Chapter 588: Chapter 102: The Canglan Sect Has Gone Too Far
Canglan Finger!
At the moment the Canglan Finger was unleashed on the opposite side, Lin Chen immediately retreated, the ice-blue Canglan energy shot out from the opponent’s fingertips, slicing through like a sharp sword.
Whoosh!
Lin Chen retreated quickly, yet even with immediate retreat, he was still caught up by the sword formed by that finger.
Boom!
Since there was no chance to escape, Lin Chen’s skin glowed with a bronze hue, and the Qi Blood within him surged, his entire being emanating a red aura.
The sharp sword landed on the red aura, dissipating mostly in the process.
Seeing this scene, the confident smile on Gu Kong’s face froze suddenly.
It wasn’t the first time he had challenged someone at Martial Arts Mountain, and often, with his Canglan Finger, he could establish an advantage right from the start.
Canglan Finger has multiple cultivation paths, and the one he followed was the instant release path, so when unprepared, opponents could easily be hit and injured by his Canglan Finger.
In the few instances where an opponent reacted to his sudden moves, it was mostly by relying on some special treasures they had.
This was the first time someone could withstand his Canglan Finger’s power with their physical body alone.
However, Gu Kong didn’t hold back, and his right hand continued to point several fingers, as the Canglan energy turned into sharp swords slicing towards the opponent.
"Such incredible speed, is he really not gathering Canglan energy?"
Seeing the speed of his opponent’s Canglan Finger, Lin Chen was surprised while defending, as his own Canglan Finger required gathering Canglan energy internally before channeling it to his arm, and finally shooting it out, making instant release impossible.
Lin Chen carefully observed his opponent’s hand movements and found that before unleashing the finger, the opponent’s execution of the Canglan Finger was different from his own.
"According to that senior True Monarch Canglan, the Canglan Finger I learned is only the first layer, with several layers in total. Could it be that this Canglan Sect disciple has trained in the subsequent cultivation techniques of the Canglan Finger to achieve this?"
Once this was established in his mind, Lin Chen didn’t hasten to counterattack. Although his opponent’s Canglan Finger could be instantaneously released, it wasn’t powerful enough to injure him. Instead, he could take this opportunity to secretly learn his opponent’s Canglan Finger.
While fending off his opponent’s Canglan Finger, Lin Chen focused intensely on the flow of Canglan energy at his opponent’s fingertips. During the tenth invocation of the Canglan Finger by his opponent, he suddenly caught a subtle spiral motion at the wrist and felt a revelation.
After a cup of tea’s time, seeing his opponent suddenly stop, Lin Chen was filled with regret. This brief period of observation had already given him insights; if he could watch a few more times, perhaps he could further refine his own Canglan Finger.
Why stop at this moment?
Gu Kong felt a mix of frustration and shock in his heart. He had fought over ten thousand battles at Martial Arts Mountain, encountering all sorts of opponents, and though he had suffered defeats, never had he faced such an opponent.
Not once fighting back, allowing himself to be attacked, yet still coming out unscathed.
This was deliberate, an act of humiliation towards him, especially seeing such an expression of regret on his opponent’s face, what did it mean?
In that moment, a thought emerged within Gu Kong: could this person be a sect disciple from a sect opposing Canglan Sect, intentionally here to humiliate him?
And just as Gu Kong was caught in despair, the next moment he saw his opponent’s actions, leaving him stunned, his pupils dilating.
The person across was bowing towards him, even saying something.
Judging by the mouth shape, was he being called "Senior Brother"?
What does this mean?
While Gu Kong was puzzled, his opponent moved. The same right hand lifted, and as he saw the ice-blue energy shoot out from the opponent’s finger, Gu Kong’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Canglan Finger!
This person had also cultivated the Canglan Finger!
Boom!
The Canglan energy swept forth, and Gu Kong’s pupils shrank suddenly, realizing that his opponent’s Canglan Finger was even more powerful than his own.
Whoosh!
Gu Kong unleashed another Canglan Finger, the two streams of Canglan energy collided in the air, generating several gusts of wind on the plain, as he watched helplessly as his own Canglan energy disintegrated inch by inch in the violent energy.
This scene was as if a stream recklessly dared to crash into a huge wave and was shattered in an instant.
Gu Kong retreated sharply, but was still pierced through by the Canglan energy, his form slowly dissipating in midair.
Seeing his opponent’s disappearing figure, Lin Chen was taken aback. He didn’t intend to defeat this potential "future senior brother" with a single move, only incorporating some recent insights during the execution, unexpectedly resulting in a Canglan Finger much stronger by several levels than before.
"It’s a pity, having challenged at Martial Arts Mountain for so long, only to meet a senior from Canglan Sect now. It would have been a great chance to seek more guidance."
Lin Chen felt regretful, realizing the uncertainty of facing another senior from Canglan Sect in future challenges.
Returning to the steps, Lin Chen opted to continue the challenge.
...
...
At the Outer Sect disciples’ courtyard of Canglan Sect.
Gu Kong exited Martial Arts Mountain, still showing signs of shock on his face.
Who was he?
Among the thirty thousand Outer Sect disciples, he couldn’t know them all, but he had intentionally learned about the geniuses, including those in the top hundred rankings, and none matched this person.
Given the ranking and the bow, this should be a junior brother.
Could he be a junior brother concealing his true strength?
