Chapter 151 – Measure for Measure
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“’Divine Acacia Power’? Is this it? How mediocre.” Lin Ming slightly shook his head. To think that this cultivation method would actually dare to call itself ‘Divine’. This mystic power was truly worthless.
Zhang Guanyu was formidable; this was not wrong. But all of his suppressing strength originated from his Bone Forging stage cultivation. As for this ‘Divine Acacia Power’, this cultivation brought forth a thick true essence, but it was impure.
Perhaps it was because he had cultivated his carnal power with so many others, but whatever it was had caused impure true essence to mix into his body that hadn’t yet been fully refined, so it had become like this.
“Big but not firm; flashy but lacking all substance.” Lin Ming quickly made a judgment; he could break through all of this with his ‘Flow like Silk’ technique!
“Lin Ming, you ridiculed me that I could not break through to the second layer of the ‘Divine Acacia Power’, and you’re not wrong. Right now I am only at the Large Success stage of the ‘Divine Acacia Power’s’ first layer. For now, let’s see just how long you can even deal with the ‘Divine Acacia Power’s’ Large Success of the first layer!”
“More useless words. Make your move.”
Lin Ming held his spear in one hand and pointed it straight at Zhang Guanyu. The silvery-white 1200 jin Heavy Profound Soft Spear began to tremble from Lin Ming’s striking aura. The air around them began to shudder as ripples appeared that were visible to the naked eye, seeming as if they could tear anything they touched to shreds. This effect was caused by the advancement of ‘Flow like Silk’, when that terrifying vibrating true essence was poured into the Heavy Profound Soft Spear.
This power clashed against Zhang Guanyu’s aura, and the imaginary sounds of weapons striking each other reverberated in the air. In this moment, as Lin Ming stood up tall and commanding, the grandiose aura that he emitted cause the hearts of the young noble girls to madly jump.
“Receive my sword, ‘Ecstasy Cut’!” As Zhang Guanyu cried out, an illusionary sword appeared in the air, shrouded with a jade light, as if it was being bathed in red-hot flames. It turned into a series of phantasmal images that pierced towards Lin Ming.
This sword move was not too fast, but that move emitted an aura that caused one to feel as if there was a disorder in space. The sword light was incomparably sharp, and it had simultaneously fused the strange aura of the ‘Divine Acacia Power’ with Zhang Guanyu’s proud speed.
Pof!
Zhang Guanyu pierced through Lin Ming’s chest. Before the audience even had time to cry out in alarm, Lin Ming, who had been stabbed, began to slowly vanish…
Afterimage!
Lin Ming’s body had already unified with the wind, and his movements were erratic, drifting from place to place. This time, he did not use that nuanced microscopic level of movement, but instead he had opened distance between them and increased the sphere of his range. After Zhang Guanyu had used the ‘Divine Acacia Power’, every move of his began to contain powerful true essence fluctuations. It would be easy to be injured if he tried to fend off that power in such a small area.
“Let’s see just who is faster!” Zhang Guanyu coldly snorted. His form rushed forward like a blinding tornado. Because he had already revolved the ‘Divine Acacia Power’, his speed had accelerated, and his shadow seemed to have integrated into nothingness. Every sword move he made was swifter and fiercer, like bolts of lightning during a thunderstorm; even his sword light was difficult to see!
Peng peng peng peng peng!
The sound of metal and true essence colliding in the air continuously sounded. Sword light and spear light glittered in the night sky. The formidable auras and shockwaves were as if a tremendous wind had swept up the entire audience.
The stone ground of the military field was broken apart like tofu, and a hail of stone chips flew into the air, scattering in all directions like a rain of arrows!
“Watch out!”
Although the military field was wide, the battle between these two young men was too crazily fierce in intensity; raging true essence had been fired into the ground!
“Retreat!”
“Step back!”
The young elites present frantically revolved their true essence to protect their bodies. Some young aristocrats who had low cultivations were protected by their bodyguards. Under their protection, they immediately retreated to a safe distance.
“This is simply too fearful. These flying rocks can put holes in the body!” An aristocratic junior watched with his own wide eyes as a crushed stone was sent shooting out by the collision of true essence. It struck a stone column near the military field, and the result was that it had created an inch deep hole before crumbling inside.
“This is only the aftermath of their true essence colliding. If I were to face these two, even if I were protecting myself with true essence, I fear I would already be turned into a hornets’ nest!” The one speaking was a martial artist at the early Altering Muscle stage. He was only an ordinary Altering Muscle martial artist, equivalent to a peak Viscera Training stage martial artist of the Seven Profound Martial House. He had heard the rumors about Lin Ming, but couldn’t imagine that he could be as powerful as they said. Now he had finally witnessed the power of Lin Ming, who was also only at the Altering Muscle stage.
“Why is Lin Ming’s speed so high? Isn’t the movement skill he chose the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’? Was he taught some top-tier movement technique after he began his Seven Profound Valleys’ core disciple test?” The person speaking thought that only a top-tier movement technique of the Seven Profound Valleys could have such terrifying velocity.
By now, an aristocratic junior more familiar with movement techniques spoke. She hesitated as she said, “I… I think that what Lin Ming is using is the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’.”
“What kind of joke are you playing!”
“I’m not lying. Look at Lin Ming’s steps. Those are the Slide-Step, Fly on Grass, Mouse Crossing Street, Carp Diving Through Dragon Gate… these are all the basic steps of the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’!”
Because Lin Ming had opened the distance between himself and Zhang Guanyu, there were some aristocratic juniors with high enough cultivations that they could just barely keep up with his movements. But they had never thought that these ghostly movements were from the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’.
