Chapter 117: Warm-Up Exercises

Sun Yibin did not doubt Ling Tian’s strength. It was simply that, in his view, no matter how powerful a person might be, flesh and blood could never withstand bullets head-on. Even if the enemy was using nothing more than low-powered short-barreled shotguns, at close range those weapons could easily turn a man into a sieve.

If anything happened to Ling Tian, Sun Yibin would have no way to answer to the Mu family.

“Young Master Ling, just sit here and have some tea. Leave these small fry to us,” Sun Yibin continued. Even as he spoke, he had already worked out their battle plan: eliminate the five most dangerous gunmen first, then take down Big Biao. As for the remaining hundred or so men, they might have numbers, but their abilities were pitifully weak, so there was no need to worry about them.

“There are too many of them, and they have shotguns,” Ling Tian said calmly. “Even if we win, it’ll be a costly victory. Besides, I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

“Then you…” Sun Yibin began, but the rest of the question never left his lips.

“I haven’t stretched my muscles in a long time either. Today, I’m going all out. To be honest, I’d also like to find out just how strong my combat power is now. You four, retreat quickly. Don’t get caught in the crossfire.”

He was telling the truth. Ever since recovering from his injuries, Ling Tian had never unleashed his full strength. Even when dealing with Scarface and the others last time, he had held back a little.

Seeing Ling Tian put away his pistol, Big Biao assumed that he and his companions were afraid. He shouted arrogantly, “I thought you were something special. With abilities like that, you actually think you can fight us? Why don’t you take a piss and look at yourself?”

He then turned and shouted at the men behind him, “Get your asses in gear today! Once the fighting starts, not one of you is allowed to retreat. Anyone who dares to run, I’ll smash his head in with one blow! Got it?”

More than a hundred men shouted in unison. Though their voices were somewhat disordered, the combined force still carried considerable intimidation.

Zhao Ming came over and handed Ling Tian the hammer. “Ling Tian, borrow this. Swing it at them with everything you’ve got. I guarantee one blow per man—just like whack-a-mole. It’s great fun.”

Ling Tian threw back his head and laughed. “No matter how loudly a flock of sheep bleats, they’re still sheep. How could they compare with my dragon’s roar? Just watch.”

The moment he finished speaking, Ling Tian began walking toward Big Biao and the others. With every step, his momentum grew stronger. A fierce, domineering killing intent suddenly erupted and spread rapidly in all directions. It was invisible and intangible, yet everyone could feel it with absolute clarity.

Sun Yibin, whose strength was second only to Ling Tian’s, was especially shaken. As soon as he sensed that overwhelming aura, his face turned pale. From momentum alone, he knew that the gap between himself and Ling Tian was far greater than he had imagined.

He gave a self-mocking smile. Earlier, he had ridiculously believed that even if he was inferior to Ling Tian, the difference between them could not be all that great.

As his aura soared, Ling Tian pushed the circulation of his inner energy to its absolute limit. Today, he intended to leave his opponents with a memory they would never forget. He also wanted to know exactly how much power he possessed when he released everything within him—a personal test of his strength.

Big Biao stared blankly at Ling Tian as the man approached alone, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. Had Ling Tian been frightened senseless? How could he dare come over by himself? Wasn’t that the same as courting death? If all five short-barreled shotguns fired at once, he would be blasted into a smear of flesh.

Ling Tian suddenly raised a finger and pointed at Big Biao. With overwhelming arrogance, he said, “Not convinced? Scared? Come on. Let’s have some fun.”

Big Biao flew into a rage. He raised the spiked club in his hand and strode toward Ling Tian, bringing it down in a vicious swing aimed at his head. Forged entirely from steel, the club weighed a full fifty pounds. It could easily smash a table to pieces; if it struck a person, it would crush him on the spot.

Ling Tian laughed loudly. His clothes began to flutter despite the absence of wind, while a tremendous current of air gathered around him and formed a storm three meters in diameter. The spectacle was magnificent, as though a war god had descended into the mortal world.

Clang!

Ling Tian’s right fist, enveloped in protective inner energy, collided heavily with the spiked club, producing a sound like a blacksmith striking iron.

“Haha! That feels great. Here comes another punch!”

With his full strength unleashed, Ling Tian’s fists were comparable to iron hammers. Not only were they immensely powerful, they were as hard as steel. He withstood the club’s attack head-on and, in the space of a single second, struck nine consecutive punches.

Under Ling Tian’s furious assault, the massive spiked club began to bend and deform. It was proof enough of the terrifying force he possessed.

Big Biao felt as though the club in his hands had been bombarded by artillery. The shock numbed both of his arms.

Was this even human?

He had actually smashed a steel spiked club with his bare hands—and deformed it in the process. What kind of monstrous strength did that require? If Big Biao had not known for certain that his club was forged from genuine steel, he would have thought it was made of plastic. It was simply too fragile.

