Extreme Almightiest Young Master

Chapter 772: Sky Severing Palm

"This Old Monster is of an unknown age, having held his position in the Capital City for nearly a century. Not a single super powerhouse has ever dared to cause trouble here. There was once an unmatched sword saint from Dongying, considered a once-in-a-millennium talent, who came here with intent to assassinate but was instead taken care of by the Old Monster, buried in the Capital City. There was also a cardinal from the Western Church Tribunal who stirred up trouble in the Capital City, and he too was permanently left behind. Afterward, the Holy See sent countless experts, all of whom returned defeated. I only learned about these events from the top-secret archives after becoming a General,"

"My master once said that the Old Monster had reached the peak of the S-level realm decades ago. He uttered a phrase that then became a taboo among cultivators, which was that S-level experts must absolutely not raise a hand in the Capital City. For decades, no one has dared to defy this decree. According to my master, the Old Monster has already set half a foot into the Profound Realm and is an existence that all cultivators look up to,"

"Lin Feng, the Old Monster really won’t do anything to you, right? Hearing grandfather and brother talk like this, I’m really scared,"

"So it’s like that, don’t worry, it’s just a casual chat, you don’t need to mind it. Elder Leng, do you know anything else about him?"

"There are many rumors about the Old Monster, and I’ve seen many top-secret files about him, but they are all about how the Old Monster once defeated many world-strong adversaries,"

"Brother-in-law, the Old Monster is truly an Immortal-like figure..."

...

Gathered around the stone table, the family conversed freely, discussing whatever came to mind. Leng Hui and Leng Hao shared everything they knew about the Old Monster, but what surprised Lin Feng was that virtually no one had seen the Old Monster, not even Leng Hao, one of the four Great Military Gods of Huaxia. Man Long was always the one who handled affairs on the outside, so scenes of the Old Monster taking action were never witnessed by anyone.

By now, Lin Feng finally understood what kind of person the Old Monster was. Considering everything that had happened before, the Old Monster was undoubtedly a genuine super powerhouse, upright and just in character, and a guardian of the Capital City. One could imagine how many powerful forces that have tried to disrupt the Capital City were dealt with by the Old Monster; thus, his strength truly was about to burst forth. As for the invitation from such a strong figure, Lin Feng wasn’t worried at all, but rather, he was somewhat looking forward to meeting this legendary Old Monster...

...

After Man Long left the Leng Family residence, he went directly to report back to his master, the Old Monster, at the siheyuan. What seemed very strange to Man Long was that his master was sitting in the yard, lost in thought, not even noticing his return. This... this was something that had never happened before. Could his master be preoccupied with something?

"Master, I’m back. Lin Feng has agreed to come here in three days," Man Long approached the Old Monster and said loudly, waking him up.

"Hmm, that’s good he agreed. That’s all," the Old Monster responded to Man Long briefly and then resumed his contemplation. Lin Feng had agreed to come over in three days, and that was enough for now; the rest would be discussed when Lin Feng arrived. At the moment, what was most important was figuring out how to deal with the upcoming issues.

"Master, could you tell me why you’re inviting Lin Feng here? As far as I know, no one has ever received such an honor," Man Long asked.

"Xiao Long, you needn’t concern yourself with too much. Your master naturally has his reasons. What do you think your master is contemplating?" the Old Monster replied.

"Master, I don’t know. I think Lin Feng has exceeded everyone’s imagination," Man Long expressed.

"That’s correct. Lin Feng is an anomaly in the Cultivation World, and I wish to meet him," the Old Monster remarked.

"Master, why were you distracted just now? This has never happened before," Man Long inquired, somewhat puzzled.

"You needn’t worry about that. You’ve heard about the matters concerning the four Prominent Families, haven’t you?" the Old Monster redirected.

"..."

Man Long and the Old Monster had a chat for a while before Man Long directly left the courtyard. However, even to the end, he couldn’t figure out why his master was distracted today. Yet, he felt a vague sense of unease. For something to distract a person like his master, a pinnacle expert among humans, it was clearly not a simple matter. What... what exactly could it be? No matter how hard Man Long thought, he couldn’t come up with anything that could cause such a ripple in his master’s usually calm demeanor.

After Man Long left, the Old Monster stood up, shook his head, and muttered to himself, "What’s meant to come will come after all. I never expected that old fellow to actually seek me out. If there are no surprises, he must be confident about something, to make the first move. It looks like I really need to take action this time."

......

The next morning, with the dawn’s light spreading across the sky, the courtyard was empty. The Old Monster appeared over a hundred kilometers north of the Capital City, watching the sun rise slowly.

"Old Monster, I bet you didn’t expect me, Li Deming, to come to you on my own accord," Li Deming suddenly appeared beside the Old Monster and spoke directly. Ever since he had received guidance from the man in the black robe, Li Deming had been cultivating and integrating desperately. Finally, he completely made the black-robed elder’s teachings his own, and couldn’t resist sending the Old Monster a challenge letter, agreeing to battle today.

