Chapter 1 - Xiantian Imprint

The sun had yet to shine brightly but the dust in the arena had already started to glow brilliantly. The air seemed to be boiling. The two experts had yet to exchange a move but their aura had already started to create a boundless suppression.

Outside the arena, not a whimper could be heard. Every single person had been affected by this suppression, feeling as if the slightest of carelessness on their part might disturb the two extraordinary individuals on the stage.

Xu family’s fourth lord, Xu Right, had his fists tightly clenched. His facial appearance looked different than the rest. Amidst the astonishment and fury, he found himself at a bit of loss.

Last year, after ascending to the ninth layer, he hadn’t been putting anyone into his eyes throughout the entire county except for a few.

However, at this moment, as he looked at the two individuals on the stage, especially Lin Taoli- from the body of whom he could feel an aura which was even a notch above that of Blaze technique, he felt a chill in his heart. When he’d fought with Lin Taoli, the latter hadn’t used his entire strength at all.

If Lin Taoli had revealed this bizarre imprint technique from the beginning, how long he could have survived?

His vision then shifted onto the individual standing before Lin Taoli.

His mouth suddenly felt bitter, extremely bitter…

Fifteen years old, ninth layer expert……how the hell has this guy actually cultivated?

At this moment, a thought appeared in his mind. Perhaps, it would have been better if the second brother has killed this guy a year ago in the mountain forest. If this guy is allowed a few more years, what state would this guy end up maturing to?

In the future Tai Cang county, could Xu family maintain their existence?

Perhaps…

A frightening idea came in his mind. Perhaps one day, this child might even surpass the ancestor….

If that day truly came, even he wouldn’t dare say for sure that Xu castle could stand firm.

Momentarily, faint killing intent flickered in his eyes. His eyes swept through the surrounding people. Apart from the members of He family, he could see varying sorts of terrified expressions on every face.

Although He family’s fame would spread far and wide, they would also be doomed to suffer people’s envy.

On the stage, Lin Taoli’s sound could be heard- soft, gentle, and seemingly without any base behind it, “Comes without a trace, leaves shadowless- the Illusory Rain Cloud imprint. Brother He, be careful.”

Until now, he’d addressed He Yiming as ‘little brother’. However, when his Internal Energy had attained the ninth layer and the latter still stood motionlessly, he realized that this individual’s Internal Energy cultivation was not below his at all.

At this moment, the feeling of contempt had completely disappeared from his heart, and the way he felt about He Yiming had also undergone a subtle transformation. Addressing He Yiming as brother was the same as recognizing the latter as his equal.

He Yiming brightly said, “Young master Lin, please.”

His voice brimmed with anticipation as if he couldn’t wait any longer to face this strike. However, at this moment, not a single spectator felt him being arrogant.

Lin Tao’s fingers slightly crooked, then his right forefinger slightly jerked.

He Yiming faintly started, what sort of battle skill is this? As he felt skeptical inwardly, his chest suddenly tensed before both of his fists clutched the section between his chest and stomach.

His palms had not truly touched his body, rather had brushed against an extremely strange energy.

His expression immediately transformed as he realized that this was actually the Internal Energy that had left cultivator’s body and was hardly any different than hidden weapons.

An inconceivable idea emerged in his mind. Subsequently, his two eyes closed in on Lin Taoli’s two palms which formed that bizarre imprint.

Generally, regardless of how strong one’s Internal Energy became, it couldn’t leave cultivator’s body and exist independently.

He’d personally tested this fact out many times. Not to mention, Lin Taoli’s ninth layer Internal Energy, even his own tenth layer Internal Energy couldn’t exist independent of his body.

However, through countless years of development, humans had developed all sorts of mystical arts.

Legends mentioned a secret art named Air Cleaving Palm, which could allow Internal Energy to leave the body and remain condensed for a short term of time to attack the enemy.

Of course, the difficulty of cultivating such a palm technique must have been inconceivably high. Reportedly, since the creation of this technique, only a handful of people had managed to successfully cultivate it. Moreover, this was only a legend. He Yiming had never seen it before.

Today the situation before his eyes was quite similar to the strange technique of this legend.

His thoughts suddenly turned in another direction as he suddenly recalled the words Lin Taoli had just said,

Rain Cloud Imprint- comes without trace, leaves shadowless, and Illusionary. It is indeed as such!

With a soft shout, his two fists began to dance again as an equally formidable aura exploded from his body.

A moment ago, he’d just realized that defending against such a technique was simply impossible. Nobody could defend against an attack which could strike without a trace.

