If his opponent was not Li Xue….
Her eyebrows knitted, and Li Xue’s body suddenly shifted horizontally. If Ling Jian’s blade could be considered like a flash of electricity, then Li Xue’s movement technique would be classified as faster than the flash, and what was even faster was her hands, which suddenly chopped towards Ling Jian’s wrist.
Ling Jian’s reactions were in no way slow, quickly flipping his wrist while his body remained charging forward. However, he retracted his wrist as he did so, such that the original place of his wrist had now been replaced by a bright and gleaming sword. If Li Xue failed to control her hand, then it would be sending it up for the slaughter!
“Good!” Li Xue shouted out in praise, as her chopping hand turned into a palm strike, heavily impacting the sword’s body. A vibration passed through the sword as the Divine Ice Formula collided against the true energy from the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula, causing a cloud of white fog to rise in the air. This sort of incredibly fast exchange showcased both sides’ ingenious changes and right now, it was likely not even 10 people in this world could achieve this standard!
Both of them let out a low shout at the same time, mutually circling each other, before breaking off in opposite sides. Just as they were about to fall, they reversed their retreating momentum, converting it to attack as a palm and a sword struck out!
“It’s finally started; the main course has just arrived.” On the other side, Ling Tian chuckled as he muttered to himself. “Wanting to trump against someone I’ve trained for over a decade without wasting a bit of strength? Even if it’s you, I’m afraid it’s not so easy. Maybe even if you were to use your full strength, to beat up Ling Jian is no simple task.
Ling Chen tightly held onto Ling Tian’s arm, staring spellbound at the two engaging in an all-out fight. “Young Noble, how come Sister Li Xue’s Divine Ice Formula was so easily broken through by Ah’Jian? This doesn’t make sense, is there anything else involved?” Having practiced the same mystical cultivation, while Ling Chen was inferior, there was only a small difference and she could naturally spot that there was a problem. Even if Ling Chen herself were to attack using her Divine Ice Formula, Ling Jian would not be able to break it so easily, let alone the higher cultivation Li Xue.
“That’s the price to pay for playing too excessively with your opponent.” Ling Tian snorted before continuing, “She feels that just knocking down Ling Jian in that way would not be thrilling enough, thus she wanted to use close combat to beat Ling Jian up into a pig head, thus she started to scheme. However, it seems that she has shot herself in her foot this time. While her strength indeed outstrips Ling Jian, having Ling Jian open up his asura killing intent, his capabilities will become stronger and fiercer. To suppress him in this short period of time will not be possible. Having fought till now, the true victor cannot be decided in reality anymore.
“Ah’Jian has really improved a lot during this time. I’m afraid that I am no longer his match.” A sense of envy flashed through Ling Chen’s face as she sighed.
Ling Tian let out a sound of assent, “The reason why Li Xue ended up in this bitter situation can be summarized in one word, underestimation! Chen’er, you have to remember this phrase: Even a lion has to use its full strength when catching a rabbit. Today is an extremely good lesson, no matter whom you face in the future, never underestimate them! The most effective way is to gain the advantage through striking first, and allowing your enemy to turn into a dead person in the shortest amount of time! Your character is too kind, which is why you should let this be a warning to you.
However….
Was Li Xue really in trouble because she underestimated her opponent? For someone who used to belong to a huge family as a direct descendant, would she make such a trivial mistake?!
Instead of saying that Li Xue underestimated her enemy, it would be better to say that Ling Tian was actually just using this chance to remind Ling Chen the dangers of underestimation. In reality, the real objective of this fight was clearly known to only two people, Li Xue and Ling Tian who understood Li Xue best!
Right now, Ling Jian was akin to an exceptionally sharp treasured sword. Ling Tian had successfully smelted him out through trial and fire, and the blade had already taken shape, even showing off its ability, as though it would never be in a disadvantageous position! However, this also resulted in a unique point, which was the fact that as strong he might be, he didn’t know how to go with the flow and be soft at times.
Furthermore, the harder and stronger something was, the easier it was to break!
A spirit to advance continuously without fear was something that was no doubt needed, but it was still needed for someone to be undaunted by dangers! To put it bluntly, it was to only protect the bare minimum needed for survival, and what Li Xue was doing today was simply to throw this sword back into the furnace for re-smelting, by giving the most amount of pressure towards him so he could showcase his talent by discovering his own weaknesses and removing them from within himself!
Only through repeated smelting and quenching, removing all the impurities within common iron, can it then become a real godly weapon! And the real godly weapons will not be like ordinary weapons, showcasing their sharpness!
A weapon displaying its sharpness on the outside can never compare with a godly weapon that can retract all its aura at will!
Currently, what Li Xue was doing was to attack and force this piece of steel to remove all its impurities through hammering it repeatedly! As such, Ling Jian’s outcome for this battle would be even worse as compared to his fight with Ling Chen, based on Ling Tian’s estimation.
