The difference between the two was a full major realm and three minor realms. Besides, Ricky Li’s strength was top-tier even among mid-stage Soul-Split experts; even someone at late Soul-Split might not be able to kill him.
But now, he had died at the hands of a late Out-of-Body cultivator—and with just one move. This scene was simply unacceptable to all the experts present; some even suspected they were seeing an illusion.
"Old Four!"
At that moment, a cry of grief broke the silence.
It was Zack Zhang, Ricky Li’s closest friend in Heaven’s Dao Alliance, who rushed forward. Ricky lay lifeless on the ground, even his Nascent Soul already dispersed—he was utterly gone, body and soul.
Then the other five Alliance Lords of Heaven’s Dao Alliance stepped up. After checking Ricky’s corpse, Lewis Liu stared at Ian Song with a complicated expression. "Young Master Song, it’s one thing to kill Old Four, but why did you have to destroy his Nascent Soul as well?"
Ian Song shook his head indifferently. "You’re here to kill me and steal my treasures. Why would I show mercy to a bunch of thieves who want my life and my loot?"
"Even so, you shouldn’t have destroyed his Nascent Soul!" Zack Zhang roared in anger.
Ian Song sneered. "Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to yourself. I’m a selfish person—since you’ve chosen to become my enemies, you should be ready to be wiped out, body and soul!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone around felt a chill in their hearts. Their understanding of Ian Song grew sharper.
"Fine. In that case, let me, Zack Zhang, see what Young Master Song is truly capable of!"
As he spoke, Zack Zhang slowly stood up. His expression was still filled with grief, but a cold killing intent flashed in his small eyes.
"Be careful, Third Brother!"
Lewis Liu gave a low warning, then he and the others carried Ricky Li’s corpse off to the side.
Zack Zhang, one of the leaders of Heaven’s Dao Alliance, had already reached late Soul-Split stage. His body was immensely strong, and he specialized in close combat. His weapon of choice was a nine-meter-long silver spear.
He reached out and grabbed, and a nine-meter silver spear appeared in his hand, pointing at Ian Song. He barked, "Draw your Ink-Black Sword!"
"No, it’s not time to use the Ink-Black Sword yet," Ian Song replied with a gentle shake of his head.
He’d lured all these experts here not just for other reasons, but also to use them to hone his own strength and swordsmanship. Ricky Li, as a mid-stage Soul-Split, hadn’t been much of a challenge, but Zack Zhang, a late-stage Soul-Split, was someone he looked forward to facing.
"Die!"
Zack Zhang’s eyes narrowed, cold light flashing. The silver spear in his hand shot forward like a bolt of lightning, stabbing straight at Ian Song.
Clang!
Ian Song flew backward, raising his steel longsword.
In the next moment, the sword tip and spear tip collided in midair, producing a metallic ring. Strangely, there was no energy blast at all, showing just how masterful both men’s control over their power was.
However, the force transmitted through the spear was almost too much for Ian Song to bear, making his body tremble as he was pushed back again and again.
He had cultivated the Star-God Physique. Though he was only at the first layer, his body was already far stronger than most Out-of-Body cultivators—at least enough to match mid-stage Soul-Split experts.
On top of that, his Heavenbreaker Sword Canon was an extremely aggressive art, and the true essence it produced was much stronger than that of a late Out-of-Body cultivator. With both combined, he was already equal in raw power to a mid-stage Soul-Split, though still a bit behind a late-stage Soul-Split like Zack Zhang.
As for Zack Zhang, he was a seasoned late Soul-Split expert. His strength might not match Old Man Tanner, who’d trained the Heaven-Hate Fist, but he was still half a step stronger than the late Soul-Split experts newly recruited to the Fourth Prince Residence.
"Go die!"
One spear forced Ian Song back, and Zack Zhang, with his rich combat experience, didn’t give Ian a chance to breathe. The silver spear in his hand shook, instantly transforming into hundreds of silver spear shadows that chased after Ian, enveloping him from head to toe.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ian Song’s steel longsword swept out, sword shadows flashing as they collided with hundreds of spear shadows, barely managing to dissolve them all. But at that moment, a bizarre spear shadow suddenly appeared right at Ian’s brow—if it moved forward, it would pierce his skull.
Wind God Art!
Ian Song’s figure flickered, dodging the deadly strike. At the same time, he lunged forward, sending streams of solid sword-qi from his steel sword toward Zack Zhang.
But Zack Zhang didn’t dodge at all—instead, he charged straight into the hundreds of sword-qi streams. Behind him, a massive white tiger phantom suddenly appeared.
Roar! Roar!
A series of earth-shaking tiger roars erupted from the white tiger’s mouth.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
The sword-qi struck Zack Zhang, making a sound like rain on banana leaves, but every strike bounced harmlessly off his body.
White Tiger Body-Forging Art!
Seeing the white tiger phantom above Zack Zhang’s head, someone exclaimed, "I can’t believe he’s cultivated the White Tiger Body-Forging Art to such a level. Rare! Truly rare!"
The White Tiger Body-Forging Art, along with the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird Body-Forging Arts, are collectively known as the Four Sacred Body-Forging Arts.
When cultivated to the peak, even Body Integration experts find it difficult to break through their defenses.
However, these four body-forging arts are extremely demanding, and the training process is agonizingly painful. So, despite their widespread fame, very few people actually practice them.
When Ian Song saw the white tiger phantom above Zack Zhang’s head, he was slightly surprised. Back when he was choosing a body-forging art, he ultimately picked the Star-God Physique left behind by the Divine Temple’s master, but he’d once studied a manual called the Four Saints Canon.
The Four Saints Canon was extremely demanding: first, you needed the fresh blood of the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird as a primer. If you couldn’t get their blood, you could substitute the blood of beasts with their bloodlines—but the resulting power would be greatly diminished.
The White Tiger Body-Forging Art Zack Zhang practiced was clearly a simplified version split off from the Four Saints Canon, so its power was worlds apart from the real thing.
That’s why Ian Song instantly spotted the flaws in Zack Zhang’s body-forging technique.
Boom!
Having tanked the sword-qi with his body, Zack Zhang charged right up to Ian Song, swinging a giant fist at him.
"Break for me!"
Ian Song twisted his body, circling to Zack Zhang’s left. His steel longsword shot out like lightning.
Puff!
The longsword pierced Zack Zhang’s left flank as easily as if it were tofu. Sword-qi exploded inside him, instantly shattering his Nascent Soul.
Ian Song withdrew his sword, and Zack Zhang’s massive body collapsed to the ground with a crash.
"What?"
Everyone was stunned by the scene. Zack Zhang had clearly held the advantage—so how had he been killed so suddenly?
And hadn’t he cultivated the White Tiger Body-Forging Art? How could his body be pierced so easily?
What they didn’t know was that the split and simplified version of White Tiger Body-Forging Art had many flaws. The biggest flaw was a fatal weak point—if struck, it would trigger a backlash. So when Ian Song’s sword pierced that weak point, Zack Zhang lost all ability to resist. If he’d been hit elsewhere, he’d only have been injured, not killed!
But the spectators were unaware of this, so their gazes toward Ian Song became much more wary.