However, Luo Lingtian was no ordinary man. With one palm braced against the ground, his other leg kicked forward in a sharp thrust, aiming straight for Chu Ge's face.
Chu Ge released his grip at once and tilted his head to dodge.
Meanwhile, Luo Lingtian controlled his body in midair, pushing off with his palm and using the momentum to leap backward, landing once more on the ground.
Only, the leg that Chu Ge had seized moments earlier was now trembling faintly.
'This isn't right. How long has he even been in Taihuang? He spends nearly every day inside the Taihuang Hall and has never actually fought anyone—so how can his close-combat experience be this rich?'
A vague sense of unease stirred in Luo Lingtian's heart.
He had originally assumed that Chu Ge had only stepped onto the path of cultivation not long ago and lacked real combat experience, so he planned to suppress him through close-quarters fighting.
Yet he had not expected Chu Ge to not only easily neutralize his sudden attack, but even make him suffer a slight setback.
Recalling the pain that had come from his calf just now—despite spiritual energy reinforcing his body, the terrifying strength transmitted from Chu Ge's grip had still made Luo Lingtian's heart palpitate!
'Could it be because of the Myriad Laws Sacred Body? Allowing him to react in time and respond accordingly?'
Luo Lingtian arrived at a possible explanation.
"It seems that compared to your verbal skills, your actual strength is lacking by quite a bit."
Chu Ge folded his arms across his chest, his white robes spotless, untainted by dust.
"Hmph!"
Luo Lingtian let out a cold snort. In the next instant, his figure vanished from where he stood once more.
Chu Ge likewise turned into an afterimage—but from beginning to end, his arms remained folded at his chest. Only his legs moved incessantly, kicking out to block the attacks coming at him from all directions.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The sounds of collision echoed throughout the martial arena. Both men had already condensed spiritual energy throughout their bodies.
No earth-shattering spectacle appeared, yet the violent impact generated by their exchanges resounded like muffled thunder. The Taihuang disciples who heard it were shocked to their cores!
At the center of the battlefield…
The longer Luo Lingtian fought, the more alarmed he became!
Every one of Chu Ge's strikes was like a perfectly executed procedure—he always blocked the attacks at the most subtle of timings, and counterattacked at the most precise of moments.
Outsiders might not be able to tell, only seeing that the two seemed evenly matched and locked in stalemate.
But only Luo Lingtian himself knew the truth:
From start to finish, Chu Ge had been fighting using nothing but his legs. His hands had not made the slightest movement, and his expression had not wavered in the least.
Meanwhile, within this brief span of a dozen or so breaths, Luo Lingtian's back, chest, abdomen, and other parts of his body had all been struck by Chu Ge's attacks!
So much so that a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Though they were merely superficial injuries that would recover in a short time, compared to Chu Ge's leisurely composure, he had unquestionably fallen into a disadvantage!
"Bang!"
Another heart-shaking collision rang out.
The two separated.
Chu Ge stood suspended in midair.
Yes—at the mere Third Heaven realm, he was actually standing upon the void!
Below him, Luo Lingtian had been blasted straight down to the ground.
Chu Ge still had his arms folded across his chest. His long hair streamed like a waterfall in the rushing wind, his white robe fluttering freely. He looked like an immortal descended to the mortal world, gazing down from above.
There was no wildly surging aura around him.
Yet the sight of Luo Lingtian below—half-kneeling in disarray, blood spilling from his lips—powerfully accentuated just how overwhelming Chu Ge truly was.