Chapter 128: Smashing to Pieces

Ling Chi was struck by the wind blades, his body bearing numerous cuts, yet he continued the fierce battle without pause.

The Evil-Slaying Saber flew toward him, and Ling Chi seized the opportunity to tip off his toes, propelling his body three zhang into the air.

[Baji: Piercing Heaven Cannon from the Ground]

A classic Bajiquan technique was executed by Ling Chi in reverse, crashing down from above directly onto the old man's forehead.

"Bang!"

The old man's figure plummeted uncontrollably. Ling Chi reached out, grabbed him by the collar, and rained dozens of furious punches upon him in the blink of an eye.

Spectators below could only watch as the two figures drew closer and closer to the ground, the sound of flesh-and-bone impacts growing increasingly loud.

Plummeting rapidly, the two crashed onto the street outside the Subjugation Bureau, landing precisely where Ling Chi had once fought fifty men single-handedly.

"Clang!"

A billow of dust and dirt rose into the air, obscuring the scene from clear view; only the relentless sounds of impact echoed through the air.

Worried about the safety of his disciple, Zhao Qing rushed over immediately. With a wave of his arm, a fierce gust of wind blew away the dust and debris, finally revealing the scene to the onlookers.

Ling Chi was bare-chested, his body covered in wounds.

His knee pressed against the old man's chest, his left hand gripped the opponent's neck, and his right fist was raised high, smashing fiercely into the old man's face.

With the visual acuity of the martial artists present, they could clearly see the old man's large yellow teeth flying out of his mouth and his facial skin rippling with shockwaves.

A resounding, piercing scream from the old man echoed throughout the entire prefecture. In stark contrast to his astonishing momentum upon arrival, he was now being pinned to the ground and brutally battered by a young man.

Desperately channeling the spirit pearl within his body, a massive gale erupted, blasting Ling Chi away several zhang.

Looking disheveled, the old man glanced around. His gaze swept over Zhao Qing, and a hint of retreat already sprouted in his heart.

The brat before him was outrageously troublesome, and right beside them were Cao Hubao, who was on the verge of completing his breakthrough, and that tall, dark, and sturdy warrior.

If things went wrong, he, a dignified second-layer Spirit Pearl realm expert, might actually perish in this gutter today.

Just as Zhao Qing blew away the dust and saw Ling Chi being blasted back, his figure flashed. A long-brewed, shattering saber momentum soared into the sky.

Charging forward with unstoppable, resolute courage, he closed in on the old man.

The latter was startled inwardly. What an astonishing saber momentum from this dark and sturdy man! He had no choice but to once again whip up wind blades to shield his body.

Reaching into his robes, he drew out two yellow talismans and ignited them instantly.

"To think that I, Bi Bingui, have served as a Hall Master of the Holy Cult for three or four years, yet this is the first time I have suffered such a massive loss."

"I must see just how capable you lot really are. Let you all witness the true methods of my Holy Cult."

Bi Bingui's face was covered in blood, and having lost several teeth, his speech came out with a whistling lisp.

A gloomy, eerie black mist instantly spread for hundreds of zhang, shrouding the area around the Subjugation Bureau.

Tall and robust ghouls were faintly visible within it, short and agile sprites darted about everywhere, and formless phantom ghosts stood ready, the two leading ghouls being genuine Spirit Pearl realm vengeful spirits.

Ling Chi flipped up and ran his breathing technique without a single moment of rest. Hundreds of spirit crystals within his body spun at high speed, and the thunder bead also emitted a brilliant radiance. A thundercloud immediately manifested above the Yin Qi, completely blanketing it.

A purple-golden thunder python darted about, its eyes turning one gold and one purple. The ultimate Yang and thunder forces erupted at full strength as the thunder python descended from the sky, plunging straight into the roiling black mist of Yin Qi.

With a beckoning wave of his hand, the Evil-Slaying Saber returned to its master's grasp, emitting an excited hum. The next instant, it lunged into the black mist, its sweeping blade light pointing directly at the Ghost Cult Hall Master, Bi Bingui.

Zhao Qing unleashed his power to the absolute limit. Imbued with a shattering intent, his saber momentum swept into the pack of ghosts to begin a merciless slaughter. The fierce wind at his side blew away the Yin Qi, exposing the forms of the Five Devils.

"Ghost Cult scum, Cao Hubao is here!" A roar suddenly echoed.

Having finally completed his breakthrough, Cao Hubao traversed the air, his Spirit Pearl realm momentum concentrating upon the octagonal copper rod in his hands. His body arched like a fully drawn bow as he brought the rod down squarely upon the head of a ghoul. The ghoul instantly dissolved into a pool of greenish, blood-splattered foam.

