Chapter 34: A Startling Battle (Part 2)
"It seems my luck is pretty good." Lin Li smiled as he walked onto the battle platform, arriving opposite Lin Feng.
Lin Feng's expression was impassive. Seeing the bright smile on Lin Li's face, he sneered inwardly. Good luck? Perhaps in a moment, Lin Li wouldn't think so anymore.
However, it did seem that Lin Feng's luck was quite good. In the first round, Lin Qian had let him pass directly. In the second round, his strongest opponent, Lin Yu, had conceded. He hadn't even had a chance to display his strength. And now, in this round, he had once again encountered the weakest opponent, Lin Li.
"Maybe the Sixth Elder arranged it this way on purpose," Lin Feng thought to himself.
"You make the first move," Lin Li declared boldly, with an air of youthful vigor.
"Alright." Lin Feng nodded and said no more.
"Floating Light Passing Shadow, Ninefold Wild Wolf." With a soft shout, by the time Lin Feng reached him, Lin Li was still standing there smiling.
When the domineering wild wolf let out a howling roar, the smile on his face instantly turned into shock. He wanted to defend himself, but it was far too late.
"Boom."
"Get lost."
Lin Li's body was sent flying, the stiff smile on his face looking especially ugly. One punch—he couldn't even withstand a single punch. He had been foolish to think his luck was good.
"It seems everyone misjudged Lin Feng." Only Lin Li knew how perfectly Lin Feng had controlled his power in that casual strike. The seemingly effortless Ninefold Wave had made him feel as if he were alone in the midst of a vast ocean's raging tides, unable to escape or break free, forced to let the wild waves swallow him whole.
What was even more terrifying was that despite such a fearsome blow, he didn't feel seriously injured. This could only mean that Lin Feng's control over his strength was nothing short of perfect.
"Waste or genius?" There was no resentment in Lin Li's eyes. His sunken pupils stared at Lin Feng with a mixture of respect and fear. He knew that the other party had shown mercy.
"Lin Feng wins." The Sixth Elder announced calmly. The crowd let out a chorus of murmurs. Another one-hit victory. Even against Lin Li, who was at the Eighth Layer of Qi Martial Realm, why was it still just one move?
Just what was Lin Feng's cultivation level?
At this moment, the crowd suddenly felt that the waste they had always seen had become mysterious, impossible to fathom.
"Catching someone off guard—a waste is still a waste, only capable of such underhanded tricks." Lin Wu insulted from the side, sneering disdainfully at the crowd's discussion.
"That's right, it must be because Lin Feng caught Lin Li off guard. Otherwise, how could he have easily defeated him?" Someone who heard Lin Wu's words thought they understood the truth and even silently cursed Lin Feng for being despicable.
But Lin Feng acted as if he hadn't heard any of this, walking straight to the side. Waste? Catching someone off guard? These people would be disappointed.
The fourth match: Lin Wu versus Lin Hen.
Looking at the two people in the center of the battle platform, Lin Feng's eyes flickered. In the previous round, Lin Wu and Lin Hen had been in the same group, but just before the fight, Lin Hen had conceded, losing without a fight. Now, in this round, Lin Wu and Lin Hen were matched up again. Could this be the Sixth Elder's deliberate arrangement?
"Do we need to fight?" Lin Wu looked at Lin Hen mockingly. A man who didn't even dare to fight.
"No need." Lin Hen shook his head with a smile.
"No spine."
"Disgrace to the Lin family."
Many people began to curse. Lin Hen had already advanced in the previous round, so conceding was understandable. But in this elimination round, Lin Hen was backing down again—it was too shameful.
"Coward. If you won't fight, then get off." Lin Wu heard Lin Hen concede again and cursed disdainfully.
Lin Hen looked at Lin Wu, a strange expression appearing on his face. Then he lifted his foot, not stepping back, but moving forward—toward Lin Wu.
"I'll count to three. If you don't get lost, you'll face the consequences." Lin Hen suddenly spoke as he stepped forward, his lips carrying a cold, sharp chill. Abruptly, an incredibly wild and unrestrained aura erupted from Lin Hen's body. Yes, a wild aura—an extremely powerful wild aura.
"Three." Lin Hen began to count.
At that moment, Lin Wu's body couldn't help but tremble. His eyes were fixed on Lin Hen.
"How is this possible? How is this possible?" Lin Wu shook his head frantically. "How could you have the might of a Spirit Martial Realm expert?"