Indeed, he only heard a cute laugh come out from Li Xue’s mouth before a slapping noise was heard and Ling Jian flew out together with his sword. Li Xue had employed her erratic movement technique, slapping ruthlessly down on Ling Jian’s back.
Ling Jian yelled, and his back muscles tightened. His sword arm whirled and a beautiful ray of sword light flashed into reality, akin to a flying mountain as it brought an overwhelming pressure towards Li Xue.
Glancing at the pot emitting hot steam at the corner of the wall, Ling Tian smiled. “Li Xue is finally going to take action. Chen’er, watch carefully. This battle, as well as how Li Xue operates her Divine Ice Formula, are all a form of learning various points for you. There are lots of nuances inside that you have to take note of. For example, do you know why she first constructed a ground of frost and ice?”
Ling Chen paused to think, and replied with a startled expression, “Was she already preparing that for her attacks later?”
Ling Tian only laughed, “When would be considered later? She long ago exceeded everyone’s anticipations. Earlier on when she had used the dirt and dust to attack, she was already digging the trap. As for Ling Jian, this fool, he actually stupidly followed her actions and gathered all the dust, throwing them to the side of the field. He only took that as a purely physical attack, really digging his own grave! Because he was too focused on his own body capabilities, he neglected the fact that the arena, and atmosphere, as well as the other surrounding factors, even luck which can change the tides. This knowledge is something Ling Jian lacks!”
Pausing for a while, he continued, “The icy field and surroundings work to restrict Ling Jian, but to those who cultivate the Divine Ice Formula, it’s akin to being a fish in water, making it easy for one to continuously change directions. If Ling Jian had kept the dirt under his feet previously, then it would be able to cancel out part of the threat brought by the Divine Ice Formula. While it would still be at a disadvantage, but at least if one watched carefully, they could persist and hold on, maybe waiting till the water in the pot boiled. A pity, this guy made the entire battlefield spic and span, and that’s as good as bringing disaster upon oneself. How can he still survive?!”
Ling Chen replied with a little unwillingness, “But Ah’Jian did not know that Sister Li Xue uses the same type of Divine Ice formula like I do. Thus for him to remove all the dirt is still considered acceptable. While he’s disadvantaged now, this is something unforeseen and he cannot be blamed for losing the battle!”
“Dumb dumb!” Ling Tian knocked on her head, “In a battle, anything can happen with anything in your surroundings, even a piece of a leaf, a branch, or even a small piece of dirt. All of these can actually be used as tools to fight! Do you really have to use a real knife or spear to kill someone before it is considered a victory? If one does not know how to utilize their natural surroundings to their advantage, they will never step into the throne which symbolizes the peak of martial arts! Your own strength is definitely the most important, but, when two fighters of similar strengths clash, then external elements will decide the victor! Li Xue’s capabilities far outstrip Ling Jian and by right should not need to use such methods, but she tried to drag out the battle, doing close combat and ignoring her strengths, thus their strengths were pulled closer together. If Li Xue wants to win, then she will have to rely on external elements!”
“Just like the dirt you saw just now, it might be useless in your eyes, but if scattered out now it would allow Ling Jian to be more stable when standing and allow him to focus his attention less on avoiding the ground. He would naturally be able to use more strength in his attacks. Furthermore, the dust could be used at critical moments to blind an enemy. You could even utilize the wind to stir up the dust, allowing you to attack relentlessly while the enemy tries to find you. Look, such a useless dirt in your eyes can actually have so many uses, changing the scene of the battlefield in a moment!”
Ling Chen was stunned beyond belief! She had never thought that even the tiniest bit of dust could have such importance in Ling Tian’s eyes!
Ling Tian paused for a while before musing, “Right now, the only external elements that can benefit Ling Jian would be sunlight and dust, but he actually shifted all the dust away on his own accord. As for sunlight…. Chen’er, did you notice, that the moment Li Xue activated her movement techniques, she has always been facing her back towards the sun? Don’t look down on such small point, all of this can determine victory or defeat!”
Ling Chen spoke in an utterly convinced tone, “So that’s the case! No wonder why young noble likes to seek refuge in places with complicated terrain. This is because every object can play a role in your eyes, and you can use them to their fullest effect. Furthermore, these objects do not catch any attention, and will naturally not leak out your location. Chen’er has had her eyes opened this time!”
Ling Tian only calmly replied, “This is what you call experience. After experiencing so many life and death battles, if you cannot gain enlightenment on such things, then you would be too much of a failure. However, Ling Jian now already has enough capability, what he really lacks is first, his state of mind, and second, experience. Compared to Li Xue, the gulf between them is huge.”
Ling Chen pursed up her lips into a smile, “But since you’ve taught Ah’Jian all your skills, then doesn’t it mean that he actually knows all this already?”