# Chapter 1048: All Kneel Down
The Blood God Sect's Divine Son actually accepted Chi Zhongshan's challenge?
"Heh, no matter how gifted he is, there's no way he can contend with a Ninth-Step Half-Saint while being only a Fifth-Step Half-Saint. Isn't this too impulsive?"
"With someone as arrogant and conceited as Gu Linfeng, anything is possible."
...
Many people revealed mocking expressions, thinking Gu Linfeng's mind was too simple—he had lost his reason just from Chi Zhongshan's provocation.
For such a person to become the Blood God Sect's Divine Son was truly bizarre.
On the city wall.
Wan Huayu's gaze fixed on Gu Linfeng, a puzzled expression appearing on her face.
Earlier, she had met Gu Linfeng briefly and had a short exchange. She could tell that although this man was lecherous, he wasn't completely brainless.
How could he so easily accept Chi Zhongshan's challenge?
"Could it be that he possesses some trump card strong enough to block Chi Zhongshan's attack?" Wan Huayu said.
In the courtyard, Chi Zhongshan felt slightly surprised but quickly revealed a wild expression of joy, laughing loudly: "As expected of a Divine Son from an ancient sect—you do have some courage."
Afraid that Gu Linfeng might flee back into the house, Chi Zhongshan couldn't wait to make his move.
His fists, wreathed in flames, emitted a sizzling sound. With the slightest movement, they immediately caused violent tremors in the world's spiritual energy.
"Boom."
A crimson fire cloud spread outward, condensing into a nine-zhang-tall phantom of a Red Blazing Crow. Spreading its wings, it surged forward violently.
Chi Zhongshan's iron fists overlapped with the phantom of the Red Blazing Crow.
Zhang Ruochen's face was illuminated by the fire cloud, turning a golden red, yet he remained calm and composed, sneering disdainfully: "With such meager skills, you dare to shout before this Divine Son?"
Zhang Ruochen extended his arm, and immediately, a low, resonant dragon roar emanated from his bones and flesh. Without displaying any martial technique, he casually struck forward with his palm.
A blood-red handprint condensed and struck down above Chi Zhongshan's head.
With a "pop" sound, the massive palm print suppressed both the scorching fire cloud and Chi Zhongshan's body beneath it.
"Boom."
Ripples of energy radiated outward in circles.
The ground sank, forming a palm-print pit over ten meters long.
Chi Zhongshan only held out for a moment before a series of bone-cracking sounds came from within his body. His legs and cervical spine shattered simultaneously.
The powerful palm force suppressed him, forcing him to kneel at the bottom of the palm-print pit, unable to lift his head.
Not long ago, Chi Zhongshan's legs had been broken, and he had knelt before countless cultivators. Who would have thought that before his legs had even fully healed, he would repeat the same fate?
"Gu... Linfeng... how... can you be this strong..."
Chi Zhongshan felt an intense sense of humiliation and unwillingness. Golden flames surged all over his body as he tried to break free from the suppression of his opponent's palm print.
Zhang Ruochen merely snorted coldly, increasing his power once more.
A deafening roar sounded from the ground. With Chi Zhongshan's body at the center, an area several zhang in radius collapsed entirely.
"Didn't we agree on ten days of kneeling? How dare you get up?" Zhang Ruochen barked.
This sound wave carried a powerful spiritual force, nearly shaking Chi Zhongshan's saint soul out of his body.
Chi Zhongshan's saint soul suffered damage, his spirit becoming extremely sluggish. He lowered his head, kneeling on the ground, unable to resist any longer.
Throughout Yingsha City, a great sound of gasps arose. No one was not shocked.
A Fifth-Step Half-Saint, using only a single palm print, had suppressed a Ninth-Step Half-Saint to his knees?
Everything happening before their eyes seemed almost dreamlike, making it hard to believe.
"Gu Linfeng... how can he be this strong? Is he really just a Fifth-Step Half-Saint?" Some suspected that Gu Linfeng possessed some treasure that could conceal his cultivation.
Gu Linfeng's true cultivation level was likely far beyond Fifth-Step Half-Saint.
"Could he be borrowing external power? Perhaps the Blood God Sect Leader bestowed a strand of saintly power upon him?"
Wan Huayu gently supported her chin with her slender jade hand, carefully pondering the reason. She suspected that the power Gu Linfeng had just displayed was not his own.
After all, before coming to Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, her father the king had also given her something. At a critical moment, she could borrow a strand of her father's saintly power to deal with powerful enemies.
On the scene, probably only Shangguan Xianyan knew that Gu Linfeng had neither hidden his cultivation nor borrowed external power.
Because when Gu Linfeng was in the Blood God Sect, he was only at the Fourth-Step Half-Saint realm.
For him to break through to Fifth-Step Half-Saint in just one or two months was already a miracle. How could he have hidden his cultivation?
The Blood God Sect Leader had indeed bestowed a strand of saintly power, but at that time, Gu Linfeng wasn't even in the Blood God Sect.
So that strand of saintly power was in Shangguan Xianyan's hands and had never been given to Gu Linfeng.
"Could it be that Gu Linfeng suppressed Chi Zhongshan with his own power?"
Shangguan Xianyan felt a bone-chilling coldness spreading down her back, causing her breathing to pause. Her gaze became extremely solemn.
