Chapter 162 - 161: Luo Tian the Anomaly

"Senior Dongmen... was actually defeated!"

The brawny man and the two geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom who had just arrived were so shocked they were speechless, unable to believe the scene before them.

The undefeatable legend in their hearts had just been shattered by an unknown youth.

No!

Now that Luo Tian had accomplished this...

...his fame would spread beyond the Azure Cloud Kingdom. He would no longer be a nobody.

"That kid! He actually comprehended a trace of True Intent Fur! And of the exceptionally powerful True Sword Dao Intent, no less!"

Dongmen Lin’s face was filled with indignation as he rapidly retreated, a thin line of blood appearing on his chest.

Luo Tian’s Attack had barely managed to pierce his Defense, inflicting only a minor wound.

But as the number one on the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s Human List, Dongmen Lin had been unrivaled for so long. When had his pride ever suffered such a defeat?

Furthermore,

Dongmen Lin had felt extremely stifled ever since the fight began.

His bizarre and unpredictable attack methods happened to be perfectly countered by Luo Tian.

His powerful Martial Vein Power was also suppressed by Luo Tian.

And in the end,

Luo Tian had unleashed the True Intent he had just comprehended for the first time, executing a strike that surpassed his limits and just so happened to break through his Defense.

All in all,

Luo Tian’s victory didn’t necessarily mean he was truly stronger than Dongmen Lin.

But what couldn’t be denied...

...was that Luo Tian’s combat prowess had well and truly reached the level of number one on the Human List.

"Senior Dongmen, we’ll help you!"

The two arriving geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom had ill intentions, planning to use their numbers to bully him.

"Shut up! I haven’t lost yet!"

Dongmen Lin snapped in anger.

He had only lost by half a move and refused to accept it. He wanted to defeat Luo Tian fair and square.

Besides,

when he and Luo Tian unleashed their Martial Veins, they created an area-of-effect that lesser cultivators would find hard to interfere in, and they could easily get caught in the crossfire.

"Blade of Void Wind!"

Above Dongmen Lin’s head, the phantom of a deep silver void bloomed with light.

BZZZT!

The True Qi in his body churned and boiled. A silver, chilling wind wrapped around his arms, gradually converging into a silver Wind Blade that radiated a biting cold.

’This is... he’s using a Secret Skill beyond his Realm!’

Luo Tian felt a pressure emanating from the Blade of Void Wind.

The power of this blade far exceeded Dongmen Lin’s current Realm, and using it would surely come at a cost.

Luo Tian was about to use the Blood Burning Technique to raise his combat power and counter it.

Hm?

His gaze suddenly shifted, a strange look in his eyes.

He saw that...

...the Five-Colored Streaming Light on Dongmen Lin’s body had grown extremely dim.

Immediately after,

an invisible power from within Profound Spirit Mountain enveloped him.

"No! The fight isn’t over—"

Dongmen Lin cried out in alarm as his figure vanished from the Profound Spirit Hall.

Luo Tian couldn’t help but shake his head.

Fighting inside the Profound Spirit Hall rapidly consumed one’s Five-Colored Spiritual Light.

For some reason,

Dongmen Lin had far less Five-Colored Spiritual Light than he’d expected; a single battle had completely depleted it.

What Luo Tian didn’t know...

...was that Dongmen Lin originally had a considerable amount of Five-Colored Spiritual Light.

But after entering Profound Spirit Mountain,

Zheng Wei had been giving orders. Whenever he saw some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures he wanted, he wouldn’t use his own light but instead made the geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom pay for them.

As a result,

none of the geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom had much Five-Colored Spiritual Light left.

"Ah!"

Seeing Dongmen Lin disappear, the brawny man and the other two Qiu Yue Kingdom geniuses were dumbfounded.

Then, Luo Tian’s cold and hostile gaze swept over them.

A sense of terror filled their hearts.

This person before them was an existence even more powerful than Dongmen Lin.

"Run!"

The three of them were so scared their hair stood on end, and they bolted for the exit of the Profound Spirit Hall.

SWOOSH!

Luo Tian slashed out a Star River Level Sword Qi Rainbow Light, killing the brawny man who was last to flee.

As for the other two,

Luo Tian was worried about Xia Bingyue’s battle and didn’t give chase.

WHOOSH!

Luo Tian’s figure blurred into an afterimage as he dashed straight toward the Meditation Room.

A few breaths later,

the fighting figures of Xia Bingyue and Zheng Wei came into view.

"Hahaha! My dear Fairy Xia, how many more sword strikes can you manage?"

Zheng Wei laughed with wild abandon.

