A scalpel, as thin as cicada wings, appeared in Zi Lingling's hand.
She gazed down at the forty-one black-clothed figures within the fiery circle, her icy voice booming in their ears.
"If you can evade the scalpel in my hand, then I shall spare your lives!"
As her words fell, she employed the Phantom Dragon Step, coordinating it with the Dragon Evasion Technique, and began to weave through the fiery circle.
Empowered by spiritual energy, the sharp scalpel became indestructible, instantly severing one man's throat.
"Ah!"
With the ensuing scream, the eyes of the forty black-clothed figures filled with wariness.
They had, after all, seen nothing of how Zi Lingling had struck.
Simultaneously, they noticed that Zi Lingling's cultivation was merely at the peak of the Spirit Gathering realm.
Meanwhile, the lowest among them was at the early stage of the Spirit Gathering realm, and the highest was at the early stage of the Essence Transformation realm.
"She's only at the peak of the Spirit Gathering realm; let's attack together and kill her!"
A black-clothed figure at the early stage of the Essence Transformation realm roared menacingly.
"Kill!"
The forty black-clothed figures roared in unison.
Zi Lingling let out a cold laugh.
She needed combat to solidify her cultivation, and these men were perfect as her whetstones.
Within the fiery circle, spiritual arts of various colors rained down upon Zi Lingling.
Alas, Zi Lingling's speed was like that of a phantom.
The moment their spiritual arts were unleashed, Zi Lingling had already appeared behind them.
Streams of blood splashed, and screams echoed.
In an instant, more than ten people fell to the ground, their eyes closing in despair.
Gazing at the blood on the ground, the ferocity of the black-clothed figures was ignited, and they lunged at Zi Lingling with even greater ferocity.
"Fools!"
Zi Lingling berated them coldly, once again weaving between them.
The sheer number of black-clothed figures made it easy for Zi Lingling to find openings.
A casual slash from her could wound a black-clothed attacker, yet they were hesitant, fearing they might injure their own.
The black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm finally realized that having everyone attack Zi Lingling was a mistake.
He then bellowed, "Fall back, I will deal with her!"
In his view, he alone was sufficient to handle Zi Lingling, who was at the peak of the Spirit Gathering realm.
The black-clothed figures retreated rapidly, leaving only the one at the early stage of the Essence Transformation realm standing opposite Zi Lingling.
Fortunately, the space within the fiery circle was large enough, otherwise, they would have had nowhere left to retreat.
Zi Lingling sneered, "Finally got a brain? However, it's not enough!"
The black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm said coldly, "Now, you can't take advantage of the chaos!"
"Take advantage of the chaos?" Zi Lingling said contemptuously, "Do I need to? I'll give you one chance to attack, and only one!"
The black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm was provoked, saying, "Brat, arrogance leads to no good. A dog that barks too much gets hit with a brick! Let me see what gives you, a mere peak Spirit Gathering realm cultivator, the right to be so arrogant!"
As he spoke, the spiritual energy in his hand rapidly condensed into a swirling vortex.
"Earth Burst!"
With his powerful shout, the vortex surged towards Zi Lingling.
Its appearance clearly indicated its intent to engulf and shred Zi Lingling.
Hm?
Earth spiritual energy can be used like this?
A flicker of surprise appeared in Zi Lingling's eyes.
However, she instantly grasped the subtlety of it.
"A parlor trick!"
Zi Lingling's mind stirred, and the surrounding fire spiritual energy rapidly converged.
"Fire Burst!"
A fire vortex, larger than the black-clothed figure's earth vortex, instantly appeared, engulfing the earth vortex and burning it into nothingness.
"How is this possible?"
The black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm was astonished. Although this move was still a spiritual art, it was infinitely close to a spiritual skill, something others could not replicate.
Yet Zi Lingling had mimicked it in an instant, and its power was even greater than his own. How could this be?
Zi Lingling said scornfully, "You're surprised by this? Then try this again!"
Her mind moved, and the surrounding earth elements began to stir.
"Earth Burst!"
An earth vortex instantly appeared, and before the black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm could react, he was engulfed by it.
"Ah!"
A tragic scream erupted, interspersed with the black-clothed man's unwilling cry, "How is this possible? Why is the power of your technique greater than mine?"
Zi Lingling coldly replied, "No comment! I told you, you only had one chance to attack. Go to hell with this question!"
As her words fell, the power of the earth vortex instantly intensified.
"No! Impossible! Ah..."
The black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm's shocked cries turned more desperate, and then, pieces of shredded flesh flew out of the earth vortex.
By the time the vortex dissipated, only a skeleton remained of the black-clothed figure in the Essence Transformation realm.
The remaining black-clothed figures were filled with terror.
Their gazes towards Zi Lingling became even more apprehensive.
What kind of monster was this?
She had killed an early-stage Essence Transformation realm cultivator with the cultivation of peak Spirit Gathering realm!
More importantly, the Essence Transformation realm cultivator had died by his own spiritual technique, which had a devilish quality to it.
"Aren't you going to attack? If you don't act now, you won't have the chance!"
Zi Lingling's indifferent gaze swept over the remaining black-clothed figures, finally resting on the scalpel in her hand.
The black-clothed figures involuntarily retreated.
However, after taking a few steps back, a scream erupted from behind them.
It turned out that, unknowingly, they had already retreated to the fire wall.
The one at the very back, with his mind in a daze, had bumped into the fire wall and let out a scream.
A burnt smell instantly permeated the air, intensifying the terror of the remaining black-clothed figures.
Zi Lingling smiled brilliantly and said, "Ah, I forgot to tell you, this fire wall is the boundary. And you only have the chance to fight, no possibility of escape!"
This pleasant voice fell upon the ears of the black-clothed figures like the toll of a death knell, amplifying their despair.
A cornered dog will jump over the wall; a rabbit, when desperate, will bite.
In this despair, the ferocity that had been scattered by their fear instantly returned to their bodies.
If they fought, they would die!
If they didn't fight, they would also die!
So, what were they waiting for?
They would fight!
More than thirty black-clothed figures simultaneously displayed their fighting spirit.
"Now that's more like it!"
Zi Lingling smiled. This was what she wanted.
She craved battle, but the previous black-clothed figures had either held onto a sliver of hope or had their spirits crushed, lacking any fighting will.
That was why she had continuously pushed them, forcing them to find their fighting spirit amidst despair.
"Come on!"
Zi Lingling said, and her spiritual energy once again gathered on the scalpel.
The black-clothed figures exchanged glances, and then unleashed their spiritual arts.
This time, they were no longer a scattered mess but divided into three waves.
This way, they would neither injure their own nor easily allow Zi Lingling to exploit openings.
"Water Curtain!"
Zi Lingling flicked a stream of water spiritual energy from her scalpel, which instantly transformed into a massive water screen.