Lin Hao's words struck like a bolt from the blue, deafening and shocking everyone present, their expressions shifting drastically.
Tang Chen was beside himself with rage. His icy gaze seemed to freeze and solidify the surrounding air.
"This Tang Chen comes from the Tang Sect of Zhongzhou. In Zhongzhou, where powerhouses are as numerous as clouds, the Tang Sect stands like a pillar supporting the heavens. What is Lin Hao thinking, daring to challenge him? Has he lost his mind over a woman?"
"It seems disaster is about to befall the Xuantian Sect today."
"While the hatred of having one's wife stolen is hard to bear, facing a behemoth like the Tang Sect without swallowing one's pride, insisting on a momentary impulse, is truly unwise."
"Alas, he's still too young."
The guests present sighed with boundless regret. Having witnessed Lin Hao's arrogant and dismissive attitude, they immediately distanced themselves from him, terrified that Young Master Tang's anger would spill over and implicate them as well.
Cold sweat beaded on Ye Liuyun's forehead as he stepped forward with a forced smile. "Young Master Tang, Hao'er actually meant no offense—"
"Get lost!"
Tang Chen spat a single word right into his face, nearly knocking Ye Liuyun over in fright.
"Irrelevant people, stop meddling in other people's business!"
Glaring furiously at Lin Hao as if looking down at an ant, Tang Chen said, "You punk, you're nothing more than a stray dog from a backwater patch of land. How dare you spout such nonsense in front of me, Tang Chen? Who gave you the courage? Don't you know that the name of the Tang Sect..."
"...offenders must die!"
As Tang Chen spoke, killing intent flashed in his eyes. A stray dog, a rustic fellow at best—not only did he dare to fantasize about marrying his woman, but he also dared to speak disrespectfully of the Tang Sect.
Simply a frog at the bottom of a well! Shameless boasting!
Lin Hao calmly raised his eyes with a half-smile, looking as though he were admiring a foolish roe deer that had suddenly bolted out of the wilderness. "The Tang Sect, nothing special. Stop dragging it out every single second. Others might fear your Tang Sect, but I certainly do not."
"What did you say?!" Tang Chen's expression stiffened.
"I said: if you want to fight, then fight! Stop whining like a woman with all that useless chatter!" Lin Hao replied with a smirk.
Hearing this, Tang Chen was provoked into laughter. "Hahaha! Hahahahaha!"
"Very well, very well. An ant actually dares to bare its teeth at this young master now."
"Fine! Today I will let you see clearly just how vast the gap is between us."
"You should consider it an honor to die at my hands!"
Boom!
A majestic aura instantly erupted outward with Tang Chen at the center, sweeping across the surroundings like a storm. The entire mountain began to shake violently.
The suffocating oppressive force left everyone in the Xuantian Sect's plaza sweating profusely and feeling their hair stand on end. Even the sect masters of the Xuantian and Daotian Sects, along with the elders, could not help sucking in sharp breaths of cold air.
"This—this is... the Nether Penetration Realm Late Stage Peak?!"
Feeling Tang Chen's terrifying aura, Ye Liuyun stared in disbelief, his eyes wide. A powerhouse of the Nether Penetration Realm was more than strong enough to establish a sect and dominate a region. Yet just how young was Tang Chen? To be able to cultivate to such a realm... Was this the astonishing talent of a Zhongzhou prodigy? It completely transcended anything he could comprehend! The strength and talent displayed by Tang Chen were unmatched throughout the entire long river of history in the Northern Wasteland!
Seeing that everyone had been frightened out of their wits, Mei Shiyun put on an arrogant expression. Cuddled up in Tang Chen's arms, she cast a look of utter disdain toward Lin Hao. "Did you see that? You and Brother Tang Chen are simply not people from the same world. I, Mei Shiyun, will never marry a weakling!"
Hearing this, Lin Hao frowned slightly. "You keep saying that he and I aren't from the same world. What, is he dead? Are you planning to be buried with him?"
"Bastard, what did you say?!" Mei Shiyun glared with wide eyes.
"Hao'er, how about... we let it go?" Ye Liuyun advised with a complex expression.
