Chapter 727: An Astonishing Battle
"From this day forth, Lin Langtian will be the new Commander of our Silver Mist Palace!"
Seeing Lin Langtian's absolute confidence, Jiang Yinlan finally set aside the concerns in her heart, her icy voice echoing throughout the great hall.
At those words, the hall abruptly fell silent for a moment. Then, all gazes suddenly lifted, converging upon the man in azure robes.
"Lin Langtian, so this is the holder of the Universe Gold Token, the new Commander of the Silver Mist Palace…"
"I heard he's from a lower plane. His strength probably isn't anything special."
"Who knows? But for him to obtain a Universe Gold Token, his luck must have been incredible."
"…"
Soft whispers filled with doubt quietly spread through the hall, and the looks cast at Lin Langtian were tinged with skepticism.
After all, each Commander under the Nine Kings had earned blazing military merit within the Universe Sect, ascending to that position only after countless bloody battles.
Lin Langtian, on the other hand, was not only from a lower plane, he had become a Commander purely by virtue of having a Universe Gold Token. Judging from those two points alone, many could not accept him, and numerous disdainful looks fell upon him from every corner of the hall.
The Spear King glanced expressionlessly at Lin Langtian without speaking. Behind him, Luo Lin, his disciple, did, however, give Lin Langtian an extra look.
The Calamity King also narrowed his eyes slightly at this moment, fixing them on Lin Langtian. Those eyes were like black holes, making one's head spin and heart tremble.
He swept his gaze up and down Lin Langtian's figure, and the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a faint arc. "So you're the one who obtained the Universe Gold Token. Quite the lucky fellow."
"In that case, it's actually rather fitting. A mere man from a lower plane, coming to your Silver Mist Palace to serve as Commander, does suit you. After all, if you came to my Calamity Palace, you wouldn't even be worthy to carry the shoes of my Commanders."
Elsewhere in the hall, several of the other Kings gave light nods, tacitly agreeing with the Calamity King's words.
This was not because they were particularly close to the Calamity King, but because, in their hearts, they felt Lin Langtian lacked the strength to serve as a Commander. Putting him in Silver Mist Palace, which ranked last among the Nine Palaces, seemed perfectly appropriate.
They would never agree to a complete outsider serving as a Commander under their own banners.
At these remarks, Jiang Yinlan's beautiful eyes grew even colder. Although the Calamity King had not openly gone too far, his words dripped with contempt for the Silver Mist Palace.
On the three lotus platforms at the highest point of the hall, the Second and Third Elders remained silent, allowing the dispute below to unfold.
The Great Elder, too, kept his eyes closed, resting without any intention of intervening in the struggle among the Nine Kings.
With the Sect Master in long-term seclusion, the entire burden of the sect's affairs rested on his shoulders. Unless something was of utmost importance, he normally would not interfere.
Mu Honglian bit down lightly on her silver teeth, hatred boiling in her heart toward those who were mocking her Silver Mist Palace.
Lin Langtian merely smiled faintly. His expression remained calm as he gazed up at the lofty Kings. Then his figure moved, and he appeared in the very center of the vast great hall.
With one hand clasped behind his back, Lin Langtian smiled and said, "I have only just arrived and have yet to earn any merit, yet I have already been granted the position of Commander. Naturally, that is hard for everyone to accept."
"However, I am well aware that martial might is held in the highest regard within the Universe Sect. In that case, allow me to speak with my fists. I wonder if any Commander would be willing to offer some guidance?"
He did not bother with excessive humility, for he had already understood that such politeness was useless in this place.
In the Great Thousand World, only strength granted one the right to speak. Otherwise, as a newcomer, not a single person would pay any heed to his words.
"Quite a bit of nerve."
Behind the Spear King, Luo Lin, one of the five great Commanders, raised his brows slightly and looked at Lin Langtian with some surprise. Clearly, he had not expected the latter to possess such boldness.
However, he had no intention of intervening. Anyone could see that this was a confrontation between the factions of the Silver Mist King and the Calamity King.
He belonged to the Spear King's faction and naturally would not step in.
Moreover, he did not look kindly upon the Calamity King's side to begin with.
The other Kings also watched with interest. Even those factions that were on friendly terms with the Calamity King did not step forward.
Although they did not care about Lin Langtian and did not regard the Silver Mist Palace as anything significant, they still held a degree of wariness toward Jiang Yinlan, who was likewise one of the Nine Kings.
