Chapter 296: Chapter 292: Imperial Art Shocks the Powerhouses

Of course, though they were in the shadows, this voice was delivered via a secret sound transmission.

If a true top-tier expert was lurking nearby, even the quietest whisper wouldn’t escape their Spiritual Sense. Speaking carelessly could bring the disaster of annihilation upon their families.

As soon as this voice spoke, someone else responded, "Be careful! Don’t use the family’s Cultivation Technique or martial skills!"

They had held back so far because they wanted to deduce Lin Hao’s origins from his Cultivation Technique and martial skills.

However, Lin Hao was too formidable. He had already killed two people without even using a Cultivation Technique or martial skills.

Under these circumstances, Lin Hao’s identity made them all the more wary.

True Martial Artists traveled the world and possessed vast knowledge. Even if a Cultivation Technique or martial skill was modified, they had the ability to perceive its Origin.

That was why someone in the shadows had given a special order.

To a great family, the life of a Martial Artist was expendable, but they absolutely could not let their opponent find any incriminating evidence.

"Rest assured, I just can’t stand this brat’s arrogance. I have no faction behind me." The person preparing to strike spoke, then, like a phantom, shot toward the Mist Rain Tower like a bolt of lightning.

"What’s happening? Why do I feel my hair standing on end!" Outside the Mist Rain Tower, someone shivered uncontrollably.

"A Soul Gathering Realm expert has struck from the shadows! A Soul Gathering Realm expert’s Divine Soul is already formed, giving them the power to immobilize even Emperor Realm Martial Artists!"

"Heavens, the entire Mist Rain Tower is enveloped in a terrifying aura! That guy is finished."

Outside the Mist Rain Tower, countless people scrambled back.

Then, innumerable pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the high platform in the center of the Mist Rain Tower.

The next moment, their eyes all widened in unison.

The figure on the platform, along with Lin Bing, had vanished!

In their place, a figure completely shrouded in a black robe appeared on the platform—clearly the one who had just struck from the shadows.

"How is that possible!" countless people exclaimed in shock.

Even an expert at the Ninth Layer of the Elemental Realm would be suppressed by the powerful aura of a Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist. Furthermore, if the latter’s Divine Soul was strong enough, an Elemental Realm Martial Artist would tremble from the depths of their very soul, not even daring to harbor a thought of resistance.

This was an eternal truth of the Celestial Yang Continent, a fundamental rule of this land.

But now, a Martial Artist at the mere Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm had vanished right under the oppressive might of a Soul Gathering Realm expert. This shattered a rule that had stood for millennia!

It wasn’t just the spectators in the open who were stunned; even the martial arts masters hiding in the shadows were staring blankly.

This completely subverted everything they thought they knew!

The black-robed attacker stared at his own hands, a chill creeping into his heart.

Just a moment ago, he had struck. He was certain his claw-like hand had seized the person on the platform, yet they had bizarrely vanished without the slightest ripple of an aura!

Such methods were simply beyond mortal comprehension!

Even for someone as experienced as him, a Soul Gathering Realm expert, terror began to take hold.

"Sigh. You people are such a disappointment. A bunch of worthless gluttons." Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind the crowd.

Everyone turned to look. A man was using another person as a cushion, holding a wine cup in one hand and a jug in the other, slowly pouring wine into the cup.

Shock!

At this moment, only that single word could describe what everyone was feeling.

He had appeared here without a sound. It was simply astounding!

’How did he do it?’

After the initial shock, countless questions arose in their minds.

However, no one dared to ask.

If they tried to strike up a conversation with him and incurred the wrath of the Lin family, the consequences would be dire.

"This is not the place for you to act so brazenly! I’ll kill you!" On the Mist Rain Tower’s high platform, the black-robed attacker moved again.

A Soul Gathering Realm expert’s strike was as fast as lightning.

He charged forward, his body radiating a vicious aura.

POP! POP! POP!

