Strength in Numbers

Boom!

Pale White Soul Energy surged from the depths of Lin Qian, bursting out from his body. On the stage, he instantly became the brightest star, blinding the eyes of whoever was staring at him.

Cha!

Bending his knees, the sturdy Steel Ground cracked under pressure. As he bent further, a crisp shattering of the rock-solid metal resonated from beneath his feet. The stage was about to crumble.

In the next instant, a bright white comet burst into the air from the stage. With a nimble roll in midair, Lin Qian whipped his leg at the Scarred Youth, jetting down from above.

DONG! 

As the two men clashed, a deep thunderous thump reverberated across the courtyard. From the smash between Soul Energy and physical prowess, waves and waves of shock rippled in all directions, mercilessly crashing into the observation decks.

As the residual power swarmed over, the roofs of the decks were ripped off and shredded into bits. The citizens with only Entrance Vitality Stage cultivation were blasted off their feet and strewn across the ground behind them.

The individuals with Condensed Vitality Stage cultivation and above were much less battered. As the shockwave hammered them, they retained a semblance of balance, only falling back a few steps in pain.

Comparatively, Zhao Qiang and Zhao Jian, both also in Condensed Vitality Stage, stood right underneath the epicentre of the battle, firmly root onto the ground as the clashes occurred overhead. 

The difference in abilities between the Universal Phenomenon Sect disciples and the tiny cities Soul Practitioners was light and day.

In the middle fo the air, the duo jumped apart, lending strength from the blows from the other party. Fleeting across the sky, they landed gently back on the same spot they had begun.

"How powerful! Indeed, you live up to your mighty name, Young Emperor!" Landing back onto the Li Family Block, the Scarred Youth wriggled his slightly numb right leg, throwing high praise to Lin Qian without constraint.

However, his sceptical expression had vanished entirely. As he glared at the still relaxed and calm Lin Qian, his gaze turned colder, darker and much more cautious.

What the heck is with his body? How is it so terrifyingly sturdy?

Hearing the blazing rumours of the Young Emperor, he had always brushed it aside, assuming it was a stretched truth as the stories were passed from mouth to mouth. However, he now knew that the rumours were indeed wrong. Lin Qian's rock hard body was much stronger than in the stories he'd heard.

From that single clash, the Scarred Youth could feel the shock stabbing his heart. Behind him, his twelve fellow comrades watched on as their eyes widened and jaws dropped to the ground.

On the other hand, Li Qin and his family had their intellect blown away, staring blankly at the scene. At the Ye Family block, the same could be said, with Ye Lin as an exception.

As Bai Zun watched, he froze in his position, unable to fully comprehend what had just occurred. Similarly, his family behind was dazed. His son had only told him that this time, he was not the inspectorate disciple and that the position was held by someone within the Ye Family.

Yet, even after long moments of thought, he could not understand it fully. Since when did another genius emerge from the Ye Family. Was there someone prodigious enough to even earn the inspectorate position?

At this time, the thoughts of everyone present were aligned with Bai Zun.

What jokes! The inspectorate is Lin Qian?

The widely spread rumours, the sensational stories of Universal Phenomenon Sect's Young Emperor… They were all about Lin Qian?!

Recalling the words of the Scared Youth, the masses were pulled out from their dream-like daze.

Looks like the Universal Phenomenon Sect's new Young Emperor was also named Lin Qian. Being a Nirvana Stage powerhouse, of course, the Scarred Youth knew the real name of the Young Emperor.

Alas, Mount Ba City was a tiny town. How could they learn such information?

What the Scarred Youth was asking was…

Are you the Young Emperor Lin Qian!

"Hmph! Like I said! Brother Lin Qian is in a different world from all of you!" On the Ye Family observation deck, Ye Lin mocked the speechless Ye Long and Ye Feng siblings, her rosy lips curling up smug at the corners.

At the head of the Ye Family crowd, Ye Nanxin's eyes had been glued on Lin Qian from the start. His pupils were huge and his lower lip quivering from the surprise… Lin Qian was already miles stronger than him.

No wonder… this is why the Universal Phenomenon Sect's disciples treated us so courteously.

That's why, for absolutely no reason, the trials were held here in our mansion…

That's why this rascal could promise that we would not disappoint the inspectorate disciple...

"Right, this fella is the inspectorate disciple! If he says that we wouldn't be disappointed, then we wouldn't" Watching the sharp silhouette of the youngster on stage, Ye Nanxin couldn't help but laugh at himself. Looking wistfully at the powerful back, he muttered to himself, "Brother Lin, Lin Qian, he's your son for sure. Such potential and strength!"

