Chapter 147: Feeling Frustrated Over Their Lack of Success

As the massive iron hammer smashed toward him, a crisp clanging sound echoed, and a golden bell shield suddenly materialized in front of Lin Hao.

It instantly blocked the heavy hammer, sending it rebounding back.

The sheer force of the impact caused Feng Mu to stagger back several steps.

"Ah!" Gasps of astonishment erupted from the crowd.

They watched as Feng Mu retreated multiple steps before finally regaining his footing.

Once steady, Feng Mu stood there in utter shock, shaking his numb hand, and his expression toward Lin Hao shifted dramatically.

As Feng Mu was beaten back, the faint golden bell shield in front of Lin Hao slowly dissipated.

Just as Feng Mu was rubbing his aching hand, he suddenly heard Lin Hao say, "Since you've made your move, it's my turn."

Feng Mu immediately lifted his head, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.

At that exact moment, moving at the speed of light, Lin Hao vanished and reappeared right in front of Feng Mu in a flash.

"Clang!" With this punch, Lin Hao's fist was also wrapped in a faint golden glow.

It struck squarely against Feng Mu's abdomen.

"Boom!" With a loud thud, Feng Mu was sent flying over ten meters away in an instant.

He flew completely out of the dueling arena that the crowd had cleared for them, and even knocked down two onlookers upon landing.

No one had time to react.

A heavy thud echoed as he hit the ground. "Pfft!" Feng Mu spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, completely unable to stand up.

Seeing Feng Mu in this state, Lin Hao blew the nonexistent dust off his fist and then placed his hand back behind his back.

He glanced at Feng Mu and asked with feigned concern, "Oh, how are you? Feng Mu, was it? Can you still keep going, or do you concede?"

Hearing Lin Hao's words, the crowd finally snapped back to their senses.

Among everyone present, only Xing Wei and the twenty others remained completely unfazed. They looked at Lin Hao as if they were entirely used to this, their eyes shining with undisguised adoration.

Hong Wei and the others, especially Elder Feng, were simply dumbfounded.

They were well aware of Feng Mu's strength. As the very first person Elder Feng sent out, everyone knew Elder Feng's intention was to give Lin Hao a harsh humbling defeat right off the bat.

Yet, never did they expect that Lin Hao, with a single move—a mere single move—would render Feng Mu completely unable to rise again.

Furthermore, if their eyes hadn't deceived them, the spiritual energy Lin Hao used just now belonged to the metal element.

Comparing the two, Lin Hao's strength was undeniably vastly superior to Feng Mu's.

Deducing this, a flicker of astonishment crossed Hong Wei and the others' eyes. Looking at Lin Hao, they had never imagined that he truly possessed such formidable strength.

From this exact moment onward, a trace of doubt stirred deep within Hong Wei's heart.

Were the rumors they had previously gathered about Lin Hao's terrifying prowess actually true after all?

Their gazes toward Lin Hao quietly shifted.

Over on Feng Mu's side, having spat out a large mouthful of blood and looking deathly pale, he was being helped up as Elder Feng hurriedly rushed to his side.

Elder Feng checked Feng Mu's meridians; fortunately, they only suffered mild damage, but the severity of the injury was still enough to shock Elder Feng to his core.

To think Lin Hao was capable of injuring Feng Mu to this extent in a single blow.

Seeing Feng Mu's weakness, a flash of heartache crossed Elder Feng's eyes.

Without hesitation, he produced a medicinal pill and fed it to Feng Mu.

Only then did Feng Mu's condition stabilize slightly.

Shortly after, Feng Mu stared at Lin Hao in shock, pointed a shaky finger at him, and accused, "You cheated!"

Hearing this, the crowd looked back and forth between Feng Mu and Lin Hao with suspicious eyes.

Could there have been something they missed that led to Lin Hao's victory?

That was impossible, given that everyone present had witnessed the fight with their own eyes. What other hidden factors could there possibly be?

No one spoke. They quietly watched Lin Hao, some eyes tinged with lingering doubt.

Lin Hao chuckled lightly and retorted, "Oh? How did I cheat? I even let you make the first move, and everyone here witnessed it with their own eyes."

"You... you deceived everyone!" Faced with Lin Hao's calm response, Feng Mu truly didn't know what else to say.

He could only squeeze out those words.

Because Feng Mu genuinely couldn't point out how Lin Hao had cheated; his outburst earlier was driven entirely by sheer shock and fury.

He was furious over Lin Hao's deception.

In his mind, if Lin Hao possessed such immense strength, why hadn't he stated it beforehand?

He could now clearly feel that Lin Hao's strength was unquestionably greater than his own.

It wasn't a matter of relying on some magical treasure or trick.

Yet Lin Hao hadn't revealed this prior to the fight, making him feel deceived and intensely aggrieved.

Hearing this, Lin Hao found it even more laughable. "What did I deceive you about?"

As he spoke, a look of mockery and disdain appeared in his eyes as he stared at Feng Mu.

Stung by that look, Feng Mu felt a rush of blood to his head and blurted out, "Why didn't you state that you had such high strength before the duel!"

The words spilled right out of his mouth.

"Whoa!" The entire arena erupted into an uproar.

Everyone first looked at Lin Hao with absolute shock.

Feng Mu's words implied that Lin Hao's strength genuinely far surpassed his own.

However, once that wave of shock subsided, the crowd's gaze shifted to Feng Mu, filled entirely with utter contempt.

Coupled with Elder Feng's earlier behavior, this uncle-and-nephew pair made everyone deeply despise them.

