Chapter 222: Bitter Battle
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT , Rock
If it was only all this, then Ye BaiFei would have nothing to fear. After all, with a female’s strength, she couldn't possibly hope to win against a male’s strength. So long as he continued forcing her to take his blows head on, then while her internal strength might be profound, her body would be too weak to endure, and Ye BaiFei would then have the opportunity to win!
However, things went contrary to his expectations! Ever since he started battling with her, their swords only crossed thrice, and no more! This scenario wasn't caused by Ling Chen, but rather Ye BaiFei himself who took the initiative to avoid a direct confrontation!
Under the first three strikes, Ling Chen being a female definitely did not have as much strength as Ye BaiFei, and she felt her wrists turning numb from receiving the blow.
However, Ye BaiFei's suffering was much greater than hers! Every time they crossed swords, he would feel a bone-piercing cold travel from Ling Chen, piercing through his protective internal energy and into his meridians! Every stream required complete attention from Ye BaiFei in order to expel this freezing energy! Even with the protective energy guarding his entire body, Ye BaiFei couldn't help but tremble, feeling his meridians clogging up and his body slowing down. This caused him to want to vomit blood!
From then on, Ye BaiFei tried his best not to clash with Ling Chen head on, and slowly even started to avoid her sword paths. This was when Ling Chen really gained the advantage in this battle! His movement and sword techniques couldn't compare, and his internal energy was at most similar to hers. He wanted to use his innate strength to overpower her, but to think that her internal energy was actually this sly, almost causing him internal injuries!
If it wasn't because of the fact that Ye BaiFei constantly made use of suicidal tactics, or moving so close to Ling Chen that her eyes could only see his face, and also partly because Ling Chen did not want to look so unsightly giving chase to him whenever they separated, Ye BaiFei would have long turned into a sieve!
Flitting his eyes past the battle scene, Ling Tian could temporarily ease his anxiety, but he still retained his original idea of ending the battle in the fastest time possible. He couldn't help but rack his brains furiously, trying to come out with an idea to break their seven-man formation. This was because Ling Chen couldn't be considered at peak form; part of her internal energy had to be constantly used to envelop the poison that she had sucked out from Ling Ran’s body. If she were to engage in a prolonged battle, the consequences would be disastrous if she ended up being unable to control the poison!
The seven men facing Ling Tian stared at him with expressions of fear and shock in their eyes! Just now when Ling Tian had clashed with all of them once, while his movements appeared half ghostly, half realistic, none of the seven men believed that his actions were insubstantial! Even though they knew that Ling Tian was only probing their defenses, they still had to attack with their full strength to make him retreat!
The seven of them were now placed in an extremely embarrassing situation. After realizing what their opponent was capable of, none of them even wanted to go one-to-one against him! This couldn't even be considered as a duel, but more of being tired of living! All of them were extremely clear about this fact!
Ling Tian suddenly slowly, steadily, took in a deep breath. His white robes actually started to flutter even without any wind present, slowly rising up like the swell of a wave!
"Peng!" Revolving his internal energy to the maximum, the headband holding Ling Tian’s hair together suddenly exploded due to the pressure! His head of black hair flew wildly around him, adding a hint of a fearsome aura to his original presence!
Ling Tian was ready to strike!
All of them could see that Ling Tian was giving his all this time! The moment he attacked, he would likely break free in one fell swoop!
Struggling in their life-and-death battle at the side, Ye BaiFei got distracted by Ling Tian’s flashy performance, unknowingly diverting his attention in shock. He ignored Ling Chen’s rain of assaults towards him, gathering his energy to shout out, "Careful!"
In a battle with experts, the slightest of mistakes would lead to irreparable consequences! Ye BaiFei paid a considerable price for his warning!
"Stab stab stab," In that instance when Ye BaiFei was distracted, Ling Chen had left three stab wounds on his body! Fresh red blood rushed out profusely from the wounds, staining his robes red! This was after Ling Chen had some misgivings and kept 30% of her strength for defense, otherwise Ye BaiFei would have gone to meet his maker!
