Chapter 385: Zhao Ya, Sword Come!

Swish!

A straight blast of energy, like a white beam, shot directly toward Zhang Xuan.

Supreme Realm, also known as the Ten-Thousand Cauldron Realm, was the final stage of the nine martial realms. Both the physical body and true qi reached their limits and peaks, utterly incomparable to Grandmasters.

Although Lin Ruotian was only a half-step Supreme, the power within him surged endlessly like a river. His surging true qi gushed forth like a massive whip. Before it even arrived, the rocks on the ground were swept up and turned to powder.

His true qi circulated to its limit, as if blowing a whistle, emitting a piercing roar.

"Blood resonance, true qi external release... This, this is... a sign of imminent breakthrough to Supreme!"

Mo Tianxue's face turned pale.

He was the top expert at the Grandmaster peak in the Tianwu Kingdom and knew the most about the Supreme Realm. It was said that those who reached this realm had their blood and qi condensed like mercury, and when true qi swept through, it would emit a whistle-like sound.

All along, he had thought Lin Ruotian had broken through thanks to connections with the Xuan Yuan Kingdom, and even as a half-step Supreme, he was unstable and not to be feared. Only now did he realize...

That was not the case at all!

His strength, even among half-step Supremes, was definitely among the strongest, and he could even break through the final barrier at any moment to reach the peak of martial artists!

No wonder, despite being a half-step Supreme with the backing of the Xuan Yuan Kingdom, he still had to sneak around to assassinate the guardian beast... It wasn't fear of Tianwu's royal family's retaliation, but to mislead them.

His true goal was probably to break through to Supreme as soon as possible. Then, he could crush them directly, and even if the Master Teacher Hall knew, they couldn't stop him.

Judging by his current state, if not for President Liu forcing his hand, he would likely break through the shackles and succeed in at most a year, or even a few months!

By then... even without disguise, they would be helpless.

Terrifying!

His whole body cold, Mo Tianxue trembled.

If not for President Liu confronting him head-on, he might never have discovered this secret!

How laughable that they had been unaware, thinking that as long as the guardian beast lived, the other side wouldn't dare act rashly.

"President Liu... I'm afraid he really can't hold on..."

Amid his terror, he was also filled with worry.

Although President Liu was strong at the Grandmaster peak, compared to an expert of this level, he was probably far inferior.

Not to mention anything else, just in terms of power, Lin Ruotian must have already reached over 9,000 cauldrons, enough to crush him with pure true qi.

He couldn't help but look forward.

...

"Impressive..."

Similar to his worry, Zhang Xuan's originally dismissive gaze turned serious.

After breaking through to Grandmaster peak, he directly possessed 5,000 cauldrons of immense strength, comparable to an ordinary half-step Supreme, but compared to Lin Ruotian, he was still far behind.

As soon as they clashed, he immediately felt heavy pressure.

The opponent's true qi surged like river water, leaving no room to dodge; he could only meet it head-on.

Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp!

He retreated seven or eight steps in a row, his blood and qi boiling.

Knowing that a direct confrontation would be unsustainable, Zhang Xuan was not anxious. His mind stirred, and a sharp light emitted from his eyes, with patterns slowly appearing.

Eye of Insight!

Then, he frowned and shook his head helplessly.

The Eye of Insight could see a cultivator's flaws and cruxes, but... limited by his cultivation, since the opponent was stronger than him, this reward from Heaven's Recognition as a Master Teacher, though formidable, was useless.

In other words, as long as the opponent was stronger, the Eye of Insight could not find problems, let alone prescribe the right remedy to secure victory.

"Forget it, Flaws!"

Knowing this newly acquired talent was useless at the moment, he called out in his mind.

Whoosh!

The Library trembled, and a book appeared before him. He casually opened it.

The content entered his sea of consciousness.

After a moment, he smiled slightly: "No wonder his energy is so vigorous—he used spirit beast blood!"

The Heavenly Path Library, regardless of the opponent's cultivation level, could reveal flaws as long as they used martial techniques. This was completely different from the Eye of Insight.

The book recorded in detail the true strength, martial techniques, and cultivation methods of this Patriarch Lin.

The reason he could break through so quickly and possess such formidable power was not, as Mo Tianxue said, due to some powerful pill, but... spirit beast essence blood!

Spirit beasts were lifeforms beyond savage beasts.

Even the lowest-level spirit beast had power surpassing the Supreme Realm. A single drop of such a super life's essence blood could potentially cause a half-step Supreme savage beast to advance its bloodline and break through to Supreme.

Lin Ruotian's breakthrough from Grandmaster peak to half-step Supreme was precisely by using this substance, making his power violent and seemingly inexhaustible.

"How to deal with him?"

Although the Library recorded many flaws, the opponent's qi was long and his true qi violent, making it difficult even to get close, let alone injure him.

Only after engaging such a strong opponent did Zhang Xuan realize that his martial techniques were too fragmented, giving him no advantage in combat.

