Chapter 63 - 61: Lin Chen Retreats in Defeat, Drawing Widespread Attention

Chapter 63: Chapter 61: Lin Chen Retreats in Defeat, Drawing Widespread Attention

BOOM!

A loud explosion shook the primeval forest as a terrifying Sword Qi tore through the void. A single sword strike sent Lin Tai reeling backward.

This sudden, earth-shattering outburst of Sword Qi caught everyone off guard. When the crowd clearly saw the figure who had unleashed it, they were dumbstruck.

"Qin Fan?"

The young men and women of the Qin Family stared at Jiang Hao, who slowly materialized in front of Lin Tai. They looked as if they had been struck by lightning, their eyes wide with disbelief. Even Qin Ye and Qin Xiangyuan couldn’t help but look over, their eyes filled with surprise, astonishment, bewilderment, and shock.

"What a terrifying sword strike! Did Qin Fan really unleash that?"

"How is that possible? Isn’t he only at the Unity Realm Second Layer? How could he unleash such terrifying Sword Qi?"

Many of the Qin Family youths were dumbfounded, their eyes full of disbelief.

Qin Ye, however, immediately sensed the nature of the strike. Stormy waves surged in his eyes as he cried out, "The Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords? How is this possible? He actually learned the Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords?"

The Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords—the Clan-Suppressing Sword Technique of the Qin Family, a Tier Ten Martial Technique.

At the same time, Tang Yan and his group watched the scene unfold from afar. Feeling the power of Jiang Hao’s strike, all the favored sons and daughters of heaven from the Xingyue City Earth Realm were completely dumbfounded.

"Unity Realm Perfection." Tang Yan immediately saw through the terrifying fluctuations of Jiang Hao’s aura, his eyes filled with shock.

It wasn’t just the crowd who turned pale with fright; even Lin Tai, after being forced back by the sword, showed a trace of astonishment in his eyes.

"It’s you?"

Very quickly, Lin Tai recognized Jiang Hao. The person standing before him was the very same black-robed figure he had encountered on the streets of Celestial City on the day the Prodigy Tournament began.

Jiang Hao, naturally, had recognized him long ago. He offered a faint smile and said, "We meet again."

Jiang Hao couldn’t possibly forget the sneak attack from that day so quickly. Back then, the other party had clearly meant to kill him. If he hadn’t been strong enough, he would have likely died on the streets of Celestial City.

Seeing that it was Jiang Hao, Lin Tai wasn’t afraid; instead, he grew excited. A trace of fighting spirit curled the corners of his lips. "I didn’t expect the Qin Family to keep a hidden card. To think there was an expert like you in their ranks! Perfect. That day was rushed, and I failed to kill you. Today, we can finally settle this."

After speaking, Lin Tai slowly raised the ancient sword in his hand and pointed it straight at Jiang Hao.

Looking at the highly spirited youth, Jiang Hao slowly shook his head and said indifferently, "You’re not my match. Don’t force me to kill you. Take the Lin Family members and get as far away as possible. Don’t let me see you again."

Although they had only exchanged a single blow that day before retreating, Jiang Hao had roughly gauged Lin Tai’s strength. Even though both of them were at Unity Realm Perfection, the other party was truly no match for him.

The current Jiang Hao was no longer the green youth from Xingyue City. His attainments in the Sword Dao far surpassed what any Cultivator at Unity Realm Perfection could compare with. However, upon hearing this, Lin Tai reacted as if he had just heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Boy, you’re talking a bit too big. You might not want to kill me, but the sword in my hand has long been thirsting for blood."

Jiang Hao sighed in response. "If you insist on courting death, I can oblige."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the white-robed youth no longer hid his cultivation. A terrifying aura instantly swept across the entire forest. In an instant, countless gazes from the surroundings sensed the disturbance and turned toward their location.

Even Lin Tai’s pupils slightly contracted. Although that previous sword strike had allowed him to see the white-robed youth’s realm, he still felt immense shock when the other party fully unleashed his aura.

