Ling Han gathered his scattered thoughts. It was pointless to ponder further about it. What could his current cultivation level of merely the seventh layer of Element Gathering Tier do? If there was really any kind of major catastrophe, there would be someone else stronger stepping up to the fore.
Rain Country was only a small place, so the strongest existence here was only in Flower Blossoming Tier. Who knows, when he left this place, it may not be a strange thing for him to hear of people who had actually reached the level of Shattering Void Tier.
The world changed and the field of martial arts was also constantly changing. There were times of prosperity, and there were also times of decline.
A mental command from him, and the Blood Sucking Origin Gold instantly transformed into various shapes with the stimulation of his mental commands. It could transform into metallic threads that were as thin as a spider’s thread; it could also transform into metallic sheets that were thinner than even paper. It could also transform into the shape of a pig, goat, chicken, dog, and various other animals, though they were all tiny in size.
Moreover, through the refining process of the Strange Fire, the Blood Sucking Origin Gold had become even tougher and more durable. Even elites of Spiritual Pedestal Tier would probably find it difficult to tear it apart. If he actually managed to coil it around the neck and give it a tug in a surprise attack, then even elite warriors of Spiritual Pedestal Tier may die.
He formed the Blood Sucking Origin Gold into the shape of a bangle and placed it on his left wrist. When he came out of his room, Hu Niu instantly clung onto him and rubbed her little head on his chest, and said, “Mean! Ling Han mean!”
“How am I mean?” Ling Han asked, smiling.
“You don’t play with Niu!” The little girl pouted.
Ling Han could not help but laugh, and said, “All right, all right. Then I’ll just have to play with you for a while, all right?”
The ‘play’ that Hu Niu was saying was actually wrestling. It must have been taught by her “Mother Tiger” when she had still been in the tiger’s den. Every move and stance, every attack and retreat were all signature moves of a tiger on the hunt for its prey.
However, Hu Niu possessed a terrifying comprehension ability in martial arts, and managed to adapt the moves that were not suitable to be used by human beings to her own use. The little girl was like a little tiger. She would pounce, smack, bite, and throw. Every move possessed a terrifying power behind it.
Ling Han could not help but watch in captivation. There was no limit and restriction to the form of martial arts in the first place. Who had decided that a beast could not become a master and teach one martial arts? On the other hand, the Ape’s Arm Fists, Tiger Form Palms, and others… weren’t they all martial arts techniques that had been invented based on their ancestors’ observation of the attacks of other animals?
All of a sudden, his thoughts spread out, and his mindset was freed to a far-reaching world.
He had entered a state of enlightenment.
Enlightenment was a special condition that martial artists desperately desired to experience. Under this condition, they could possibly comprehend certain dilemmas of martial arts that they normally would not have been able to comprehend, and their level of martial arts may soar.
However, this condition could only be encountered by chance, and not brought about consciously. According to deduction, it required the consciousness of a martial artist to be coordinated with the heavens and earth, so it was extremely mysterious.
If a martial artist managed to enter the state of enlightenment once in his lifetime, that would be enough for him to thank the gods for this gift. Moreover, it would normally happen after one had reached Flower Blossoming Tier, because only those who had cast off their mortal bodies would be qualified to achieve unity with the Dao of Heaven and Earth.
In his last life, Ling Han had experienced enlightenment three times in total, but he had only managed to experience breakthroughs in alchemy. And the first time he experienced it was when he was in Spiritual Ocean Tier. At that time, he was unbearably shocked, but he had never thought that it would appear even earlier in this lifetime.
The surrounding Spiritual Qi all around him converged upon him, as if it had turned into multiple dragons that were furiously squeezing into his body.
His cultivation level immediately began to spike: from the middle period of the seventh layer of Element Gathering Tier to the late period, and then to the peak period. He did not have any problems with comprehension of his cultivation level at all. He merely experienced a slight pause and the door to the eighth layer of Element Gathering Tier was open to him.