As soon as this point was raised, everyone began looking at Lin Ming’s footsteps. The ‘Foundation Movement Technique’ was one of the common and looked down upon movement skills. Those present had some insight to this. As they looked, they were all completely startled into mindless shock.
This truly was the ‘Foundation Movement Technique!’
How was this possible!?
“Maybe… maybe this Lin Ming relied upon his monstrous perception, and rewrote the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’ to improve it, and that’s why he has this present speed?”
“You say that… that’s just going too far!
Boom boom boom!
Spear light surged, sword light chaotically danced, rocks broke, and endless true essence fluttered in the wind.
Although Lin Ming was a full stage below Zhang Guanyu, he did not seem to be suppressed by him at all.
“Cool Breeze Cut!”
“Bright Moonlight Sword!”
In this protracted battle, Zhang Guanyu’s offense became even more savage. In every few moves he would swipe out with a martial skill! Because Zhang Guanyu’s attack speed was so fast, in just one breath of time, he was able to release two martial skills at once!
“Damn, this is just too abnormal. He can also use martial skills like this? And with such thick true essence? If it were me, I would have already overdrawn my true essence after a few martial skills!”
“No, what’s more amazing is Lin Ming. Under the attacks of so many intense martial skills, can he still block them all. How is this possible? I heard that the manuals he chose were the ‘Foundation Spear Technique’ and the ‘Body Tearing Bone Shattering Fist’. Not only that, but his cultivation is also inferior to Zhang Guanyu’s, so how is he managing to stop all these martial skills?
Some aristocratic juniors thought that was completely inconceivable. In their view, how could normal moves stop a martial skill, especially so many of them?
“True essence manifestation…” A slightly cold voice suddenly sounded out.
As soon as everyone turned to look, they were immediately surprised. The one speaking was Ling Sen!
Since the young elites of Sky Fortune City were invited to this grand banquet, of course Ling Sen, who was the elder senior apprentice brother of the Seven Profound Martial House’s Heavenly Abode had also been invited. It was only that he had arrived very late.
True essence manifestation could be used during any normal attack. The released true essence was able to condense and substantialize into a true form, so that every normal strike one made would be comparable to an ordinary martial artist’s martial skill.
Ling Sen knew as soon as Lin Ming had attained the sixth rank on the Ranking Stone, that he had been able to manifest his true essence.
Lin Ming was only at the early Altering Muscle stage, while Ling Sen himself had just reached a half-step into the Bone Forging stage several months ago. Even now, he was only barely able to touch the threshold of true essence manifestation.
Moreover, what Ling Sen was most spooked by was not this true essence manifestation, but Lin Ming’s movement!
Ling Sen’s appearance had caught the attention of many people. After all, Ling Sen’s eyesight was far beyond all of them.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ling, isn’t true essence manifestation a level that only a Pulse Condensation martial artist can achieve? Isn’t Lin Ming only at the Altering Muscle stage? This… isn’t this just too abnormal?”
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ling, is Lin Ming displaying the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’? How come his speed is so quick?”
Ling Sen took a deep breath, and slowly said, “What Lin Ming is displaying, is truly the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’.
After Ling Sen confirmed their suspicious, everyone gasped as if the air had been sucked out of them. Naturally, none of them doubted Ling Sen’s words.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ling, how can the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’ be so fast?”
Ling Sen stayed silent. Even though Lin Ming was using the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’, it seemed as if there was some profound mystery contained within his steps; something that he couldn’t grasp. If there was anything different about the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’ that he knew about, then it would seem as if this version of the ‘Foundation Movement Technique’ contained some kind of soul and charm. This set of movements was alive!
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Zhang Guanyu’s martial skills that he used began to grow swifter and more violent. Because martial skills required some time to activate, Zhang Guanyu had also mixed in the skill of inscription from the inscription symbol that Lin Ming had drawn. With Zhang Guanyu’s status, he did not lack any high-level martial skills. The power of this skill of inscription was not too great, but the speed with which he could use it was quicker, thus Zhang Guanyu repeatedly used it.
“Haha, how does it feel being struck by the very skill of inscription that you created? Isn’t it a wonderful feeling? You are just a person who digs his own grave!” Zhang Guanyu insolently laughed.
“You really do speak so much nonsense. Your movements are so fast and the wind coming from you is so fierce, you should be afraid of that wind cutting your blithe tongue!”
“Humph, you court death!”
These two people began increase their fighting tempo, and each strike was more brutal than the last. This level of battle, even a Pulse Condensation Period martial artist would have their heart tremble if they saw this!
“Ecstasy Cut!” Zhang Guanyu’s sword filled with true essence, and he took a forceful step forwards. The sword began to emit a keen wail, and the sword thrust out like a bolt of lightning. This was a martial skill that had been enhanced by the ‘Divine Acacia Power’; even sound seemed to be swallowed by it.
‘Flow like Silk’!
Lin Ming turned and thrust his spear out. Vibrating true essence scattered from him in all directions, and surged towards Zhang Guanyu like a raging tide. With the medium-grade human-step treasure, the Heavy Profound Soft Spear, Lin Ming’s ‘Flow like Silk’ had become even more powerful.
However, as Zhang Guanyu faced this vibrating true essence, he only grinned like a madman. The true essence in his sword suddenly contracted, and congealed into a sharp shape just like needle, stabbed out at Lin Ming.
Poh poh poh poh poh poh!
The layer upon layer of wavelike vibrating true essence was punctured by Zhang Guanyu’s sword as if it were strip of cloth, and he instantly arrived in front of Lin Ming!
Clang!
Zhang Guanyu’s sword stabbed at Lin Ming’s spear shaft. The straight Heavy Profound Soft Spear was immediately impacted by a formidable strength and turned into a silver crescent.