Within the secret chamber, raging flames embraced the body of the youth. Lin Mu Yu’s Dragonforged Bone Tome was already refined up to the third boundary: rebirth. This meant that, even after tempered bones, his bone marrow was already restoring itself, and with the newly restored bone marrow, his blood vessels would also remould themselves to health. Truthfully, his blood stream had already begun changing, even he himself could feel it.
His current training allowed true essence to flow through his bloodstream faster than was even imaginably possible before. It was astounding to note the difference in speed. Even the momentary bursts of power could allow him to increase his strength at a surprising rate. After reconstructing the blood stream, whether it was speed or strength, he was definitely brand new and improved.
……
He slowly opened his eyes and lazily waved an arm. With much gusto, he finished the dinner left by the door by one of the servants, and then proceeded with his training.
Keng!
Smelted sword out of the sheath, his true essence concentrated, the blade began showing signs of dancing blazes of fire. This longsword was indeed a precious object!
With his G.o.d-given talent and perceptive wits, he had already mastered this sword technique: the Wind Sword Style. Lin Mu Yu had already refined his sword skills to the level of middle to first cla.s.s. Unless his opponent was an extraordinarily fine master, he was still able to hold his own while sparring.
Pa-tss...
Thunder danced across the sharp blade. With a low shout, a lightning strike chopped through the air, his blade and thunder light cleaving the atmosphere in half. The speed was too quick to follow, that as the blade went down, it created a momentary vacuum in the orbit’s form, squeezing out undulating waves in the atmosphere.
The image of Ou Yang Chiu’s malevolent smile surfaced in his mind. Thinking about his master skill, the Secret of the Infinite Sword, a kind of Defensive/Imperial Sword ability, is considered to be of the top level in sword skills… it was unfortunate that Lin Mu Yu was unable to comprehend it.
He suddenly laughed, thinking about the secretive boss of the Infinite Victory Weaponry Shop: The Sword Master. He was obviously of extraordinary caliber, he must be on the level of Ou Yang Chiu and Zeng Fang… maybe even above their level. If that was truly so, maybe he could ask for training from the Sword Master. Although, the Sword Master was a professed hermit and misanthrope, preferring to be immersed among precious swords rather than people. It would not be easy to convince him to share his own imperial sword techniques.
In the art of the sword, there are millions of variations. And yet, without mastering the imperial sword technique would definitely be a regrettable weakness. After all, being able to use the imperial sword skill in battle would serve more good than bad.
Eh, what’s the worst that could happen? He thought. He’d be better off trying his luck with the Sword Master.
……
He attempted to practice the Imperial Wind Sword Skill five times, let out a long breath, and returned to the stone bed to continue practicing his true energy. He knew his own energy was still lacking in strength.
The moon shone brightly from outside the window and in the blink of an eye, midnight approached.
“Sha Sha…”
A soft voice roused him. He opened his eyes and turned to the stone door. It seemed to him there was a flash of breath pulsing from outside the door. Could it be Grandpa Lei Hong coming to silently monitor his training?
At the thought of Lei Hong, Lin Mu Yu felt like laughing. Lei Hong was actually like a natural child at heart. He took pleasure in making bets with his fellows, Qu Chu and Ge Yang, and was also especially caring to Lin Mu Yu himself. Even though he had suffered because of him the other day, Lin Mu Yu held no grudges against Lei Hong. After all, Lei Hong was the High Deacon of the Royal Court, as well as one of the six Empire White Robe Imperial Guards. It was natural for him to be strict and severe when it came to the upholding of the Empire’s laws.
The environment one grew up in naturally affected the point of view one has. Lin Mu Yu, hailing from a civilized society, would rightfully feel fury, whereas Zhang Wei, Qin Zi Ling, Lei Hong, and the others would view an instructor killing a trainer, a n.o.ble killing a commoner, as something that was as normal as predator killing prey. Lin Mu Yu understood where Grandpa Lei Hong was coming from, once he considered this point.
He closed his eyes and resumed training.
True energy ebbed and flowed within his blood streams, and even to the naked eye, one could see that his body was surrounded by a glowing image of a maroon dragon. Without him knowing it, his bloodstream was being tempered and reconstructed again and again. Lin Mu Yu himself was unconscious of the fact that his body was changing.
Relaxing the spirit completely, allowing the true energy to take hold of the body at its own will, refining dragonbone remnants has another major advantage, which is that there was no limit to the training. True energy could circulate throughout his body for a week and his strength would improve considerably. If he were to do it again and again, with this training mindset, his strength would obviously increase multifold over time!
Just as he was about to enter into deep sleep state, the voice of the spirit lady Lulu whispered into his ear: “Brother, watch out!”
He suddenly felt a chill above his head.
Jolting awake in the middle of training, he was suddenly aware of the lethal energy emanating from above him. He instinctively rolled off the stone bed-- just in time!
Keng!
A bright blaze shone from behind him as the intruder brought down his sword and directly Weng weng...
Lin Mu Yu summoned his fighting spirit. Against a strong opponent like this, he unleashed the Dragon Rampart and Ebony Scale spirits, drawing a Prairie Fire Sword out from the air with his open palm. With a nudge from his true essence, the Prarie Fire Sword began to dazzle brilliantly with dancing flames, casting the whole room in light. Without a word, the intruder rushed towards him, sword raised for another attack!
“Ho!!!”
The fighting spirit was a fox, but it was not Tang Xiao Xi’s fire fox… it was a furry, leathery, black fox, extremely cunning and deadly, able to slip in and out without commotion, which explained why he was able to sneak in without alarming Lin Mu Yu, without even letting him become aware of his presence. So he’s one of the first heaven martial spirit superiors. This person’s spirit could hide his very bodily presence!
