Evan Lin smiled at the corners of his mouth, staring down at Drake Huang below. His qi sea boiled furiously as his whole body descended from mid-air like a comet crashing to earth.
Drake Huang’s bones crackled sharply as he charged upward to meet Evan. The two collided in mid-air with a thunderous impact.
The shockwave was so intense that the nearest spectators couldn’t help but fall straight onto their butts.
In the next instant, Evan was blasted high into the air by the rebound force, his figure flashing backward like lightning.
To the crowd’s eyes, Drake Huang dropped to the ground like a cannonball.
Centered on Drake Huang, a three-meter circle of floor was shattered into fragments. His feet were buried three feet deep in the ground, his aura surging as he jerked his head up, eyes flashing with rage!
“This is just the beginning!”
Evan Lin grinned, his voice icy and brimming with unshakable arrogance.
Everyone looked up and saw the teenager retreating at high speed through the air, hurtling toward the third-floor railing. Just as he was about to crash into it, Evan twisted in mid-air and planted both feet squarely on the barrier.
A crisp cracking sound rang out from the marble railing. Under Evan’s stomp, the entire barrier collapsed, turning into a heap of scrap metal.
Drake Huang let out a furious roar. His clothes fluttered wildly as he stomped the ground with his right foot, launching himself out of the crater once more—this time, even faster than before.
"Die!"
Drake Huang bellowed, and a faint white mist slowly began to radiate from his entire body.
"True qi manifesting!"
Those who understood martial arts couldn’t help but turn pale and cry out in shock at the sight.
"Looks like Drake Huang is really going all out this time! I can’t believe he’s actually cultivated true qi! With a punch like that, even rebar wouldn’t stand a chance!" Another man’s voice was hoarse as he looked up at Drake Huang, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
"They say Master Huang hasn’t fought in years. Today was worth the trip!"
"Looks like the winner’s already decided."
A ring of spectators below gazed at Drake Huang with expressions of longing and awe—admiration wasn’t even enough to describe what they felt.
"True qi manifesting? What’s that?" Zuo Siwen asked, totally confused.
“For martial artists, you start by training external strength, then move from the outside in to cultivate internal power. But those are just the basics—besides raw force, there’s also true qi. That’s the secret of internal styles, and it’s extremely difficult to master. The power of true qi is on a whole different level.”
“If someone hasn’t trained internal strength yet but manages to cultivate true qi through a special art, they could go toe-to-toe with an internal-strength fighter and still win. True qi is what every martial artist dreams of their whole life!” Beside Zuo Siwen, an elderly man with a sallow complexion looked up at Drake Huang, his gaze complicated. “Drake Huang used to be just inner-strength large-completion, and he already dominated all of River City. Now that he’s cultivated true qi, he might be able to challenge even peak inner-strength experts—maybe more…”
He couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“I didn’t expect someone your age to have such cultivation, but this is where your road ends!” Drake Huang’s eyes were cold. “Soaring Cloud Assassination Hand!”
His chilling shout made everyone’s heart skip a beat. All eyes turned to Evan Lin—some faces showed regret, others schadenfreude.
A young master like this, who appeared out of nowhere, if he doesn’t die at Drake Huang’s hands today, he’ll be famous all over River City by tomorrow.
But he’d already taken the most dangerous step.
Drake Huang clearly intended to eliminate him for good.
“Seven Mysteries Dragon-Elephant Fist, Fifth Form—Falling Ninth Heaven!”
Evan Lin laughed wildly, his voice echoing through the whole villa. As his words fell, his body shot straight toward Drake Huang’s Soaring Cloud Assassination Hand.
“What is that?!”
Looking up, everyone saw that countless motes of dust around the teenager suddenly thickened and grew larger.
Those specks, which normally only appeared in sunlight, now looked like clusters of gray stones hanging in mid-air.
“Looks like a lot of pebbles?” someone muttered under their breath.
“They’re not pebbles—they’re moving!” someone else exclaimed, eyes wide.
In mid-air, all that dust plunged downward with Evan Lin’s body, like a rain of ten thousand arrowheads flashing cold light.
White mist-like qi coiled around Evan’s skin like swimming dragons. The mist looked almost solid, yet weightless. From afar, it was hard to see clearly, but Drake Huang could see every detail.
His heart suddenly sank with a sense of dread, but his hand was already unleashed, like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Falling Ninth Heaven!
Using his entire qi sea at the Qi-Refining stage as a guide, he seized control of everything in the surrounding space—turning qi into ten thousand blades!
Boom!
In the next instant, Drake Huang collided with Evan Lin, and the previously weightless dust hammered into Drake Huang’s body.
Drake Huang’s palm was sharp as an iron knife, carving a path through the countless hardened dust particles.
Just a little more!
Drake Huang’s eyes widened as pain spread from his palm. Even as he forced his way forward, every inch was agony.
It felt like his hand was being sliced by countless blades—thin metal edges endlessly cutting and scraping.
Boom!
Another thunderous crash echoed.
Drake Huang finally swept away all the dust and slammed his palm into Evan Lin’s chest. Evan didn’t dodge at all; as the crowd stared wide-eyed, he drove his own fist straight into Drake Huang’s face.
Evan Lin landed on the ground, retreated slightly, and stood his ground. His face was cold and sharp, his gaze electric, calmly staring across the room.
On the other side, Drake Huang fell rapidly from mid-air, rolled once on the ground, then stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Evan Lin with a grave expression.
“He’s... not dead?” Someone stared at Evan Lin in disbelief.
“This guy is insane! He looks totally fine!” A man swallowed hard, still shaken by what he’d just seen.
A vivid red fist mark stood out on Drake Huang’s face, shocking everyone and sparking wild speculation.
Clap clap clap...
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, applause suddenly rang out.
The applause sounded cold and distant.
A tune too lofty for the crowd.