Chapter 520: Dongfang Canglang: Give Him the Chance to Follow Me

“Canglan Finger!”

Facing Qi Tingnan, Lin Chen still extended one finger, but this time he tapped downward multiple times in succession.

In an instant, five fingers struck.

Five colossal fingers appeared above the circular altar, like a five-fingered mountain, pressing down upon Qi Tingnan; as they descended, the five fingers merged into one, and the terrifying pressure made even the Canglan Sect disciples beneath the altar feel their hearts tremble.

“Lin Brother didn’t even use his full strength against Xia Anbo earlier.”

The Canglan Sect disciples’ eyes held shock, and after that shock came delight—Qi Tingnan was renowned, especially among their peer generation; they had previously worried for Lin Brother, for Qi Tingnan was no match for Xia Anbo.

Yet Lin Brother had given them such a surprise!

Lin Brother shouldn't have held back—if he hadn't, Qi Tingnan might have seen his true strength and refrained from challenging him. A thunderous display of power would have been the most fitting way to intimidate others.

“Is this Lin Brother not holding back? Or is Xia Anbo just too weak to take even one blow? What was Lin Brother supposed to do?”

Hearing his senior’s retort, the disciple who had just sighed in awe suddenly realized—he was right.

The fault lay solely with Xia Anbo’s pitiful strength!

At this moment, it wasn’t just the Canglan Sect disciples who thought this way—many other martial artists on the square shared the same sentiment.

Lin Chen wanted to reveal his strength to intimidate others, but he needed a worthy opponent; it was simply that Xia Anbo was too weak.

The Bahuang Sect martial artists still present on the square felt the surrounding gazes burning into them.

No matter whether Qi Tingnan defeated Lin Chen or not, after the battle ended, the Bahuang Sect would surely become the most humiliated.

Many Bahuang Sect martial artists even blamed Xia Anbo internally—his strength was insufficient, so why provoke such a spotlight? The sect had plenty of stronger Qi Refining Third Stage martial artists.

Yet those few Qi Refining Third Stage martial artists stronger than Xia Anbo were secretly relieved—he had taken the first challenge; had it been their turn to face Lin Chen first, they too would have become his defeated opponents.

Losing to Lin Chen during the two sects’ war would bring shame upon their sect.

Now with Xia Anbo before them and Qi Tingnan after, they no longer needed to act.

If Qi Tingnan wins, they cannot challenge Lin Chen.

If Qi Tingnan loses, they also need not challenge Lin Chen—for doing so would only invite humiliation.

…

“Brother Zhao, do you still think Qi Tingnan will win for sure?”

Zhao Wuji’s eyes flashed with sharp light: “I admit Lin Chen’s strength exceeds my expectations, but this alone is not enough to defeat Qi Tingnan!”

As Zhao Wuji finished speaking, Qi Tingnan on the altar moved—stepping forward, he appeared instantly above Lin Chen’s right side, completely unaffected by the Canglan Finger’s pressure, even evading its lock.

“Star Illusion Technique—the pinnacle body skill of Burning Star Valley. Even spiritual sense struggles to track it. No wonder you said this alone won’t let Lin Chen defeat Qi Tingnan.”

The black-robed man beside Zhao Wuji spoke with sudden understanding—he had forgotten about Burning Star Valley’s Star Illusion Technique.

Burning Star Valley was a uniquely powerful sect; its cultivation arts weren’t the most powerful in raw force, but it possessed an extraordinarily potent body skill: Star Illusion Technique.

When perfected, it allows one to evade spiritual perception beneath the Ten Thousand Manifestations realm.

Though the Star Illusion Technique is wondrous, its cultivation is extremely difficult, and before reaching perfection, it cannot evade the spiritual lock of powerful cultivators; thus, even among Burning Star Valley disciples, not all choose to train it.

Clearly, Zhao Wuji knew Qi Tingnan had trained the Star Illusion Technique to perfection, which was why he made this prediction.

If spiritual sense cannot lock onto him, how much less can the Canglan Finger?

BOOM!

The Canglan Finger struck empty. At that moment, Qi Tingnan appeared behind Lin Chen in a bizarre manner, his right palm glowing with starlight that coalesced into a blade, stabbing toward Lin Chen without any energy fluctuation.

This event unfolded with blinding speed.

Many martial artists present saw it, yet they knew—if they were Lin Chen, they would have had no chance to react.

At the Qi Refining stage, combat isn’t determined by sight, but by spiritual sense; yet Qi Tingnan could evade spiritual perception, moving like an assassin through silver moonlight, impossible to guard against.

Yet just as the starlight blade was about to strike Lin Chen’s back, golden light erupted from behind him, instantly forming golden armor that covered his back.

SHIIII!

The blade struck the golden armor—and could advance not a single inch.

“Blocked!”

Seeing this, the Canglan Sect martial artists exhaled in relief—but it wasn’t over. Everyone saw the armor on Lin Chen’s back suddenly ripple, then explode into a torrent of flames surging toward Qi Tingnan.

This sudden turn of events caught even Qi Tingnan off guard.

Because he never imagined such a possibility.

This was the World of Martial Dao Seal, where no external items could be brought in. Outside, he might have worried whether Lin Chen carried a defensive treasure to save himself in emergencies—after all, as a prodigy of the Canglan Sect, it was normal for his sect’s elders to grant him a life-saving artifact.

But here, he had no such concern—he had absolute confidence in his Star Illusion Technique. Lin Chen would never react in time, for across the entire sect, only seven cultivators in the Qi Refining stage had perfected the Star Illusion Technique, and the other six were all sect Elders, already at Qi Refining Fifth or Sixth Stage.

In the World of Martial Dao Seal, where external tools are blocked, the Star Illusion Technique reached its ultimate potency.

In Qi Tingnan’s widened, disbelieving gaze, the flames not only devoured his starlight, but consumed him as well.