Final Stage?

‘I had forgotten how ridiculously tall that bastard was…’

Admittedly, their last encounter had ended in the blink of an eye, and Linfeng had barely had the time to even look at Edrick’s face properly. Nonetheless…

‘He’s gotten stronger since then’

Linfeng stanced himself for a fight, a bead of sweat already rolling down the side of his face.

“Weren’t you going to make me regret ever encountering your path, Linfeng? Why do I smell fear in the air, then?”

The protagonist frowned, a defiant grin forming on his face.

“You must be smelling your own fear, Edrick”

“Heh,  not the best rebuttal, but not too shabby either… Just as a heads-up, if you prostrate and tell me exactly how your system works, and what kind of technique it gave you, I might just consider letting you live”

With these words, the Elt scion suddenly surged forward, definitely far faster than any adversary Linfeng had faced during his journey. It wasn’t even close.

Regardless, the script holder now possessed two completely mastered body cultivation techniques, and had also made great progress with Primordial Yang Emperor Physique. Thus, although Anoteros was incredibly swift, Linfeng wasn’t powerless.

He circulated the Primordial Yang within his body and crossed his arms into a defensive posture, taking the brutal kick of the young noble head-on. He was pushed several meters backwards, but he was uninjured.

“Is that all?”

He provoked Anoteros, but in truth, he knew that an improperly blocked strike would definitely deal damage.

‘Despite all the strength I’ve gathered, it’s clear that I can’t compete in terms of brute force’

If you pour a great quantity of your Primordial Yang into a single attack, then…

‘Right, but that’s way too risky. Without the support of my inner Yang, there’s no way I can keep up with him. His body cultivation is far more advanced than mine, and he has a clear natural advantage in this domain anyway…’

Linfeng had started as a skinny and malnourished wretch. If not for the strength of the techniques he had been granted by the system, his malnourishment would have left him shorter and more feeble than the average man. Nonetheless, Edrick might not have always been a mountain of muscle, but he had been born with a physique predisposed to greatness. He was taller, stronger, and wider than normal by a large margin. There was no telling just how many techniques he actually cultivated, or how many physiques or bloodlines he owned that could be further boosting his strength.

Indeed, it was as much a fight between them as it was a fight between their origins, which only made this more important for Linfeng. Deep down, he felt the need to prove that it didn’t matter if he had once been a wretch. Even then, he had to show that he could still defeat a lofty noble scion.

Anoteros merely snickered at the provocation.

“Please, don’t insult me by thinking that I am as short-tempered as a lesser cultivator who feels the need to overcompensate. It might not seem like it, but I am not one to get angry easily. Otherwise, your insolent little Alrinir would have already been thoroughly reprimanded in bed”

The scion licked his teeth.

“If you fail today, though… I’ll show her what real pleasure is like”

“You filth…”

Linfeng had to admit that the scion was way better at provocations than he was. He knew exactly what Edrick was trying to do, yet he still couldn’t help but feel a vein on his forehead bulge upon hearing the sort of plans he had for Fingmi.

Frankly, he was doubtful about the fact that he had really not done anything to her already...

Fingmi seemed fine at a glance, and she even seemed better than when he had last seen her... Still, the noble could have easily threatened her into claiming that nothing had happened.

Regardless of the truth, he increased the speed and quantity at which he channelled Primordial Yang throughout his body, bursting forward with a stomp. He leapt with the strength of a Moon Hare, ducking underneath a swing of the scion, and delivering a punch toward Edrick’s abdomen.

Right before impact, however, the scion seemed to surge with energy. A powerful blast slammed into Linfeng, and he was thrown off balance, nearly allowing Anoteros to strike him across the jaw with a fist reinforced by his inner energies.

With a burst of Primordial Yang, Linfeng was able to propel himself out of the way. He moved close to the ground and to the scion’s side, delivering a direct kick to the side of his opponent’s left knee, but Anoteros didn’t budge.

‘Damn it!’

Linfeng had to retreat a bit, avoiding getting stomped on by the same occasion.

He hadn’t imagined that Anoteros would know some sort of spell cultivation technique. That kick had been charged with a fair amount of Linfeng’s inner Yang, but it had dealt no damage whatsoever.

Linfeng looked at his surroundings. Mala and Yen’mila had retreated further away just as he had instructed them to do once the fight got started. Meanwhile, Edrick’s maid was still with Fingmi atop the largest piece of debris.

One thing was for certain. That woman was quite powerful, and Linfeng doubted that she would stand idly if her master were to be defeated, and there was no way Linfeng could win this fight without ending up injured and drained of his Primordial Yang. That meant that he couldn’t win and then make a run for it with everyone else.

‘You were right, system. If I want to win against this guy, I need way more training… But that’s only taking into account one meaning of the word win, don’t you agree?’

The system stayed silent for a moment.

Are you going to do it? You can only keep it up for at most five minutes, and you’ll be out of commission once you hit the limit

‘I’m doing it’

Very well. If you pass out before the five minutes end… I’ll possess your body to get you out of here

‘Thank you, System’

Linfeng stanced himself up once more. His body seemed to emit a dark shine as the Primordial Yang within him began to expand and grow so much that not all of it was able to stay within him.

“I might not care about the hypocrites and bastards you massacred back then, but the simple act of thinking of doing anything to Fingmi is more than enough for me to want you dead”

Edrick gave Linfeng the most deranged smile the script holder had ever seen.

“Now we’re talking! You have so much untapped potential, Linfeng… Don’t worry one bit, I’ll make sure to make you bloom once you submit to my rule”

“Dream on. The heavens will descend before this ever happens”

The two men rushed toward one another, creating a loud boom as their attacks collided.

“...This guy is definitely a Xianxia protagonist… Or would Xuanhuan be more accurate?”

Xiaolie wasn’t worried one bit about her master. 

She glanced at Fingmi.

Xiaolie was more concerned about her master’s plan. It needed to succeed.

‘Heheh… If I do well, will Master consider impregnating me~?’