Hong Yu slowly walked out from the crowd.
In truth, Hong Yu felt he had little choice in the matter.
Normally, he would never have stepped forward at a ti like this.
But the current situation was forcing his hand!
The news of a Primordial Core Realm expert's legacy estate was becoming increasingly credible. Although he didn't know why this band of thieves seed in no hurry to kill them, Hong Yu was never one to bet his life on vague hopes and passive waiting. He preferred to take the initiative!
But against such a powerful Thief Gang, he obviously couldn't succeed alone.
Uniting the several thousand Outer Disciples had therefore beco a necessity.
However…
Which of these new disciples wasn't a proud, arrogant sort who looked down on everyone? To get them to obey his commands and arrangents, he would have to display sufficient power—power that would convince them, or even make them fear him. Only then could he establish the necessary authority.
And that was why Hong Yu had no choice but to step forward.
"Hong Yu? Why are you here?" Shi Tao's gaze flickered uncertainly as he exclaid in surprise.
Hong Yu shot him an indifferent glance before looking away.
This Shi Tao had targeted him ti and again, even framing Liu Liyun and the others. That alone was enough for Hong Yu to add him to his kill list. However, with so many eyes watching, now was clearly not the ti to settle a personal score.
With a calm expression, Hong Yu walked forward. He gave the defeated Duan Hong a slight smile and flicked a Rejuvenation Pill toward him. "Take this and stabilize your injuries."
His intentions were good; he hoped Duan Hong would seize the opportunity to recover his strength for whatever might happen next.
Who knew that Duan Hong would see this as an act of pity and insult? This proud prodigy snorted, slapping the Rejuvenation Pill to the ground. His cold, sharp eyes bore into Hong Yu. "You're a re Half-Step Earth Soul Realm cultivator, yet you dare to challenge the man who defeated ? Don't tell you actually think you're stronger than I am?"
"What do you think?"
Hong Yu wasn't one to offer a kind gesture only to be snubbed. Since the other man wouldn't give him any face, he couldn't be bothered to put on a smile. He simply shrugged and retorted lazily.
"You..."
Duan Hong's expression tightened, the movent aggravating his injuries and causing him to cough up blood. Gritting his teeth, he said, "You must have heard of . I am a highly accomplished Spirit Cultivator; even a Mid-stage Earth Soul Realm Powerhouse is no match for . You can't possibly think that you, a re Half-Step Earth Soul Realm cultivator, are stronger than I am?"
"Have you heard the story of the cat and the tiger?"
Hong Yu offered a completely harmless-looking smile and began to speak slowly.
Duan Hong froze, but Hong Yu continued, speaking as if to himself. "Once, a cat in a forest ran into a tiger. The cat imdiately scrambled up a tree where the tiger couldn't follow. The cat got cocky and said, 'You want to eat , but you can't even climb a tree?'" Pausing for a mont, Hong Yu ignored Duan Hong's face, which had turned dark as a thundercloud, and calmly finished, "'Then the tiger smashed the tree with a single swipe of its paw and swallowed the cat whole.'"
"Hong Yu, you're too arrogant." Duan Hong's gaze shot toward him like a bolt of lightning.
Hong Yu replied calmly, "We'll soon find out if I'm arrogant or if you're just ignorant."
He paid Duan Hong no more mind, striding toward the open space between the two opposing groups.
"State your na, kid! I don't kill nobodies!" the middle-aged man's voice bood as he sized up Hong Yu with a mocking gaze.
In his eyes, he, too, looked down on Hong Yu.
'An Inner Sect Disciple like Duan Hong was no match for . How could this little brat, obviously from the Outer Sect and only at the Half-Step Earth Soul Realm, possibly be my opponent?'
Hong Yu was also sizing up the middle-aged man, his brows furrowed. After a mont, he spoke: "State your na, old-tir! This young master doesn't kill naless curs either!"
"Huh?"
The middle-aged man was stunned for a mont, then burst into laughter.
However, his laughter was laced with a venomous chill, a deathly cold like Thousand-Year Cold Ice.
His eyes locked onto Hong Yu like a predator on its prey. With a sharp flourish, he swung his twin spears behind his back, his posture seeming to grow taller. "I am the fourth of the Ten Great Commanders of the Mountain Opening Tiger Thief Gang," he announced proudly. "The Double Spear Flood Dragon, Yang Lin!"
"Double Spear Flood Dragon?"
Hong Yu's eyes flashed, a teasing smile playing on his lips. He laughed and declared, "And this young master is Hong Yu, renowned as 'The Pear Blossom that Eclipses the Crabapple, the White Tiger on Land, and the Cyan Dragon of the Waves'!"
...
The corner of Yang Lin, the Double Spear Flood Dragon's, eye twitched.
How could he not see that Hong Yu was making fun of him? He flew into a rage and roared, "You little bastard... I don't care if you're a White Tiger or a Cyan Dragon! Even if the Celestial King himself showed up today, you're not leaving here alive!"
BOOM!
Yang Lin stomped the ground and shot forward.
Yang Lin wielded his twin spears with masterful skill, moving like two great Flood Dragons.
Threads of dark red light coalesced around his twin spears as they shot forward with peerless, savage force. Though it was only a probing attack, the strike contained imnse power. Even a heavy city gate would be pulverized by such a blow.
The WHOOSH of the dark red spear-images slicing through the air was enough to make one's scalp crawl.
