Chapter 80 – Rudimentary Martial Intent
Initially, when Lin Ming and Zhang Cang had made their gambling match, Zhang Cang had bragged, and said that if he lost he would pay 20 true essence stones. Thinking back on this, it really made Liu Mingxiang’s heart cry.
Zhang Cang didn’t have 20 true essence stones on him. Liu Mingxiang hadn’t brought such a large number of true essences stones here either. He gently placed Zhang Cang down and rifled through his clothes, and gathered up what they both had, but was still missing five. So he turned and borrowed from the people around and finally scrounged up 20.
After giving them to Lin Ming, Liu Mingxiang placed Zhang Cang back on his back and left as if he were running away.
“Lin Ming won, and from beginning to end, from when he used his palm to this spear move, he only used his left foot to tread the ground. His right foot hadn’t moved. Truly it is a worthy reputation of the ‘Iron Bridge Blocks the River’, it is unshakable!” Ta Ku felt the long staff on his back, and his eyes flashed with a hint fighting spirit. Although Lin Ming was still incapable of being his match right now, perhaps that time where he could stand as his equal wasn’t too far off in the future.
Ling Sen said, “Zhang Guanyu will regret not coming to see this match. After this battle, Lin Ming will draw high-level attention across the Sky Fortune Kingdom to himself in the Martial House. If we wait for him to grow up, he will really be a powerful rival. If we do not diligently train, perhaps this young junior apprentice will crawl up past our heads.”
“It’s only interesting if there’s compet.i.tion. Compet.i.tion is always competing with you; I just don’t have the confidence. But this Lin Ming, he will be perfect to be my match.”
“It is true that he will become a rival of mine in the future.”
“Big Brother, I find it strange, how could Lin Ming progress so quickly? In the last Ten Thousand Killing Array a.s.sessment he reached rank 126, which should have been because he ate the Crimson Gold Dragon Marrow Pill and the Golden Snake Scarlet Pill and digested their efficacy. But this time, how could his strength rise so dramatically?”
Ling Sen responded, “Everyone’s encounters of good or bad fortune are not clear. If I’m not guessing wrong, this Lin Ming should have comprehended a special cultivation state, a martial intent similar to my ‘Ashura’. Also, this Lin Ming’s heart of martial arts is above mine! It’s nothing unusual if he had managed to comprehend a martial intent like my ‘Ashura’.”
Ta Ku’s complexion changed and in exhaled a puff of cold air, “His is stronger than Big Brother’s ‘Ashura’?”
Ling Sen’s talent was only an inferior fourth-grade. In the Seven Profound Martial House, there existed many other geniuses whose martial talent surpa.s.sed him, especially in Ling Sen’s generation, which was truly an astonis.h.i.+ng one that brimmed with natural talent. For instance, there was Ta Ku, whose talent was just shy of fifth-grade, or Zhang Guanyu, who was a true fifth-grade talent.
However, regardless of whether it was Ta Ku or Zhang Guanyu, they had been firmly pressed down by Ling Sen!
Most people, including Lin Ming, had a.s.sumed that Ling Sen had some sort of fortuitous encounter, or that he had eaten some sort of precious raw material, but that was not the truth. The truth was, Ling Sen had comprehended ‘Ashura’.
‘Ashura’ was a particular and unique cultivation state. When a martial artist cultivated, sometimes they would enter into some wonderful and marvelous state, which could be considered a certain type of ideal ‘martial condition’, the most famous of which was the ‘sudden enlightenment’. This state was widely recorded in the ancient texts.
Legends said that three millennia ago, there was once a great elder who had sat underneath a Bodhi tree and meditated for seven days and seven nights. When he awakened, he had shattered several fetters of martial arts and had become an immortal Buddha, piercing the martial void!
Though the legends were recorded in the ancient texts, no one knew whether they were true or false. But in reality, there were martial artists that were truly able to enter certain states of cultivation. Although this state didn’t have something so exaggerated as ‘sudden enlightenment’, it could greatly increase the cultivation speed of a martial artist. The martial artists that had comprehended these states often had a heart of martial arts that were a cut above everyone else!
Depending on a person’s heart of martial arts, or some elusive quality of their soul, these states of cultivation would have different conditions. These conditions could only be comprehended as ideas, they could not be expressed. Many shockingly talented individuals, such as Qin Xingxuan, have not managed to comprehend such a particular state of being.
But Lin Ming, when he had been submerged in the Icy Pond Waterfall, he had touched upon this fleeting state of cultivation. His true essence had revolved of his own will and had taken a route in his body according to its most basic instincts. This path of circulation was close to being perfect and was several times faster than Lin Ming’s own speed. While cultivating under this condition, Lin Ming had achieved the Perfect first layer of the ‘True Primal Chaos Formula’.
Of course, although Lin Ming had stumbled onto this state, it was because of his formidable heart of martial arts. But, not every martial artist who had an outstanding heart of martial arts could comprehend a ‘martial intent’.
Before now, the only person in the Seven Profound Martial House who had comprehended a ‘martial intent’ had been Ling Sen.
His ‘martial intent’ was ‘Ashura’! Once he had entered the state of ‘Ashura’, Ling Sen’s consciousness would awaken to the Ashura battlefield. There, he would experience countless life and death battles. In these battles, he would die many times, and he would also be reborn many times. What was most fearful was that Ling Sen’s comprehensive instinct, which he learned from being on the edge of life and death, would be integrated into his soul!
