The Prodigies War

Bang!

As the battle spear collided with Lin Xun’s fist, a thunderous rumble spread in a burst of divine radiance.

Keeping his momentum going, Lin Xun followed with the Bi’an Stamp.

The middle-aged figure let out a long roar. The battle spear danced in the air, shaking the area and dispelled the clouds with its might.

This was a battle of the daos, where Lin Xun and his opponent interpreted their daos through their techniques.

In just a few moments, the middle-aged figure was suppressed. It didn't take long for them to admit defeat, put away their spear, and cup their fist. “In the battle of the daos, I am far inferior to you.”

Lin Xun also cupped his fist. “Many thanks.”

With a whoosh, the middle-aged figure disappeared.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun was hit with a wave of enlightenment. Although his opponent lost, he was able to see what the power to battle heaven was like!

It had been a perfect display of the power of martial arts, and he had benefited greatly from it.

“I'll fight you.” A bamboo swayed, and a petite and delicate figure emerged from it, saying, “I cultivate Illusion, and seek the path of illusion. Let’s spar.”

Lin Xun instantly focused. “Please.”

The moment the battle started, a magnificent rain of light swept out and caused Lin Xun's vision to change. He suddenly found himself in the mine prison where he had been many years ago.

In the dimly lit room, Mister Lu was in the middle of carving a rune. When he looked up and saw Lin, he scolded, “What are you still standing there for?!”

Lin Xun quietly walked to a corner where there was an old wooden table and a short stool. The table was covered in animal skin cloth, on which lay a bare rune brush.

For as long as he could remember, this was his childhood, the place where he studied runes.

Lin Xun sat down and gazed at Mister Lu, seemingly in a trance.

“Still lazing around?!” Mister Lu suddenly stood up in a huff, glaring angrily at Lin Xun.

He had always had a short temper.

“How good it would be if you were still around, Mister Lu…” Lin Xun sighed softly. He got up and walked to the door.

Behind him, Mister Lu’s angry reprimand echoed. The words were crude, but every sentence was filled with care.

Lin Xun used to be upset about this when he was little.

Only after growing up did he realize that it was Mister Lu’s strict discipline that allowed him to have such achievements in the path of runes.

Unfortunately, Lin Xun was always aware that this was but an illusion!

When he pushed the door, he was greeted with a vast space!

Boom!

As Lin Xun spread his qi and detonated it, the scenes ripped like paper and vanished.

But when he looked around, he realized that he had appeared in Feiyun Village when he had just met the villagers.

An illusion within an illusion?

A hint of respect flashed in Lin Xun’s eyes. However, this still wasn’t enough to stump him!

His mind was firm like a sword that strove to cut down everything in his path!

But what happened next was out of Lin Xun's expectation as he kept appearing in different scenes: The Forbidden City, the Lin Family, Qinglu Academy…

It included everything that he had gone through and beyond as he even saw himself leaving the Violet Thundering Bamboo Forest…

Every illusion felt real, and a new illusion would immediately ensue upon the crumbling of the last.

It was as if returning to reality was no longer possible.

Any cultivator would have already been lost in the endless illusions because of how real the experiences felt; it was just like they were in the real world.

Just one tiny slip of the state of mind and they would go astray, unable to distinguish whether what was happening in front of them was a dream or reality.

“Break!”

A loud shout resounded in Lin Xun's heart, and boom! All the illusions shattered like glass, never to be seen again.

The petite figure cupped their hands and said, “I am inferior, for your heart is like the great sun that shines upon everything.”

Lin Xun also cupped his fist. “Many thanks.”

At that moment, another violet bamboo swayed, and a slender figure of a man appeared. “I have a strike that can cut down all the evils in the world that I would like to show you.”

“Please!” said Lin Xun.

Another battle commenced.

In the following time, Lin Xun fought tirelessly and was unstoppable.

Among his opponents, there were heroes with heaven-defying battle prowess, there were spirit cultivators who were proficient in transformation, there were body refiners with physiques like dragons and elephants…

Every single one of them was an astonishingly talented individual that had stood at the peak of their era!

Their paths and techniques varied and were strange and unique. From them, Lin Xun had benefited and learned a great deal.

He was completely submerged in these battles!

The more enlightenment he gained, the more he learned about the dao of fighting. His understanding of his own dao also went through a transformation.

As the saying went: In a crowd of three, there is bound to be someone that one could learn from.

While the other party might not be Lin Xun’s match, they still had an advantage in a certain aspect that he could learn from.

……

As time passed, Lin Xun was still engaging in battles to discuss the daos.

His opponents were experts who had paved the way in history with their unparalleled attainments in a certain field.

And he fought them by utilizing his own dao and techniques to the fullest.

The hundredth battle…

The two-hundredth battle…

The three-hundredth...

Even until this moment, Lin Xun did not feel any trace of fatigue.

It felt like he was sparring and exchanging with his peers from the ancient era.

All sorts of wonderful arts and dao energy bloomed like fireworks and had Lin Xun mesmerized. He silently recorded them with his mind, drawing from them enlightenment that he then absorbed.

