Chapter 201: Life and Death
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT , Rock
Ling Jian was dumbfounded. He was certain that even if he fought Yu ManTian personally, he wouldn’t be able to do much better than Ling Chi. In that instant, the competitive spirit in him was ignited and he was spurred to cultivate quickly so he wouldn't be overtaken by his brother.
In just the blink of an eye, Ling Chi had actually circled around Yu ManTian a full 19 times! At the same time, Yu ManTian had also received a total of 57 attacks! However, the most amazing part was that their swords had never touched each other!
Yu ManTian was unable to find Ling Chi’s sword with his own, while Ling Chi had intentionally avoided Yu ManTian’s sword. Ling Chi knew that his cultivation was far from Yu ManTian's level and that any contact would only increase his exhaustion. Thus, he chose to adopt such a strategy!
Ling Chi’s strategy was no doubt the best approach. As Ling Tian looked at their intense battle, he praised him as he thought, To face an opponent like Yu ManTian, a powerful XianTian expert, Ling Chi’s strategy is undoubtedly the most suitable! Dragging out the battle was the best method. As long as Ling Chi’s inner qi can continue to keep up, and he can maintain such a speed, the first to lose his patience will definitely be Yu ManTian. The moment Yu ManTian loses his patience, that would be the best time to strike!
However, Ling Tian still couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Ling Chi’s inner qi was just far too shallow as compared to Yu ManTian. While his strategy was correct, his inner qi would never be able to last until Yu ManTian became impatient. Therefore, Ling Chi’s loss was already determined! Despite that, this battle was still extremely beneficial to the other four. After all, Ling Chi had just displayed the best way to deal with an expert like Yu ManTian! This strategy was something that the other four of them hadn't managed to come up with.
In retrospect, Ling Tian was just too young. Despite having experience from both his lifetimes, his accumulated knowledge and wisdom was still limited. He had still underestimated Yu ManTian. Yu ManTian wasn't the arrogant and conceited NanGong TianHu. While he was an extremely straightforward person, he was also a martial arts fanatic who had been through hundreds of battles. After stepping into the XianTian stage, his martial arts attainment had far exceeded others. While he was usually a careless and rash individual, this didn't include how he would act in a martial arts spar!
He was certain that Ling Chi would definitely not be able to maintain his speed for long. He raised his guard and waited without any impatience or arrogance. He was certain that Ling Chi wouldn't be able to spin around him forever, and his own XianTian inner qi wasn't something that the teen in front of him could ever equal. After cultivating for over thirty years and breaking into the XianTian stage, Yu ManTian’s patience and confidence were already a head above the rest!
Ling Chi’s footwork suddenly sped up, and ‘ding ding ding’ sounds could be heard all around. Ling Chi’s body had almost transformed into a blur of white light, while Yu ManTian still maintained his principle of ‘defense is the best offense’. From afar, both of their bodies could no longer be seen! The only thing that could be seen was a white flash continuously charging at a wall of white light!
All of a sudden, Ling Chi let out a crisp cry, and a flash of white light shot into the sky! From the momentum of spinning a few hundred rounds, Ling Chi’s body shot into the air. Without even using any strength, Ling Chi was already 40 feet in the air! His slim figure made a backflip in the air as his long sword shook, turning into thousands of silver lights raining down from above. He then charged at Yu ManTian, like a meteor crashing down to Earth!
A look of praise could then be seen on Ling Tian’s face, and he said, "Good brat!" Ling Chi actually chose to launch the ‘Nine Firmament Lightning Flash’ move at such a time! This was definitely Ling Chi’s final move. After all, Ling Chi had already channeled all of his strength into this single attack. After this attack, regardless of victory or defeat, Ling Chi wouldn't have any strength left!
If Yu ManTian couldn't block this attack, he would definitely be sliced up by Ling Chi!
For Ling Chi to unleash this move now, Ling Tian predicted that Ling Chi had no chance of victory, and would definitely pay a heavy price! If Yu ManTian hadn't promised to not make any killing blows, Ling Tian would definitely separate the both of them now. Otherwise, Ling Chi might even sacrifice his life as the price!
Perhaps it isn’t so bad a thing to let this brat suffer a good lesson, Ling Tian thought to himself.
However, Ling Tian was wrong. He had underestimated Yu ManTian’s character and his strength!
