Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Initiative! If one even lost the initiative in a fight with a divine beast-level martial artist such as Qilin, then it would not be necessary to continue fighting.
The two times he had come up the mountain, the moment Qin Fen’s sole stepped on the eighty-first step, he was immediately greeted with a sudden Qilin’s fist from the stone house.
Since he was unable to cross the eighty-first step, it was better to make a move from the eightieth step! The granite steps that had not withered even after decades of wind and rain split into pieces from the center as if they were cut under the sudden thunder energy burst from the Thundersteps.
“So fast!” Song Jia’s pretty little eyes flickered with surprise as her heart pounded again and again. To her surprise, Qin Fen had grown so fast since she last saw him that all she could see was a trail of vague after-images with her strength.
A vast stream of energy rose from the stone house that had been repaired for the third time already. The wall between the two was crushed into dust as if it was struck by a high-speed meteor, forming a visible grayish trail as it flew along with the strong airflow set off by the Qilin’s fist.
Qilin’s Fist! It was Qilin’s Fist, once again; the third Qilin’s Fist without any real change! Qin Fen’s body shook at a moment’s notice as the Thundersteps exploded under his feet with a clap of thunder for the second time. Immediately, Qin Fen’s figure disappeared from Song Jia’s line of sight! A whistling sound suddenly drowned the deafening clap of thunder which was the sound caused by the friction between the air and Qin Fen’s speeding body.
This was Qin Fen’s true Thundersteps! The revised version of Thundersteps after the battle with the two dao masters may not have reached the level of Electric Steps but it had undergone a new sublimation. Last time, he had not used them to confuse Qilin. As such, the first use immediately drew a slight surprise from the dark stone house.
“Well!?”
A pair of eyes shone brightly with curiosity in the dark house immediately, as if two searchlights had appeared in the dark night.
Song Zhenting’s had to no choice but to admit that Qin Fen’s Thundersteps were the fastest in the world among the fifteen-star martial dao masters. Any fifteen-star martial artist would lose against him if he showed so much as a little bit of carelessness under this Thundersteps.
With that super speed, Qin Fen dodged Qilin’s Fist for the first time.
“This…!” At the foot of the mountain, Hashimoto heard the sky thunder as a streak of fist energy pierce through the sky, rushing straight into the clouds, leaving a trailing transparent tunnel in the air. The repelled air immediately filled this vacuum with force, causing a series of roars like a thousand claps of thunder in the clear sky.
The ground at the peak of Qilin Mountain blossomed in a flash, as if a heavy artillery battalion had aimed here and started firing. Qin Fen left irregular pits everywhere he stepped with Thundersteps.
As dust, rocks, and grass shrouded half of the entire peak of the Qilin Mountain, Qin Fen returned to the center of the peak with Thundersteps, put his palm on the right side of his waist and clutched tightly as he corked it vigorously! The subsequent wind due to this act was like a powerful ventilator, sucking the dust, rocks, and the mud floating in the air into his fist.
Immediately, Qin Fen’s figure appeared in Song Jia’s line of sight amid this hazy cloud of dust.
“Swallowing the World!?” Song Jia’s eyes flickered with a strange brilliance. She couldn’t believe the similarity between Qin Fen’s preparatory move and the Swallowing the World from Qilin’s Fist.
As the dust and rocks were sucked in completely, Qin Fen’s true energy burst out from every pore of his body. Owing to which, the martial attire he was wearing became tattered in the blink of an eye. Immediately after, his every bone and every strand of his muscle drew a huge circle and shook fiercely as if a huge dice cups with thousands of dice was shaken. The moment his feet finished shaking and simultaneously kicked the ground, his figure flew out.
The dodging momentum, creating momentum, gathering momentum, and now, attacking momentum! After the battle of Hallasan, Qin Fen had finally completed the circle. This move shook the entire Qilin Peak. The stone house shook non-stop.
Dragon Cannon, Thundersteps, Extreme Softness Giving Birth to Hardness… Qin Fen had merged three powerful skills into one. Just the shockwave from a single step caused Song Jia’s long hair to flutter in the air and her cheongsam to flap. She subconsciously raised her hand to block the oncoming wind.