"I never thought about it. Do you think just because you’ve broken through to the late S level, you will be my match?" The Old Monster was very surprised by the challenge letter Li Deming sent him, but he knew Li Deming’s intention. Decades ago, when he had defeated Li Deming, he had laid down a rule for him—that as long as Li Deming didn’t defeat him, he was not allowed to enter the Secular World.

The original intention was good, but unexpectedly, decades later today, Li Deming suddenly initiated a challenge. The Old Monster had a clearer idea about Li Deming’s thinking—that after integrating the four major families, the Li Family was probably going to strike at the Secular World. Otherwise, Li Deming would not have suddenly come to him.

But could Li Deming win just by challenging? He was just a newly advanced late S-level expert, whereas the Old Monster had been stuck at this bottleneck for decades. The two were not on the same level at all. Although both were late S-level experts, the Old Monster was confident in his victory over Li Deming. Not to mention anything else, in terms of Elemental True Qi, he already had a significant advantage! So the Old Monster was not at all concerned. In his eyes, Li Deming coming to him today was merely an act of humiliation. But this was also good, as it would let Li Deming completely let go and avoid causing chaos in the Secular World.

"Old Monster, don’t sit so assured in your words. I wouldn’t have come looking for you if I wasn’t confident. Does what you said before still count? As long as I defeat you, I can appear in the Secular World," Li Deming said with a dismissive smile to the Old Monster’s words. What he was most concerned about now was whether the Old Monster’s previous rule still applied, because he knew that without defeating the Old Monster, with him around, even integrating the four major Prominent Families, many things would not go his way. Right now, his sole focus was to defeat the Old Monster, to truly elevate the Li Family.

"Of course, it counts. As long as you can defeat me, I will not interfere with any of your affairs," the Old Monster said nonchalantly to Li Deming. In the Old Monster’s eyes, even if Li Deming were more powerful, he could not be his match. For Li Deming to think he could defeat him right after his breakthrough was simply a fool’s dream.

"That’s good to hear. More talk is unnecessary. Let me experience just how powerful you’ve become now!" Upon hearing the Old Monster’s affirmative response, Li Deming immediately laughed. It seemed his original plan was indeed going to come to fruition. With this thought, happiness surged in Li Deming’s heart. If it hadn’t been for the black-robed elder’s guidance on Elemental True Qi, he would never have dared to challenge the Old Monster. However, with the existence of Elemental True Qi, Li Deming was confident he could at least stand on an equal footing with the Old Monster, thus he had the audacity to challenge and clear all the obstacles to the Li Family’s rise.

After speaking, Li Deming began to circulate his spell with all his might. He had experienced the Old Monster’s vast strength decades earlier. Fighting the Old Monster without using all his strength would be akin to courting death, so Li Deming prepared to employ his full power right from the start.

His aura soared continuously, emanating wave after wave of Qi fluctuations around him. Even without a breeze, Li Deming’s clothes stirred as if in a dream, his form faintly emanating a barely perceptible glow. The light was so faint that, from a distance, it appeared as if space around him was distorting, making it impossible to see Li Deming clearly...

Similarly, the Old Monster was not about to hold back. As Li Deming gathered his cultivation power, the Old Monster was immediately enveloped in a fiery red hue that grew increasingly intense until it obscured the view. The Old Monster seemed to transform into an orb of flames, rendering his actual figure invisible!

Indeed, this was the Old Monster’s Elemental True Qi. Despite his casual words, the Old Monster did not dare to be careless against an S-class Late Stage expert like Li Deming and also circulated his cultivation power to the limit from the outset.

Once Li Deming had gathered enough power, he made the first move. In an instant, his figure blurred, becoming nearly invisible as if he had performed instantaneous movement, and he appeared beside the Old Monster. He struck out with a hand wreathed in dreamy light toward the Old Monster. There was no sound, no display of force—everything seemed so natural!

But how could an all-out palm strike from an S-class Late Stage be simple? If it were to land solidly, even a mountain of stone would likely be razed to the ground!

Only after advancing to S-class Late Stage did Li Deming realize what kind of strength it truly conferred, a concept utterly different from the S-class Middle Stage. It was then that he understood what it meant to be at this level. After stepping into the Late Stage, his power had increased many times over. Even Nangong He, at the peak of the S-class Middle Stage, was no match for him.

If it weren’t for his carelessness last time, not expecting Nangong He to have such an unorthodox move, he would not have suffered a loss. Li Deming believed that if he had exerted his full power, even five Nangong Hes together couldn’t have harmed him. But despite his current formidable power, he didn’t dare let his guard down against the Old Monster. The palm strike from decades ago was still vivid in his memory. Thus, without a moment’s hesitation, he deployed his ultimate technique, the Sky Severing Palm!

This palm technique was a closely guarded secret of the Li Family, passed down through generations. In his generation, only he had learned it. The Sky Severing Palm had exceedingly heaven-defying requirements; only someone at the S-class Late Stage could utilize it. He started to learn it immediately after breaking through to the Late Stage. He had even conducted an experiment once, striking a stone mountain with this technique and blowing half of it away, which bore testament to the unimaginable power of this palm strike.