Despite his robes being torn in several places and a bloody scratch marking his cheek, he looked a bit worse for wear.

HUFF! HUFF!

Xia Bingyue’s face was pale, and the hand gripping her sword trembled slightly. She was clearly exhausted, especially from the drain on her mind.

The power of True Intent, after all, did not belong to the Spirit Sea Realm.

Even if it was just True Intent Fur, a Spirit Sea Realm cultivator activating it would suffer a severe mental drain.

Of course,

Luo Tian, who cultivated the Creation Technique and possessed Spiritual Power more than ten times greater than his peers, was an exception.

Just as Zheng Wei was laughing wildly,

"Die!"

A deep, starry sword glow—grand, magnificent, and wreathed in Cold Mist—slashed toward him from the side.

WHOOSH!

This strike resonated with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, forming a vast and boundless Great Trend of the Sword Way.

The moment this sword strike was unleashed,

the Treasure Sword in Xia Bingyue’s hand let out a clear hum and trembled, creating a sort of resonance.

’This True Sword Dao Intent... he actually...’

A trace of pleasant surprise flashed through Xia Bingyue’s clear, beautiful eyes, which rippled with a splendid light.

This sword strike...

...seemed to have cut straight into her heart, stirring a touching sense of familiarity and resonance.

This was because...

...Luo Tian had once studied her True Sword Dao Intent and drawn inspiration from it. Thus, their Sword Intents shared some similarities and would resonate with each other.

"What’s going on?! Another Attack with Sword Intent..."

Zheng Wei was flabbergasted, his smile freezing on his face.

This sudden strike from the side had caught him completely off guard.

That’s right.

Luo Tian’s strike was a sneak attack.

The Shadow Cloak he wore could conceal his aura, and at night, it could even grant him Invisibility.

However,

the Profound Spirit Hall was as bright as day, making Invisibility impossible.

But the aura concealment effect was still very practical.

Zheng Wei didn’t notice Luo Tian until he was within twenty meters.

"Good Swordsmanship!"

Xia Bingyue cried out in praise and, without mercy, slashed out a dazzling Sword Light containing True Intent.

Instantly,

Zheng Wei was assaulted by two powerful sword beams from the front and back, both containing True Intent, enough to pose a direct threat to him.

"Block it!"

Zheng Wei roared as a golden radiance surged from his body.

WHUM!

From beneath his robes, a suit of Soft Armor erupted in a brilliant, golden-scaled light.

At the same time,

he activated his Martial Vein Power, and a layer of fine, dark brown lines appeared on his skin, enhancing his defensive capabilities.

BOOM! CRACKLE!

Two flashing, ice-cold Sword Lights struck Zheng Wei, setting off a deafening explosion of intertwining radiance.

A muffled, angry grunt came from within the blast wave of light.

The light dissipated.

A trickle of blood escaped the corner of Zheng Wei’s mouth. His golden robe was blasted to shreds, revealing the Golden Scale Soft Armor underneath.

"A Middle Grade Defensive Treasure Artifact."

Luo Tian was slightly surprised.

With each increase in grade, the power and effect of a Treasure Artifact multiplied.

A Middle Grade Treasure Artifact was worth more than ten times a Low Grade Treasure Artifact; most Spirit Sea Realm cultivators simply couldn’t afford one.

Protected by the Golden Scale Soft Armor and his Martial Vein Power, Zheng Wei was injured but not fatally.

"Strike!"

Luo Tian and Xia Bingyue seemed to share a single mind as they both attacked at once.

The effectiveness of a Treasure Artifact was also related to one’s personal Cultivation. It could negate a certain amount of damage, but it wasn’t a get-out-of-death-free card.

"Damn it!"

Zheng Wei’s expression was grim. Having been injured by a sneak attack, he knew he was no match for the two of them combined.

WHOOSH!

He transformed into a golden shadow resembling a soaring roc and leaped into the air to flee.

But while in mid-air, he took part of the Attack and spat out another mouthful of blood.

’This guy! What an astonishing Body Technique!’

Luo Tian was startled.

Zheng Wei’s overall strength was even greater than Dongmen Lin’s.

If it had been Dongmen Lin in that situation, he probably would have been finished.

"Kid! The next time we meet, I’ll make you regret ever being born."

The voice, filled with icy killing intent, came from the distant, departing golden roc shadow.

"Hahaha! And you, Xia Bingyue! You won’t escape my grasp..."

The voice was arrogant, domineering, and utterly unrestrained.

Clearly,

this Young Master Zheng had marked them both.

Luo Tian frowned slightly. This Zheng Wei was the son of Prince Zheng of the Chilong Dynasty.

