Chapter 5: Thunder Clashes With Pride, Genius Disgraced
The cold, arrogant voice echoed through the entire Resource Hall, making the already silent atmosphere even more oppressive. All the inner sect disciples present held their breath, their eyes darting between Song Zhong and the tall young man at the door, knowing that a fierce confrontation was inevitable.
The young man stepped forward slowly, his black inner sect robe embroidered with golden cloud patterns, a symbol of his higher status among ordinary inner sect disciples. His name was Lin Feng, a cultivator at the 8th Layer of Qi Refining, who had been in the inner sect for three years. He was renowned for his fierce combat power and arrogant temperament, and he had a group of loyal followers. The three disciples Song Zhong had defeated the night before were all his junior brothers, and the leader of them was his most trusted subordinate.
Lin Feng's sharp eyes locked onto Song Zhong, filled with undisguised contempt and killing intent. He sized up Song Zhong from head to toe, his lips curling into a sneer, "A lowly servant who hasn't even washed off the firewood dust from his body dares to call himself an inner sect disciple. You sneaked into the inner sect by deceit, injured my junior brothers for no reason, and still have the audacity to claim the sect's resources. Do you really think no one can punish you?"
His voice was loud and clear, reverberating in every corner of the hall, trying to stir up the emotions of the other disciples and make them stand by his side. Many disciples who were neutral at first couldn't help but lean towards Lin Feng. After all, Lin Feng was a well-known figure in the inner sect, while Song Zhong was just a newcomer from a humble background.
Song Zhong stood calmly in place, his expression unchanged, without the slightest fear or fluster. He held the cloth bag containing spiritual stones and herbs tightly in one hand, while the other hand hung naturally by his side, and the Chaos Thunder Bead on his chest emitted a faint, imperceptible vibration, ready to respond to his will at any time.
"I was promoted to inner sect disciple by the sect leader's decree, and I collect resources in accordance with the sect's rules. I have done nothing wrong." Song Zhong's voice was calm and steady, without any emotional fluctuations, but every word was sonorous and powerful, "Your junior brothers broke into my courtyard without permission, provoked me first, and tried to hurt me. I just defended myself. If you want to blame them, you can only blame them for being arrogant and overestimating their capabilities."
"How dare you argue back!" Lin Feng flew into a rage, his spiritual energy surging wildly around him, forming a sharp gust of wind that swept across the hall. He had never been talked back to in such a tone by a servant, "You're just a piece of trash with a so-called fake spirit root. How dare you be so arrogant in front of me? Today, I will cripple your cultivation, drive you out of the Azure Cloud Sect, and let everyone know the fate of those who offend me!"
As soon as the words fell, Lin Feng moved suddenly. He stepped forward, his feet stepping on a subtle movement technique, and his figure turned into a afterimage, rushing straight towards Song Zhong. His right hand clenched into a fist, wrapped in surging wind-attributed spiritual energy, and punched towards Song Zhong's chest. The fist was fierce and fast, carrying the imposing momentum of the 8th Layer of Qi Refining, leaving no room for mercy.
Everyone in the hall held their breath, staring intently at the scene. Many disciples shook their heads secretly, thinking that Song Zhong would definitely be injured by this punch. After all, there was a two-layer gap in their cultivation realms, and Lin Feng was a seasoned inner sect genius with rich combat experience, far from being comparable to the three random disciples the night before.
Song Zhong's eyes narrowed slightly, and he did not panic. In an instant, he activated the Thunder Movement Technique he had just mastered. The thunder-attributed spiritual energy in his body circulated rapidly, wrapping around his legs. His figure suddenly blurred, turning into a faint purple-gold thunder shadow, and dodged Lin Feng's fierce punch at an incredible speed.
Lin Feng's punch hit empty air, and the powerful force from his fist slammed into the bluestone ground behind Song Zhong, instantly smashing a shallow pit, with stone chips flying everywhere. He was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Song Zhong to dodge so easily, and his speed was so fast.
"You have some skills, but that's all!" Lin Feng quickly regained his composure, his face becoming more and more gloomy. He circulated his spiritual energy again, launching a frenzied attack on Song Zhong. His fists were like a storm, each punch carrying a fierce wind, covering all of Song Zhong's evasion routes.
