Chapter 32: Seeking Death

Ling Tieshou let out a cold snort, and the aura surrounding his body suddenly grew even more powerful. Vaguely, one could almost see the shadow of a giant looming behind him.

This ferocious momentum was the true essence of the Giant Spirit God Palm!

"What great momentum! It's much more impressive than that waste, Ling Chong!"

Ling Xiao felt a jolt of excitement. He had to admit, Ling Tieshou was indeed formidable.

Standing opposite him, Ling Xiao could clearly feel a massive pressure surging toward him.

This was something Ling Chong could never have achieved.

"Giant Spirit God Palm, First Form!"

Ling Tieshou stepped forward and unleashed a palm strike, his body moving in tandem as he rapidly closed the distance to Ling Xiao.

The wind from the palm strike rushed toward his face, actually making it difficult to breathe.

With just the first form, Ling Tieshou's execution was several times stronger than Ling Chong's.

However.

Ling Xiao was no longer the waste with a first-tier Martial Vein of the past.

With a light tap of his foot, his body retreated rapidly. Ling Tieshou's palm strike was incomparably fierce, and he had no intention of meeting it head-on.

After all, the date of the Annual Grand Competition was drawing near; there was no need to expose his full strength at this time.

As long as he could endure ten moves, it would be enough.

"What exquisite lightness kung fu!"

"Ling Tieshou's movement technique isn't weak either!"

Ling Xiao continued to retreat, attempting to evade Ling Tieshou's palm strike, but his opponent was clearly no pushover. With a sudden burst of strength from his feet, Ling Tieshou's speed increased two or three times over, closing in directly.

"Impressive! So this is the strength of the fourth-ranked member of the Elite Hall. Truly remarkable!"

Ling Xiao was somewhat surprised in his heart.

Although he had not utilized his Mountain and River Martial Soul, nor had he used the *Bull Demon Technique*, relying solely on the *Soaring Cloud Steps* to evade the attacks, the fact that Ling Tieshou could force him to this extent meant the man truly had some skill.

At times, Ling Xiao even felt as if he wasn't facing Ling Tieshou, but a giant!

"Hehe, I'll just force you to reveal your full strength."

Thinking this, Ling Xiao increased his true qi and activated the third stage of the *Soaring Cloud Steps*, increasing his speed once more.

"Boom!"

In the end, Ling Tieshou's strike failed to hit Ling Xiao, slamming directly into the ground instead. The impact was so great that the stone tiles, which were a full foot thick, shattered instantly.

"Hahaha, Senior Brother Tieshou, I'm over here. Don't take it out on the bricks."

Ling Tieshou was fuming with rage, knowing that brute force likely wouldn't secure a victory.

Therefore, he immediately adopted a different combat method.

"Giant Spirit God Palm, Ninth Form: Heavenly Net and Earthly Grid!"

As this move was unleashed, the sky was filled with palm shadows, appearing as if there were no openings whatsoever.

Ling Xiao couldn't help but gasp. He hurriedly increased the intensity of his true qi and activated the fifth stage of the *Soaring Cloud Steps*, boosting his speed yet again.

Thus, a strange scene unfolded.

Ling Tieshou pursued relentlessly, his palm shadows blanketing the sky to shroud Ling Xiao.

Meanwhile, Ling Xiao darted back and forth like a cunning swallow.

"If you have the guts, fight him face-to-face! What's the point of running around!"

Seeing this, Ling Chong gritted his teeth in fury.

"What a joke. Once he can actually touch my clothes, I'll fight him face-to-face. My advantage is my movement technique; why wouldn't I use it?"

Ling Xiao's current goal was to create an illusion for everyone—that aside from his superior movement technique, everything else about him was mediocre.

After all, between his previous match with Ling Fei and his so-called "opportunistic" victory in the Fulong Mountains, it was absolutely impossible to succeed without excellent movement techniques.

Therefore, by acting this way, he could certainly make everyone believe it.

"He actually has the leisure to talk! This guy's movement technique is likely even more powerful than Ling Fei's!"