Gu Linfeng was only at the Fifth-Step Half-Saint realm yet was already this powerful. If he cultivated to Ninth-Step Half-Saint, who below the Saint realm could be his opponent?
"How dare you! Release Chi Zhongshan immediately!"
The other two commanders of the Azure Dragon Army, Yuan Di and Situ Chaobei, charged out simultaneously, attacking Zhang Ruochen from the air and the ground.
On Yuan Di's back grew a pair of metallic wings, flowing with light and radiating cold brilliance. Each feather was like a golden blade.
Situ Chaobei was a tall, bald man with bulging muscles. Every step he took on the ground shook the earth.
Their cultivation levels far exceeded Chi Zhongshan's, reaching the middle and late stages of Ninth-Step Half-Saint respectively. They were definitely two formidable figures.
One was incredibly fast, the other possessed immense strength.
Once they joined forces, they could contend with peak Ninth-Step Half-Saint experts.
Yuan Di arrived first. Flipping his body, his broad metallic wings slashed down from midair toward Zhang Ruochen's head.
"Slap."
Zhang Ruochen struck out with his palm, colliding with the metallic wings.
Immediately, a clattering sound rang out, like metal grinding against metal, scattering a large shower of bright sparks.
The next moment, Yuan Di was sent flying sideways, crashing through the courtyard wall and then into a semi-transparent light barrier.
With a bang, Yuan Di fell onto the street. His metallic wings were broken, and his mouth was full of blood.
Who would have thought that a powerful Ninth-Step Half-Saint couldn't withstand a single slap from Gu Linfeng?
"Divine Form Fist."
Seeing Yuan Di sent flying with one slap, Situ Chaobei realized Gu Linfeng was not to be trifled with. He unleashed a fist technique that could be considered a masterstroke.
Divine Form Fist could unleash twenty-eight times the attack power, its power already quite close to a sacred art.
Situ Chaobei was naturally immensely strong, capable of moving mountains with his bare hands. Combined with the power multiplication of Divine Form Fist, one could imagine how powerful this punch was!
"Yuan Di's attack power is already close to that of a peak Ninth-Step Half-Saint expert. I don't believe Gu Linfeng can really block it?"
Chi Yutang gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, revealing a tense expression.
Just now, Gu Linfeng had consecutively defeated Chi Zhongshan and Yuan Di, already displaying extreme dominance. This brought tremendous psychological impact to the several leading figures of Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor.
If Gu Linfeng could also defeat Situ Chaobei, then who would dare call themselves a genius before him in the future?
Not only the leading figures of Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor, but also Shangguan Xianyan, Wei Longxing, Wan Huayu, and others all widened their eyes, wanting to see how Gu Linfeng would respond next.
At the same time, they also wanted to see if Gu Linfeng was borrowing external power.
The massive fist, carrying a sharp gale force, had already reached before Zhang Ruochen. The powerful wind force emitted a wailing sound, blowing Zhang Ruochen's hair and clothes into the air.
"Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm."
Zhang Ruochen raised his left hand, mobilizing saint qi and injecting it into the Seven Kill Fist Gloves.
At the same time, seven blood qi vortexes condensed in the palm of the glove.
The seven vortexes grew larger and larger, sweeping Situ Chaobei into them.
A terrifying aura, centered on Zhang Ruochen's palm, rapidly spread outward.
That suffocating power fell upon every cultivator nearby. Even those standing a hundred zhang away felt as if the sky were collapsing and the earth splitting apart.
One could imagine how much pressure Situ Chaobei, who was directly confronting Gu Linfeng, was enduring!
"Sizzle."
Crimson blood qi condensed before Zhang Ruochen into a nine-zhang-tall blood-red humanoid figure.
This figure had twelve blood wings, and its entire body exuded an overbearing aura of one ruling the world.
"That's... that's the figure of the Nether King! Only by cultivating Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm to the seventh orifice can one stimulate such a vision." A Blood God Sect cultivator exclaimed in shock.
Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm was originally a sacred art created by the Nether King.
As long as a cultivator cultivated the palm technique to an extremely profound level, the power of the palm technique could resonate with the Nether King's aura, thus condensing the Nether King's phantom.
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen struck down with his palm, unleashing forty times the attack power, directly sending Situ Chaobei sprawling to the ground.
Situ Chaobei's legs bent into a kneeling position. Blood flowed from his seven orifices, his skin burst open, and his entire body was a bloody mess. Although he still had breath, he had completely lost his combat power.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Yuan Di and brought him back, making him kneel between Chi Zhongshan and Situ Chaobei.
The three knelt in a row.
Because their saint souls had been damaged and their spirits were extremely low, they could not defy Zhang Ruochen's will.
"Gu Linfeng actually cultivated Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm to the highest realm?"
Shangguan Xianyan suddenly stood up from her seat, revealing a shocked expression. Her firm, full chest sank slightly, then suddenly rose, forming a huge undulation.
At this moment, Shangguan Xianyan realized she had made a huge mistake. That Divine Son was not arrogant and conceited at all—his own strength was indeed quite formidable.
At only Fifth-Step Half-Saint, Gu Linfeng's power was already this great.
If Gu Linfeng broke through two more realms, no one below the Saint realm in the entire Blood God Sect would be his opponent. (To be continued.)