"The Gentle Breeze Brushes Past the Willows!"
As the Ling Feng’s sword move was executed, all the onlookers couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.
This move, performed with Gang Qi, had multiplied its power, speed, and trickiness several times over.
Ling Xiao still not defeated?
"What a pity, that kid named Ling Xiao was maintaining his winning streak, but unfortunately, he’s faced the Gang Qi-condensing Ling Feng," sighed Ling Zhan, ranked fourth in the Genius Hall.
"If Ling Zhan says so, then there definitely must be no mistake," someone echoed.
"With this move, let’s see how you dodge it!"
Ling Feng’s eyes gleamed with both resentment and excitement, for he knew he was only one step away from victory.
Many in the crowd showed expressions of schadenfreude.
Ling Chong, Ling Tieshou, Ling Ziran—these people had all been defeated by Ling Xiao and were narrow-minded to the core, unwilling to accept their losses.
They always felt it was a disgrace to have a little beggar standing over their heads!
Ling Yu’s expression was even more vivid. Her lovely face flushed with excitement, she stood up quivering, eagerly awaiting the moment Ling Xiao would fall.
If it weren’t for Ling Xiao, she could have advanced to the next round; there’s no way she would have been eliminated in this grand competition.
The uncannily tricky "Wind-swaying Willow Sword" was closing in on Ling Xiao rapidly.
Some were anxious, some excited, and of course, some were pleased.
However, confronted with this move, Ling Xiao simply laughed loudly, "Well played!"
Then, he threw his fists forward.
In that instant, a faint True Qi illusion emerged on his body.
It was still a wild ox.
But this wild ox was slightly different.
The illusion was significantly bigger than before, and its horns were longer.
"Is he still using Basic Martial Arts?"
An arbiter exclaimed in surprise.
"No, that’s not right. This is no longer within the realm of Basic Martial Arts, this must be at least Advanced Martial Arts!"
The Chief Arbiter shook his head. "This kid can actually innovate martial arts himself?"
Of course, Ling Xiao had no such ability to modify martial arts on his own. All this was the work of the "Bull Demon Technique" and the Mountain and River Martial Soul.
"Ox Demon Technique: Barbarian Ox Transformation!"
With a roar, the fearsome True Qi surged into his fists, which seemed to take on the horns of the Ox Demon, and met head-on with Ling Feng’s "Wind-swaying Willow Sword" Sword Qi.
"Too bad, even if it’s Advanced Martial Arts, it can’t stand up against Gang Qi!"
"Hmph, Ling Xiao is really overestimating himself. It would have been better if he simply conceded!"
"Young people tend to be arrogant, it’s normal."
The many elite family members on the stands didn’t hold much hope for Ling Xiao’s punch.
"Die! Ling Xiao, I will defeat you!"
Ling Feng roared, and the fury that had been pent up in his chest for so long was finally unleashed. First, numerous willow-like Sword Qi strands hit Ling Xiao all at once.
"Snap! Snap! Snap..."
The continuous attacks struck Ling Xiao, creating sounds like rain beating against the ground.
The willow-like Sword Qi strikes weren’t powerful enough to break through Ling Xiao’s defenses. While Ling Feng was surprised by this, it was within his expectations.
His real lethal move lay within the Wind Kill amidst the willow Sword Qi!
"Hmph! Your Gang Qi is nothing special after all!"
Ling Xiao was somewhat disappointed; it seemed the concentration of Gang Qi also determined its power, and Ling Feng, with only one Martial Vein at ten percent Gang Qi, really wasn’t qualified to push him to use his own Gang Qi, nor did it necessitate stronger moves.
"Get back to where you came from!"
Ling Xiao bellowed, and his fists struck the wild winds formed by the Gang Qi.
At that moment, Ling Xiao looked even more like an Ox Demon wrapped in True Qi, his figure seemed to grow even larger.
First, the willow Sword Qi was smashed and scattered in all directions.
