The crowd was shocked, utterly dumbfounded!

Who could have expected this outcome?

Who could have imagined that the young man would be so... brutal and savage?

The onlookers who had been about to leave felt their legs go weak at the sight.

"Someone so pitifully weak wants to act all high and mighty and sentence others to death? Ridiculous!"

Jiang Jichen’s blood-stained hand gripped his sword hilt, his gaze falling upon Zhang Quan.

Zhang Quan’s expression turned hideous.

To him, this was a tremendous humiliation.

He had just declared that he would sentence Jiang Jichen to death.

Now... the four Death Warriors he had brought with him were well and truly dead.

If he failed to kill Lingchen today, he would become everyone’s laughingstock tomorrow.

Nearby, Chang Qi and Guan Xiaojing were already deathly pale.

They had never imagined such an outcome!

The fear in their hearts doubled as they recalled Lingchen’s methods.

Before this, Zhang Quan had repeatedly assured them that he would have no problem killing Lingchen.

And now?

The two of them were clearly no match for Lingchen; they could only place their hopes in Zhang Quan, ranked 250th on the Young Experts’ Ranking.

’Come to think of it, why did we use a Restriction to seal off the area? Now our only escape route is gone!’

’What if... Zhang Quan loses too? We’d really have dug our own graves!’

All sorts of uneasy thoughts flashed through the minds of Chang Qi and Guan Xiaojing.

Zhang Quan, however, had already stepped forward. He faced Jiang Jichen and said arrogantly, "I thought I wouldn’t need to act. But since you killed my four worthless Death Warriors, then... allow me to show you the true might of a Pseudo-Heaven-level Dao Platform Foundation Establishment Perfect Realm Cultivator!"

’The might of a Pseudo-Heaven-level Foundation Establishment Perfect Realm Cultivator?’

Jiang Jichen was left speechless by Zhang Quan’s words.

’Well, combat power does vary from person to person within the Pseudo-Heaven-level Dao Platform Foundation Establishment Perfect Realm.’

’For example, Blood Hand before he had refined his Heaven-level Dao Platform, and Qing Xun, were both definitely combat specialists—among the strongest echelon of people at this Realm.’

’And now that they’re out of the Secret Realm, they must have all achieved a Heaven-level Dao Platform, making them even stronger!’

’As for the next tier of people—the Second Senior Brother of the Flowing Cloud Sect, Cang Lengshan, Ling Dong, Nangong Jinjie, and so on—they were a step below, but still absolutely beyond comparison to someone like Zhang Quan.’

’I once fought that entire group of slightly weaker experts all by myself, and even killed one of them—Nangong Jinjie!’

’Back then, I was only at the Grandmaster Realm, and neither my Spirit Body nor my Divine Soul had reached the Perfect Realm.’

’And now, I’ve already achieved a perfect Foundation Establishment, merely suppressing my Realm to appear as a Grandmaster.’

’Yet this guy wants to show *me* the might of a Pseudo-Heaven-level Dao Platform Foundation Establishment Perfect Realm Cultivator!’

Jiang Jichen could only borrow a line from Yee Youmeng. "Heh heh!"

Then, Jiang Jichen charged.

He had already discarded his sword. With one hand, he flicked his fingers.

In an instant, droplets like falling rain filled the sky, sealing off the space around Zhang Quan in every direction.

This was the second form of the Soul Destruction Finger: Rain Falling on the Firmament!

The Finger Light shot forth, a veritable storm of arrows tearing through the air. A sense of... crisis washed over Zhang Quan!

’What is this Finger Technique? How can it be so terrifying!’

At that moment, Zhang Quan didn’t hesitate for an instant. The endless Light of Spiritual Patterns erupted from his body as a Secret Talisman appeared in his hand, which he immediately activated with his Spiritual Power.

HUMMM!

The light of the talisman blossomed, cascading down and shrouding Zhang Quan.

Mysterious Array Patterns swirled within the light, which gave off an extraordinary aura that seemed capable of warding off all techniques.

"That’s... the Black Tortoise Talisman!"

"I can’t believe Zhang Quan was forced to use such a precious, High-Level Spirit Talisman right at the beginning!"

"But that Finger Technique truly is... terrifying! It carries the charm of the Ancient Dao!"