At this moment, the ground under Qin Fen’s feet sunk twenty-meters deep, as if a meteor had crashed here. Even the distant grasses and trees were swept off the ground by the subsequent shockwave.
Immediately, a streak of thundering Qilin’s Fist energy swept the grass off the ground with the momentum of the Yangtze River and took the form of a green Qilin as it charged at Qin Fen.
A head-on confrontation!? Qin Fen’s heel and Achilles’ tendon tightened as his shoulder and back muscles bulged. In the blink of an eye, his entire strength was transferred to his feet as he sunk his waist even more fiercely, like a prawn in the water. In the next moment, all the supercharged energy broke out.
Suddenly, Qin Fen disappeared from his place. The ground where he stood looked as if something weighing thousand tons had crashed there.
In a flash, Qin Fen’s figure was like a bolt of lightning. Song Jia could not even feel his aura, as if his figure had disintegrated there and reintegrated in front of the stone house.
Thunder Dragon Cannon! Qin Fen planted his fist and sunk his waist as he turned his shoulders and arm respectively. Immediately, his fist smashed into the stone wall before him like a high-speed rotating shell.
BOOM!
A deafening crash echoed throughout the Qilin Mountain. Even Hashimoto at the foot of the mountain raised his head and looked at the peak with surprise. “Qin Fen’s energy is so majestic!?”
“Hehe…” Steward Hou sitting on the rattan chair, seemingly asleep but yet not asleep, opened his eyes and looked towards the Qilin Peak that was bursting with energy but without any dust and stones flying off the peak. “It seems that a fantastic show is about to start!?”
Atop the peak, Song Jia watched through the gaps of her fingers in surprise. Qin Fen’s punch that could smash and tear the Qilin Peak could not even break the wall of that small stone house.
Standing in front of the stone house, Qin Fen sank his waist and pressed his thigh, rotated his ankle and moved his shoulder as he smashed his left fist from his waist straight into the stone house blocking before him with the Investiture of Gods.
The punch that was strong enough to smash iron and steel into smithereens, smash a mountain’s peak into nothing, was unable to break this stone house! This stone house wasn’t built using some new alloy but rather, it was covered in Qilin’s protective true energy. The Thunder Dragon Cannon could only blast a huge splash of energy from the wall, unable to truly pierce through it.
BOOM! The peak trembled again. Immediately, a flash of surprise appeared on Song Zhenting’s face as he looked at the flying pieces of rocks. There was almost no gap between Qin Fen’s first and second punch. Owing to which, Qin Fen’s punch smashed the stone wall before Qilin’s protective energy could close up the energy blasted away by his first punch.
Finally, Qin Fen saw the rumored Qilin, Song Wendong amidst the cloud of dust!
The world-famous Song Wendong was sitting on the grass in the stone house. Song Jia had obviously inherited her beauty from this divine beast martial artist. His handsome face was simply perfect, there weren’t any flaws. His bright and shiny eyes under the straight-as-a-sword black eyebrows had surpassed even the shiniest pair of gems. His wide forehead was overflowing with wisdom. He was surrounded by a calm aura with a sense of incomprehensible mystery, as if no one could see through him.
Most of Qilin’s hair was still black but the hair around his temples had grown white. But it didn’t give a sense of old age. Instead, it added an aura of an expert which a divine beast martial artist like him should have. The peaceful air around him seemed to have an aura of him looking down on everything, which made it difficult for anyone to approach him.
His slender and well-trained body was simply perfect; it pushed the peerless style of an expert to the extreme.
He was five centimeters taller than Qin Fen. Looking at Qilin, Qin Fen could not help but admire him. Such a style isn’t lacking in comparison to Master’s!
“Qilin!? The backward Qin Fen is here to propose a marriage.”
The pieces of rocks flung into the air came crashing at this moment, smashing into the ground around Qin Fen. The dust lingering between the two formed an indescribable atmosphere.
At the sight of this scene and listening to Qin Fen’s steady and firm voice, Song Jia’s cheeks flushed red as she bit her lower lip in joy.
Qilin raised his eyelids slightly and looked at Qin Fen, his gaze calm and cold. Then, he slightly parted his lips and asked, “Why should I marry Song Jia to you, on what basis?”
