Although Zhao Lun was surprised and angry, he didn't dare go against the Ninth King's will. Moreover, the female guard was an elite at the medium extreme of the Sun Moon Tier, and her strength was several tens of thousands of times stronger than his.
Thus, it came as no surprise that his cultivation level was instantly sealed. Black divine chains appeared on two of his Mountain Rivers, forcefully locking them down.
His cultivation level immediately fell to the medium extreme, which was the same as Ling Han's.
Although there were many powerful elders in the Academy, none of them came out to help Ling Han just then, as they were all wary of Great General Zhao. Now that the Ninth King had personally issued a command, who still dared to stick their nose in this matter?
Out of Great General Zhao and the Ninth King, who was more influential?
If Great General Zhao dared to provoke the Ninth King, the Seven Generals would quickly become the Six Generals. There was no doubt about this.
"Now, you two can battle again!" Hu Feiyun's voice was cold as if she wasn't biased toward any one of them.
Zhao Lun was naturally seething with anger. What kind of demonic power did this lowly being from the small world possess? It had only been half a year, yet the Left Minister's daughter and the Ninth King were all standing up for him now. Meanwhile, although Shui Yanyu and Gu Lingyu's statuses were much lower, they were still renowned beauties from well-off families.
He laughed with confidence as he spoke, "So what if we battle with the same cultivation level? I, Zhao Lun, am the number one prodigy of these past 1000 years. Who can challenge my might?" However, he genuinely didn't dare to take his opponent lightly this time around. He balled his hands into fists.
Weng!
Golden light instantly radiated from his fists.
Pu, pu, pu!
His sleeves bulged up as if his muscles were suddenly exploding in size at this moment.
"Is this Great General Zhao's ultimate technique, the Residual Gold War Buddha Fist?" someone yelped in surprise.
"That's right, this is one of Great General Zhao's ultimate techniques! It's rumored that when Great General Zhao was at the Sun Moon Tier, he once used three moves from this technique to smash a powerful enemy at the consummate level of the Sun Moon Tier to pulp! That was the battle which earned him the status of a great elite."
"After so many years, Great General Zhao has definitely raised the might of the Residual Gold War Buddha Fist by a few notches."
"Zhao Lun is getting serious this time."
"Of course he is! They're both at the same cultivation level right now, and Ling Han is also a four-star genius. If he doesn't take it seriously, won't he simply be seeking death?"
"I seem to have heard that Ling Han reached the Crimson Lake Island three times. So, is it possible that he's reached the level of five-star genius?"
"Hehe, five-star geniuses only exist in legends. How can it be so easy to reach it? Him reaching the island three times is indeed more impressive than Zhao Lun. However, he can at most only surpass four and a half stars. He definitely can't surpass five stars."
Zhao Lun strode toward Ling Han as the spectators quietly chattered among themselves.
Ling Han clasped the wound on his left side with one of his hands. There was a strong corrosive ability that could melt metal and disintegrate bones contained within Zhao Lun's palm strike. Moreover, it even formed divine patterns in his wound, and these divine patterns continued to circulate and prevent his wound from healing.
Ling Han had to destroy these divine patterns before he could heal his wound. However, these divine patterns were abnormally sturdy, and even his Origin Power couldn't wash them away. Moreover, he couldn't enter the Black Tower right now, which meant he couldn't use the Black Tower's abilities to get rid of these divine patterns, either. He could only rack his brain for other ideas.
A thought flashed through Ling Han's mind, and he instantly activated his divine patterns of flame.
Hiss!
The divine patterns clashed, and the foreign divine patterns were quickly burned into ashes.
'As expected!' When Zhao Lun had attacked him just then, he had seen a layer of water-like divine light. That was most likely a water-element cultivation technique. It was in conflict with the fire element, and using one against the other was the best way to deal with techniques of these elements.
"Even at the same cultivation level, I can still crush you with ease!" Zhao Lun swung his fists as he charged over. "First Strike of the Residual Gold War Buddha Fist—Rising Wave Stirs Winds and Clouds!"
