Novel Full Chapter 53: Defeat for Kun Long!
Chapter 53: Defeat for Kun Long!
’High-grade mortal rank saber art? And at Advanced Stage of mastery?’ Li Yun’s eyes narrowed. ’This Kun Long really is a genius.’
The ten crimson saber lights howled toward him, each one carrying a killing intent that could tear apart an ordinary cultivator of the sixth level Body Tempering Realm.
Li Yun’s expression grew solemn. He raised the Dark Light Sword, and in the next instant, fiery power surged across its length.
Scarlet Sun Slash!
His blade glowed a deep molten red, and then—
Swish!
His sword moved so fast it blurred, flashing like a streak of fire across the air. To most watching, it was nothing but red arcs cris-crossing the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The saber lights shattered one after another as they collided with Li Yun’s sword, exploding into motes of crimson before vanishing entirely.
Yet Li Yun didn’t relax. His sharp gaze caught Kun Long preparing something far more terrifying.
Without hesitation, Li Yun’s body flickered. His steps were light as wind, and with Phantom Gale Steps, he shot forward like a crimson blur.
But Kun Long was already ready. His saber rose high, dark red energy flooding into its edge.
“Take this, my strongest attack yet!” he roared. “Asura Killing Saber, Hundred Kills!”
The blade descended.
Whoosh!
A hundred overlapping saber lights erupted, blotting out the air, each one sharp enough to tear a sixth-level cultivator apart in an instant.
Li Yun’s face hardened. His sword shifted, his movements became suddenly odd, weaving left then right, curling and twisting in strange, serpentine patterns.
’Flame Serpent Coil!’ He used the second move of the Crimson Sun Flame Sword Art known for its defensive stance.
A fiery serpent seemed to coil around him, formed entirely of his blazing flames. The serpent twisted and writhed as Li Yun’s sword moved around, intercepting every incoming saber light one by one.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each clash shook the ground, the stones beneath Li Yun’s feet cracking under the pressure. But the Flame Serpent Coil endured.
“Impossible!” Kun Long shouted, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Li Yun smiled faintly, his expression strained as one after another the saber lights were ground into nothing.
Blocking so many powerful attacks from high grade mortal rank technique was indeed a bit straining for him. Everytime the he blocked a saber light, his arms would tremble non-stop. But he held on gritting his teeth.
His sword under the essence of the Flame Serpent Coil moved liked a snake in all directions blocking every incoming attacks one after another like they were nothing.
In less than a minute, the hundred strikes were gone, swallowed by his flame serpent defense.
“No! I will not lose!” Kun Long’s roar shook the field. Desperation twisted his face as he poured all his remaining energy into one final strike. His body trembled under the strain.
“True Killing Saber!”
All his internal energy ignited at once, his saber blazing with a murderous radiance. A massive blade of dark crimson energy, more than ten feet long, burst forth, cutting through the world itself as it swept down toward Li Yun. Kun Long’s knees buckled as the technique drained him completely, leaving him gasping for breath.
Li Yun’s eyes gleamed.
“You’ve given everything,” he whispered, “but it ends here.”
The tip of the Dark Light Sword blazed with unbearable heat, glowing so hot that the air itself warped. Gas hissed as a small, fist-sized sphere of condensed fire energy formed at its point.
“Final form – Solar Flare Blast!”
He thrust.
Boom!
The tiny sphere detonated outward, releasing a sunburst of flames. The ten-foot saber light was instantly devoured, incinerated into sparks before shattering apart.
The battlefield trembled, the flames dying out to reveal Li Yun standing steady, his sword lowered.
Across from him, Kun Long staggered, eyes hollow. “How… how can you be so strong?” he whispered hoarsely, then collapsed unconscious to the ground.
Silence hung in the air for a heartbeat.
“He won!” Guan Ling’s voice rang out as she leapt up in excitement. Her beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared at Li Yun’s calm figure. From beginning to end, her gaze hadn’t left the two fighters. Seeing Li Yun crush Kun Long so overwhelmingly left her stunned.
Compared to him, both she and Zheng Tao were nothing more than shadows.
“All of his techniques… every single one of them was at the perfection stage of mastery.” Guan Long’s voice carried both awe and disbelief. “This boy’s comprehension is monstrous. In all my years, I’ve never witnessed anything like it.” His mind replayed the three techniques Li Yun had displayed, each flawless, each executed at the peak of mastery.
“Indeed,” Bai Xueqin agreed softly, her beautiful eyes glinting. “With comprehension like his, he won’t just stand out here. Even in the Sword Hall, he will shine.”
