Chapter 844 – The Day of the Fated Battle
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Situ Haotian moved, instantly appearing behind Situ Chuan and catching him.
He quickly examined Situ Chuan’s injuries with his perception. With the protection of the Demon God Heartguard Mirror, Lin Ming’s attack had pierced through Situ Chuan’s body, but hadn’t managed to kill him.
Even if Situ Chuan wasn’t able to display the true might of the Demon God Heartguard Mirror, he still shouldn’t have been in such a miserable situation. After all, Lin Ming didn’t use any true essence at all.
The combat strength of a silver battle spirit had truly exceeded Situ Haotian’s imagination. This sort of thing was originally something that should have existed only in the domain of legends. In the ancient texts, there were only a precious few rough and ominous descriptions of it. There had simply been no one who had ever seen it before.
Lin Ming had a silver battle spirit, extraordinary speed, super strong defensive power, an incomparably solid cultivation foundation, multiple types of high level martial intents, and even a deep understanding of Concept and Laws.
Situ Haotian broke down all of Lin Ming’s superior aspects. These were all that he knew about. Perhaps, he might have even more. With all of these factors superimposed upon each other, Lin Ming nearly had no weaknesses at all. His fearfulness lay in his all-around versatility. Every single aspect of battle was simply a strength of his!
“We’re leaving!”
Situ Haotian lifted the unconscious Situ Chuan and turned, flying back to the Asura Divine Kingdom’s tower. From the beginning to the end, Situ Yaoyue still hadn’t appeared. She was Situ Haotian’s strongest trump card, especially prepared for Li Ming.
“No matter how many advantages you have, I want to see just what you’ll do when you face an absolute suppression of cultivation against a seventh stage Life Destruction power. Against Yaoyue, who has an Extreme Violet Dantian, and is also a peak Emperor level talent, just what can you possibly do?”
The Asura Divine Kingdom left, and the other Asura Divine Kingdom Life Destruction powerhouses left with him. The initial deadline for the match was three months. Only one month had passed so far, and there were still two months left.
For a martial artist, two months weren’t enough for a single round of closed door seclusion; it was actually a very short period of time. No one left the dimensional realm. Everyone waited here for the distant day of the decisive battle to begin.
The scene of Lin Ming defeating Situ Chuan with a finger was shocking, but most of the martial artists didn’t change their views.
Lin Ming’s finger didn’t contain any true essence, but he had used his silver battle spirit. A silver battle spirit was one of Lin Ming’s trump cards. After using it, it wasn’t too surprising that he would win.
The key factor lay in all of Lin Ming’s other superiorities. If they were combined together into a perfect whole, just what sort of absolute strength could he reach?
The Asura Divine Kingdom had an inheritance that stretched back for 10,000 years, as their background was extremely deep. The masters they publicly showed had included the unfathomable Situ Luosha, and it was likely they had more hidden masters as well. Lin Ming would certainly find this battle difficult and dangerous. Perhaps he might even die here.
Even so, none of the great influences dared to ignore Lin Ming. What if the Asura Divine Kingdom had no stronger masters available? What if Lin Ming’s strength surpassed their greatest imaginations?
If he could pass this trial, then he might have a chance of reaching the Divine Sea in 20 years. Once he broke through to the Divine Sea, he might even become the highest under the heavens. At that time, he would be able to rule over the world for 10,000 years. In the future, he might even be able to use just his strength alone to contend with an entire Divine Kingdom!
Such a character had never appeared since Emperor Shakya. Just who wasn’t afraid of this?
If they could form good relations with him, then they could obtain some benefits and shelter, letting them prosper for thousands of years or more. On the other hand, if they offended him, then even if he flipped his hand and exterminated a fifth-grade Holy Land, that still wouldn’t be considered too big of a deal!
Thus, even if the chances of Lin Ming winning weren’t high, for the following days there were still martial artists of all backgrounds coming to pay him a visit.
