NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105: Genius Battle
Author's Note: I apologize for the quality of the previous two chapters; they were rushed and not fully developed due to real-life pressures that left me with little time to write. Things will return to normal from here on.
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If you asked anyone among the spectators of this match whether they expected to see something that would completely blow their minds and make them doubt what they thought had been 'common sense' up until today just half an hour ago, they would have probably refined you into a demonic pill for advancement!
But as it were, the reality was that not only did they bear witness to two monstrous young men facing off with peak second-realm auras that felt like they could even engulf those in the third realm, but one of them actually utilized a famous second-realm demonic daoist art at the Perfection stage!
However, while some were stunned into stupefaction from this, even more were completely flabbergasted by the fact that Li Ling was even still intact, much less coming off with only what seemed to be skin damage on his chest.
As seen with Li Ling himself towards others, whenever he utilized perfection stage daoist arts, most of his foes, no matter how powerful, often struggled to resist the fate of death. Of course, a significant reason for that was that Li Ling had been fighting the chaff of the cultivation world, who had realms but not skill nor talent.
Perfection stage daoist arts could cross realms up to a point within the same overall cultivation path (Qi, Spirit, Essence), but only against average enemies. When launched against a foe with similar transcendent talent, the outcome with Li Ling was exactly what would occur.
But Bai Yegui, who was as young as Li Ling and had just started out, did not know this. As such, his confident smile froze into one of shock, as if he had seen something so abhorrently impossible that his brain was shutting down.
Meanwhile, Li Ling grimaced and brushed his chest, sending flakes of dead skin down to the ground as new skin began to regrow, his regeneration kicking in. However, he had to admit, he felt the threat of death for a split second there and had to condense his Blood Aura onto his chest at the last second to prevent being run through by the Yin Thunder.
Even worse, the Restoration Spell was the second most costly daoist art in his arsenal after the Dao Seeing Eye, something he usually downplayed because his Magic Power was purer and vaster than most other Foundation Establishment cultivators, granting him significant reserves.
But to heal the damage from the Yin Thunder required a mixture of expulsion of the remnant malevolent yin energy versus restoring flesh that was not only dead but resisting the command to come back to life. In terms of numbers, Li Ling estimated that just healing from this cost 10% of his Magic Power!
Damn, fighting one genius was more costly than fighting a group of average blokes, even at the same realm. This was just Bai Yegui's first daoist art usage; he could cast that bloody thing a couple more times if his Magic Power was as good as Li Ling's own, which was not a good thing for Li Ling.
As such, he decided to also put his opponent on the spot.
"Not bad, not bad. You are truly quite special to master a technique to such a level but…" Li Ling praised while finishing up his recovery, his words snapping Bai Yegui out of his stupor.
Then Li Ling chuckled with a dark look. "…I hope you don't think you are the only one who can achieve such a feat."
Immediately, Bai Yegui felt alarm bells ringing in his mind, his own cultivated foresight technique based on yin energy telling him that whatever Li Ling was about to do would be extremely dangerous for him, possibly even involving life and death!
The shocked young man cast away his disdain and stupor, immediately roaring with defiance as he manifested his full Hungry Ghost Avatar, which was actually at Grand Completion already!
One should know that Grand Completion only came at the peak of Core Formation, when one had the entire upper body of their Hungry Ghost Avatar completed. At Nascent Soul, the Hungry Ghost Avatar would become a full-body Dharma Idol that replaced one's Nascent Soul and would continue to strengthen in terms of size and power with each new realm achieved till Ascension.
A normal Foundation Establishment practitioner of the Hungry Ghost Path should only be at Minor Completion, which was to have a head and two arms, which Bai Yegui had displayed in the earlier physical bout. Clearly, to unveil this, not only was he going all out, but he was also displaying his talent!
At this time, Li Ling sucked in a deep breath, his newly healed chest heaving, before exhaling with such intense force, causing a huge wave of flames to spread out across the stage rapidly, even reaching its edges and pressing against the Grade 3 array protecting the crowd.
Bai Yegui, who unleashed his power, had his pupils constrict to needle points because his powerful spirit sense was actually seared when coming into contact with the approaching sea of flames, causing him to feel pain in his Sea of Consciousness.
This fact alone told him that this attack wasn't simple, and pairing it with what Li Ling said earlier…
"Fuck! Another Perfection stage daoist art?" the same fellow from before shouted with a pale face, wondering if he was seeing things right.
Since when did practicing daoist arts to the limit become so easy, even at the second stage?
The Deva Path Lord who was acting as the referee was already sweating bullets, completely burdened and overwhelmed by the power of the duo, investing all his power into maintaining the Grade 3 formation's protection over the crowd. He actually had no space or ability to stop the fighting in the ring, so the two of them could actually end up killing each other if they went too far!