"Indeed, six moves have passed, and Ling Tieshou hasn't even touched his clothes."

The disciples of the clan couldn't help but cry out in astonishment.

"What should I do, Brother Feng? How can that little beggar be so powerful!"

Ling Yu was visibly panicking.

"What is there to fear? What use is speed alone? There are many ways to deal with movement techniques; otherwise, Ling Fei would have become the number one in the Elite Hall long ago!"

Although Ling Feng said this, he was also feeling nervous in his heart. Ling Xiao's progress gave him the sensation of being watched.

It was very uncomfortable.

But the one panicking the most was Ling Chong.

He had originally thought that once his cousin stepped in, a guy like Ling Xiao would be easily taken down.

It wouldn't even take ten moves.

But now, six moves had passed, and his cousin hadn't even managed to scratch a single hair on Ling Xiao. This left him utterly aghast.

Amidst this game of cat and mouse, the seventh move arrived quickly.

"You are strong! Truly strong! But dodging alone is useless!"

At the seventh move, Ling Tieshou suddenly stopped his hands and made a strange gesture.

"Brother Feng, what is Ling Tieshou doing?"

"That is a secret technique mastered by Ling Tieshou—Instant Strike!"

"Instant Strike?"

"Yes, it can instantaneously increase speed by more than ten times, specifically designed to deal with speed-type opponents! I've experienced it before; I almost fell to it. Ling Xiao is definitely finished this time."

After speaking, Ling Feng revealed a smile. He desperately wanted to see the scene of Ling Xiao being slammed to the ground by a single palm.

"Instant Strike: Giant Spirit God Palm!"

As the true qi within Ling Tieshou's body accumulated to a certain level, his entire being seemed to suddenly fly forward.

Because the speed was so immense, it looked like it happened in a single instant.

That was why it was called an Instant Strike!

Without time to think, sensing a massive threat, Ling Xiao once again pushed the *Soaring Cloud Steps* to the sixth stage!

His speed also suddenly increased several times over!

"Missed!"

"Heavens, what kind of movement technique is this Ling Xiao practicing? This speed is too fast! Could it be a high-level movement technique?"

"Again! Full power Instant Strike!"

Ling Tieshou did not give up. Although he had used the Instant Strike just now, he had only used seventy percent of his power because he wanted to save strength for a follow-up attack.

However, the failure incensed him, causing him to use one hundred percent of his power directly.

"Ling Tieshou is truly enraged!"

"But if this move misses, his true qi will be exhausted, and he'll be left in a passive position, forced to take hits."

"I see that Ling Xiao has also reached his limit. This is the ninth move; the winner should be decided now."

*Soaring Cloud Steps: Dragon Transformation*!

Ling Xiao could feel that if he did not continue to increase the speed of the *Soaring Cloud Steps*, he would definitely be hit.

Thus, he decisively utilized the movement technique he had only recently broken through.

In that instant, his entire being seemed to transform into a flood dragon, and the entire sky became his ocean.

He actually evaded Ling Tieshou's attack with ease through a movement that was almost impossible to describe.

Then, he stood steadily on the ground.

By this time, Ling Tieshou had collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his face pale.

"The tenth move! You lose!"

Although Ling Xiao was also heavily exhausted, he was in much better shape than Ling Tieshou.

He walked up to Ling Tieshou's side and lightly patted his face, saying, "Fourth in the Elite Hall... is nothing special."

"You!" Fire erupted in Ling Tieshou's eyes, but he was helpless.

He had actually been too impatient. If he hadn't repeatedly used the secret technique "Instant Strike," things wouldn't have turned out this way.

But there are no regrets in this world; a loss is a loss.

To be honest, if Ling Tieshou had been more composed, it would have been very difficult for Ling Xiao to win, unless he used every single trick in his arsenal.

But who told Ling Tieshou to attempt to crush Ling Xiao in a single blow? This was what they called "seeking death"!

This scene left countless members of the Ling family staring in dumbfounded silence.

(End of Chapter)