Breaking through was that easy for him.
Ling Han had not noticed at all. His heart and spirit were soaring in the world of martial arts. Every single bit of comprehension bloomed in front of him as if they were flowers. But when he reached out his hand to capture them, they immediately shattered into shadows.
Illusion flowers flying in the air, or so he has heard.
In the air, there were also multiple flashes of mysterious essences of martial arts flying past like they were shooting stars. Yet these were even harder to catch hold of.
These were the Dao of nature, and were not something that the current Ling Han would be able to comprehend at all. If it was not for the fact that he had the support of his status as an elite warrior of Heaven Tier from his last life, he would only be at a complete loss in this world of martial arts. Yet now, he had managed to catch a glimpse of the mysteries of martial arts.
From the early period of the eighth layer of Element Gathering Tier to the middle period, to the late period, to the peak period. He used a mere few hours to accumulate the energy that he would have needed to accumulate over quite a considerable number of days. He did not even need to take any alchemical pills at all; it was as if the heavens had directly contributed to his advancement.
As the saying goes, once you understood Dao, you would be granted salvation.
Of course, Ling Han was still very far from reaching this level, but his advancement was more than enough to attract the jealousy of others.
Hong , his body gave a slight tremble and he had stepped into the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier.
Ling Han’s eyes suddenly snapped open. At first, he looked slightly confused, but then came back to reality. He could not help but smile. He turned around to see that Hu Niu was seated by his side, imitating his posture, as if she was also cultivating. There was actually a sliver of seriousness on her little face.
Peng, peng, peng. It was at this moment that a hurried knocking was heard from the door.
Chapter 174
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
Ling Han went over to open the door and saw that it was Zhu Xue Yi at the door. She was currently in a great state of anxiety and panic.
“Big Brother Ling!” Zhu Xue Yi immediately greeted, as if she had finally managed to gain a pillar of support the moment her eyes set upon Ling Han. Instantly, her worried demeanor relaxed considerably.
“What’s happened?” Ling Han asked.
“The Academy expelled Li Hao!” Zhu Xue Yi said furiously.
“What!?” Ling Han frowned. “Has he committed some crime?”
“No.” Zhu Xue Yi shook her head, and forced out through gritted teeth, “It’s Feng Luo! He brought with him a teacher of the Academy, and expelled Li Hao from the Academy for no reason at all! He even said, said that it was because Li Hao was a friend of Big Brother Ling.”
Instantly, Ling Han’s eyes became as sharp as swords, as rage slowly rose in his heart.
“Feng Luo is really out of control. He had his lackeys injure Li Hao and force him to lower his head, and the teacher from the Academy actually pretended he had not seen anything at all! When I saw things were getting worse, I immediately rushed over to you and hope that you can uphold the justice for Li Hao!” Zhu Xue Yi said, crying.
If he wa
s really expelled from the Academy, then Li Hao would never be able to hold his head high again when he returned. Moreover, his future prospects would become extremely limited.
Ling Han revealed a strong fury in his demeanor. He had already expected that Feng Yan and his brother would seek him out for revenge, and he did not have any fear. As a martial artist, how could it be possible if he would not offend a few people in his lifetime?
Yet Feng Luo actually targeted his friends. That was too shameless!
Whatever the enmity, family members should never be dragged into the matter. That was the unwritten rule of martial artists. Unless it was some kind of life or death enmity that could not be dissolved—only then would one actually make the move to eliminate the whole clan of his foe, or even include anyone else that had the slightest bit of relation to him. The enmity between him and Feng Luo, at best, was only a minor conflict.
“Bring me to them!” Ling Han said darkly.
Zhu Xue Yi was delighted, and hurriedly brought Ling Han with her to Li Hao’s quarters. She had seen how the Third Imperial Prince and his guests had treated Ling Han at the Cherishing Flower Pavilion, so she believed that if Ling Han were to act, then things could still be redeemed.
