He tightened both fists, and moved into an attacking stance.
High level Yellow Grade martial arts skill, Dashing Panther Fist!
“Peng!”
A loud noise was heard, and the two fighters had already exchanged their attacks. Their speed was extremely fast—aside from Liu Yu Tong, only a few of the students who happened to have the cultivation of the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier could see it clearly. Meanwhile, the majority of the crowd could only see that, after this confrontation, Cheng Xiang’s body somehow flew outwards.
“Si!” Everyone in the area was struck speechless as they sharply breathed in.
Cheng Xiang had actually flown out due to the force behind Ling Han’s attack… what kind of unfathomable event was this?
Meanwhile, even though Ling Han’s body was entirely covered in fresh blood, he had only taken a few steps backward.
What a grand reversal of the situation!
What was going on? Cheng Xiang had had the upper hand all this while, so why was it that he was actually horribly defeated once he used a martial arts skill?
But no matter how far their thoughts travelled, none of them would be able to guess that Ling Han had just used a high level Yellow Grade martial art skill.
How could that be possible? Even the two Great Clans of Gray Cloud Town only possessed medium level Yellow Grade martial arts skills. If an ordinary person managed to learn a low level Yellow Grade martial arts skill, he’d already die happy!
Only Liu Yu Tong’s beautiful eyes flashed with understanding. She was the only person who clearly knew that Three Yin Mysterious Arts Ling Han taught her was a Heaven Grade cultivation technique. Thus, what would be strange about Ling Han knowing a high level Yellow Grade martial arts skill?
Cheng Xiang moaned, wanting to get back up. However, the power behind Ling Han’s attack was really terrifying. Even just moving caused him to continuously throw up blood!
Just now, when they repeatedly exchanged their attacks, Cheng Xiang’s internal organs had already suffered from huge tremors, and the one attack just moments ago had immediately caused all the damage he had already sustained to blow up. This was a deciding attack that transformed quantity into quality!
“No, this isn’t possible!” Cheng Hao’s expression was one of utter disbelief. His older brother was an elite of the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier, how could he lose to a piece of trash?
This was definitely not real!
Ling Han walked towards Cheng Xiang. With every step, the injuries he had suffered were quickly healing. Once he was right in front of Cheng Xiang, all the injuries were fully healed, a testament to the great power of Indestructible Heaven Scroll.
“I, I’ve lost!” With everyone looking at them, there was no way for Cheng Xiang to deny the fact that he had lost. He glared ferociously at Ling Han, his face filled with denial. He could not understand how Ling Han had defeated him.
Ling Han slowly raised his leg, moving it above Cheng Xiang.
“You, what are you planning to do?” Cheng Xiang could not help revealing a fearful expression. Was Ling Han planning to step on his face? “Don’t go too far!”
“Too far?” Ling Han snorted, one foot already firmly placed on Cheng Xiang’s face, “You, as a cultivator of the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier, fighting with me… it isn’t considered ‘too far’? The first thing your younger brother told me was to get lost, and the first thing you did was to accuse me of using despicable means… isn’t that considered ‘too far’?
So you’re the only ones allowed to do as you like? There is no such logic on this world!
Since your skills are inferior, you should speak less rubbish!”
He put more strength into his foot and Cheng Xiang immediately let out a pained groan. However, what he felt more was shame—he had actually been trampled underneath someone’s foot! Furthermore, this person was the publicly acknowledged trash of the academy! Of course, after today, Ling Han would definitely be able to clear his name as a piece of trash, but this all came at the price of stepping on Cheng Xiang’s face. This was even more unacceptable to Cheng Xiang.
People in the surrounding area too were lost for words.
Before this, they had only hoped that Ling Han would emerge victorious, but who amongst them had truly believed that Ling Han would win?
They could not help recalling Liu Yu Tong’s words—in less than three months, Ling Han would become an existence that all of them could only look up to!
Perhaps, three months might not even be necessary. Presently, there was already quite a number of them looking up to him!
“Ling Han, you will definitely regret this!” Cheng Xiang said in a furious, poisonous voice. To actually be trampled beneath the foot of a piece of trash, this was a shame that he would never be able to clear from his reputation.
“Is that so?” Ling Han smiled faintly, this kind of threat was completely meaningless on him. “Beg for mercy!” he said, “If your attitude is sincere enough, I will spare you, otherwise, you may have to lie down here for quite a long time!”
“You-“ Cheng Xiang felt as if he was about to explode. Ling Han actually wanted him to beg for mercy in front of all these people?
[1] ED/N: Alternate translation is twin peaks piercing/passing through the ear(s). For obvious reasons, that is not the appropriate one here, but I thought it would be interesting to share that… it’s likely a pun on the part of the author.
Chapter 20
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“If you’re not going to beg for mercy, then just continue to lie down there. Lying down is nothing too tiring, anyway!” Ling Han spoke calmly.
He has always been the kind of person to return the kindness of others tenfold; however, he was also the type that, if offended, would return it back by ten times as well.
Since Cheng Xiang and his brother wanted to bully him, then he would trample all over them, making them into complete fools.
Lying down isn’t tiring?