"Good, very good. The Qin Family truly hid you deep. But since I’ve forced you out, only one of us will walk out of this deep forest alive today!"

BOOM!

Lin Tai lunged forward with his sword. Endless Sword Qi tore through the forest, radiating terrifying power.

"Qin Fan, be careful! Don’t be careless! He is one of the ten peerless prodigies of the Lin Family. His strength is close to Unity Realm Great Perfection. You absolutely must not underestimate your enemy!" Qin Ye subconsciously called out, having snapped out of his earlier shock, and immediately warned Jiang Hao.

Right now, their team of Qin Family geniuses were all in the same boat. If it had been the previous Jiang Hao, he might not have cared. But at this moment, that white-robed figure and Qin Xiangyuan were their only support in these ancient ruins. If the other party fell here due to underestimating the enemy, it would undoubtedly be an incalculable loss.

But facing the enveloping, fierce Sword Qi, the white-robed youth remained terrifyingly calm. Jiang Hao watched the incoming strike in silence. Just as the sky-filling Sword Qi closed in...

HUM!

He twisted the blade of his ancient sword, and the weapon emitted waves of resonant chiming.

The Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords.

He had to admit, this was an excellent opportunity to test out this terrifying Sword Technique. Jiang Hao did not hold back. In a flash, his figure blurred into a streak of light, charging to meet his opponent.

In an instant, Sword Qi flew frantically through the primeval forest, crisscrossing heaven and earth. Every strike from the two combatants tore at the void. Deafening booms echoed as the battlefield of the two peerless prodigies instantly rippled across the endless mountain forest, forcing the youths of both the Lin Family and the Qin Family to shift their own fights elsewhere.

Jiang Hao’s movements, however, became increasingly unpredictable as the fight progressed. Right from their first clash, Lin Tai felt his pressure multiply. The white-robed youth seemed to attack from all directions. His figure appeared in every unexpected angle, giving off the illusion of fighting dozens of people at once.

"The Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords. Each sword strike contains 72 variations. Stacked together, there are nearly five thousand changes. He actually mastered it." Watching that terrifying and bizarre figure, Qin Ye’s breathing quickened.

No one understood the terror of the Qin Family’s Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords better than him. As the number one Sword Dao genius of the Qin Family, the Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords was his primary cultivation focus. Yet, up until now, he had only learned the first 36 swords and comprehended 2,592 variations. But the current Jiang Hao was able to seamlessly blend and execute the Sword Technique. He had clearly achieved full mastery of all 72 swords.

"How is this so terrifying? Is this... the Qin Family’s Heavenly Spirit 72 Swords?"

As the battle wore on, Lin Tai’s expression grew exceedingly ugly. Though it seemed they had just engaged, they had actually exchanged hundreds of blows. At first, he could barely parry, but slowly, he fell into a disadvantage. Several ghastly sword wounds had already appeared on his body.

In contrast, he couldn’t even touch the corner of the white-robed youth’s clothes.

"Who are you? Could you be Qin Yi?"

"Impossible. Even though Qin Yi has a terrifying cultivation base, he is not a Sword Cultivator. As far as I know, the number one Sword Dao genius of the Qin Family is Qin Ye."

"You’re not Qin Yi, and you’re not Qin Ye. Who are you?"

At this moment, Lin Tai panicked, deeply shaken by his opponent’s attainments in the Sword Dao. If he continued to fight, only a miserable defeat awaited him.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Sword Qi smashing into him like raindrops thoroughly enraged Lin Tai, forcing a roar from his lips. "Who the hell are you?"

Facing his opponent’s roaring, Jiang Hao remained entirely unbothered. "Who I am isn’t important. We can talk after the fight."

Following those words, the ancient sword in Jiang Hao’s hand seemed to come alive. The Sword Qi became even more terrifying, and the blade’s edge grew sharper and deadlier, as if the pace of the battle had been forcefully accelerated. Sword wounds appeared on Lin Tai’s body at a visible rate. Before long, he was covered in injuries, not a single piece of his skin left intact.