Lin Ming’s residence was crowded like a city market. Every visiting influence naturally had to prepare some gifts. Although it was impossible for them to be filthy rich like the Sublime Smelting Divine Kingdom, and bring out several hundred thousand spirit essence stones at once, bringing out treasures worth 20,000-30,000 spirit essence stones was still affordable for them.
Because they knew that Lin Ming needed wood spirit jade and medicine plants and materials, these influences mostly gifted these things. Enough drops of water could eventually fill a bucket. With the gifts of several dozen influences added up, it was more than a small fortune!
However, since Lin Ming had made a breakthrough to Life Destruction, he had continued to close up in training, refusing all visitors. Still, he didn’t neglect these people or treat them coldly. All of them were personally received by the Forsaken God Clan’s Great Elders and all gifts were received.
The world of martial artists had the custom of reciprocity. After receiving these gifts, if their own sect had someone make a great breakthrough, then others would have to gift them in return. But matters of the future belonged in the future. These treasures were actually very important to Lin Ming right now, and it could be considered timely assistance.
Lin Ming sat within his chamber. Several jade slips were placed before him, all of them containing records of thunder-attribute cultivation methods and the Concept of Thunder understandings from the Eightfall Thunder Emperor.
The Eightfall Thunder Emperor had a talent gifted from the heavens. He had reached an extremely high understanding into the Concept of Thunder. With Lin Ming’s current level, he was just able to practice this.
Lin Ming planned to rapidly make up for his deficiency in the Concept of Thunder. Now that he also had a thunder spirit body, he actually didn’t have a corresponding Concept cultivation method to support it. This was simply wasting everything he had earned, as he wouldn’t be able to display the full power of thunder.
If he couldn’t balance the Concepts of Thunder and Fire, then his moves would always appear uncoordinated.
Lin Ming had crossed the first stage of Life Destruction in a perfect manner. He had reached the large success of his spirit body, and every cell within him had been tempered. Even his will and soul now contained the attribute of thunder. Simultaneously, his battle spirit had evolved to the silver level. His strength had risen by astronomical levels…
But Lin Ming was still genuinely determined to meet this battle two months from now with everything he had. Those that looked down on their opponents often suffered miserable fates. Moreover, Lin Ming didn’t even know how strong the powerhouses of the Asura Divine Kingdom were.
“Thunder, the power of death…the power of life….”
Above Lin Ming’s two hands, a thunder ball floated above his palms. The thunder ball in his left hand was filled with a wild and tyrannical energy, while the thunder ball in his right hand looked extremely soft and gentle, like a sphere of milky white light.
Thunder was not just the power of death, but also the power of life.
The so-called power of death describes when a bolt of thunder is able to split apart a towering tree or even kill an enemy. It could even pierce through the endless void. However, the power of life was the ability for thunder to give birth to life.
In the legends, the very first life forms were born when a bolt of thunder struck the ancient sea. Every single human body is even filled with countless tiny arcs of electricity. Their nerves and thoughts were all connected to these small arcs of electricity. When a monster underwent tribulation, they would be tempered by the power of thunder, making their bodies much more formidable.
The power of life and the power of death were the first and second levels of the Thunder Laws.
Lin Ming had touched upon the Fire Laws at Timeworn Phoenix City. The first level Law was Burning Heat, and the second level Law was Annihilation. Every level of Fire Laws corresponded to a different world in the God Transforming Mirror.
The God Transforming Mirror had a total of nine worlds, corresponding with the nine levels of Fire Laws.
Just how many levels were there in the Laws of Thunder?
Without inheritances from the ancient times, it was simply impossible to enlighten oneself on the Laws behind the Concept of Thunder. However, with his heaven-gifted talent, the Eightfall Thunder Emperor had been able to comprehend the first two Concepts of the Thunder Laws. This by itself was proof that his talent was more than extraordinary.
