Too astonishing!
No wonder Luo Ba dared to challenge Ling Han to a duel to the death. His abilities had actually increased several fold, no, perhaps even over a dozen fold, in the short time of a few days.
“Haha, true enough, battle prowess of 21 Stars of Shattering Void Tier!” Ye Chengyuan laughed loudly. He immediately shot out, and charged towards Luo Ba.
Peng! Peng!
The two exchanged another two blows, and the fight was still undecided.
“Is this enough?” Luo Ba asked coldly. His target was Ling Han.
“Has it been three moves already?” Ye Chengyuan said in discontent. “All right, then when you’re done fighting, we can still have a spar.” He sensed that he had reached a bottleneck. In the Shattering Void Tier, there was none that could match him, and he was incapable of advancing further.
Yet Luo Ba had actually reached battle prowess of 21 Stars of Shattering Void Tier, which gave him a bit of hope. Perhaps if he battled endlessly with Luo Ba, he might be able to break through his stagnancy.
Although Luo Ba was internally feeling very displeased, he also knew that Ye Chengyuan was a close rival for him. The two of them would possibly have to fight for a few days and nights before the victor could be decided, and where would he have that kind of time to waste right now? He was impatient to defeat and kill Ling Han.
He quickly advanced and arrived at the plaza halfway up the mountain. Looking at Ling Han, who was currently resting with his eyes closed, he smirked coldly, and said, “I really never imagined that you would actually dare accept the challenge!”
If the previous battle with Ye Chengyuan had not taken place, everyone would’ve definitely said that Luo Ba boasting shamelessly. Ling Han was an emperor that had come through opening the skies. That was an absolute guarantee of battle prowess of 20 Stars of Shattering Void Tier, and if there was power of the nation to give him an additional boost, it would be a piece of cake for him to surpass 20 Stars.
But now, everyone knew that Luo Ba’s ability had reached 21 Stars of Shattering Void Tier!
Even if this power was not his own, but rather obtained after refining a Bloodtear Stone, this could not change the fact that he was now incomparably powerful.
Would Ling Han… still dare to accept the challenge?
It was not absolute that either party had to die in a duel to death to decide the outcome, and either side could completely give up the fight midway. A duel to death only meant that if one of the fighters died, there was absolutely no need for the other party to bear any responsibility at all.
Ling Han was just pondering on the profound mysteries of the Seven Kill Subduing Soul Technique. In the eyes of others, Luo Ba was powerful to the extent that he could not be opposed. However, in his eyes… so what if his battle prowess was 21 Stars? A careless slap and he would be smacked to death, so was there any need to take particular note of him?
His thoughts having been interrupted, he was naturally not going to be in a good mood, and the expression on his face immediately revealed that.
Others did not know that, and thought that Ling Han was afraid. They all shook their heads covertly, thinking that this battle was probably not going to happen.
Ling Han stretched out a hand, and asked, “What about the payment for my participation?”
Pu . Abruptly, a great many choked.
‘You are really greedy for money, aren’t you? Didn’t you see how awesome Luo Ba was just now?’
Yet Luo Ba laughed loudly, and carelessly tossed out 10 True Origin Stones, saying coldly, “This is for you to arrange your funeral!”
Sigh, after extorting 2,000 True Origin Stones from the Luo Clan, this mere sum of 10 True Origin Stones seemed to have lost its attractiveness all of a sudden. Still, it was better than nothing. If he did not take it, it would be a waste anyways. No one would grumble about having too much money anyway—no matter how much they already had.
Ling Han put away the True Origin Stones, and asked, “There’s another hundred?”
“You think you can defeat me?” Luo Ba was instantly infuriated.
Ling Han snickered, and said, “Rules are rules; where do you come up with all this nonsense? Are you going to fight or not? If not, I’m going home to sleep.”
“Yes!” Luo Ba gritted his teeth, and took out 100 True Origin Stones with another wave of his hand.
This time, Ling Han did not put them away. After all, the battle was not won yet. However, it was only a matter of time.
“Can we fight now?” Luo Ba asked sinisterly, the killing intent in his heart boiling.
