, and unable to rise.
His clothes had been completely incinerated, his skin torn and flesh rent, blood flowing freely. Strangest of all, it was as if he had been roasted by fire; his skin was charred black and covered in blisters the size of dates.
“It looks like he was burned by fire! What happened?”
Many martial artists felt a chill run down their spines, their faces turning as pale as paper. The sight was truly horrifying.
While martial artists were no strangers to combat and could be ruthless, such a brutal method of killing struck fear into their hearts.
“What kind of demonic art is this, with such intense heat…” Li Tuofeng forced himself to lift his head, his words slurred with blood. With such extensive burns, even immediate hospitalization would be futile.
“So you may die understanding,” Lin Zhenyu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking down at Li Tuofeng with contempt, as if observing an insect. “For twenty years, I sat atop the active volcano on Devil’s Island, absorbing the energy and fire toxins from the magma day and night, forging an extreme-heat energy within myself…”
“Twenty years absorbing magma’s fire toxins… You endured such grueling training!” A look of shock flashed across Li Tuofeng’s face, followed by a trace of admiration and resignation. He let out a weak sigh, “Indeed, to pursue the supreme martial path, one must endure torment and hardship beyond ordinary tolerance. Today… I accept my defeat without complaint…” With that, his head slumped, and he breathed his last.
Li Tuofeng—master of the martial world in the Northwest, veteran Grandmaster of the Transforming Realm, fifth-ranked master on the Divine Leaderboard—was dead!
The crowd was shaken into absolute silence!
All eyes, filled with fear and awe, were fixed on that solitary, peerless figure atop Shoe Mountain. A storm of emotions raged within their hearts.
Back when Lin Zhenyu swept through China, he was only ranked within the top ten of the Divine Leaderboard, considered roughly equal to Li Tuofeng.
Even if he were slightly stronger than Li Tuofeng, killing him would likely have required a protracted and arduous battle.
But now…
Lin Zhenyu had used only one slash and one palm—two moves—to end Li Tuofeng. It was nothing short of an instant kill!
The strength Lin Zhenyu had displayed was now beyond their estimation. He was likely only a step away from the legendary Divine Realm.
“Absorbing the fire toxins of magma… He actually devised such a vicious and ruthless training method!”
“He forged his own path, achieving something comparable to cultivating formless power. This makes things very difficult now!”
Zhao Yuankun and Wei Feilong ground their teeth in frustration, their eyes filled with wary apprehension, yet they were powerless.
“Alas, who could have imagined that after twenty years in seclusion, this fiend would cultivate such a strange skill…”
“Even War God Ye Zhantian might not find it easy to defeat him now!”
Even Huo Qingtian hesitated, his expression grave, his eyes flickering with complex emotions. He no longer held absolute confidence in defeating Lin Zhenyu.
“Esteemed masters,” Lin Zhenyu’s aura surged like an abyss and an ocean. He stood firm as a mountain upon a giant boulder. “Since this is a tournament to determine the alliance leader, this humble old man, though lacking in talent, wishes to experience the skills of the heroes gathered here!”
“Whoever wishes to challenge me, step onto the stage!”
His voice boomed like a great bell. Standing alone against hundreds of martial heroes, he showed not a trace of fear, appearing completely at ease, like a peerless general holding a pass against ten thousand.
“How can we let him become the Martial Alliance President?”
“If word of this spreads, it would be the greatest disgrace to Chinese martial arts!” Many martial artists and leaders wore expressions of panic and urgency.
Although Lin Zhenyu was a martial arts master, he had close ties to the Big Circle Gang, an organization involved in every evil deed from human trafficking and arms smuggling to drug trafficking. How could such a person lead the Martial Alliance?
It would be nothing short of a colossal joke.
Yet now, this colossal joke seemed on the verge of becoming reality.
“Hmph! Lin Zhenyu, what qualifications do you have to lead the Martial Alliance?” Hong Hetu stood up, shouting angrily.
