Chapter 126: A Spectacular Duel

The leader looked at Lin Hao and said, "Kid, you've got guts. To think you’d chase someone all the way to my doorstep."

"Hardly. It’s just that your skills are pathetic. Even when I intentionally slowed down, I could still track your footwork. Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

Lin Hao did not bother with modesty; instead, he stared back at the leader with undisguised disdain. Since he had already been discovered, there was no point in playing games. If they wanted to kill him, they could come and get it over with.

When Lin Hao finished speaking, the surrounding henchmen, enraged by his disrespect toward their leader, surged with palpable hostility. However, the leader merely froze, seemingly stunned by Lin Hao’s audacity, though he showed no sign of true anger. Instead, he began to size Lin Hao up, his brow furrowing deeper with each passing second.

By the standards of the cultivation world, Lin Hao’s level was indeed quite impressive. The leader could sense that Lin Hao’s strength was likely superior to his own. With a calm expression, he looked at Lin Hao and said, "Hmph. Since you’ve come, you might as well stay."

Maintaining his composure, he immediately commanded his subordinates, "Take him!"

As soon as the words left his lips, the surrounding men charged forward with their weapons in hand.

Clang! Crash!

A chaotic melee ensued. Lin Hao wielded his Cloud-Swallowing Sword, parrying their strikes while occasionally unleashing water blades. However, with Cao Yi strapped to his back, his movements were restricted and cumbersome. Finally, gritting his teeth, Lin Hao let out a roar: "Boom! Exotic Fire Lotus!"

He unleashed a burst of exotic flames, which surged toward them. The crowd, seeing the flames, scrambled backward in alarm to avoid them. Still, two men were caught in the inferno. With a blood-curdling scream, they were instantly reduced to ash.

Seeing the terrifying power of Lin Hao’s exotic fire, the expressions of everyone present shifted to shock. They had been unable to extinguish the flames Lin Hao left at the stone cave entrance earlier, requiring their leader to intervene. They had realized then that it was no ordinary fire, but seeing it consume people so thoroughly—leaving not even a corpse behind—sent a chill through their hearts.

They stood frozen, staring at Lin Hao with wary eyes, none daring to step forward for fear of being the next target of his flames. The leader frowned. He had refrained from joining the fray to gauge Lin Hao’s abilities and to let his men exhaust the intruder's spiritual energy. Seeing them terrified after only a short exchange, his mood grew complex. After a long, deep look at Lin Hao, the leader finally drew his weapon: a barbed steel whip—the very same one used to interrogate Cao Yi.

The steel whip shimmered with a silver luster, its barbs as fine as hair but as numerous as the hairs on an ox. In the sunlight, the weapon was blinding, and its jagged barbs were chilling to behold.

*Snap!* The whip cracked with a sharp, piercing sound.

Immediately, a dense flurry of barbs lashed out toward Lin Hao. He tried to dodge, but with Cao Yi on his back, his speed was hampered.

*Rip!* The whip caught him on the arm.

Lin Hao had dodged just in time, so the whip only grazed him. Yet, when he looked at his arm, he gasped; the flesh was torn open, revealing the bone beneath. A cold shiver ran down his spine. If he had been a split second slower, he would have lost the entire arm.

He looked at his opponent with a much graver expression. If he were alone, he felt he could put up a fight, but with the unconscious Cao Yi, he was severely limited. Even his escape was sluggish. Scanning his surroundings, he saw the leader's men still guarding the perimeter; his chances of escape were slim.

Lin Hao’s mind raced, searching for a way out. He had to be decisive and end this quickly. There were only a few of them now, but who knew if they would call for reinforcements? If the indigenous elder he had encountered earlier appeared, he would surely be doomed.

Resolved, Lin Hao fixed a determined gaze on the leader and flung out his Cloud-Swallowing Sword.

*Swish!* The sword extended to two meters in length. Then, to the astonishment of the onlookers, Lin Hao wrapped the blade around his waist. The weapon, previously rigid as steel, became remarkably pliable. With a firm click, it cinched tightly around his waist, securing Cao Yi to his back as well.

Now with both hands free, Lin Hao shook them out and adjusted Cao Yi’s position. He looked up at the leader and challenged, "Again!"

Ignoring the mangled wound on his arm, he prepared to fight. Facing the man with the barbed steel whip, he felt a surge of battle intent. With a low hum, his full aura erupted, exerting immense pressure on his surroundings, directed squarely at the man with the whip.

The leader felt the aura of a true powerhouse and a bloodthirsty glint appeared in his eyes. He felt a flicker of respect for Lin Hao. Without a word, he raised both hands and began wrapping the steel whip around his fists. The barbs seemed to recognize their master; despite their razor-sharp nature, they retracted as they touched his skin, appearing to vanish. Only the barbs exposed to the outside stood rigid, glinting with a cold light.

Once he had fully wrapped the whip around his hands, he looked at Lin Hao and said, "Since you’ve put away your weapon, I won't take advantage of you. I’ll sheathe mine as well. Let’s see what your true strength is. I’ve been away from the cultivation world for many years; I want to see how much progress has been made."

He clenched his fists, shouted, and lunged at Lin Hao, his whip-wrapped knuckles leading the way.

Lin Hao stood his ground. His arm still throbbed with pain from the barbs. As the punch came, he didn't dodge. Instead, he channeled his energy, turning his hands into frost-covered fists.

*Clang!* A deafening boom echoed as the ice-fists and the barbed-whip fists collided.

Powerful spiritual energy surged from Lin Hao into his blows, while the leader’s fists were wreathed in eerie black mist. It was a magnificent display of power.

*Crack!*

The ice on Lin Hao’s hands shattered, and simultaneously, the barbs on the leader’s whip were crushed flat. Both men retreated several steps, shaking out their arms.

*Boom!* Lin Hao swung his arm to the side, the unleashed energy gouging a massive crater into the ground. The leader swung his hand as well, and the nearby trees were sliced into pieces by the residual force.

The two then unleashed a torrent of attacks. Lin Hao summoned a dragon of fire.

"Heaven-Filling Fire!"

The long, blazing dragon opened its gaping maw toward the leader. The man’s pupils dilated, and he immediately erected a water shield. Unlike the water barriers of typical cultivators, this one resembled a slab of dark, metallic iron—a wall of black water shimmering with strange, rippling light.

Lin Hao’s exotic fire was unique, and ordinary water could not extinguish it. Yet, as the dragon collided with the shield, the two forces remained evenly matched. Slowly, the dragon began to dissipate, and the water wall grew thinner. The leader clearly possessed a water-affinity root; he was likely the one who had extinguished the fire at the cave entrance earlier.

Lin Hao sensed that the water shield was different from anything he had ever seen, filling him with unease. Suddenly, a water dragon surged toward him.

"Roar!" The dragon’s cry startled him.

The dark, watery dragon opened its maw, intent on swallowing Lin Hao whole. Clenching his fists, Lin Hao waved his hands, and a golden barrier manifested, shielding both him and Cao Yi. It was a golden bell-shaped barrier formed from his metal-affinity roots.

The water dragon bit down on the golden bell, but then its jaw began to tear, and the dragon shattered, its body gradually vanishing.

The man across from him stood in stunned silence.