‘Just take this chance to win the verbal battle now, but later… you’re finished!’
In the Academy, there were also a few higher-ups that had come to observe the battle, though they stood quite far away. One of them was Luo Kaifeng—a junior of his own clan was involved in a duel to death, so he naturally had to pay attention. There was also Zhang Deman. He was quite fond of Ling Han, and was of a mind to take him as his disciple.
In addition, Wei Qianshu was also present. Since the last time he had been dragged along by Luo Kaifeng, he had also become interested in Ling Han.
Duels to death were very uncommon nowadays, what more when both sides possessed extremely high battle prowess.
There were many spectators, and the students in the Shattering Void Tier division of the Northern Institution numbered the most. There were also some from the other three Institutions, but altogether, they were fewer than the students from the Northern Institution.
“Let’s fight, then. Where do you come up with so much nonsense? Are you afraid of death?” Ling Han asked, smiling.
Luo Ba was enraged half to death; it was obviously you that had been spouting too much nonsense, all right? However, the battle finally began now. Haha, he would slowly torture Ling Han, and make the other suffer in his agony for daring to actually slap him.
Xiu , he pounced out, and shot out a palm strike. The image of the Divine Beast, Imperial River, appeared once more, bringing along a great power of dominance with it.
Ling Han placed his left arm behind his back, and was standing in a very casual pose. He waited until Luo Ba had come close enough. Then, he waved out a palm and pressed down on Luo Ba. Multiple divine patterns interwove together, forming an incredibly complex pattern.
Earth Overturning Seal!
Peng!
With a palm strike, Luo Ba was undoubtedly sent flying. Then, his body split apart in midair, separating into pieces and producing a shower of blood.
Pa , his corpse landed on the ground, his expression one of disbelief. It seemed like he was wondering why he was smacked to death with a single slap when he obviously had battle prowess of 21 Stars.
This was illogical, and unacceptable!
All around was dead silence, and the only thing that could be heard was the whistling wind.
Who would have thought that the previously awe-inspiring Luo Ba would actually be smacked to death with a single palm strike! Was this really a f****** elite who had battle prowess of 21 Stars of Shattering Void Tier, and not a fly?
No, no, no. Luo Ba was definitely not a fly. On the contrary, he was incredibly powerful, and exchanged three blows with Ye Chengyuan with neither coming out on top. This was enough to prove that he was powerful.
Everyone felt their scalps go numb; it was because Ling Han was even more powerful.
What kind of battle prowess was this?
22 Stars?
Actually, the majority did not have much of an idea how much strength could be attained with every improvement of a single Star of battle prowess from 20 Stars onwards. That was because it only existed in theory and legends, so how could it be measured in detail?
Ye Chengyuan felt a muscle twitch in his cheek, and his whole body was covered with cold sweat. Ling Han’s power caused him to lose even the courage to issue a challenge.
Chapter 926 - False Charges
Translator: Henyee Translatio
ns Editor: Henyee Translations
“I knew it!” In the distance, Li Weiwei waved her fist excitedly. She had guessed that Ling Han’s battle prowess might have reached 23 Stars of Shattering Void Tier. Thus, with the advantage of an additional two Stars, he could easily suppress his opponent.
Ji Yun’er was also shocked. She had thought that the battle prowess of 20 Stars of Shattering Void Tier was already invincible in this realm, and 21 Stars was practically a myth, but not only had two such people appeared today, one of them was even killed on the spot by a single strike.
Could it be that Ling Han was actually at the level of the Mountain River Tier?
“Ba’er!” Luo Kaifeng rushed out like a gust of wind, his expression twisted, looking like he was going to devour someone.
Luo Ba was the strongest genius of the Luo Clan in a hundred years, so the clan had spent enormous effort in obtaining a Bloodtear Stone for him to refine; this would be beneficial even for cultivators of the Sun Moon Tier and Mountain River Tier.
But now, Luo Ba was killed by a single swat like a fly.
How could he accept this?
His eyes were bloodshot as he shouted, “How dare you, you dare to commit murder within the Academy? I will kill you!” He reached out blatantly, one palm open, and made a clapping motion towards Ling Han.