The moment Bi Bingui saw Cao Hubao descend, his intent to retreat surged to its absolute peak. Ignoring Ling Chi, who was bearing down upon him, he sprang from the ground, desperately intending to flee.

Suddenly, he felt something wrap around his waist, halting his ascent.

Glancing down, he saw a belt tanned from beast tendons; the other end of the belt was held by Ling Chi, whose face bore a ferocious grin.

Ling Chi gripped the beast tendons tightly, veins bulging on his forehead like restless blue earthworms beneath his skin. The muscles on his back coiled with clearly defined lines, his soles dug fiercely into the earth, and the muscles of both his upper and lower arms strained with all their might.

Inch by inch, he dragged Bi Bingui back. The latter's flight failed, and his body was uncontrollably pulled backward.

Seizing the opportunity, Ling Chi employed Thunder Flash, grabbed Bi Bingui by the ankle, and slammed him right back onto the ground.

Bi Bingui had already been beaten into a state of psychological trauma by Ling Chi. Both of his hands frantically pried at Ling Chi's hands, which were clamped around his neck, while his legs kicked wildly at the ground.

"Old thing, I'll send you on your way now." Ignoring Bi Bingui's frantic clutching with hands like iron vises, Ling Chi raised his right fist once more.

Punch after punch slammed into Bi Bingui's face. With every single blow, the ground shuddered in unison.

The distant martial artists watching the spectacle swallowed their saliva collectively. The shock brought by ending a Spirit Pearl realm expert through such brutal, bludgeoning execution was simply too immense. Perhaps even decades from now, recalling this scene today would still cause a chill in their hearts.

Lightning flickered in Ling Chi's eyes. As his punching speed grew faster and faster, he ultimately struck at a rate of over a dozen punches per second, hammering Bi Bingui tirelessly like a pile driver.

After sustaining hundreds of blows, Bi Bingui was reduced to a soft, mangled pulp of flesh lying in the large crater in the ground, completely devoid of breath.

Three to four thousand wisps of thunder spirit energy fed back into him, refreshing Ling Chi's spirit and increasing the number of spirit crystals within his body. However, this was not the time to rest.

Ling Chi fished a cosmos sack from Bi Bingui's bosom, stuffed it into his own, and plunged back into the battlefield.

A lingering sprite with glowing red eyes lunged toward Ling Chi, enveloping him in the crimson light of illusions, yet he showed no other reaction.

A fierce sweep of blade light hacked the sprite to the ground. Until its dying breath, it could never comprehend why Ling Chi completely ignored the illusion arts it relied upon for survival.

A silver-white blade arc shot forth like lightning, heading straight for the Spirit Pearl realm ghoul. Standing over a zhang tall with a purplish-blue body and tusks protruding from its square mouth, the ghoul was locked in fierce combat with Zhao Qing.

Shrouded in lightning, Ling Chi materialized behind it. A flash of lightning and a sweep of blade light slashed across its groin. Seizing the moment of excruciating pain, he executed a reverse slash, severing the major tendon beneath its knee. The ghoul crashed to the ground with a resounding thud.

Immediately, a torrent of Yin Qi erupted from its body, only to be shattered by lightning a moment later. Transforming into a butcher, Ling Chi raised his blade and began hacking away. Looking somewhat helpless as his disciple stole his kill, Zhao Qing turned his lethal focus toward another Qi Sea realm phantom ghost.

Dozens of blade arcs merged into one, severing the ghoul's head in a single stroke. Three thousand wisps of thunder spirit energy fed back into him.

Dozens more spirit crystals were added to Ling Chi's inner reserves. Combined with the spirit crystals gained from slaying Bi Bingui, he now possessed over a thousand spirit crystals within his body, enough to attempt a breakthrough to the ninth layer of the Qi Sea realm.

Regrettably, Cao Hubao had already beaten the other Spirit Pearl realm ghoul into a puddle of bloody foam, depriving him of the chance to harvest that energy.

He brandished his saber and joined the harvest. A few lesser sprite demons were corralled together by a lightning cage, and the aggressive silver-white blade light slaughtered them one by one.

With this, all the Five Devils present were completely exterminated.

Cao Hubao cast a complex gaze at Ling Chi. The exhilaration of breaking through to the Spirit Pearl realm lasted merely a few breaths.

This young man had bludgeoned a second-layer Spirit Pearl realm expert to death right before everyone's eyes, proclaiming the formidable might of his martial prowess to the world.