Chapter 658: Battle Song Ben!

Shards of stone sprayed in four directions, dust rose, and the force of that palm left a fist-sized dent on the platform, cracks spreading from the center outward, crawling like a spiderweb across a radius of several feet.

If that palm had struck Lin Yanqian solidly, it would have pulverized her sternum into dust.

But she wasn't there.

Her figure, in the instant before Song Ben's palm wind descended, turned into a pale teal afterimage, like a gust of wind lifting fallen leaves, drifting lightly onto the other side of the arena.

Her steps were a bit unsteady, stumbling when she landed, but she quickly steadied herself.

Her chest rose and fell violently, her breathing rapid and heavy, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead, yet she remained standing, not collapsing.

Song Ben's palm stayed pressed on the shattered Green Stone Slab, unmoving; he slowly lifted his head, his gaze landing on the thin silhouette on the other side of the arena, his brows knotting into a hard knot.

A flash of surprise crossed his face, then that surprise turned into offended anger.

From the stand in the Training Ground, a burst of fierce cheers erupted.

"Well dodged!"

"Good job, Lin girl!"

"Let these Ying Kingdom bastards see that Tianzhou Martial Arts isn't easy to bully!"

Chi Tian Yi Lang stood at the edge of the arena, the smile on his face already gone.

His gaze fixed tightly on Lin Yanqian, then shifted to Song Ben, his complexion as grim as a steel plate.

His voice squeezed out from deep in his throat, bearing a rage suppressed to the extreme, each word sounding as if bitten out with his teeth.

"Baka! Song Ben, have you been drinking? What on earth are you doing?"

His voice was low, but carried a chilling coldness that seemed to drop the temperature around the arena by a few degrees.

"Before a Pre‑Heaven Grandmaster, a Martial Artist Ninth Grade is more fragile than a newborn infant! You can't even deliver a killing blow! It's as if you're disgracing the warriors of the Great Ying Empire! This is unforgivable!"

Song Ben's complexion grew even uglier.

He could feel the icy scrutiny in Chi Tian Yi Lang's gaze, a look that embarrassed him more than any rebuke.

He is a Grandmaster‑level ninja cultivated by the Kōga style; in their country, only a handful reach the Grandmaster middle stage at his age.

He has ample capital for pride, enough confidence to look down on everything.

Yet that palm just now, he had clearly locked onto the woman's movement, calculated every possible evasion route, and sealed all her exits before she could act.

She should already have been dead, turned to powder in his palm.

But she stubbornly slipped away.

Like a gust of wind, she drifted out through a gap that didn't exist.

Song Ben's clenched fist loosened then tightened again, his gaze shifting from surprise to coldness, then to a murderous intent that seemed almost tangible.

He stared at Lin Yanqian, slowly straightening his body, the right hand that had smashed the stone slab hanging at his side, fingertips still dusted with stone powder and fragments.

His mouth corner lifted slowly, inch by inch, revealing a curve that sent chills down one's spine.

"Congratulations, woman…"

His voice was no longer indifferent; it carried a twisted grin, like someone who'd found an amusing toy.

"You've successfully caught my attention."

He took a step forward, his toe landing on the shattered Green Stone Slab, producing a faint crackle.

"Initially I only intended to crush you with a single palm, that would have been enough. But now…"

His gaze swept up and down Lin Yanqian's body, as if he wanted to peel her open, "I will make you, before everyone, become my plaything."

His voice deepened further, bearing a grin that raised gooseflesh.

"I will ravage you mercilessly, so they see you die for Tianzhou. Keke…"

When that laugh forced out of Song Ben's throat, it carried a bizarre, almost inhuman tone, chilling the spines of the warriors on the stand.

Then Song Ben's figure vanished.

Not a swift movement, but a true disappearance.

His silhouette there seemed erased with an eraser, becoming transparent from the edges, then the whole outline melted into the air, leaving no afterimage, no sound of displaced air, no trace of breath.

Qiao Zhenyu's complexion changed abruptly, and he sprang up from his seat.

"Bad! This one is a Grandmaster ninja of the Eastern Kōga style! Even at Master Peak his speed might be uncapturable! Now Junior Sister Lin is in trouble!"

The moment his words finished, Lin Yanqian on the arena already sensed the shift.

The instant Song Ben vanished, she felt as if she had lost every point of reference.

She clearly knew Song Ben was still on the arena.

But her eyes captured nothing.

The feeling was strange, as if immersed in thick fog, aware of a beast within, yet unaware of its direction or timing of attack.

Her breathing grew even more rapid, the silver needle at her fingertip heated from her grip, her palm drenched in sweat.

She became a little panicked.

After all, she had only cultivated for three days, was merely a Martial Artist Ninth Grade, and had never faced true life‑or‑death combat.

She knew the silver needle could pierce true Qi, and that the Purple Jade Qingfeng Technique could let her briefly evade attacks, yet she didn't know where that invisible enemy would emerge.

Just as the unknown terror threatened to crush her, a voice entered her ears.

"Don't look with your eyes; feel with your heart."

Jiang Feng's voice.

Lin Yanqian's body trembled slightly.

She stood on the broken arena, amidst the scattered stones and dust, clutching the silver needle, and closed her eyes.

She closed her eyes.

A burst of gasps and commotion erupted from the stand.

Lu Zhanlian sprang to his feet, glaring at the thin, eyes‑closed figure on the arena, his lips trembling, his voice altered in tone.

This… what's happening? How did that Lin Family girl close her eyes?

Wu Tong's complexion also turned pale, his voice both urgent and rapid.

Now it's over! Even with eyes open she can't win, let alone with eyes closed! Isn't she just courting death?

Chi Tian Yi Lang stood at the Arena Edge, and when he saw Lin Yanqian close her eyes, he was momentarily stunned, then a lewd Cold Smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He stroked his chin, as if appreciating some interesting performance.

He had originally worried that this girl might be strange, and that someone who could evade Song Ben's palm was somewhat uncommon.

But now it seems she's just an ignorant fool, fooled by a few words into truly believing she's some martial arts prodigy.

Close your eyes? Isn't that just courting death?

Song Ben's figure still vanished, but Chi Tian Yi Lang could already feel the compressed killing intent in the air rapidly coalescing, like a fully drawn bowstring ready to release at any moment.

And Lin Yanqian, eyes closed, stood on the Arena.

All sounds receded like the tide.

Her Brain contained only the few words Jiang Feng had said, like a Divine anchor needle lodged deep in her Awareness, letting her Panic gradually subside.

She began to feel with her heart.

It wasn't listening with ears, but using some deeper thing to capture everything around.

She felt the air flowing, and sensed that on the Arena, besides herself, there was another moving thing.

That thing, in her perception, resembled an Obscure shadow, sometimes near, sometimes far, shifting left and right, as if an invisible snake spiraled around her, seeking the optimal moment.

Her Breath became steady.

Her perception grew increasingly clear, that Obscure shadow in her Awareness becoming ever more concrete.

She could feel its speed, its trajectory, and that it was approaching from her right rear.

Three zhang behind her, a strange ripple was present.

In that instant, her finger moved.

And everyone on the Stand saw…

Song Ben's figure suddenly appeared three feet behind Lin Yanqian, his right palm already raised to the highest point, the dark‑blue energy in his palm fiercely slamming toward Lin Yanqian's back heart!