In front of the grass hut, the woman was on her fourth cup of tea, looking leisurely as she watched every battle.

……

The 1900th battle.

Boom!

After Lin Xun defeated his opponent, a shocking aura suddenly surged around him.

The Nine Heavenshaking Destructions Art had been thoroughly mastered!

Every punch he threw now had the power to shake the heavens and move the earth without having to follow a certain pattern, becoming unconstrained.

This art had been deduced by Lin Xun to the utmost perfection!

Strictly speaking, his current Nine Heavenshaking Destructions Art had completely detached from its original essence because he had fused his various comprehensions into it, making it into his own unique martial technique!

Initially, it had been ‘learn the meaning and forget the form,’ and now, it had become ‘understand the essence and develop my own meaning.’

This was like studying the rules of an art so thoroughly that one could effortlessly use it without being bound by said rules, and then add one's own law to it. At this point, the art had completely become one’s own, making it difficult for others to replicate even if they could glimpse into its mysteries.

“Very good!” the woman quietly praised.

She could tell that Lin Xun's understanding of martial arts had risen to a new level, and he had begun to pursue the path of his own law.

……

The 2300th battle.

The Tribulation Dragon Nine Transformations witnessed a breakthrough as Lin Xun thoroughly mastered this technique.

This art complemented the True Dragon Grand Dao, and now, through Lin Xun’s interpretation, every single Tribulation word would carry the True Dragon meaning!

The Hornless Ice Dragon, Bi’an, Chaofeng, Suanni, Qiuniu, Pulao, Yazi, and Bixi were all beginning to transform into dragons!

The nine offsprings of the dragon were all born different, but now, they had begun to return to their roots!

“He actually knows the top secret art of the True Dragon Clan and has even grasped its essence…” The woman was amazed.

……

The 2700th battle.

Lin Xun finally had a minor achievement in understanding the truth of the Impermanence Slash!

In the past, just grasping a sliver of this truth had already allowed Lin Xun to walk a smooth path, and he had considered this slash his killer move.

Now that the Impermanence Slash had broken through again, it had become so powerful that

In other words, when he used the Impermanence Slash with the Extreme Word Inheritance inheritance, its power would far exceed that of the first move of the Great Diffusion Void Breaker Finger that also utilized the Extreme Word Inheritance inheritance!

“He does have a lot of karma tied to him…” the woman pondered. She could see that the inheritance of the Heavenly Yuan Blade Art was related to the Omega Door.

Similarly, the Broken Blade itself was a karmic tie!

This was what she was concerned about.

……

The 2900th battle.

A Moment of Spring and Autumn broke through to the next level as Lin Xun went from exploring its mysteries to having a minor achievement!

Just a single point of his finger now had the might to govern the world and overturn heaven and earth!

By this time, the woman was on her ninth cup of tea.

She gently shook the violet bamboo teapot and estimated that her time to leave was approaching…

The 3000th battle.

After defeating his opponent, Lin Xun stood there as his mind slackened from the extreme state of combat and fell into a muddled, chaotic trance.

All sorts of realizations and insights surged through his brain.

Boom!

His cultivation stepped into the advanced King stage, and the aura emanating from him quickly increased by a huge chunk.

“So that’s the Supreme King stage…?” the woman murmured and sighed. Throughout history, how many heaven-defying characters have lived in regrets because of this stage?

When Lin Xun woke up from his trance, he was glowing with an ethereal aura. He was like a sword that had been tempered a thousand times over, still and pure.

It was at this moment that the woman’s teapot was completely emptied out.

“During my three thousand years of cultivation, I traveled the world alone and took down countless enemies. I was invincible among my peers and had learned more daos and techniques than one can count.” She stood up and looked at Lin Xun. “However, I only use one sword strike, it’s called No Escape.”

Her voice was indifferent, but it carried an overwhelming might!

The last sentence especially had Lin Xun’s interest. Only one sword strike called No Escape?

Lin Xun took a deep breath and cupped his fist. “I would like to witness it.”

The woman nodded, and in an instant, her momentum steeply climbed like a sword that suddenly rose after being buried for ages. Even though it had been silent, its sharpness had not been eroded!

She raised her white and slender hand, and her finger suddenly had the bearing of a sword as it drew a stroke in the air.

It was light and casual, without a trace of decorated movement.

But Lin Xun stiffened, and cold sweat seeped out on his forehead. His clothes were quickly soaked with sweat, his mind began to tremble, and his spirit tingled as he was tense as a drawn bow!

His entire field of vision had been taken over by a single sword qi, indescribably profound and able to slice through everything.

The sword seemed to contain countless mysteries, but it couldn’t appear more simple, just like going back to basics.

The blade was matchless and could not be confined.

Its momentum was unrivaled, and even gods had to make way!

Such a sword qi was simply unheard of and never before seen. It had yet to strike, but Lin Xun was already under a suffocating feeling and shocked to his core.

This sword was called ‘No Escape.’