The crowd watched this scene, utterly astonished.

They had assumed he was just some nameless kid who would be killed in one blow, but the reality was... he was incredibly powerful.

His techniques were astounding, his combat power terrifying. He gave off a mysterious and unfathomable aura.

’He must be... something close to a super-genius Transcender. How could he possibly be a nobody?’

The crowd was stunned and simultaneously filled with doubt. The image of Lingchen was now deeply seared into their minds.

Ahead, the endless rain of Finger Light pelted down upon the glow of the Black Tortoise Talisman.

PFFT! PFFT...

Even within the light of the Black Tortoise Talisman, Zhang Quan felt his body jolt. His composure finally shattered, giving way to alarm and even panic.

He saw the glow of the Black Tortoise Talisman flicker, as if it were about to crack open.

’What is this Finger Technique? Why is it so terrifyingly powerful?’

Zhang Quan roared in his heart, filled with indignation.

’This is a Black Tortoise Talisman, for crying out loud! It can block a full-power strike from a Spirit Infant Early Stage Cultivator!’

He moved at that very moment, afraid that if he waited any longer, the light of the Black Tortoise Talisman would fail and shatter.

A spectral blue Thrust Blade appeared in Zhang Quan’s hand. With a casual flourish, a sheet of blue light unfurled in the air, scattering wantonly, its beauty otherworldly.

At that moment, Jiang Jichen felt a sense of danger.

Zhang Quan and the Blue Spirit Needle seemed to merge into one, transforming into a colossal beam of blue light that ripped through the void, stabbing toward Jiang Jichen.

It was impossibly fast, its edge terrifyingly sharp and seemingly unstoppable. The single thrust looked as if it could pierce through the very heavens and the Netherworld.

This was one of the Zhang Family’s ultimate techniques: the Netherworld Stab!

Zhang Quan’s execution of the technique had reached an extraordinary level; its might was truly terrifying.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast the Netherworld Stab was, Jiang Jichen’s soul, which was at the Seven-Colored Perfect Realm, had already locked onto its trajectory.

At this moment, Jiang Jichen did not retreat. Instead... he advanced to meet it head-on!

A black saber case suddenly appeared in his free hand, and he held it horizontally before him.

CLANG!

The deafening shriek of metal on metal echoed between heaven and earth, carrying far into the distance.

It could even be heard by the Heavenly Sword Book, over three miles away. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

For an instant, time itself seemed to stop.

Everyone, including Zhang Quan, wore an expression of absolute, mortal shock.

His Netherworld Stab had been blocked!

This was absolutely impossible!

’How did he possibly track the trajectory of the blue light’s stab at that incredible speed?’

’And how could his saber case block my Netherworld Stab without a scratch?’

’That was the Blue Spirit Needle, a peerlessly sharp, Low-Tier Heavenly-Rank weapon!’

As the fatal blow was blocked, the light from the Black Tortoise Talisman on Zhang Quan’s body shattered with a BOOM.

Then, Jiang Jichen swept aside the Blue Spirit Needle with his saber case.

Then, with a casual swing, he swatted his opponent to the ground with the saber case.

SMACK!

The moment the saber case struck his body, he felt as though a great mountain was crashing down on him.

The Spiritual Qi gathered in his body was instantly shattered, and he collapsed to the ground.

He had... not a shred of strength to resist!

Sent sprawling to the ground, Zhang Quan immediately tried to struggle back up, but a large foot instantly slammed his head onto the stone street.

"You’re not so high and mighty. You can’t sentence anyone to death. You’re just an ant being crushed underfoot in the mortal dust!"

Jiang Jichen spoke lightly. Then, with another stomp, he grievously wounded Zhang Quan, who passed out from the pain.

After doing all this, Jiang Jichen turned his chilling gaze toward Chang Qi, Guan Xiaojing, and the others, a demonic smile spreading across his face.

"Now, it’s your turn!"

As he spoke, he executed the Mountain River Shadow Stepping Technique, abruptly appearing before Miss Guan and her maidservant.

Before the two of them could even react, they suddenly felt their heads being grabbed.

BAM!

A sickening CRACK rang out as Guan Xiaojing’s beautiful head and her maidservant’s head slammed violently together!