However, it didn't matter how freakish Ling Han was. After all, one's cultivation level limited how powerful they could become.
Under Zhao Lun's powerful and relentless attacks, Ling Han could only be sent flying by slashes, palm strikes, and kicks. However, what made the spectators' heads go numb was the fact that Ling Han was still alive and kicking after taking all those strikes head on! At most, he had only bled a little more than before.
This caused Sha Yuan to also itch with eagerness. If he could obtain such a formidable physique, would becoming invincible in his tier still be a mere dream? Would he still allow Zhao Lun to enjoy the title of number one prodigy by himself?
He secretly decided that he would rush over no matter what if Zhao Lun managed to kill Ling Han. He would cut in before Zhao Lun, then pluck Ling Han's soul and obtain his incredible secret!
Now, however, he would let Zhao Lun be that evil person who killed Ling Han.
In some hidden area.
"Can we still not stop him?" Zhang Deman asked in a panicked voice. His impression of Ling Han was fairly good.
"The Head of Institution said that we must give Great General Zhao some face," an elder said. "So, we have to give Zhao Lun a limited amount of special treatment. Anyway, there's us here, so that brat definitely won't face any fatal danger."
"We can take advantage of this opportunity and suppress Zhao Lun's conceit and arrogance in a moment. That way, even Great General Zhao won't be able to say anything. Otherwise, even Head Fu won't be able to contain the rage of an elite at the Heavenly Body Tier."
"However… that brat seems to be able to take quite the beating. What an absolute freak!"
"Indeed, indeed. If I hadn't seen this with my own two eyes, I would've never believed that a cultivator who has just advanced to the medium extreme would be able to take so many strikes."
"By the looks of it, we can completely return home to take a nap, then come back over to check on the situation."
There was a total of seven elders whispering to each other, and they were all astonished by the strength that Ling Han had displayed.
Zhao Lun's expression became increasingly cold. Although Ling Han was continuously being wounded, he just wouldn't die no matter what. The longer this lasted, the more face he would lose. Even ordinary cultivators at the consummate level wouldn't need so long to dispose of a cultivator at the medium extreme, not to mention that he was a four-star genius.
"Zhao Lun, are you done yet?" An aloof yet charming voice traveled over as Shui Yanyu walked over from the distance. Her beautiful face was full of anger.
An excited expression instantly spread across Zhao Lun's face, and there was a hint of lust in his eyes.
Among some circles in the Imperial Capital, Shui Yanyu had the nickname "Little Empress". This wasn't because she was very strong, very talented, or had a very powerful background, but instead because of the hint of seductiveness in her aloof nature that was a little like that of the empress of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire.
The empress was out of everyone's league, but if they could capture Shui Yanyu's heart, she would still act as a good replacement. Thus, the number of people pursuing Shui Yanyu also far exceeded the number of people pursuing Zhou Menghuai, who was one of the Twin Pearls of the Empire.
It was only because Zhao Lun—the only child of Great General Zhao—had acted earliest and announced his "ownership" of Shui Yanyu that no one dared to openly covet her.
She was a seductive beauty who could hook one's soul, and, worried that his son would drown in a sea of lust, Great General Zhao forbade Zhao Lun from marrying before he reached the Sun Moon Tier. It was because of this that Shui Yanyu was able to maintain her freedom until now. Otherwise, she would have already been 'sold" by her clan.
Thus, Zhao Lun would feel a burning desire and lust every time he saw Shui Yanyu, and he could barely contain himself from immediately pushing this captivating and seductive beauty down.
"Hehe, I'm merely killing a person," Zhao Lun said indifferently. "Why such an overreaction, Yanyu?" Ever since Shui Yanyu had publicly said that she had made a private pledge of marriage with Ling Han, Zhao Lun had already sentenced Ling Han to death in his mind. He had simply been lacking an excuse to kill him.
"Don't drag other unrelated people into the matter between you and me!" Shui Yanyu scolded loudly.
Zhao Lun sneered, and said, "This brat isn't an unrelated person!"