Qin Fen stared intently at Qilin’s gaze intently and asked back calmly, “Isn’t this enough?”
“Is this enough?”
Qilin’s voice suddenly grew cold. His pupils under his sword-like eyebrows flickered with near-substantial killing intent.
At an age younger than twenty, he had become a fifteen-star martial dao master and killed two martial dao masters who had founded their own schools. His ability was even better than that of any of the previous divine beasts. He could almost be the youngest martial dao master in history.
Such strength at his age was enough in anyone’s opinion! But Qin Fen could clearly feel that there wasn’t any sense of a joke nor a test in Qilin’s words. All there was was an obvious intent to kill.
I can save my life if I chose to retreat at this moment. An absurd thought suddenly flashed in Qin Fen’s mind as he narrowed his big eyes and looked at Song Wendong. “Then, I want to ask for your advice in martial arts.”
“You will not be convinced if I suppress you with force.” Song Wendong, who had always been sitting till now, stood up slowly and walked out of the stone house, carrying his arms behind his back. “I don’t care whether you are convinced or not. But because you have smashed the stone house, I will tell you why it isn’t enough.”
Song Wendong’s big sleeves flapped as he raised his palm to his chest and spread his fingers, slowly covering the entire Qilin Peak.
When Qin Fen saw Song Wendong’s fingers opening, he felt as if all the flora and fauna on the Qilin Peak was under his control, as if he was the master of heaven and earth. Qilin had a complete grasp on his blood flow, his heartbeat, and the circulation of his true energy.
As Qilin’s five fingers spread, Song Wendong’s true energy exceeded the fifteen-star level. A palm pressure that could topple the mountains and overturn the seas pressed down on Qin Fen, blowing his black hair lightly, and pushing his spirit up a bit as well.
His martial dao had reached such a level! The two martial dao masters who had founded their own schools could not even compare to him. Only by seeing it with one’s own eyes and experiencing with one’s own body could one know what this palm pressure bore inside.
Be that as it may, there was an indifferent look on Song Wendong’s face. His calm voice was as clean as a baby’s. “Heaven and Earth in the Palm.”
Song Wendong took a step as the words exited his mouth. With his steady pace, his majestic aura of power mixed in with the pressure of Mt. Tai pressed towards the target.
Qin Fen’s shoulders quivered as his spine rose and fell like a dragon’s. Every joint in his palm popped as he brought his finger together. His arm muscles entangled with each other and hardened, giving the impression of a saber. His eyes were glued on Song Wendong’s Heaven and Earth in the Palm.
Heaven and Earth in the Palm, Heaven and Earth in the Palm! Song Wendong’s attack didn’t give rise to any howling of the wind. The strength of his tyrannical star-class gushed out from his palm in a free and unrestrained manner. The momentum of his palm kept on changing with his steps. And he didn’t hide it even a bit, as if he wanted to make Qin Fen feel oppressed by brandishing the martial intent through his palm as responses to every change flashed in Qin Fen’s mind endlessly. If the Yangtze River was behind Qin Fen, he would’ve been pushed into the river without any real contact.
When one’s martial arts reached this level, reaching the acme of perfection wasn’t enough to describe it. While Qilin’s palm technique was changing constantly in an obvious manner, Qilin’s footwork also didn’t stop changing. Qin Fen’s martial senses couldn’t predict where this fatal blow would really come from.
Valor, courage, and the heroic spirit could not simply fill the huge gap between both sides.
In the face of this huge gap, Qin Fen suddenly took a deep breath as his entire right arm turned as lustrous as jade with the flip of his hand. The distant Song Jia seemed to be able to see Qin Fen’s bones underneath his arm muscles.
In a flash, Qin Fen’s black pupils seemed to have been congealed from obsidian as he stared at the oncoming Heaven and Earth in the Palm less than three feet away from him without batting an eye. While the pressure blowing on his face pushed his facial skin back, he took a step forward with a shout as he greeted the oncoming blow with Split Mountains to Save Mother. Qin Fen betted everything on this jade-like arm.
Chi chi chi!
The first layer of palm pressure before Song Wendong’s Heaven and Earth in the Palm was pierced through by Qin Fen’s palm. His cutting palm cut through layer after layer of mist, like it was the bright crescent blade killing through a thousand soldiers.