Ling Han laughed loudly, and said, "I've never come across an opponent who's stronger than me at the same cultivation level. You're no different!"
He unleashed his Earth Overturning Seal in reply to Zhao Lun's strike.
Peng!
Ling Han stood proud and unmoving during this exchange. Meanwhile, Zhao Lun heavily stumbled back a dozen or so steps. The blood in his body churned, and his face also shifted between white and red.
"Gasp! When battling in the same cultivation level, Zhao Lun is truly no match for Ling Han!"
Excitement and disbelief swept through the crowd. Putting aside Zhao Lun's personality, the level of his natural talent was indeed worthy of being number one in the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire. In fact, he had displayed an even stronger potential, and there was a chance that he could become an elite of the Heavenly Body Tier in the future.
Yet, a freakish talent such as him was actually at a disadvantage while battling against someone at the same cultivation level!
"This Ling Han… His power is definitely not limited to the early stage of the medium extreme. It's probably close to the peak stage already."
"I agree. His palm techniques seem very ordinary, yet he's still able to wield such terrifying battle prowess. This is almost certainly because his power far exceeds his cultivation level, therefore raising the level of his battle prowess."
"Gasp! Does this mean his battle prowess will become even stronger if he cultivates a higher level secret technique?"
"He can become a five-star genius!"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Were they truly going to witness the rise of a five-star genius?
"Damn it, damn it!" Zhao Lun roared in fury as he launched another attack. "Second Strike of the Residual Gold War Buddha Fist—Three Waves Conquer the World!"
Boom!
The might of his fist instantly soared threefold!
As before, Ling Han responded with his Earth Overturning Seal. Both he and Zhao Lun were using metal-element cultivation techniques, and as metallic sheen collided and intertwined, it was as if both of them had become metallic Gods of War. As their attacks collided, both of them leaped backward.
They were evenly matched in this exchange.
"Hahahaha!" Zhao Lun roared with laughter, and said, "Your strength is only so-so. I still haven't unleashed my most powerful third strike!"
Ling Han smiled calmly, and said, "You're feeling too good about yourself, and you're also too good at deceiving yourself. Who said that this is the full extent of my strength?"
"Is that so?!" Zhao Lun charged over again, once more unleashing the Second Strike of the Residual Gold War Buddha Fist.
Terrifying rays of metallic light intertwined as their attacks collided.
Very few people noticed that Zhao Lun's eyes would become slightly more golden every time he launched an attack. After ten or so strikes, his eyes had already become completely gold.
"Third Strike of the Residual Gold War Buddha Fist—Nine Waves Pierce the Sun and Moon!"
His body grew rapidly as he roared, and he transformed into a golden giant that measured a full nine meters in height. He had finally unleashed his most powerful strike, one that raised his battle prowess by a whopping ninefold!
It wasn't that he was going easy on Ling Han just then. Rather, he needed to strengthen his physique before he could unleash the third strike. Thus, he needed to enter the state of the Nine Meter Golden Body first, something that required considerable time.
Once this transformation was complete, however, he was able to launch an earth-shattering strike!
Boom!
A gigantic golden fist smashed down from the sky. There was nothing fancy about it, and it was all brute explosive power.
Ling Han struck out with his palm again, merely unleashing the Earth Overturning Seal.
Peng!
Fist and palm met, and the discrepancy in their size was jarringly obvious. The golden fist crushed down and relentlessly pushed Ling Han backward. If it hadn't been for the stones in this arena being strong enough, two streaks of footprints would have already been dug into the ground.
"Hahahaha!" Zhao Lun roared with laughter as he furiously smashed his two gigantic fists toward Ling Han.
The Residual Gold War Buddha Fist had three moves, yet these weren't different in terms of technique. Rather, they were different in terms of how much power was channeled!
The energy expenditure of the third strike was huge, and it also came with some side effects. After all, it was a strike that could raise one's battle prowess ninefold. During this time, the wielder of this technique was almost invincible!
Who in the same cultivation level could challenge him?