Lying down indeed was not tiring, but if there was a foot stepping on your face, then the issue was no longer about whether it was tiring or not.
Cheng Xiang gritted his teeth tightly to the point that even his gums started bleeding. “Ka ka ka,” the grinding of his teeth could clearly be heard. If he could, he really wanted to tear Ling Han into a million pieces, but for now, he could only lower his prideful head and say, “I’m sorry, please, spare me!”
“You’re speaking too softly, I can’t hear you,” Ling Han said calmly.
“I’m sorry, please spare me!” Cheng Xiang cried out loudly. As these words left his mouth, he felt as if his entire person was about to fall apart. All his pride, dignity and self-esteem as the Eldest Young Master of the Cheng Clan had all dispersed like the popping of a bubble along with this plea for mercy.
“Be more sensible in future, there are some people that you can’t afford to offend!” Ling Han said, taking back his leg. “You should feel fortunate that I’m in a generous mood now.”
This was considered generous?
Everyone was lost for words. Cheng Xiang was not Cheng Hao, he was the Eldest Young Master of the Cheng Clan. To shame him in such a public setting was the same as slapping the whole Cheng Clan! This would definitely not be settled peacefully.
There would definitely arise a fierce battle between the Cheng and the Ling Clans; it might even become a blood feud between the two clans. It would become complete chaos.
Shen Zi Yan looked on, her white teeth biting fiercely on her red lips. Her current feelings were indescribably complex.
They were both in the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier, but there was a large gap between their individual ability. For example, she too had defeated many experienced martial artists in the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier, so even if Ling Han was able to defeat Cheng Xiang, that did not mean that he could defeat her.
But the problem was, what was Ling Han’s current cultivation level?
When this guy too rose up to the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier, who amongst those of the whole Body Refining Tier would be able to fight with him on an equal footing?
To be invincible amongst those of the same tier, that was the quality of a ruler!
No, she definitely did not have any regrets. This was a piece of trash, a piece of trash that she had already rejected a few years ago! A piece of trash that could only look up to her throughout his whole life!
***
Ling Han walked out of the Martial Training Court, Liu Yu Tong by his side as per usual. The two strolled around the academy for a while. After that, they sat down beneath a large tree. Leaning against the tree trunk, neither of them spoke.
After a while, Liu Yu Tong finally couldn’t bear it anymore and said, “I never thought that you had such poor eyes, to actually like that kind of shallow, self-centred girl!”
Ling Han couldn’t hold back his hearty laughter. He turned towards her and said, “My little attendant girl, are you jealous?”
“Who, who’d be jealous!” A red blush rose up on Liu Yu Tong’s beautiful face, making her even more beautiful, “Don’t delude yourself!”
“Hey, is that any way to speak to your master?” Ling Han laughed. Teasing this little attendant girl of his was really quite interesting sometimes.
Liu Yu Tong rolled her eyes, but very quickly changed the topic, and said, “Do you plan to continue to stay in Gray Cloud Town?” This place really was too small to fit the dragon that Ling Han was.
Ling Han laughed and said, “I’ll go take a look at Hu Yang Academy after a while, Father hopes that I can go there to step on the faces of the so-called geniuses there.”
Liu Yu Tong was struck speechless, before saying, “You can’t defeat even me now, and you actually want to go to step all over all the geniuses of Hu Yang Academy? You should be aware that I am not the strongest fighter in Hu Yang Academy.”
“You’ll see when we get there,” Ling Han no longer spoke any grand words. Only he himself was aware of the great, terrifying potential that he possessed.
When the sun had set, the two returned to the Ling Clan Residence.
“You little brat-” Just as they were entering the Main Hall, they saw Ling Dong Xing striding towards them, his expression extremely grim.
At first, Ling Han thought that his skipping class today was discovered by his father. Just when he was about to say something, Ling Dong Xing had already rushed to him and embraced him tightly before laughing heartily and saying, “You thrashed the two brats from the Cheng Clan, yet you didn’t immediately return to inform your old man and let me be happy too?”
Ling Han released the breath he was holding before he said, “Then, Father, how did you find out?”
“This is no small matter, how could I not find out about it after such a long while?” Ling Dong Xing stopped his hearty laughter, regained his serious expression and said, “Han’er, you really show much promise, the fourth layer of Body Refining Tier actually defeated the ninth layer of Body Refining Tier! However, this is much too shocking, I’m worried that some people would spare no expense just to eliminate you.”
Ling Han nodded. Most people’s attitudes towards geniuses would be filled with admiration and respect, but he no longer belonged to the level of geniuses. Rather, he was more like a freak, to an inconceivable extent at that.
“I’ve released information saying that you’re actually in the seventh layer of Body Refining Tier. You had just deliberately kept a low profile in the past,” Ling Dong Xing continued.
This kind of explanation was actually full of gaps. After all, keeping a low profile and being trash were two different matters. But when compared with the event when a person only in the fourth layer of Body Refining Tier defeated the ninth layer of the Body Refining Tier… wouldn’t this explanation be easier to accept for the public?
Moreover, the strength Ling Han displayed in the last stages of the fight was the seventh layer of the Body Refining Tier, so this kind of explanation would be easier to believe.
