Chapter 338: You Are Not Qualified Yet
Above Chiyue Town, the blazing sun hung high.
However, because of Ghost Hand’s appearance, everyone in Chiyue Town felt it hard to move. Especially those below the Bone Forging Realm could not move at all; all of them trembled uncontrollably in terror.
Although most of the people present did not know who Ghost Hand was, they all understood that for such a terrifying expert to appear and unleash his qi and blood without reservation, he was definitely not here with good intentions.
And for one person’s qi and blood to suppress an entire town, such a powerhouse was unheard of.
“Who on earth is this person? Why did he come to Chiyue Town?”
“This person is obviously here for the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. Just with qi and blood he suppresses the whole town. With such terrifying qi and blood, even Lord City Lord probably couldn’t reach one percent of it. Could this be the legendary Heavenly Human Grandmaster? What kind of faction has the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall provoked?”
“It’s over! If I had known, I shouldn’t have come to Chiyue Town for procurement today.”
The people in Chiyue Town looked at Ghost Hand in midair with fear on their faces and despair in their hearts.
In all the cities and in many towns as well, struggles and revenge between factions were common. This often caused battles between martial artists to spill over to others, and many times, those who died died in vain.
Now Ghost Hand had come with ill intent. Once he made a move, it was foreseeable that the entire Chiyue Town would likely be destroyed.
But while everyone in Chiyue Town was in a panic, Ghost Hand, whose figure exceeded four meters, a dark blue gem set in his forehead and clad in dark-gold battle armor, simply further withdrew the qi and blood spilling from him, making the pressure of qi and blood within Chiyue Town even stronger. It became so strong that all Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists in town could only lie prone on the ground, unable to move at all.
This scene left Ying Hu and the others in the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall deeply shocked.
“So this is the might of a grandmaster?”
Ying Hu watched as everyone except the Blood Condensation Realm Martial Artists lay down on the ground, unable to move, and his inner astonishment was beyond words.
Although his teacher was a Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster, he had never seen his teacher’s qi and blood fully unleashed. He only knew that grandmasters must not be provoked; they were the pinnacle of the Four Regions.
Only today, seeing Ghost Hand release his qi and blood without holding back, did he finally understand what the peak of the Four Regions meant.
Relying solely on his own qi and blood, he could suppress the people of a single town. Moreover, with continuous expansion, the radius of Chiyue Town had already exceeded ten kilometers. The river surrounding the mountains had now become an inner river within Chiyue Town. Its area far exceeded that of an ordinary town, yet it was still easily suppressed by Ghost Hand. The strength of his qi and blood was simply inconceivable.
Suspended in midair, after seeing the people of Chiyue Town all prostrate on the ground, Ghost Hand finally turned his gaze toward the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall within Chiyue Town.
“I am Ghost Hand, Vice Leader of the Smiling Skull. Whoever speaks for the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, get out here!”
Ghost Hand’s voice was like a great bell, echoing across the entire Chiyue Town. Everyone in the town wanted to cover their ears, but under the suppression of qi and blood, they could not move at all. They could only endure this deafening sound as their heads buzzed uncontrollably.
Although their heads were ringing, everyone in town now knew who this figure standing proudly in midair was.
“Smiling Skull? This man is from the Smiling Skull?”
“The Smiling Skull really is formidable. Truly one of the three untouchable existences in the Wushan Region, they actually have a Heavenly Human Grandmaster. This time the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall is probably doomed.”
“Hopefully the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall does not anger such a powerhouse, otherwise we might all be buried with them.”
Many in town who did not know the situation of the major powers in the Four Regions still broke into a cold sweat as they looked at Ghost Hand, who had come to cause trouble.
Although the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was now called the number one faction below the Four Great Domain Cities, its strongest experts were only at the Blood Condensation Realm. Compared with a Heavenly Human Grandmaster who only appeared in urban legends, they were not on the same level at all.
If the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall did not handle this properly, even setting the hall’s destruction aside, the entire Chiyue Town might disappear.
