Chapter 54 The Hand of the Almighty

Colorful energy light waves flooded the entire battle stage, nearly obscuring the fierce combat within.

On Purple Cloud Mountain, everyone's nerves were taut, and even the Ninth Prince stood up from his rattan chair.

A sneer hung on the faces of the Ling clan members; they refused to believe that Lin Hao could survive under such circumstances.

When the energy dissipated, Lin Hao's figure emerged.

He lay prone on the ground, his purple robe stained crimson with blood, completely motionless.

"A-Hao!"

"Holy Son!"

The people of the Supreme Mystery Sect felt their eyes split with anger, their tension visible to the naked eye.

"Is he dead?"

Countless people gasped and could not help but sigh.

No matter how great his talent as a Ten-Zhang Dragon Gate practitioner was, his cultivation realm was ultimately too weak. Facing a death trap orchestrated by the Ling clan, he simply had no way out.

"Dead and good riddance, you little bastard."

Ling Wu laughed heartily. Right now, he wanted Lin Hao dead more than anyone else.

The depth of his former affection was matched only by the intensity of his current hatred.

"He's not dead! He moved!"

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

They saw that Lin Hao, who had been lying prone on the stage, was slowly arching his back and pulling himself up once more.

His entire body was bathed in blood, and his face was smeared with gore.

Yet, his eyes were exceptionally bright, akin to a pair of golden lamps, soul-stirring.

"You people... are not bad."

Lin Hao spoke.

The next instant, his aura began to climb wildly, surging in a mere fraction of a second to the peak of the sixth stage of the Qi Sea Realm.

"The potential of the Supreme Body is continuously stimulated under extreme oppression."

In the distance, Ninth Master said, "Fighting through adversity, the Supreme undergoes Nirvana. His strength is simply not something you ordinary mortals can imagine. Prepare to tremble."

No one knew Lin Hao's constitution.

Because they lacked the discernment to recognize such a physique.

"Good heavens, what am I seeing? He actually broke through in this state, and his injuries were instantly healed! What kind of heaven-defying constitution does he possess? Does it come with a built-in recovery function?"

"A full-power strike from eight Origin Transformation Realm geniuses failed to kill him, and instead allowed him to use that pressure to break through. Who could believe it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes?"

"Too defying of the heavens! I've never seen anything like it. It's earth-shattering and shocking."

............

This was an unimaginable, massive reversal, defying all conventional logic and understanding.

No one knew how Lin Hao had managed it.

He was only at the fifth stage of the Qi Sea Realm; managing to survive that previous strike was already defying the heavens in itself.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

The members of the Ling clan could finally no longer keep their composure.

"Now, it's my turn."

Lin Hao's black hair danced wildly in the air, and his blood-soaked face made him look like a berserk demon.

Radiating an unmatched aura, he let out a great roar: "Hand of the Firmament!"

Lin Hao extended a massive hand, endless runes flashing upon it.

The next instant, a golden hand roughly a foot wide—resembling a cage that dominated heaven and earth—appeared out of thin air directly above one of the geniuses.

Before that young man could even react, the Hand of the Firmament crashed down violently.

Rumble...

The battle stage shook, trembling violently.

A shrill, miserable scream echoed across Purple Cloud Mountain as that genius disciple was instantly pounded into a pulp of flesh and blood, dying a miserable death on the spot.

"What?"

All the high-ranking members of the Ling clan cried out in shock.

Ling Wu spat out a mouthful of aged blood, his pupils dilating infinitely as he simply could not believe his own eyes.

"That is the unspoken secret art of the Ling clan! It's actually been learned by Lin Hao."

"I've seen proud prodigies of the Ling clan deploy this combat technique, but its power was far inferior to Lin Hao's. He has driven the Hand of the Firmament to its absolute limit."

"He blew up the Thunder Pool, secretly stole the Hand of the Firmament, and now he's using the Ling clan's own combat art to slaughter the very people cultivated by the Ling clan. Too awesome!"

............

Purple Cloud Mountain boiled over.

The appearance of the Hand of the Firmament undoubtedly ignited a massive climax.

The entire Ling clan was shaken to its core.

Their unspoken secret art was now in the hands of their enemy.

