Chapter 81: Killing You Is Like Killing a Chicken
Ling Fan glanced at the Lei Ming crowd, his eyebrows raised slightly. These people really were relentless.
Fan Zhan and his companions staggered to their feet, their hearts heavy. They had just acknowledged their leader; could it really be that their end was approaching so soon?
Ling Fan paid no attention to the secretive murmurs of the crowd or the mockery from the Lei Ming group. He simply couldn't be bothered—it was meaningless. As long as he knocked Xiong Tianlu down, all other voices would be silenced.
Xiong Tianlu looked at Ling Fan, who was stepping onto the Fighting Stage, and said in a deep voice, "Will you end it yourself, or should I help you?"
"Heh heh, are you that confident? I can treat what you said just now as farting. I'm giving you a clear way out now, kneel down and kowtow to apologize, call me 'Grandpa' three times, and I may spare your miserable life!" Ling Fan said indifferently.
When these words were spoken, the crowd was once again in uproar. They were now numbed, having realized that no matter what the time or situation, Ling Fan always remained so indifferent, as if courting death with his defiance.
Indeed, a master falls at the feet of another only to act unruffled even as a ghost. The crowd couldn't help but admire him profoundly!
Shen Tie's complexion darkened slightly. He did not fancy Ling Fan's personality much; if Ling Fan would show some weakness now, beg for mercy, there might still be a glimmer of hope for him.
But this man simply didn't know how to bend the knee. This kind of unbending nature could inevitably lead to disadvantages in society and might even make it difficult to fit in among people, resulting in an out-of-place existence. Whether in business or politics, he wouldn't likely achieve much.
"Hmph, still so tough-mouthed at death's door. Since you have no last words, then be on your way!" Xiong Tianlu shouted coldly, his figure exploding into action.
Ling Fan's eyes brightened slightly. In two years, he hadn't encountered a worthy opponent, someone who could give him a thrilling fight, and he couldn't help feeling itchy for action.
The onlookers around the stage watched the two about to clash and whispered, "Who do you think will win?"
"Of course, Xiong Tianlu will win. Didn't you see that even Director Shen couldn't be his match?" one person asserted.
"But, Xiong Tianlu used three moves to defeat Fan Zhan's trio, whereas Ling Fan only used one move!" another person said hesitantly.
"That... Fan Zhan's trio were only sparring with Ling Fan, perhaps they didn't use their full strength, and there was also an element of underestimation..." the first speaker said with some uncertainty.
Just then, the two on the stage exchanged blows in an instant, fists like shadows, palms like wind, the 'bang bang' sounds were incessant!
It was as if two spinning tops were whirling at high speed on the Fighting Stage, and to the crowd's astonishment, it was Ling Fan who was pummeling Xiong Tianlu.
This scene left the onlookers dumbfounded and in disbelief.
Shen Tie widened his eyes, unable to utter a word; his thoughts were in chaos, especially when he had just looked down upon Ling Fan's arrogance.
Su Qiong covered her mouth in surprise, her beautiful eyes flickering with boundless delight; Zhou Siyu clasped her hands tightly, more excited than anyone else at the moment.
Xu Miaotong and He Jiayi both opened their mouths wide, then showed faces full of excitement and thrill.
The people from Lei Ming Martial Arts Pavilion were completely dumbfounded, as if they had been hit by a Binding Spell.
At this moment, if anyone was the most shocked, it had to be Xiong Tianlu on the stage. His heart was swept by a tidal wave, and his arms were numb and tingling.
After repelling Xiong Tianlu with a palm, Ling Fan shouted, "Thrilling! Take another punch from me!"
Ling Fan, fighting spiritedly, had not felt this liberated for a long time. He immediately brought his strength to its peak. Previously, he had used only brute force, but now he evidently employed the Holy Martial Nine Forms, unleashing the Heaven-Cutting Fist, roaring like a tiger in the forest.
Xiong Tianlu, pushed into a corner of the Fighting Stage, faced the soaring punch from Ling Fan and turned pale with fright. If he took the hit, he would surely be blown off the stage. He never dreamed the young man he had looked down on would be so troublesome.
In his panic and haste, he barely avoided Ling Fan's potent punch.
"Boom!" came a sound.
Ling Fan's punch missed, striking the corner pillar and actually breaking the massive stone column.
The onlookers fell dead silent, and Xiong Tianlu's face changed drastically, becoming serious.
"This... this strength?" Fan Zhan opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
"This... is this the real power of our boss?" Jiang Shi swallowed hard, murmuring to himself.
Zuo Zhengqing took a deep breath, "This... must be the force of a hundred thousand pounds, right?"
Looking at the people from Lei Ming Martial Arts Pavilion, all of them had ashen faces.
"No... this is impossible, absolutely impossible. How can he be so strong?" Su Ziming stared fixedly at the broken pillar, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Lei Ming's heart seized with a sharp pain, feeling as if a loud slap had just hit his own face. He had just been looking forward to Ling Fan's fatal embarrassment, even deriding him. As this crossed his mind, he almost collapsed to the ground!
At this time, Xiong Tianlu wore a solemn face, "Kid, I underestimated you. Being able to die by my secret technique, you should feel proud!" he exclaimed.
"Hmm?"
