"Senior." Lin Han modestly greeted with a fist-palm salute.
Senior?
Upon hearing Lin Han addressing him as a senior, the man's eyes brightened and nodded satisfyingly.
Everyone else feared his status and had always addressed him as 'Master'.
On the contrary, this humbly-dressed youngster merely saw him as a martial arts senior. To the man, this resembled courage and great ambition. He had high hopes on how this youngster could turn out later in life.
The simple address by Lin Han had left a much better impression on the man as compared to Lin Gutian who respectfully addressed him as Master a while ago.
Meanwhile, in the arena, countless pairs of eyes gazed towards the young figure the man was walking to.
"Lin Han!"
"It's really him!"
"Isn't he the Outer Residence subdivision disciple who rose rapidly out of nowhere?"
At that moment, the crowds of disciples in the inner residence were discussing amongst themselves. All of them were either surprised, unconvinced, envious or jealous.
Indeed, there was a huge contrast between the Chiyang guard's compliment towards Lin Han and his remark that Lin Gutian was too ordinary.
"Lin Han? Again? Why? Why is it that he always has to take everything away from me?!"
At the same time, Lin Gutian was standing nearby with resentment shaking his core. He could feel his hate and viciousness grow.
Be it in girls, martial arts or seeking the approval of this man, he was thoroughly defeated by this petty subdivision disciple.
'I can't accept this!' Lin Gutian was screaming within.
He bolted across, his eyes still gloomy. Almost as if he was roaring, Gutian exclaimed, "Master! I can't accept this!"
"What can't you accept?" the man in the black robe asked almost begrudgingly.
"I can't accept that I'm not better than Lin Han!"
Lin Gutian blurted.
Although Lin Han and Su He fought to a tie the other night, Lin Gutian did not think that it was a fair fight between both of them.
"Lin Han, do you dare fight me while the entire clan watches?" Lin Gutian stared at Lin Han who was still amid the crowd.
"There's no reason I wouldn't!"
Lin Han had always disliked Lin Gutian due to Gutian's constant hostility.
Immediately after, Lin Han walked out of the crowd. He looked at Lin Gutian, his eyes were almost expressionless.
In the past, Lin Han did not confront Lin Gutian because he was still hindered by the fact that they were clanmates.
However, now that Lin Gutian crossed the line and challenged him in front of the clan, he decided to teach Gutian a lesson he would never forget.
"That's great. I would like to observe your capabilities as well." the man in the black robe smiled and spoke gently.
Meanwhile, the crowd had gone wild.
"Lin Gutian and Lin Han are fighting each other?"
"Even though Lin Han is naturally talented and has risen rapidly from the Outer Residences, there's still a huge gap between their abilities. You must know, Lin Han is only seventeen, whereas Lin Gutian is currently twenty-two years old. With five years of differences in training, this match isn't a fair one at all!"
…
Below the arena, the disciples who were previously from the Outer Residence, such as Lin Yan and Lin Sha, were clearly displeased at Lin Gutian's shameless behavior.
Even for Lin Ruyan, her expressions revealed that she was worried about the situation.
She understood how strong Lin Gutian's power was, especially with his boundaries that are of someone half a step from Grandmaster. Furthermore, he had cultivated a violent natural martial arts technique. It was terrifying.
However, now that Lin Han accepted Gutian's challenge, Gutian was the happiest person in the scene.
He looked at Lin Yan mockingly.
To him, the only reason he lost to Su He was due to his palm technique.
"Lin Han, do you actually think I can defeat everyone?" Lin Gutian chuckled.
On the other side, Lin Han had walked into the survival arena and saw Lin Gutian sneering. He maintained his calm composure and spoke, "Make your move. You only have one chance."
"Hilarious! Do you actually think you're on par with Su He?"
Lin Gutian became enraged, his body emitted a singe of powerful vigor.
Compared to the vigor in his previous match, this was much stronger.
"Dragon-Tiger Celestial Seal!"
Lin Gutian immediately displayed his strongest martial art technique.
"Boom!"
Within a blink of an eye, a force of a Blue Dragon and a force of a tiger were summoned from Lin Gutian's palm. As their roars shattered the sky, the forces were accompanied by an unprecedented vigor that bolted towards Lin Han.
"Gutian is so filled with hatred, his attacks have become more powerful than before!" The residence master was surprised by the scene.
As the attack happened, everyone was fixing their sight on the survival arena.
"Die, Lin Han! I'll never lose to you!" Lin Gutian almost looked on the verge of insanity.
"No, you're the one who's losing."
Lin Han finally spoke.
Then, he merely held out his right hand to stroke an enigmatic path in the air into Lin Gutian's direction.
In that instance, Lin Han's palm held an enormous amount of energy. Like a gigantic mountain descending from the sky, he landed his palm onto the floor.
"What level of conception!" Standing at a distance, the man in the black robe was amazed at this sight.
Whereas in the survival arena, Lin Gutian's maniac expression instantly transformed into one of panic.
Was it due to Lin Han's palm technique?
"Impossible! How can you know this technique?"
Lin Gutian screamed uncontrollably.
However, he was powerless to change anything.
"Boom!"
Lin Han's gentle palm technique was the same legendary technique that he had learned from Su He. He named it Creation Palm.
As the palm technique descended, it could not be blocked. All of Lin Gutian's violent and volatile momentum was instantly suppressed.
"Ahh!"