At a certain moment...

BOOM!

Lin Tai, one of the ten great prodigies of the Lin Family, suddenly felt a heavy weight on his chest as he was kicked flying like a dead dog.

The white-robed youth smoothly retreated, slowly pointing his sword tip toward the ground. The blade hummed like a dragon, and his robes fluttered in the wind. Meanwhile, the airborne Lin Tai’s eyes were filled with horror as he coughed up mouthfuls of blood. But before he could even stabilize his body...

SQUELCH!

A bloodstained longsword pierced through from his back and emerged out of his chest. Taking advantage of the situation, Qin Ye had executed a fatal thrust, striking directly at the heart.

The pitiful peerless prodigy of the Lin Family was destined to be buried here, before even stepping into the depths of the ancient ruins. Filled with disbelief, Lin Tai turned to glance at Qin Ye. A look of unwillingness flashed through his eyes, yet he still turned his head back to glare fixedly at Jiang Hao.

"You... who exactly are you?"

"Qin Family, Qin Fan!"

Looking at Lin Tai, who had been fatally ambushed by Qin Ye, Jiang Hao sighed helplessly and answered slowly.

At the same time, Qin Ye pulled out his sword. Lin Tai instantly lost all strength, falling heavily to his knees with a thud before gradually breathing his last.

This scene instantly stunned the young men and women of the Qin Family. The gazes they directed at Jiang Hao were filled with shock and awe. Only at this moment did everyone realize just how terrifying the white-robed youth truly was.

Strong. Exceptionally strong. So strong it was terrifying.

Anyone with eyes could tell that during the previous battle, the youth hadn’t harbored much killing intent. Instead, he seemed as casual as if he were merely testing out a Sword Technique.

"Lin Tai... just died like that?"

"The ten great prodigies of the Lin Family don’t seem that strong after all, do they?"

"It’s not that Lin Tai wasn’t strong; it’s that his opponent was too terrifying."

For a moment, everyone was left dumbfounded. Lin Tai of the Lin Family was a somewhat famous peerless prodigy within the Celestial City Earth Realm. Yet, in front of that youth, he seemed incredibly weak. Their intuition told them that if the white-robed youth had wanted to end the battle quickly, it wouldn’t have dragged on for as long as it did.

It wasn’t just the Qin City crowd who were dumbfounded; even Tang Yan and the others watching from a distance felt their eyes practically popping out of their heads.

That was a Unity Realm Perfection expert!

At the same time, in another direction...

BOOM!

Lin Chen and Qin Xiangyuan clashed directly, both being sent flying backward by the impact.

"Lin Tai?" Looking at the lifeless body of Lin Tai, Lin Chen’s expression changed drastically. He had naturally been paying attention to the battle in that direction.

It wasn’t just Lin Chen who was horrified; the entire Lin Family camp was filled with sheer terror. After a brief pause, boundless apprehension flooded Lin Chen’s eyes. He turned around and immediately fled.

"Lin Tai has fallen! Everyone, run!"

In an instant, the Lin Family Cultivators who had snapped out of their daze fled frantically into the distance. Lin Tai’s fall instantly flipped the overwhelming situation around. At this moment, the Lin Family camp only had Lin Chen as an expert at or above Unity Realm Perfection. The Qin Family, on the other hand, not only had Qin Xiangyuan holding the fort but also gained a "Qin Fan."

If Qin Xiangyuan and "Qin Fan" joined forces, even Lin Chen’s chances of survival would be slim. Lin Chen’s retreat prompted the rest of the Lin Family members to flee rapidly.

"Don’t chase them. Entering the ancient ruins is more important." Seeing the Qin Family Cultivators preparing to pursue, Qin Ye immediately spoke out to stop them.

Countless eyes in the surroundings were already staring at them. Rashly pursuing the enemy could very well trap them in a vortex of slaughter, making it impossible to retreat in one piece.

However, the way the youths of Qin City looked at the white-robed figure had now undergone a drastic transformation.