BOOM! As their muscles and bones of their palms clashed together, their true energy pushed and collided with each other, several meters deep cracks appeared on the ground under their feet. The sound of true energy collision mixed in with the clash of their muscles and bones sounded much like a rear-end car crash on the road due to the sudden braking of the front car.
Qin Fen let out stifled groans in succession as his rooted feet slid ten meters back, leaving a three-inch deep trail. Be that as it may, he had successfully blocked that varying Heaven and Earth in the Palm.
Qilin, looking at Qin Fen’s pale face, waved his sleeve as he moved his hand behind his back. He didn’t immediately pursue Qin Fen. He gazed at Qin Fen with pride as if he occupied the steep cliff. “Don’t delude yourself by thinking that you can judge everything clearly by dodging my palm. Do you think blocking this attack gives you enough qualifications?”
Qin Fen’s heart beat hard a few times before his blood flow turned normal. He loosened his hip and raised his feet, taking the basic stance of Drawing the Bow of Shaolin Arhat Fist and pushing the battle intent in his mind non-stop. “Please guide me again.”
Song Wendong narrowed his eyes as he snapped his middle and index finger. It was a very casual finger flick.
The sharp gleam radiating through the narrowed eyes of Qin Fen grew sharper and sharper. Qilin hadn’t shown the slightest bit of mercy in his first attack. He might have suppressed his true energy, but not to the level of fifteen-star level; rather he had directly used the true energy of the sixteen-star level. Regardless of whether the strength between both sides was balanced or not, whether the level of skill was higher or lower, Qin Fen would have met his maker if he had not blocked this palm.
Qin Fen took two breaths of cold air, watching the oncoming Formless Fingers of Disaster in the air. In response, he turned his waist immediately, turning his ankle and feet along with it. His entire figure turned at high speed, raising a cloud of dust. The almost invisible Formless Finger of Disaster immediately took form in the dust. In the next moment, his jade-like arm drew half a circle as they welcomed the attack.
BOOM! The subsequent shockwave of energy covered the entire sky in a thick cloud of dust. The gyro-like spinning Qin Fen flew six meters before he used his left foot as a fulcrum and drew a big arc around him with his right foot. Only then could he stopped his body from rotating.
“Blocked!?” Qilin raised his right arm slightly and locked onto Qin Fen with his index finger. Suddenly, his wrist shook a bit, similar to when an ordinary person fires a gun and feels the recoil.
Formless Finger of Disaster was invisible and formless! It didn’t give rise to any howling of the wind as it pierced through the air, nor was there any notable finger sword energy. Nonetheless, Qin Fen’s martial senses could still sense that sharp thrust. He flung his palm at the oncoming blow using Heart Excising Hands! The Formless Finger of Disaster left a visible cut on his palm as he changed its trajectory.
Song Wendong didn’t speak. His fingers just shook again and again. Only Song Zhenting truly saw everything. This time, it wasn’t just one Formless Finger of Disasters but rather a couple dozen in a short period of time. Furthermore, he wasn’t showing any signs of stopping. Immediately, Qin Fen used Thundersteps to avoid them but the Formless Fingers of Disaster which had been fired long ago blocked his road.
It was already impossible to escape the Formless Fingers of Disaster. Qin Fen could feel Qilin’s murderous and violent aura. The next moment, he leaned back as he took half a step forward with his right leg. His right and left arms drew a fan shape before him, one using softness while the other using hardness. In Song Jia’s eyes, Qin Fen suddenly seemed to have a few dozen extra arms before him.
As the first Formless Finger of Disaster approached, Qin Fen’s soft energy of Yin Dragon circled around his finger energy continuously while the hard energy of Yang Dragon broke out quickly. In the next moment, Qin Fen broke the weakened finger energy with a punch as his hair fluttered from the subsequent impact of energy.
Song Wendong narrowed his eyes as a gleam of surprise flashed in it. He flicked his finger a hundred times again and again as his wrist fired finger energies of Formeless Finger of Disaster immediately after.
BANG! Qin Fen took a step back.
BANG BANG! Qin Fen took two steps back, one after another.
