Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
Everyone could see how Ling Jian's robes moved within the path together with his every move during these three moves. It was something that could only be observed in super slow motion, yet the truth was that Ling Jian was extremely quick!
Ling Tian narrowed his eyes, softly gasping. If Ling Jian had managed to add in another move while his shoulders were in line with the sword point, then he had a fighting chance to claim victory, and even if he lost, it would have been a close victory for Li Xue. However, pulling down the sword simply, showed that his current standard was far from it!
This reflected Ling Jian's current comprehension of his strength and the fact that he had yet to reach that realm.
On the ground, the two rows of rolling dirt suddenly rose up together, and sluggishly formed into two separate sandstorm pillars, diverging into two different directions. One flew directly past Ling Jian, shooting forward for about sixty feet before softly landing on the corner of the little courtyard, collapsing back to a pile of dirt. The other zipped past Li Xue's body, landing on the opposite corner, but it slammed onto the ground with a loud 'hong' sound.
In terms of control, Ling Jian was obviously inferior by a notch.
Following the path of the two sandstorm pillars, the entire courtyard suddenly became spick and span as though a hundred men had carried brooms and dustpans and swept up the entire place. Most likely, even if Ling Tian were to take his white robes and throw them on the ground, there would probably not be any dust that would stick on it!
Just at the point when the two dirt dragons split off from each other, Li Xue and Ling Jian had taken action. With a 'zu' sound, Ling Jian immediately flashed forward by almost twenty feet, his long sword akin to a spark of electricity chopping down relentlessly. Li Xue's white robes waved, as though coordinating with him. Just as his sword came down, her figure had already moved to directly below his sword, her two hands half opened like orchids, one above and one below just like the Thousand Hand Bodhisattva. All one could see within range was her slim jade-like fingers that seemed to have actually turned into a sturdy impenetrable wall!
From the air, minute sounds rang out continuously, sounding like raindrops from a torrential downpour landing on the banana leaves within the courtyard. However, this exchange was broken with a flash of white robes as Li Xue suddenly ascended higher up, with an inky black blur that was Ling Jian hot on her heels. Li Xue suddenly flipped around when she was above in the air, and used the gravity to pull her downwards. The two of them collided head-on once again!
"Tsk tsk, how clean!" Ling Tian smacked his lips as he looked on the ground, his face in deep regret. "What a waste of good labor, not sending these two guys to the road 1 to do the cleaning."
Ling Chen laughed out, joyfully questioning, "Young Noble, what is a road?"
"Oh… err… a road… is actually a pavement used for horses to travel on!" Ling Tian stammered something out.
"I see! It's much simpler saying it that way. Young Noble, you're really a genius!" Ling Chen nodded with understanding.
Ling Tian had a head full of black lines!
The situation in the battlefield changed once more as the two of them collided into each other, bouncing up and down as clashing noises sounded repeatedly from the bundle that was them fighting. It was just that they controlled their output of power, restricting it to the extremely small space around them.
If not for their meticulous control, just their strength was enough to destroy the entire courtyard once they started battling. How would it be like the current situation, where the bonfire Ling Chi was managing to still blaze straight up without the slightest flicker?
Seeing the two duelists, Ling Chi, Dian, and Lei all broke out in a cold sweat. The three little fellows never thought that this Li Xue woman would actually possess this level of strength. With the slimmer build of a woman, she could actually take on Ling Jian head-on while being unarmed and defenseless, and not fall into a disadvantage! Thinking about how the three of them did not give two hoots about her due to her relationship with Ling Jian, they all felt a chill. They glanced at each other, immediately wiping off the sweat on their foreheads.
Ling Chi spoke with some lingering fear, "I even asked Brother Jian yesterday to let me help him teach that girl a lesson… my goodness! Thank god he wanted to do it with his own hands, or else…"
Ling Dian also wiped off his sweat as he stared with a face of shock at the white blur, "Little Dog-Egg, I really admire your courage. Little Dog-Egg was his nickname in Ling Chi's childhood years, and he would usually flare up when someone talked about it. However, he actually remained dazed, forgetting to flare up like he normally did.
Gazing at the two fighters, Ling Chen spoke with some suspicions, "Why is Sister Li Xue putting herself at the short end of the stick, not using her prided techniques, nor her agile movement techniques, and instead choosing to fight head-on with Ling Jian? Isn't that being disadvantageous to her?"
Ling Tian smirked, "One is because Ling Jian is also doing the same and not using his full strength, thus Li Xue would naturally conserve. With that demoness's character, she would usually keep at least a few trump cards hidden. The other reason is that your Sister Li Xue is angry, which also means that Ling Jian is in for some deep trouble."
"Why is that so? How is Ling Jian in trouble?" Ling Chen had a confused expression, her eyes wide open as she asked.
