High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 536: Chapter 510: The Domineering Lin Qi

A great number of tall, burly Martial Artists stood facing the gate, clutching sharp weapons with solemn expressions.

The air was thick with the aura of slaughter.

This atmosphere was entirely different from the Disaster Beast Hunting Competition.

”We’re going to kill ten Sixth-Level Calamity Beasts today. Another 2,000 Merit Points, and I’m calling it quits.”

”Don’t go jinxing us!”

”I’m aiming for the top 50 on the Sixth Realm leaderboard!”

”You? Talk to me when you crack the top 30!”

All sorts of voices rose from the crowd.

Amidst the hubbub, the crowd gradually made its way to the main gate.

Among the crowd, the rather handsome Guu Ming arrived at the gate, flanked by his six team members.

As a member of the Gu Family, despite only being in the Sixth Realm, he was clad in Silver Battle Armor, and the Battle Saber in his hand was Tier Seven.

”Boss, it’s Liang Tai!”

A burly man beside him spoke up. Following his pointed finger, Guu Ming saw the familiar figure of Liang Tai.

Their eyes met in an instant.

Guu Ming couldn’t help but sneer.

”Liang Tai, your team is down to just five people now. You’d better be careful.”

”Wouldn’t want you to get careless and die on the battlefield.”

Liang Tai sneered back, ”I wouldn’t want you to trouble yourself!”

Guu Ming asked with another smile, ”So where’s your new cannon fodder?”

”He’s not too scared to come outside, is he?”

”You...”

Liang Tai’s teammates glared at him furiously.

”Are you looking for me?”

A calm voice rang out beside them.

The crowd parted, and a figure came into view.

Guu Ming found himself looking into a pair of deep, bright eyes.

Clad in Black Gold Armor, Lin Qi had suddenly appeared before them.

When Guu Ming’s men saw Lin Qi in his Black Gold Armor, their faces paled, and their bravado instantly vanished.

Guu Ming’s eyes landed on Lin Qi, and particularly on his armor. He frowned and asked cautiously,

”Looks like I underestimated you.”

”My friend, what family are you from?”

”This might all be a misunderstanding. Being able to wear Battle Armor when you’re not even in the Seventh Realm... your family must be quite wealthy, my friend!”

Liang Tai and his three companions exchanged glances, their faces showing they were ready to enjoy the show.

The corner of Lin Qi’s mouth twitched upward into a disdainful smirk.

”And what makes you think I’m not in the Seventh Realm?”

”You really don’t know who I am?”

”I hear your brother is Gu City.”

”Why don’t you go back and ask him exactly who I am?”

BOOM!

A terrifying aura erupted from his body. Immense pressure radiated outward as a golden light flared to life.

Guu Ming felt a crushing pressure slam into him.

After speaking, Lin Qi placed his left hand on Guu Ming’s shoulder, channeling his full power.

BAM!!

Guu Ming’s expression twisted in horror. He felt a mountain-like weight crushing his body.

His knees buckled, smashing uncontrollably onto the ground.

With a heavy thud, he was forced heavily to his knees.

The ground was made of specially reinforced concrete and was extremely hard, but cracks still spiderwebbed from the impact.

”Aargh!”

Guu Ming cried out in agony. He felt his shoulder bone snap and his kneecaps shatter.

A sweet, coppery taste rose in his throat, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

HISS...

Onlookers sucked in a sharp breath. Just looking at him was painful.

”Boss!”

His men panicked.

But looking at Lin Qi, none of them dared to step forward. His aura was simply too powerful.

They didn’t want to end up like Guu Ming.

Lin Qi released his hand, looking down at Guu Ming as he said coolly,

”Consider this a small punishment. The dignity of a Seventh Realm Martial Artist is not to be trifled with.”

Across the globe, it is an extremely dangerous thing for a Low Realm Martial Artist to provoke a High Realm Martial Artist.

Getting a beating was considered getting off easy.

In some countries, it could even cost them their life.

This was because High Realm Martial Artists possessed immunity to kill.

”Aagh!”

Suddenly, Lin Qi reached out and slapped the shoulder of the burly man who had first pointed out Liang Tai. A scream followed.

