162: So what should someone like me, who specializes in killing geniuses, be called?

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

Lin Fan sat up from the stone chair and stretched, his bones cracking and popping with a crisp, loud sound like roasted beans.

Li Yan and Jingang were already awake; one was meditating to regulate his breath, while the other was doing a one-finger handstand—his index finger was driven deep into the rock of the ground, his entire body suspended and rotating, each rotation stirring up whistling gales of Qi.

"Ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight... ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine... one hundred thousand!"

Jingang completed the final rotation and landed steadily, his breath long and continuous like a surging river. His bronze skin shimmered with a metallic luster in the morning light, and his monk's robe was already soaked with sweat.

Lin Fan raised an eyebrow: "Is this how all Buddhist Sect's Jingang Battle Bodies are Cultivated?"

Jingang respectfully said: "Replying to Master, ordinary Jingang Battle Bodies naturally don't need this. But I have awakened the Ancient Buddha Battle Body, which requires extreme tempering every day to stimulate my Bloodline. An ordinary Mid-stage Martial Emperor cannot break my defense within three strikes."

"Mid-stage Martial Emperor?" Lin Fan laughed, "Then, do I count as ordinary?"

Jingang's face darkened: "Master, that's cheating."

Lin Fan nodded with satisfaction: "This flattery is quite spirited; add a chicken leg."

Li Yan finished his meditation at this moment, leaned over, and whispered: "Lord City Lord, the Secret Realm was rife with undercurrents last night. The Four Monsters... have issued a harsh ultimatum."

"Oh?" Lin Fan fished out a bag of melon seeds from his storage ring and leisurely started cracking them, "What did they say? Let's hear it."

"They said..." Li Yan's expression was strange, "They are hosting a banquet at the Hanging Palace today and invite you to eat your last supper. They also said if you are afraid, you can kneel outside the Hanging Palace, kowtow nine times, and cripple your own Cultivation; they might consider letting you be a watchdog."

Lin Fan spat out a melon seed shell and laughed: "Last supper? The way they use this term... was their Chinese taught by a PE teacher?"

"But since they are so enthusiastic..."

He stood up and brushed the dust off the corner of his clothes.

"Then let's go."

"I, for one, love attending feasts—especially other people's."

Li Yan panicked: "Lord City Lord! That's a death trap! The four of them, Xuan Ming and the others, are all Mid-stage Martial Emperor, known as monsters in the Central District. Each of them has individually killed a Late Stage Martial Emperor expert! The four of them combined just trapped and killed a Peak Martial Emperor Demon Race powerhouse three months ago!"

"Mid-stage Martial Emperor? Killed a Late Stage Demon Race? And can kill a Peak one?" Lin Fan's eyes lit up, "Then I must go even more!"

"How is this a death trap? This is clearly... a high-end buffet tasting event!"

Li Yan: "..."

Jingang was very calm: "Master is right. When strengths are equal, it's a death trap; when strength is overwhelming, it's called... coming to inspect the goods."

Lin Fan gave Jingang an approving look: "You have wisdom. Let's go, don't keep them waiting."

As his voice fell, Lin Fan took a step, walking through the air, and sped toward the Hanging Palace.

Jingang followed closely without hesitation.

Li Yan gritted his teeth and followed as well.

[Ding! Knowing there are tigers in the mountains, yet heading towards Tiger Mountain, prestige value + 5000!]

[Current prestige value: 9000 points!]

The Hanging Palace, ten thousand zhang in the air.

The white jade palace gleamed in the morning light. Four thick chains of Law connected to four floating islands. On each island sat a figure, their aura as deep as an abyss, their pressure causing the space to slightly distort.

East Island, Xuan Ming.

The youth with Yin and Yang eyes, with Mid-stage Martial Emperor Cultivation, had once ground an alien commander of Late Stage Martial Emperor to death with the Yin and Yang Reincarnation Seal. Battle record: seventeen wins, three draws, zero losses.

South Island, Chi Yan.