While everyone in Chiyue Town sank into terror, Ying Hu and the others at the Martial Arts Hall Training Ground were instead filled with doubt and confusion.
“Has the Smiling Skull gone mad? Wasn’t the matter of the Smiling Skull and the three families already settled? Coming to Chiyue Town now, aren’t they afraid the Mist Mountain Domain City will take action personally?” Ying Hu looked at Ghost Hand, who had voluntarily reported his identity, utterly perplexed.
After the previous resolution issued by the Four Great Domain Cities, the Mist Mountain Domain City had further notified that the Smiling Skull and the three families were forbidden from stepping into the Wushan Region.
Ghost Hand suddenly coming to Chiyue Town to pick a fight was a slap in the face to the Mist Mountain Domain City. Moreover, grandmasters were not allowed to make random moves within the Four Regions. Ghost Hand suppressing a whole town in Chiyue Town was outright provoking the bottom line of the Four Great Domain Cities.
The Obsidian Martial Arts Hall disciples training in the hall became tense when they heard Ghost Hand announce his name.
“So this is a grandmaster?”
Wu Zhuoqun, whose strength had already reached the Bone Forging Realm Intermediate Level, looked at Ghost Hand in midair. Unable to move, he had both fear and an unprecedented longing and helplessness in his eyes.
A Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster.
This was a realm that existed only in legends in the major cities, and also the realm pursued by every City Lord. It was said that only the Domain Cities had such existences seated in town, and it was the lifelong goal pursued by countless geniuses who entered the Domain Cities.
Being able to see one with his own eyes now was tremendously shocking, because a Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster was even more terrifying than imagined. And for the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, as far as potential went, at least Hall Master Lin Qi definitely had a chance to reach that realm.
But now that the Smiling Skull had charged in killing intent blazing, it would be extremely difficult for the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to survive this calamity.
“Damn it! If only I had already reached the Blood Condensation Realm.” Xia Ling, at Bone Forging Realm Beginner Level, looked at Ghost Hand in midair and sighed inwardly that her realm was too low. Faced with people from the Smiling Skull coming, she did not even have the strength to resist.
“What a pity. If you gave me five years, this man would not necessarily be unbeatable.” Xiong Yuedie, who was also cultivating in the hall, forcefully resisted the suppression of qi and blood, her fighting spirit blazing as she looked at Ghost Hand.
After joining the hall’s garrison, Xiong Yuedie was almost certain that, with the various cultivation equipment of the hall, the Blood Condensation Realm was not her end. Her chances of achieving the legendary Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster were quite high. After all, in the Beginner Meditation Room and Beginner Training Room, she was improving at high speed almost every moment.
Especially since the hall also provided special food specifically for the garrison, allowing their improvement speed to soar.
Faced with a grandmaster like Ghost Hand, she was very confident she could surpass him within five years.
“To deal with him, why would you need five years? Give me three years and that’s enough.” Xia Ling glared at Ghost Hand in midair, fuming that the Smiling Skull had no martial ethics. Losing to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall in the Mountain of the Dead battle, they now sent a Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster over.
“Not bad. Three years is enough.” Usually not very talkative, Estina looked at Ghost Hand and agreed with Xia Ling.
But no matter what Xia Ling and the others said, they could only lie on the ground, completely unable to resist Ghost Hand’s qi and blood suppression.
“Three years to confront Ghost Hand? Are all these Obsidian Martial Arts Hall disciples this arrogant?” Hearing them, Ying Hu could not help glancing at Xia Ling and the others, feeling that these Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists were truly boasting shamelessly.
At their current age, Xia Ling and the rest, having reached the Bone Forging Realm, only had the qualifications to try for entry into a Domain City. Let alone a Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster, even Half-Step Heavenly Human experts were super geniuses in the Domain Cities whose lifelong dream was to reach higher.
Yet in Xia Ling and the others’ eyes, achieving the Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster seemed as easy as eating and drinking, leaving him unsure how to even evaluate the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
As Ying Hu was thinking this, a group of people walked out from the main hall of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, led by a young human man less than two meters tall, wearing a pitch-black martial robe.