Bai Yegui also spat out a wave of chilling Yin Qi that was so cold it caused frost to appear on the stage around him and even created condensation in the air, which met with Li Ling's flames. Unfortunately, this was not a daoist art but rather a natural use of Yin Qi, so it was not able to do anything but delay the incoming flames for a bit without even weakening them.
Furious, Bai Yegui's Hungry Ghost Avatar roared and manifested intense Yin Qi on each of its arms, clapping out toward the flames and releasing its energy wantonly. This method was far more effective though costly, keeping the flames at bay and creating a safe zone around Bai Yegui which the flames bypassed.
However, Bai Yegui sighed with relief too soon, as this was not a turn-based battle where Li Ling would wait for him to resolve the attack before striking once more. In a flash of movement, Li Ling wore a casual smile of mockery as he appeared in front of the Hungry Ghost Avatar, his body surging with potent Blood Aura.
Without saying anything, he struck out using the Sky Rending Palm, which smashed against the torso area of the avatar where Bai Yegui's chest was located. To that end, Bai Yegui, who was caught off guard, planned to withstand this attack and then counter it with another one of his own.
However, he discovered to his surprise and puzzlement that his Hungry Ghost Avatar was completely unharmed where Li Ling touched it, even as the Asura Madman smiled widely at him, as if waiting to see a good show.
"What exactly have you—DAARGHH!" Bai Yegui initially frowned and asked with a grim tone, but his face suddenly changed when he felt a huge force strike his chest and sent him flying, spitting out volumes of blood the entire way.
CRASH!
Bai Yegui fell out of the stage's arena and broke through the wall of the dueling area, dragging a deep ditch through the earth that could form its own mini river. His outcome caused the crowd to gasp with shock, all eyes falling on the fellow who could barely push himself up from the ground, only able to cough weakly while spitting blood.
Yet despite this, Bai Yegui's eyes were filled with an intense light. He did not look at all like someone defeated, full of anger and unwillingness, but rather like a treasure hunter who had seen a rare gem, or an old lecher who had seen a prime young beauty.
The Deva Path Lord in charge of the battle sighed with relief and fatigue, feeling as if he had weathered a thunderous storm while on a tiny raft at sea. It was so intense that he even felt his extremely firm bottleneck for his cultivation technique begin to loosen significantly, making him feel a hint of surprise.
But he did not forget his duty at this time, using a daoist art to make the announcement of the match results with a booming voice. "The winner of this duel is Asura Path Lord Li Ling!"
There were no cheers or cries from an excited crowd, just deathly silence as many people began exchanging voice transmissions, some even overtly taking out talismans to send messages to the people or forces behind them.
Two new monsters had emerged in the sect, and soon, their names would be known by everyone.
Li Ling did not care about this. Fame and power in a demonic sect were more useful than in a righteous sect. Rather, he jumped down from the stage and walked up to Bai Yegui slowly, a smarmy grin on his face.
"Well, I won. Now hand over the technique I want." Li Ling demanded casually.
Bai Yegui flicked a finger and sent over the jade slip with the Tai Xu Mysterious Method. He also took a pill to recover his vital energy, recuperating quickly while Li Ling inspected the jade with his spirit sense. Upon scanning, the entire method was imprinted in his Sea of Consciousness, and he opened the Infinite Slaughter System to check if it had loaded on.
｢Infinite Slaughter System
Owner: Li Ling
Status: Healthy
Age: 20/350
Slaughter Points: 4,717
Daoist Arts:
Fire Stream Art – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Mana Regressing Art – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Dao Seeing Eye – Entry (0/1500)
Heavenly Network – Entry (0/5000)
Spirit Sense Control – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Earth Tunneling Art – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Golden Blockade Technique – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Restoration Spell – Entry (0/200)
Spirit Isolation Mantra – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Yin-Yang Reversal Art – Expert (0/1500)
The Meteor Spell – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Dao Soldier Technique – Entry (0/5000)
Memory Archive Extraction – Entry (0/250)
Blessed Augury – Perfection (Cannot be Limit Broken, Insufficient Realm.)
Tai Xu Mysterious Method – Uninitiated (0/1000)
Non Daoist Techniques:
Li Family Spear Technique – Perfection (Can be Limit Broken, 0/50)
Disguise Art – Perfection (Can be Limit Broken, 0/50)
Swift Swallow Step – Perfection (Can be Limit Broken, 0/50)
Sky Rending Palm – Perfection (Can be Limit Broken, 0/50)
Hidden Sleeve Art – Mastery (0/4).｣
Li Ling was satisfied to see it there, but also quite shocked by the steep initial price. It cost a whole thousand Slaughter Points just to get started with the technique and achieve the Entry level. However, the more it was like this, the more he was excited to see what benefits it would yield.
"What's your name?" Bai Yegui finally asked after recovering for a bit, rising to his feet with a slight shake of his body.
Li Ling glanced at him faintly. "I won't tell you. You're probably going to die in a few days anyway, so don't worry yourself about my matters."
