Chapter 142: Xie Xinglong’s Humiliation

With a thunderous shout, Lin Le brought his pressed palms crashing down. Simultaneously, the immense internal energy within his body erupted.

A colossal beam of white light, resembling a giant battle-axe, descended from the heavens, striking directly at the True Dragon Force unleashed by Xie Xinglong. Wherever the white axe passed, starlight filled the sky, unfurling like a curved sea of stars across the firmament. The power of this technique—"Palm That Severs the Starry Sea"—was astonishing. As it descended, the very air was rent asunder, emitting booming, thunderous roars as if the entire world were being cleaved in two by Lin Le’s palm. The surrounding space itself trembled in its wake.

When this move was first unleashed, Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun were instantly struck dumb. Qin Zhong, who had been sitting as composed as a fisherman just a moment before, had his expression shift drastically, his eyes widening in shock. As for Xie Xinglong, watching the white giant axe descend from the sky, he was frozen in place. From a distance, he could feel the overwhelming pressure of the axe bearing down upon him—a force of such unimaginable magnitude that it defied his comprehension.

The next instant, the white light of the "Palm That Severs the Starry Sea" collided with Xie Xinglong’s dragon-like True Dragon Force. Initially, Xie Xinglong had held onto a sliver of hope, believing his True Dragon Force might stand against the strike. However, the scene that followed left him utterly hopeless. That previously formidable True Dragon Force became as weak as tofu beneath the giant axe, cleaved straight down the middle and shattered into two halves.

It cut through like a hot knife through butter. With a deafening boom, the white dragon-like force disintegrated completely, scattering into pulses of white energy. The momentum of the "Palm That Severs the Starry Sea," however, remained potent, continuing its path to strike at Xie Xinglong, who stood just over ten meters away. The ground beneath was crushed by the sheer force of the technique, forming a massive trench that extended from beneath Lin Le’s feet all the way to Xie Xinglong.

"Brother Xinglong!" Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun, realizing the mortal danger, cried out in alarm.

"Xinglong!" Qin Zhong’s face turned deathly pale. He had never imagined the opponent’s strength would be so overwhelming that even Xie Xinglong’s True Dragon Force would be no match. As the personal bodyguard to the Xie family heirs, he had a duty to protect them. Seeing Xie Xinglong on the verge of being killed, his heart felt as if it were leaping into his throat. Xie Xinglong was one of the Xie family’s most prized prospects, considered a pillar of their future. If anything were to happen to him, his bodyguard would surely face the family’s wrath and lose his life. Panic-stricken, Qin Zhong prepared to rush forward to intercept, but the speed of the technique was too extreme; he was already too late.

"Ah!" Seeing the divine power of the strike right before his eyes, Xie Xinglong was terrified to his core and let out a scream.

"Spare me!" Xie Xinglong squeezed his eyes shut, his voice nearly breaking into a sob. At that moment, he cast aside the dignity of a Xie family heir and the arrogance of a golden child; in the face of death, he was merely a coward clinging to life.

The giant axe was already at his forehead. Xie Xinglong could feel its infinite power and had braced himself to be split in two. Just then, Lin Le whispered a single word from nearby: "Withdraw!"

The moment the command was uttered, the murderous axe instantly dissipated, turning into countless specks of starlight that drifted in the air like sand. A gust of wind whistled past Xie Xinglong’s face, shearing off a lock of hair from his forehead. Everyone looked on to see the trench in the ground ending less than a foot from Xie Xinglong’s toes. It was clear that had Lin Le not retracted his hand, Xie Xinglong would have been split in two and killed instantly.

A deathly silence fell over the scene. Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun could hear their own frantic heartbeats; their nerves remained taut, unable to calm down. Qin Zhong was nearly catatonic, staring at the trench before Xie Xinglong, silently慶幸 that he had narrowly escaped being implicated.

For over ten seconds after his plea for mercy, Xie Xinglong kept his eyes tightly shut, only daring to open them once he felt the overwhelming force had vanished. When he saw that he had not been cut in half, a look of ecstatic relief washed over his face. While Xie Dong and Xie Ziyun were glad he had survived, they felt a profound sense of dejection. They had been defeated! Even the great Brother Xinglong had been bested by this commoner! As members of the noble Xie family, they felt utterly humiliated.

After a moment of relief, Xie Xinglong realized the situation. He had lost face. He had been defeated by a commoner, and in front of his own kin! Moreover, he suddenly recalled that in his desperation to survive, he had actually begged for mercy! Shame washed over him.

How could this be? He was a Xie family heir, a prodigy of martial arts, an existence worshipped by all his peers. How could he have acted so shamefully and cowardly? If word of this got out, how would he ever hold his head high in the Xie family again? He wished he could crawl into a hole. He wondered if time could be turned back, yet he couldn't help but ask himself: if he were truly back in that moment of life and death, could he really have met his end with dignity? The thought only fueled his shame and anger.

He looked up at Lin Le, who stood nearby with an indifferent, expressionless gaze. For Lin Le, defeating Xie Xinglong brought no sense of accomplishment; the opponent’s cultivation was far inferior to his own, and he had only managed to trade blows by relying on the Rising Dragon Fist. Lin Le had only stopped his hand not out of fear of killing or offending the Xie family, but because of his mother. Regardless of the circumstances, his mother, Xie Qiushan, was a member of the Xie family, and he and Xie Xinglong shared a blood connection. He did not want to put his mother in a difficult position, and killing a mid-stage Internal Energy practitioner like Xie Xinglong served no purpose other than venting, which he deemed unworthy.

However, to Xie Xinglong, Lin Le’s indifference felt like the ultimate insult. The fact that the victor showed no emotion meant he didn't even consider him a threat. The sheer humiliation drove Xie Xinglong to the brink of madness. The flames of fury in his chest threatened to consume him. He wanted to tear the man before him to shreds, but he knew he was no match. Unable to exact revenge, he gnashed his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly his entire body trembled.

"No matter what," Xie Xinglong vowed, "I will have your life!"