Ying Hu’s gaze, however, did not fall on this young human man, but instead, in surprise, on a tall middle-aged man of the Forest Race walking behind the young man.
“What is going on with Mond?”
Ying Hu looked at Mond, who followed behind the young human man and the human woman from before, feeling bewildered. He could not understand when the dignified Quasi-Elder of the Mist Mountain Domain City had become so humble.
Previously, Mond’s respectful attitude toward the human woman could be explained by the possibility that her identity was extraordinary. But now he was also so respectful to another young human man, which was truly surprising.
Before Ying Hu could step forward to ask, he saw the young human man suddenly vanish from where he stood. When Ying Hu’s gaze caught up, that young man was already standing above Chiyue Town, less than a hundred meters from Ghost Hand in midair.
“So fast! Who is this person?” Ying Hu was astonished.
He prided himself that among Blood Condensation Realm experts, besides the Half-Step Heavenly Humans, he had few rivals, and speed was his forte. Yet the young human man’s movement was so fast that Ying Hu almost failed to catch it. Such a feat was something even Half-Step Heavenly Humans would struggle to surpass.
“That is Hall Master Lin Qi of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, Your Excellency Lin Qi,” Mond said, taking the initiative when he saw Ying Hu’s confusion.
Ying Hu of the Tianhe Domain City was very well-known in the Four Great Domain Cities, a peerless genius on par with Emilia and Xie Feina, very likely to reach the Half-Step Heavenly Human realm before forty. Anyone with some understanding of the Four Great Domain Cities would know of him.
The Four Great Domain Cities maintained mutual exchanges, and Mond had often seen Ying Hu during them.
“Your Excellency?” Ying Hu looked at Mond in shock.
A Half-Step Heavenly Human like Mond, already qualified to attempt a breakthrough to the Heavenly Human Realm in the Mist Mountain Domain City, was actually addressing the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s Hall Master as “Your Excellency.” He wondered if he had misheard.
“Yes, that is indeed Your Excellency Lin Qi.” Mond, seeing Ying Hu’s astonished expression, looked up at Lin Qi in midair with clear respect, then looked back at Ying Hu and curiously asked, “This is the Wushan Region. Why have people from the Tianhe Domain City come here?”
“My junior sister Ling Ye and I have extensive cooperation with the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, so before heading to the Corpse Mountain Range Forbidden Zone, we wanted to invite the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to join us,” Ying Hu replied without concealment.
“Cooperating with the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall?” Mond looked at Ying Hu, showing a look as if to say “you’ve got good eyes.” “You move fast, but we came first. You’ll have to line up behind us.”
“Uh…” Ying Hu could not help glancing up at Ghost Hand in midair, feeling dazed.
Was cooperation with the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall really the key point right now?
The Vice Leader of the Smiling Skull, Ghost Hand, had already come, yet Mond, from the Mist Mountain Domain City, still did not take it seriously and was even planning future cooperation matters with the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
A Heavenly Human Grandmaster was already here.
And this was Ghost Hand of the Smiling Skull, infamous and hot-tempered. If he was not handled carefully, it was not impossible that Chiyue Town would be destroyed.
“Smiling Skull, is it?” Mond, seeing Ying Hu’s worried expression, followed his gaze to Ghost Hand and said calmly, “Relax, it won’t get too big.”
“It won’t get too big? Why?” Ying Hu looked at Mond in surprise. “Has some Elder Lord come over?”
The Smiling Skull had even sent a Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster, which clearly showed the matter was serious, far beyond what the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall could resolve. If anyone could solve this, it would have to be an Elder from the Mist Mountain Domain City personally arriving.
“No, that has not happened,” Mond shook his head, still unruffled.
Just as Ying Hu wanted to ask further, Ghost Hand, seeing Lin Qi appear before him, let his qi and blood surge even more. The qi and blood that had originally only suppressed Bone Forging Realm Martial Artists now made Blood Condensation Realm Martial Artists within a radius of one kilometer feel suffocated, and their movements began to grow difficult.
