68: The city lord himself arrived, his imposing presence overwhelming even the most resolute!
Boom!!!
A loud explosion like a thunderclap tore through the tranquility of the courtyard!
The wooden door of the Iron Bone Martial Arts School, which had weathered many storms, was directly blasted into pieces by a domineering force!
Having experienced several forced entries, it finally shattered!
Dust billowed, and wood splinters flew in all directions.
Xiao Chen and several children were scared out of their wits by the sudden turn of events, freezing in place and looking in terror at the violently broken gate.
In the dust, more than ten elites from the City Lord's Mansion, clad in Silver Chainmail and hands on their Standard-issue Long Sabers, surrounded two figures and stepped into the courtyard like wolves and tigers.
Walking slightly behind, bowing and scraping, was the Chief Steward of the City Lord's Mansion, Zhang Long.
Beside him, a middle-aged man dressed in a Black Brocade Robe with a face as cold as ice stood calmly.
Just by standing there, a terrifying pressure, as tangible as a landslide or a tsunami, instantly flooded the entire courtyard!
An Aura far exceeding that of Duan Tianba from last time.
Spirit Transformation Realm!
A powerful Aura unique to a powerhouse of the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts!
Under this pressure, the air became as thick as mercury, and time itself seemed to be frozen.
“Thump!”
Several young Disciples couldn't even let out a groan; their legs went weak, and they collapsed on the spot, their small faces pale and their bodies shaking like sieves.
Xiao Chen felt as if he had been struck by a mountain; he felt his entire skeleton groaning, and his internal organs were being tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand.
The Internal Energy in his body was suppressed to the point of being stagnant, and his knees bent uncontrollably, making a “creak” sound as he was about to kneel down.
He gritted his teeth so hard they almost shattered, veins bulging, using every last bit of his dignity to avoid kneeling on the spot.
This was the City Lord of Jinling, City Lord!
So strong it made one feel despair!
However, in the center of this suffocating storm of pressure, there was a figure that stood as still as a pillar holding up the sky.
Li Qing slowly finished his cultivation and turned around.
That terrifying Aura, enough to crush a Condensing Essence Realm Martial Artist, felt like nothing when it fell on him.
It didn't even make him frown.
His Physical Body, which had undergone Fusion with the [Mysterious Armor] talent, had long since transcended the scope of ordinary Martial Artists; this level of mental pressure was insignificant to him.
City Lord City Lord's gaze immediately locked onto Li Qing.
His deep eyes narrowed slightly, and a flash of surprise crossed them.
The youth before him had a tall and straight posture, and his Aura was restrained.
The calmness that reached deep into his bones was definitely not a facade.
What he found even more incredible was that the youth before him indeed only had a cultivation of the Middle Stage of Body Refining.
An ant in the Body Refining Realm.
How could he stand so straight under his pressure?
And how could he have beaten Duan Tianba, who was in the Late Stage of Meridian Connecting Realm, into a miserable retreat?
City Lord did notOpening, Zhang Long beside him naturally understood.
The City Lord needed to maintain his majesty and mystery, while the dirty work of shouting, threatening, and testing was naturally left to a servant like him.
Zhang Long took a step forward, his arrogance flaring as he tilted his chin up and looked down at Li Qing.
“You are Li Qing?”
Li Qing's gaze went straight past him and landed calmly on City Lord City Lord's face.
In this entire courtyard, only that one person was worthy of his attention.
Being ignored so blatantly, Zhang Long's face instantly turned the color of pig liver, and his voice suddenly rose!
“Kid! This steward is asking you a question! Are you the Li Qing who injured Duan Tianba and claimed to have Spirit Medicine?”
Li Qing then slowly moved his gaze back to Zhang Long, his eyes indifferent.
This must be the person that old fellow Duan Tianba brought!
But why would even the City Lord come?
He naturally knew the person in front of him was City Lord City Lord.
In this Jinling City, one could afford not to know anyone else, but one must know the City Lord.
Moreover, the people he killed last time were all the City Lord's subordinates.
He was even more under his observation.
“Duan Tianba's skills were inferior; getting beaten was only natural.”
“As for the Spirit Medicine.”
He paused, his tone without any fluctuation.
“They are just some worthless mountain products, not worthy of the name Spirit Medicine.”
