Chapter 862 – Dropping All Pretenses

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The Great Desolate Blood Halberd’s weight was without doubt. One could tell just how terrifying it was from when it was smashed downwards. But, Lin Ming’s red spear was only a flexible heaven-step treasure. Even so, he was still using that heaven-step treasure to forcefully resist and defeat the Great Desolate Blood Halberd. Such a scene caused all the present martial artists to feel as if they had swallowed an entire cow. All of them were speechless, only blankly looking on at what was happening before them.

“Situ Yaoyue was defeated! She has a seventh stage Life Destruction cultivation and also the Extreme Violet Dantian, but she still lost to Lin Lanjian! If this continues, then Lin Lanjian will only need to cross a few more small boundaries before he becomes a Peerless Emperor!”

“As long as he can pass another three or four stages of Life Destruction then he might be able to contend with a weaker Divine Sea Supreme Elder. This Lin Lanjian is really an undefeated legend. I wonder just what degree he will grow to in the future. He might even be someone more ruthless and famous than Emperor Shakya!”

With events having reached this step, no one doubted Lin Ming’s strength and talent any longer. As long as he didn’t die, he was certain to become the future highest under the heavens. When this sort of existence appeared, it would always cause all the major influences to feel extremely contradictory thoughts. Lin Lanjian would become someone that they would desperately try to win over, while also secretly fearing and dreading him at the same time.

“Yaoyue was defeated, Yaoyue was defeated…” On top of the Asura Divine Kingdom’s Godspeed Boat, Situ Yaoxi had paled and her lips were shivering as if her entire body was quaking. “Impossible… impossible… impossible… how could this little beast be so powerful?! Whether it is an assassination or whatever else, I absolutely must kill him. Even if I must sacrifice the lives of several Divine Sea powerhouses, I still must do this!”

The Asura Divine Kingdom had already agreed to this gambling battle with Lin Ming. It was impossible for Situ Yaoxi to use the reason of Lin Ming to launch a national war that disregarded all cost.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“I never thought this would happen…” Situ Haotian deeply sighed, instantly seeming as if he had aged overnight. He had used every possible plan for this battle, and even though he had paid every price possible, they had still lost in the end!

“Is this really the inescapable fate of my Asura Divine Kingdom?”

Lin Ming grasped the red spear and aimed its point at Situ Yaoyue. He trembled by a nearly imperceptible degree. That fierce and long fight had indeed consumed a massive amount of his energy.

In the end, Lin Ming’s combat strength was not superior to Situ Yaoyue’s. The reason he had won was his superior physical strength and abnormal defensive power.

From the very start, Lin Ming had been the one being suppressed by Situ Yaoyue. After several exchanges of moves, Lin Ming had suffered greater damage than Situ Yaoyue. If a normal martial artist were to be wounded in such a manner, they would have died. But Lin Ming was able to brave through the pain, supporting himself with his hardened will and stubbornness.

The true turning point of this battle had been when Lin Ming burnt the blood of the Ancient Phoenix to shatter Situ Yaoyue’s Cage of Darkness. That move had consumed a massive amount of Lin Ming’s energy. But by relying on the restorative powers of the Gate of Healing, as well as the body he gained from crossing Life Destruction, he was able to withstand the burden.

Then, Lin Ming had relied on his one million jin strength to engage Situ Yaoyue in a brutal melee that lasted for dozens of rounds. He forcefully resisted all of the shaking damage that from the impact, and instead, Situ Yaoyue had been the one to be severely wounded to the point of bleeding from her head.

“The Great Desolate Blood Halberd really lives up to its reputation.” Lin Ming looked at the red halberd. If its sealed form could display such a terrifying might and power, then just what would it be like once its complete strength was unleashed.

If Situ Yaoyue didn’t have this desolate halberd, it would have been impossible for her to contend with Lin Ming and further. After her Cage of Darkness had been broken by him, she had occupied the position of absolute weakness.

“If I use this halberd to fight and combine it with my one million jin strength, just what would that be like?” A halberd and spear were extremely close in fighting style. Even though Lin Ming no longer focused on the ‘Great Desolate Halberd Art’ for battle, he could still use a halberd to fight.