It wasn't just him—everyone was shocked. Spirit Martial Realm. This was the powerful aura of the Spirit Martial Realm. Lin Hen, who had always been low-key and reserved, had been hiding his strength all along. When he didn't speak, he was unremarkable, but when he did, he stunned everyone.
Spirit Martial Realm. Besides Lin Qian, it seemed Lin Hen was the only other young member of the Lin family. To be ranked alongside Lin Qian as the most outstanding youth of the Lin family—what an honor this was.
The Sixth Elder felt a spring breeze on his face, his expression full of smiles. Lin Hen had cultivated a set of concealment techniques, making his ability to hide his aura extremely powerful. As long as he didn't actively release his cultivation, it was hard for others to tell that he had already broken through to the Spirit Martial Realm.
"He hid it deep." Lin Badao and the others looked at the Sixth Elder, silently thinking. But still, not as good as me—I've planned for everything.
"You'd better know when to back down." Lin Badao sneered at the Sixth Elder. When the year-end gathering ended, that would be the time for him to seize the position of clan leader. Lin Badao had always been dissatisfied. Why, after the old man died, had he handed the clan leader position to the second brother, Lin Hai, instead of him, Lin Badao? He knew that when the second brother was young, he had rarely been in the family, always out and about, while he, Lin Badao, was the family's pillar, contributing a great deal to the clan.
The position of clan leader had always been a knot in Lin Badao's heart.
"Two." Lin Hen's steps brought him closer and closer to Lin Wu. That powerful wild pressure made it almost impossible for Lin Wu to breathe. It was too terrifying. Lin Wu's pride was being deeply crushed at this moment.
Everyone had thought Lin Wu was at the Eighth Layer of Qi Martial Realm, but in fact, he had recently broken through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Martial Realm. At this year-end gathering, he had thought it would be his moment to shine. But he had never dreamed that before he could even show his talent to the crowd, Lin Hen was threatening him to get lost, or else face the consequences.
"When you insult others, first weigh your own strength. I didn't want to fight you, not because I'm inferior to you, but because I deemed you unworthy of my fight." Lin Hen seemed to have changed into a different person in an instant. His wild aura was extremely domineering, and he said coldly, "One."
"I concede." Feeling the intensity of Lin Hen's aura, Lin Wu squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth. Then he turned around and walked off the battle platform without looking back.
"Lin Hen, he's so domineering." The crowd's eyes showed admiration. The Spirit Martial Realm was the dream of every young disciple. As long as one could step into the Spirit Martial Realm before the age of twenty, there was a great chance of reaching a higher realm—the Mysterious Martial Realm, or even the legendary and immensely powerful Heavenly Martial Realm.
"Interesting." Lin Feng chuckled lightly. Lin Hen was also a Spirit Martial Realm expert. The Sixth Elder had indeed arranged this deliberately. Lin Hen had conceded to Lin Wu in the third round, so the Sixth Elder wanted him to face Lin Wu again in this round, to humiliate him.
"Waste, what right do you have to laugh? A disgrace to the family." Lin Wu, his face twisted with rage, happened to see the smile on Lin Feng's face and couldn't help but roar. The loud voice echoed throughout the entire martial arts arena.
Seeing Lin Wu venting his anger on Lin Feng, many people couldn't help but laugh, especially Lin Badao and his group, who deliberately sneered.
"It's not shameful for Lin Wu to lose to Lin Hen, who is at the Spirit Martial Realm. But I didn't expect a waste to dare to point fingers. Truly asking for humiliation."
The Seventh Elder heard Lin Badao's words and his expression improved a lot. He snorted coldly, "An overreaching waste."
Not far away, a flash of icy coldness passed through Lin Hai's eyes.
Lin Feng was stunned. He clearly hadn't expected that after being humiliated by Lin Hen, Lin Wu would come looking for trouble with him. Did he think Lin Feng was easy to bully?
"What are you looking at? A waste who only relies on his father. Do you want to fight me?" Lin Wu's inner rage had nowhere to vent, and Lin Feng had just delivered himself to his doorstep, giving him a perfect outlet.
"This is truly the first time I've seen someone so ridiculous. Just after being humiliated, you start acting arrogant again."
Lin Feng shook his head and walked toward Lin Wu.
"I'll count to three. Get off the battle platform. If you don't, you'll face the consequences."
The same words Lin Hen had used came out of Lin Feng's mouth. At this moment, the martial arts arena became exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of Lin Feng's footsteps echoing continuously.