"Is he really dead?" Hazel Chiba's forehead was slick with cold sweat. But just as she hesitated over whether to jab in the seventh poison needle, Ryan Ling's body suddenly changed—the six needles already stuck in his head shot out with a bang, each one embedding itself in the stadium wall.
"What the hell?" Hazel Chiba stumbled backward in fright, but before she could get far, Ryan Ling's eyes snapped open and his right hand clamped down hard on her throat.
"Ryan! Ryan, you're alive!" His brothers and allies jumped to their feet, ignoring everything else, and everyone around stared wide-eyed. No one could believe it—every single person froze in shock.
"Impossible! There's no way he can come back from the dead—no way!" Aaron Zhao's face went slack, and he involuntarily stepped back half a pace.
The two Jinling Void Realm experts chimed in together: "Yeah, absolutely impossible! Must be a last burst before death—it's fake, totally fake!"
"Hazel Chiba, finish him off now—do it!" someone shouted.
"Kill him! Twist his head off right now!" another voice barked.
Hector Huo and Harold Hua joined the shouting. Clearly, grilling Ryan for secrets was no longer the priority—it was all about killing him fast. Their anxiety made their hearts pound.
At that moment, Hazel Chiba felt an unprecedented sense of danger. She clenched her fists, ready to strike, but before she could even raise her arm, Ryan Ling's five fingers dug into her throat—Void Realm blood spurted out instantly.
"Wh—what..." Even Aaron Zhao was stunned. Hazel Chiba was no pushover—she was mid-tier among the six Void Realm experts, and she reached the Void Realm through poison, her body wrapped in a deadly toxic barrier. Normally, no one dared touch her skin; one touch and you'd be poisoned to death.
But the shocking thing was, Hazel Chiba's poison barrier was smashed through by Ryan Ling like it was nothing. She couldn't even manage half a move—she was totally crushed.
Seeing this, all five Void Realm masters immediately whipped out their signature weapons—even Aaron Zhao pulled out a dragon-headed battle axe. The tension hit its peak.
"You want to kill me? I'm the incarnation of five poisons! My toxins are way stronger than you think—I... I'll..." Hazel Chiba wasn't about to die so easily. Her whole body flushed purple; her poison surged severalfold, creeping along Ryan Ling's fingers and slowly spreading up his arm.
The five Void Realm experts around them all breathed a sigh of relief. Several were sure this was just Ryan's last burst of energy before death—a Void Realm flash and nothing more.
But just as everyone relaxed for a split second, Ryan Ling's body transformed again. All his wounds healed like a miracle, his flesh turning flawless and pure as jade. Even more shocking, the poison in his body was completely wiped away—and the venom on his arm was slowly forced back into Hazel Chiba.
"How is this possible? Even if you reached Profound-Tier Void Realm, you couldn't force my poison back like that..." Hazel Chiba's eyes went wide—she was totally dumbfounded.
"Die, you bastard!" Ryan Ling wasn't about to waste words. His soul had fully returned, his body instantly stepping into the Foundation-Building Stage. With both soul and flesh at Foundation-Building, he'd entered the Immortal realm—no mere mortal could compare!
The moment Ryan finished speaking, Hazel Chiba's head was twisted clean off. The poison demon was stomped into meat paste, her corpse thrown straight into the Hell Furnace and burned to ash!
Immediately, Ryan Ling turned his eyes to the other five.
"No way... After all that torture, you shouldn't be alive—not even Profound-Tier Void Realm could survive it! Even Earth-Tier or Heaven-Tier would be dead!" Aaron Zhao's face was nearly purple with shock. Ryan Ling stood there, good as new, his body flawless like sculpted jade—a total rebirth.
"You bastards, your death date's here—none of you are getting out alive today!" As Ryan Ling finished speaking, a torrent of power blasted straight at Aaron Zhao.
"Block him, block him!" Aaron Zhao was quick—he retreated several steps as soon as he spoke, while the other four Void Realm experts charged in, attacking Ryan from all directions.
All four Void Realm masters went all out, each one trembling slightly. Clearly, they thought Ryan Ling was just too freakish—practically immortal.
"Aaron Zhao, if you run now, the Tang Sect will kill you!" one shouted.
"The Huo Family will kill you too!" another added.
The four Void Realm experts weren't stupid—they'd already seen through Aaron Zhao's tricks. The two Jinling masters kept their eyes locked on him.
Aaron Zhao knew there was no way to run now. He steeled himself, raised his dragon-headed axe, and stared Ryan Ling down.
"Who the hell said I was running? I'm gearing up for a deathblow—get out of my way!" As soon as Aaron Zhao finished, his dragon-headed axe came crashing down. This wasn't just any weapon—it was top-tier. With one swing, he split the stadium floor wide open, carving a massive hole on the far side.
"Damn, what a hit!" The other Void Realm experts were stunned—under pressure, Aaron Zhao was showing his true power.
The four Void Realm masters didn't hesitate. Seizing the moment, they all unleashed their strongest moves, attacking Ryan Ling from four directions at once.
A split second later, four deafening booms shook the air—the stadium's four walls all collapsed at once. The shockwave was so intense, it felt like the entire Provincial Capital trembled.
Everyone gasped. All five Void Realm masters had just unleashed their strongest attacks—even a true god would have to flinch three times.
In their eyes, even if Ryan Ling was a top-tier expert—a godlike freak—after that miraculous recovery, his defenses and offense had to be at their absolute weakest.
Now's the perfect time to take him out!
"Lucky we struck first! Who would've thought he'd have this much left in the tank—so much patience. Maybe he was saving it all for one last shot! Too bad about Hazel Chiba, though. Gotta admit, that old lady had a killer figure—kept herself up real good. I hear Japanese MILFs are even better than girls in their twenties!"
"You dog, we're in the middle of a war and all you can think about is banging chicks? Japan's got plenty of beauties—next time come with me to Jinling, there's a girl group there that'll blow your mind!"
"Deal—once this is all over, Aaron Zhao, you're treating us! I want to party hard, I've done way too much for you!"
"Don't worry—after this, I'll make sure you all have the time of your lives. Plus, Ryan Ling's got a bunch of drop-dead gorgeous girls with him. Everyone gets a share—tonight, we'll all have our fun!"
"Great, those girls are mine! I've had my eye on them forever—don't fight me for 'em, I want at least two, or it's no fun!"
The group was already giddy, chatting about how they'd split the spoils. But before they could finish, a demonic silhouette burst out of the smoke—Ryan Ling seized the two filthiest talkers, Harold Hua and Hector Huo, by the throat!
"Ryan Ling? How the hell are you still alive?" Aaron Zhao nearly coughed up blood, stumbling back several steps. The two Jinling Void Realm masters went pale too—Ryan had just taken five full-power attacks from five Void Realm experts and wasn't hurt at all. That kind of defense is unheard of, even in Jiangdong or Jinling.
"Am I seeing ghosts or what?"
"This guy can't be human! He took all five of our attacks without even fighting back?"
Ryan Ling sneered coldly, "Heh—only reason I didn't fight back was to show you just how trash you all are!" He hadn't moved before, just to let them see how strong his Foundation-Building defense was. But now, there was only one thought in his mind—kill!