Chapter 1957: A Contemptuous Attitude
"Lin Feng defeated Wang Zhong, which means his position at ninth on the Emperor's List is now secure. That's his lowest possible ranking. Whether he can move forward depends on who he challenges next," the crowd thought to themselves. Then, Pei Donglai's gaze fell upon Lin Feng, lingering for a moment as if contemplating something.
He could give Lin Feng three opportunities, allowing him to challenge Ying Cheng, Ji Shang, or Gui Li. However, if Lin Feng chose none of them, his ranking on the Emperor's List might be fixed at ninth place. In that case, this Emperor's List Challenge would be far too easy for Lin Feng—how could he only have one battle?
"I hope you can defeat Yin Gutian," Pei Donglai thought to himself. The Yin Clan had sent word for him to "take care" of Lin Feng. Very well, then—he would let Lin Feng and Yin Gutian fight first. No matter who won, it would certainly be interesting.
"Lin Feng, first opportunity: challenge Yin Gutian. Accept, and you fight. Refuse, and the other two opportunities may not be needed," Pei Donglai announced. The crowd's expressions stiffened slightly. Pei Donglai, instead of having Lin Feng challenge someone ahead of him, had chosen Yin Gutian, whose ranking was close to Lin Feng's. This meant Lin Feng had no choice but to fight.
Lin Feng glanced at Pei Donglai in surprise, then stepped forward once more, arriving at the center of the Human Emperor Platform. Soon after, Yin Gutian's figure slowly approached. His silver eyes were terrifying to behold, and his body gradually became cloaked in a layer of silver light.
"You're already injured. I don't want to take advantage of you. Concede," Lin Feng said calmly, looking at Yin Gutian. But Yin Gutian's silver eyes were icy cold, the chill in them striking Lin Feng like a biting wind.
"Arrogant nonsense," Yin Gutian said coldly. Layers of silver light spread outward through the void, gradually covering the entire sky in a silver sheen. This silver light continued to seep toward Lin Feng's body. Though it had not yet touched him, faint traces of silver began to cling to his form.
"Why bother?" Lin Feng said indifferently. The Taiji Life and Death Diagram appeared around him once more. With a wave of his hand, a massive Taiji Life and Death Diagram expanded, intertwining with the encroaching silver light.
"Die!" Yin Gutian roared. The silver light suddenly transformed into countless silver spears, shooting toward Lin Feng with lethal force.
Lin Feng's palm trembled forward. Golden light patterns shimmered, weaving into brilliant spatial runes. A powerful Space Law force emanated from them.
"Go!" Lin Feng flicked his sleeve. The golden patterns flashed forward. The silver spears stabbed directly into the golden light patterns, only to sink into them as if the spatial runes formed their own dimension. The spears were swallowed whole.
"Array Dao again. Although Lin Feng's cultivation level is far behind the others in the top ten of the Emperor's List, his Array Dao abilities are incredibly strong. The power he unleashes seems no less than his Dao might."
Lin Feng had already demonstrated several types of Array Dao abilities, all of which were extraordinary and formidable. It was clear that Lin Feng was a master of Array Dao, undoubtedly a grandmaster-level figure.
The silver light and the Taiji Life and Death Diagram had begun to intertwine. The silver seemed intent on completely covering the diagram, but Lin Feng took a step forward and waved his hand. Instantly, rivers of death surged from within the Taiji Diagram, roaring as they swept toward Yin Gutian.
Yin Gutian snorted and slapped the void. A silver curtain of light descended from the sky, freezing the surging death rivers in midair. They hung suspended in the void, a magnificent sight.
Suddenly, a spatial storm erupted from all eight directions in the void. Law forces converged, coalescing into strands of light patterns. Lin Feng's brow shone brightly, as if he were controlling everything.
"Engraving Array Dao with the mind!"
The crowd's pupils contracted. Lin Feng manipulated the laws of heaven and earth, using his divine sense as a guide to make the laws weave themselves into light patterns, forming Array Dao. Such power was truly astonishing.
