Chapter 1238 – The One Who Should Be Sorry Is Me

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“Let the battles begin!”

“War has broken out!”

The two twin hosts spiritedly shouted.

At that moment, most of the participants on the 22nd step began to battle each other!

Even though they were all participants that had reached the 22nd step, the disparity in strength between them was enormous!

The strong would only need several breaths of time to kill the weak!

And from the very start, the powerhouses had already chosen their targets. As soon as the battle began, they rushed towards their chosen opponents.

This was basically a battlefield where the strong slaughtered the weak!

Of course, there were some people that misjudged the strength of others. Once they made this fatal mistake, they might find victory difficult or even have kicked a wall and be defeated instead. Although one was strong, with some bad luck, they might encounter someone stronger. They could only embrace their own defeat.

The accuracy of one’s eyesight was also another important standard that dictated whether or not one would be able to pass the 22nd step.

If one had poor eyesight, it was impossible to blame others.

Once the battle began, all of the martial artists in the arena were roused to the extreme.

There was no need to mention martial artists who had fellow disciples of the same sect competing on the Divine Seal Altar. They went all out in shouting.

As for those martial artists that didn’t have any fellow disciples competing or their fellow disciples had already been eliminated, they still shouted as loudly as they could, cheering for the martial artists that originated from their great world.

In short, with these billions of people present and watching these hundred thousand plus geniuses compete, a wild and manic atmosphere spread through the crowd, turning everyone crazy!

For a martial artist that walked down the road of martial arts, they had to encounter all sorts of dangers, slaughtering, arduous and high-intensity training, risking their lives, playing the games of intrigue and betrayal, every martial artist lived under a tremendous pressure. They needed a way to vent!

“Senior-apprentice Brother Dragon One, you can do it!”

Of the four great God Beast Clans, besides Lin Ming, only Dragon One had reached the 22nd step to become one of the 4000-5000 martial artists there.

To be ranked 4000-5000 out of the participants of 1000 great worlds was already an extremely impressive result!

“Senior-apprentice Brother Lin is being targeted!”

“Senior Apprentice Brother Lin, be careful!”

The disciples of the Ancient Phoenix Clan were completely focused on Lin Ming. At this time, on the 22nd step of the Divine Seal Altar, the thin martial artist grasped a long staff as he walked towards Lin Ming. The 22nd step included participants of varying levels; it was possible to bump into some powerful genius!

Qin Xingxuan clenched her fists together. Mu Qianyu held onto her hands; she could also feel the nervousness coming from Qin Xingxuan. This was a battle in the real world. It was possible that one could be severely wounded.

Explosions of energy, horrified screams, whistling winds, muffled sounds, violent shockwaves, all sorts of brutal battle scenes were occurring all over. At the same time, the thin martial artist pointed his staff at Lin Ming’s head, challenge in his eyes!

“Brat, I must say I’m sorry. This is a battlefield where the strong prey on the weak. Weaklings like you are doomed to be stepping stones for masters like me. Because of the rules, I’ll be a bit gentler. For you to fall underneath my hands is also your good luck. At the very least, I won’t severely injure you to the point where it affects your next match.”

The thin martial artist chuckled. Then, he flourished the staff in his hands, his killing intent locked onto Lin Ming. In that instant, he was like a spider hunting an insect caught in his web.

Lin Ming smiled. “The one that should be sorry is me. But, you’re quite lucky that I am your opponent. I also know how things are. I’ll be gentle with you.”

“Brat, you are courting death!” The thin martial artist’s eyes widened. An early Divine Sea boy actually dared to be so arrogant in front of him!

“I’ve changed my mind. In this battle I will break all your bones!”

The thin martial artist shouted out loud and smashed his staff at Lin Ming.

His speed was quick. As his staff came pounding down, it contained the solemn weight of the Earth Laws.

This staff strike was like a falling mountain. Not only was it terrifyingly powerful, but it was nearly impossible to dodge!

All of those that could step onto the 22nd step were top 50 ranked characters of their great world. They were chosen prides of heaven that were coddled since birth. Their moves were naturally unordinary!

Even if the thin martial artist judged himself superior to Lin Ming, he still put his full strength behind this attack. On the 22nd step, there was no truly weak individual, only those that were relatively weaker. If one underestimated their enemy, they would truly suffer a miserable loss.

Within Lin Ming’s pupils, each and every movement of the thin martial artist was clearly reflected.

“Earth Laws, four level Concepts, moreover he has fused them perfectly together. This is the same as before I comprehended the fifth level Concept of Thunder and Fire!”

Lin Ming could instantly see through the strength of this thin martial artist. “Since I’m facing other participants now and not simulation spirit bodies, there shouldn’t be any other tricks played on me.”

Lin Ming languidly brought up the Phoenix Blood Spear and swept it out. He only used the Fire Laws, with the first four level Concepts fused together – Blue Lotus Flame Dance!

Hu hu hu –

Flames burned. As Lin Ming thrust out his spear, a blue lotus bloomed atop it.

Lin Ming’s spear was extremely fast. The brown true essence that the thin martial artist sent out was instantly seared away. All he saw was a beautiful blue lotus appear in front of him before a wave of blue flames rushed towards him.

“What!?”

The thin martial artist was shocked.

He suddenly realized that his opponent was far more formidable than he had guessed!

“Is there a mistake here!? An early Divine Sea martial artist I casually found is actually so strong! His striking power actually surpasses my own!”