“With a villain like this, there’s no need for chivalry! Let’s just cut him down where he stands!” Zhang Mingli also rose, her clear voice ringing out.
“Hmph, young fools, ignorant of the heights of heaven and the depths of earth!” Lin Zhenyu gave a cold laugh. With flicks of his fingers—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—several crimson beams of finger force shot through the air towards those who had shouted insults.
“Ah! It hurts! It’s so hot!”
“Ah! What is this?!”
“I feel like my blood is boiling dry! Help!”
Instantly, Hong Hetu, Zhang Mingli, and several others cried out in agony. Some staggered, some collapsed, some were sent flying, writhing in pain on the ground.
They were all martial artists, originally possessing considerable agility, and Shoe Mountain was a good kilometer or two from the shore. Yet none had been able to dodge in time, all struck by the attack.
“Hetu!”
“Mingli!”
“What kind of technique is this?”
Exclamations of shock rose from the crowd.
They saw clearly that despite the deep winter cold, the victims’ faces were flushed crimson. Blood vessels bulged like earthworms beneath their skin, and waves of scorching heat—visible as white mist—radiated from their bodies. Some, unable to bear the intense heat even began tearing off their clothes.
“This fire toxin energy of mine,” Lin Zhenyu explained calmly, “is refined from the fiery toxins and heat deep within magma. A single strand can reduce a living person to ashes. Now, it lies dormant within your bodies. Each day, the heat will intensify. In seven days, your blood will dry up completely, and you will become desiccated corpses.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd stood as if petrified by a thunderbolt. Such a death was unbearably cruel.
“This fire toxin,” Lin Zhenyu continued slowly, his tone composed, “can only be extracted by me, using a secret method. Whether you are master physicians or Transforming Realm Grandmasters, you are powerless against it.”
“And only if you submit to me, acknowledging me as your leader, will I spare your wretched lives.”
Sure enough, Zhao Yuankun approached one of the victims and tried to circulate his own energy to expel the fire toxin.
After trying for a long time with no effect, a look of utter despair and worry crossed his face. He shook his head at Wei Feilong and Huo Qingtian.
“This fiend is terribly powerful and arrogant!”
At this moment, a martial artist looked towards Huo Qingtian, his face full of anxiety. “I’m afraid only Senior Huo can subdue this monster now!”
“Please, Grandmaster Huo, take action! Suppress this villain, Lin Zhenyu!” The martial artists began to chant in unison.
Especially those like Zhang Wendao and Hong Junshan, whose children had been poisoned, were as frantic as ants on a hot pan, their eyes pleading as they looked to Huo Qingtian.
“Very well. This old man will exchange a move or two with Brother Lin.” Huo Qingtian found himself with no room to retreat. He stood up and declared clearly, “However, Brother Lin has come from afar. Let us prioritize harmony. I propose a civil contest—we compete with a single palm strike.”
“If I win, I ask Brother Lin to extract the fire toxin from these juniors and, honoring his word, leave China. If I lose, this old man will withdraw from the martial world, live in obscurity, and never interfere in martial affairs again.”
In truth, Huo Qingtian held no certainty of victory. This fiend cultivated an alien energy, exceptionally fierce and malicious. If a fierce battle ensued and he made a single misstep, he could very well lose his life.
Since Hong Hetu and the others also needed Lin Zhenyu’s treatment, Huo Qingtian seized this opportunity to propose a civil contest, compete in palm strength and energy. It sounded reasonable and provided a natural resolution.
“Brother Huo, my return to China is solely to contribute to the revitalization of Chinese martial arts. I have no wish to harm others. Your proposal is excellent…” Lin Zhenyu nodded, readily agreeing.
His return was to assume the presidency of the Chinese Martial Alliance. Killing Li Tuofeng had already intimidated the crowd and established his authority. There was no need for further bloodshed and unnecessary enmity.