Whether it was the Heavenly Path Fist Art or Movement Art... they were basically one-move kill techniques.

These moves were extremely effective at close range, but useless if he couldn't get close. Moreover, even if he did get close, the opponent, having consumed spirit beast essence blood, had defenses as strong as a savage beast's, making it difficult to knock him down.

He would probably only be able to injure him after exhausting his true qi, and killing him would be nearly impossible.

After all, whether it was the Heavenly Path Fist Art, Movement Art, or Leg Art... they consumed a great deal of true qi and physical strength. Even at Grandmaster peak, he couldn't use them continuously and was limited by the number of uses.

"Forget it, I won't use Heavenly Path martial techniques for now. I'll wear him down and see how long he can last!"

With the Heavenly Path Library to see through martial techniques, although he couldn't defeat him in one move, it was absolutely impossible for the opponent to injure him. At worst, he would slowly wear him down and see how much stamina he had.

Even if he had consumed spirit beast essence blood, he couldn't have inexhaustible stamina.

...

While Zhang Xuan's mind was wandering, Lin Ruotian, on the other side, grew more and more frustrated to the point of vomiting blood.

This young man had strange movement techniques and was extremely fast. As soon as he attacked, he poured out his true qi like splashing ink, with the simple aim of preventing the opponent from getting close...

He had thought that with such violent attacks, even if the opponent had strong combat power, he wouldn't last long.

But he never expected...

The opponent was like a loach, as if he knew the flaws in his techniques and moves in advance. With a slight dodge, he would slip into the blind spots of the attack. Although his power was wild, sending rocks flying and air exploding around him... the other guy didn't even lose a single hair!

Even his violent true qi didn't ruffle the opponent's hair.

This guy wasn't fighting at all; it was like he was on vacation. All his feints and variations were useless, and his so-called attack traps had no effect...

Wherever he moved, it was inevitably a place that made Lin Ruotian extremely uncomfortable, where he couldn't hit or injure him.

It was like raising a big knife to chop someone, but every time he swung, he missed by just a few centimeters... Yet with that tiny gap, he couldn't hurt him at all, and instead nearly exhausted himself to the point of vomiting blood.

Are you kidding me?

We're fighting for our lives here! Over a hundred moves have been exchanged, and I haven't even touched a corner of your clothes... Are you crazy?

"This..."

"Are those two... really fighting?"

"It doesn't seem like it..."

...

Lin Ruotian was about to go crazy, while the onlookers were dumbfounded, their faces full of confusion.

Normally, when two people fight, true qi surges, forces clash, and the battle is intense.

If there's a gap in strength, the weaker side might hold on for a while but can't last long. In any fight, there must be collisions and exchanges...

What the hell is going on with these two?

It doesn't look like a fight, but rather...

A dance!

Often, before Lin Ruotian even attacked, President Liu would jump to one side and look over leisurely, and then... the former's attack would arrive.

In other words, although Lin Ruotian was attacking, in everyone's eyes, it seemed like President Liu jumped wherever he wanted, and Lin Ruotian attacked there.

One retreats, the other retreats; one advances, the other advances... Even a dance isn't this synchronized!

Could it be that the two knew each other and were extremely familiar with each other's fighting styles?

No, judging by Lin Ruotian's expression as if he could bite someone at any moment, they probably didn't know each other, and certainly wouldn't be bored enough to put on a show in front of everyone!

"President Liu saw through Lin Ruotian's moves in advance and completely disrupted his rhythm..."

Dean Xie's face was grave.

With such a big incident—teachers from their academy causing trouble at the Lin residence—he naturally got word and had just arrived to witness this scene. His mind was spinning.

Seeing through moves in advance and dodging to a safe spot before the opponent even attacked, rendering his violent power useless...

How did he do it?

Even a three-star master teacher wouldn't have such terrifying ability!

Unless... President Liu was Lin Ruotian's father or teacher, knowing his attacks and moves inside out. Otherwise, it was impossible to be so familiar and make predictions in advance!

But could President Liu be Lin Ruotian's father or teacher?

Absolutely impossible!

He had known that President Liu was talented and eccentric, but he never dreamed he was this eccentric.

Forcing an opponent much stronger than himself to hit nothing but air with every move, rendering even the most powerful techniques utterly useless... The thought was intoxicating.

...

"You... Can you fight me head-on!"

Growing more and more frustrated, about to explode with rage, Lin Ruotian roared.

"Head-on? Isn't this head-on?"

While dodging, Zhang Xuan said.

You attack, I dodge; you withdraw your power, I advance... I've been facing you all along—how is this not a head-on fight?

Hearing this, Lin Ruotian was so depressed he nearly spat blood. He knew that if he kept talking, he would surely die of anger on the spot without needing to fight.

With a flick of his wrist, a long sword appeared in his palm. With a light slash, the air seemed like paper being cut, rippling in layers: "Dare you face me with weapons!"

"Weapons? Sure!"

Zhang Xuan was startled, then smiled. He turned his head and said lightly: "Zhao Ya, sword come!"