Tang Chen was too terrifying! Even though he did not know what realm Hao'er's cultivation had currently reached, he didn't dare to imagine that Lin Hao could possess the strength to contend with Tang Chen.
The storm raged across the scene in complete disarray. Everyone was awed and suppressed by Tang Chen's terrifying aura, not daring to make a single reckless move.
"Eldest Senior Brother..." Ye Ling tugged at the corner of Lin Hao's robe, looking extremely worried.
"It's fine." Lin Hao patted her head. His body slowly rose into the air, and without any fluctuation of aura, he quickly reached the high skies.
Seeing this, Tang Chen flew up as well.
The two of them stood confronting each other in mid-air. The atmosphere was taut, on the verge of erupting into battle!
Down in the Xuantian Sect's plaza, countless cultivators from the Northern Wasteland could not understand why Lin Hao insisted on making an enemy of Young Master Tang. Could he still not see that Zhongzhou and the Northern Wasteland were simply worlds apart?
Standing in the void and basking in the awe of the crowd, Tang Chen looked at Lin Hao with amusement and slowly raised his hand.
A heavy dark iron hammer suddenly materialized in his grip. The hammerhead was wreathed in silver-white lightning, condensing the surrounding qi currents to rapidly form a massive swirling thundercloud.
Standing amidst the thundercloud lightning vortex and fixing his gaze on Lin Hao, Tang Chen brought the heavy dark iron hammer down fiercely, a dragon's roar echoing across the heavens!
"What grade of martial technique is that?!" the cultivators below cried out in awe and shame.
With a single hammer blow, even the void visibly caved in, forming a massive indentation! The terrifying hammer projection, stretching ten thousand feet and carrying the momentum to suppress heaven and earth, was about to grind Lin Hao into dust. This single strike surpassed anything Northern Wasteland cultivators could comprehend. This single strike was enough to destroy heaven and earth!
Mei Shiyun crossed her arms over her chest, watching as Lin Hao's doom approached, and the corners of her lips curled upward. "What kind of trash is he, wanting to be my brother-in-law? Go to hell!"
...
As Tang Chen's hammer descended, the heavens collapsed and the earth ruptured. A Zhongzhou prodigy of such a young age wielded the power to destroy heaven and earth with a flick of his wrist—a spectacle that left people utterly speechless.
The rumbling thunder, accompanied by an overwhelming oppressive force, arrived right on schedule. Lin Hao abruptly raised his eyes and gave a casual, light wave of his finger, meeting the heaven-shaking heavy hammer with nothing more than a single finger...
"Is he crazy?!" Seeing this, the scene grew tense.
Boom—
When that giant hammer projection smashed fiercely against Lin Hao's finger, a crisp crack rang out—a sound resembling the shattering of the sky itself, making everyone present shiver in unison.
"Break!" Lin Hao's lips moved slightly.
In an instant, intricate glowing cracks spread across the massive hammer projection until the entire hammer body exploded with a bang, turning into a sky full of fine powder. Heaven and earth trembled. Tang Chen's eyes bulged with blood vessels, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
"How can this be?!" The entire scene gasped in shock.
Mei Shiyun stared with wide eyes, her delicate hands clutching the fabric over her chest so tightly she nearly tore it. Lin Hao had actually used a single finger to shatter Tang Chen's terrifying hammer technique... This was impossible! How could he possibly possess such strength?!
Beneath the firmament, Lin Hao still displayed no fluctuation of aura whatsoever. In contrast, after vomiting blood, Tang Chen's imposing aura clearly began to decline.
Tang Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth in shock. He could not comprehend how a mere Northern Wasteland prodigy could possess such unfathomable strength.
"Lin Hao, you shameless wretch, despicable villain! What kind of underhanded method did you use to launch a sneak attack on my Brother Tang Chen?!" Mei Shiyun stood frozen for a long moment before suddenly pointing her finger up toward the sky, shouting like a shrew scolding people in the street.
Hearing this, the people who had been acting as if petrified gradually recovered their composure.
That's right! If Lin Hao hadn't used some despicable trick, how could he possibly have defeated Young Master Tang?
It seemed Mei Shiyun was right to leave him. This punk simply didn't play by the rules of martial honor.