A major figure like Prince Zheng wielded enough power to influence the very survival of the Azure Cloud Kingdom.

"Luo Tian, Bingyue owes you her life."

Xia Bingyue’s face was pale. Her delicate body swayed, on the verge of collapsing.

"Miss Xia!"

Luo Tian was startled and quickly supported her.

Xia Bingyue’s mental energy was completely overdrawn.

If Luo Tian’s first strike hadn’t been a sneak attack, or if he had arrived a few breaths later, the outcome would have been uncertain.

"Ngh..."

In pain and powerless, Xia Bingyue collapsed limply into Luo Tian’s arms.

Luo Tian froze. He was holding her fairy-like body, with its icy skin and jade-like bones. Her robes were torn at the chest, revealing the pure, crystalline, and perky snowy peaks beneath.

’I can’t take advantage of her situation.’

Luo Tian’s face flushed red, and he quickly averted his gaze.

After all, he was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old virgin, still green when it came to matters between men and women.

Even though Luo Tian tried to control himself,

at his vigorous, youthful age, holding a beautiful woman, Bing Li and fairy-like, and with such an alluring sight before him, his blood couldn’t help but boil.

Down below, Luo Tian’s body had a mind of its own, standing straight up at attention.

As luck would have it, it pressed against Xia Bingyue’s round, full buttocks, and he felt an ecstatic springiness.

’This...’

Luo Tian was stunned, thinking this was bad.

Given Xia Bingyue’s cold arrogance, any man who behaved so disrespectfully would probably be run through with her sword.

In his arms, Xia Bingyue’s beautiful eyes narrowed. Her cool, pretty face instantly turned crimson as blood.

A flash of cold anger appeared in her eyes, only to be replaced by a complex mix of emotions.

"I’ll take you to drink some Profound Spirit Liquid."

Luo Tian changed the subject and carried Xia Bingyue to the ancient well in the entrance hall.

Inside the ancient well, a crystalline spring surged—it was the Profound Spirit Liquid.

Luo Tian scooped up some Profound Spirit Liquid and helped Xia Bingyue drink a few mouthfuls.

This Profound Spirit Liquid could replenish Vitality and restore one’s energy.

A moment later,

Xia Bingyue had recovered a little and struggled out of Luo Tian’s arms to stand on her own.

"Thank you."

Xia Bingyue said her thanks, gave Luo Tian a deep look with her ethereal eyes, and then went to a Cultivation Room.

PHEW!

Luo Tian let out a long sigh of relief. Thank goodness this ice beauty didn’t hold a grudge for him unintentionally taking advantage of her just now.

’Let’s see what’s happening outside.’

Luo Tian took out the Five-Colored Jade Pendant, and an image of Profound Spirit Mountain appeared on the wall in front of him.

Zheng Wei was leading the two geniuses from the Qiu Yue Kingdom all the way back outside Profound Spirit Mountain.

The pink-robed woman looked at Zheng Wei and Dongmen Lin with a surprised expression.

"That Luo Tian also has the strength of number one on the Human List. He’s truly an anomaly. Although we had an absolute advantage, we were too spread out," Dongmen Lin said, having regained his composure.

The pink-robed woman and Dongmen Lin both had the combat power of number one on the Human List.

Zheng Wei was even stronger.

It was only because they had underestimated their targets, especially Luo Tian, that they had suffered such a major loss.

...

「Inside the Profound Spirit Hall.」

Luo Tian put away the Five-Colored Token, his heart settling with relief.

On the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s side, very few geniuses could still enter Profound Spirit Mountain, so the threat was greatly reduced.

Returning to his private room,

Luo Tian sat cross-legged and began to cultivate. The ninth Qi Vein in his body steadily began to open.

「One day later.」

His ninth Qi Vein was seventy percent open.

At this moment,

Luo Tian brought up the image of the area outside Profound Spirit Mountain again and saw that Zheng Wei was leading the people from the Qiu Yue Kingdom in a retreat.

"Let’s take care of business first! If we just wait here, that kid probably won’t dare to come out anyway," Zheng Wei said in a low voice, his injuries already healed.

Luo Tian could only see the image; he couldn’t hear any sound.

He closed his eyes and immersed himself in Cultivation once more.

「Another day later.」

Luo Tian’s ninth Qi Vein filled to its absolute limit, and he advanced to the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Meridian Opening.

This promotion brought a steady increase in strength and deepened his foundation.

’The nine Qi Veins are all open.’

’The next step in my Cultivation is to merge the nine veins into one, open a Qi Sea in my Dantian, form a Qi Sea Spiritual Vortex, and advance to the Spirit Sea Realm.’

Luo Tian’s face was contemplative, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.