The two of them were in a rush, so very quickly, they arrived at the students’ hostel. This was where the Ordinary Disciples lived. Unlike True Disciples, who had a courtyard to themselves, a few Ordinary Disciples would share a single courtyard, and the treatment was completely different.
Feng Luo had made a comeback and was unbearably arrogant, making no attempts to hide his actions at all. On the other hand, he wanted nothing more than to inform everyone in the Academy of it, to let them see how impressive and mighty he was now.
Thus, there was a large number of people watching the scene. Some were sympathetic, some were rejoicing in Li Hao’s misfortune, while others were completely indifferent. Any circle would be able to show the multiple facets of human nature.
In the middle of the crowd, Li Hao was already covered with injuries and lying on the ground. Feng Luo had one foot firmly stepping on Li Hao’s face, and Li Hao’s fingers were visibly entrenched deeply into the ground beneath him. It was obvious to the rest how furious he was at this moment.
Ling Han’s eyes were like swords of ice. As he strode forwards, those around seem to be able to sense his current rage. They turned around and when they saw the icy expression on his face, they subconsciously retreated a few steps, and opened up a path for him to pass through.
This also included the few students who were in Gushing Spring Tier. They were both surprised and confused about how they could be scared off by a fellow student merely in Element Gathering Tier.
The crowd separated like flowing water and a direct path to the center of the crowd appeared.
Feng Luo immediately turned around and looked to find that it was Ling Han. A sliver of arrogance appeared on his face, he smiled cockily, and said, “Ling Han, did you see, I have returned!”
Ling Han did not say anything. He merely continued his advance without pause.
“Hahahaha, are you extremely displeased? So what if you are! I want you to be very displeased!” Feng Luo smirked coldly, and deliberately rubbed his foot on Li Hao’s face a few times. “This is your friend? Then I’m really sorry. I did everything on purpose!
Don’t say that I didn’t give him a chance,” Feng Luo shrugged, and continued, “I told him that as long as he cut off all relations with you from now onwards, and announced all the evil acts and crimes you have committed in public, then I would let him off. Who knew that this brat would be so stubborn and so stupidly loyal that he was actually not willing to betray you!
Ai, the kind of person I hate the most would be this kind of unreasonable idiot, so I could only thrash him until he will admit the error of his ways!
Don’t worry, there could not be so many idiots in this world. In future, I will go seek out Li Dong Yue, Jin Wuji and the others, and I believe that they would not be as stupid as this!”
Feng Luo paused, and when he saw the ice-cold expression on Ling Han’s face, he felt great delight—the more humiliated Ling Han was, the happier he would be. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to give a few furious stomps on that face of his.
“What is it? Do you want to step on me?
Unfortunately, you will not be able to! Just take a look, my brother had his four Great Guardian Deities come over to become my guards, and all of them are in Gushing Spring Tier. Forcing you into submission would be a piece of cake for them! Everyone here is the same. I can beat up anyone I don’t like the look of, but none of them would dare to touch a single hair on my head!
Come and beat me up, you idiot! If you have the balls to, come thrash me!”
Feng Luo laughed loudly, obviously very pleased with himself. He did not have any reservations about entering into Mocking Everyone Mode.
At this, quite a few people looked furious. It was necessary for rules to be in place in order to restrict anyone’s actions at any time. That way, there would be a limit to how far they would go. Yet Feng Luo actually broke these rules—he would be able to thrash anyone he liked. Who would be able to feel safe again?
Still, where did he get such overwhelming confidence from? One had to know that even the members of the Main Branch of the Eight Great Clans would not dare to say such words, and the Imperial Family of Rain Country would not say something like that either, as they were the ones who decided the rules, so how could they break their own rules so publicly?
What basis did Feng Luo have to say these words? One had to understand that not even Feng Yan was much of anything in the vicinity of the Imperial City, what more this kind of spoilt profligate.