Bai Yegui frowned at the inauspicious words and was about to retort when Li Ling made a step and left, not willing to engage him anymore. Bai Yegui's lips pursed, but he decided to investigate Li Ling further because he now felt like he finally had a peer that could rival his own monstrous talent!
As for Li Ling's warning, he tossed it to the back of his mind. He had even survived being killed and was able to repossess his own body, gaining unparalleled Yin talent. How could he be stopped by anything that Li Ling could think or know of?
......
Li Ling went back to the stall area and continued casually browsing, looking now for a technique that could increase his comprehension. After all, he couldn't always be stuck having to shop for various daoist arts and mantras when he needed them, stuck in an endless cycle.
If he had heaven-defying comprehension abilities, he could create his own arts and mantras on the spot based on what he needed and even master them without wasting Slaughter Points, allowing him to externalize them for more important things.
But such a technique was easier said than done to find. There were countless lesser ones, like those that enhanced the Sea of Consciousness' area, some that increased its depth and some that fortified its foundation. There were others that also claimed to be able to do so for the spirit and soul, but Li Ling already had a maxed-out Purple Mansion due to the Blessed Augury divination technique.
Not to mention, that it sounded contradictory. Finding a daoist art that boosted overall comprehension when every daoist art needed that very same comprehension ability to even understand and be practiced…
Was this considered running in circles?
No matter how Li Ling searched, he couldn't find anything like that. He was tempted to use Blessed Augury again, but after the stunt it pulled with Bai Yegui, Li Ling knew that his threats toward the heavens had been taken seriously.
Which was not surprising given his configuration.
Everyone in Firmament Heaven often cursed the heavens for various reasons, and more beings than one could count had also threatened to kill it, some even achieving the minimum power to do so. However, without exception, all had failed either because Heaven's Will outplayed them or they were too weak.
But Li Ling was different. With the Infinite Slaughter System, his future was not confined to the lower realm of Firmament Heaven, so achieving the feature of killing the heavens was very possible for him.
And of course, even if he did not say it out loud and even if the Will of Heaven couldn't read his mind to know, that didn't mean it would be ignorant of the threat. After all, it was the Will of Heaven; it controlled the laws of reality in Firmament Heaven, so it could naturally peer into the River of Time and see its own demise at the hands of Li Ling.
However, precisely because of this, it was bound by the rules of non-interference, so it could not actively harm Li Ling, not even able to send threats his way. It could only act in the most indirect of manners, utilizing Li Ling's own action of seeking answers from it to lead him down a path of possible danger.
However, as was seen with Bai Yegui, the answer given was still true, just loaded with traps. He could find what he wanted if he used the Blessed Augury, but he'd also be prepared for the Will of Heaven to load more trouble onto his back.
As it were, there was actually no indication that he had escaped Bai Yegui's Fate Tribulation. He just hoped the fellow could drive and break the tribulation, which was why he gave up the Void Breaking Talisman. With that, unless he was an idiot, he should be able to escape from whatever predicament would affect him.
As such, when the sky began to darken, Li Ling could only return to his courtyard with a feeling of unhappiness. Once inside, he saw Kong Beiwu and Luo Roumei cultivating silently, not having anything else to do while waiting for Li Ling.
This made Li Ling ponder what to do with them for now. The method of spirit root extraction was something he wouldn't get on the street, as it was in the Whispering Blood Wing of his hall, requiring merit points to redeem.
On top of that, the general war was already in its middle stage, with a majority of the dispatches being completed and the area around the Black Heaven Sect being razed bit by bit. In about another seven days, the war should reach its final stage, with the siege on the Black Heaven Sect beginning at that point.
While he could farm Slaughter Points by ravaging cities, every area had been allocated, or he would have long taken a new dispatch from Pang Wen. It wasn't exactly illegal to go and farm on someone else's dispatch, but that would be something that caused life and death enmity, and Li Ling did not feel that it was worth it.
There would always be Wars of Annihilation going on around the huge continent, allowing him to earn Slaughter Points, not to mention that he could just slaughter anyone not affiliated with the demonic path; it wasn't like there was some taboo against mass murder if you had the strength to deal with the backlash.
Li Ling decided to stay in for this week, practicing the various Refinement Arts he had purchased, namely Alchemy, Artifact Refining, talisman making, Formations and Arrays, and Beast Taming, all at the second realm.
But while he was doing so, he also had a sinister idea.
He called Kong Beiwu and Luo Roumei before him, both of whom bowed with reverence, wondering what their Supreme Master needed them for.
"Luo Roumei has a Heavenly Wood Spirit Root, and Kong Beiwu has a top grade that is currently advancing to the Earth grade. In order to facilitate the upgrade and also provide use for me, the two of you are going to spend as much time from now until I deem you necessary to harvest in procreation, hoping you can yield offspring with spirit roots at the same level as yours."
Li Ling's words caused the faces of the duo to change greatly!