If he wasn’t confident, Lin Yan wouldn’t have chosen Lin Mingjian as his opponent.
But he truly couldn’t figure out what made Lin Yan so confident he could defeat Lin Mingjian, or at the very least, escape unscathed.
Among everyone present, only Lin Mingxi’s expression was completely calm. She knew Lin Yan had condensed a Sword Pill with four Perfect Level Sword Intents. Even if he couldn’t defeat Lin Mingjian due to the gap in their Realms, Lin Yan could use his Sword Intent to block him for a moment, buying himself a chance to concede.
"Perfect. I’d also like to see just what this year’s top newcomer is capable of."
As the one who was challenged, Lin Mingjian was stunned for a moment after Lin Yan called his name, but his expression quickly darkened. Lin Yan clearly wasn’t taking him seriously.
’The grudge between the Third and Fourth Branches is common knowledge. I certainly won’t hold back when I strike. For Lin Yan to still dare challenge me, he must be confident he can escape unscathed.’
’Escape unscathed?’
A ruthless glint appeared in Lin Mingjian’s eyes. ’If Lin Yan can really escape unscathed, then my cultivation to the Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation will have been for nothing.’
"The clan holds this competition to encourage you to cultivate diligently and strive to catch up, not for you to act rashly or fight to the death." Lin Shouzheng’s gaze rested on each of them for a moment. His tone wasn’t heavy, but his words carried weight. "Know when to stop."
Lin Mingjian cupped his fist. "Don’t worry, Fifth Uncle. I know my limits."
Though his words were for Lin Shouzheng, his gaze remained fixed on Lin Yan. There was no killing intent in his eyes, but there was an undisguised coldness.
Lin Yan also cupped his fist. Without another word, he slowly drew the Abyssal Sword.
Lin Mingjian likewise drew two sabers from his back with both hands.
The Dual Blades consisted of one long and one short blade. The long blade was black as ink, the short one white as snow. Blood Gang flowed across their surfaces, one dark and one bright, reflecting a frigid light under the sun.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed in a low voice, "Lin Mingjian really isn’t planning to hold back. He brought out his Spiritual Weapon right from the start."
"It’s the Third Branch versus the Fourth Branch, how could he possibly hold back? Now we’ll see if Lin Yan can withstand two strikes from Lin Mingjian. If he can, he’ll have a chance to surrender immediately. The fear is that he’ll be badly injured after just two blows."
On the Third Branch’s side, Lin Mingchen and the others wore worried expressions. But things had already reached this point; they could only pray that Lin Yan could take two strikes from Lin Mingjian.
"You can make the first move."
With his Dual Blades in hand, Lin Mingjian didn’t strike first. He was one of the top ten, after all, and he had to maintain at least that much decorum.
’What I’ll do is wait for Lin Yan to make his move, then injure him with two strikes. I won’t give him a chance to surrender.’
"Alright."
Lin Yan didn’t stand on ceremony. He activated three Sword Intents within his Sword Pill—Flowing Cloud, Rain-Covering, and Pine Wind. The trio of Sword Intents blended perfectly within his Sword Gang and erupted from the edge of his blade. Combined with the Blood Gang from his current Blood Exchange Third Transformation, the Sword Gang formed a bolt of silvery-white light and shot straight for Lin Mingjian.
As a sign of respect for a Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation expert, he used twenty percent of his strength in this one sword strike.
The moment the Sword Gang shot out, the pupils of everyone sitting in the grandmaster chairs contracted. Their expressions varied, but they all shared one common emotion: shock.
That one strike made all of them sense danger.
On the platform, Lin Mingjian’s Perception as a Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation expert was also screaming warnings at him. ’I can’t block this strike head-on. It’s best to dodge.’
’But I am Lin Mingjian!’
’The standard-bearer of the Fourth Branch’s younger generation! A top-ten powerhouse in the competition! A Blood Exchange Fourth Transformation expert, with my Dual Blades in hand!’
’Facing a junior from a branch family, a challenger who’s only at the Blood Exchange Third Transformation... I’m supposed to dodge?’
"Double Dragon Slash! Break!"