"It is said that the strongest Array Dao cultivators can form heavenly Array Dao with a single thought. Lin Feng seems to be walking that path—engraving Array Dao with the mind."
In the past, Lin Feng could not control the laws of heaven and earth in this realm, nor could his divine sense communicate with them, so he could not form Array Dao. But ever since the external world's laws poured into his body, he could control the law forces of heaven and earth with a single thought. Although not extremely powerful, using the Heavenly Derivation Scripture to simultaneously engrave multiple simple Array Dao was no problem.
At this moment, golden light flickered in eight directions of the void. It was a simple spatial Array Dao. These spatial formations seemed connected by golden light, linked together as if by some mysterious relationship.
"You are no match for me. Concede," Lin Feng said, throwing a punch that shattered the silver-black curtain frozen in the void. He looked at Yin Gutian, his voice utterly calm.
Yin Gutian's silver eyes turned frigid. He could not believe Lin Feng was so arrogant and contemptuous toward him. It felt like a profound humiliation.
"Chi!" Yin Gutian's body vanished from its spot, turning into a silver streak that shot toward Lin Feng. At that moment, Lin Feng felt the silver light eroding his body faster and faster. But he waved his hand, and death rivers roared forth, surging toward Yin Gutian to drown him.
At the same time, Lin Feng stepped onto the spatial formation light beneath his feet. His figure disappeared instantly, reappearing in the formation light to Yin Gutian's left. He swung his hand again, sending more death rivers crashing toward Yin Gutian.
Lin Feng's movements did not pause for a moment. The spatial formations he created became tools for teleportation. In an instant, his body turned into a series of afterimages and flowing lights. But what the crowd saw was a sky full of death rivers rushing at Yin Gutian, completely engulfing him.
This scene left the crowd stunned. Array Dao abilities could be used like this? Lin Feng's combat power needed to be reassessed. However, as a top-ten expert on the Emperor's List, Yin Gutian was clearly not so fragile. The death rivers that had flooded the sky began to be wrapped in silver light, freezing in place. But Lin Feng charged out again, stepping through the void and descending from above, shooting straight down to destroy everything.
"Crack!" Everything collapsed. The crowd only heard a thunderous explosion, then saw Yin Gutian's body slammed violently onto the surface of the Human Emperor Platform. His knees bent, his whole body crouched there, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Lin Feng appeared above him, hovering in the air, looking down as if from a great height.
"This physical strength..." Yin Gutian's expression stiffened. His cultivation level was a whole realm higher than Lin Feng's. Even in a hasty defense, the result should not have been like this. Lin Feng's attack power—the pure physical strength—was terrifying.
"Why bother?" Lin Feng said calmly. Yin Gutian's Dao intent was not strong enough to pose a direct threat to him. This level of expert was not enough to endanger him. At Ji Shang's level of Dao comprehension, a single Dao intent could make him feel the power of collapse.
The top ten on the Emperor's List were all very strong. Several people could truly threaten him, but Yin Gutian was definitely not among them. Even among the top ten, the gap was enormous. Just as with the Emperor's List itself, if a top-ten expert fought someone ranked lower, they could easily crush and kill them. Yet those ranked lower were still seen as top geniuses by ordinary people. Such was the wonder of martial arts—even at the same cultivation level, one could develop completely different strengths.
Lin Feng returned to the Human Emperor Heavenly Pillar. This time, he stood at the eighth position on the Emperor's List, the spot Yin Gutian had occupied. Yin Gutian slowly rose to his feet, a trace of desolation in his eyes. He had prided himself as a strong member of the Yin Clan. When Lin Feng had come to propose marriage to the Yin Clan, he had regarded it with contempt. But now, the young man he had slightly looked down upon viewed him the same way. Standing high above, looking down, those calm eyes held no trace of Yin Gutian at all. Lin Feng simply did not care about him!