Li Ling encountered two such individuals in a short period of time. Moreover, not to mention the Carefree King and his men, it is said that Qin Hui also has experts such as Ghost Shadow and Illusion Blade under his command, all of whom have reached the Innate Realm. They are indeed not to be underestimated.
"Hmph, Mingjian Manor is famous for its swordsmanship, but I didn't expect your fist skills to be so impressive! Why don't you also submit to Prime Minister Qin, and you'll enjoy endless wealth and honor."
Seeing that Li Ling didn't intend to act immediately, Zhang Qiqiao was happy to delay for a while, buying time for the Black Fiends who were besieging Yue Fei, while also slowly adjusting his breathing to alleviate the damage to his meridians.
With just one punch, Zhang Qiqiao realized that Li Ling's skill level was no less than his own, and the purity of his true energy was even higher, surpassing what Qin Sirong had said yesterday.
This was truly unbelievable to him; he couldn't understand how Li Ling, at such a young age, had cultivated such profound martial arts skills.
"So you'll submit to Qin Hui and be remembered as a villain for eternity?" Li Ling sneered, mockingly saying, "Even a thousand years from now, you'll still be reviled and become the epitome of a treacherous minister and traitor?"
"Hmph, how dare you!" Zhang Qiqiao's face, which had been hidden, suddenly changed, and he said coldly, "You're courting death!"
"Hehehe, I don't know about seeking death or anything like that, but you've probably finished adjusting your breathing by now!" Li Ling suddenly said, revealing Zhang Qiqiao's thoughts.
Immediately, he pointed a finger at Zhang Qiqiao, and with the sound of the energy cutting through the air, the penetrating energy sword was aimed directly at Zhang Qiqiao's heart.
"snort!"
Zhang Qiqiao was startled by Li Ling's sudden remark. By the time he came to his senses, the sword energy was already close to him. He quickly dodged to the side.
Just as he was about to attack, he immediately sensed another sword aura approaching, aimed precisely at the flaw in his movement technique.
He immediately threw a punch to break the sword energy, but his prepared counterattack was interrupted at this moment.
At this moment, Li Ling suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning, swiftly throwing a punch at Zhang Qiqiao!
"Seven Injury Fist!"
"Bang!"
The two exchanged another punch, the force of which made their clothes rustle in the wind.
This time, Li Ling had been preparing for a long time, while Zhang Qiqiao kept changing his moves and could only react passively, managing to mobilize only seven or eight tenths of his true energy. Li Ling is now a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm, while Zhang Qiqiao is still some distance from becoming a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm. As a result, the difference in their abilities was immediately apparent.
Zhang Qiqiao immediately suffered a minor loss. The Seven Injury Fist, with its seven types of Yin-Yang and Five Elements power entering his body, caused his internal organs to tremble, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
It was also because he was also a master of innate cultivation that he was able to mobilize his true energy to protect his body in time, thus avoiding greater injury.
"Hmph! Watch me beat you into a dead dog!"
Li Ling pressed his advantage relentlessly. His Seven Injury Fist was wide-ranging and unpredictable, with unpredictable force and an exceptionally fierce style. He attacked Zhang Qiqiao's weaknesses and vital points several times, forcing Zhang to exchange blows with him repeatedly.
However, after a few moves, Zhang Qiqiao's injuries, which were not originally serious, suddenly worsened.
"puff!
Zhang Qiqiao was sent flying backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood! (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and likely refers to a different topic.)
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Chapter 173 Marshal Yue, We've Finally Found You
"puff!"
Finally, after taking another punch from Li Ling, Zhang Qiqiao spat out a mouthful of blood, which instantly stained his mask red.
"Oh no, if this keeps up, I'm going to be beaten to death by this kid!"
The thought kept popping into Zhang Qiqiao's mind. He could no longer hide it. Taking advantage of the moment when Li Ling threw a punch, he stared intently at Li Ling and activated his true energy with all his might.
Li Ling immediately felt a wave of confusion wash over him, and most of the force in his fist dissipated!
"Oh no, this is a technique to control the mind!"
Li Ling was immediately startled, realizing that he had fallen victim to an extremely sophisticated mind-controlling technique. If it weren't for his own mental power, coupled with the long-term cleansing and tempering of his mental power by the World Essence Liquid, which made his mental power extremely concentrated, he might not have been able to break free from Zhang Qiqiao's mind-controlling technique so quickly.
"If it weren't for my powerful mental strength, which is several times stronger than that of ordinary innate masters, I would probably have already fallen into their trap," Li Ling thought to himself.
"Zhang Qiqiao's mind-controlling technique is truly formidable; it can actually be used in battle. Using ordinary mind-controlling techniques against an expert of the same level in actual combat would be tantamount to suicide."
Because during battle, a person's mental and physical state is highly concentrated and much more difficult to be influenced than usual. In such cases, instead of being distracted, one might be injured by the opponent's counterattack.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qiqiao's mind-controlling technique was able to play a role even in the fierce battle, which shows how powerful it is!
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiqiao used his Mind Control Technique to stop Li Ling's movements for a moment. Once he used this Mind Control Technique, he needed to exert all his strength to activate it, so he couldn't be distracted to attack.
"Whoosh!"
A whooshing sound rang out as Hongniang, who had been watching the two closely, suddenly attacked. She snapped the neck of a martial artist she was entangled with her long whip, and then lashed the whip towards Li Ling's head.
The most powerful part of this whip is the tip. If it hits, even with his hard body forged by the Dragon Roar Iron Shirt technique, Li Ling, under the control of the Mind Control Technique, would inevitably suffer some injuries.
Just then, Li Ling suddenly woke up and felt a strong wind rushing towards his head. Instinctively, he pointed his right hand into a sword shape and pointed it towards the top of his head.
With a loud 'bang', the sword exploded above his head, shattering the whip tip. At the same time, he used his left hand to pull and guide Zhang Qiqiao's punch to an empty space to the side. Then, he slammed his shoulder into Zhang Qiqiao, sending him flying several feet away!
"Let's go!"
After landing, Zhang Qiqiao staggered back more than ten steps before barely managing to regain his footing. At this moment, he looked at Li Ling with great apprehension. He knew that it would be extremely difficult to defeat Li Ling, so he could only call out to Hong Niang and then retreat.
As for the Black Fiend assassins around them, who were originally meant to be worn down, they still fought fiercely under his orders, holding back the crowd.
These Black Fiend assassins were all fearless and often used desperate moves in battle. Many of them also carried bows and crossbows. After a battle, the martial arts practitioners led by Li Ling suffered heavy casualties.
All thirty-six Heavenly Generals were injured, but fortunately most of them were minor cuts and bruises that did not have a significant impact.