The Martial Artists closest to Lin Hao tried to flee but found themselves completely paralyzed. Crushed by the powerful aura, their bodies exploded into clouds of blood mist!

"Heavens, that was the genius from White Jade County! He was at the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Control Realm, and he just... exploded!"

"I saw someone who looked like the top genius of our Xianjing County! He was at the Peak of the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Realm, and he exploded under that powerful aura too."

More Martial Artists scrambled back in retreat, while those standing farther away cried out in alarm.

Before the wrath of a Soul Gathering Realm expert, an Elemental Realm Martial Artist was no different than an ant!

And yet, they saw that the man simply ignored the black-robed attacker, his gaze fixed on his wine cup with a smile on his face.

"Dodge!" someone in the crowd shouted desperately.

This was sheer recklessness.

Even more people held their breath, their eyes glued to the scene.

BOOM!

The Soul Gathering Realm expert’s massive hand descended like a millstone, enveloping him completely. A tremor shook the very ground.

A crater, two or three meters in diameter, was blasted into the ground paved with Vajra Rock.

The crater was right where Lin Hao had been standing moments before.

"Is... is he dead?" someone asked.

"Sigh, there’s no way he could have survived that. I saw him get slammed into the pit. There was even a huge spray of blood."

"I saw it too. It’s true what they say: an Elemental Realm Martial Artist is just an ant to a Soul Gathering Realm expert."

As the crowd murmured amongst themselves, some let out a sigh.

The black-robed attacker stood at the edge of the crater, his exposed eyes staring down into it as he spoke coldly, "In the face of absolute power, all else turns to dust. You were no better than a stray dog!"

Inside the crater lay a pulverized corpse.

Although Lin Bing of the Lin family was among the remains, to a great clan like the Lin family, the death of a single disciple was nothing.

"Sigh, I’m starting to think calling you a worthless glutton was giving you too much credit. This young master is over here, you know," a lazy voice drifted out from inside the Mist Rain Tower.

The black-robed man froze. He spun around, his eyes widening in shock as if he had just seen a ghost.

The onlookers turned to look at the Mist Rain Tower, too shocked to speak.

Seated on the high platform was the very same man!

At this moment, countless people stared in a daze. An absurd feeling washed over them. The figure sat there like a sovereign king, instilling in them an uncontrollable urge to bow in worship!

It was a bizarre sensation. He clearly only had the cultivation of the Elemental Realm, yet he exuded the aura of one who stood above all others.

"Who... who... who in the world are you?!" The black-robed attacker’s eyes filled with horror, and his words came out in a stammer.

"You are not worthy of knowing. If you’re going to attack, then get on with it. Otherwise, get lost!" Lin Hao’s voice was ice-cold.

At this moment, no one thought he was bluffing. He had earned the right to say such words.

"He’s only at the Peak of the Sixth Layer of the Elemental Realm, I’m absolutely certain! The only way he could escape your binding is with a supreme treasure! That treasure must be purely defensive, with no offensive power. Attack again, and make it quick!" A secret sound transmission reached the black-robed man’s ear.

Hearing this, the black-robed man snapped back to his senses, and an utterly terrifying aura began to rise from his body.

The next moment, the indistinct phantom of a ferocious beast rose from behind him.

He was about to unleash his Divine Soul!

The Divine Soul is the external manifestation of one’s bloodline, and wielding it is even more powerful than using Bloodline Power alone.

The moment the beast phantom appeared, countless people outside the Mist Rain Tower began to tremble, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Even the Vajra Rock paving the ground began to crack.

The Mist Rain Tower groaned, on the verge of shattering!

The terrifying pressure was immense enough to shake heaven and earth.

The next moment, the Divine Soul merged into the black-robed man’s body, causing him to suddenly grow much taller.

BOOM!

The aura grew even more terrifying. Countless people were sent flying, the Vajra Rock shattered, and the tiles and framework of the Mist Rain Tower were instantly pulverized into dust!