Ling Chi had grasped the best timing and his attack was indeed something that Yu ManTian didn't expect. However, a junior like Ling Chi couldn't compare to Yu ManTian’s battle experience. Yu ManTian’s strategy was to wait for Ling Chi to run out of stamina before launching his counterattack! Things were different from what Ling Tian had imagined. Even if Yu ManTian couldn't keep up with Ling Chi’s speed, it didn’t mean that Yu ManTian’s weapon couldn't. With Yu ManTian’s discernment, he had long since seen through Ling Chi’s attack and could have finished Ling Chi off a long time ago. The only issue was the fact that Ling Chi might be heavily injured or even killed.
This wasn’t entirely out of the question even with his promise. All martial artists definitely had the instinct to protect themselves. This battle had already far exceeded the realms of a casual spar with Ling Chi and the rest fighting Yu ManTian without holding anything back.
With Ling Chi unleashing such a deadly attack, none of them could fault Yu ManTian for seriously injuring or even killing Ling Chi!
While Ling Tian had the experience of two different lives, he was too focused on the outcome instead of the process. He treated his subordinates with sincerity, but he had never nurtured their character. Because of this, Ling Jian, Ling Chi, and the rest of them were all made from the same mold. Ling Tian’s actions had unknowingly caused all of their characters to be a little extreme!
Even with his wealth of experience, Yu ManTian didn’t expect Ling Chi to change his strategy so suddenly. Furthermore, he had suddenly unleashed a killing move.
Before the sword arrived, Yu ManTian could already feel the destructive force of it! His face also changed immediately as he thought, What are these brats thinking? What are these brats really trying to do?
Can’t you guys tell that I have already shown you mercy? I am sparing with you guys, but every single move by you guys is out to kill me! Every single move is filled with killing intent! Don’t tell me… this is a trap? A trap to kill me?!
From the self-protective instinct of a martial artist, the instinct of a XianTian expert, Yu ManTian’s first reaction was to retaliate with all his strength! While Ling Chi was the youngest of the five brats, he was also the strongest among them. His moves were well-practiced, and his movement technique was exquisite. He was already no weaker than Ling Jian! Furthermore, Ling Chi had broken through into the 5th stage of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula a few days back. However, if his skills were compared to Yu ManTian’s retaliation…
Ling Chi wouldn't just be injured, instead he would definitely die!
With his XianTian senses alerted, Yu ManTian instinctively spun around. As he spun a shining bright silver lotus, made from sword light, could be seen revolving around his body. Many layers of these lotus flowers then shot upwards to receive Ling Chi’s attack! This was the final move Yu ManTian used to deal with Ling Jian, the ‘Nine-nine Lotus Seats’!
It was something for Ling Chi to be proud of to force Yu ManTian to use the ‘Nine-nine Lotus Seats’!
However…
Ling Tian seemed to have realized something, but it was already too late. It was already far too late for him to stop Yu ManTian! As long as both the attacks collided, Ling Chi would certainly die! There was no way he could emerge alive!
As for Ling Jian and the rest, because of their lack of experience and the fact that there was no risk in the previous battles, they couldn't notice the danger Ling Chi was in!
In the instant both their swords crossed, Yu ManTian’s usually proud face revealed a trace of comprehension!
After the loud ring of metal clashing, Ling Chi’s body flew out and Yu ManTian took a few steps back. His already red face turned completely dark red, and he slowly walked towards the direction that Ling Chi had flown.
Ling Chi didn’t die?!
Ling Jian had already flown up into the air, grabbing Ling Chi’s body and landing gently back on the ground. After checking Ling Chi’s breathing, he quickly placed a pill in Ling Chi’s mouth. At the same time, he placed a palm on Ling Chi’s chest and another on Ling Chi’s back, transmitting a pure wave of inner qi!
Ling Chi’s injuries weren’t too far off from his prediction. While his injuries were a little more serious as compared to Ling Feng and the rest, they weren't too serious!
Apart from Yu ManTian himself, only Ling Tian knew what had just happened.
With Yu ManTian’s martial arts, while the previous situation was critical, it was all under his control. However, Ling Chi’s final attack was just far too dangerous, causing Yu ManTian to be suspicious. Without thinking too much, he unleashed the ‘Nine-nine Lotus Seats’ with all his strength.
If both the moves were to collide, Ling Chi would certainly be dead. Although Yu ManTian promised not to kill, the five of them had unleashed killing moves at every moment in their spar with him. Limiting Yu ManTian from unleashing any killer moves was already extremely unreasonable. While Ling Tian was wise, some of his thoughts were no more than wishful thinking. This was a flaw in Ling Tian’s character that he only thought from his own perspective and didn't consider other's point of view. In other words, even if Yu ManTian were to kill Ling Chi, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to do so!