Five flower blossom sword slashes in quick succession, five sword attacks from out of nowhere-- this person’s sword was too fast!
But Lin Mu Yu had tempered his bones and reconstructed his marrow, so his vision had improved considerably too. He could pick apart the flurry of movements, and spot the exact location of the sword. He c.o.c.ked his sword Prairie Fire, “Keng! Keng! Keng!” to openly sweep away the three attacks, but the remaining two fully hit the Ebony Scale spirit.
Pu... pu...
The Ebony Scale was pierced with two holes, and Lin Mu Yu felt sharp stabs in his chest. Even with bare contact, the spirit was already suffering from injury.
“Coil!”
With a deep shout, numerous gourd vines sprung up from between the cracks of the rock, shooting towards the opponent.
The intruder was no novice. He stood his ground, his long sword beaming with offensive spirit. With a loud shout and blinding light emanating from his sword, he wildly attacked all around him with an alarming alacrity, reducing the gourd vines to ash.
Keng!
Lin Mu Yu struck again, but the opponent recognized the attack of Lightning Chop and directly blocked it.
“Heh!”
The intruder sneered, swept his sword downwards, and the blade actually began to generate a gravitational force field, drawing in the Prairie Fire sword. He sailed into the sky swept the edge of his blade forwards.
Lin Mu Yu quickly lowered his head, a chill flitting across the top of his head, even bringing a bit of hair. This guy was… his sword was fast and severe, leaving no room for mistake.
Lin Mu Yu gripped the Prairie Fire sword in retreat, using Starfall Steps to dodge the attack. But he felt an ice-cold presence behind him as the intruder violently slashed at the Ebony Scale spirit, forcing it to finally shatter into fragments.
“Sword Domain!”
As the intruder shouted, Lin Mu Yu felt the ground he was stepping on suddenly turn into something of a purgatory pool, hundreds of thousands of sword energy waiting for one wrong step, one wrong move, before they could finally decimate him into a million pieces… this must be one of the higher levels of Imperial Sword Energy?
At this critical moment, Lin Mu Yu simply jumped up, elevating his body up into the air to avoid the lethal sword attack and at the same time, hurled a throwing knife at his opponent.
“Concealed weapons? That’s low!” The intruder stepped aside to avoid the Sonic Blade, but Sword Domain form also disappeared.
“Sword Spirit Vanishing Traces!”
The intruder let go of his sword, and the blade flew towards him, bringing parallel streaks of sword spirit.
The secret chamber was too small, Lin Mu Yu had absolutely no chance of dodging. With a quick wave of his hand, innumerable green vines rose to create a barrier and he used his remaining true essence to form a Dragon Rampart.
Peng, peng, peng!
Dragon Rampart cracked under the intensity of the opponent’s firing consistency.
Pu-chi! The long sword ran through his shoulder.
Lin Mu Yu staggered back several steps, fresh blood pouring from his wound. He had been at a disadvantage from the start. His own Prairie Fire word had not even been able to touch a single hair on top of the opponent’s head. This was the beauty of higher level Imperial Sword Style, killing people from as far as ten meters, without even giving the chance to the opponent.
……
“Haha!”
The intruder roared loudly, tearing off his mask and revealing a skeletal face wearing a jeering expression. “And I thought Lin Mu Yu to be some holy G.o.d who’s all that… now I think he’s nothing more than someone who will die from my, Zhong Li San’s, sword! You can rest in peace now!”
Saying so, he opened his hand, an invisible force propelled the sword forward.
Pa!
Lin Mu Yu abruptly opened his hand, his fingers forming with Dragon Rampart’s true essential capacity, and grabbed onto Zhong Li San’s sword with his bare hand; Refining Skin, Tempering Bone, and Hardening Bone performing their magic. It wasn’t too painful. He suddenly absorbed it. “Do you want your weapon back?”
Zhong Li San’s gaze hardened. “This guy’s a lunatic!”
He flew forward to grab the sword, ready to unleash his attack. The sword whirled around, and with the incorporeal sword spirit devastation move, began to slice at Lin Mu Yu’s left hand mercilessly. It was impossible to draw a line between blood and flesh.
But Lin Mu Yu only needed this chance!
Hua-la!
A blazing purple flame subsumed the blade of the Prairie Fire Sword, true dragonfire!
As Lin Mu Yu exposed the blade, Zhong Li San’s lip curled with disdain. Lin Mu Yu’s sword in his eyes was nothing more than a skill-less toy, something that even a ten year-old could conjure.
“He!”
With a decisive shout, three layers of armor condensed in front of him. Zhong Li San sneered. “Come at me, boy!”
“Hou!”
The Prairie Fire Sword blazing with true dragonfire came to nearly less than ten meters within Zhong Li San’s chest when he suddenly felt uneasy. It was his first time experiencing this degree of power, a tyrannical force!
Pu!
The blade directly penetrated through the Spirit Armor. The dragonfire incinerated an opening in his defense and the blade struck his chest until it emerged from the other side.
……
One hit knock out!
Zhong Li San had his back pinned to the rock wall by Lin Mu Yu, his eyes filled with shock and defiant resistance. Even with death looming, he spat out, “Who… who the heck are you?”
Lin Mu Yu asked, “Did Zeng Fang send you?”
“Yes…”
“Now you can go die!”
True dragonfire blazed up, turning Zhong Li San’s heart to dust.
Translated by: korezmi
Edited by: patrick_father_of_dragons