Chapter 113: A Complete Closure
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor:
While Lin Feng was mentoring Zhu Yi on the mountain, Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian had already adopted battle stances down below.
Xiao Yan smiled, looking at Xiao Budian. “Little Junior, we are both straightforward people. Why don’t we be clear-cut and decide the outcome with one move?” Xiao Budian giggled, “Sure thing.”
Before he even finished speaking, he had raised his small rosy hands up in the air. His left hand now held a longsword ablazed with lightning, encircled by howling gusts of wind. His right hand held onto a Tornado blade, which was entwined with wild streams of electricity.
“Brace yourself, Big Senior!” Xiao Budian brought his two hands together, fusing the blades wind and electricity. The power emanating from both weapons grew at a terrifying speed, forming a huge, swirling mass storm above Xiao Budian’s head. Within the swirling cycle, wind and electricity were closely intertwined, yet distinctly separate; as though they were polar opposites.
“You little runt! Activating your powers before finishing your sentence, are you really that cheap?” Xiao Yan laughed mockingly. As he did so, he punched the air ahead of him, unleashing the power of the Eight Trigrams Disintegration Technique. The raging storm dissipated continuously under the destructive power of the Eight Trigrams Disintegration Technique. However, more waves of wind and lightning would burst out and rush towards Xiao Yan – only to be destroyed again.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Budian furrowed their brows at the same time, realizing that their fight had fallen into an uncanny equilibrium. While one side was summoning one storm after another, the other was disintegrating them one by one. Their duel had been reduced to a battle of attrition; without any change to the current situation, the outcome rested on whose stamina could last longer.
In terms of spellpower, it was a tie between the two. Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows. “Little Junior, I dont’t believe that I cannot take you down, ” he said smilingly. As he spoke, his mana spiked dramatically. Harnessing the full power of the Cloud Dragon Disappearing, the black clothed youth closed in on Xiao Budian in the blink of an eye.
Lin Feng’s lips curled upwards as he observed the battle from atop the mountain. As it turned out, Xiao Yan was every bit as competitive as Zhu Yi. Xiao Yan’s conviction was to become a Big Senior who would be worthy of his title; an exemplary role-model for the younger disciples to follow.
Seeing Xiao Yan approaching him of his own accord, Xiao Budian chuckled. “Sometimes you just have to accept the impossible, Senior.” The raging streams of wind and lightning intertwined, clashing directly with Xiao Yan’s Eight Trigram Disintegration Technique.
As the two spells clashed with each other, Xiao Yan rushed in front of Xiao Budian, unleashing a rapid punch. He was intent on finding out whether his junior’s physical strength was truly unbeatable.
Having his strong suit challenged, Xiao Budian was not about to act modest. He instantly returned a fist of his own, solidly connecting with Xiao Yan’s punch. Lin Feng smiled approvingly. “It’ll all be decided right now.” On the mountain, Zhu Yi and Wang Lin were also watching the fierce battle with their undivided attention.
Thumpp! The force of the impact created a sound akin to muffled thunder, expelling a shockwave of air that sent rubble and dust flying through the air.
Xiao Budian could be seen standing proudly at his original position. Deep cracks had appeared below his feet and dirt was flying everywhere. Xiao Yan, on the other hand, had been forcibly knocked back by Xiao Budian’s blow. He flew backwards and performed a backflip to cushion the impact before landing on his feet. “I guess I’ll have to believe in the impossible, ” Xiao Yan mused, shaking loose his fists. “What on earth did you eat growing up? That’s a killer body.”
Xiao Budian giggled. “You’re too kind, Senior.” Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. It was supposed to end in a draw, but he had wanted to contest Xiao Budian’s physical strength, eventually resulting in his loss.
Lin Feng floated down from the peak, smiling. “How does it feel like using your weaker skills to attack the enemy’s strengths?”
“Pretty horrible, ” Xiao Yan joked. “Friendly competition is different from a grievous fight with one’s enemy. Winning and losing is unimportant; the crucial thing is to have learned from the experience.” Xiao Yan advised his disciples in good humor, turning his gaze to Xiao Budian. “Tianhao, you haven’t let me down. Your mastery of wind and lightning has even exceeded the teachings of the Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams. You’ve shown some good understanding of the abstruse principles of Yin Yang. That’s excellent.”
Xiao Budian laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
“But there is still room for improvement. Although the infinite power of your storms is formidable, your activation speed is still rather slow. Your two seniors wanted you to display the skills you’ve developed. Whether deliberate or incidental, both of them allowed you time for preparation before attacking.” Lin Feng continued, “A real opponent would not present such an opportunity.”