Who on earth expects their opponent to expose their own cultivation level before a duel?

You didn't report your own cultivation either!

And yet, you had the audacity to shamelessly and self-righteously utter such words. In an instant, the crowd stepped back several steps, distancing themselves from the Feng family uncle and nephew, too proud to be associated with such shameless individuals.

Sensing the cold stares and alienation from the crowd, Elder Feng's expression turned furious. Looking at his nephew, he felt a deep sense of disappointment.

*Useless fool!* he cursed inwardly.

Seeing that Feng Mu still wanted to argue stubbornly, Elder Feng immediately grabbed him, shot him a fierce glare, and flashed a stern warning look.

Only when Feng Mu saw Elder Feng's expression did he snap back to his senses. Realizing what he had just blurted out and meeting the disdainful gazes surrounding him, his face turned deathly pale.

His anger toward Lin Hao intensified even further.

It was all Lin Hao's fault for provoking him into running his mouth.

Since the words were already out, and given the hostile atmosphere around them, Feng Mu felt utterly humiliated. He lowered his head instantly and allowed Elder Feng to support him as they retreated to the side.

Seeing that Feng Mu had finally regained a shred of rationality, Elder Feng glared at him once more before turning his attention to Lin Hao. "It appears the Sect Master's strength is indeed not to be underestimated. In my view, the Sect Master has successfully passed this trial of strength."

Hearing these words, the remaining four elders quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Among the five of them, Feng Mu's combat power was considered the highest.

Yet even he was beaten to a pulp by Lin Hao in a single strike, while still having the nerve to stand there and throw a tantrum.

They had genuinely feared that Elder Feng would drag the rest of them into the fray as well.

To their surprise, Elder Feng proved sensible this time and refrained from sending anyone else to fight Lin Hao, directly conceding defeat regarding Lin Hao's strength.

Even Lin Hao was somewhat caught off guard, half expecting Elder Feng to press the issue aggressively, but he hadn't expected him to back down so quickly.

"Could it be that I went a bit too hard just now?" Lin Hao muttered softly to himself.

Afterward, Lin Hao glanced at him before turning his gaze toward the others gathered in the great hall.

"Since Elder Feng's side has concluded, are there any others wishing to test my strength?" As these words left his mouth, he swept his gaze across the surroundings. Those whose cultivation fell short of Lin Hao's instinctively stepped back.

Flickers of avoidance flashed in their eyes, not daring to meet Lin Hao's gaze.

At that moment, Lin Hao's eyes shifted toward Hong Wei. True to his upright character, Hong Wei stepped forward and declared, "I, too, wish to test the Sect Master's strength."

Hearing this, the surrounding people hastily retreated several steps, clearing a wide space in the middle.

Hong Wei stepped forward until he stood directly opposite Lin Hao. "Sect Master, would you grant me the honor of a spar?"

"Of course. Today, I will give everyone present the chance to challenge me." Lin Hao's attitude toward Hong Wei was vastly better than his demeanor toward the Feng family uncle and nephew.

Because Xing Wei had informed him that Hong Wei was a righteous individual whose actions were always driven by the best interests of the Qingfeng Sect.

Although Hong Wei was making things difficult for him, it stemmed from considerations for the sect rather than personal malice.

Therefore, Lin Hao held no prejudice against Hong Wei and cupped his hands respectfully.

Hong Wei held a red folding fan in his hand. Hearing Lin Hao's reply, with a snap, the fan sprang open.

Along the edges of the fan, sharp daggers instantly emerged, gleaming with a chilling, razor-sharp light.

Without waiting for Lin Hao to say anything further, Hong Wei lunged forward instantly, brandishing his fan.

"Take my strike first! Blazing Red Flames!" With a swing of Hong Wei's arm, the fan left his grip and hurtled toward Lin Hao.

"Boom!" A fierce fire ignited instantly, roaring through the air like a fireball.

Within the raging flames, several dagger blades glinted with cold light.

They hurtled straight toward Lin Hao's face.

Lin Hao, however, remained entirely calm and composed. As the roaring flames closed in, he swept his hand outward.

"Lotus of Exotic Flames!"

An even more ferocious sea of fire erupted into existence.

It instantly swallowed Hong Wei's roaring flames whole.

With a series of clanging sounds, Hong Wei's fan dropped harmlessly to the ground as the fire extinguished.

Lin Hao recalled his exotic flames, flicked his toe upward, and kicked the folded fan back toward Hong Wei's direction.

Hong Wei instinctively reached out and caught it.

He stared at Lin Hao with eyes wide in utter dismay.

If his eyes hadn't deceived him, Lin Hao had used metal-element spiritual roots against Feng Mu, yet against him, Lin Hao had unleashed fire-element spiritual energy.

What was going on here?

Could it be that Lin Hao possessed dual-element spiritual roots?

Not only was Hong Wei dumbfounded, but everyone present was utterly bewildered.

Never in their wildest dreams had they expected Lin Hao to possess dual elemental attributes!

Shortly after his fan flew back to him, Hong Wei finally recovered his wits after a long moment of stunned silence.

He glanced at Lin Hao, then down at his own fan. Lin Hao's exotic flames had completely engulfed his weapon just moments ago.

Yet the fan remained completely unscathed.

This left Hong Wei with a strange, eerie sensation—as if Lin Hao had done it intentionally, sparing his fan from destruction.

Otherwise, given the scorching heat of those flames, it would have been entirely effortless for Lin Hao to melt his fan down to slag.