Chapter 216: Chapter 199: Evolution (2)
’No wonder the rumors say the Vermilion Bird Sect’s Secret Transmission is the bane of Gang Qi. So that’s how it works.’
Using body heat to vaporize bodily fluids, compressing and expelling them through the pores, and then manipulating them with Gang Qi to drastically increase its intensity—that is indeed the way Hundred Beasts Fist utilizes Gang Qi.
But the Vermilion Bird Sect is different. Building on this foundation, they can instantly manipulate magnetic fields to heat a part of their body, causing their Gang Qi to expand. Then, with incredible body control and fighting skill, they compress this rapidly expanded Gang Qi back to its original size, boosting its lethality and speed to another level.
When normal Gang Qi meets this high-temperature Gang Qi, it is instantly vaporized and dispersed, its intensity dropping dramatically. Under these conditions where the defender weakens and the attacker strengthens, it’s impossible to use Gang Qi to defend against an attack from a Vermilion Bird Sect expert.
Seeing Zhao Xuanqi wounded by the crimson light, a faint smile touched the corners of Hong Luan’s lips.
’In this world of the Martial Dao, as long as realms are comparable, no one has ever been able to defend against the Vermilion Bird Sect’s attacks with Gang Qi!!’
This is the Secret Technique of the Vermilion Bird Sect!
Phoenix Fire!!
However, the very instant he was cut, Zhao Xuanqi reacted.
The wound on his shoulder didn’t affect his movements in the slightest. His reaction was incredibly swift. His waist, transformed by the Hundred Beasts Mystic Gate, twisted at an unbelievable angle as he suddenly unleashed a Side Body Hammer, aimed precisely at the critical spot where Hong Luan would land.
The Hundred Beasts Mystic Gate, coordinated with the Hundred Beasts’ Intent and combined with his formidable Martial Dao experience, allowed for an instantaneous counter!
SWISH!!
The next moment.
Zhao Xuanqi’s attack was uncanny, but so was Hong Luan’s Body Technique. Shrouded in crimson light, the air currents beside her and beneath her feet suddenly erupted. Her body, which should have been landing, instead rose unnaturally, zipping through the air in an instant. She forcefully evaded Zhao Xuanqi’s attack and used the opportunity to circle behind him.
She was just like a bird, flitting through a thorny bush, nimbly dodging every obstacle.
SWISH! SWISH!!
Several more streaks of crimson light blossomed, and those terrifying slashes that suppressed all Gang Qi were upon him again!!
Zhao Xuanqi’s body swayed to one side. With a light step, he drew air into his lungs, and his entire body also seemed to transform into a bird. He launched into the air in an utterly bizarre posture, joints twisting, body coiling.
THUMP! THUMP!!
His heart pounded violently, his Qi and Blood surged, and his body temperature instantly spiked. His pores opened and closed as his sweat evaporated into a cloud of mist.
His body twisted in mid-air, his arms spreading out in a circle.
RRRRIP!!
The air was torn asunder. The white mist transformed into a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing, and in the instant after dodging Hong Luan’s attack, it slashed toward her.
The Soaring Form, unleashed!!
’The Flying Bird Form?! The nerve of him to use that in front of me!!’
Hong Luan sneered inwardly. Her figure once again twisted and dodged with an unnatural grace, evading Zhao Xuanqi’s attack and launching a counter of her own.
Their figures became entangled.
The cicada-wing-thin blades of white mist and the crimson slashes that seemed like some kind of Superpower flickered and clashed endlessly within the courtyard.
At this moment, both of their figures seemed to have transformed into birds—light and uncanny, exuding a strange beauty, yet also a threat that could make one’s skin crawl.
In the midst of their entanglement, wherever they passed, trees were sliced in half and rockeries were cut in two. Nothing in the entire courtyard remained intact.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!!
In a brief exchange of just twenty moves, Zhao Xuanqi sustained at least seven new cuts. The wounds gaped, flesh torn and bloody, looking utterly gruesome.
His Soaring Form was suppressed by Hong Luan.
If it weren’t for his own vast experience, which placed him at the pinnacle of the world, anyone else would have already had their limbs severed by Hong Luan, turned into a living torso.
After twenty consecutive moves, the massive loss of bodily fluids and the intense, short burst of combat had pushed both of their short-term Physical Abilities to their limits. After a final clash, they both separated.
"You dare use the Flying Bird Form in front of me? You truly don’t know your own limits."
At this moment, Hong Luan stood in her white robes, completely unscathed. In stark contrast, Zhao Xuanqi was covered in seven wounds, his clothes in tatters, blood streaming down his body. He cut a truly sorry figure.
