Zhong Ming’s peerless Divine Intent struck Lin Kong’s Sword Heart like a sledgehammer, causing cracks to appear in the Mental Realm that was his pride.

Subconsciously, a fear of Zhong Ming had already taken root and begun to sprout. He even felt that Zhong Ming was truly one of a kind.

’Losing to an expert of this caliber is no disgrace.’

Though these fleeting thoughts were merely a product of the cracks in his spirit, they allowed Great Dream of Thousand Years and Rhythm of Life to flex their power, manifesting a Heart Demon within Lin Kong’s Sea of Consciousness.

But in a way, they also revealed the truest turmoil deep within his heart.

He had come to utterly fear Zhong Ming.

In this state, even if he still possessed the will to resist, the interference from his stray thoughts and the Heart Demon meant he would be lucky to unleash even sixty percent of his true power.

Zhong Ming, in contrast, was bolstered by a dual layer of Divine Power and his domineering Sword Heart, "Heaven and Earth, Only I am Supreme." This imbued his Sun God Sword with an absolute conviction of being peerless and unstoppable as it slashed down.

BOOM!

There were no flashy techniques—only the overwhelming press of pure, ultimate power. With the magnificent force of a falling meteor, it easily crushed the Moonlight Sword Light unleashed by Lin Kong.

Before this domineering and peerless strike, the Moonlight Sword Qi shattered in an instant as if it were made of paper, unable to offer even a hint of resistance.

Then, its momentum undiminished, the Sword Light crashed straight into the Dragon Vein Qi protecting Lin Kong’s Soul Spirit!

SCREEE!

The instant the two collided, the mournful wail of a dragon echoed across the lakefront.

With one dazzling and incomparably domineering strike, Zhong Ming easily shattered the Protective Dragon Qi. Even the Jade Pendant that housed the Dragon Qi was split in two by this single slash.

BOOM!

Having smashed through all of his defenses, the Sun God Sword barged into Lin Kong’s Sea of Consciousness like a rampaging Ancient Divine Vehicle!

!!!

The mortal danger sent a jolt through Lin Kong as if ice water had been poured over him. He shuddered, his Divine Intent clearing slightly.

Although the Heart Demon and his stray thoughts still held him back, preventing him from unleashing his full strength, the mortal peril allowed him to muster eighty percent of his power.

WHOOSH—

"Disperse!"

As he exerted his full power, his Sea of Consciousness instantly became vast and empty. A bone-chilling moonlight radiance flooded his Sea of Consciousness like a tide.

He was unleashing all his potential, expanding his Sea of Consciousness to its absolute limit so that his Heart Soul could withstand Zhong Ming’s strike.

Alas, it was all in vain.

’My Dominating Thought can shatter anything!’

Imbued with the Dominating Thought of "Heaven and Earth, Only I am Supreme," the Sun God Sword didn’t deign to search for the core of Lin Kong’s Divine Soul hidden in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness. Instead, like a Divine Sword cleaving the world asunder, it brought itself down in a brutal vertical slash upon the entire Sea of Consciousness.

CRACK—!

A crisp cracking sound echoed from the depths of Lin Kong’s Divine Soul.

With one tyrannical, magnificent strike, Zhong Ming’s Divine Sword had split Lin Kong’s Sea of Consciousness completely in two!

PFFT!

As his Sea of Consciousness shattered, Lin Kong’s body froze in mid-air. Blood gushed from his seven orifices like a fountain, dyeing the surface of the lake below him red.

A ghastly crack even appeared on his forehead, right between his brows. Wisps of the Power of the Divine Soul leaked from the fissure, creating a truly wretched sight.

Though it takes long to describe, all of this happened in the blink of an eye.

From the moment the Sun God Sword was unleashed, to the shattering of the Moonlight Sword Light, the annihilation of the Dragon Vein Jade Pendant, and finally the cleaving of the Sea of Consciousness—it all took but an instant.

Throughout this time, although Zhong Ming had been continuously building his aura, he had merely been floating high in the air, unmoving, as radiant flames coiled around his body.

Such actions could only be considered him projecting his might and flaring his aura; it could not be called an attack.

Therefore, the move Zhong Ming used to defeat Lin Kong was still only that single, final attack.

And for that final, decisive strike, he hadn’t made any overt movements. He had merely given Lin Kong a deep, profound Gaze.

After that one glance, Lin Kong collapsed, bleeding from his seven orifices, his Divine Soul grievously wounded!

The terrifying sight of a True Disciple from a Major Sect being unable to withstand a single glance from Zhong Ming plunged everyone at Crescent Lake into a dead silence, whether they were in the middle of the lake or on its shores.