Gu Kong felt restless, entering his study. A cup of tea later, a portrait appeared in his hand, depicting the face of Lin Chen.
Canglan Sect, Task Hall.
"Senior Sister Chu."
"Does Junior Brother Gu have any business?"
The woman who was lying bored at the counter in the hall saw Gu Kong approaching, her bright eyes lighting up.
"I want to ask if Senior Sister has seen this disciple?"
Gu Kong unfolded the scroll in his hand. As a disciple of the Task Hall, Senior Sister was responsible for issuing sect tasks, including the exchange of resources by some disciples, all of which would go through her hands, so she had met the most disciples. A disciple of such strength as that junior brother must have completed many tasks, and she should have some impression.
"Is this person a disciple of our Canglan Sect?"
The woman took the scroll and examined it for a long time before shaking her head and saying, "I’m sorry, Junior Brother, I haven’t seen this disciple."
"Senior Sister hasn’t seen him either?"
Gu Kong frowned. If even Senior Sister hadn’t seen him, then to find this junior brother, he would have to seek out the steward.
But he was only an outer sect disciple. Although he had potential, the stewards did not value potential. To catch the eye of the stewards, one had to be among the top hundred outer sect disciples.
Because of a duel on Martial Arts Mountain, if he went to find a steward, the steward would not pay attention to him at all, and might even reprimand him for investigating the sect disciples’ identities.
"Anything else, Junior Brother Gu?"
Seeing Gu Kong remain silent, the woman asked.
"Nothing, thank you, Senior Sister. I’ll take my leave first."
"Junior Brother Gu, at the beginning of next month, I’m inviting a few junior sisters and brothers to hold a flower viewing party. Would you like to attend?"
"I’m sorry, Senior Sister, I fear I won’t have the time."
Seeing the disappointment on Senior Sister’s face, Gu Kong also felt a pang of guilt. He knew that Senior Sister had feelings for him, but his goal upon entering the outer sect of the Canglan Sect was to become an inner sect disciple. Before achieving that, he would not consider these matters.
Gu Kong walked out of the main hall. For him, wanting to find that junior brother was not because he had lost, but because of the junior brother’s display of the power of the Canglan Finger.
He wanted to seek guidance from him!
"How could I forget? I can continue to challenge this junior brother."
On the way back, Gu Kong suddenly remembered. This junior brother had challenged him on Martial Arts Mountain, and given the junior’s strength, it was very likely he was continuing to challenge others. After all, before the previous challenge, he hadn’t yet reached the Seventh Grade. This time, after breaking through the Seventh Grade, he planned to rise by three hundred ranks in one go.
This was not only his habit of challenging on Martial Arts Mountain, but also a common practice among many geniuses ranked on Martial Arts Mountain: they wouldn’t challenge unless their strength had substantially increased or a certain cultivation technique had broken through to the next level.
A rank up or down does not make much difference, unless it crosses a thousand or ten thousand marks, where advancing by one rank equates to stepping onto a new level, making the battles intensely competitive.
Quickly returning to his own courtyard, Gu Kong immediately headed back to Martial Arts Mountain.
...
...
Flame Dynasty, Illusion Spirit Sect.
A young man descended from Martial Arts Mountain with a difficult expression.
"What’s wrong, Senior Brother?"
"I encountered a disciple from the Canglan Sect and was defeated by him."
"Senior Brother, it’s normal to lose to a disciple from the Canglan Sect. The Canglan Sect is a major sect and cannot be compared to us Illusion Spirit Sect disciples."
"It’s already impressive for Senior Brother to rank over eighty thousand on the Martial Path."
Listening to the comfort from a few junior brothers and sisters around him, the young man’s face slightly eased, but soon turned cold: "Another challenger. Do they really think I’m an easy mark? Junior brothers and sisters, wait a moment while I head back for another battle on Martial Arts Mountain."
A dozen breaths later, the young man emerged from Martial Arts Mountain again. Facing the expectant gazes of the junior brothers and sisters, he gritted his teeth and said, "Canglan Sect bullies too much."
In two consecutive matches, both were against disciples from the Canglan Sect.
The first one defeated him with a single finger. Though the second didn’t defeat him with a single finger, the Canglan energy was seemingly inexhaustible, and after five Canglan Fingers, he couldn’t bear it anymore.
...
...
Martial Arts Steps.
After ten consecutive challenges, Lin Chen decided to pause.
He had used the Canglan Finger in all ten battles, continuously improving it.
Just as Lin Chen was about to leave Martial Arts Mountain, a message arrived, raising his eyebrows. Someone was challenging him.
This was his first time being challenged since entering the Flame Dynasty Martial Arts Mountain.
Having just advanced ten ranks, it definitely wasn’t the one he had challenged before. According to Martial Arts Mountain’s rules, the loser must wait at least three days to challenge the opponent again unless their rankings have changed.
Is someone else like me, launching consecutive challenges at this time?
Thinking about the upcoming opponent, also someone with consecutive victories like himself, Lin Chen’s eyes showed anticipation.
"Accept the challenge!"
With the words "Accept the challenge," the scene around Lin Chen changed.
It was still that plain, but seeing the figure opposite, Lin Chen stopped short.
The two of them exchanged glances, and the next moment, Gu Kong suddenly bowed to Lin Chen. Regardless of whether Lin Chen could hear, he loudly said, "Greetings, Senior Brother."
PS: It’s a new week, during the double monthly ticket period, please vote for me.