“You don’t have to go to the academy tomorrow to avoid others from seeing any discrepancies,” Ling Dong Xing said. Anyone of the Element Gathering Tier would be able to tell with one look what Ling Han’s actual cultivation level was. If that happened, the lie would immediately be exposed.
This was exactly what Ling Han wanted. However, the problem now was that he could not only not go the academy, he couldn’t even leave the clan residence. Because he had played too much today, there would definitely be a lot of interested parties in Gray Cloud Town. There may even be some who would watch out for his appearance from nearby the Ling Clan Residence.
There was only one solution, and that was to have his actual cultivation level really reach the seventh layer of Body Refining Tier. In this way, the lie would become the truth.
Since he couldn’t leave the residence anyways, Ling Han decided to place his full focus on cultivating. Ling Dong Xing was in full support of this, and under Ling Han’s request, he provided him with a large amount of monetary funds. Meanwhile, Ling Han had Liu Yu Tong go purchase medicinal ingredients as he would be personally concocting an alchemical pill.
The alchemical pill that Ling Han wanted to concoct was named the “Little Cloud and Water Pill”. Taking this pill would greatly increase the cultivation speed of a martial artist in Body Refining Tier. While this pill could be bought, the medicinal effects were too poor. Ling Han had taken one, and it was at most only half as good as the one he concocted.
You can do a lot of things if you have enough money. Liu Yu Tong very quickly returned with the medicinal ingredients Ling Han had requested, also bringing with her an alchemy furnace.
“It’s a bit challenging for a martial artist at fourth layer of Body Refining Tier to concoct pills,” Ling Han murmured. Ordinarily, one could only start concocting pills once they reached the seventh layer of Body Refining Tier, at least. Otherwise, if there was not enough origin power to support the concocting process, one would not be able to continue concocting when they reach the advanced stage of the process. Thus, the result would naturally be failure.
‘Looks like I have to simultaneously take Return Origin Pills and concoct the pill.’
He skilfully separated the various ingredients, his hands moving at such an extremely fast pace that Liu Yu Tong, who had been standing at the side, felt that her eyes were blurring. Now, she finally believed that Ling Han knew how to concoct pills and was not just knowledgeable in the theory of alchemy.
Was there anything this guy didn’t know?
Ling Han threw several medicinal ingredients into the furnace. However, he did not dump everything inside. He had only threw about one third of the ingredients on hand, then his right hand jolted, he gave a snort, and suddenly a flame appeared on his extended palm.
Ignition—this was the basic ability every alchemist should have. It was also why every alchemist needed to have a Fire Alignment Spirit Base.
Chapter 21
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
The reason why concocting pills was a difficult task was because it was difficult to control the temperature level.
Should one use firewood to start the fire, it would be very difficult to control the heat level of the flames, let alone achieve the precision required to concoct pills. In theory, the higher the grade of alchemical pill, the stricter the requirements for controlling the fire.
Precision aside, the alchemist also had to be able to stimulate the heat to an extreme level; the alchemist’s cultivation had to be very high to achieve this. Ordinarily speaking, an alchemist should be able to concoct pills that are at most one level higher than his own cultivation level.
For example, for Ling Han who was in Body Refining Tier, his limit should be concocting middle level Yellow Grade pills.
However, the primary requirement was the ability to control fire. There were also certain requirements for the heat level, which wa
s why too low a cultivation level would make concocting pills impossible, the minimum being the seventh layer of Body Refining Tier. Ling Han was only in the fourth layer of Body Refining Tier, and yet he dared to concoct a pill… the reason why he dared to do that lay in his Spirit Base.
As he possessed the Five Elements Mix Chaos Lotus, the Origin Power within his body could be transformed to Gold, Wood, Water, Fire or Earth Alignment. The heat level he could control was not really very high, the maximum level being four hundred degrees, but it was enough to concoct the Little Cloud and Water Pill. [ED/N: Most likely Celsius]
‘It’s worthy of the name “Five Elements Mix Chaos Lotus”–the five elements are in a mutually dependent relationship with one another, and seemingly inexhaustible!’ Ling Han praised silently. An ordinary Fire Alignment Spirit Base in the Body Refining Tier would only be able to release flames that could reach the maximum temperature of two hundred degrees. Even he who had had a pure Fire Alignment Spirit Base in his last life was no different.
The Five Elements Mix Chaos Lotus could transform into any of the five elemental alignments, which was something that the Nine Yang Fire Spirit Base could never compare with.
It was indeed worthy of the name of Immortal Grade Spirit Base!
Ling Han’s left hand continued to spin, heating every nook and cranny of the furnace. The heat required for various parts of the furnace was different–in future, to concoct high grade alchemical pills would require a furnace with high specifications, such as the level of heat penetration and the level of heat endurance, to name a few of them. A good furnace was something over which any self-respecting alchemist would go to war!
Occasionally, he would throw in one of the medicinal ingredients into the furnace. Sometimes, he would open the lid of the furnace, while at others, he would keep it closed. His practiced movements were carried out at such a fast speed that they would just be a blur in any observer’s eyes.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 14