Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Illusion
At the Lake Tower, during the Martial Tower Banquet, five great prodigies gathered on the fighting stage.
Such a grand occasion captured the attention of every Martial Artist present. The moment Lu Yin challenged Qin Ya, excited expressions spread across the crowd.
"Lu Yin is challenging Teacher Qin! Now we’ve got a real show to watch."
"Heh heh, this Martial Tower Banquet is getting interesting!"
"Lu Yin has been famous for a long time, and his combat power is comparable to the Celestial Essence Realm. But Qin Ya just sent Lu Chen flying with a single palm strike, so he can’t be underestimated either. This duel is the main event of today’s Martial Tower Banquet. Who do you think is stronger?"
One of the Imperial Capital’s seven great prodigies was challenging Qin Ya, the man who had recently taken the city by storm!
Many people were filled with anticipation. Who was stronger: Qin Ya, whose combat power was unfathomable, or Lu Yin, the Lu Family’s number one prodigy?
"You... want to challenge me?" Qin Ya said with an indifferent smile.
"No. I’m going to defeat you," Lu Yin said coldly.
Su Chang and the others exchanged glances but made no move to stop them. For them, this was an excellent opportunity to gauge the combat strength of both Qin Ya and Lu Yin.
"Perfect. I was also quite curious about the combat power of the Imperial Capital’s seven great prodigies. Let’s see how many of my palm strikes you can withstand."
Qin Ya chuckled.
"Since you both have such refined interests, we won’t stand in your way." Su Chang and the others smiled faintly and returned to their seats at the banquet, leaving only Lu Yin and Qin Ya on the stage.
"Qin Ya, be careful!" Lu Yin shouted coldly. He then transformed into a streak of silver light, rushing before Qin Ya in the blink of an eye and chopping down with a hand-blade.
A chill swept over him. Executing the Chasing Wind and Shadow Technique to dodge Lu Yin’s strike, Qin Ya clearly saw a long, sharp, bizarrely shaped blade worn on Lu Yin’s hand. Lu Yin immediately closed the distance, unleashing a flurry of chops.
He was so fast that he delivered dozens of strikes in the blink of an eye.
Qin Ya, on the other hand, was using his Chasing Wind and Shadow, which was fused with the Wind’s Great Trend. His speed was not just a match for Lu Yin’s, but even surpassed it. Combined with his exquisite footwork, Lu Yin’s sharp hand-blade posed no real threat to him.
Close-quarters combat was all about killing techniques. It lacked the dazzling True Essence moves but was far more dangerous. Every step was perilous, making the hearts of the spectators pound in their chests as if they themselves were the ones fighting on the stage.
"Silver Wing Triple Transformation!"
Suddenly, with a deep shout from Lu Yin, his form flickered, and three silver figures charged at Qin Ya from the left, right, and above.
"Oh..." Qin Ya was slightly startled. ’To instantly create three bodies... not even I can achieve that kind of speed with a Body Technique.’ "No, that’s not speed!"
Qin Ya’s perception was incredibly sharp; he instantly saw through the mystery of Lu Yin’s move. A black light flashed in his hand, and the Coiling Dragon Spear suddenly appeared.
"Wind-Splitting!!"
With another deep shout, his spear shot out like a dragon, thrusting violently toward the figure on the right while ignoring the other two. With a CLANG, Lu Yin blocked it with his hand-blade. The other two figures dissipated like reflections on water the moment they touched Qin Ya.
"What a peculiar Great Trend. Truly surprising."
Qin Ya smiled indifferently as his True Essence surged. A searing hot True Essence traveled down his spear and onto Lu Yin’s hand-blade. Lu Yin was shocked. ’So hot...!’
SWOOSH... SWOOSH...
Lu Yin instantly retreated over a hundred feet away. He stared at his hand-blade, a look of astonishment in his eyes. "What domineering Blazing Flame True Essence. I’ve fought an Elder from the Wang Family before, and even he didn’t possess such tyrannical Flame-attribute True Essence. It seems you have quite a few aces up your sleeve, don’t you?"