His shoulder and kneecaps shattered. He felt a sharp sting on his face as blood trickled down his cheek.

”And you!”

Lin Qi gazed at the two kneeling men as if they were insignificant insects, then turned to Liang Tai.

”Senior Brother, let’s go.”

Liang Tai froze for a second. Then, as if waking from a dream, he, Xiao Yu, and Xi Jing snapped out of it and followed Lin Qi out the gate.

At the same time, the surrounding crowd erupted into a flurry of discussion.

”Holy hell, who is that kid? What an overbearing aura!”

”That’s Guu Ming of the Gu Family! A Marrow Refining Martial Artist at the Sixth Realm.”

”He’s wearing Tier Seven Battle Armor and can even hold his own against a Seventh-Level Calamity Beast for a bit, yet he was forced to his knees with a single touch.”

”What kind of power is that?”

”No Ordinary Seventh Realm Martial Artist has that kind of power.”

”His brother is the Fire Dragon Saber, Gu City! And he’s here at Black Dragon Base too.”

”It’s true that you can’t disrespect a Seventh Realm Martial Artist...”

”...but the Gu Family is usually an exception!”

”Ordinary Seventh Realm Martial Artists wouldn’t dare to cross them.”

”I know who he is!” someone suddenly shouted.

”He’s Lin Qi!”

”It really is Lin Qi! I remember now, he’s the champion of the last Global Martial Arts Tournament!”

”I saw his match! He defeated the Bear Country’s Seventh Realm contender, Ivan Petrov, while he was still in the Sixth Realm!”

”He won the championship as a sophomore! A top-tier SSS-level talent!”

”The craziest part is that he’s only a junior now, and he’s already broken through to the Seventh Realm!”

”That level of Talent is just insane!”

”Ah, I remember now! It’s Lin Qi, Xia Country’s strongest talent in recent years.”

”I can’t believe he came to Black Dragon Base!”

The crowd buzzed with discussion. Even those who didn’t know him before were shocked to hear of Lin Qi’s accomplishments.

Meanwhile, Guu Ming’s face had gone pale.

’So he’s Lin Qi.’ He was both shocked and furious.

He had heard his brother, Gu City, talk about Lin Qi. ’This guy is a top-tier SSS-level talent.’

’His Talent is even greater than my brother’s.’

’Even though my brother, Gu City, looks down on him, he still has to be cordial with him on the surface.’

’Compared to a talent like that, I’m just a nobody.’

’He’s already broken through to the Seventh Realm and even came to Black Dragon Base.’

’And I, like a fucking idiot, went and provoked him.’

At the same time, a wave of cold fear washed over him.

’We were even planning to deal with him yesterday. If we had actually tried...’

’With his power, getting killed on the spot would have been a mercy.’

HISS...

His teammates helped him up, but his legs were like jelly.

He glared at the burly man beside him and slapped him hard across the face.

SLAP!!

”This is all your fault, you moron!”

”If you’d just looked into who he was yesterday, none of this would have happened!”

”You made me lose face in front of all these people.”

A red handprint bloomed on the man’s cheek. He lowered his head, not daring to speak, his face pale and his mind a complete blank.

’For a second there,’ he thought, ’I really felt like I was going to die.’

...

Outside the main gate of Black Dragon Base, the thick stench of blood hung in the air.

”Junior Brother, that was incredible!”

Amidst the crowd, his Senior Brother, Liang Tai, looked at Lin Qi and exclaimed in awe.

He had only ever dared to imagine a scene like that; he never thought he’d see it actually happen right before his eyes.

He had fought Guu Ming before. The man was an S-class talent and a powerhouse within his Realm.

But now, Lin Qi had forced Guu Ming to his knees with a single light touch, and everyone had heard the sound of bones shattering.

He had no doubt that Lin Qi could have easily killed their entire team single-handedly.

Xiao Yu gave him a thumbs-up.

”Junior Brother Lin Qi, you’re incredible!”

”That was so damn satisfying!”

Xi Jing nodded as well. ”I’ve never seen Guu Ming look so pathetic.”

”Forcing him to his knees and scaring him so badly he won’t dare to retaliate... only Junior Brother Lin Qi could pull that off.”