When a cultivator of the Sun Moon Tier attacked, even if he was only at the minor levels, how terrifying would his power be?
If Ling Han were to take the hit, he would definitely be crushed to death. How could his body of Level One Godly metal withstand the almighty attack from a cultivator of the Sun Moon Tier?
“Really too shameless!” Li Weiwei was stomping her feet in the distance, yet she was powerless, standing too far away to block the attack.
Ji Yun’er also furrowed her long, shapely eyebrows, but consoled Li Wei Wei, “Rest assured, the elites of the Academy won’t let him mess around!”
True enough, when Luo Kaifeng made his move, both Zhang Deman and Wei Qianshu also moved at the same time and intercepted him, saying, “Brother Luo, please control yourself!”
The two of them had joined forces, and naturally blocked Luo Kaifeng’s attempted attack with ease.
Ling Han appeared calm; he did not feel even the slightest bit of nervousness.
This was the Academy. If Luo Kai Feng was allowed to commit murder here, that would really be a joke.
There had to be other elites at the higher levels of the Sun Moon Tier, or even at the level of Perfection thereof, who were quietly monitoring the Academy and could make their move at any time. It was just that there was no need for them to show themselves earlier.
Ling Han put away the pile of True Origin Stones on the ground—this was his stake earned from the bet.
It was a pity that Luo Ba’s body couldn’t be taken away by him; there ought to be a lot of good stuff inside his Spatial Spirit Tool.
“This brat killed a member of my Luo Clan! Am I supposed to just let him go?” Luo Kaifeng sneered. He was well aware that he couldn’t kill Ling Han on the spot, but deliberately put up a front of uncontrollable anger in order to prepare for the excuse which he would later give.
Old foxes like him might be impulsive, but would also promptly settle down. The instant that he’d rushed out, he had already thought of an idea.
Zhang Deman humphed, and said, “This was a duel to death. Both sides had agreed to it. If one party had died in battle, then that person could only blame himself for being inferior in strength.”
“That’s not what happened here!” Luo Kaifeng shook his head, and said solemnly, “Before, I had clearly heard that Luo Ba said ‘please stop’ and I ‘concede defeat’, but the evil brat neither cared nor acknowledged it, and insisted on striking out. This doesn’t conform to the rules of a duel to death.”
F***!
When the others heard the words of Luo Kaifeng, all of them cursed inwardly—they had all seen seen plenty of shameless people, but never one so shameless! Was this person truly an elite of the Sun Moon Tier? How could he be so shameless?
Luo Ba was killed on the spot by Ling Han with a single blow, so how would there be any time for him to admit defeat?
In fact, Luo Kaifeng couldn’t care less; for people like he who had achieved such a high status, would he bother with the views of others? If he was unhappy, he could directly suppress and kill anyone.
“How come I didn’t hear anything?” Zhang Deman queried, feeling displeased.
“Then one could only say that the cultivation of Brother Zhang is still lacking slightly,” Luo Kaifeng said laughingly. He looked over at Wei Qianshu with a cool gaze. “Brother Wei must have heard it, right?”
Wei Qianshu felt shocked; the other party’s sentence was full of threats.
If he said no, then it would be directly going against the Luo Clan. He himself was fearless; even though he did not have any powerful backing, he had reached the height of his current cultivation based on his own strength. However, it did not mean that he had no descendants.
It wasn’t as if he did not know about Luo Clan’s conduct; they would do anything.
Which was more important, conscience or family? Was a cultivator from a small world more important than his own family?
Wei Qianshu sighed inwardly, saying, “I seemed to have heard Luo Ba said ‘concede defeat’.”
He used the two words ‘I seemed’ so as to leave some leeway for himself.
Zhang Deman was seething with anger; this was really too shameless! But, like Wei Qianshu, he was also a lone cultivator without any powerful backing to support him. In his heart, he was aware that if the Luo Clan wished to manipulate the outcome at any cost, they could practically twist the facts to their favor.