“Hehe, don’t glare at me like that. I’m very scared!” Feng Luo deliberately made a fearful face, but he immediately glared and stomped harshly on Li Hao. “Damn, who do you think you are? You’re just a lowly dog from Gray Cloud Town, and you still dare to abuse your power in front of me?
Today, I will let you understand that opposing me was the most idiotic choice that you have made in this lifetime!
I want you to watch as your friend, because of his relationship with you, has his arm crippled by me, and become a cripple forever!”
After saying so coldly, his right hand holding a sword, his eyes fixed upon Li Hao’s right arm, obviously intending to cripple this arm of Li Hao’s. For a saber wielder, having the arm that wielded his saber crippled would mean that he would become an absolute cripple.
Everyone was shocked. This was the Hu Yang Academy, and there was obviously a teacher present here, yet Feng Luo actually dared to commit such a violent crime so publicly in front of everyone. Could it be that his Feng Clan had become the boss of the Academy?
“Hahahaha!” Feng Luo laughed loudly, raised his sword and lowered it in a slash.
“Li Hao!” Zhu Xue Yi screamed shrilly, grief-stricken. She was filled with anguish, and had already spat out a mouthful of blood in her emotional turmoil.
Xiu , it was at this moment that Ling Han moved swiftly, and his figure shot towards Feng Luo.
“Get lost!” Those four young men standing behind Feng Luo all made their own moves. Four hands attacked in unison, Origin Power rolled out in a powerful wave, and became four huge palms that aimed towards Ling Han.
They were four elites of Gushing Spring Tier—even though all of them were only in the first layer. However, Gushing Spring Tier would still be Gushing Spring Tier, and would be able to completely suppress an opponent who was merely in Element Gathering Tier, what more when there were four of them. Even if they had not used any kind of martial arts technique in their attacks, they were still incomparably powerful.
Chapter 175
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
A frosty aura emanated from Ling Han as he stepped forwards to parry the attacks of these four men.
Was he seeking death?
The combined attacks of four elites of
Gushing Spring Tier caused someone who was merely in Element Gathering Tier to actually neither dodge or avoid, but step forwards to receive their attacks head-on. Where did he get such courage from?
Peng, peng, peng, peng . A series of blasts were heard and instantly, the expressions of the observers became utterly astonished!
They could only watch as four figures were flung outwards from a heavy impact, and who could these four figures be but the four Guardian Deities of Feng Yan?
Ling Han did not even pause, and had already arrived at a spot right above Feng Luo’s head. Pa , and his foot was firmly stomped onto Feng Luo’s head.
Tong !
A muffled sound was heard and Feng Luo’s entire head was firmly pressed into the ground. He was forced to kneel on the ground while his arms were helplessly hanging by his sides and his bottom was raised high, as if it was a chrysanthemum flower about to blossom.
“Wa!” Ling Han’s figure dropped down onto the ground, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
That was not because he had been injured by the four Guardian Deities. In fact, it was because he had injured himself when he had stepped out earlier on in order to stimulate the Lone Wolf’s Blood. He had not had the chance to spit it out earlier on.
Dead silence filled the air.
A martial artist in Element Gathering Tier actually defeated four elites of Gushing Spring Tier—who could actually believe such a feat was possible? Who could accept such a reality? Though Ling Han had indeed suffered some injury and spat out blood, this could not in any way conceal his radiance.
That was too awesome, wasn’t it?
Ling Han finally smiled calmly, and said, “Now that there is no longer a fly noisily buzzing around, the world has indeed become much more peaceful and quieter.”
“Li Hao!” Zhu Xue Yi had covered her face earlier, as she could not bear to watch as Li Hao was crippled at Feng Luo’s hands. But when she heard the astonished gasps of those around her, she opened her eyes and saw that not only was Li Hao not injured, even Feng Luo was subdued. She could not help but be overjoyed at the turn of events, and rushed over to him.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 102