The joy of breaking through in martial skill realm was suppressed by Lin Ye.
He knew he was growing stronger at tremendous speed, but it still wasn’t enough…
At this moment, Lin Ye’s desire to become stronger was no longer the “addiction” Li Jun had thought it was.
It was obsession!
……
Night fell, and neon lights flared to life.
In Dongjiang City’s Second Ring District, nearly everything was high-end residential housing.
Though it could not compare to the true wealthy districts, those who could live here generally had some savings at home.
Or came from martial arts families.
Inside an apartment, Zhou Kai opened his eyes on a yoga mat and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
That breath seemed to condense into substance, drawing a faint white line through the air that lingered for a long time before dispersing.
He could clearly feel that the surging qi and blood within his body were more powerful and refined than ever before.
His family’s inherited cultivation method, Return to Origin Art, which had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, had finally broken through just now.
Zhou Kai could sense even more source energy drifting in the air.
He had been stuck at this realm for far too long.
So long that his ranking in class had dropped by more than a dozen places.
Today, he had finally broken through!
Aside from that, what delighted Zhou Kai even more was that when he practiced his saber art in the afternoon, his father had also said that his Severing Flow Seven Forms had naturally and smoothly broken through to the third form.
A sense of unprecedented power filled every limb and bone in his body.
Just then, the CR wristband on his wrist gave a slight vibration.
He glanced at it casually.
[Martial Dao Pinnacle Message]
[Goblin Grunt: Open a match?]
The corners of Zhou Kai’s mouth lifted uncontrollably, revealing a pleased smile.
This newcomer… really was his recent source of happiness.
Every time he was beaten down at school until he felt utterly battered by those monster classmates and strict teachers, as long as he logged on and fought a match with this brother, all his gloom and pressure would vanish like smoke.
Today, he had just broken through and his strength had greatly improved. He had been worrying that he had no one to practice on.
And this perfect sandbag had delivered itself right to his door.
It was practically like someone handing him a pillow just as he got sleepy.
Zhou Kai unhurriedly replied with, “Wait a moment.”
Then he stood, walked to the ice maker, took out a square ice cube, and dropped it into a glass.
After that, he opened the liquor cabinet, his fingers sliding across the labels of a row of famous spirits.
In the end, he chose a whisky that suited his current mood and poured half a glass.
The amber liquor rippled with a captivating luster under the light.
Then he turned on the speakers. A piece of classical string music with a soothing rhythm and elegant style slowly flowed through the room.
Finally, he sat back down in his comfortable massage chair, gently swirled the glass, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath of the air mixed with the aroma of liquor.
The sense of ritual was complete.
A few minutes later, when he felt both his state of mind and the atmosphere had been brewed to their peak, he sent another message.
“Come.”
The dual pleasure of spirit and flesh began.
……
A familiar scene transition.
Lin Ye’s feet once again stepped onto cold, hard ground.
This was a plaza ravaged by war. All around it stood skyscrapers whose steel frames had twisted out of shape, and wreckage from abandoned vehicles was scattered across the ground.
His opponent, [Lone Wolf], stood a hundred meters away.
It was still that flowing white martial arts uniform, still that perfectly ordinary battle saber.
But the instant Lin Ye saw him, his gaze narrowed slightly.
He was different.
Though the other party did his utmost to restrain it, that sharpness held in reserve, as well as the qi-and-blood fluctuations surrounding his body that were far stronger than before, could not escape Lin Ye’s current perception.
[LV8]
He had leveled up.
From LV7, he had risen to LV8, the same level as Lin Ye.
The countdown to the start of battle rang in his ears.
This time, Lin Ye was not passive like the time before last, nor did he take the initiative like last time.
He merely stood there quietly, holding his staff in one hand, the tip slanting toward the ground. His entire body was like a silent statue.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the other party to strike first.
Because he could sense that today’s Lone Wolf very much wanted to show off.
Sure enough.
The instant the countdown ended!
Lone Wolf across from him moved!
There was no probing, no circling. His figure was like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, carrying a domineering momentum that seemed capable of cutting through everything as he charged straight over!
So fast!
At least twenty percent faster than last time!
Lin Ye’s pupils contracted slightly.
In the midst of his high-speed advance, Lone Wolf’s figure abruptly split into three. Three saber lights formed a triangular pattern, slashing simultaneously toward Lin Ye’s head, heart, and lower body from three entirely different and tricky angles!
Severing Flow Seven Forms—Triple Stacked Waves!
Lin Ye’s gaze became more focused than ever before.
He could feel that aside from the other party’s use of qi-and-blood power, that special force he still did not understand had also become more solid, more difficult to grasp.
With Chen Meng’s explanation, Lin Ye already knew what that power was.
It was special qi and blood tempered by source energy.
His footwork shifted, and the long staff in his hand instantly swept out a dense curtain of staff shadows, sealing off his entire body.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three crisp, urgent sounds of metal clashing rang out almost at the same time!
An immense force traveled down the staff, shaking Lin Ye’s arms numb and forcing him to retreat several steps uncontrollably.
From the opening move, he had been suppressed!
However, Lone Wolf’s offensive was like an endless tide. One wave had just subsided when another rose.
When the first strike failed, his saber momentum suddenly shifted. The originally domineering slash transformed into a soft, sinister cut. The blade slid along Lin Ye’s long staff like a viper flicking its tongue, thrusting straight at Lin Ye’s throat!
Lin Ye twisted his waist and turned his staff, sweeping the shaft sideways and narrowly deflecting this killing move.
Zhou Kai felt the爽 sensation of bullying a noob rush through him from head to toe.
Yes. This was right!
Ah~!
Such a magnificent opening—cheer for me, applaud me!
Seeing Lin Ye defend with difficulty, Lone Wolf eased his offensive for the moment.
A relaxed smile appeared on his face, and he started talking more.
“Yo, your reactions are pretty fast.”
“Looks like you haven’t been idle this week either. Not bad, not bad.”
His mouth was praising him, but the next second, Lone Wolf stepped forward again.
The movements of his hands grew even more vicious.
Saber light poured down like a waterfall, continuous and unending.
From beginning to end, Lin Ye was firmly suppressed in place. He could only rely on his watertight staff momentum to block, and he could not find any chance to counterattack at all.
Zhou Kai was in an incomparably good mood.
This feeling of completely controlling the battle and playing with his opponent in the palm of his hand was truly exhilarating.
He even worried a little that if he performed too strongly, he might shatter this “Goblin Grunt’s” mentality.
This precious “mental massager” could not be allowed to run away just like that.
He had to control his strength well. He needed to make the other party feel tremendous pressure, but not push him into complete despair.
“Hey, brother, you can’t win just by defending.”
“Bring out that desperate attitude you had last time!”
“Or should I go easy on you?”
As Zhou Kai attacked, he carried out what he believed to be “psychological counseling” with his words.
He did not notice at all.
Beneath the saber light filling the sky, the figure who had been suppressed so badly he could only defend in a sorry state had eyes that remained calm from start to finish, like a deep pool of still water.