“So this is the strength of the Smiling Skull’s Vice Leader?” Ying Hu felt as if a mountain were pressing on his back and looked at Ghost Hand in shock.
Ghost Hand might not be a mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster, yet to suppress his movements with qi and blood alone clearly meant he was no ordinary early-stage Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster. Even if he had not reached the Heavenly Human Realm Initial Stage Extreme, he was not far off. This level of strength already surpassed some Elders of the Domain Cities.
As his qi and blood rose higher, a bell-like voice rang out again.
“You people of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall are very bold indeed, daring to build a stronghold in our Smiling Skull’s territory. However, I do not wish to bully the weak with the strong. I will give your Obsidian Martial Arts Hall three days to withdraw completely from the Mountain of the Dead!”
“If you do not withdraw, your fate will be like that forest!”
After speaking, Ghost Hand pointed with one hand at a forested area far from Chiyue Town.
A gigantic phantom hand, more than two hundred meters long, appeared in midair and slapped down toward the forest more than ten kilometers away.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed through Chiyue Town.
Everyone in Chiyue Town stared, mouths agape, eyes almost popping out.
From Chiyue Town they could not see exactly what had happened to that forest, but they could see a mushroom cloud rising straight into the sky, more than ten kilometers high.
“A grandmaster! So this is a grandmaster?!”
Everyone present, whether Ying Hu and the others or the disciples of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, looked at Ghost Hand in midair as if looking at a monster.
It was said that a Blood Condensation Realm Martial Artist could destroy a city, but that required considerable time. Yet in Ghost Hand’s case, it felt as if a single palm would suffice.
What shocked Ying Hu and the others even more, though, were Ghost Hand’s words.
“Is the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall insane? How dare they build a stronghold in the Smiling Skull’s territory?” Ying Hu stared fixedly at Lin Qi in midair, convinced that Lin Qi must be out of his mind.
A grandmaster must not be insulted.
Even the Four Great Domain Cities would give a Heavenly Human Realm Grandmaster enough face. Building a stronghold beside a grandmaster was basically a slap in his face; it would be strange if the Smiling Skull did not explode in fury.
If not for the Smiling Skull’s concern about the Four Great Domain Cities, even if Ghost Hand slapped Chiyue Town into dust right now, it would not be undeserved.
“Completely withdraw from the Mountain of the Dead?” Lin Qi glanced at the forest in the distance that had been blasted into a crater, then looked back at Ghost Hand and said indifferently, “You are not qualified to demand that.”
“You court death!” Ghost Hand flew into a rage. He had not expected such wild words from Lin Qi, a brat not even at the Heavenly Human Realm. He grabbed out with one hand. “Since you do not know your place, I will take you to the Mountain of the Dead and hang you at its border forever, so that all who come after will see and not dare step into the Mountain of the Dead lightly!”
Seeing this, Ying Hu could not help shaking his head for Lin Qi.
What kind of existence was a grandmaster? Even if an Elder of the Mist Mountain Domain City were present, they would not dare say such things.
As the giant hand phantom condensed by qi and blood seized Lin Qi, and Ghost Hand exerted strength to crush him, Lin Qi’s whole body suddenly flared without wind. The energy around him surged like flames, forcibly stopping the phantom hand of qi and blood outside his body, as if it had gripped divine iron. No matter how much force was used, it was useless.
Before Ghost Hand could react further, Lin Qi stamped his foot and his whole body shattered the phantom hand of qi and blood, appearing directly in front of Ghost Hand, catching him off guard.
Lin Qi then grabbed Ghost Hand’s neck with one hand, lifting him like a chick. No matter how Ghost Hand struggled and attacked, he could not break free of that vise-like grip, nor could he inflict any real harm on Lin Qi.
“What you said makes sense. Then I will hang you at my gate so everyone can see.” As Lin Qi finished speaking, he tightened his grip.
Crack!
A crisp sound echoed in midair. Ghost Hand’s head lolled to the side, and his aura vanished completely.