As for the curse of the halberd, Lin Ming could ask Demonshine about that. Just because there was no current known solution didn’t mean one didn’t exist.

As Lin Ming thought this, he began to step towards Situ Yaoyue, one steady pace at a time.

At that time, Situ Yaoyue was already on the verge of death. She lay upon a rock, her bloody arms hanging down at strange angles as wisps of blood fled from her body like small winding snakes.

All of her bones had been shattered. Her face was wet with blood and her crimson eyes were filled with shame and unwillingness.

This was her life’s greatest shame, and the greatest failure of her life! As she placed her ear on the ground, she could hear Lin Ming’s slowly approaching footsteps.

In a life or death battle, to be defeated meant death.

“Enough, it’s time for this to end.”

With a deep sigh, a black figure slowly appeared. This figure stood in front of Lin Ming, his hands crossed behind his back. This person was Situ Haotian.

Lin Ming wasn’t surprised to see Situ Haotian appear. How could the Asura Divine Emperor watch him slaughter the future hope of his Asura Divine Kingdom?

Lin Ming’s lips curved up in a taunting smile. “What is it? Does Your Majesty Haotian plan on using another a million spirit essence stones to purchase Situ Yaoyue’s life? The life of a future Asura Divine Emperor is quite ‘valuable’.”

Lin Ming didn’t conceal the mocking tone in his words. Situ Haotian cared enough about face that he could watch Situ Luosha die, but he absolutely would not let Situ Yaoyue perish here. Even if he had to drop every ounce of face he had until it was sweeping the ground, he still had to save Situ Yaoyue’s life. This was not only because she had hopes of becoming a first class powerhouse on the level of the Nine Furnace Highest Divine Emperor, but also because she was the direct bloodline descendant of the Situ Family Clan and the future candidate to become the ruler of the Asura Divine Kingdom!

To use a million spirit essence stones to buy the life of a future Divine Emperor was in itself a great irony.

As Situ Haotian heard Lin Ming’s words, his expression suddenly became gloomy and dire. Situ Yaoyue and Situ Luosha were different. He had already expected that keeping her life would not be easy or cheap, but he didn’t expect Lin Ming to directly ridicule him.

“You little beast, you actually dare to threaten us? You really have no idea of death or danger! Do you really not believe that I’ll slap you to death with a single palm?” A figure flashed and an old woman appeared beside Situ Haotian. Her body was slightly bent with age but her eyes were blazing with utter hatred. She was Situ Yaoxi. “Yaoyue has already been wounded so severely and yet you still want to threaten us. Do you really think that we won’t do anything to you just because you have the Forsaken God Clan as your backer? You better fuck off right now or I’ll have your head rolling on the ground!”

Situ Yaoxi roared and the aura of a Divine Sea powerhouse erupted from her like a howling storm towards Lin Ming. However, Lin Ming only sneered, not even taking a single step backwards. It was like he wasn’t even affected at all.

When he was at the late Revolving Core realm, he had already been able to rely on his dual force fields to forcefully resist Situ Haotian’s immense pressure, much less resisting Situ Yaoxi’s pressure with his current Life Destruction cultivation.

“You!!” As Situ Yaoxi saw Lin Ming not even care about her threatening aura, her complexion became much uglier. Her rage had reached the limit! This rage finally turned into a horrifying killing intent that caused her to lose all reasoning. Situ Yaoxi suddenly raised her palm and slammed it towards Lin Ming!

“You little beast, die for me!” Situ Yaoxi only had one thought percolating in her mind now, and that was to kill Lin Ming! No matter how talented Lin Ming was, in this situation where they dropped all pretense of honor and violently killed him, everything would be finished! Even if they killed him right here, what could the Forsaken God Clan possibly do? Would they start a war against the Asura Divine Kingdom just for some revenge? Although this was a ruinous and greatly shameful event that would cause all the martial artists of the world to look down at the Asura Divine Kingdom with contempt, Situ Yaoxi simply didn’t consider any of this. At this time, how could she possibly care about such matters!?

