Poor man; there wasn't even any cursing heard from him now, because he could barely breathe now.
If he did not run, he would be struck with the whip, and not only would it cause heart-rending pain, it would even numb his entire body, so he couldn't even breathe. But if he ran, the lightning here was really too terrifying, which tired him greatly, and he was now entirely covered with sweat like it was raining. He was about to collapse from exhaustion.
In terms of stamina, he was only slightly superior to any other person; how could he last under such torment?
"Body Arts are really quite important." Ling Han nodded internally, instantly feeling that it was no loss that he had spent so much time on the Indestructible Heaven Scroll and the Nine Dragons Tyrant Art; if he wanted to become a truly outstanding elite, he had to reach perfection in every aspect.
Otherwise, you might look disdainful in this situation, but in another situation, it'd be game over for you; what kind of elite would that be?
"Don't hit me anymore!" that man pled. He was really about to become a dead dog now. He looked as if he had been fished out of the water as his whole body was covered with sweat, and even his clothes had become wet.
But he did not even have the time to curse, and could only continue to flee endlessly.
"You tell me not to hit, and I should obey? Who do you think you are?" Ling Han asked calmly. Did everyone think he didn't have a temper? On the other hand, if he, who had been the Alchemy Emperor in his last life, really wanted to throw his weight around, it would be a bigger temper tantrum than anyone else.
Pa, pa, pa. the whip struck a successive series of blows.
The man began to throw up blood—not because he had been whipped, but because he had overexpended his stamina, and was overloading his circulation.
"Yi, isn't this Li Yuan Ming?" There were three people who were resting some ways ahead, and when they saw that man, they stared blankly at first, thinking where had this beggar come from, but upon a closer look, they discovered it was actually someone familiar.
"Brother Chao Heng! Brother Chao Heng!" When the man saw the speaker, he instantly felt as if he had seen his savior. He hurriedly leaped over, and was about to break into tears in his excitement. "Brother Chao Heng, save me!"
One of the three people, a tall and sturdy man stood up, and made way so that Li Yuan Ming could duck behind him. He then raised his hand to catch the whip, and said calmly, "Young man, anyone can make mistakes; you should forgive them when possible. Don't be so pleased as to lose your own sense of measure!"
There was actually lightning also twined around his hand, but it was not white in color. Instead, it was blue.
Pa, the whip fell, and the sturdy man took hold of it. The blue-colored lightning instantly crept up the whip, heading to attack Ling Han.
Ling Han abandoned the whip, and stood with his hands placed behind his back.
At the first glance, it was obvious that the sturdy man had the upper hand as he had forced Ling Han to abandon the whip. This was normal. He was a high level Spiritual Infant Tier cultivator, and in terms of density of Origin Power, it was obvious that he had more of an advantage.
However, power and battle prowess were two different things.
Ling Han's battle prowess was better shown through his use of three Mystical Powers, the Indestructible Heaven Scroll, his sword techniques, the ten Spiritual Flowers, and his strong physique. If he were to compete with a Spiritual Infant Tier cultivator with brute force, that would really be comparing his weakness to his enemy's strength.
Previously, Li Yuan Ming had been subdued by the lightning in this area, but this sturdy man himself had a Thunder alignment, and was naturally unaffected. On the other hand, there was an upgrade to his battle prowess.
"Kowtow and apologize to Brother Yuan Ming, and I can spare your life," the sturdy man said. His voice boomed, like it was the sound of thunder.
Though Li Yuan Ming was internally very displeased, and would prefer to kill Ling Han, it was already very nice of his acquaintance to give him a hand. It would not be proper for him to ask for too much. After all, he was one of the stronger members of this adult generation of the Zhao Clan. The Hand of Thunder, Zhao Chao Heng, was considerably superior to himself, both in terms of reputation and status.
Ling Han smiled calmly, and said, "You are not even familiar with the ins and outs of the story, but still command me to kneel and apologize. What a tyrant!"
"So what if I am a tyrant?" Zhao Chao Heng asked coldly.
It was not that he had very close relations with Li Yuan Ming, but both of them came from parties that possessed Heaven Tier-level power, and thus, belonged to the same circle. The fact that Li Yuan Ming was thrashed like a dog was enough to cause him embarrassment as well.