"Zhao Lun, what do you want?!" Shui Yanyu shouted as she bit her ruby lip. Originally, she had indeed only planned on using Ling Han to escape Zhao Lun's clutches. After their trip to the Heavenly Sea Mystery Realm, however, her mindset underwent a gradual change.
Now, she definitely didn't want to see Ling Han die.
Zhao Lun involuntarily squinted his eyes in anger.
He had always held Shui Yanyu in high regard, but had Shui Yanyu ever cared for him even a little? And now? Shui Yanyu actually looked like she was willing to sacrifice everything for a lowly ant from a small world!
His eyes turned red from extreme jealousy.
'No, Ling Han must die!'
Zhao Lun humphed in fury and pointed a finger at Shui Yanyu, rendering her immobile. Then, he charged toward Ling Han.
'Die! Die! Die!'
"There's no way that I can't even kill a measly ant of the medium extreme!" Zhao Lun chuckled coldly as frightening divine patterns flashed across his hands like undulating water.
Pa!
Zhao Lun's palm struck over, and a gaping wound instantly appeared in Ling Han's chest. His blood and flesh instantly disappeared, revealing his white bones.
What was harrowing was that Ling Han was already channeling his Indestructible Heaven's Scroll, yet the rate at which his wound healed was unbelievably slow.
"Hahahaha!" Seeing that his strike had wounded Ling Han, Zhao Lun instantly started to laugh loudly. He would corrode all of Ling Han's flesh, then slowly disintegrate his divine sense. He would wipe his love rival off the face of this world!
"The medium extreme is only the medium extreme, after all!" he said in disdain.
Ling Han wasn't flustered, and as he continued to defend against Zhao Lun's strikes, he coldly responded, "You're merely relying on the fact that you're two minor levels above me. If we were on the same cultivation level, I could slay you as easily as I slay chickens!"
"It's a shame that you'll never get such a chance," Zhao Lun said in a sinister voice. "You're destined to die here today!" His attacks became even more frantic as he spoke.
"Who said he won't?!"
A furious voice sounded in the distance.
"G-greetings, Ninth King!"
Everyone in the surroundings instantly kneeled down to pay their respects—no one here was exempt from this. The Left and Right Ministers and the Seven Generals were elites at the Heavenly Body Tier, so they didn't need to kneel when seeing the empress. However, they still had to cup their fists to express their absolute respect.
Seeing the Nine Kings was equivalent to seeing the empress—this was the empress of the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire's holy decree.
Zhao Lun wasn't Great General Zhao, so he instantly stopped his attacks and half-kneeled on the ground.
Hu Feiyun walked out from the crowd of spectators and instantly yelped in surprise upon seeing the gaping wound on the left of Ling Han's ribcage. "Ling Han, you're wounded!"
The spectators were almost frightened to death when they heard her.
'The Ninth King's relationship with Ling Han is this good?'
She was the Ninth King! What kind of status was this? Even the Left and Right Ministers and the Seven Generals had to respectfully obey her commands. She was one of the nine people the empress was most fond of! Yet, Ling Han had actually become acquainted with her?
Jealousy instantly appeared on everyone's faces. If Ling Han was genuinely able to marry the Ninth King, his status would instantly soar from that of a lowly ant to an unimaginable height. Even powerful figures such as the Left and Right Minister wouldn't be able to match his status.
Ling Han nodded, and said, "I'm fine."
Zhao Lun's body was trembling slightly. How could he imagine that Ling Han would somehow become acquainted with the Ninth King while having a dubious relationship with Shui Yanyu? Where was justice?!
Hu Feiyun's expression relaxed slightly when she heard Ling Han's reply. "Zhao Lun, what's so impressive about bullying someone weaker than you? Everyone says that you're the number one prodigy in the Imperial Capital. So, why don't you show me your abilities today?!"
"Yi Mu, seal his cultivation level and make him fight with Ling Han on equal footing!" She turned around and issued an order to a female guard.
"As you command!" The female guard showed no hesitation as she pressed her palm toward Zhao Lun.