This was the Soul Gathering Realm.

A Soul Gathering Realm expert could temporarily merge their Divine Soul with their body, doubling or even multiplying their combat power.

The central platform of the now-demolished Mist Rain Tower stood exposed beneath the open sky, teetering on the verge of collapse.

And atop that platform, Lin Hao’s expression was grim.

The reason Lin Hao had been immune to the Soul Gathering Realm’s binding was thanks to a certain Array.

The Carefree Divine Monarch was a master of the Alchemy Skill, Artifact Refining, and the Array Pattern Skill.

After advancing to the Elemental Realm, Lin Hao had naturally mastered the Carefree Divine Monarch’s Array Pattern Skill.

And Arrays were merely the foundation of the Array Pattern Skill.

By mastering the Array Pattern Skill, one’s attainments in Arrays would naturally be equally superb.

In the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, after the Carefree Divine Monarch obtained the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, he was hunted by experts from all sides. If he hadn’t possessed special methods, any random Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist could have taken his life.

This was because Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artists could immobilize lower-level ones—not even those at the Ninth Layer of the Elemental Realm were exempt, let alone the Carefree Divine Monarch, who knew no martial skills.

The reason the Carefree Divine Monarch, despite his lack of martial skill, could command the winds and clouds and destroy his enemies with the Array Pattern Skill was all thanks to a single Array.

It was a teleportation Array, capable of instantaneous transport.

When a Soul Gathering Realm expert’s oppressive aura flared, although one’s body was bound, one’s mind was not. With a single thought, one could activate the Array and teleport away in an instant.

This was how Lin Hao had been able to escape the binding.

This was the very Array that Lin Hao had been tinkering with in his room that afternoon.

But Lin Hao had limited materials. The Array he had placed on himself could only teleport him a maximum of thirty meters. Now that the Soul Gathering Realm expert was using his Divine Soul, Lin Hao wasn’t sure if he could escape the binding.

The terrifying aura emanating from the Soul Gathering Realm expert continued to swell. Lin Hao bore the brunt of it; his clothes whipped about violently before bursting into shreds.

The platform beneath him couldn’t withstand the pressure either and shattered.

"Don’t attack! Keep applying pressure! He’s about to use his Cultivation Technique to defend himself!" The secret sound transmission once again reached the black-robed man’s ear.

And just as predicted, the moment the voice faded, a rumbling began to emanate from within Lin Hao’s body.

The eyes of the distant onlookers lit up as they stared intently at Lin Hao.

At this moment, the muscles and sinews all over Lin Hao’s body bulged, radiating a sense of immense power.

Moreover, the countless bulging sinews intertwined over his body like coiling flood dragons—a truly shocking sight!

The rumbling within Lin Hao’s body started like the sound of bells and drums, but it grew steadily louder, soon becoming the roar of dragons and tigers.

But it didn’t end there. The roars of dragons and tigers continued to transform until, finally, they became the sound of rolling thunder and surging rivers!

Behind Lin Hao, the water of the city moat began to resonate with the sound, churning and roaring.

"The crackling of sinews like the thunder of the Great Dao, the surging of blood and qi like a mighty river... What in the world is this Cultivation Technique!" In the shadows, an expert was shocked beyond belief by this spectacle.

Although Lin Hao had used a Cultivation Technique, no one could recognize its origin.

"Even the Cultivation Technique Wu’Er practices is only on this level... What are his origins? This is astounding!"

"An Emperor-grade technique! This is definitely an Emperor-grade technique!"

At that same moment, several figures shot into the air from within the Imperial City’s Saint Institute.

Likewise, from the deepest sanctum of the highest palace complex in the Imperial City, figures rushed out.

Top-tier experts from the Lin family, the Wenren family, the Chen family, and the Hu family were all on the move.

Alerted by the fluctuations from the Cultivation Technique, they were all speeding toward the Mist Rain Tower.