He pointed a finger at Wang Lin. “Your third senior’s Finger of Styx can activate immediately. He would be able to envelop your powers of storm with his Death Dimension even before they took form.”
“Of course, you could try to forcibly break out of the Death Dimension with your physical strength, just as Xiao Yan did. But that’s because you two have trained for longer than Wang Lin. If he had gone through the same amount of training, it would be a real challenge for you two.” As he listened to Lin Feng, Xiao Budian unfurled his smile and sternly accepted his master’s teachings. Lin Feng now turned his attention to Wang Lin.
“Wang Lin, the most important thing for you currently is to develop your mastery of Qi as quickly as you can, and refine the Third Finger of your Hades Finger technique.” Wanglin nodded vigorously. “I’m assuming you two should already know your respective areas of improvement?” Lin Feng looked at Xiao Yan and Zhu Yi with a vague smile.
Both of them smiled with chagrin. “Yes, we do.” Lin Feng nodded approvingly. “It’s good that all of you have learnt from this.”
The four disciples exchanged glances with each other and started to laugh. All of them had cheerfully and wholeheartedly submitted to Lin Feng’s teachings. They bowed to him in unison, echoing, “All thanks to your guidance, master.” Lin Feng laughed. He was very pleased with the contest between his disciples this time. To put it in cliché terms: under the exemplary leadership of comrade Lin Feng, the four disciples participated and performed eagerly, making a grand display of both character and style; friendship came first, and competition second. At last, the internal competition had come to a satisfactory end. This had been a successful and memorable event worthy of emulation!
After a bout of self-flattery, Lin Feng instructed his disciples to head down the mountains and reflect individually on the insights they had garnered so as to improve their skills. Lin Feng calmed himself down and began to think carefully.
“The Eight Trigrams Destruction Technique…” Lin Feng pondered for a moment and suddenly released a powerful forward punch, unleashing a flurry of shockwaves that spread like ripples on a lake – as though the entire dimension was about to collapse into pieces. His expression had not changed.
He casually pointed a finger and the space before him was enveloped in black clouds of death. It was Wang Lin’s Finger of Styx.
He raised his hands, creating an intertwining current of wind and electricity, which bolstered itself with nearly infinite momentum.
After dissipating the infinite storm, Lin Feng made a sword seal with his right hand and made two slashes. A cloud of sword Qi burst forth from his fingers and instantaneously shot forward by hundreds of meters, boasting an unstoppable and dominating force. It was the Way of the Facile Blade.
Lin Feng, with much ease, could execute their techniques with insight that was slightly greater than their original owners’. Lin Feng had combined the Eight Main Taoist Principles with the help of the Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams. Ultimately, he was still the most knowledgeable person about the Eight Main Taoist Principles in this world. Thus, Lin Feng only needed one look to understand the essence of the principles. However, he had no intention of delving deeply into it; he was merely making a reference.
“All these powers are formidable, but none of them ultimately belong to me. Nor do they suit me best.” “It’s just like the Acalanātha Inferno and the Kṣitigarbha Golden-Plated Armour. Although they are powerful techniques, they aren’t the most suitable for me. Originally there was no comparison to be made, so the feeling wasn’t very evident. But ever since I grasped the Dual Dimension Vacuum Charm, I have realized that it is truly the power that belongs to me, the power that suits me the most. It is my own way.”
Lin Feng smiled faintly. “I can use the other powers as well. In a spell battle, it’s important to adapt to different situations. Only one truth lies at the center of all these spells; it’s fine as long as it helps one attain victory. But one’s own Taoist power and spells must still serve as the foundation.” With his experimentation, Lin Feng had furthered his understanding of the Great Celestial Way of the Eight Trigrams. Currently he was racking his brain, and some indistinct thoughts were forming in his mind. This seems to be entirely different from the Dual Dimension Vacuum Charm. But its essence still needs to be refined…
Lin Feng stood up and collected his thoughts. The demoness Longye only revealed that the spiritual place lies at the northern foot of the Mount Kunlun. But she didn’t provide a specific location. It was an area that spanned thousands of miles, and it would not be an easy place to find.
From the time he had accepted the third mission of finding the cave, Lin Feng and his disciples had entered a period of seclusion to strengthen their foundations. It had been almost half a year since then. It seemed that he had been given much more leeway this time, with a time limit of three years as opposed to the previous one year limits. But time was a very slippery thing. Lin Feng did not dare to delay any further. He gathered his four disciples and set off promptly on the Black Cloud Flag.
His destination: Mount Kunlun!