A martial artist could obtain unimaginable advantages in every life or death battle; their cultivation progress would truly be quickened! However, there weren’t any martial artists that could do it like Ling Sen, because no one could guarantee whether or not they would live or die in the next moment.
Therefore Ling Sen had a truly substantial murderous aura. Regardless of whether it was battle talent of battle instinct, he was far above other martial artists at the same level of cultivation. In the entire Sky Fortune Kingdom, Ling Sen was invincible within those of his level, to the point that his real combat strength approached a martial artist at the Pulse Condensation Period.
Certainly, such a thick murderous aura had advantages that were accompanied by disadvantages. Although this aura had taken Ling Sen’s combat prowess to a formidable new degree, it had also crushed his feelings and gradually enabled him to become a cold-blooded killing machine. That was why in the Dream Trial he had broken through all the trials in the blink of an eye, except the one that tested the evils in his heart. To break through that, Ling Sen had used most of an incense stick of time, and this was because the killing nature of his heart was too heavy.
It was because Ling Sen’s ‘Ashura martial intent’ was so heaven defying, that when Ling Sen had said that Lin Ming’s own cultivation state might even surpa.s.s his own ‘Ashura’, that Ta Ku was surprised.
“Don’t be so dramatic. Even if it is a person whose heart of martial arts was superior to everyone else, only a chosen few can comprehend ‘martial intent’. Would this Lin Ming, who is only a 15 year old boy, be able to already comprehend something so fierce like Big Brother’s cultivation state?”
Ling Sen said, “This is the only explanation. Lin Ming’s heart of martial arts is much stronger than mine, so his comprehension of ‘martial intent’ might also be stronger than mine. Lin Ming’s progress this month was too amazingly quick; I think it is due to this special cultivation state. When just understanding this cultivation state, his power should increase by leaps and bounds, but it will stabilize and gradually slow down.”
“So that’s how it is. This Lin Ming is more and more interesting! He’s worth waiting for to grow up. I will certainly fight with him then!” As Ta Ku said this, he subconsciously cracked his knuckles together.
Ling Sen said, “In just several days it will be time for the next a.s.sessment of the Ten Thousand Killing Array. This Lin Ming will definitely partic.i.p.ate. Want to take a look?”
“Good idea. Always cultivating is just too boring. Let’s take a look at this Lin Ming and see how high he’ll be able to go.”
The Seven Profound Martial House opened the Ten Thousand Killing Array every month. The last time Lin Ming had partic.i.p.ated was 27 days ago.
Lin Ming would naturally partic.i.p.ate in this month’s Ten Thousand Killing Array a.s.sessment. A higher ranking meant more resources.
At first, just some time in the Icy Pond Waterfall had benefitted Lin Ming greatly. With six other major arrays, what sort of astonis.h.i.+ng advantages would they have to practice in them? Lin Ming was looking forwards to seeing. In particular, Hong Xi had once recommended that he not enter Thunder Valley, so there should be something special there.
Lin Ming did not know yet, but what had helped him break through to the ‘True Primal Chaos Formula’s Perfect first layer was exactly that cultivation state known as ‘martial intent’, which Ling Sen had said was in its formative stage.
Sky Fortune City, in a top-cla.s.s pavilion –
First Taste Pavilion was a restaurant that shared the honor of being one of the top dining establishments, along with the Great Clarity Pavilion. At this time, in an elegantly furnished room on the second floor, Zhu Yan was eating lunch, and opposite of him, wearing a snow white dress, was Lan Yunyue.
Lan Yunyue ate quietly, the silence in the room created a stiffening and awkward atmosphere.
Zhu Yan took a sip of soup made from the flesh of a flood dragon. He set the small, gold-threaded bowl onto the table and took up a snow silk napkin to wipe his mouth. He suddenly asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing. I’m not thinking of anything.” Lan Yunyue hurriedly shook her head. In front of Zhu Yan, she felt as if some invisible pressure was bearing down on her. Between the two of them, it didn’t seem as if they were lovers, but instead an emperor and his concubine. In the presence of the emperor, a concubine would always be cautious and scared.
Lan Yanyue clearly knew that even if Zhu Yan liked her, he could also leave her. If he wanted to, there would be any number of women rus.h.i.+ng at his doorstep and he could pick any one of them. This was the disparity in their positions brought about by the difference in their strength and status.
Zhu Yan smiled, and although he seemed friendly, there was actually a deep cold hidden in his eyes. He knew what Lan Yunyue was thinking about; today was the day of the gambling match between Zhang Cang and Lin Ming, it was impossible that Lan Yunyue didn’t know.
She was worried that Lin Ming would be severely wounded, and in fact, Zhu Yan really had looked at what Zhang Cang could do in the context of the rules. Zhang Cang would leave behind a debilitating mark on Lin Ming’s body. This was the best way to hinder his future martial arts cultivation.
Of course, this was just the beginning. He would deal with Lin Ming one step at a time. He would destroy his martial arts cultivation, and then let him spend the rest of his life as an invalid.
Zhu Yan fiddled with a snow-white porcelain spoon in the bird’s nest soup before him as he waited for Zhang Cang to transmit some good news to him. However, at that time, a sound transmitting talisman hadn’t yet been lit.