This was something absolutely unacceptable.

"Kill him! Form the formation! Leave him no way out!"

Ling Que shrieked in a loud voice, abandoning sound transmission and flying into a blind rage.

At a time like this, Ling Que could no longer bother to keep up pretenses.

Even though he was the host of the Hundred Sects Grand Competition, he threw all regard for his status to the wind.

Things had developed to a point that completely exceeded his predictions.

Lin Hao using the Hand of the Firmament to kill people meant this was no longer a simple Hundred Sects Grand Competition.

For the people of the Ling clan, this had now become a personal grudge.

At this moment, many youths could not help their blood boiling with excitement, especially those hailing from humble backgrounds, whose hearts naturally leaned toward Lin Hao.

He was a person who dared to shatter the rules and challenge those in power.

They all wanted to see just how brilliantly Lin Hao could shine today, and what greater miracles he might bring forth.

On the battle stage, the remaining seven genius disciples saw their expressions alter drastically.

Awed by Lin Hao's murderous aura, their minds and souls were trembling.

They were indeed geniuses, but geniuses were also categorized by tiers.

Though possessing peerless talent, they had never laid eyes on anyone so fiercely ferocious.

They had thought that the combined strike of eight people just moments ago would be enough to take Lin Hao's life, never expecting him to be so tenacious.

Lin Hao had broken through on the spot and obliterated one of them with thunderous hands, planting deep terror in the hearts of the remaining seven.

"Form the formation!"

One of them roared, tossing out a formation scroll that unfurled with a fluttering sound, shrouding the entire battle stage.

"Oh no! This is the Eight Gates Dragon-Trapping Formation, a formation scroll crafted by the Ling clan!"

Mr. Ximen exclaimed in shock.

"Damn it! To kill A-Hao, the Ling clan really stopped at nothing. They had a trump card like this waiting."

Ren Baichuan cursed furiously.

"The Eight Gates Dragon-Trapping Formation uses eight directions to form powerful shackles, trapping the enemy within. This array can instantly fuse the strengths of the people within the eight gates into one."

Yi Fuyao's expression turned icy. "That means the opponent A-Hao is facing right now is the stacked combat power of all seven people currently on the stage. In a situation like this, even if A-Hao has advanced to the peak of the sixth stage of the Qi Sea Realm, he is absolutely no match for them."

"The only silver lining for A-Hao right now is that he already killed one of them. One gate of the Eight Gates Dragon-Trapping Formation is missing, so the array cannot unleash its maximum power and there will be flaws. It all depends on whether he can seize the opportunity."

Mr. Ximen clenched his fists tightly.

The battle had reached a completely white-hot stage.

This was a life-and-death showdown; a fatal outcome was inevitable.

The original intent of the Hundred Sects Grand Competition had vanished; at this moment, it was a personal vendetta between the Ling clan and Lin Hao.

Trapped within the array, Lin Hao stood straight and tall like an unrivaled demonic god, his eyes flashing with the sharpest light. An innate, undefeatable conviction welled up spontaneously within him.

An aura of invincibility swirled inside the formation.

The seven talented youths looked at each other, seeing the shock mirrored in one another's eyes.

That feeling was terribly ominous.

Even though the seven of them were allied right now, even though they were all Origin Transformation Realm powerhouses, and even though they had the Eight Gates Dragon-Trapping Formation—

Faced with Lin Hao's invincible aura, they could not muster even a shred of confidence.

"How can someone be this strong?"

A chill crept into the depths of someone's heart.

"Do not let his aura affect you! Attack and suppress him!"

One of them shouted aloud, lightning flashing above his head as he unleashed a pillar of thunderous light that plunged straight into the grand array.

The others did not dare to harbor the slightest bit of negligence either, going all out and exhausting every skill at their disposal.

A violent wave of energy intertwined at the core of the array, forming a multicolored mountain of energy.

Boosted by the formation, the strength of the seven individuals was stacked and fused together, violently pressing down on Lin Hao.

"Come on..."

Lin Hao roared, raising his eyes abruptly as monstrous battle intent surged within the array.

With a single punch carrying the invincible will of the Supreme Body, he smashed toward the mountain of energy looming above his head.