Chapter 1698: Merciless Plunder
"So it's a Thunder Soul Crystal. Not a bad treasure."
Ling Feng sneered. The Thunder God Shadow technique he cultivated relied heavily on powerful lightning energy. If he refined this Thunder Soul Crystal, the technique's power would naturally rise to a whole new level.
And as for Ye Ting's Heaven-Execution Thunder Domain and Heaven-Execution Spear...
Those techniques were decent enough. Ling Feng would gladly accept them as well.
In truth, the Thunder Soul Crystal was the remnant source essence left behind by a mighty member of a divine race from the Immortal Domain, who had perished on the Xuanling Continent. Ye Ting had obtained it by chance within an ancient ruin.
After being transformed by the crystal, his constitution had surpassed that of an ordinary Lightning Saint Body. Even so, with his talent, it would still take him more than a century to completely absorb and refine its power.
Originally, Ling Feng had not even noticed the existence of the Thunder Soul Crystal. It was Zifeng who pointed it out.
As an elemental lifeform, Zifeng possessed an exceptionally keen sensitivity toward treasures containing extreme elemental attributes.
Ling Feng had not yet decided how to punish Ye Ting, but the moment Zifeng reminded him of the crystal's existence, he made up his mind.
If he seized the Thunder Soul Crystal, Ye Ting's talent would effectively be crippled.
For someone as proud and arrogant as Ye Ting, that punishment was no different from destroying everything he had.
Touch my companions, and this is the price.
"No! No!"
Ye Ting was completely panicked.
Yet because he had been severely wounded by his own Heaven-Execution Spear, he had no strength left to resist.
"Please, spare me! Ling Feng, I beg you! Don't take my Thunder Soul Crystal!"
He screamed desperately, even lowering himself to pitiful pleas.
Ling Feng remained unmoved.
As he continued drawing the Thunder Soul Crystal from the depths of Ye Ting's dantian, he could clearly sense the immense lightning power contained within it.
His heart burned with excitement.
No wonder Ye Ting, merely an early-stage Great Emperor, had managed to comprehend Third-Level Thunder Laws.
Now it was obvious.
It wasn't because Ye Ting's talent was extraordinary.
It was because he had squandered the treasure.
If Ling Feng had possessed the Thunder Soul Crystal, he might already have comprehended even Fifth-Level Thunder Laws.
"No! Don't!"
Like a drowning man grasping for anything that might save him, Ye Ting suddenly remembered—
This was still an arena match.
"I surrender! Stop! Stop right now!"
He roared frantically.
According to the rules, surrendering should immediately end the battle.
Yet neither the puppet referee nor anyone outside reacted in the slightest.
Ling Feng chuckled coldly.
"Have you forgotten? When you activated the Heaven-Execution Thunder Domain, you completely sealed off the arena. Right now, nobody outside can hear a single word we're saying."
Ye Ting's face turned deathly pale.
Reaping what you sow.
That was exactly what this was.
Feeling the Thunder Soul Crystal almost completely detached from his dantian, Ye Ting's fear reached its peak.
Once the crystal was taken, his source would suffer devastating damage.
His strength would plummet.
He might not even remain among the top ten disciples of his sect.
At that critical moment, Ye Ting thought of one final, desperate solution.
"Aaaah!"
With a furious roar, he forcibly reversed the flow of his blood and qi, driving it all into his heart.
Ye Ting was ruthless even toward himself.
He detonated his own heart.
Sensing that his life was in immediate danger, the puppet referee finally intervened. It tore open the Heaven-Execution Thunder Domain and teleported Ye Ting outside the arena.
Unfortunately, despite his desperate gamble, the Thunder Soul Crystal had already been seized.
Ling Feng drew it directly into his own dantian.
Boundless lightning power instantly flooded his inner world.
At the same time, countless insights into lightning laws surged into his mind.
With his level of comprehension, it would not be long before he developed all kinds of lightning divine abilities—ones even stronger than Ye Ting's Heaven-Execution Spear.
The match was over.
Ye Ting had been utterly defeated.
When he realized the Thunder Soul Crystal was truly gone, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, rolled his eyes back, and fainted on the spot.
But Ling Feng had no intention of stopping there.
Nine golden dragon phantoms appeared behind him and lunged toward Ye Ting, devouring every last trace of his fortune.
After countless battles and plunderings, Ye Ting's Fortune Dragons had already grown into two nine-zhang golden dragons.
Ling Feng swallowed them completely.
Not a single strand remained.
After absorbing such a vast amount of fortune, the nine Fortune Dragons behind Ling Feng erupted with dazzling brilliance.
Golden light shot into the heavens.
For ten thousand li, auspicious radiance illuminated the sky.
Clouds gathered into countless auspicious signs.
Even more astonishingly, many disciples of Dongling Immortal Pool, bathed in that golden light, suddenly experienced moments of enlightenment and showed signs of breakthroughs.
Ling Feng's fortune had become so immense that it was beginning to influence the sect's destiny itself.
"Unprecedented! Truly unprecedented!"
The three Hall Masters and numerous elders of Dongling Immortal Pool were overjoyed.
To possess such a disciple—what more could they possibly ask for?
On the other side, Elder Haoling of Wulei Sacred Land hurried to the preparation area.
Looking at the dying Ye Ting, his expression darkened to an extreme degree.
After examining Ye Ting's condition, he nearly coughed up blood in rage.
"Ye Ting's cultivation has fallen from the Great Emperor Realm! And the aura within his body has weakened to the extreme!"
Elder Haoling's eyes burned with fury.
His fingernails dug deeply into his palms.
A once-in-a-millennium genius of the sect had been ruined by Ling Feng.
"Ling Feng! What grudge does Wulei Sacred Land have against you?!"
The elder roared sorrowfully, his eyes bloodshot with hatred.
Ling Feng glanced back indifferently and curled his lips.
"What grudge?"
"You really don't know?"
Since the beginning of the Sunset Heaven Selection, plenty of people had offended him.
Liu Donglin.
Yuan Huaji.
Wang Qian.
Ye Changge.
Anyone who brought trouble upon themselves—Ling Feng never showed mercy.
His principles were simple:
Those who offend me will be repaid in kind.
Those who harm my companions will be repaid a hundredfold.
If Ye Ting had made one mistake, it was this:
He should never have laid a hand on Tuoba Yan.
Ignoring Elder Haoling's fury, Ling Feng strode down from the arena as casually as if he were taking a stroll.
At that moment, his figure seemed taller than ever in the eyes of the crowd.
Ye Ting—the monstrous genius who had broken Wulei Sacred Land's monopoly over the top three rankings—
Had still fallen beneath Ling Feng.
A blazing battle intent ignited in Shi Haoxuan's eyes.
"Good. Very good."
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you."
"You are the only opponent worthy of me in this tournament."
The disciples of Wulei Sacred Land were so shocked that they could barely speak.
Ling Feng's strength was simply overwhelming.
If Ye Ting had created a legend, then Ling Feng had destroyed that legend and established a new one that seemed impossible to surpass.
The three Hall Masters of Dongling Immortal Pool were ecstatic.
No matter what happened in the coming battle between Ling Feng and Shi Haoxuan, Dongling Immortal Pool had already secured both first and second place in this year's Sunset Heaven Selection.
Victory or defeat no longer mattered.
The name Ling Feng would spread throughout the entire Dongling Region.
A rising star had torn through the barriers of time itself, carving his name into history.
His glory would endure forever.