Chapter 2176 - Not Dodging Out of Carelessness
Even though Lin Jianjia hadn’t quite been pushed back, her Pentasection Strike had still ended up being drowned out by the wave of swords. Tianming put great pressure on her. The moment he managed to use Mirage to stop the sword in its tracks, his hidden killing strike would pierce through.
"Where is it?!" She tried drawing back her sword, only to find that the golden Grand-Orient Sword had it pressed down. Mirage was like a vortex with unbelievable attractive force, keeping her sword suspended. Right at that moment, a loud thrusting sound whooshed out as a single point of light flew through the darkness and instantly shot toward Lin Jianjia, piercing her throat!"Huh?" She paled as the sword in her hand snapped from Tianming's strike. "A cosmic impulse!" As she panicked, Tianming’s Flint Infernal Impulse flooded into her body, instantly frying her organs and flesh. That level of internal damage could be fatal! As she shrieked in pain, the Godsin's chain form suddenly pierced through her arms and legs. The wounds that had just healed completely reopened as she was neatly wrapped up in Tianming's control.
"Thanks for not using your swordbeasts. I wouldn't have been able to deal with you otherwise." Tianming showed up at her flank, holding the Godsin in one hand and Lin Jianjia's neck in the other.
"Lin Feng!" Lin Jianjia cried, then it turned into an agonizing shriek that sounded even more urgent than before.
"Cry louder so Lin Yijian can hear you." Tianming didn't care that he was dealing with a girl. This one was so petty and cruel that he couldn't find it in himself to hesitate.
"Aaaaaaaah!" Lin Jianjia's face contorted, and the more she struggled, the more pain she suffered. All the nearby disciples watched with worrying expressions.
"Isn't Lin Feng a twelfth-level solarian?"
"That's right. How can a mere solarian defeat a fifth-level stellaminor?"
"Lin Jianjia was far too careless and didn't use her swordbeasts."
"Lin Feng didn't use his beasts either!"
"Then it must've been because of her previous injuries, as well as her underestimating her enemy."
"That must be the case.... But it looked to me like she was fighting at her usual level. The real oddity is Lin Feng. Everyone said that the reason he defeated Lin Jianchen back then was his cosmic impulse, but it doesn't seem to be just that this time around...."
Their discussions aside, even those in the Swordsoul Chamber were shocked at how it had turned out. Lin Xiaoyun, Lin Wuyi, and the rest had had the last word by calling Tianming a trash disciple, only for his sudden burst of power to completely turn that evaluation around. They were all seniors there, and they knew it wasn't just some fluke.
"His astralforce is really dense. If we discount the cosmic impulse, his astralforce should be around the level of a level two or three stellaminor's."
"That arm also seems to be physically enhanced in some way."
"What kind of fullstella battle art is that? It's like two different sword moves in one! Lin Jianjia looked like she was going up against two opponents!"
"If Jianjia wasn't injured and had used her swordbeasts, she’d probably have been able to hold him back...."
The battle had ended in an instant in Lin Jianjia's loss.
"I believe Lin Feng's combat capability amounts to that of a fourth-level stellaminor, maybe even a fifth. The issue is why hasn't he used his minor stella chart? Maybe something went wrong with his cultivation and he leveled up without being able to transform his sacrosun?"
"You're saying that his actual cultivation level is the third level of the Stellaminoris stage or above?"
"That’s also a possibility."
"So what? Those of his age, the really strong ones, are already at the Order stage. Lin Jianxing, for example."
The discussion went on as Lin Xiao and Dongshen Yue watched. They knew that their grandson must have had more tricks up his sleeves, or he wouldn't be able to have so many girls of that caliber following him.
"That child is really changing how others look at him time and again," Lin Xiao said.
"That's right. If only he was an orderan, it’d be perfect," Dongshen Yue said. Even if Tianming was actually a third-level stellaminor, it was still just average for those of around a hundred years old.
"Forget it! We should be happy that he's been able to achieve this much at all," Lin Xiao said, stroking his beard.
"Happy for what?" She gave his braided beard a tug, causing him to beg for mercy. Even though Tianming still hadn’t been able to shake off the label of being untalented, his performance had stunned many in the Swordsoul Chamber. Subconsciously, their view of him had changed to some degree; he was able to obtain the Grandvoid Compendium, after all.
Lin Xiaoyun, Lin Wuyi, and the members of their branches looked even more pissed off than before. It was Lin Jianjia that had broken the rules, yet she’d ended up defeated all the same! It was like she had lifted a huge rock to hurl at someone, only to drop it on her own feet! All the times she had helped her father save face were wasted because of the events that day. Lin Xiaoyun's tongue shuddered as he mulled over those thoughts.
"Hmph!" He couldn't stand it any longer and quickly turned to leave.
"Hey, don't leave. Keep watching," Dongshen Yue said, laughing. Her voice infuriated Lin Xiaoyun even more. Everyone there was happily watching the youths in the Swordsoul Purgatory and knew that Tianming had already been holding back and wouldn't actually harm Lin Jianjia, no matter how loud she shrieked.
As expected, it didn't take long before Lin Yijian rushed back, only to see that sight. He didn't know how it had happened, but the sight was giving him the urge to tear out his eyes. Lin Jianjia was a princess that not even he dared to carelessly touch! They were even engaged! Lin Jie had given Lin Yijian to Lin Jianjia, as she was the scion and had a rather high status. Lin Jianjia's mother was also Lin Jie's little sister, so the two of them were close cousins.
"Lin Feng, let her go!" he roared as he charged toward them.
Tianming held Lin Jianjia in front of him. "Let's talk nicely and not get reckless. As long as you don't mess with my friend, I won't mess with her. Once the seniors in charge come, I’ll let her go and everyone can go their merry way."
Lin Xiaogui had long escaped, thanks to Tianming, and hiding was also her strong suit.
"Let her go right now," Lin Yijian threatened.
"What's with that attitude? Calm down, young man, and let's talk nicely." Tianming was pleasantly smiling, but he wasn't about to let her go.
Eventually, the supervisors of the Swordsoul Chamber arrived. They hadn’t been that far away to begin with, but they’d intentionally moved at a snail’s pace. It was clear who they served—Lin Jianjia was the daughter of the leader of the Swordsoul Chamber, after all. But with so many seniors watching the scene, there was nothing they could do to Tianming, either.
"Uncles, Aunties, those two couldn't take their loss with grace and wanted to cut off the tails of my follower. You should teach them a lesson so they won't dare to mess around in the future," Tianming said, loosening his grip.
"Just because you got away with it this time, do you think you'll be able to slip away in the future? She's nothing but a pest. Even if she dies, nobody cares," Lin Jianjia cried, tears flowing down her face.
"You're wrong. She's a grade-five disciple. If I recall, grade-five disciples are protected by seniors at all times. If you mess around, you'll be in huge trouble. Her tails are related to her innate talent. If you cripple the talent of a grade-five disciple, you’ll be sentenced to death according to the house rules! Lin Yijian, I was actually trying to save you, don't you get it?" Tianming said in an animated fashion.
Lin Yijian and Lin Jianjia slightly paled and directed their rage solely at Tianming.
"If you want to play, I'll play your game. The days ahead are long. Farewell!" He left and went searching for Lin Xiaogui. That aside, the ancestral guidance stele that had fused with his hand seemed to be pointing him in another direction.
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