“Luo Kaifeng, you’ve done so many shameful deeds. Have you no fear of ghosts knocking upon your door in the middle of the night, or being unable to sleep in peace?” he said in a low voice.
“Haha, I am a cultivator, what is there to fear?” Luo Kaifeng said softly, then turned to look at Wei Qianshu. “Brother Wei, this brat has violated the rules of the Academy. I suppose he ought to be expelled?”
When everyone heard this, they all thought that Luo Kaifeng was ruthless indeed.
Without the protection of Scarlet Heaven Academy, what was Ling Han? Any person at the level of the Mountain River Tier could kill him at any time.
Ling Han remained calm and collected. Could the Luo Clan really hide the truth from the masses within Scarlet Heaven Academy?
Wei Qianshu was put in an extremely difficult position; this Luo Kaifeng not only just dragged him into a messy affair, but also intended to make him an accomplice in his sinister plan all the way. But, he had already been untrue to his own convictions earlier, so now there was already no way out for him. Otherwise, he would get in trouble at both sides of the fence.
He clenched his teeth, and was just about to open his mouth when he saw a white shadow flash past him. On the shoulder of Ling Han, there sat a big white cat.
There was nothing strange about cats. Within the Imperial Capital, there was quite a number of people rearing Demon Tigers, such as the Precious Flame Blue-Patterned Tiger and the Ice Genesis Tiger, while some could even reach the level of the Mountain River Tier. In contrast, the cat in front was just at the level of the Shattering Void Tier.
The problem was that everyone in the Academy knew that there was one cat that couldn’t be provoked.
Luo Kaifeng was also stumped for words. Of course, he knew that Lord Academy Head had a cat he spoilt to no end. Whoever dared to touch this cat would be destroyed by him. But, this cat actually crouched upon Ling Han’s shoulder… What was the meaning of this?
Just a coincidence? Or, could it be…
He couldn’t help but shudder. If Ling Han had the backing of an elite of the Heavenly Body Tier, then even if the entire Luo Clan were to band together, they would be absolutely no match for the other party, and could be killed with a single finger.
>
“Meow!” The white cat swept his gaze across the crowd in annoyance. ‘Don’t you all know that I am already hungry, yet you all still refuse to let Ling Han go home to prepare a meal for me?’
At this moment, Ling Han gave a faint smile, and said, “I am about to be driven out of the Academy, right? Then, big white cat, you will come along with me henceforth, and have all the meat that you can eat!”
“Meow!” The big white cat nodded arrogantly.
A Demon Beast of the Shattering Void Tier would certainly be intelligent; thus, it was not at all strange for it to have such a human-like reaction. However, both Luo Kaifeng and Wei Qianshu were scared out of their wits.
If they were to allow Ling Han to abduct the big white cat, who would bear the consequences in the event Lord Academy Head was to discover this and flip out?
“Lord Cat, come over here! I have plenty of delicious food too,” Luo Kaifeng said hastily. Since Ling Han could use food to tempt this demon cat, then why couldn’t he use the same trick?
The big white cat became agitated with anger. ‘Did he really think that I’m just a gluttonous cat? That I would side with anyone that gave me food?
‘If it weren’t for this human called Ling Han, who had a humble enough and sincere attitude, given this Lord Cat’s arrogance— no, pride, would I have agreed to befriend him? Just who do you think you are?’
Chapter 927 - Deal
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Meow!” The big white cat purred before charging out at Luo Kaifeng.
Its speed was very swift, and there was practically none in the Shattering Void Tier who could compare to it. But, who was the opponent here? A Sun Moon Tier cultivator! In that case, naturally it would not pose any threat to Luo Kaifeng, but the problem was Luo Kaifeng dared not strike back, and merely kept dodging its attacks.
An elite of the Sun Moon Tier was actually being chased around in circles by a Shattering Void Tier individual… Probably only this demon cat was capable of achieving such a feat.
After chasing for a while, the big white cat jumped back onto Ling Han’s shoulder, and arrogantly combed through its whiskers while unsheathing its claws. Its expression was implying “Which one of you dares to bully my people? I will not let you off lightly.”
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 474