The sound of the zither was different. It was now capable of piercing the clouds and splitting rock. It used to be soft and gentle, but now it contained dense murderous intent.
As the sound passed through the formation and entered their souls, their souls shuddered.
Those with weaker Spiritual Strength felt a sharp pain, and they hastily circulated their full power to resist it. At this moment, shocked expressions appeared on their faces.
“How terrifying. She has yet to use even a fraction of her power in her previous fights. She always condensed swords with her zither strings to attack. But now her zither music directly attacks the soul. There’s no way to defend against it!”
Before this, Liao Yuhuang had only used a single technique to beat her opponents. She only took out her real abilities when Long Chen appeared.
“We are protected by the barrier and at such a distance. So just how much stronger is this move on Long Chen who is on the martial stage?” Seeing how unaffected Long Chen was, they were unable to imagine just how he managed to survive.
Long Chen stood there with his arms clasped behind him. He was like a respectful audience member, calmly listening to Liao Yuhuang perform.
“I’ll embarrass myself.”
Seeing that he wasn’t moved, Liao Yuhuang suddenly switched to playing her zither with both hands. His fingers rapidly moved across her strings.
Zither music began to ring out in earnest, and it was possible to see ripples spread from her fingertips. The entire formation shuddered because of this music.
Teacups shattered amongst the spectator stands. At the same time, people felt their souls quivering. It was as if their souls were being pulled out.
“Are you alright?!”
Startled cries rang out. They saw their comrades had blood gushing out of their eyes, noses, and ears, seemingly without even noticing. The spectator stands were quickly thrown into chaos.
Just at this moment, an extra barrier appeared on top of the martial stage. Once it appeared, the pain in their souls instantly dropped.
They then stared in horror at Liao Yuhuang. They had never expected that zither music could cause such a terrifying effect. If it wasn’t for the formation, then other than a few select peak experts here, who could resist it?
“Too terrifying. I’ve long since heard that the Zither Sect is the head of the four immemorial sects, and that they all have ancient inheritances. But it’s rare to see the Zither Sect’s disciples roaming the world. Today, I’m finally bearing witness to their power.” People sighed in amazement. Coming to watch this Martial Dao convention had definitely been the right decision.
“Liao Yuhuang is terrifying, but Long Chen is also a monster. His expression doesn’t even twitch in the face of this attack.”
Space twisted on top of the martial stage, and ripples could be seen flying. As for Long Chen, he was standing merely thirty meters in front of Liao Yuhuang. Her music was clearly entering his ears.
Suddenly, Liao Yuhuang’s expression changed and the tempo increased, sounding hurried. Cracks covered the martial stage.
The surface of the martial stage crumbled and sank, seemingly about to fall into a bottomless abyss.
However, even as everything around Long Chen collapsed, a pillar of earth remained beneath Long Chen. It was like a single stalagmite.
“What is that? Is it an illusion?”
The bottomless abyss that had suddenly appeared on the martial stage was shocking. It was like the gaping maw of a giant beast.
“It doesn’t seem to be. If it was an illusion, Long Chen wouldn’t stand on the only stable place. He definitely used some technique to block Liao Yuhuang’s attack and protect the land beneath him.”
Just as everyone was guessing, the martial stage slowly restored itself. This confirmed that it was no illusion; it was real.
However, up until now, they had never seen such damage occur to the martial stage.
“Although I always felt that this Liao Yuhuang was a very powerful existence, I didn’t expect her to be even more terrifying than I imagined.” Bai Xiaole stuck out his tongue. His intuition had told him that he couldn’t beat Liao Yuhuang, but he had still underestimated her power.
Just then, the urgent zither music came to a sudden stop, and a single heavy note rang out. In that instant, everyone watching felt like their hearts were being crushed.
Everyone was shocked. They saw Liao Yuhuang holding her zither in one hand while the other pulled on a single string. This was no longer playing music. She had concentrated all her mysterious power into a single string.
Liao Yuhuang then plucked the second string. As a result, everyone felt like their heads would split open. Feeling horrified, they didn’t know if they should continue watching or flee.
This was completely different from ordinary attacks. It was passing through the formation and injuring them.
Just as Liao Yuhuang reached for the third string, Long Chen raised his head and roared. That roar seemed to contain a dragon cry, and it pierced through the formation and blasted apart the clouds in the sky. It was like a celestial roar, like a devil king’s howl. A sound wave then unfurled throughout the martial stage.
The zither music and the roar clashed, resulting in the martial stage shuddering intensely. Both Long Chen and Liao Yuhuang were then sent flying.
After that, the two of them stabilized in the air. As for the martial stage beneath their feet, it was shattered and slowly recovered. From the start, its healing was unable to keep up with the destruction.
“Liao Yuhuang is injured!”
A startled cry rang out. They saw blood dripping from one of her hands that was hanging limply.
“My apologies. Your mental energy is too strong. That was already my limit. I had no choice but to counterattack,” said Long Chen.
Liao Yuhuang shook her head. “My skills have yet to reach perfection, and there are still many holes between my notes. I really am ashamed. For brother Long to only defend is already a great concession. I’m embarrassed to have taken out such an immature five-note merger art. Thank you for having mercy. This battle has benefited me immensely. If I have a chance, I will definitely repay the favor.”
Liao Yuhuang cupped her fists to Long Chen and left with her zither. She admitted defeat.
Long Chen then returned to the spectator stands. When he arrived, Luo Bing and the others immediately congratulated him. Just now, they really had been worried. No one had expected Liao Yuhuang to be so terrifying.
“Actually, she was the one who had mercy. We only had a mental clash. If we had fought all-out, no one knows who would have won.” Long Chen looked at the distant Liao Yuhuang and sighed. She was truly terrifying. Since that was the case, it would truly be the best decision for Zi Yan to go to the Zither Sect.
“Mental energy? How could mental energy be so terrifying?” demanded Lu Mingxuan. Mental energy was the most difficult thing to cultivate. It was far too mysterious and difficult to gain. That terrifying battle had only been the result of a mental energy clash? That exceeded the scope of most people’s understanding.
“The lots for the top four are being drawn!” exclaimed Luo Bing suddenly. Hence, everyone instantly tensed. The next battles would be even more intense.
Bai Shishi’s tablet lit up. When they saw her opponent, everyone’s expression grew heavy.
“Ku Wuya!”
