"What?!!" "His strength is this powerful?!"
Everyone was stunned!
When they saw Lin Li use the Jinghong Sword, everyone found it hard to believe!
Especially the disciples from the other two sects!
They had been certain that, when Lin Li was entangled by the Green Python King—an opponent even capable of strangling a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—he would surely be killed in an instant!
However, what they never expected was that, even though Lin Li was only in the first layer of Foundation Establishment, he had the power to...
Instantly kill the mid-stage Foundation Establishment Green Python King!
And moreover—
It was well-known that demonic beasts had stronger vitality, defense, and attack power than human cultivators!
Even so—
That young disciple from the Xuantian Sect's Sword Faction was able to instantly kill a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Green Python King!
Didn't that mean...
As they thought about this, the disciples of the two sects couldn't help but shudder!
In other words, if Lin Li unleashed his full power...
They realized he had the potential to instantly kill the vast majority of disciples from the two sects!
Because, aside from their respective captains, the other disciples had no confidence in surviving an ambush by the Green Python King, let alone killing it!
"That kid in the first layer of Foundation Establishment actually has the strength to defeat us..."
"This is simply unbelievable!"
The disciples of the two sects whispered amongst themselves.
At the same time—
The three fellow disciples of the Xuantian Sect's Sword Faction were equally astonished!
Although they knew that Lin Li had been taken as Elder Zou's direct disciple...
They never imagined that, even though Lin Li was only in the first layer of Foundation Establishment, he had already learned Elder Zou's famous technique: the Jinghong Sword!
Even more surprising was that Lin Li, despite being in the first layer of Foundation Establishment, could wield the Jinghong Sword with such devastating power!
"Heh, it seems I was overthinking things!"
The leader of the Xuantian Sect's Sword Faction, Wei Heng, gave a bitter smile as the tension in his heart finally eased a little.
After all, Lin Li was a once-in-a-millennium genius of the Xuantian Sect!
If such a genius were lost under his leadership, Wei Heng would have found it hard to forgive himself!
As for the other two disciples of the Xuantian Sect's Sword Faction...
They were even more dumbfounded!
"Junior Brother Lin... is so strong!"
"Oh my god! His cultivation is so much lower than mine, yet his combat power is this immense?!"
They couldn't help but exclaim in awe!
Even the two captains of the other sects were slightly taken aback!
However, their reactions were not as dramatic as those of their ordinary team members.
"What a pity!"
The captain of the Zhengmiao Sect shook his head with regret.
The captain of the Tianjue Mountain Sect, on the other hand, smirked and said, "His strength is indeed impressive! Being in the first layer of Foundation Establishment and able to unleash such a powerful attack is certainly commendable! But his downfall lies in his recklessness!"
"Exactly!"
The captain of the Zhengmiao Sect agreed. "We haven't even reached the Demon Sect's outpost yet, and he's already expended so much energy! It's truly a pity! If only he had conserved his strength until we encountered stronger enemies inside the outpost, he could have been a great help in ambushing them unexpectedly!"
"But unfortunately..."
The captain of Tianjue Mountain Sect continued, "Now, even though he's strong in the first layer of Foundation Establishment, he's already used up most of his spiritual energy. Once we enter the Demon Sect outpost, he won't be of much help to us, and may even become a burden."
…
As the surrounding crowd reacted with amazement and differing opinions, the most exhilarating moment for Lin Li finally arrived!
Having reached the peak of the first layer of Foundation Establishment, and absorbing the energy constantly fed back by the Bloodthirsty Demon Sword, the unceasing influx of power finally allowed him to break through the bottleneck, reaching the second layer of Foundation Establishment!
"Great! I've broken through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment!"
Lin Li was ecstatic!
At this moment, his dantian's capacity for spiritual liquid had suddenly increased by thirty percent!
At the same time, his meridians had become more resilient and broader, and the amount of spiritual energy they could handle had also surged by thirty percent!
Don't underestimate this thirty percent; although it might not seem like much, for a cultivator of Lin Li's level, even a ten percent increase was a huge improvement, let alone thirty percent!
To put it in perspective—
If a stone grew thirty percent larger, you might not notice much difference, but...
If a mountain grew thirty percent larger, how could you not see it?!
That was Lin Li's current situation!
Already strong to begin with, Lin Li's power had now increased by thirty percent!
Even without using the Jinghong Sword, he could now defeat some mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who were less skilled in combat!
And as for his Bloodthirsty Slaughter state?
Once he entered that state, he would become a nightmare for ordinary cultivators!
But…
That wasn't the end!!!
The energy fed back from the Green Python King didn't stop after Lin Li broke through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment!
It wasn't until Lin Li's cultivation had completely stabilized at the second layer that the energy finally ceased!
In just a few breaths of time, Lin Li had not only broken through a cultivation level but had also solidified his foundation!
If this were someone else, they would have needed several months of hard work!
At that moment, Lin Li, now covered in the blood of the Green Python King, walked out step by step from the pile of the Green Python King's corpse...
All the surrounding demonic beasts, upon seeing that their leader, the Green Python King, had been killed by this man, and recalling that this same man had already slain many of their comrades...
In an instant, all the demonic beasts lost their will to fight!
Even the beast-controlling disciples of the Demon Sect, hidden in the shadows on the opposite side of the Red River, were terrified when they saw Lin Li instantly kill the Green Python King!
"We're doomed, we're doomed!"
"This time, that person from the first layer of Foundation Establishment was able to kill our Green Python King..."
"If they reach our outpost, who could possibly stop them?"
With that, the black-robed individuals, unwilling to let their beasts suffer any further losses, gave the order to retreat and began to withdraw into the dark forest. They intended to report back and summon the forces of the Demon Sect outpost to defend against these invaders.
At the same time—
The remaining demonic beasts, no longer forced to fight by the beast-controlling disciples, breathed a collective sigh of relief. No longer daring to challenge Lin Li, the murderous god, they scattered like monkeys from a falling tree, fleeing in all directions!