Chapter 1696: The Heavenly Punishment Thunder Domain
"Ling Feng! Ling Feng! Ling Feng!"
Ye Ting repeatedly roared Ling Feng's name, his voice hoarse and hysterical, sounding as though it had crawled out from the depths of the Nine Nether Hells, chilling to the bone.
Ling Feng's expression remained cold and indifferent. Completely ignoring Ye Ting's fury, he threw another punch.
"Damn you!"
Though enraged, Ye Ting still did not dare confront Ling Feng head-on. He immediately activated his thunder power and dissolved into a streak of lightning once more.
Ling Feng faintly caught the scent of medicinal herbs in the air. Clearly, Ye Ting had swallowed some kind of medicinal pill while hiding, using the opportunity to recover his injuries.
The rules of the Sunset Heaven Selection did not prohibit contestants from taking medicinal pills during battle, but Ye Ting's behavior was undeniably contemptible.
"Hmph! Scorching Sky Blaze!"
A sea of flames erupted once again, carrying razor-sharp sword qi as it swept across the entire arena.
Unable to evade it, Ye Ting was forced to reveal himself.
The moment he appeared, Ling Feng activated Thunder God Shadow, instantly teleporting before him and smashing out with a palm strike.
"AAAH!"
Ye Ting screamed as he took another hit. Shocked and furious, he transformed back into lightning and vanished once more.
Yet his pride and joy—the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Thunder movement technique—was completely suppressed by Ling Feng's overwhelming rain of flames.
Time and again, his position was exposed. Time and again, Ling Feng closed the distance with near-instantaneous speed and delivered another merciless punch.
After only half an hour, Ye Ting had suffered no fewer than twenty brutal blows.
Blood covered his body. Broken bones protruded beneath torn flesh. His face had been deliberately—or perhaps not so deliberately—beaten into the shape of a pig's head.
The same Ye Ting who had lorded over Yu Linglong and Tuoba Yan now found himself utterly dominated by Ling Feng, helplessly enduring one beating after another.
The battle seemed all but decided.
On the elders' platform:
Saint Lady Bi Luo's beautiful eyes shimmered with admiration.
She was no longer shocked.
Ling Feng had amazed her so many times that she had become numb to it.
The Hall Masters of the Blazing Sun Hall and Void Heaven Hall exchanged glances and nodded quietly.
Among this generation, Shi Haoxuan was undoubtedly first.
As for second place?
Nine times out of ten, it would be Ling Feng.
Such an achievement would mark the most glorious performance by Dongling Immortal Pool in the past five hundred years.
As Ye Ting continued to fall into disadvantage, the audience erupted in cheers.
Without anyone noticing, Ling Feng's popularity had already soared to a level rivaling even Shi Haoxuan's.
Again and again, he had risen against impossible odds, proving the strength of a true powerhouse.
He was the tournament's greatest dark horse.
---
In the waiting area, Shi Haoxuan nodded slightly.
He had long been displeased with Ye Ting's conduct.
Now that Ling Feng was teaching him a lesson, there was no need for Shi Haoxuan to intervene personally.
Tuoba Yan, meanwhile, felt warmth spread through her heart.
She knew very well that Ling Feng was doing this largely to avenge her.
---
"Pfft!"
On the arena, Ye Ting spat out another mouthful of blood and glared at Ling Feng with endless resentment.
His Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Thunder movement art was supposed to surpass even the Void-Shattering techniques of body cultivators.
Yet Ling Feng had completely countered it, forcing him to endure countless heavy blows.
Even worse, the Nine Heavens Punishment Lightning that he had always relied upon had been treated by Ling Feng as little more than an appetizer and swallowed whole.
Humiliation surged through his heart.
His body trembled with rage.
Fixing his icy gaze upon Ling Feng, he hissed:
"Good! You forced me to use this move!"
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
An even more terrifying aura exploded from his body.
"Heavenly Punishment Spear!"
Under Ling Feng's overwhelming pressure, Ye Ting could no longer hold anything back.
He finally revealed his ultimate trump card.
It was this very technique that had forced Saint Lady Bi Luo to personally save Yu Linglong.
It was also the technique that had made even Shi Haoxuan show a hint of caution.
Its destructive power was enough to pose a fatal threat to a mid-stage Great Emperor at the Fifth Level of the Divine Destiny Realm.
"Ling Feng! If you've got the guts, try swallowing this Heavenly Punishment Spear too!"
Ye Ting roared.
Endless heavenly lightning gathered in his hands, condensing into a crimson spear of thunder.
Compared to the version he had used against Yu Linglong, the power contained within it was more than twice as violent.
This was no longer merely thunder energy.
It also contained Third-Tier Thunder Laws.
Ling Feng might be able to devour thunder itself.
But if he tried to devour the Thunder Laws as well, he would likely explode on the spot.
Rumble—!
As the spear fully took shape, a vast thunder force field instantly spread across the arena.
The sky.
The ground.
Even the air itself.
Every inch became saturated with terrifying thunder energy.
An invisible cage seemed to descend, sealing the entire arena within it.
At once, Ling Feng felt as though he had been isolated from the outside world.
This aspect of Ye Ting's power had never been revealed during his battle against Yu Linglong.
"Scorching Sky Blaze!"
Ling Feng unleashed another rain of flames.
But for the first time, the normally unstoppable fire was blocked a hundred zhang away from Ye Ting, unable to advance even an inch.
"Useless! Within the Heavenly Punishment Thunder Domain, I am a god!"
"Heh heh heh..."
A sinister laugh echoed throughout the arena.
The voice drifted from everywhere and nowhere, impossible to locate.
"Ling Feng, now it's your turn!"
"You'll suffer ten times worse than I did! A hundred times worse!"
"You forced me this far!"
"You deserve death!"
Ye Ting's hateful roar reverberated through the domain.
---
"Heavenly Punishment Spear! Absolute Execution!"
Holding the spear of thunder aloft, Ye Ting pronounced the sentence coldly, like a supreme deity deciding the life and death of all living beings.
Whoosh!
The Heavenly Punishment Spear shot forward.
Crack!
Crack!
Space itself collapsed wherever the spear passed.
Under the suppressive force of the domain, countless black fissures suddenly opened around Ling Feng.
The surrounding space was being crushed by an invisible pressure.
Ling Feng's eyelids twitched slightly.
Ye Ting's mastery of Thunder Laws had already reached a level capable of interfering with spatial power.
Without question, the man was a true monster.
"Sacred Spirit Art!"
Ling Feng activated the secret technique passed down by Elder Gui.
His qi and blood erupted explosively, forcibly resisting the crushing force of the distorted space.
"Hehe, futile resistance!"
"Once trapped inside my Heavenly Punishment Thunder Domain, even a god must submit!"
Ye Ting's mocking laughter echoed from all directions.
The instant his words fell—
Ling Feng's expression changed.
The Heavenly Punishment Spear continued drawing nearer.
And the terrifying pressure crushing the surrounding space grew stronger and stronger.