Ling Tian smiled as he dabbed her nose, saying, "If a guy were to lose out in his advantageous aspect in clashing head-on with a frail lady, or even draw, and with the lady not even using her prided techniques, would it be an embarrassment?"
Ling Chen suddenly understood, and began gurgling in laughter as she spluttered, "Sister Li Xue is just too wicked."
Ling Tian pursed his mouth, thinking, 'Your Sister Li Xue is far more wicked than that, this is merely an appetizer. Little lass, just wait and see. You'll definitely open up your mouth in shock, and cold sweat will drip down your back.'
An explosion sounded at this time, and a black and white blob split apart as they flew to opposite directions. But before their bodies hit the ground, a wave of chilling cold killing intent soared up into the sky, as though the doors to hell had just opened, releasing millions of ghosts and spirits. Within the air, a stench of blood pervaded one's nose.
Ling Jian leisurely landed, his black robes billowing behind him and his figure straight like the sword. Both his eyes were ice cold like his blade, his figure seeming to have transformed into a peerless weapon, as though his one slice could cut apart a mountain.
Ling Jian finally could not bear the embarrassment of being evenly matched in a head-on battle and showed off his true skills.
Li Xue put on a mocking smile as her figure slowly floated down. Her robes gently fluttered, and suddenly an extreme cold was blasted out with her as the epicenter!
The battlefield was quickly covered in a thin layer of frost, sparkling and translucent. It shimmered in the sunlight as though there were ice sprites moving around inside the eyes. Even in such a hot and humid weather, the ice showed signs of thickening, and only a short moment passed before the battlefield became a frozen winterland!
Divine Ice Formula!
The extreme frost seemed to even freeze the space around the entire battlegrounds, and everyone felt as though this frost could freeze anything it touched, including Ling Jian's killing intent! Maybe even the bonfire currently burning not far away!
The surging frozen air slowly enveloped around Ling Jian, just like an ancient ice dragon, brandishing its claws as it rushed towards its enemy! It brought with it a world of ice and frost.
They normally disdained from taking action, but once they moved, they would use their full strength. This was Li Xue's method of attacking, unyielding and aggressive beyond belief, pushing Ling Jian straight down the path of hell! If Ling Jian could not break past Li Xue's imposing frost energy, then he would immediately lose!
Standing on the side, Ling Chi and the rest lost all color on their faces. Wasn't this big sister Ling Chen's Divine Ice Formula that was unique to her? How could it also appear on this woman? Looking at her control, it was as though she had mastered it to a more profound level as compared to Ling Chen. What was going on?
In fact, Li Xue's attainments in the Divine Ice Formula far outstripped that of Ling Chen. Even though Ling Chen had an innate talent above people, with her obtaining Ling Tian's patient teachings since young, and furthermore having consumed precious cultivation materials, she still wasn't able to match up to Li Xue's two lifetime's worth of purity for Divine Ice Formula. There was still a gap between the two of them!
Ling Chi and gang shared a look, the same thought appearing in their hearts: Brother Jian is in deep sh*t this time. Ling Chi anxiously looked at the pot on top of the bonfire, it's top just beginning to emit clouds of steam. He could not help but feel his anxiousness rise, wanting to open the pot now so they would end in a draw.
Seeing Ling Chi in a panic, Ling Lei persuaded him, "There's no need to worry, it's not like you don't know the skills of Brother Jian. While the young noble has agreed to the duel, in the end, it's still between his people, so he will not make it a life or death one. Once Brother Jian activates his killing intent, he will be totally different. It's not like he's bound to lose.
Ling Chi instead shot him a glare. "I'm precisely afraid of Brother Jian using his killing intent. Don't you know? Brother Jian cannot control his strength after activating it, and what if he kills the lass?"
Ling Dian and Ling Lei both recalled his point and their faces changed. If that was the case, then this was nothing good at all for them.
"Dammit!" Ling Chi smacked his thigh as he called out. Ling Lei and Dian turned their attention over and their faces changed as well. The thing they worried the most was about to become reality!
On the battlefield, Ling Jian snorted angrily, pointing his sword to the ground as violent sword energy poured out in torrents. It covered the heavens and earth, to the point that it repelled a path within the frosty energy surrounding the area. On the edge of the sword, a billowing killing intent surged out, and Ling Jian seemed to almost have teleported in front of Li Xue, his sword raised and ready to stab towards Li Xue's throat. Under the tremendous pressure let off by Li Xue, Ling Jian had finally burst forth with his fullest potential! He threw aside all caution and moved to kill. At this moment, his eyes only had his opponent, his enemy!
Ling Jian seemed to have surpassed the fastest instantaneous speed a person could achieve. Li Xue had yet to see Ling Jian move, but his sword was suddenly a few inches away from her throat! This was the most outstanding sword of Ling Jian's life, his most perfect, as well as his most decisive strike!