Chapter 46: Astonishing Defense

Ling Yixue finally struck back.

As she thrust out both palms, the air instantly froze, and frost began to bloom across Ling Tieshou's body.

Shocked, Ling Tieshou scrambled backward in haste.

However, it was of little use. Although Ling Yixue's movement techniques were inferior to Ling Xiao's, they were superior to Ling Tieshou's. A single palm strike landed squarely on Ling Tieshou's chest.

The upper half of Ling Tieshou's body froze instantly.

"Ling Yixue wins!"

The referee delivered the judgment promptly; the result had been quite obvious.

Upon hearing the referee's voice, Ling Yixue withdrew her slender hands, and the layer of ice shattered instantly.

Cold sweat poured down Ling Tieshou's back. He looked at Ling Yixue in terror and said, "I am no match for you!"

He knew deep down that if Ling Yixue had attacked with full strength from the very beginning, he might not have lasted three moves.

"Senior Sister Yixue's strength is too great! Ling Tieshou, ranked fourth, was defeated so easily!"

The experts of the Elite Hall were all wearing expressions of astonishment.

They knew Ling Yixue was formidable, but they hadn't expected her to be this powerful.

They still clearly remembered that a month ago, Ling Yixue had fought Ling Tieshou.

While Ling Yixue had won then, it had been a pyrrhic victory.

But today, she had won with such ease and grace.

"I fear that within the Elite Hall, only Ling Yihang and Ling Feng are qualified to compete with Ling Yixue."

"No, Ling Yixue definitely isn't Ling Yihang's match. That monster Ling Yihang has already broken through to the fourth level of the Martial Vein. However, Ling Feng might be able to hold his own against Ling Yixue."

Regardless, the top three of the Elite Hall remained the top three.

At this point, Ling Yihang, Ling Yixue, and Ling Feng were all undefeated; no one could challenge their positions.

Naturally, these three had become the focus of everyone's attention.

Whether the dominance of the Genius Hall could be challenged depended entirely on these three.

As for Ling Xiao.

Although his performance was outstanding, in the eyes of most, he still could not be compared to the top three.

After watching the match between Ling Yixue and Ling Tieshou, Ling Xiao returned to the martial stage.

Because he was facing his next opponent.

A relatively formidable one, at that.

This person was Ling Cheng. Because he had lost to Ling Feng, his rank had dropped to fifth.

Even so, he remained a very distinctive figure among the top ten of the Elite Hall.

His most terrifying attribute was his mastery of external tempering. If one could not break through his defense, they could only wait to be crushed by him.

So far, Ling Cheng had only lost two matches—one to Ling Yihang and one to Ling Yixue—both of which were via automatic surrender.

Since he had not yet encountered Ling Feng or Ling Tieshou, his record was quite impressive.

"Ling Xiao, you should just surrender voluntarily. I don't want to waste my energy on you; I need to save my true qi to deal with Ling Feng!"

Ling Cheng had once lost to Ling Feng and had been seeking revenge ever since.

He didn't take Ling Xiao seriously at all; his eyes were only on Ling Feng.

Below the stage, those who disliked Ling Xiao were gloating.

*You thought you could be arrogant, kid? Now you've run into a real powerhouse!*

To be fair, their gloating wasn't entirely without reason.

After all, up to this point, the strongest opponent Ling Xiao had faced was this Ling Cheng.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Ling Cheng, I will help you defeat Ling Feng!"

Ling Xiao said indifferently.

"You brat, how arrogant! Do you think Ling Feng is someone you can defeat? You're refusing a graceful exit. Fine then, I'll defeat you in three moves to avoid wasting my strength."

Ling Xiao smiled. "I heard Senior Brother Ling Cheng's external tempering is excellent. It just so happens that my 'Savage Bull Strength' can also be used for external tempering. Why don't you try three moves, Senior Brother? If I lose, I will surrender automatically."