However, Song Zhong's figure shuttled freely through the storm of fists like a real thunderbolt. The Thunder Movement Technique was unparalleled in speed, far surpassing Lin Feng's movement technique. Every punch of Lin Feng fell short, and he couldn't even touch the corner of Song Zhong's clothes. Instead, he consumed a lot of his own spiritual energy due to the continuous attacks, and his breathing began to quicken.
The disciples watching around were completely shocked, their eyes wide open, unable to believe what they were seeing. A 6th Layer Qi Refining cultivator was actually playing around with an 8th Layer Qi Refining genius in terms of speed. This subverted their common sense of cultivation.
"How is this possible? His speed is too terrifying!"
"Is this the power of the Chaos Thunder Spirit Root? It's against the heavens!"
Whispers of shock spread among the crowd, and the eyes they looked at Song Zhong changed again, from initial sympathy to deep awe.
Lin Feng also realized that he couldn't hit Song Zhong with his speed alone, so he suddenly retreated, his eyes flashing with a ruthless light. He stretched out his hands and quickly formed a seal, mobilizing the wind-attributed spiritual energy between heaven and earth. "Since you like to dodge so much, then I'll trap you first! Wind Binding Spell!"
Accompanied by his low drink, several transparent wind ropes condensed from spiritual energy suddenly appeared around Song Zhong, wrapping around him quickly, trying to bind his limbs and make him a sitting duck.
This was a low-grade spiritual spell, which was extremely difficult for ordinary Qi Refining cultivators to resist.
But Song Zhong just sneered coldly. He did not dodge, and the thunder-attributed spiritual energy in his body burst out instantly, forming a layer of faint Thunder Shield around his body. The wind ropes slammed into the Thunder Shield, and before they could wrap around Song Zhong, they were instantly torn apart by the violent thunder power, turning into strands of spiritual energy that dissipated between heaven and earth.
Before Lin Feng could react, Song Zhong moved. He took a step forward, his figure flashing in front of Lin Feng in an instant. His right fist was clenched tightly, and the surging Chaos Thunder power gathered on his fist, blooming with a dazzling purple-gold light, carrying a deafening thunder roar.
"Thunder Fist!"
Song Zhong punched out, without any fancy moves, only containing the purest destructive power of thunder. Lin Feng's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly condensed all his spiritual energy to form a defensive shield in front of him. But his defensive shield was like paper in front of the Thunder Fist, and was instantly shattered.
The fierce thunder fist hit Lin Feng's chest firmly.
A muffled groan mixed with a thunderous roar echoed in the hall. Lin Feng's body flew backwards like a broken kite, smashing heavily into the wall of the Resource Hall, creating a huge crack. He spat out a large mouthful of blood mixed with broken internal organs, his face pale as paper, and his spiritual energy in his dantian completely disordered.
He looked at Song Zhong in horror, his eyes filled with disbelief and fear, "How… how could your strength be so strong? This is impossible!"
He couldn't accept that he, a genius at the 8th Layer of Qi Refining, was defeated by a servant who had just entered the inner sect and was only at the 6th Layer of Qi Refining, and he was defeated with one punch, with no power to fight back.
Song Zhong stood quietly in place, the thunder light on his fist slowly dissipating, his expression still calm. He looked down at Lin Feng, his voice cold and stern, "I have already warned you not to provoke me easily. You brought this on yourself."
At this moment, the entire Resource Hall was dead silent, and all the disciples were stunned, staring at Song Zhong as if they were looking at a monster. No one dared to say a word, and no one dared to look at Song Zhong with contempt anymore.
A servant who had risen from the bottom, with a two-realm cultivation gap, defeated the inner sect genius Lin Feng with one punch. This matter would surely spread throughout the entire Azure Cloud Sect in an instant, making Song Zhong a legend among the new generation of disciples.
Song Zhong did not pay attention to the shocked gazes of the crowd. He glanced at Lin Feng who was lying on the ground, then turned around and walked out of the Resource Hall with the cultivation resources he had collected. He knew that this battle was just a small test, and there would be more powerful enemies and greater challenges waiting for him next.
But he was not afraid.
With the Chaos Thunder Bead in hand and the supreme thunder cultivation technique, he would keep moving forward, tempering his strength in battles, breaking through realms in tribulations, and eventually uncover the truth of his parents' death and step on the path of defying the heavens to become an immortal.
The sun shone brightly on the path of the inner sect, and Song Zhong's figure walked forward firmly, heading towards his bamboo courtyard. His road of cultivating immortality had just begun, and the thunder of defiance was about to resound throughout the entire cultivation world.