The red-haired youth, Mid-stage Martial Emperor, had cultivated the Heaven-Burning Sea-Boiling Art to Major Achievement. Where the flames passed, Laws turned to ash. He once burned away the siege of three Late Stage Martial Emperor Demon Race on his own.

West Island, Ice Glass.

The young girl in a blue dress, Mid-stage Martial Emperor, her Thousand-Mile Ice Sealing technique was superb, freezing Laws and solidifying time and space; those trapped and killed could not even escape with their Divine Soul.

North Island, Scholar.

The youth holding a folding fan, Mid-stage Martial Emperor, his Dao of Literature Law was mysterious and unpredictable. He used poetry as swords and essays as formations, once suppressing and killing a Demon Race Elder at the Peak of Late Stage Martial Emperor with a single "Exorcism Ode".

When the three of them, Lin Fan, arrived, a long table was already set up in the square in front of the Hanging Palace.

Four dishes were on the table, corresponding to the Laws of the four people.

The main seat was empty.

The four of them sat on both sides, and seeing Lin Fan arrive, they raised their eyes simultaneously.

Four gazes, like four sharp swords cutting through the Void Realm, instantly pierced through space and locked onto Lin Fan!

The pressure of a Mid-stage Martial Emperor was released without reservation. The white jade ground of the square cracked inch by inch, and the air emitted unbearable explosions!

Li Yan let out a muffled groan, retreated seven steps in succession, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Jingang stepped forward, blocking in front of Li Yan. Golden light flowed over his body, and the Ancient Buddha Battle Body was fully activated, forcibly withstanding this pressure, but his legs had already sunk three inches into the ground!

Only Lin Fan, as if he felt nothing, sat in the main seat with an imposing manner, even picking up chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat burning with flames, putting it in his mouth and chewing.

"The cooking is okay," Lin Fan evaluated, "It's just that the seasoning is a bit bland. Are you... too poor to even afford salt?"

Flames soared in Chi Yan's eyes: "Lin Fan! You're about to die and you still dare to be cocky!"

"Cocky?" Lin Fan laughed, "My whole body is hard, do you want to try?"

He put down his chopsticks and looked around at the four:

"Alright, stop putting on airs."

"Are we starting directly, or should we go through the motions first so I can see what you four monsters are made of?"

Xuan Ming slowly stood up.

Following his movements, the other three stood up simultaneously.

Four auras of Mid-stage Martial Emperor erupted, intertwining and fusing, actually condensing into a huge four-colored seal in the Void Realm—Yin and Yang as the foundation, flames as the bones, frost as the veins, and characters as the soul!

The Fusion of four Laws at the Minor Achievement Realm, the power... had already surpassed the Late Stage Martial Emperor, approaching the Peak Martial Emperor!

"Lin Fan," Xuan Ming spoke, his voice cold and devoid of emotion, "That you could reach here with the body of a Martial King is indeed beyond our expectations."

"But it ends here."

"Today, you will understand!"

"Exactly how big the gap is between true Prodigies and so-called dark horses like you who come from the middle of nowhere."

Lin Fan also stood up and laughed.

"Mid-stage Martial Emperor? Fusion of four Laws?"

"Not bad, this is worthy of being my whetstone."

He stepped out and arrived at the center of the square.

The prototype of the Devouring Domain quietly unfolded!

Within a radius of ten zhang, the light distorted, Spiritual Qi surged backward, and even the four-colored seal formed by the Fusion of the four monsters began to tremble slightly—as if being gnawed at the edges by an invisible giant mouth!

"However..."

Lin Fan looked up, his Battle Intent erupting like a volcano in his eyes:

"Do you have some misunderstanding about the word 'gap'?"

"Having killed a Late Stage Martial Emperor, you dare to call yourselves Prodigies?"

"Then what should someone like me, who specializes in killing Prodigies..."

He grinned, revealing his stark white teeth:

"Be called?"

[Ding! Facing four Mid-stage Martial Emperor powerful enemies, still domineering, prestige value + 8000!]

[Current prestige value: 24000 points!]