Since defending wouldn’t be of any use, he might as well try to break this attack by force.

Relentless fists, carrying intense fist winds and sounds, swarmed at his opponent. At his moment, He Yiming’s surroundings had been completely shrouded in fist images. His fist technique was being displayed at full power- Rolling Boulder Fist’s ninth layer completely unleashed.

If it had been someone other than Lin Taoli, like Xu Right and Cheng Zhusheng who were cultivators of the ninth layer as well, they would have no choice but to reveal their hidden cards and immediately break He Yiming’s Rolling Boulder Fist. Otherwise, if they were to allow He Yiming’s Rolling Boulder Fist to develop its peak momentum, in the absence of a technique similar to Lin Taoli’s strange imprint, they would be immediately defeated and even injured.

However, on the stage, Lin Taoli seemed completely unfazed. His feet seemed steady despite the fact that he was nimbly moving on the stage- like drifting clouds.

Although his movements avoided direct confrontation with He Yiming’s Boulder Fist, to other people, he seemed not to be evading….but attacking with an unorthodox style.

Lin Taoli would slightly bend his finger, then jerk it, and He Yiming’s figure would faintly pause. Although this pause would be extremely minute such that ordinary people had no way of seeing, the people seating in the main hall were no ordinary people. They had seen all sorts of things in life. Just after a few moments, they had already grasped the core of the fight.

Whenever Lin Taoli’s fingers, which were constituting the imprint, faintly trembled, He Yiming would recoil as if he’d been struck by a lightning. Their actual confrontation was not what it seemed to be. They were confronting while moving through the entire arena, and due to this, it seemed as if He Yiming was crazily attacking Lin Taoli.

In reality, regardless of how fierce Rolling Boulder Fist became, it had been strictly controlled by the counterpart from the very beginning.

The people looked at each other’s faces. What kind of technique was this? It contained such a gigantic might, and more importantly, neither could one resist it, or even evade it.

However, how could others experience the bittersweet feelings He Yiming was going through at this moment.

Rain Cloud imprint indeed was an inconceivably secret art which could allow one’s Internal Energy to materialize outside one’s body for a short duration.

Furthermore, from this technique, He Yiming could faintly perceive an extremely familiar feeling- the same one when he cultivated [Splitting Mountain Thirty Six Forms]. This helped him to ensure that this technique of Lin Taoli belonged to the extremely rare type Xiantian battle skills.

However, now that he thought about it again, apart from Xiantian techniques, no technique should be able to let one’s Internal Energy leave body while maintaining its offensive power.

Although He Yiming’s fists seemed quite majestic, he didn’t dare completely rely on it.

Once Internal Energy left the body, it would immediately dissipate. However, Rain Cloud imprint could actually condense Internal Energy to quite a high degree. Only then could it inflict injury directly through air. The strike through the air was although quite formidable, it merely caused him some pain. However, to directly collide with the imprint- He Yiming didn’t dare even imagine the might it contained.

He felt perhaps his entire being would be blasted off the stage.

His body suddenly shuddered as he suffered yet another crafty strike at the section of his body between his waist and abdomen.

Although he was trying his best, against a battle skill which attacked without any warning, it was simply impossible to defend. If not for his special body, he would have long ago ceased to stand.

However, after suffering for so long, his harvests also weren’t low. Every time he suffered, his understanding regarding this technique would increase a little. Although it couldn’t compare to Prostate imprint, which he’d been able to study up close by exploring the Internal Energy circulation routes, he’d still managed to obtain a subtle feel of it, and he was still exploring it.

Perhaps this was the so-called simultaneous pain and joy.

Lin Taoli let out a long sigh. Regarding He Yiming’s endurance, he already wished to prostrate himself in admiration. If he’d been in place of He Yiming, he couldn’t imagine himself this lively after enduring so many hits of such a bizarre attack.

However, he himself wouldn’t able to hold out much longer.

Rain Cloud imprint couldn’t be used by a ninth layer cultivator for a long duration. Therefore, even he couldn’t go on for much longer.

With a long hiss, Lin Taoli suddenly stood still. The seal formed by his hands had not changed as he said in an exceedingly grave voice, “Brother He, this is my final strike. If you can withstand it, it will be your win. If you can’t, please retreat to back no matter what, this Lin promises to not chase after you.”

After saying, he slowly lifted his two hands which were forming the imprint.

His hand emitted a bizarre energy, causing his two hands to glow with an indescribable charm, attracting everybody’s eyes.

“Xiantian battle skill….”

Lord Master Xu’s face faintly twitched as he muttered in a low voice.