The surrounding onlookers were once again astonished. Xiong Tianlu still had a card up his sleeve?
Upon hearing this, Shen Tie also showed a look of horror, as this secret technique was not something that just anyone could cultivate.
In an instant, Xiong Tianlu let out a thunderous roar to the sky, and a series of crackling explosive sounds emanated from his body. In the blink of an eye, his body swelled at a visible rate, bursting his clothes to reveal muscles hard as rocks.
"Eh?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Ling Fan's eyes.
"Have you actually cultivated the Fan Sect's Life-sacrifice Technique?"
"You actually know about the Life-sacrifice Technique?" Xiong Tianlu, who had completed his transformation, said in surprise.
"This technique can only be used seven times in one's life, and after the seventh, one will die of depleted essence blood. This must be your first time using it, otherwise, you wouldn't have done it so readily!" Ling Fan said calmly.
Xiong Tianlu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Since you know, then go to die!"
Having said that, his figure burst forth in a flash. After using the secret technique, his strength and speed had increased several times over compared to before.
In the next moment, when faced with Xiong Tianlu's attack, Ling Fan did not dodge but took the blow directly.
In an instant, he felt a great force transmitted to him, and his body shot backward, gouging out a deep trench on the Fighting Stage.
The onlooking crowd was completely stunned; Ling Fan, who had been in total control just now, had been defeated in a flash!
The use of the Life-sacrifice Technique also came with a time limit – it would wear off after an hour, leaving the body in an extremely weakened state.
If he had used the Gui Xu Dance Method to dodge continuously, consuming an hour of the opponent's time would naturally break the technique without a fight, but he simply didn't have the time to waste.
The spectators from Lei Ming Martial Arts Pavilion were like fish being fried in oil, one moment plunged into the Hell Abyss, the next feeling like they had ascended to heaven.
They cursed Xiong Tianlu in their hearts, 'If you had this killer move, why didn't you use it earlier and save us the trouble?'
Ling Fan felt the power in his arm and inwardly sighed, his own strength was still too weak; he needed to recover it quickly.
At this moment, he felt an intense desire to regain his strength because he realized that with just his physical strength alone, he couldn't beat Xiong Tianlu, who had used the Life-sacrifice Technique.
This was just an ordinary strong opponent he was facing; as he progressed, he would encounter stronger and stronger people, especially those bigshots from the underground Martial Arts World. How could he return as a king with his current strength?
He had already decided in his heart that after this, he would need to make a trip to Zhongnan Mountain, hoping the old man hadn't lied to him.
"Kid, how does it feel?" Xiong Tianlu laughed heartily, his voice thunderous.
"Not bad, I'm not your match right now!" Ling Fan said as he regathered his thoughts and slowly stood straight.
As soon as Ling Fan uttered these words, Su Qiong and the others felt their hearts descend into chaos, filled with endless worry and tension.
The crowd from Lei Ming Martial Arts Pavilion felt as if they had been lifted into the clouds, their hearts overtaken by an indescribable delight, like a drowning person coming back to life.
Fan Zhan and the other two felt their hearts sink to the bottom of the valley. Ling Fan had always possessed a calm and composed demeanor regardless of the situation, but now, for the first time, he openly admitted his inferiority.
Everyone watching was silent, and no one laughed in ridicule; at this moment, they all hoped more than anything that Ling Fan could create a miracle.
"However, killing you is like slaughtering a chicken!" Ling Fan said again, nonchalantly.
He then turned and looked at Bai Xin, who was holding Zi Qiong's sword, "Lend me your sword for a moment!"
Bai Xin, momentarily in a daze, instinctively tossed the Three-foot Green Blade in Ling Fan's direction.
The crowd watching below was once again shaken by Ling Fan's calm demeanor, as if reminded again of Great God Ling's unflappable presence.
"Arrogant fool, let's see how I take your head!" Xiong Tianlu roared in anger, like a high-speed moving tank crazily charging towards Ling Fan.
Faced with the madly rushing Xiong Tianlu, Ling Fan shook the long sword in his hand and called out, "Eighteen Forms of Limitlessness, First Form, Thunderclap Sky-breaker!"
In the blink of an eye, the long sword left a fleeting dazzling trail through the air, while Ling Fan's movements became a flurry of flashes, and in an instant, he passed by Xiong Tianlu's side.
The next second, time seemed to freeze, the two stood back to back, with Ling Fan's long sword pointing diagonally to the ground.
To everyone's shock, they saw a streak of blood emerging, expanding on the motionless Xiong Tianlu's forehead. After a few breaths, he collapsed, his eyes still wide open in disbelief, the sword having pierced his skull.
Ling Fan looked at the long sword in his hand, nodded slightly, Thunderclap Sky-breaker, swift beyond compare – its speed unstoppable!
"I told you, killing you is like slaughtering a chicken. Did you think I was bluffing!" Ling Fan muttered to himself.
The people from Lei Ming had just felt like they were soaring through the clouds but now had crashed into the depths of Hell.
"Bang!"
In the silent scene, a sound suddenly broke the quiet, and the spectators turned to look, only to see Su Ziming overcome with rage and unable to catch his breath, fainting on the spot.
Director Lei Ming himself collapsed on the ground, trembling uncontrollably!