"Hehe, using fists to speak, is it? What a foolish brat who doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth."
At this moment, Dong Kui, the burly and towering figure behind the Calamity King, cast a cold sneer at Lin Langtian.
As his voice faded, Dong Kui turned his gaze toward a tall, thin man at his side, folding his arms across his chest with a mocking smile. "Geng Tian, go teach him a lesson, so this fellow can understand that our Universe Sect is not like that frog-in-a-well lower plane he comes from."
Beside him, the man called Geng Tian nodded, a sinister smile appearing on his face.
He was also a Commander under the Calamity King. Although his reputation was not as great as that of Dong Kui and the other four of the five great Commanders, he had long since stepped into the Second Grade Sovereign realm.
He had been through countless battles and had clawed his way up from the very bottom of the Universe Sect. Every move he made exuded a chilling killing intent, showing that he had weathered many true life-and-death struggles.
Throughout all this, the Calamity King said nothing, as though leaving all authority over the matter to Dong Kui. In the depths of those black eyes, he seemed to be waiting to enjoy a good show.
Geng Tian's figure flickered, and he appeared in the very center of the hall.
He stared at Lin Langtian, the smile at the corner of his mouth turning twisted and cruel.
In his view, someone like Lin Langtian, who hailed from a lower plane, must have grown complacent after reigning supreme in his little world for too long. He had no concept of how powerful the Great Thousand World truly was.
To Geng Tian, Lin Langtian was nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well, an arrogant fool who knew nothing of heaven's height or earth's depth.
"Lin Langtian, is it? When I fight, I never hold back. If you're sensible, you should surrender now. Perhaps then you'll suffer a bit less."
"Or you can come serve under our Calamity Palace. That would be better than staying in that soft and squishy palace of women." Geng Tian bared his teeth in a chilling smile at Lin Langtian.
"That hateful bastard!"
Hearing him insult the Silver Mist Palace, Mu Honglian's pretty face flushed bright red. Jiang Yinlan's delicate face grew even colder, yet she said nothing, her beautiful eyes fixed only on Lin Langtian's back.
Lin Langtian's expression remained calm. Instead of anger, Geng Tian's mocking words drew only a faint smile from him.
"Summon your Sovereign Law Body," Geng Tian said, his face turning cold.
"To deal with you, there's no need for me to summon my Sovereign Law Body," Lin Langtian replied with a smile.
Everyone in the hall was briefly stunned, and then their expressions turned strange.
Was this fellow a fool, or simply too arrogant? He was not even planning to use his Sovereign Law Body.
Even Mu Honglian's expression changed slightly. She clearly had not expected Lin Langtian to be this confident.
"Courting death!"
At those words, anger twisted Geng Tian's features, though the smile at his lips grew even fiercer.
He suddenly took a heavy step forward, and terrifying spiritual energy erupted from his body. In an instant, a colossal light-form of spiritual power surged forth around him.
"In that case… die."
"Extreme Thunder Law Body!"
A silver, gigantic Sovereign Law Body suddenly appeared, silver lightning surging outward and making the very air violent and unstable.
Seeing Lin Langtian's rampant arrogance, Geng Tian's heart roiled with endless fury. He immediately summoned his Sovereign Law Body as soon as the fight began.
Clearly, he intended to crush Lin Langtian with the greatest possible speed and with the heaviest possible blow.
Although the Sovereign Law Body he cultivated was not particularly rare and did not appear among the ninety-nine ranked types, the power of the Extreme Thunder Law Body was displayed by him to its fullest extent.
Lin Langtian lifted his head to gaze at the massive Sovereign Law Body, the depths of his black eyes as calm as still water.
Yet beneath that calm, a chilling coldness was beginning to surge.
"An Extreme Thunder Law Body, is it? In that case, let me show you what true lightning power looks like."
As his voice fell, Lin Langtian formed a seal with one hand. A wave of pitch-black lightning surged out from him, rapidly condensing into a colossal demonic thunder hand.
The demonic thunder hand hovered in midair, and strange black demonic patterns writhed across its surface like living things, exuding a namelessly ominous and oppressive aura.
The moment this demonic thunder hand appeared, all eyes in the hall were drawn to it. Even the Second and Third Elders cast looks of surprise toward it, evidently sensing the bizarre nature of this thunder power.
"Hmph, just putting on a show!"
Geng Tian only snorted coldly at the sight.