The pupils of all seven black-robed men simultaneously shrank, and they could feel that their palms were already wet with sweat! This was the first time they had ever faced up against such an expert, and their nerves were already stretched taut. Adding on to the warning given by Ye BaiFei, this put them in even more stress!
The corners of Ling Tian’s mouth suddenly turned upwards in a mocking smile. Going all out? He wasn't that dumb! This young master Ling would never use brute force whenever he could win by outsmarting others!
A white blur flashed past, aiming for the left flank of the seven men! While the black men were all well versed in martial arts, all they could see was the fact that his speed had dramatically increased! In their hearts, they all had the same thought: This man has indeed gone all out! All of them unhesitatingly thrust out their swords!
However, how could anyone have expected that the moment they thrust forth their swords, Ling Tian actually halted himself in mid-air, throwing his sword at the black-robed man in front of him! This was followed by him turning and retreating back to where he came from! This was unbelievable, to actually turn from a frontal charge to a quick retreat!
The four men facing Ling Tian immediately used their swords to block the blow, but with ‘pa pa’ sounds, all their swords shattered in the face of Ling Tian’s sword! They only felt as though their chests were hit hard with a huge hammer, causing them to retreat a few steps, their faces unsightly!
As for the guy facing Ling Tian’s back, he suddenly realized that Ling Tian had appeared in front of him! While he was scared out of his wits, his training overruled his fear, and with a loud yell, he disregarded his life to commit fully to his move, believing that his six other brothers would also attack at the same time and save his life!
A pity that the formation had revealed a weakness at this point! How could Ling Tian be so generous as to allow them to recover?
Ling Tian twisted his waist at the last minute, and the sword brushed past his skin. A coldness could be felt on his skin as the sword pierced two holes through his white robes, but this did not deter Ling Tian from rushing forth to the black-robed man, the stored energy in his back being released in one earth-shattering blow towards that black-robed man’s chest!
The snapping of bones sounded as all of the man’s bones in his chest broke from the impact! He was forced out of the formation, spitting blood into the air, having already stopped breathing!
The seven-man formation was broken!
Ling Tian rushed out of the encirclement like a mad tiger that was let loose, instantly appearing in the battle between Ye BaiFei and Ling Chen! His palms carried the strength that could topple mountains and overturn seas, violently chopping down on Ye BaiFei!
The famous assassin, Ye BaiFei, was his true objective! So long as he gravely injured or killed him, then the whole team would be like a body without a head, unable to carry out any concrete plans, let alone the ambush of Ling Jian at 3a.m. tonight! Without Ye BaiFei, and with their formation broken, the remaining six wouldn't even pose a threat and would only serve as practice targets for Ling Jian!
He was only concerned about the identity of the organization behind Ye BaiFei, which was why he hadn't killed any of the other six men! Otherwise, having destroyed their formation, how could Ling Tian still leave the other six untouched!
Thus, his only objective would be Ye BaiFei!
Kill or maim!
Ye BaiFei was in a wretched condition after being stabbed by Ling Chen, and on seeing this expert approach with pressure as though a mountain was crushing him, he couldn't help but feel despair!
Ye BaiFei chose to eat two more swords from Ling Chen in order to escape from the entrapment instead! Steadying his sword, he revolved all the internal power within himself, while his body continued to spill blood! The sword light flashed as he actually became one with the sword, shooting up to meet Ling Tian!
Man and Sword as one! The extreme realm of sword arts! This was Ye BaiFei’s trump card, and without reaching a life and death situation, he wouldn't be willing to resort to this tactic! Even his henchmen were unaware that their boss’s skill had reached this stage!
Two shadows, one descending from heaven and one ascending from earth. Both of them slammed into each other viciously, separating immediately after!
Ling Tian’s figure was thrown upwards by the force from Ye BaiFei’s attack, somersaulting a few rounds before dissipating the force generated! However, when he landed, his legs still stumbled. His handsome face was deathly pale, with a trail of red coming from the corner of his mouth. He had actually received some internal injuries!