Chapter 80: Battle with Lin Tiancheng!

"Shut up! A mere Qi Refining sixth layer dares to speak of the strong before me? How ridiculous!"

Lin Tiancheng could no longer bear it and interrupted Ye Yuan's words.

"Is that so? Then what are you afraid of? Come on, destroy me, this insignificant Qi Refining sixth layer!" Ye Yuan's words were filled with endless sarcasm.

"Hmph! Such a crude provocation, do you think I can't see through it? Fine! Today I'll grant your wish and show you what a true strong person is!"

With that, Lin Tiancheng released his half-step Liquid Refining aura, pressing it toward Ye Yuan.

Lin Tiancheng was not stupid; his greatest advantage was his cultivation level, so he naturally had to make good use of it.

The Liquid Refining realm could, with mere pressure, cause a Qi Refining cultivator's energy to stagnate and flow poorly. Although his half-step Liquid Refining could not fully release the pressure of the Liquid Refining realm, it already possessed considerable power.

The Liquid Refining realm, in fact, involved compressing the energy in the dantian to the extreme, reaching the state of condensing qi into liquid—a sublimation of the energy within the body.

Thus, the Liquid Refining realm far surpassed the Qi Refining realm in both the quantity and quality of energy!

Defeating a Liquid Refining cultivator with the strength of the Qi Refining realm was an extremely difficult task. One either had to compensate for the gap in cultivation with extremely powerful martial techniques or make up for the difference in strength with heaven-defying pills.

But no matter what method was used, the prerequisite was that it could bridge the gap in strength between the Qi Refining and Liquid Refining realms!

The so-called half-step Liquid Refining meant that the martial artist was in the process of condensing qi into liquid and already possessed part of the Liquid Refining realm's strength!

In terms of strength, the half-step Liquid Refining realm was already enough to crush any Qi Refining martial artist.

Lin Tiancheng's talent was actually not bad; he could have broken through to the Liquid Refining realm long ago, but for the sake of the Earth-level advancement assessment, he had been suppressing his strength at half-step Liquid Refining.

However, his comprehension was still somewhat lacking; the realm of his martial techniques could not improve, so he had never been able to overcome five Liquid Refining black-clad martial artists and advance in rank.

After all, he was only half-step Liquid Refining, still far from a true Liquid Refining cultivator.

Seeing Lin Tiancheng use his cultivation pressure against him, Ye Yuan sneered inwardly.

"Trying to suppress me with cultivation? Too bad your cultivation is too low!"

If a Liquid Refining third layer or above used this move against him, it would indeed be troublesome, but half-step Liquid Refining was nothing more than scratching an itch.

At this moment, Ye Yuan fully activated his energy, his aura rising sharply, pushing back Lin Tiancheng's pressure!

In just a moment, the auras of the two were evenly matched, neither able to overpower the other!

This place was already bustling, and now quite a few onlooking students had gathered. Seeing that Ye Yuan's aura could match Lin Tiancheng's, they were stunned.

"No way? Is that Ye Yuan really only at the Qi Refining sixth layer?"

"He's definitely at the Qi Refining sixth layer, no mistake. Yet he can tie with Senior Brother Lin in cultivation pressure—this is too insane!"

"Does this mean his strength is already on par with the half-step Liquid Refining realm?"

"Theoretically, yes. But doesn't that mean that although Ye Yuan is only at the Qi Refining sixth layer, the density of his energy is no less than that of half-step Liquid Refining? This... this is too absurd, right?"

Of course, it wasn't absurd; the density of Ye Yuan's energy was indeed terrifying!

Starting from the Qi Refining first layer, the energy Ye Yuan consumed in cultivation was several times that of others.

Accumulated over so many realms, the density of Ye Yuan's energy had become quite considerable, allowing him to match Lin Tiancheng in aura.

The density of energy did not mean a large reserve, but rather that the purity of the energy far exceeded that of the same rank.

For example, if Ye Yuan and another Qi Refining sixth layer cultivator used the same martial technique, the other would need one unit of energy, while Ye Yuan would only need one-third or even one-fifth of a unit!

That was where Ye Yuan's strength lay!

Seeing that Ye Yuan could match him in aura, Lin Tiancheng's expression turned extremely ugly.

Unable to overpower Ye Yuan in cultivation, Lin Tiancheng had no choice but to confront him head-on!

But Ye Yuan knew the abnormal martial technique, Overlapping Wave Heart Palm; a single misstep could lead to severe injury or even death!

At this moment, Lin Tiancheng naturally would not naively think that Ye Yuan would care about any academy rules.

This was a life-and-death battle!

"Hmph! So what if your aura is strong? Today I'll show you what half-step Liquid Refining is! Thunderous Fist!"

Lin Tiancheng threw a punch at Ye Yuan, his fist carrying traces of electric sparks. It was the first-rank top-grade martial technique Ye Yuan had once seen in the Sutra Library—Thunderous Fist!

A first-rank top-grade martial technique driven by half-step Liquid Refining; its power was truly fearsome.

Although the fist was not aimed at them, the onlooking students still felt immense pressure, let alone Ye Yuan, who was facing it head-on.

"Senior Brother Lin's Thunderous Fist is terrifying; he must have cultivated it to the Great Completion stage, right?"

"Yes, even though this punch isn't aimed at me, I'm already having trouble breathing. No wonder he's the strongest on the Earth level; truly fearsome!"

"Ye Yuan is still too reckless! Senior Brother Lin is, after all, at the half-step Liquid Refining realm; how could he be so easily defeated?"

"From what they said earlier, they seem to be fighting to the death. What deep hatred do they have? Even if they really kill each other, they can't escape the academy's punishment!"

"Why bother with all that? Just enjoy the show; it's not like you'll be punished."

Facing Lin Tiancheng's lightning-type martial technique, Ye Yuan also felt the pressure bearing down on him.

Half-step Liquid Refining was indeed very powerful!

Ye Yuan did not choose to clash head-on with Lin Tiancheng but instead opted to avoid his锋芒.

Ye Yuan moved his feet, executing Flash Step, and vanished in an instant, leaving only an afterimage in place.

Lin Tiancheng's fist was in mid-air, and seeing this, he sneered: "Afterimage? Hmph, a petty trick! Seven Star Step!"

Lin Tiancheng also vanished mid-stride.

"Second-rank lower-grade martial technique, Seven Star Step! Ye Yuan is in danger!"

"Yeah, using a second-rank technique is too unfair!"

The crowd exclaimed in shock.

Seven Star Step was a second-rank lower-grade martial technique, while Flash Step was only a first-rank mid-grade technique; the gap between them was enormous!

Second-rank martial techniques were mostly driven by the energy of the Liquid Refining realm, naturally different from first-rank techniques driven by Qi Refining energy.

Even though Ye Yuan's Flash Step had transcended the realm of Perfection and reached the realm of Illusion Breaking, it was still inferior to a second-rank technique, after all, Flash Step's level was too low.

Ye Yuan reappeared and immediately felt an extreme danger at his back.

Without time to think, he executed Flash Step again and vanished from the spot.

However, that sense of crisis did not disappear; instead, it clung to him like a persistent ghost.

Only then did Ye Yuan realize he had underestimated Lin Tiancheng. The strongest on the Earth level was not just for show; his strength was infinitely close to the Heaven level, far more powerful than an ordinary Liquid Refining first layer!

According to the assessment standards of the Phantom Spirit Tower, Lin Tiancheng could probably already take down four black-clad martial artists, just a hair's breadth away from fully passing.