“Excellent! Brother Lin, to be able to test my skills against you today is truly one of the great joys of my life!” Huo Qingtian let out a low shout. In a blur, he vanished from his spot.
Like a torpedo cleaving through water, he pushed aside two towering waves of white spray, arriving atop Shoe Mountain in the blink of an eye to stand facing Lin Zhenyu.
“Bravo!”
“Magnificent!”
“Well done, Grandmaster Huo!”
A thunderous roar of approval erupted from the spectators on the shore, everyone excited as if beholding a deity.
Huo Qingtian’s movement technique was ghostly, his speed approaching that of sound, actually seeming to surpass Li Tuofeng and stand on equal footing with Lin Zhenyu.
The cheers gradually died down, leaving utter silence.
Everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the two figures on the island.
On one side stood Huo Qingtian, the veteran Grandmaster ranked second on the Divine Leaderboard, hailed as the “Pillar of Central China.”
On the other stood Lin Zhenyu, the number one Grandmaster from overseas, who had endured bitter cultivation at a volcano’s mouth for twenty years and returned to China bearing fire.
These two were like Mount Tai and the Big Dipper in the martial world, figures one could only look up to.
And now, these two top-tier masters would determine the outcome with a single palm strike, deciding superiority and inferiority.
The air seemed to solidify. Everyone found it hard to breathe. Yearning, tension, worry, excitement, admiration… a myriad of extremely complex emotions shifted across their faces.
“Grandmaster Lin, please!” Huo Qingtian’s expression was solemn, his gaze sharp and cold. He clasped his fists in salute.
“Grandmaster Huo, after you!” Lin Zhenyu returned the salute, his own expression surprisingly calm.
“Then I shall offend!”
With a low shout, Huo Qingtian stamped his feet. The entire Shoe Mountain seemed to tremble.
“Immovable Wisdom King, Suppress All Demons—!”
From every one of his forty-eight thousand pores, golden streams of true energy spray forth. Behind him, vaguely and indistinctly… a colossal Buddha figure, ten feet tall, materialized.
This Buddha statue was wreathed in flames, with protruding fangs and a wrathful, ferocious countenance.
The giant Buddha’s five fingers blotted out the sky, descending like Mount Tai bearing down or Mount Buzhou collapsing, aiming to crush Lin Zhenyu beneath its palm.
“This is the Immovable Wisdom King Art! A Shaolin ultimate technique!”
“Such divine might! It’s almost comparable to the Divine Realm’s ability to command with words, manifest true essence, and influence reality with spirit!”
Zhao Yuankun and others looked on in shock, their voices trembling. “To think Grandmaster Huo has actually mastered it. Such tremendous power!”
“Once the Immovable Wisdom King manifests, even if Ye Zhantian himself were here, he would have to face it with caution…” Wei Feilong’s face was also filled with delight, implying that Lin Zhenyu might not withstand this move.
Knowing the unusual and sinister nature of Lin Zhenyu’s demonic art, Huo Qingtian dared not hold back in the slightest. From the outset, he used his trump card.
As a martial family from Zhumadian in Henan, the Huo family had always maintained good relations with the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng. Their disciples were all its lay disciples. Huo Qingtian himself had become the head of the Arhat Hall at the age of thirty and had been taught this Immovable Wisdom King Art by a reclusive senior monk from Shaolin’s back mountain.
His learning was broad, encompassing dozens of techniques. But upon reflection, this Immovable Wisdom King Art was his most powerful. With this move, if not killing Lin Zhenyu outright, he was confident he could at least inflict serious injury, perhaps even destroy his cultivation and end his martial path.
“Kunpeng Six Transformations, Crimson Flame Golden Roc Transformation!”
At this critical moment, a powerful, cold, and fierce voice suddenly rang out. Lin Zhenyu also made his move.
His eyes sharp, he flipped his palms and thrust them forward towards the giant Buddha’s hand.
In that instant, with a deafening BOOM, a golden roc wreathed in flames soared from his body, spreading its wings.