He had been through countless battles and seen all manner of techniques. Besides, his opponent had not even summoned a Sovereign Law Body. No matter what sort of tricks Lin Langtian had, it was impossible for him to compete.
"Extreme Thunder Divine Finger!"
Geng Tian's foot slammed heavily upon the floor as his hand seals changed. The Sovereign Law Body formed of thunder behind him suddenly thrust out a colossal finger, pressing down on Lin Langtian with tremendous force.
Violent spiritual power swept out as a surging tide of silver lightning raged wildly.
The descending thunder finger came crashing down like a mountain of lightning.
Whoosh!
Lin Langtian raised his head, and with a mere thought, the demonic thunder hand shot forth. Like a great mountain, it cut through the air and smashed into the falling thunder finger with lightning speed.
Sizzle sizzle!
The instant the two collided, shrill hissing sounds erupted.
The two powerful spiritual energies clashed fiercely, each trying to erode and devour the other.
"To think you can pit mere spiritual power against a Sovereign Law Body. Foolish!"
Seeing this, Geng Tian let out a cold laugh.
The Sovereign Law Body was a Sovereign's most powerful fighting force. Lin Langtian was trying to block it with pure spiritual power—this was nothing short of naïve.
"Break!"
Geng Tian's hand seals shifted sharply. The lightning on the thunder finger suddenly surged like a torrential flood, pouring down to annihilate the demonic thunder hand.
"Courting death."
The corners of Lin Langtian's mouth lifted slightly, a trace of demonic intent flickering in his black eyes.
From the demonic thunder hand that was clashing with the thunder finger, streams of inky-black lightning abruptly burst forth.
Wherever those black currents spread, the wildly raging silver thunder was devoured at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, the thunder finger completely disintegrated.
Those black electric currents were terrifyingly sinister and seemed utterly incompatible with spiritual power itself.
Roar!
While Geng Tian was still reeling in shock, Lin Langtian flicked his sleeve and a black thunder dragon roared forth, sweeping toward the silver Law Body.
The pitch-black lightning churned violently, radiating a perilous aura.
Geng Tian's expression changed as he stared at the black lightning, clearly sensing a dense sense of danger emanating from it.
He immediately took a deep breath and shifted his hand seals. Silver light surged over the Extreme Thunder Law Body, and from a distance it appeared like an immense boulder, solid and unbreakable.
Boom!
In that very moment, the black thunder dragon surged forward without the slightest hesitation, instantly engulfing the towering thunder giant.
Sizzle sizzle!
As the black thunder dragon crashed down, Geng Tian's eyes were instantly filled with horror.
He had realized that wherever the black lightning swept past, his Sovereign Law Body was disintegrating at an astonishing speed.
This black lightning was actually so overwhelmingly domineering!
"Damn it! Impossible!"
Geng Tian's hands moved frantically as boundless spiritual power poured into his Sovereign Law Body without end.
Yet no matter what he did, the eerie power contained within the black lightning continued relentlessly eroding his Sovereign Law Body.
Within that demonic thunder was a force utterly incompatible with spiritual power, like fire and water unable to coexist.
Geng Tian's complexion turned increasingly pale as cold sweat poured from him in streams.
All around the hall, the eyes that had originally been filled with the anticipation of watching a good show began to change.
The Kings narrowed their eyes slightly as they watched the demonic thunder dragon, clearly unsettled by this pitch-black lightning.
"This kind of lightning…"
On the lotus platforms at the top, the usually impassive faces of the Second and Third Elders both flickered with surprise.
This strange black lightning was clearly anything but ordinary.
The Great Elder, who had kept his eyes closed all this time, seemed to open them slightly, murmuring in faint astonishment, "This mixed-in power… could it be…"
The pitch-black lightning devoured everything before it like a hot knife through butter. No matter how frantically Geng Tian struggled, the Sovereign Law Body that loomed like a thunder giant shrank at a rapid pace.
A stinging pain exploded through Geng Tian's body, and then his defenses completely collapsed.
Pfft!
A mouthful of blood sprayed violently from Geng Tian's lips as his Sovereign Law Body utterly disintegrated.
In the same instant, Geng Tian's figure was blown backward in a miserable arc, his aura plummeting to its lowest ebb.
The look he cast at Lin Langtian was filled with pure terror and disbelief.
He simply could not fathom how his Sovereign Law Body had been completely devoured by Lin Langtian's demonic thunder!
(END CHAPTER)
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