And the Gang Qi winds were blown directly back where they came from!
"Such a domineering punch!"
"Is this still True Qi?"
"Advanced Martial Arts Great Perfection! It must be! Good lad, I didn’t expect not only to transform and enhance ’Barbaric Bull Strength,’ but to actually cultivate it to Great Perfection, hmm? No, that’s not right, even Great Perfection isn’t this formidable, this is the Transcendental Realm!"
"Advanced Martial Arts in the Transcendental Realm! How is that possible!"
The experts with sharp eyes finally discovered the crux of the matter.
First, it was Basic Martial Arts in the Transcendental Realm.
Now it’s Advanced Martial Arts in the Transcendental Realm, how many more secrets does Ling Xiao have yet to reveal?
While they were astonished,
Ling Feng was filled with a look of terror.
His Gang Qi had been completely used up, and now facing Ling Xiao’s punch, he had no room to resist and could only hurriedly swing his sword in defense.
The longsword got sent flying!
Neatly and decisively, Ling Feng had no way to deal with it, his body flying backward like a kite with its string cut, blood from his mouth drawing a graceful parabola in the air.
He flew out more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground.
This scene stunned everyone!
Including the disciples from Genius Hall who were watching the duel.
And including Ling Yihang!
True Qi clashing against Gang Qi, this was simply unheard of!
Where did they know that Ling Xiao’s body had been strengthened by the Mountain and River Martial Soul, and had become tremendously powerful; for martial artists of the same level, even those who had comprehended Gang Qi, it was meaningless.
They simply couldn’t break through his defense.
Ling Xiao withdrew his fists and calmed his surging True Qi.
Although he wasn’t injured, facing an opponent with Gang Qi for the first time, his True Qi was still a bit chaotic.
"This! This! This is too domineering! Only thirteen years old and able to create his own martial arts? And he won with True Qi against Gang Qi, such a genius, not even Ling Feifan can compare!"
Many of the family elders stood up.
Including the extremely powerful chief referee.
He had already held Ling Xiao in high regard, but this battle still surprised him!
"It seems like I made quite the commotion."
Ling Xiao scratched his head; he hadn’t expected Ling Feng to be so easily defeated. He guessed that if his opponents were Ling Yixue or Ling Yihang, he wouldn’t be able to win with just True Qi.
In this regard, Ling Feng still had a lot to learn.
The chief referee personally announced the victor of the duel.
Shock aside, there were still two more fights that hadn’t taken place, and the elimination rounds had to continue.
Ling Shisan turned into a blur as he rushed towards his son, swiftly channeling his inner strength to help his son heal.
"Feng’er, are you alright?"
"Dad, I lost! I actually lost! How could I possibly lose to that little beggar! Dad, you must take revenge for me!"
Ling Feng lay motionless on the ground.
The backlash of his Gang Qi resulted in him reaping the consequences, his meridians nearly completely ruptured.
This couldn’t be blamed on Ling Xiao; the Gang Qi was Ling Feng’s own, and it was Ling Feng himself who failed to control it.
Ling Feng was quickly carried away by people from Pharmacy Hall to be treated. It was estimated that he wouldn’t be able to proceed with his duel against Ling Yihang.
But it didn’t matter; anyway, he wasn’t going to recover in a month, meaning that this year’s grand tournament had come to an early end for Ling Feng.
The harsh words he had thrown at Ling Xiao only resulted in him facing the consequences.
"Scoundrel! My son had no quarrel with you, yet you dealt him such a vicious blow! You’ve shattered his meridians, ruptured his Martial Veins!"
Watching his son being carried away by the people from Pharmacy Hall,
Ling Shisan exploded with rage.
He disregarded the rules and leaped onto the Martial Arts Platform.
He knew that the Ling Family had rules against killing their own, but in his fury, he couldn’t care less about them at that moment.
Moreover, even if killing wasn’t allowed, crippling Ling Xiao should be fine, right?