Thus, he definitely had to get him out of this predicament.
"Then, we'll fight!" Ling Han was unafraid, and raised his fists. He was only playing around when he was waving the whip, so how could he have possibly shown the true level of battle prowess.
Zhao Chao Heng laughed loudly, and said, "You were able to suppress Brother Yuan Ming merely because this is an area of lightning, and thus you gained a natural advantage. However, I too am Thunder-aligned. In that case, cultivation level would be the deciding factor! I am in the Spiritual Infant Tier, and furthermore, am in the ninth layer, so what do you have that could allow you to fight me?"
"… From my point of view, I think you are in the ninth layer of the Chattiness Sect!" Ling Han teased. "If we're fighting, then let's fight, but you're still noisy. Tell me, what else could you be but in the Chattiness Sect?"
Zhao Chao Heng's expression darkened. He casually tossed the whip back to Li Yuan Ming, and gripped his hands into fists. Pa, pa, pa, the sound of his knuckles cracking was endless, and his whole body of muscles vibrated, showing that the power of his physical body was extremely shocking.
Ling Han nodded internally. They were both from a powerful party, and were both at the peak of Spiritual Infant Tier, but Zhao Chao Heng was a dozen over times stronger than Li Yuan Ming.
That was because even in a party with Heaven Tier-level power, their resources would still be limited. Thus, these resources could only be concentrated on developing and nurturing those clansmen that had outstanding natural talent. As a result, though Li Yuan Ming's cultivation level had reached the Spiritual Infant Tier, his battle prowess was… appalling.
This Zhao Chao Heng could not be underestimated.
Ling Han similarly stretched out his tendons. Cracks that sounded like thunder rang out from within his body. Furthermore, it was even more astonishing than Zhao Chao Heng, and the noise was enough to make one's heart explode in their chest.
… They both cultivated Body Arts, but the Nine Dragons Tyrant Art originated from the Twelve Palace Halls, and was definitely in the Immortal Grade. Wasn't that awesome enough, and sufficient to suppress all other kinds of Body Arts in quality?
Zhao Chao Heng's expression changed slightly. He cultivated a Body Art, and so knew very well what astronomical sacrifices one had to make to cultivate Body Arts at the same time as normal cultivation. Firstly, there were not that many Body Arts Techniques. If one were to cultivate a poor-quality Body Art, it would be better not to learn in the first place, as it would be a pure waste of time and energy.
Secondly, the moment their physique was established, the need for natural treasures would be too high, and the further they advanced, the more shockingly high their needs would be. Even for a party with Heaven Tier-level power, they could only choose about five clansmen every generation to nurture.
But this young man was obviously younger than himself, and had a lower cultivation level than his, yet had surpassed him in Body Arts. This was something he could not accept.
Could it be that he had come from an even more powerful party?
It was the first time that Zhao Chao Heng felt that this was a troublesome matter. Perhaps he had really caught a hot potato with his interference this time, but now that things had progressed so far, he could no longer step back, and could but grit his teeth and continue.
"Make your move!" he said. "You are only in the Flower Blossom Tier, so I'll let you have the first three moves. You can choose to back out of a difficult situation. I only ask you to apologize to Brother Yuan Ming, and this matter would be considered over."
Unconsciously, he had already conceded, and made no more demands for Ling Han to kowtow and apologize. Ling Han merely had to apologize so that he could keep his pride, and that would be fine.
Yet Ling Han smirked coldly; why did he have to give him face?
Face was not something to be given by others, but to be earned with one's own power!
With a long whistle, he shot out an attack at his opponent, and said with a smile, "If you allow me to have the first three moves, I fear that you would have no chance to make your own move!"
"Heng, I said I would allow you the first three moves, and I will. I, Zhao— f***!" Zhao Chao Heng's expression changed drastically. Ling Han delivered a punch, and a dragon image of about 30 meters in height appeared. It was pale gold in color, and there was lightning entwining its entire body, which made for an incredibly terrifying sight.
He hurriedly raised his fist in a counterattack. Too strong, he was really too strong. If he really allowed Ling Han to have the first three moves, he would be completely suppress by the latter, and he would have absolutely no chance to make a comeback ever again.