Lin Mingjian roared, striking with his Dual Blades at once. He poured his Blood Gang into them to the absolute limit. Two streams of Saber Gang, like two furious dragons, carried one hundred percent of his Blood Gang as they met the silvery-white Sword Gang head-on.
BANG!
The Sword Gang and Saber Gang collided. In an instant, Gang Qi filled the air like a tidal wave, flipping over the bluestone slabs on the Combat Platform. The stone fragments turned to dust, obscuring the entire stage.
And within this dust, the two streams of Saber Gang lasted for less than three breaths before they were utterly annihilated. Yet the Sword Gang remained, continuing like a shooting star, straight for Lin Mingjian.
’Retreat!’
At this moment, Lin Mingjian couldn’t care less about face. But he had only taken a single step back when the Sword Gang was upon him.
The terrifying Sword Gang exploded before him like a massive wave, the ensuing Gang Qi instantly sending him flying.
「Three breaths later.」
The dust settled, and the crowd below saw a figure thrown from the Combat Platform, landing more than a hundred feet away.
And on the platform, only Lin Yan was left standing, sword in hand, along with the masterless Dual Blades that had fallen to the ground not far away.
This scene silenced the crowd for a moment, but it was immediately followed by a deafening uproar.
"Lin Yan won?"
"My eyes aren’t deceiving me, are they? Not only did Lin Yan win, but it was with just one strike? Just like against Lin Mingqi in the newcomer’s competition?"
"Brother Mingqi, Lin Yan defeated you with one strike, and now he’s defeated Lin Mingjian with one strike. And Lin Mingjian is injured even more seriously than you were. Does that mean you’re stronger than Lin Mingjian?"
In the crowd, the corner of Lin Mingqi’s mouth twitched. He glanced at the clansman beside him, wishing he could run a spear through the guy’s mouth.
’Can you even compare them like that?’
’Lin Yan clearly held back against me that day.’
Below the stage, Lin Mingye’s mouth hung open. After a long moment, he suddenly pointed at Lin Yan and shouted, "Lin Yan, you had me completely fooled!"
His expression was like that of a young maiden who’d had her heart broken.
For a moment, many people’s curious gazes shifted between Lin Yan and Lin Mingye. Could there be some gossip there?
Lin Mingye was agitated. He hadn’t forgotten what Lin Yan had said after defeating Lin Mingqi—that it had been a strike with his full power, and if Lin Mingqi had blocked it, he would have been the one to lose.
’That was his strongest strike back then?’
’Then what about this one today?’
No wonder Lin Yan’s words had sounded so familiar! Lin Yan had used the same line right before his match against Jian Sheng.
He wasn’t confident, so he could only go all out—and then proceeded to completely crush Jian Sheng from start to finish.
Although Lin Mingye’s sudden outburst made many clansmen curious, the few people sitting in the grandmaster chairs were now staring intently at Lin Yan, their expressions grave.
’If we had to face that strike from Lin Yan, could we block it?’
After some consideration, several of them shook their heads inwardly. ’We couldn’t block it.’
"Blood Exchange Third Transformation, three Perfect Level Sword Intents... No wonder Lin Yan is so confident. Your Third Branch has really produced a monster this time."
Lin Mingchen looked toward Lin Mingsong and shook his head with a wry smile. He also practiced the sword, so he could sense the number of Sword Intents contained in Lin Yan’s strike.
Hearing this, Lin Mingxi, who was not far away, smiled faintly, her red lips curling. ’Lin Yan doesn’t just have three Sword Intents.’
’But I didn’t expect Lin Yan to have broken through to the Blood Exchange Third Transformation. No wonder I haven’t seen him for the past few days. Did he go to the Ancestral Land to absorb Cold Gang and break through?’
’Blood Exchange Third Transformation plus a Sword Pill... Lin Yan now has the strength to compete for the top three.’
On the platform, Lin Shouzheng’s eyes also lit up. As an elder, he naturally hoped for the younger generation of the Lin Family to be as outstanding as possible. And Lin Yan was clearly far beyond simply "outstanding."
’A second Lin Mingya!’
’No, at this age, Lin Mingya wasn’t even as strong as Lin Yan is now.’

Comments

Loading...