They all laughed.

Lin Qi smiled as well. ’After this,’ he thought, ’Guu Ming shouldn’t dare to target Senior Brother again.’

’If he’s not afraid to die, I wouldn’t mind shattering every bone in his body.’

Then he turned his gaze to the battlefield before them: a vast expanse of scorched earth, dotted with dilapidated defensive ruins and craters of all sizes.

Deep red blood had long since congealed on the ground, and vicious claw marks and weapon scars testified to the endless battles fought here.

In the distance, at the edge of his vision, he could see a Spatial Distortion, sending invisible ripples pulsing outward.

WHOOSH!!

The pressure shifted, stirring up gusts of cold wind. Though the sun blazed high in the sky, the air was frigid and heavy with the promise of slaughter.

”Here it comes!”

Wang Zixuan, his Second Senior Sister, spoke slowly from beside him.

”The Space Gate is opening!”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

RUMBLE!!

Squadrons of fighter jets roared overhead, their formations so tight they seemed to form a solid sheet across the sky.

At the same time, countless densely-packed, barrel-sized alloy turrets on the fortress walls whirred to life, automatically aiming at a massive apparatus in the distance.

It was a colossal circular base, over a hundred meters in diameter, ringed with oval-shaped alloy pillars.

BOOM!!

The apparatus thundered, operating at full power.

SHREEE!!

Suddenly, a sound like tearing fabric echoed in everyone’s ears.

A beam of white light shot out. The air shimmered, and space itself seemed to shatter like glass, forming a massive circular portal that slowly revealed the scene on the other side.

It was a vast, boundless forest.

ROAR!!

As a chorus of roars echoed out, figure after figure began to charge through.

Calamity Beast after Calamity Beast poured out of the massive Space Gate.

Their numbers swelled, and in mere moments they were stampeding toward the War Base like a tsunami.

SCREECH!!

A black tide blotted out the sky as countless flying Calamity Beasts swarmed out.

Iron Feathered Eagles, Steel Feathered Eagles, Black Crowned Eagles, Dragon-Scaled Eagles...

Countless avian Calamity Beasts converged into a cloud that darkened the heavens.

On the ground, the earth trembled. The air was filled with the roars of the Calamity Beasts, making it impossible for anyone to remain calm.

The scene sent a thrill of anticipation through everyone; the atmosphere was electric.

Lin Qi recognized countless types of Calamity Beasts.

Level 1 Iron Boar Wild Boars, Shadow Cats, Mastiff Dogs...

They were the most numerous, charging at the vanguard, their numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

Behind them came Unihorned Black Pigs, Blood-Scaled Iron Pigs, Gray Ridge Giant Wolves, Silver Giant Wolves, Golden Giant Wolves, Bronze Bulls, and Split Claw Apes...

”All units, attention!”

A male voice, as resonant as a great bell, boomed from above the base, heard clearly by all.

The pressure dropped further, the air growing heavy and still, like the calm before a hurricane.

As more and more Calamity Beasts poured forth, they surged into the ruined buildings on the outskirts.

Now, they were less than two kilometers from Black Dragon Base.

”Open fire!!”

KABOOM!!!

At the command, hundreds of laser beams tore through the sky, shooting out in perfectly straight lines.

FZZT! FZZT! FZZT!

The Iron Spike Wild Boars and other Low-Level Calamity Beasts at the front were instantly vaporized, while the bodies of Mid-Level Calamity Beasts like the Golden Giant Wolves and Bronze Bulls were instantly pierced through.

THUD! THUD! THUD!!

Their bodies collapsed to the ground. Thousands of Calamity Beasts were killed in an instant!

The air filled with the stench of burnt flesh, but the Calamity Beasts behind them remained undeterred, trampling over the bodies of their fallen comrades as they continued their fearless charge.

SCREECH!!

In the air, the countless fighter jets opened up with their machine guns, unleashing a frantic hail of bullets!

PEW! PEW!!

Some even fired their Laser Cannons!

POP! POP! POP!!!

The sky lit up like fireworks as the bodies of countless Iron Feathered Eagles rained down from above.

...