196: Chapter 196 Ten Times Gravity, Martial Artist's Paradise, Warm-up Begins

The words had just fallen, and the curve hanging on the corner of his mouth hadn't even receded when the surrounding air became quiet due to the deathly stillness.

Hearing these words, the corner of the eye on the Dead Soldier Captain's permanently expressionless face twitched twice.

The pitch-black heavy cleaver, weighing a hundred catties, was augmented by ten times gravity. It whistled through the dark red mist and hacked straight down toward the target's head.

A Triangular Armor-Piercing Spike thrusting in from the side and a heavy Morning Star coming from the rear locked down all available space for evasion.

The pale-faced geniuses in the distance held their breath, some subconsciously closing their eyes.

Xiao Kuangyun clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms, as he muttered under his breath, "Dodge it, hurry and dodge! If an attack like that lands solidly, he'll be turned into meat paste!"

The tip of the blade, glowing with a ghostly green poison, was less than three fingers' width from the skin.

The bone powder beneath Lin Qi's feet kicked up a wave of air in all directions. Without any warning, he lowered his body slightly.

This explosive force exceeded visual tracking; there were no flashy skill light effects, only the propulsion of the Physical Body.

In the muffled sound of those feet crushing the ground, the encirclement shook from the counter-force.

He did not retreat, nor did he look for a gap in the flanks. He charged straight toward several heavy steel shields in front of him.

This action caused a flicker of mockery to flash in the eyes of the shield-bearing dead soldiers in the front row. They crouched down, bracing their massive shields—large enough to cover their entire bodies—against the bone-strewn ground.

In the eyes of these assassins, the youth was merely making a deathbed struggle. The result of flesh and blood colliding with metal could only be mangled meat.

The leading Shield-bearer felt the gale brought by the high-speed movement hit his face. He snorted coldly, his muscles bulging as he prepared to meet the impending impact.

"Seeking death!"

A muffled low growl came from behind the shield.

Lin Qi's figure twisted when he was within a meter of the shield, his right shoulder sinking with the momentum. His entire True Qi surged along his spine, converging onto a single point on his shoulder.

This was the killing move 'Iron Mountain Lean' from the ancient martial art, Baji Quan.

When his shoulder made contact with that massive steel shield, there was no expected sound of clashing metal.

Instead, it was a dull, bursting sound.

The five-centimeter-thick shield dented into a deep pit at the point of contact, with countless fine cracks spreading from the center toward the edges.

The impact force was too brutal. The shield-bearing dead soldier didn't even feel pain, only a sensation of a titanic force pressing down on him.

Under everyone's gaze, that steel shield shattered into metal fragments, which shot backward violently.

After the spiral Penetrating Force hidden behind the shoulder destroyed the shield, it followed the air vibrations and poured into the dead soldier's chest.

The thick chest armor deformed completely at the moment of contact, followed by the sound of ribs snapping, which made listeners' scalps tingle.

The two-meter-tall strongman was lifted off his feet, flying backward over thirty meters trailing blood, knocking over several companions who couldn't dodge in time along the way.

His body traced an arc through the air, slammed heavily against a massive Dragon rib, and finally slid down slowly.

The originally airtight encirclement was torn open with a massive gap because of this collision.

The movements of the remaining dead soldiers stiffened simultaneously, and a sense of wavering appeared in their numb eyes.

They could not understand why someone could still deal such physical damage in this place where attributes were suppressed and the System was disabled.

"W-what kind of monster is this?"

"The shield shattered? That was a steel shield reinforced with Deep Sea Sunken Silver!"

"Did he really not use a skill? I didn't feel any magic fluctuations at all!"

On the periphery, Xiao Kuangyun's mouth hung wide open. Looking at the youth in the center of the gap, he felt the common sense he had accumulated over twenty years collapsing.

Han Qianchi's face was also filled with shock. He rubbed his hands, which were unable to use power, and murmured in a low voice, "It's not a skill; that's a power-delivery technique. Just how strong has this kid's Physical Body reached?"