The Sword Hall was not merely another academy, it stood above the four great academies of Moonriver County, a place where true prodigies gathered. If the brightest talents of the four academies were still tempering their bodies, then the Sword Hall’s disciples had already opened their dantian and stepped into the Xiantian Realm.
Even its outer disciples were required to be Xiantian Realm experts. As for those still in the Body Tempering Realm? They weren’t considered disciples at all, only servants.
Because of this and the fact that recruitment into the Sword Hall was the hardest, countless geniuses chose to pursue the four great academies instead. Compared to the Sword Hall, they were far easier to enter.
But Bai Xueqin was certain, Li Yun was not one of those ordinary geniuses. She had a feeling, he might soar like a dragon once he joined the Sword Hall.
“Hu Fu, it seems you’ve lost, haven’t you? Don’t be too discouraged, you’ll have another chance in the future.” Bai Xueqin’s long eyes curved slightly as she spoke, her tone soft, but her words carried a sharp edge that made Hu Fu’s face darken even further.
Hu Fu drew in a heavy breath, his chest rising and falling. His glare shifted first to Li Yun, burning with suppressed fury, and then to Bai Xueqin.
This outcome… he hadn’t imagined it, not even once. What should have been a guaranteed victory had crumbled before his eyes. The boy he had dismissed as nothing, not even worth a second glance, had actually defeated Kun Long, the very man he had searched high and low for, paying a steep price to bring him here.
The humiliation was unbearable. He had come intending to humiliate Bai Xueqin, but now the roles had been reversed.
“Damn it!” Hu Fu cursed silently, his rage echoing in his chest.
“Go!” he barked suddenly, turning on his heel and striding away without sparing another glance.
The Water Cloud City Lord’s Mansion guards immediately followed, carrying the unconsciousness Kun Long. In moments, their figures vanished from the Mist Spirit Pool’s surroundings, retreating with their defeated master.
“Li Yun, you did good.” Bai Xueqin’s smile bloomed like a flower, her voice warm with approval.
To be honest, when she first learned that Hu Fu’s chosen fighter was Kun Long, she had prepared herself for defeat. Even she thought Li Yun had little chance of victory. Yet, not only had he won, he had dominated completely.
It was beyond her expectations. Astonishing.
Li Yun only gave her a faint smile. The battle had taught him much as well. He now understood his current strength with greater clarity. Against cultivators at the sixth level of Body Tempering Realm, he could fight with confidence, he had just proved it. But invincibility? That was another matter.
Defeating Kun Long had forced him to bring out nearly all of his cards. And Kun Long had once been the foremost genius of Purple Moon Academy, proof enough that opponents of this caliber, or stronger, would be waiting in places like the Sword Hall.
The fight had reminded him of a simple truth: there was always a bigger genius somewhere in the world. He had merely not crossed paths with them yet.
Still, his eyes gleamed with certainty.
’But I haven’t revealed everything. If I truly unleashed all my cards, I could crush anyone below the seventh level of Body Tempering Realm. And even against a seventh-level cultivator… I might just have a chance.’
“Li Yun, well done!” Guan Long’s voice rang with genuine excitement. His old eyes shone with admiration. He had no words to describe this youth anymore. Not only was he unmatched in alchemy, but now he had revealed equally monstrous talent in cultivation.
’A monster… no, more than that.’ Guan Long thought, his heart trembling. ’This boy is destined to shake the Crimson Sun Empire one day.’
“Li Yun, you’re truly amazing!” Guan Ling’s face lit up with a bright smile as she stepped to his side, her tone warm and admiring.
Li Yun only glanced at her once, sneering inwardly. ’So friendly now? Didn’t you tell me to get lost before? Changing faces is easy for you, huh? Since when were we so familiar?’
“Haha…” Li Yun forced out a dry laugh. If this woman weren’t Guan Long’s daughter, he wouldn’t have bothered replying at all.
“Futian, open the Mist Spirit Pool!” Bai Xueqin’s crisp voice cut through the air.
“Yes!” Bai Futian immediately stepped forward, leading several guards from Azure Wind City Lord’s Mansion. They moved quickly, blasting apart the stone wall that had been artificially constructed to seal the pool.
With a thunderous boom, the wall collapsed.
At once, a faint, rolling mist poured out. The spiritual energy within it was so pure that just breathing it in left one’s body feeling light and refreshed, the mind unusually clear.
“Li Yun, Han Yun, Guan Ling, enter the Mist Spirit Pool and begin your cultivation!” Bai Xueqin waved her hand, her expression commanding.
Without hesitation, the three of them leapt forward, descending into the Mist Spirit Pool.