The palm landed directly on Lin Gutian's chest. He let out a wail and was flung out of the arena as he spat blood once again. He had never been this helpless before.
"Tssk!"
As the scene unfolded, the crowds below winced in shock.
Did Lin Han actually defeat Lin Gutian with just one palm move?
One?
That was impossible!
All the inner residence disciples and even the residence master along with his accompanying elders were bewildered.
When did this low key subdivision disciple become this strong?
Powerful!
Potent!
Mysterious!
To most people, Lin Han was a person who represented all three words.
However, after the event unfolded, Lin Han was still standing still in the survival arena.
His body remained rigid, eyes still brightened, and his willpower was still sharp as a knife. Shockingly, he pointed towards the man in the black robe who was standing below.
"Does Lin Han still want to challenge the Chiyang Guard Master in front of everyone?"
Even the residence master panicked at the sight of what just happened. He immediately rushed to Lin Han and said, "Lin Han, you can't do this! You are just a disciple, not everyone is capable of challenging…"
"Not a problem!"
The man interrupted the residence master and said, "The palm technique that was displayed by this boy was so mysterious, even I couldn't predict it. I would like to experience this once for my own."
"Yes, Master!" the Residence Master bowed and said. Upon hearing the man's reply, there was nothing he could do.
"Stomp!"
The man in the black robe walked into the survival arena with both hands on his back. He looked at Lin Han and smiled, "Make your move then!"
"Alright." Lin Han inhaled deeply.
There was a reason he challenged that man in the black robe. He wanted to experiment and realize just how much potential the Creation Palm he learned yielded.
"Creation Palm!"
As Lin Han roared within, he catapulted himself into the air. Like a precise arrow, he propelled himself into the direction of the man in the black robe.
Simultaneously, when his feet were on the ground, Lin Han mirrored Su He's gesture during the match that night. He was beginning to build Ascendancy.
"Such a young age, yet he has managed to build Ascendancy on his own! Although there is still much room for improvement, if he keeps this up, who knows one day it can evolve into a mighty technique!" the man in the black robe was visibly delighted.
Although Lin Han's approach was still weak in comparison to the man's ability, Lin Han's endless display of skill sets came off as a pleasant surprise to the man.
The man saw enormous potential buried within Lin Han. If this potential was to be nurtured, Lin Han would surely excel.
"Such a good move!"
The man in the black robe had finally found his treasure. Naturally, he was in a better mood than before.
As he let out a wide grin, the man extended his arm with his palm open, pressing towards the direction of an approaching Lin Han.
"Buzz!"
The atmosphere shook fiercely.
Visible to the naked eye, a stream of magnificent Fire True Element gushed out from the man's palm.
"Boom!"
In the next instance, a gigantic Flaming True Element Palm emerged above the survival arena. Its fingers resembled huge pillars and it burnt with a raging flame. The Palm immediately came crashing down into the arena, it was such a sight to behold.
It was a perfect execution of True Element, the man was definitely a martial art Grandmaster!
Lin Han was slightly taken aback. However, his eyes conveyed a mighty battle spirit.
The Dragon Emperor Combat Body surfaced.
His combat strength increased threefold.
"Boom!"
A gush of mighty momentum erupted from Lin Han's body. He let out a huge battle cry and pressed his palms downwards. The Creation Palm was instantly cast.
"Bang!"
Immediately, a massive shockwave exploded in the midst of the survival arena, sending flames into all directions. The crowd of disciples scattered to avoid the flames.
Meanwhile, the Residence Master and his accompanying elders were shocked beyond words.
The clash that just happened was terrifying, it could almost threaten a seventh-tier martial art Grandmaster.
"Lin Han!"
Beneath the arena, Lin Ruyan, Lin Yan and the other subdivision disciples were worried.
"I'm okay!"
Lin Han's voice was heard from within the sea of fire that burned on the survival arena.
Then, the flames dispersed. Lin Han's frail-looking figure appeared in the midst of the survival arena. The rocks and earth nearby had mostly been shattered and charred.
It was at that moment when Lin Han finally realized how strong the man in the black robe was. He was not someone Lin Han could defeat at all.
Even after he combined his greatest technique - the Creation Palm, together with a threefold strength increase from the Dragon Emperor Combat Body, he was still unable to defend against a simple attack from the man.
The residence master seemed to notice Lin Han smiling bitterly. He approached Lin Han and whispered, "You're still young and your abilities are still undeveloped. However, this Chiyang Guard Master is probably already a stellar ninth-tier martial art Grandmaster. If you train more diligently, you'll catch up to him in no time."
Although the residence master's tone was soft, the man in the black robe had heard it all. Even then, he merely smiled and was not offended by it.
Deep down, the man was shocked by Lin Han's performance as well. In regards to the residence master's comment, he obviously agreed with it.
Not far away, a helpless Lin Gutian could only stare blankly at the glorious battle that took place in the survival arena just now.
If he was in the arena, he would have probably been reduced to ash.
It was at that moment when he realized that Lin Han and Su He's tie was not a result of a fluke nor opportunism. Indeed, he possessed what it took to become Broken Sky City's Greatest Genius.
"You must be the one Eighth Guard and Ninth Guard mentioned. Even if you're not, you definitely have what it takes to enter the Chiyang Imperial Residence." the man in the black robe let out a wide grin. He was in a good mood.
To him, to be able to locate an unprecedented genius in a place as small as Broken Sky City was this trip's greatest reward.