Hong Yu's expression grew solemn. This was the strongest opponent he had ever faced: the Fourth Commander, Yang Lin, the Double Spear Flood Dragon, even stronger than the Fifth Commander. His cultivation had reached the Mid-stage Earth Soul Realm, and he was clearly a more skilled fighter than the Fifth Commander. His combat prowess was not to be underestimated.
He activated the Profound Skill within him, driving his Seven Great Vortices to spin at their absolute limit as boundless energy surged through his body.
With a flip of his palm, a long spear appeared in Hong Yu's hand.
He had taken it from a dead thief in the heat of battle. Though his Breaking Army Spear was powerful, Primordial Weapons were far too valuable. The principle of not flaunting one's wealth was a key survival tactic. Besides, the Breaking Army Spear was one of his trump cards; how could he reveal it so easily?
Even with a common long spear, his strike contained a supre level of intent.
His Spear Technique was fierce and majestic.
Destruction!
SWISH!
A beam of Spear Aura shot across the sky.
It converged into a fiery red streak of light that, from a distance, resembled a teor streaking across the night sky—imnse, mysterious, and incredibly fast, carrying a power that was terrifying to behold.
BOOM!
A duel of spear against spear.
Diamond cut diamond!
Though this was a probing exchange from both sides, it still created a scene of raw violence. The long spears clashed in mid-air, erupting in a blinding flash like thunder. The dark red Power of Primordial Spirit and Hong Yu's Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi beca inextricably entangled, the struggle between their forces not ending imdiately.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The ground beneath them both fractured and split, their legs sinking deep into the shattered earth.
SWISH!
Both n disengaged simultaneously, pulling back.
"You've got so skill, kid, forcing back like that. Not bad at all. But if that's all you've got, you're destined to beco one of the Lost Souls claid by my spear!" Yang Lin laughed maniacally. The power of Hong Yu's last strike had shocked him, but it was only a shock, nothing more.
"Just lie down and die, kid!"
Yang Lin's body began to tremble violently as torrents of dark red energy flowed from his arms, slowly enveloping the spears in his hands. "This move is called 'Dragon Soaring and Tiger Leaping'! It's a Half-Step Mortal-Level Martial Skill—you have absolutely no hope of stopping it!"
SWISH!
Using a bizarre footwork technique, Yang Lin closed the distance to Hong Yu with ghostly speed.
A fierce montum pulsed from the dark red light coating his twin spears. They truly looked like a dragon and a tiger, working in concert, opening their savage, bloody maws to tear and crush Hong Yu. The sheer power of the aura caused the expressions of the watching experts to change drastically.
"Yang Lin cultivated a Half-Step Mortal-Level Martial Skill? With his cultivation combined with a skill like that, even I wouldn't be able to block it. There's no way Hong Yu can handle this, can he?" Dongfang Lang frowned, muttering to himself.
Duan Hong's brows were tightly knit, a venomous, cold light flickering in his eyes. 'That despicable Yang Lin. He didn't even use a Martial Skill like this when he fought . Damn it, he dared to look down on that much... And Hong Yu! He actually has the strength to face Yang Lin head-on, and he's only at the Half-Step Earth Soul Realm! With talent like that, he's bound to beco a rival of mine in the Inner Sect. Yang Lin, oh, Yang Lin, you'd better not disappoint. Kill that bastard for right now!'
Shi Tao was thinking along the sa lines.
His eyes flashed with excitent and smugness as he sneered to himself. 'Senior Brother Hong Long told us to give Hong Yu a 'warm welco,' even hinting that it wouldn't matter if we killed him, as long as we didn't leave any loose ends. I really have to thank Hong Yu this ti. The idiot actually overestimated his own strength and challenged Yang Lin. Heh heh, as long as he dies, I'll have completed my mission perfectly, right?'
The crowd, each with their own sches, turned their eager gazes toward Hong Yu, only to discover...
From start to finish, Hong Yu remained exceptionally calm.
Only when Yang Lin's attack was right upon him did he finally react.
He executed the Seven-Star Step, retreating several dozen ters. With a flick of his wrist, the spear began to rotate, spinning so fast that a WHOOSHING vortex ford around it. With a HUM, he spread his fingers and then suddenly clenched his fist, bringing the spinning spear to an abrupt halt.
He bent his right arm, bringing the spear, now covered in red light, horizontal to his side. Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi poured into the weapon, triggering a series of humming sonic booms.
"Go!"
He thrust the spear forward, its Spear Aura exploding outward like a Flood Dragon bursting from the sea.
This strike was Destruction!
A clash between two Half-Step Mortal-Level Martial Skills. Which would prove stronger?
BOOM!
The very air seed to shatter as a searing shockwave rolled outward. The weaker experts among the onlookers were nearly thrown from their feet. Even those who had reached the Seventh Layer of the Essence Realm and above felt their blood and qi roil from the violent impact, a wave of sickness washing over them.
BOOM!
The stalemate between the two energies finally broke. A figure was sent flying backward by the powerful aftershock.
Only when this figure crashed to the ground did the crowd react.
In a clash of experts, the exchange had been so swift, a victor decided in an instant!
Who won?
No one cared who the heavily injured person on the ground was. All eyes were fixed on the figure slowly striding out from the swirling dust. As the dust settled, a sowhat slender silhouette was gradually revealed.
On his handso face was a brilliant smile that made one instinctively want to draw closer, yet the curve of his lips held a hint of devilish charm.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled up as a soft voice drifted from the young man's lips…
"So this is all the great Fourth Commander amounts to."
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