The Celestial Gate environment of that time was vastly different from now.
Moreover, the news about the Celestial Gate opening had not yet spread. Qin Wenwu’s remarkable talent allowed him to gradually discover the anomalies in the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi during his cultivation.
In other words, even though the Celestial Gate had long been opened, it may be that Qin Wenwu had only been cultivating for less than a day.
But now?
The opening of the Celestial Gate has been verified, and numerous experiments have confirmed this.
Because of the Celestial Gate’s opening, numerous Death Gate masters have emerged and verified it among themselves.
Time, environment, and the sparks of their exchanges were not conditions Qin Wenwu had back then.
Song Hualong should have been stronger than Qin Wenwu!
As for Song Hualong’s Water Dragon longblade, it took a century to condense it, seeming immensely powerful, but unfortunately, it was of no use.
With just a gentle wave of Lin Beichen’s hand, the world trembled, and a strange Cyan Wood Spirit Light appeared in his palm.
The pervasive water vapor transformed into a gigantic sluice blade.
The sluice blade opened slowly, then suddenly fell heavily.
The sluice blade immediately hit the ground, destroying an unknown amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
"What is this move called?"
Song Hualong’s face showed terror, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The terrifying Spirit Light surrounding his body made him tremble all over.
He painstakingly tried to control his body, only to discover that the tremors emanated from the depths of his soul, which he could not suppress.
Even the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were trembling slightly, let alone him.
With a bang.
The sluice blade hadn’t even touched Song Hualong, yet his body was suddenly split in two.
His body wasn’t split by the sluice blade but was crushed by the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi stirred by the sluice blade.
A force of water and fire enveloped his upper body, barely maintaining a sliver of life.
And Song Hualong had no extra strength to protect his lower body, forced to watch helplessly as his body was crushed into a pulp, dissipating between Heaven and Earth.
"What do you wish to name this move? As the first person to die under it, I give you the opportunity to name it."
Lin Beichen said leisurely, a eerie smile on his lips.
Song Hualong, upon hearing this, was filled with murderous intent.
Lin Beichen had defeated him; he acknowledged his lack of strength.
But accepting Lin Beichen’s insult was another matter.
"I am Song Hualong, of the Song Family, one of the three great families of Eastern Zhou. How dare you insult me?"
Song Hualong roared angrily, water and fire energy coalescing in his lower half, forming a faintly tangible body.
As soon as his body condensed, it instantly split into two figures.
One figure lunged towards Lin Beichen, while the other transformed into water, merging with the river, and vanished.
Seeing this, Lin Beichen was momentarily stunned.
This man, after reporting his name, had seemingly felt his dignity insulted and appeared ready to fight to the death, but hadn’t hesitated at all to turn and flee.
The disparity from battle to escape was so large that even the experienced Lin Beichen was momentarily confused.
He had never seen someone so shameless.
"As expected of someone who has passed the Death Gate Realm, who has long seen through the honor and disgrace of the mortal world."
Lin Beichen shook his head with a bitter smile, casually striking out with a palm.
The flame power before him instantly dissipated into nothingness.
Meanwhile, the other figure under the water seemed to sense this, its face showing shock once again.
This water and fire shadow, though apparently a mere false body, still possessed divine techniques that an ordinary person couldn’t deal with.
Yet Lin Beichen had effortlessly destroyed this shadow in an instant.
This man’s strength had far exceeded human limits.
Since the Celestial Gate opened, the difference between realms had become even greater than before.
Yet very few in the world knew this.
Even though he had already seen through the truth of spiritual energy, he still fought this person with old thinking.
It was hateful that his lifetime of caution spanning hundreds of years had a misstep in this instance, and this small oversight almost cost him his life.
"Take me back, gather Dragon Qi again, seek the help of family experts, and surely I will strike him dead with one move and clear away the disgrace."
Song Hualong bit his teeth and said.
Just as these thoughts were swirling, he suddenly felt a boiling force on the water’s surface.
Water droplets flew into the air, transforming into ice cones and falling instantly.
Seconds after he finished speaking, tens of thousands of ice crystals pierced his body, turning him into a mush of flesh.
At that moment, a figure flew over the distant lake—Xu Jiangyan.
"Lin Beichen, is it you?"
Xu Jiangyan floated above the river, looking at Lin Beichen in disbelief.
He had just mentioned Lin Beichen to his daughter, how could he not recognize him?
He just boasted in front of his daughter that Lin Beichen would pay the price, yet turnd around to see two peerless experts fighting on the river.
These two had terrifying power, swaying the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi with each move.
Their various techniques were ones he could not even dare to imagine wielding.
Yet he hadn’t expected that one of the combatants was Lin Beichen.
Even more frightening, in this earth-shocking duel, Lin Beichen had killed the other on the spot.
A Death Gate Realm expert, revered by all, could effortlessly suppress an area, as long as they didn’t court death or madly defy the heavens or the state, no one could kill them.
But now, before Lin Beichen, a Death Gate Realm expert was slain like cutting vegetables, without the slightest mercy.
Lin Beichen glanced at Xu Jiangyan from afar, but did not respond at all, and flew straight back to the Zhang Family manor.
At this moment, Zhang Songqiao still stood amidst the blood, desperately pawing at the corpses, trying to see if anyone was still alive.
He had already placed one body on the ground beside him—it was his son’s.
Suddenly, sensing a shadow enveloping him, he quickly looked up, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.
The newcomer was Lin Beichen.
Lin Beichen returning meant Song Hualong was dead.
Without Song Hualong’s protection, how could he oppose Lin Beichen?
Seeing the vast difference between ordinary people and cultivators, he no longer harbored any delusions.
"Mr. Lin, I realize my mistakes now. Please give me a chance, my Zhang family has already paid the price, we will never offend you again."
Zhang Songqiao knelt on the ground, frantically kowtowing.
As a heroic figure, he had built the Zhang family from obscurity into one of Huadu’s two great families.
Always self-assured, but aware of his limits.
"The other Zhang family members are dead. If you, as the patriarch, don’t join them, they’ll be lost on their way."
Lin Beichen said faintly.
Suspended in midair, he pointed spiritual light down at Zhang Songqiao.
Having just ascended to lead the most powerful family in Huadu, Zhang Songqiao now looked ashen, staring in despair at Lin Beichen, unable to comprehend today’s events.
Today should have been his most glorious day, but ended in horror.
His entire family was dead, his son perished before him, leaving him with nothing.
His life flashed before him, realizing he was but a tragic joke.
"Please don’t kill me. I have deep ties with the Song Family of the southeast. If you kill me, they will certainly cause you trouble."
Zhang Songqiao said in terror, pleading on his face.
"I’m merely the frontman for the Song Family; they are discreet in Jiangnan, secretly supporting me and receive seventy percent of my profits."
Seeing Lin Beichen’s cold eyes, Zhang Songqiao betrayed this secret.
"The Song Family? So Song Hualong’s protection had this underlying purpose."
Lin Beichen mused without any visible change.
"Don’t worry. When you die, I’ll ensure the Song Family accompanies you."
With those final words, Lin Beichen’s hand pressed against Zhang Songqiao’s forehead.