Song Zhenting was surprised to see that his father was using the true energy of the sixteen-star level. Only, the intensity of his true energy was of an ordinary sixteen-star level martial artist rather than that of the sixteen-star Qilin. Every finger seemed simple and straightforward but only Qin Fen, who was fighting, was understood one thing clearly. These seemingly simple Formless Fingers of Disaster contained thousands of changed in it, which made it difficult for anyone to realize whether the oncoming finger was stronger or weaker. If all one could do was passively block them using their sight, the victim would be unable to find any opportunity to attack.
After a hundred fingers, Qin Fen’s jade-like gloss had grown dimmer. Song Wendong had control over the overall situation with his fast and slow energy fingers. And very soon, he had forced Qin Fen to exhaust his true energy and physical strength.
Without even resorting to startling the universe and moving the gods type of martial arts, Song Wendong had made Qin Fen feel like he was fighting a few dozen martial dao masters as easily as raising his fist with the style of a grandmaster. Even if the true energy was consumed bit by bit, there was always a point when one would expend his true energy completely.
Fair or unfair!?
Qin Fen clearly understood Song Wendong’s approach. How could one seek justice without any real strength? That in itself was the biggest injustice. He didn’t need to convince anyone, all he need was to beat the unconvinced to death, and naturally, no unconvinced would remain in this world.
How overbearing and peremptory!? Qin Fen began to understand the thinking of divine beast martial artists.
I am a divine beast, I am the king!
Without such thinking, becoming a divine beast martial artist would forever remain a dream.
Fight back! Is there any way to fight back! Qin Fen, taking advantage of his abundantly remaining true energy and physical strength, used softness and hardness on his legs; he was using Limitless Twin Dragon on his legs. Suddenly, his body turned fiercely as his arm muscles bulged with softness and hardness. Wave after waves of shockwaves appeared before his chest. His fingers frolicked like monkeys everywhere it went. He suddenly pushed his body forward at high speed as he raised arms with alternating softness and hardness, covering the entire sky. A wave of fury with a group of monkeys mixed in it assaulted again and again. In Song Jia’s eyes, Qin Fen had turned into a giant monkey, clawing and smashing with his arms non-stop, breaking the Formless Fingers of Disaster, one after another.
Godly Fists: Great Sage Wreaking Havoc in Heaven! Qin Fen integrated a bunch of combat skills like Raging Berserker Tide, Guardian Deity Macabre, and created this violent martial art of Godly Fists!
Qin Fen suddenly changed his tactics to deal with the endless Formless Fingers of Disaster. For the first time, he broke through Song Wendong’s locked on Formless Fingers of Disaster with the momentum of Wreaking Havoc in the Heaven momentum. And when he charged into the densest of Formless Fingers of Disaster, he was surprised by Qilin’s scale of measurement. Qilin, with a cold snort, suppressed the true energy from the sixteen-star level to the fifteen-star level; even the intensity was the same as Qin Fen’s. With the highly concentrated true energy, he lowered his waist as he flipped, flung, and thrust his arm using his shoulder in complete harmony!
Song Zhenting’s body shook. This blow might seem natural and unrestrained but it was the peak attack Qilin could launch at the fifteen-star level. That true energy concentration had exceeded that of Qin Fen.
This attack of the fifteen-star level was far more dangerous than the previous attack of the sixteen-star level! Qin Fen waved his arms a few dozen times to take this attack. The Formless Finger of Disaster pierced through the Great Sage Wreaking Havoc in Heaven and rushed straight towards Qin Fen’s head.
“Qin Fen lost… he might even die…”
Song Zhenting, watching Qin Fen’s body flying off the ground uncontrollably, shook his head again and again. Qin Fen’s sudden change of move had almost turned the whole battle around. It was precisely because of this powerful and unconstrained style that he stirred up the martial spirit of the divine beast. Owing to which, Qilin suppressed his cultivation to fifteen-star level to tell Qin Fen with his action that his control is a few streets behind that of a divine beast! And if he wanted to know how far he was behind, he could trade with his life.
“Qin Fen…”
Song Jia wanted to rush over but she was grabbed by her shoulder by Song Zhenting. She could only watch Qin Fen crash into the ground, sliding a few dozen meters before rolling down the stairs.
