Chapter 1097: Chapter 1096
"The number one genius of the young generation in the Nine Provinces?"
Zhou Qingqing’s eyes revealed a hint of surprise; she hadn’t expected Ling Chen to have such a title.
"Just an empty reputation."
Ling Chen hadn’t anticipated that the Heavenly Sword Tournament would be so well-known, even the ordinary female disciples of Lingyue Island knew his name.
"Achieving such high accomplishments in the outside world is not something that an empty reputation can reach."
Zhou Qingqing’s gaze towards Ling Chen changed, her previous arrogance had long vanished without a trace.
She had heard of those famous geniuses of the Central Dynasty, like Peerless Sword, Liu Mengru, Sima Xiaoyao... their renown was also great among sect disciples like her.
If there was to be a ranking of talents encompassing the entire world, these people could all be in the top ten.
"Ling Chen, you injured my people. If you want to resolve this matter today, you must agree to one of my demands."
Zhou Qingqing stared at Ling Chen, speaking calmly.
"What demand?"
Ling Chen raised an eyebrow, unsure of what tricks this woman intended to play.
"You and I shall spar; if you can defeat me, then I won’t hold a grudge over the previous incident."
In Zhou Qingqing’s beautiful eyes, there surfaced a hint of combat intent.
She was already unconvinced by Ling Chen; now knowing Ling Chen’s background, her fighting spirit naturally grew more fervent.
"What if I say no?"
Ling Chen lifted his eyelids slightly, speaking indifferently.
"What, are you afraid to lose?"
Zhou Qingqing’s lips curled into a mocking arc.
"Such a juvenile taunt can’t provoke me."
Ling Chen remarked casually.
"But if you truly want to spar with me, then wait for the next opportunity."
With that, Ling Chen no longer paid attention to Zhou Qingqing and walked towards Cuiyun Residence without concern.
"Stop right there!"
In her rage, Zhou Qingqing’s chest heaved violently; she had never had a man disregard her this way before. Ling Chen’s action not only disrespected her strength but also gave a blow to her charm.
In a fit of anger, she directly unsheathed the sword at her waist, intending to stab at Ling Chen. However, as soon as her sword was drawn, it was blocked by another snow-white treasure sword.
The one who intervened was none other than Lin Wan.
Lin Wan glanced at Zhou Qingqing, feeling secretly pleased, yet externally she maintained a detached appearance as she spoke, "Ling Chen has already said he does not wish to spar with you, Zhou Qingqing, why persistently hassle him."
"Persistently hassle?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingqing became even angrier; who was she? A renowned beauty on Lingyue Island, always only male disciples pursued her relentlessly; when had she ever pestered someone else?
"Isn’t that so?"
Lin Wan folded her arms, looking obviously apparent.
Not wanting to argue with Lin Wan, Zhou Qingqing’s dark gaze landed on Ling Chen, and without the slightest regard for ladylike demeanor, she started cursing directly, "Ling Chen, you spineless bastard!"
The moment her words spread, Ling Chen’s steps abruptly halted, causing Zhou Qingqing’s eyes to brighten; could it be that she had finally provoked him?
She felt uncertain inside, had she gone too far with her insults?
No matter, she couldn’t care about so much now; this time, Ling Chen had to engage in a duel with her, right?
However, when Ling Chen turned around, he didn’t display any anger; instead, his lips curled into a smile as he spoke, "Curse all you want, rest assured, even if you curse here all day and night, I still won’t agree to spar with you."
"You!"
Zhou Qingqing almost saw black from anger, nearly fainting; she had never seen someone as shameless as Ling Chen. This guy, where was his demeanor as the number one genius of the Nine Provinces? He resembled more a boorish rogue from the streets.
Ling Chen no longer paid attention to Zhou Qingqing behind him and walked into Cuiyun Residence with large strides.
Within the courtyard.
A rich Spiritual Qi mingled with fragrance, causing Ling Chen’s eyes to light up; this place, merely breathing in the air, brought a refreshing sensation and peace of mind.
Each courtyard here was independent, wrapped in an array formation; only those residing here could freely enter and exit.
Ling Chen didn’t enter the house; he sat cross-legged nearby the pavilion.
Flipping his palm, a flash of red light appeared, revealing a mini baby-like red fruit on his palm, precisely the Fire Infant Fruit obtained from the Azure Dragon Family.
Click!
Ling Chen crushed the Fire Infant Fruit and swallowed it whole, a surge of scorching medicinal power immediately spread in his Dantian.
Two Fire Infant Fruits significantly aid the enhancement of the True Essence of Fire, Ling Chen estimated that it would roughly enhance the fire essence by another level.
The medicinal power of the Fire Infant Fruit exploded, rapidly coursing through Ling Chen’s veins and meridians, eventually converging at his brow.
On the surface of Ling Chen’s body, fiery red patterns emerged one after another.
A wisp of flame suddenly flickered from Ling Chen’s eyes.
Scorching waves transformed into heatwaves that swept out around Ling Chen.
With Ling Chen’s current prowess, the speed to refine the Fire Infant Fruit was incredibly fast; in just half an hour, both Fire Infant Fruits were completely refined.
As Ling Chen anticipated, his True Essence of Fire indeed advanced a notch, reaching a fire level of ninety percent.
Sigh...
Exhaling softly, Ling Chen brought out the Flame Emperor Order.
Since obtaining the Flame Emperor Order, Ling Chen hadn’t had the opportunity to sit down and thoroughly comprehend the martial arts within; finally, now he could study it carefully.
From the Thunder Emperor Order, Ling Chen learned Thunder Cut, which proved endlessly useful; the Flame Emperor Order, likewise one of the nine False Emperor tokens, surely contains a supreme martial art too.
Seizing the moment after refining the Fire Infant Fruit, enhancing the True Essence of Fire, now ideally suited for understanding the martial arts within the Flame Emperor Order.
As his consciousness entered the Void Emperor ’s royal decree, Ling Chen’s vision was immersed in a sea of flames, entering a spiritual world entirely constructed by flames.
Here, Ling Chen could distinctly perceive his thinking accelerating significantly, especially in flame perception, reaching an almost extreme level, as if at this moment, Ling Chen was no longer a person but a spirit formed by fire.
The flames dancing in the spiritual world were no longer mere flames but seemed to become part of his body.
"Li signifies fire, the essence of yang."
"Human fire is called fire, heavenly fire is called disaster."
"Born in fire, forge sword with fire."
"Sword burns the world, return all things to emptiness."
In Ling Chen’s mind, golden characters emerged one after another; subsequently, a miniature flaming person materialized, casually summoning the flames into a long sword, which dropped into its grasp, and with a fierce swing, Ling Chen felt as if the heavens and earth had collapsed, everything was incinerated by the flames, even his body was in that instant consumed by fire, transforming into nothingness.