This neither humble nor arrogant response, even carrying a hint of casualness, blocked all the threats and inducements Zhang Long had prepared in his throat.
This kid wasn't following the script?
After seeing the overwhelming display of power from the City Lord's Mansion, shouldn't he be kneeling and begging for mercy, kowtowing like pounding garlic?
Was this calm and composed manner of his due to true confidence, or was he just putting on a show?!
A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Zhang Long's eyes.
That old fox Duan Tianba had praised this kid to the skies, saying his Physical Body was comparable to a Vicious Beast.
He originally thought Duan Tianba was deliberately exaggerating to borrow someone else's knife to kill.
Seeing him today, although this kid could withstand the City Lord's pressure, he was ultimately just in the Body Refining Realm.
If he didn't personally tear off this mask, he wouldn't be satisfied!
“Humph! Wild herbs? What big talk!”
Zhang Long sneered, not bothering to waste any more words, and suddenly attacked without warning!
He thrust out his right palm, Internal Energy surging, transforming into a faint green palm print that was as fast as a thunderbolt, aiming straight for Li Qing's chest!
“I want to see if your bones are as hard as your mouth!”
With this palm strike, he used seventy percent of his strength!
As a Martial Artist in the Middle Stage of Condensing Essence Realm, he was extremely confident that this strike was enough to swat any Body Refining Realm Martial Artist into a pile of mush!
He wanted to make this youth pay a bloody price for his arrogance in front of the City Lord!
Facing this sudden palm strike, Xiao Chen cried out in alarm.
“Big Brother Li, be careful!”
However, Li Qing still stood in place, neither dodging nor evading.
Not until the fierce wind from the palm strike made his black hair dance wildly did he slowly raise his right hand.
There were no Internal Energy fluctuations, nor were there any Moves or techniques.
It was just a simple, unremarkable palm strike that met the attack.
Snap!
The moment the two palms collided.
A muffled explosion, like a giant hammer hitting a leather drum, rang out!
Boom!
A violent white airwave exploded outward with the two of them as the center!
The bluestone ground in the courtyard was forcibly plowed into a circle of hideous spider-web cracks by this force!
Xiao Chen and the other children were directly blown away by the airwave, falling seven or eight meters away like rolling gourds.
The dust cleared.
The scene in the courtyard made all the surrounding Guards gasp.
Li Qing still stood in place, his feet not moving an inch, his expression calm.
But the Chief Steward Zhang Long, who had attacked so fiercely, now had nothing but shock and disbelief on his arrogant face!
His entire body was actually sent flying back by that counterforce!
His right hand, which he had struck out with, was now trembling uncontrollably, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger was a bloody mess.
His entire arm was in excruciating pain!
Just at the moment of the collision.
That palm strength, which was terrifying to an incomprehensible degree, caused the blood and Qi in his body to surge backward; his throat felt sweet, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
This... how is this possible?!
Zhang Long's mind went blank.
He was a powerhouse in the Middle Stage of Condensing Essence Realm!
To think, he was actually knocked back in one Move by a kid in the Middle Stage of Body Refining?!
Moreover, the opponent hadn't even used a single trace of Internal Energy!
Pure Physical Body!
Could it be, could it be that the old geezer Duan Tianba was telling the truth?!
He wasn't trying to borrow a knife to kill; he was telling the truth!
At this moment, a bone-chilling coldness rushed from the soles of Zhang Long's feet straight to the top of his head.
City Lord City Lord, who had been silent all this time, had his pupils suddenly shrink to the size of pinpricks at this moment!
The shock in his heart was ten times stronger than Zhang Long's!
Although Zhang Long did not excel in martial arts, he was still a genuine Middle Stage of Condensing Essence Realm.
Yet, he was repelled head-on by a youth in the Middle Stage of Body Refining!
City Lord's gaze locked onto Li Qing's thin body, his eyes changing from scrutiny to extreme shock!
This kid is so young; this is not a Realm that can be reached through diligent practice.
This is talent!
It is the legendary, one-in-a-million... Innate Divine Strength!
Only this kind of primitive talent flowing deep in the Bloodline could explain it.
Why a mere Body Refining Realm could possess such inconceivable and completely illogical physical strength!
When did such a monster appear in this small Jinling City?