This profound method, even for cultivators, was one they would not willingly subject themselves to, given its agonizing nature and the immense suffering it inflicted.
Lin Yao envisioned Lin Xuan's bones being shattered and tendons severed by his own hands. He licked his lips, contemplating whether to start by breaking Lin Xuan's wrist tendons or his ankle tendons.
Meanwhile, Fang Ming heard of the Tendon-Severing Bone-Breaking Hand, his expression unwavering.
He had heard of the technique's notorious reputation within the clan. Many clan members who had opposed Lin Yao had suffered from this top-grade mortal-tier profound method. Some were so tormented that they developed psychological scars, becoming timid and hesitant whenever they encountered Lin Yao, daring not to cross him again.
But Fang Ming was unfazed.
Having traveled across myriad worlds, he had encountered countless insidious martial arts and mystical techniques. The power of the sinister techniques he himself had mastered far surpassed that of the mere Tendon-Severing Bone-Breaking Hand, by a hundred, even a thousand times.
If Lin Yao fell into his grasp, he would make Lin Yao understand what a true hell on earth was!
Lin Yao was mere child's play; Fang Ming's insidious techniques were the true terror!
"I don't know what it feels like to have my bones broken, but I will definitely beat you until you cry for your mother and father," Fang Ming retorted sarcastically to Lin Yao.
As he spoke, he didn't realize that his words were becoming increasingly similar to Lin Xuan's.
This was leaning towards Lin Xuan's persona, not Fang Ming's.
However, Fang Ming remained oblivious to this fact at the moment. He merely gazed at Lin Yao, focusing on the opponent before him.
His opponent seemed to be only Lin Yao, not another soul, not that Lin Xuan.
After Fang Ming uttered these words.
Before Lin Yao could react, someone in the audience with a low threshold for laughter burst into laughter.
"Lin Yao beaten by Lin Xuan until he cried for his mother and father?"
"That's too amusing!"
"Haha! I can't help but laugh just thinking about Lin Yao being beaten by Lin Xuan until he cried for his mother and father."
A disciple from a collateral branch in the audience chuckled, and others with a similar sense of humor joined in.
In their eyes, Lin Xuan was merely thirteen or fourteen years old, a boy on the cusp of adolescence, or even still a child.
And Lin Yao? He was a young man of nineteen, almost twenty. For a child to tell a young man he would beat him until he cried for his mother and father was utterly hilarious.
This was indeed enough to make some people with a low threshold for laughter erupt.
The laughter of those in the audience with a low threshold for humor, in turn, enraged Lin Yao.
"Lin Xuan! You're courting death. I will definitely make you taste what it feels like to have your bones shattered, one by one!" Lin Yao's face darkened, his anger surging directly to his heart. He spoke each word with heavy emphasis.
Lin Yao had never been this angry before. Now, pausing after each word and speaking with such "heaviness," it was evident he was utterly infuriated, which led him to speak this way.
In his extreme anger, he immediately unleashed the top-grade mortal-tier profound method: Mountain-Crushing Palm!
The Mountain-Crushing Palm was a profound method not to be underestimated.
If wielded by a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, this palm strike could shatter a small mountain with a single blow. A mountain hundreds of meters high would appear fragile and powerless under the force of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's Mountain-Crushing Palm.
And now, Lin Yao, channeling palm intent with both his palms, unleashed this profound method. Although far from the might of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, it possessed one or two tenths of its power.
One or two tenths of its power was a significant compliment.
Lin Yao's strength was indeed considerable. Although he was only at the seventh level of Meridian Condensation, inferior to the eighth-level Meridian Condensation of the black-clothed man, the aura he exuded when fighting clearly surpassed that of the black-clothed man.
"This profound method is indeed quite interesting," Fang Ming's black hair gently fluttered in the wind as he looked at Lin Yao with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Despite Lin Yao's arrogance and poor character, among the people Fang Ming had fought in this realm, his combat prowess ranked first.
Although his cultivation was one level lower than the black-clothed man, Lin Yao cultivated both body and spirit, possessed numerous powerful profound methods, and even other trump cards as combat techniques. If this Lin Yao were to fight the black-clothed man Fang Ming had encountered before, he could fight one against five, or even one against ten.
After all, Lin Yao was a spiritual body genius. Within the same cultivation realm, he naturally surpassed ordinary mortals by several degrees.
In terms of combat strength, compared to ordinary individuals, he was nearly invincible within his own tier.
If the opponent were someone else, Lin Yao would have a high chance of winning.
But for Fang Ming, the chance of victory was, naturally, zero.
"Blazing Flame Saber Technique..."
Fang Ming swung his saber with a wave of his hand.
Between his gaze and his fingers, a raging inferno manifested.
The terrifying flames seemed poised to incinerate everything in the world.
Rising to the heavens, descending to the netherworld, encompassing heaven and earth, this fire seemed to contain everything, even the entire world itself!
A saber that encompassed the world!
A saber that incinerated the world!
Who could contend with this saber?
Perhaps someone could, but it would definitely not be Lin Yao.
"Crackle..."
In the ongoing battle, Lin Yao's Mountain-Crushing Palm force was clearly no match for Fang Ming's Blazing Flame Saber.
Assailed by wave after wave of flames, it soon began to waver and was on the verge of collapsing.
"Bad!"
Seeing his Mountain-Crushing Palm force about to be broken, Lin Yao knew something was amiss and quickly made a decision.
He stomped his right foot and attacked towards Lin Xuan's left.
It seemed that a frontal assault was not working, and he intended to attack from the flank to increase critical hit rate and lethality.
This move was not without merit.
Unexpectedly, Fang Ming seemed to anticipate his attack from the left, sending more flames to force Lin Yao back and break his palm force.
"Chirp!" "Chirp!"
The power of the Flame Saber was terrifying. Although Lin Yao dodged in time, his clothes were still slashed several times.
After being struck by this profound method, Lin Yao was inwardly shocked.
The power of the Blazing Flame Saber was too terrifying, far exceeding his Mountain-Crushing Palm force by more than a hundred times!
How had this Lin Xuan managed it?
How could his understanding of profound methods be so much greater than his own?
Envy flashed in Lin Yao's eyes. Why could Lin Xuan unleash such a powerful profound method? To wield a top-grade mortal-tier profound method with such complete mastery, without any trace of awkwardness?
He knew that even he could not achieve such a feat.
His father was the second elder, personally tutored by a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, and he himself was a spiritual body genius. Yet, he had only mastered a few top-grade mortal-tier profound methods.
How had this Lin Xuan, who was once considered a complete waste, managed this?
Without anyone to teach him, to wield a top-grade mortal-tier profound method with such fluency—this comprehension ability was simply too terrifying!
How could he possibly possess such comprehension ability?
Right, this must be the inheritance and fortuitous encounter from that ancient ruin!
The thought instantly sent Lin Yao's mind into a frenzy. He remembered that half of their wagered fortune included the inheritance from the fortuitous encounter Lin Xuan had obtained.
As long as he defeated Lin Xuan, he too could obtain this inheritance!
"Lin Xuan, the secret of your mastery of top-grade mortal-tier profound methods, I must obtain it." Lin Yao's heart hardened at this moment. If Lin Xuan, a waste, could become so powerful by obtaining some ancient ruin inheritance, wouldn't it make him, a former genius, even more formidable?