Hu Yuanhua was also stunned by the scene before him.
He never expected that unleashing his final trump card with full force would yield such a result.
Not only did he fail to repel Lin Xuan, but Lin Xuan effortlessly caught his attack and countered it.
Only then did he realize just how terrifying Lin Xuan's strength truly was!
It wasn't just beyond his imagination—it surpassed him, a ranked disciple on the Elite List.
And by a vast margin.
From this alone, it was clear: Lin Xuan's two palm strikes shattered his all-out assault, which poured forth like a tidal wave, crumbling it as if it were nothing.
It was as if the two weren't even on the same level.
But at this moment, Hu Yuanhua had no time to dwell on it.
The狂暴 palm force unleashed by Lin Xuan's two strikes didn't just obliterate countless blade glows and seas of fire with devastating ease.
After that, its momentum slightly diminished but continued to surge toward him.
Instantly, Hu Yuanhua's hairs stood on end, cold sweat trickling down his back, as a profound terror descended upon him.
"No good, how can Lin Xuan's strength be this formidable?!"
Hu Yuanhua's heart trembled violently, filled with dread, his eyes betraying fear.
In a flash, he knew that if he were struck head-on, he'd either die or end up severely crippled.
In fact, the likelihood of dying on the spot was even greater.
Though losing this duel would bring scorn from thousands and total humiliation,
as long as he toughened his skin, he could endure it.
There would still be a chance to rise again.
But if he perished here,
there would be no future, let alone any chance of recovery.
And with Lin Xuan being such a prodigy, the sect's higher-ups would value him immensely.
They wouldn't punish Lin Xuan for the life of an ordinary disciple like him.
His death would be utterly meaningless!
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Hu Yuanhua's mind.
The next moment, he made his decision.
Between the two options, only a fool wouldn't know which to choose!
Immediately, Hu Yuanhua endured the searing pain wracking his body, channeled his last reserves of true qi, and slashed out with his blade.
A flame blade glow of considerable power shot forth.
But under the surging, overwhelming palm force that crashed in like monstrous waves, it shattered in less than a moment, offering no resistance.
Yet Hu Yuanhua used the recoil from that impact to frantically activate his movement technique, retreating backward.
Within a breath, he had withdrawn several hundred meters.
Meanwhile, the wave-like palm force continued downward, striking the arena.
Boom!
A deafening, earth-shattering explosion rang out.
The entire arena shattered instantly, countless fragments of stone flying in all directions.
A thick cloud of dust spread out, engulfing the entire dueling ground in a vast white haze.
Outside the square, the inner disciples and stewards felt their eardrums ache from the blast, their qi and blood churning, with traces of blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
Then, a torrent of stone shards shot out like arrows, piercing through many disciples' bodies, leaving bloody holes and inflicting further injuries.
Chaos erupted across the field.
Cries of pain and wails filled the air.
Closer by, Hu Yuanhua, who had retreated from the arena, was as pale as paper. He could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his robes red.
His aura had grown incredibly faint; he was now in a severely injured state.
It took a while before the crowd outside the square recovered from the chaos, their gazes converging on the duel.
And then,
Whoosh!
A gust of wind howled past, sweeping away the white dust into the sky.
The scene on the dueling ground was revealed to all.
By now, the arena where the battle had taken place was reduced to rubble, a heap of broken stones.
The entire square was also covered in cracks, as if it might crumble at any moment.
As for Lin Xuan, the central figure, he stood on the arena, his expression calm.
His clothes were pristine, not even a speck of dust on them.
It was as if nothing had happened, rather than a fierce battle having just occurred.
Witnessing this, the field fell into dead silence.
Everyone's mouths hung open, wide enough to fit an egg, frozen in place, unable to snap out of it.
Their minds were a blank, incapable of thought.
They were utterly stunned beyond control.
It took several breaths before people gradually came to their senses.
Hiss...
A chorus of sharp intakes of breath echoed through the air.
The field erupted like an explosion, voices surging skyward.
"Holy crap, this is way too terrifying!"
"The dueling ground is wrecked, the arena's destroyed—this is insane!"
"Are you sure this is an inner disciple duel? This could rank among the top of the Elite List!"
"This is Lin Xuan's strength—too powerful! He's practically inhuman!"
"..."
Exclamations rang out one after another, all eyes fixed on Lin Xuan, still wide with shock, unable to recover.
Lin Xuan, a new disciple, had faced Hu Yuanhua, an Elite List expert of the inner sect.
They had expected a fierce and thrilling battle.
With the final outcome being Hu Yuanhua's victory.
After all, the Elite List was established for the strongest inner disciples.
Every Elite List expert had the potential to become a true disciple.
And Lin Xuan was a new disciple who had joined less than two months ago. Though he had created countless miracles and broken various records since his arrival,
his time was still short; he hadn't fully grown yet.
He was merely an ordinary inner disciple at the Qi Transformation stage.
Exchanging a few moves with an Elite List expert like Hu Yuanhua would already be impressive.
He couldn't last long, let alone win.
But they never imagined the result would be the complete opposite of their expectations.
Hu Yuanhua first tested with a single slash, which Lin Xuan easily deflected.
Then, Hu Yuanhua held nothing back, unleashing his full power, even activating both of his artistic conceptions to attack Lin Xuan.
Yet it was still useless.
Lin Xuan merely struck out two palms, crushing Hu Yuanhua's strongest assault with overwhelming force.
In the end, Hu Yuanhua barely escaped with his life, but was left severely injured.
The entire dueling ground was left in ruins from Lin Xuan's two strikes.
The original arena had turned into countless fragments of stone.
And Lin Xuan remained unchanged, without a scratch.
The gap between them was like a chasm between heaven and earth, unimaginable.
It left the crowd utterly stunned, unable to believe it.
Even though it happened right before their eyes, it felt like a dream.
A sense of unreality permeated everything.
Only now did they truly grasp how terrifying Lin Xuan's strength was!
With two palm strikes, he sent the Elite List expert Hu Yuanhua flying, gravely wounded.
He destroyed the entire dueling ground.
More importantly, Lin Xuan had previously displayed a fraction of his sword intent.
But this time, he didn't even use his artistic conception.
He relied solely on martial arts to achieve such fearsome power!
It was easy to imagine.
This level of strength, even if not reaching that of a true disciple, was enough to secure a spot on the Elite List.
And at the top of that list!
It might even rank among the top ten.