Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Mountain Fury Nine Hammers

Lin Ya’s eyes narrowed.

She extended her palm. The Earth Dragon—still wrestling Lin Zhao’s flames—snapped back toward her, returning like a beast called to heel. As it dissolved into her spiritual energy, Lin Ya’s aura surged.

The force field that had merely restrained Lin Zhao’s wings deepened into a massive brown imprint. From that imprint, a black prison rose from the earth.

Black and yellow light flowed over its surface, as if a true abyss lay inside.

Earth Abyss Prison, second layer: abyss and hell.

A heartbeat before the prison fully formed, Thousand Spirit Slash twisted into it.

Flame-wreathed sword light bit into black stone-like walls, melting through inch by inch. The prison shuddered.

Lin Ya exhaled, jaw tight.

Lin Zhao’s difficulty had far exceeded her expectations.

“Lin Zhao,” Lin Ya said, fist clenched, “you’re strong. You’re already not inferior to me. But I can’t lose this time.”

The earth beneath her cracked.

She lifted her hand, and her twin spiked hammers flew back into her grasp.

“This was meant for Lin Long and Lin Yuan,” Lin Ya said quietly. “I didn’t expect to use it on you.”

Pale-yellow spiritual energy brewed around her hands. Her cultivation method was Fifth Grade—among the best of Fifth Grade—yet the suppression she expected over Lin Zhao wasn’t there.

Lin Ya slammed her hammers down.

The platform cracked and buckled. The entire arena shook.

The Lin Family platform had been reinforced by high-level cultivators again and again. Even so, Lin Ya’s strike carved destruction into it so deep the crowd couldn’t help clicking their tongues.

“This isn’t something a Foundation Establishment fight should be able to do!”

“Which one of them is ordinary?!”

Lin Ya lifted both hammers and roared, swinging down at Lin Zhao with thunder, sand, and fire swirling around the blow.

The moment Lin Zhao tore free of Earth Abyss Prison, she spread her wings and surged upward, barely dodging.

The hammer smashed into the platform and blasted out a crater over ten meters deep. Lightning and fire flickered faintly inside it.

Lin Zhao’s vigilance sharpened.

The twin hammers had turned entirely silver-white.

That wasn’t their original color.

Combined with the strike just now, Lin Ya had clearly unleashed something beyond a normal Fifth Grade method.

Seeing Lin Zhao hovering, Lin Ya laughed—a raw, exhilarated sound. “My Mountain Fury Nine Hammers. You dodged the first hammer. Let’s see how many you can dodge!”

“Sixth Grade spirit technique: Mountain Fury Nine Hammers!”

The moment Lin Mang recognized it, he sighed. “Second Elder is really willing to teach a junior a Sixth Grade spirit technique.”

Second Elder chuckled, pride unmistakable. “She’s worth it.”

A Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn’t unleash the full power of a Sixth Grade technique, but in a battle like this, it was still a killing move.

Because learning Sixth Grade techniques was far more difficult than most people could even imagine.

Lin Ya’s hammer flew.

Thunder snapped. Fire flared. Sand screamed.

Lin Zhao’s mouth twitched.

Mountain Fury Nine Hammers—first hammer, Mountain Punishment Hammer; second hammer, Life Extinguishing Hammer.

Mountain Punishment summoned lightning. Life Extinguishing crushed life.

At completion, the first two hammers could flatten a mountain range in moments.

“How will you dodge this?” Lin Ya’s face had gone pale with strain, but her eyes blazed. “Within the range of Life Extinguishing Hammer, pressure is applied indiscriminately. Where will you run?”

Lin Zhao answered with action.

If she couldn’t dodge, she would clash.

Green flames wrapped her hand. She tightened her grip on Bone Sword.

Behind her, sword shadows formed—one after another—condensing into a fierce, rising formation.

The Hong Hu sword formation gathered.

Its edge was unstoppable.

A massive pale-green Hong Hu phantom screamed into being, wings beating as countless sword shadows surged forward with it.

Boom!

Life Extinguishing Hammer collided with the sword shadows. The platform screamed under the force. Stone collapsed. Dust exploded into the air, swallowing the arena’s sight.

For a heartbeat, the world was only noise and shaking ground.

People stared, breath held, eyes wide with horror.

This was no longer a simple Foundation Establishment duel. It had torn straight past expectation.

“Who won?” someone whispered at last.

As the dust began to thin, eyes locked onto the platform.

Lin Ya was still standing.

Whispers rose immediately. “Is it Miss Lin Ya?”

“She mastered Mountain Fury Nine Hammers. She might take first.”

“Yeah… Miss Lin Zhao is still a little short.”

Lin Yuan watched Lin Ya standing there and quietly relaxed, a smile creeping back onto his face.

Lin Zhao.

No matter how talented you are, you’ll still watch me take first place. I’ll seize everything that comes with being Young Lord—and strip it from you.

Second Elder watched the disciples’ reactions and gave a bitter smile. He shook his head, then sighed toward Lin Mang. “Given time, the Young Lord will become a great figure.”

Lin Yuan’s lips tightened.

Then the dust cleared fully.

Lin Ya’s face was deathly pale. Blood clung to the corner of her mouth.

And above her—behind her—Lin Zhao hovered in midair, wings spread, spotless and unruffled, not even a strand of hair out of place.

Victory was obvious.

Lin Yuan’s frown deepened, displeased.

But the most displeased person wasn’t him.

“I’m not willing…” Lin Ya’s voice came out rough, raw with stubbornness.

She gripped her last hammer, vicious light surging in her eyes. With both hands, she raised it and poured in everything she had left.

“Mountain Fury Nine Hammers, third hammer—Raging Sea Hammer!”

The hammer’s momentum condensed like storm waves inside iron. Wind split the air. Sand and stone wailed.

The instant she threw it, Lin Ya spat blood and dropped to one knee, completely drained.

The referee, who had been about to declare the match, hesitated.

Now the decision depended on whether Lin Zhao could take Lin Ya’s all-out strike.

Lin Zhao lifted Bone Sword.

Thousand Spirit Slash erupted again, weaving with the second layer of the Hong Hu sword formation. Their spiritual energies collided, braided, and surged.

The first thing to shatter was Raging Sea Hammer.

Just as Lin Zhao expected.

Hong Hu was a Seventh Grade sword art. Mountain Fury Nine Hammers was fierce, but it still fell short of that rank.

Lin Ya’s unwillingness drained away in a breath. She wiped the blood from her mouth and forced herself upright, standing straight despite the tremor in her legs.

“Raging Sea Hammer was my first time using it,” Lin Ya said, voice hoarse but sincere. “And the Young Lord still broke it. I, Lin Ya, concede wholeheartedly!”

The referee nodded and raised his voice.

“Lin Zhao versus Lin Ya—Lin Zhao wins!”

The announcement ignited the arena with heated discussion.

Lin Ya’s defeat didn’t mean the Lin Family’s rising leaders had fallen.

It meant another had risen.

“Good! Good! Good!” Lin Mang slammed the table, laughter bursting out of him so hard he nearly lost control.

Believing his daughter could do it and watching her actually defeat one of the Lin Family’s leading young figures were two different things.

Old bastard of the Ji Family… just wait. The Lin Family’s Ancient Phoenix won’t be inferior to your Blood Phoenix.

On the other side, Lin Yuan’s gaze darkened steadily. He watched Lin Ya walk off the platform and said in a low voice, “Useless.”