Li Pojun's smile froze on his face. He stared at the Shield-bearer who had died a miserable death, a sound escaping his throat.

A feeling of fear crawled from the soles of his feet up to the crown of his head.

Lin Qi stood in place and brushed the metal dust off his shoulder. He turned his head to look at those dead soldiers, his eyes glinting with playfulness.

"Don't stop. That move just now didn't even count as a warm-up."

"Is this all the pressure resistance the dead soldiers trained by your Li family have?"

"Or rather, after leaving the System's assistance, have you forgotten even how to kill people?"

Under the pressure of gravity, his voice entered everyone's ears, carrying a sort of lofty mockery.

The Dead Soldier Captain's fingers gripped his saber until they turned white. He was a ruthless character after all; though he was horrified, his killing intent soon overrode his fear.

"Spread out! Don't go head-to-head with him! Use containment tactics and wear him down!"

"This kind of outburst of his definitely won't last long. The load on the Physical Body is limited!"

The Dead Soldier Captain roared loudly, trying to regain the rhythm.

The remaining twenty-plus dead soldiers quickly adjusted their positions. They no longer charged head-on but instead dispersed into several small groups, constantly moving around.

Some pulled out poisoned throwing knives, some took out capture nets, and others hid in the dark red mist looking for an opportunity.

This tactic was very insidious under ten times gravity; every evasion consumed a large amount of stamina.

As long as Lin Qi showed any sign of fatigue, sharp blades would be waiting for him.

Instead of showing a grave expression, Lin Qi smiled even more brilliantly.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air. Under the pressure, his Prototype Golden Body's luster became more restrained, and vitality surged through his meridians.

"Wear me down? You want to compete with me in consumption in a place like this?"

"You truly know nothing about the power of the Martial Dao."

Before his voice had even faded, his figure vanished from the spot once again.

This time he didn't choose to crash through. Instead, he took eerie steps, every stride landing in the dead soldiers' visual blind spots.

Ghost Shadow Yu Step.

Coupled with the explosion of liquefied True Qi, he pulled out afterimages within the gravity field.

The dead soldier who was about to throw a knife felt his vision blur. The youth, who was still over ten meters away, was already pressed against his back.

The close-range sense of oppression made all the hair on his body stand on end.

Before he could even turn his head, a warm palm had already been placed on his back, right over his heart.

"The first one."

Lin Qi's voice was flat, without a single ripple.

A surge of force exploded violently from his palm—Hidden Force, Bone Piercing!

There were no wounds on the dead soldier's back, yet his chest armor bulged forward. The light in his eyes extinguished as he slumped to the ground.

His internal organs had already been shredded by the vibrating force.

This method was even more suffocating than the previous collision.

"He's over there! Attack!"

The Dead Soldier Captain swept out his heavy saber, bringing with it a circle of Saber Qi.

Lin Qi's figure swayed along the trajectory of the Saber Qi, appearing once more at the side of another dead soldier.

His fingertip accurately tapped the opponent's throat, emitting the sound of bone cracking.

In less than ten breaths of time, another three dead soldiers had turned into cold corpses.

This efficiency exceeded the assassins' understanding.

The combined attack Formation they took pride in was full of holes before Lin Qi. Every lock-down was dismantled by the youth in a simple and brutal manner.

Panic began to spread among the group of dead soldiers, their eyes filled with awe and fear toward this unknown power.

"Run! This is not a human at all!"

Someone shouted, and the originally disciplined Formation began to collapse.

Lin Qi stood by the corpses and glanced at Li Pojun in the distance, his gaze cold.

"Run? The doors to this Dragon Tomb are closed. Where can you run?"

"I said this would be your graveyard, and I will certainly keep my word."

He took another step forward, and the bone-strewn ground beneath his feet cracked into a gully several meters long.

The slaughter had only just begun in earnest.

In the dark red mist, the youth appeared terrifying to that group of survivors.

And this was merely the beginning of his debt collection.