The Eightfall Thunder Emperor had left behind many different martial skills. Lin Ming only had two months, so it was impossible for him to practice all of them. He could only choose two different martial skills. These were…
“The power of death – Sword of Judgment.”
Although this was a sword-based cultivation method, it could still be used with a spear. This was because the Eightfall Thunder Emperor’s thunder-attribute cultivation methods focused only on the Laws, and not the style itself. By thoroughly comprehending the Laws, the myriad abilities were connected.
“The power of life – Thunder Battleform.”
To use the power of thunder to galvanize and enhance the body. This would make the body tougher and attacks stronger. This was impressively a type of supportive martial skill that could indirectly increase one’s striking power. In order to use it, one had to have a thorough understanding into the Thunder Laws that gave birth to the power of life, as well as an extremely clear understanding of how the power of thunder was used in the body.
Only then would a person be able to utilize the Thunder Battleform. If one didn’t understand the power of life Thunder Laws, and carelessly fused the power of raging thunder into their meridians and organs, then they would only end up ruining their body.
These two cultivation methods were the strongest abilities of the Eightfall Thunder Emperor. Of course, they were also the most difficult to comprehend. The reason that Lin Ming dared to practice them in a mere two months of time was because he had full faith in the Heretical God Sprout, as well as in his Thunder Soul.
To the present Lin Ming, not only had all of his cells been tempered by thunder, even his will and soul contained the thunder attribute. In addition, with the Heretical God Sprout supporting him, his affinity with thunder was even higher than the Eightfall Thunder Emperor’s. Even the young thunder-attribute geniuses in the Realm of the Gods couldn’t compare to him in this aspect.
Time passed by slowly as Li Ming’s understanding into the Thunder Laws subtly improved.
Soon, two months breezed by. This time was simply too short for a martial artist to close up for.
“Little Brother Lin!” Just as Lin Ming finished practicing a new move, Shibai’s true essence sound transmission sounded out in his ears. “Tomorrow is the day of the grand battle, and the Asura Divine Kingdom has already built the arena. It’s about time for you to leave seclusion now.”
“Oh, that was too fast!”
Cultivating was truly timeless. Lin Ming felt as if only several days had passed.
After sitting up from his stone bed, popping noises could be heard from Lin Ming’s joints, as if countless tiny arcs of thunder exploding within his body.
“Little Brother Lin, how did your training go?” Shibai hurriedly asked after the chamber’s stone door opened. He had also looked over the jade slips that the Eightfall Thunder Emperor had left behind. Because he wasn’t a thunder-attribute martial artist, he simply wasn’t able to cultivate any of them.
Lin Ming said, “I was rushed for time, so I only practiced two martial skills.”
“Which martial skills?”
“The Sword of Judgment and the Thunder Battle form.”
“Huh?” Shibai was instantly startled. Even if he didn’t look through the cultivation method jade slips that the Eightfall Thunder Emperor left behind, he would still know of these two martial skills, because the history of his family clan had a very detailed recording on these two martial skills. These were the unique and famous martial skills that the Eightfall Thunder Emperor had relied on to walk through the world unrivalled! Yes, it was true that they were powerful, but it was also true that they were also undoubtedly the hardest to practice!
While it was true that Lin Ming was a genius, just how much could he perceive in a mere two months of time?
Shibai also couldn’t help but worry a little. He had thought that Lin Ming would choose a few relatively simple Concept cultivation methods. As long as one had a good enough foundation, one could easily learn them if they could control the power of thunder. He never imagined that Lin Ming’s appetite would be so great that he would choose the two most difficult martial skills from the start.
Shibai opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but shut his mouth soon after, no longer saying anything. Tomorrow was the day of the battle, and any advice he gave now would be useless. He might as well let Lin Ming do as he pleased, so that he could reduce some of the unnecessary pressure around him.
“Come. Your great war approaches. I shall provide you with a good place to rest your mind and soul, so that you will be prepared to meet the fated battle tomorrow. “