Hu-!

A black demon claw emerged from thin air, grasping towards Lin Ming!

Lin Ming had already begun retreating as he heard Situ Yaoxi’s killing intent manifest. With an extreme speed known as unrivalled below the Divine Sea, how could he let himself be easily killed here?

After defeating Situ Yaoyue, Lin Ming already proved that he had a top class strength equal to or greater than a seventh stage Life Destruction powerhouse. Although he was still weaker than a Divine Sea Supreme Elder, the difference wasn’t too far off. And with the Gate of Wonder and ‘Golden Roc Shattering the Void’, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Lin Ming already had the power to maintain his life in front of the weakest of Divine Sea powerhouses. In the worst case scenario, holding out for four or five moves wasn’t a problem at all!

“You demonic bitch, do you want to die!?”

Shibai’s heart blazed with anger and he stepped forwards. The masked old man behind him also rushed ahead, his speed even faster than Shibai.

Ho – !

With a loud shout, before the masked old man arrived, a silver sword light shot through the void like a shimmering rainbow, instantly slicing into Situ Yaoxi’s demon claw!

The masked old man was less than a mile away from Situ Yaoxi. For a Divine Sea Supreme Elder, that distance wouldn’t even take the blink of an eye to cross, and martial artists’ attacks were faster than their movements to begin with!

Kacha!

Situ Yaoxi’s demon claw was shorn apart by the silver sword light sent out by the masked old man. The sword light continued unabated, slashing straight towards Situ Yaoxi’s throat!

One side was a close range eruption and the other side was a long distance attack. Yet, the result was that Situ Yaoxi’s demon claw was instantly broken apart. The difference in their strength was as clear as night and day!

As Situ Yaoxi saw this silver sword light cut towards her, she was greatly shocked. Her strength originally wasn’t considered too powerful amongst Divine Sea powerhouses, and she was already quite old. It was impossible for her to block this masked old man’s attack.

Situ Haotian frowned. He also didn’t expect that Situ Yaoxi would suddenly act in such a manner, but since they had already dropped any veneer of civility, he naturally couldn’t allow his own side to weaken in momentum.

He took a sudden step forwards and smashed his fist at the rapidly approaching silver sword light.

Peng!

The sword light shattered into pieces, turning into a brilliant silver radiance that spread out in all directions, causing everyone to feel as if they had been blinded.

At this time, Lin Ming had already withdrawn a mile away without harm. Then a slightly old and pleasant voice sounded out in his ears, “Little Friend, be careful behind you.”

Mm!?!?

A feeling of intense catastrophe suddenly appeared in Lin Ming’s mind. Without further thought he stepped on Golden Roc Shattering the Void, instantly vanishing.

Bang!

The ground where Lin Ming had been standing violently exploded with the strength to shake mountains and rivers. The earth cracked apart, leaving deep and long fissures. Lin Ming turned around to see the white-haired Situ Bonan standing there. He held a black spear in his hands, his ugly old face filled with hostility and displeasure.

“How unfortunate, I was just a bit off.” Situ Bonan cursed. He had thought he had hidden himself very well, but he never imagined that Lin Ming’s perception would be so sensitive.

This damned old geezer!

Lin Ming was startled, his heart simmering with fury and anger. He had actually been attacked on both sides. While Situ Yaoxi and Situ Haotian’s attacks had attracted Shibai and the masked old man’s attention, Situ Bonan had used this chance to aim a sneak attack at him.

After all, the Forsaken God Clan only had two Divine Sea powerhouses present. The third one was managing the array formation within the Realmheart Great Hall. Being outnumbered, they were stretched to protect Lin Ming.

‘Once I have enough strength, I will absolutely kill those old fossils Situ Bonan and Situ Yaoxi!’ Lin Ming carved this thought into his heart, his killing intent roiling off of his body. Even though he had defeated Situ Yaoyue, his strength was still lacking. Without strength, he could only let others knead and humiliate him, even if he were the future highest under the heavens.