He was returning exactly what he had received—an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

*You look down on me, so I look down on you.*

"You!"

Ling Cheng was gnashing his teeth in anger. He had always held himself in high regard; he never expected that some nobody would dare to despise him.

"You're asking for this, don't blame me!"

Ling Xiao said no more. He stood there and activated the basic martial art, *Savage Bull Strength*.

However, this time it was not for offense, but for defense.

True qi adhered to the surface of his body, forming a thin film that was almost visible to the naked eye.

Though it looked like a mere film, its defensive power was staggering.

"This kid has truly brought the *Savage Bull Strength* to life!"

An old man in the referee's seat remarked with emotion. "To be able to use *Savage Bull Strength* for defense... I fear that is only possible after reaching the Transformation Realm. In our Ling family, he might be the only one capable of it."

"Hmph, mere pretension!"

Ling Cheng clenched his fists, which were wrapped in a layer of golden true qi, making them look as if they were cast from solid gold.

That terrifying power was absolutely no less than an attack using a weapon.

"What powerful strength!"

"Indeed, that must be the high-level fist technique, 'Vajra Fist,' combined with the external tempering technique 'Vajra Skill.' The power must be immense!"

"Haha, everyone knows Ling Cheng's defense is incredible, but many don't realize he is the only genius capable of using external tempering for offense. Even Ling Feng or Ling Yixue wouldn't dare to take his attacks head-on."

"Ling Xiao is being too reckless!"

The discussions of the crowd said it all; no one was rooting for Ling Xiao. They all felt he had become arrogant due to his winning streak.

Before, because his opponents were mediocre, it didn't matter, but to act this way against Ling Cheng, ranked fifth in the Elite Hall, was simply seeking death.

Listening to the crowd, Ling Xiao merely smiled faintly.

He knew exactly what Ling Cheng's level was; his Mountain-River Martial Soul had analyzed it long ago. In truth, he wasn't much stronger than Ling Ziran, who was ranked second.

Both were peak third-level Martial Vein warriors using high-level martial arts.

The only difference lay in the power of their moves and their combat techniques.

In Ling Xiao's view, aside from the top three, everyone else in the Elite Hall could potentially challenge one another.

*BOOM—!*

Ling Cheng's dual fists slammed directly into Ling Xiao's body, producing a thunderous sound that caused the entire martial stage to shake several times.

However, to everyone's shock, Ling Xiao remained smiling, without even a single furrow in his brow.

"No way... is the defense of *Savage Bull Strength* really this terrifying?"

Ling Cheng was internally shocked, feeling as if ten thousand bulls had just charged through him. He was completely stunned.

After a single move, the difference in their strength was already apparent.

One stood motionless, while the attacker was actually forced back two steps before regaining his footing.

The crowd below was even more horrified, their hearts churning like violent seas.

To be honest, before Ling Xiao, no one had taken a basic martial art like *Savage Bull Strength* seriously.

They treated it merely as a stepping stone, discarding it once they learned higher-level techniques.

Who could have imagined that when wielded by Ling Xiao, *Savage Bull Strength* would become so terrifying?

Ling Cheng stabilized his stance, looking at Ling Xiao in terror. *This monster!*

This guy's defense was practically airtight!

Ling Xiao just smiled faintly, still standing there, with no intention of attacking.

Through the analysis of his Mountain-River Martial Soul, he had concluded that as long as an opponent was below the peak of the third-level Martial Vein and not using Astral Qi, they basically could not break his defense.

And this was merely his *Savage Bull Strength* in the Transformation Realm.

He hadn't even used his upgraded *Bull Demon Art: Savage Bull Demonization* yet.

Not to mention, he had the *Bull Demon Art: Qi Bursting Formula* to complement it.

Furthermore, he had not used a shred of Astral Qi so far.

He truly wondered who would be qualified to force him to use all his skills.

Would Ling Yihang be enough?

Or perhaps one of the top ten in the Genius Hall?

(End of Chapter)