At this moment, everything became clear to him.

"Gotta admit, you are definitely a genius. With just Materialised Vitality Stage, 5th tier strength, you can match up to a 4th Tier Nirvana Stage like me." and, your physical body is even stronger than mine." As the scarred youth spoke, his palms extended in front of him. A glimmer sparkled within his palms, within it, four items materialised.

It was a crimson dagger and three metallic crimson balls.

"Soul Weapon Core! Soul Weapon Piece!" seeing the items on the Scarred Youth's palm, Lin Qian's eyes narrowed, and his face darkened. He bulleted ahead, condensing a pure white Soul Energy into his fist.

"But, I know your deadly weakness… You cannot achieve…" Looking at the speedily approaching Lin Qian, he smirked contemptuously.

As he finished up his sentence, a crimson Soul Energy seeped out from his body, forming a dagger in the air. Engulfed within it was the little crimson dagger that was on his palm.

At the same time, Soul Energy rushed into the metallic balls. All of a sudden, they had burst into a shining metallic liquid. With the metallic dagger as the core, they surrounded it, morphing speedily into a blade.

"Weapon-Soul Materialisation!"

As the thunderous voice bellowed, the flowing metallic liquids hardened into a 3-metre long crimson blade.

Gripping firmly onto the handle, he smiled sinisterly as he viciously sliced at the incoming Lin Qian's head.

The blazing red sword was swirling with scarlet Soul Energy, radiating scorching heat as it confronted the incoming blow of Lin Qian's bare hands.

The sight which shook the masses to their cores was once again reenacted. With a bare fist, Lin Qian collided with the Weapon-Soul Materialised Weapon. This is the peculiar battle style of Universal Phenomenon Sect's Young Emperor!

When the enhanced sword crashed onto Lin Qian's fist, there was no clean-cut or even a slight bruise. Only a slightly whitening line, forming across the fingers due to the pressure.

"He blocked it!" Seeing how Lin Qian resisted the menacing assault, a loud gasp was drawn from the crowd below them.

"Haha!" Staring straight into the eyes of the youngster a few inches away from him, the Scarred Youth snorted coldly. "The biggest advantage of a Nirvana Stage Practitioner… I trust the Young Emperor hasn't forgotten, right?"

"HM?" Hearing those words, Lin Qian's eyes flew wide open. In that instant, the sharp blade glowed blindingly with a scarlet glimmer.

BOOM!

An earth-shattering explosion burst through the air. From the crowd's eyes, they could only see a row of fire erupting from the tip of the Scarred Youth's blade, forcefully blowing Lin Qian away.

The sudden assault had caught Lin Qian unprepared. Facing the full brunt of the force, he was slammed heavily back onto the stage.

"Brother Lin!" Seeing the collapsed youngster, Bai Ren and the Zhao Brothers immediately ran over, offering support to their comrade.

As Lin Qian struggled onto his feet, he waved at the incoming trio, "Don't butt in!"

"Breaking through to Nirvana Stage, the practitioner awakens a special ability. Mine being explosions." Lifting his head, the Scarred Youth brandished his blade, pointing its tips straight at Lin Qian's direction. "Also, I'm a fervent supporter of sharing. The killing of the Young Emperor, I'm sure your fellow brothers from Universal Phenomenon Sect would love to be part of it!"

The crowd was perplexed. They could not put their finger on what he meant.

But, the mystery was quickly clarified.

Streaks of crimson blur swiftly cut across the people, appearing onto the stage. Along the way, their overbearing aura had drained the strength from the countless members of Mount Ba City, leaving them limp on the ground.

Within a blink of an eye, another hundred men, clad in same crimson robes, were gathered by the side of the Scarred Youth. Within their eyes, a confident and condescending gaze swept across the stunned crowd.

"I've heard many rumours of your superior combat ability. Alas, I have six nirvana stage, and one hundred Materialised Vitality disciples here with me." Looking straight at Lin Qian, the Scarred Youth mocked him loudly. "Even if I am to drench Mount Ba City in their own blood, how does the Young Emperor plan in stopping me?"

Thrusting his thumb into his chest, he shook his head, "I have the strength in numbers!"

"Strength in numbers?" Hearing the overconfidence, Lin Qian's face lit up in elation, "You sure you want to compare numbers with me?"