"Hmph." Qin Ya scoffed. ’How could the Flame-attribute True Essence derived from the Wang Family’s Cultivation Technique possibly compare to my Purple Lotus Celestial Flame?’
"The Illusionary Great Trend... you’re not bad yourself."
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank. "That’s right. I have indeed comprehended the Illusionary Great Trend, which allows me to create illusory clones. How did you see through it?"
The world is full of countless mysteries, and this Illusionary Great Trend was particularly strange. It was far more difficult to comprehend than more concrete Great Trends like Wind, Flame, or Frost. The fact that Lu Yin could comprehend such a Great Trend was a testament to his genius.
Relying on this illusion-creation ability, he had killed countless Martial Artists whose Cultivation was even stronger than his own. He never expected it to be deciphered by Qin Ya today.
"Illusions are ultimately just illusions," Qin Ya stated indifferently. "No matter how lifelike your clones are, they can’t mimic things like expression, True Essence fluctuations, or even killing intent. All they are is a shadow."
Hearing this, Su Chang and the others at the banquet were all startled. Su Chang said, "When I faced that move from Lu Yin, I couldn’t tell the real from the fake. I could only use a large-scale attack to block them all. I can’t believe Teacher Qin actually saw through it."
"’Illusions are ultimately just illusions’?! That’s easy to say, but how many people can actually see through them? Teacher Qin’s terrifying perception is something few in the entire Imperial Capital can match. It’s truly admirable," said Xiao Yunchen.
"Teacher Qin is a Seventh-Grade Alchemist. It’s only natural that he would possess such perception," Muu Xue said with a faint smile, her gaze fixed on Qin Ya on the stage.
A grave expression appeared on Lu Yin’s face. He said coldly, "To see through my Silver Wing Triple Transformation... you do have some skill. But you will still be defeated!"
With that, Lu Yin charged forward again. His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he actually created nine illusions, causing the onlooking Martial Artists to pale in astonishment.
"Holy crap, it’s nine against one!"
"How the hell do you counter that? Even if the other eight can’t attack, how are you supposed to find the real Lu Yin hidden among them?!"
"Yeah, if you can’t find his real body, how can you attack?"
Nine illusions attacking simultaneously... an ordinary Martial Artist would be completely unable to counter it.
Facing the nine attacking illusions, Qin Ya smiled indifferently and thrust his spear toward what he identified as Lu Yin’s true body. Just as the spear was about to strike him, a strange smile tugged at the corner of Lu Yin’s mouth.
POP...
Like a bubble, the figure of Lu Yin before him suddenly burst.
"An illusion?!"
Qin Ya was startled. A sense of crisis washed over him as a silver glint flared, making his hair stand on end. He executed Chasing Wind and Shadow, vanishing from his spot in an instant.
But he was a step too slow!
RIP! A piece of his white sleeve fluttered away.
Staring at the tear in his right sleeve, Qin Ya couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. Then, he grinned and said, "An Imperial Capital prodigy... you’ve got a few tricks."
As the illusion burst, Lu Yin’s real body appeared. He gave a chilling smile and said, "It’s surprising that you could see through my true body. But my Illusionary Great Trend combined with my Ghost Shadow Step... how does that taste?"
Qin Ya hadn’t been wrong. The target of his spear thrust had indeed been Lu Yin’s true body. However, just as the spear was about to strike, Lu Yin had created another illusion while simultaneously executing an exquisite Body Technique Martial Skill.
The moment his spear pierced the illusion, Lu Yin attacked, catching Qin Ya by surprise.
"An exquisite Body Technique combined with a brilliant Combat Technique... interesting." Qin Ya smiled indifferently. He held his spear horizontally as an overwhelmingly powerful aura surged to the heavens. He declared coldly, "The warm-up is over. Let the real fight begin!"
"Fine by me. Prepare to meet your defeat!"