"Hahahahaha!!"
But in the next moment, Hong Luan heard Zhao Xuanqi’s booming laughter. The sound was like a beast’s roar, like a clap of thunder, and it made her brow furrow involuntarily.
’Laughing? How can he still laugh at a time like this? Has he gone mad?!’
However, she had no idea what Zhao Xuanqi was feeling at that moment.
Clashing with her using the Flying Bird Form was, in reality, just Zhao Xuanqi’s way of testing their respective strengths.
And now, he had reached his conclusion: the Vermilion Bird Sect’s Flying Bird Form was indeed superior to the one he had passed down.
This was a joy that only he could understand.
From his past life to his present one, no Fist Technique had ever managed to surpass his Hundred Beasts Fist in any single aspect. But now, such a Fist Technique had appeared.
A top-tier Secret Transmission, a top-tier genius, and a Beast Form Fist legacy that surpassed an aspect of the Hundred Beasts Fist—this was one of the highest-level Martial Arts Secret Transmissions in the Divine Land of this era.
He had been reborn into this world to seek a higher realm. If there were no stronger Fist Techniques, no stronger Martial Artists, how could he ever hope to comprehend the mysteries of that realm?
The existence of a stronger Beast Form Fist, even one that only surpassed his own Hundred Beasts Fist in a single area, was enough to excite him.
After encountering the Bai Hu and Black Tortoise sects, he had actually lost much of his hope for the Beast Form Fists of this world. But Hong Luan’s appearance had rekindled his interest.
"The Vermilion Bird Sect’s Secret Transmission... very interesting. So very interesting. One day, I will personally come and take your Secret Transmission to have a look and use it for reference."
Zhao Xuanqi said, his laughter subsiding as he looked at Hong Luan.
’The Vermilion Bird Sect covets his Hundred Beasts Fist. So now, why wouldn’t he want to see what their Secret Transmission was all about?’
"Arrogant!"
Hearing this, Hong Luan’s expression turned cold and severe.
"Alright, we don’t have much time left. We can’t keep ’exchanging pointers.’ It’s time to show you what I’ve really got."
Zhao Xuanqi said lightly.
BOOM!!
The terrifying momentum of the Qilin, which had been layered like crashing waves, suddenly contracted sharply.
No, it wasn’t just contracting—it was compressing!
He drew all of that terrifying aura into his body, fusing it with every inch of his muscles, every single cell.
Unity of Body and Mind!!
’He was also at the peak of Five Qi Chaoyuan, and in his past life, he had even reached the pinnacle of Harmony. How could he be unable to display some of the abilities of Harmony?!’
He once said that as long as the Military Commander himself didn’t show up, he was confident he could ensure his own safety. That wasn’t just arrogant talk.
’If a mere Hong Luan could push him into a dead end, how could he possibly have such confidence?!’
GURGLE! GURGLE!!
His body once again underwent a terrifying transformation.
The true essence of Hundred Beasts Fist is to combine the forms of a hundred beasts to create a body perfectly suited for combat, a body that stands at the apex of the food chain.
With the Hundred Beasts Mystic Gate, his body had already partially transformed.
The First Gate of the Dragon Gate furthered that transformation, unlocking more of his potential. However, this was a forced release, limited in its extent and damaging to the body.
The Second Gate of the Dragon Gate, then, is the release of the abilities of the internal organs.
When these two are combined, under a state of spiritual fusion, one can possess a portion of the power of Harmony, achieving a secondary physical transformation.
His blood and hormones were instantly and drastically readjusted. These endocrine changes would directly lead to a change in his life form.
It was as if every cell in his body had been completely activated, some kind of shackle partially broken.
CRACK! CRACK!!
His arms, hanging toward the ground, were now almost as long as his legs. His entire torso was bowed nearly parallel to the floor, as if he had transformed from a human into some kind of ferocious, quadrupedal life form, exuding an incredibly terrifying pressure.
For a moment, being stared at by those eyes, Hong Luan couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine. She suddenly felt that what stood before her was not a person, but a true Holy Beast.
That form was remarkably similar to the shape of the fundamental Intent that Zhao Xuanqi had released.
It was as if, in that moment, Zhao Xuanqi’s entire being had completed a wondrous transformation.
Hong Luan was not wrong. The Flying Bird Form was indeed not the Beast Form Zhao Xuanqi was best at. The Walking Beast Form was.
The Qilin, after all, is the pinnacle of walking beasts.
Body of a Holy Beast, Qilin Form, partially released.
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