The thin man drew backwards. At the same time, a thick brown-colored barrier appeared around him.

Earth Protection Shield!

The Earth Laws were weak in attacking but excelled in defense.

The thin martial artist had absolute confidence in his own Earth Protection Shield!

“What shit luck! I was completely mistaken and actually ran into a master of the Fire Laws! I can only defensively counterattack and try some roundabout tactics. I must withstand the first several waves of his attacks and look for a chance to defeat him. If I don’t save as much energy as possible then I’ll be in danger once I reach the 24th or 25th step!”

The thin martial artist’s thoughts raced. As a martial artist skilled in the Earth Laws, defensively counterattacking was the field he excelled in the most.

However, just as Lin Ming’s blue flames enveloped the thin martial artist’s Earth Protection Shield, an unbelievable scene occurred.

The fire true essence was pervasive, digging through every single weakness it could find. Moreover, it also contained the attribute of endlessness, causing the thin martial artist’s Earth Protection Shield to rapidly disintegrate!

At this speed, the Earth Protection Shield would be completely burnt through in just several breaths of time!

“How is this possible? He clearly only understands the fourth level Concept of the Fire Laws, so how can he burn through my shield!?”

The thin martial artist didn’t even have the time to ponder this. At this time, Lin Ming stepped forwards and appeared right in front of him.

Eight Inner Hidden Gates – four gates open!

The power of several million jins erupted. Lin Ming’s spear came smashing down onto that brown barrier.

Kacha!

It was like a several million jin heavy hammer crashed into a bronze bell. With a terrifying eruption, cracks began appearing in the thin martial artist’s Earth Protection Shield.

“Crack… it cracked!?”

The thin martial artist originally thought that his shield would be able to persist for several more breaths of time, giving him some time to change his methods. But, the shield had already completely collapsed.

Lin Ming took advantage of this opportunity and brought the Phoenix Blood Spear pounding down on the thin martial artist.

The thin martial artist was frightened to the point that his soul nearly evaporated. He wanted to take out a magic tool from his spatial ring but he no longer had enough time.

The Phoenix Blood Spear heavily crashed onto the thin martial artist’s protective true essence.

If even his Earth Protection Shield couldn’t block this attack, then his protective true essence would be even more useless.

With a loud explosive sound, the thin martial artist stuffily humphed as he was sent soaring backwards while coughing out a mouthful of blood.

And in his right hand he had just taken out a golden shield. This golden shield was half the height of a human and shining with a dazzling light; it was a low-grade spirit artifact. However, there was no time to use it.

Lin Ming’s attack had been too fast and too fierce, bringing with it an unstoppable momentum. The thin martial artist simply didn’t have enough time to defend against it. By the time he brought out his shield, he had been sent flying back!

“Fuck this… aren’t you too strong…?”

The thin martial artist opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was gurgled blood. And at this time, a purple energy wrapped around him.

As this purple energy healed his wounds, it also brought him back down to the 21st step.

This meant that he would have to climb up to the 22nd step again. If he climbed up once more, it would consume even more of his strength.

“Senior-apprentice Brother Lin won!”

“So fierce! He won so easily!”

Seeing Lin Ming win so easily, the disciples of the Ancient Phoenix Clan were left in a bit of a daze. They originally thought that even if Lin Ming won, he would still take some time to do so.

“Too amazing! He hasn’t met those abnormal freaks yet. That staff-wielding martial artist looks like a frail stick; how could he ever compare with our Senior-apprentice Brother Lin?”

“Senior-apprentice Brother Lin is awesome! Too fierce!”

The disciples of the Ancient Phoenix Clan were all overjoyed. They naturally didn’t think that they would be weaker than others. No one wanted to destroy their own hopes and ambitions, because their power was correlated with their own faith. Even if they had such thoughts, they would never voice them out loud.

“Brother! Damnit!”

Not too far from Lin Ming, those two fellows that had surrounded Lin Ming with the thin fellow were glaring at him. They had clearly been his companions.

One of them had already finished his battle. If he was able to finish his battle so quickly, he naturally wasn’t one of the weaker participants.

That martial artist stared at Lin Ming, fear flashing in his eyes.

Lin Ming thought little of it. If this fellow wanted to fight then he would welcome it, but it seemed that he lacked the courage to do so.

That person finally didn’t say anything more. He instead began climbing up to the 23rd step.

At this time, on the 22nd step, there were still many others ferociously fighting. In a one on one battle, no one was allowed to interfere.

Many of the people fighting didn’t have too great of a strength disparity with their opponents. If they fought like this, it was extremely taxing. Even if they won they would have to consume an immense amount of strength. They would have to stay on the 22nd step for some time to restore themselves.

The truth was that the competition taking place on the Divine Seal Altar did not forbid the use of recovery pills. But, the medicinal efficacy contained within recovery pills was not completely consistent with a martial artist’s own true essence. Using three or four was fine, but if one used too many then that would cause their true essence to become impure and also affect their combat strength.

Many people were like Lin Ming and ended their battles early. They leapt onto the cliff and began to climb to the 23rd step. The further they went, the stronger their opponents would be.

Lin Ming leapt. His body flew up like a bird, crossing hundreds of feet at a time.

On the 23rd level, the pressure increased once more. But, those people that were able to conclude their battles early were masters amongst masters. Even in the face of this pressure, the speed at which they climbed was still fast.