Seeing Qin Fen leave the Qilin Peak, Song Wendong put his arms behind his back; he didn’t give chase. He only stared down at unconscious Qin Fen rolling to the feet of Steward Hou from above. As the true energy of the Formless Finger of Disaster rushed towards his head, blood suddenly gushed out from the root of his neck. Qin Fen had forcefully blocked the invading true energy outside his brain, protecting his brain. This was the last thing Qin Fen did to protect himself before he went unconscious.
So painful! Qin Fen, floating in the dark space, was surprised to find the situation around him. Didn’t I enter the strange spiritual space every time Song Wendong knocked me out? What happened today?
“How did you feel after the third fight?”
Master, with a unique elegance, walked out of the dark space and gazed at Qin Fen with a smile.
“Not so good.” Qin Fen shook his head. “I may have made progress by the third time but it wasn’t much. My control may be beyond anyone in fifteen-star level, it is far worse than that of a divine beast.”
BANG…
Qilin came down the first step and slowly walked towards Qin Fen, step by step, locking his gaze onto the unconscious Qin Fen
“Who would have thought there were still such powerful martial artists in the world.” A look admiration appeared on Master’s face. “Is this a divine beast martial artist?”
Master, looking at Qin Fen, shook his head and sighed again and again. “What a pity! It’s really a pity…”
Qin Fen was very confused. Today’s master was very different than before. His elegant appearance gave him the feeling of a wild beast.
“Unfortunately, your body can only handle my possession for only fifteen minutes… sigh!” Master said slowly, gazing at Qin Fen. “I have been trapped here for too long. Can you let me control your body, can you lend it to me for fifteen minutes?”
“Lend it to you?” The corner of Qin Fen’s eyes twitched.
“Yes! Lend it to me!” Master’s eyes flickered in frenzy. “No one can disconnect your spirit from your body unless you voluntarily lend it to me for some time. It’s too boring here. I can easily meet a divine beast martial artist, can I use your body? Of course, I will not use it for free! The physical control may be given to me temporarily, you will get to watch one of the rarest fights in the world as a spectator.”
Qin Fen, staring blankly at the slowly going crazy Master, took a breath of cold air, and asked, “You want to use my body to fight Qilin? Is that possible?”
“Theoretically, it is possible.” Master nodded lightly. “Only, I can only employ strength up to your star-class when using your body. I am unable to breakthrough to sixteen-star level, or even black hole level.”
“Fifteen minutes!?”
“Yes, fifteen minutes.” A look of endless pity appeared on the frantic face of Master. “Your body cannot withstand my strength for too long. If I use it for a long time, it will cause your meridians to break. And you won’t be able to reconnect them in the future ever again. Also, it might even cause irreparable mental damage, turning you into an idiot. So, kid, how about you lend your body to me for fifteen minutes? I have wanted to spar with such a martial artist even in my time. I am unable to do it now. I can only borrow your body, fight with him at a discount.”
Discount!? Qin Fen, looking at the frantic and excited Master and then looking at the endless dark space, nodded his agreement. Whether it is because of Master staying in this endless darkness or the graciousness shown by Master to me, I should let him complete this wish.
“Really? Do you really agree?” A child-like happy smile appeared on Master’s frantic face. His eyes grew misty as his body quivered uncontrollably. “Do you really agree?”
Qin Fen, looking at the enthusiastic look on Master’s face, recalled his appearance when Qin Fen had completed his Nirvana Marrow Transformation. Apparently, the heart of one of the most enthusiastic martial artists is hiding under this elegant human figure.
“Really.” Qin Fen nodded and replied with a smile, “To be honest, I would also like to see Master fight with Earth’s divine beast. As long as one isn’t a fool, he or she would very much want to see such an eye-catching battle. Your fight can let me catch sight of my martial dao. It will be far more beneficial to me than fighting him ten times.”
“You are wise! Kid, you just wait and watch! This will be the most exciting fight you will ever see!”
Master’s forthright voice reverberated in the entire dark space. He had already started to melt into nothingness. Suddenly, Qin Fen noticed a white, window-like screen appearing in this dark space. Apparently, he could see the outside world through this window.