Sun Yibin’s eyes widened as he stared at Ling Tian, who had unleashed his full strength. This had already surpassed the limits of what a human being could achieve. If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, Sun Yibin would never have believed it, even if someone had beaten him to death.

Zhao Ming, having already witnessed Ling Tian’s astonishing abilities, was completely numb to it by now. He merely sat to the side and drank his tea.

With his final punch, Ling Tian sent the deformed club flying. Then he roared, “Come and fight!”

Big Biao was stunned by the roar, but he quickly erupted in fury. He shouted, “Open fire! Blast him to pieces!”

The five short-barreled shotguns fired almost simultaneously. At such close range, and with the shotguns’ wide spread, Big Biao was certain that Ling Tian would die this time.

Yet what happened next left him utterly dumbfounded.

Ling Tian, who had just seemed like a berserker, suddenly moved like an assassin. His body flashed through the storm of shot, weaving with uncanny agility and dodging every attack. When he finally passed through the barrage, the ground behind him was riddled with dense clusters of pellet holes.

Big Biao shouted, “Reload! Keep firing! Damn it, you’re this close and you still can’t hit him? Are you all blind?”

The five gunmen hurriedly pulled out boxes containing gunpowder and iron shot. They used iron rods to clear their barrels, then poured in fresh powder and shot.

Ling Tian threw back his head and let out a long howl. Accompanied by a violent gale, he charged forward like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain. No one even saw him make a move, yet the five men were suddenly hurled through the air.

They flew several meters before crashing into the roof of the factory building, then fell back down, kicking up a dense cloud of dust when they struck the ground.

Ling Tian came to a stop and laughed heartily. “The warm-up is over. The real fun starts now.”

That was only a warm-up?

Big Biao’s vision went black, and he nearly lost the strength to stand. If one of his men had not caught him in time, he would probably have fainted on the spot.

Watching from the sidelines, Sun Yibin quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He was utterly speechless. Ling Tian had used his fists to fight a steel spiked club—and had even beaten it out of shape. And this was merely a warm-up?

Just how powerful was Ling Tian’s true strength?

Sun Yibin did not even dare imagine it.

After suffering one defeat after another, Big Biao’s stubbornness finally overcame his fear. He snatched a weapon from one of his men and roared, “This man is incredibly strong, but we have to kill him today. If we don’t, he’ll become a disaster waiting to happen. Follow me! Hack him to death!”

Under Big Biao’s furious command, the men who had been frightened senseless gradually recovered. They charged forward behind him.

More than a hundred men, each carrying a gleaming machete, surged ahead with overwhelming momentum.

Ling Tian laughed loudly and suddenly thrust both palms forward. At the same time, he released a thunderous roar that shook the heavens, like the cry of a celestial dragon. A powerful shock wave, combined with his domineering inner energy, surged outward like enormous waves rising from the sea, forming successive torrents of force that swept directly over the hundred-odd men.

In the blink of an eye, the imposing formation was scattered into chaos. More than a dozen men at the front were blown off their feet on the spot, while those behind them fared little better. At least ten collapsed unconscious where they stood.

Only Big Biao, whose physique was the strongest among them, managed to remain standing—barely. The muscles throughout his body convulsed violently. The shock wave had clearly been more powerful than a typhoon, and it had already injured him internally.

Ling Tian still felt unsatisfied. He let out another furious roar, bent his knees slightly, and sprang into the air. The hard ground cracked beneath his feet, leaving two deep footprints more than an inch wide.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Ling Tian shot upward like a cannon shell. Carrying an overwhelming aura, he smashed straight through the factory roof and disappeared into the sky.

What was going on?

Everyone looked up at the enormous hole in the roof, utterly baffled. What kind of trick was Ling Tian playing? Was he trying to fly into the heavens?

Sun Yibin involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath as he stared blankly at the roof. His mind kept replaying the sight of Ling Tian shooting into the sky. Naturally, four words came to him: a divine dragon ascending to heaven.

Just as everyone was wondering what had happened, another enormous hole was blasted through the roof.

Ling Tian descended from above, wrapped in an invincible aura. Like a magnificent meteor, he came crashing down toward the ground.

At the instant he landed, Ling Tian concentrated every trace of inner energy within his body and drove a punch into the floor.

It was his strongest punch—the full force of all the inner energy in his body unleashed in a single devastating blow.

Boom!

A violent explosion rang through the factory. Immediately afterward, the ground began to tremble violently, as though an earthquake had struck. Clouds of dust billowed upward from the floor, swiftly engulfing the entire building.

The shaking was so intense that the teapot on the table was thrown to the ground. Even the workshop trembled and rattled, as though it might collapse at any moment.

Sun Yibin was terrified. His face turned deathly white as he thought:

What a monster. He’s truly a monster!

He had actually unleashed such overwhelming power. It was like an artillery shell striking the ground—no, even more powerful than that.

When the dust finally began to settle, everyone saw the center of the devastation left by the “earthquake.”

They were instantly struck dumb with terror.

Was this really a human being?