Translator: CinderTL
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Can a peak martial artist threaten a Dao Foundation cultivator by getting close?
Li Chunjun had never heard of such a theory.
What he had heard more often were rumors that peak martial artists could hardly defeat Qi Refinement cultivators at the second level, the Mana Realm.
TL/N: Magic Power à Mana
He had even heard that Dao Foundation cultivators at the third level of Qi Refinement could kill peak martial artists as easily as slaughtering chickens.
However, compared to these rumors...
He trusted more in the acute perception he had gained through his repeated life evolutions.
Three days ago, Zhang San had warned him that Zhang Qing's formation had issues.
Even earlier, he had asked Hua Ying about Zhang Qing's condition, but Hua Ying had evaded the question with vague answers.
When he finally saw Zhang Qing in person, he had a feeling.
Zhang Qing was strong.
Strong enough to easily pose a fatal threat to him.
But beneath that strength, there was a hidden fragility.
What exactly it was, he didn't know.
What he did know was that if he could break through that strong exterior, he could win!
So, whether Zhang Qing's formation had issues, as Zhang San had said, didn't matter.
If the formation wasn't the problem, he would use Zhang Qing himself to make up for it. He wouldn't lose.
He would achieve victory.
Then, with the support of everyone at Summit Tower, he would ascend to a higher realm!
A cultivator!
Level 14!
Great strength would grant him unparalleled mobility.
It would allow him to reach the Chiyang Sword Sect in a very short time, kill Jin Zhiya, complete his revenge, and leave with ease!
After that...
Cultivation!
Immortality!
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Whoosh!
The golden light flashed!
The golden light that had previously pierced Li Chunjun's shoulder turned around, as if it had a life of its own, and shot toward him again.
Its speed was still as fast as before.
There was no way to dodge it!
Li Chunjun's quick thinking allowed him to instantly contract his body, minimizing the damage the golden light could inflict—changing a heart-piercing strike to a waist-piercing one.
It didn't tear through his kidneys!
The evolution of life had not only increased his physical strength, memory, and sensory acuity but also his endurance, resilience, and recovery!
A wound to the waist?
A mere flesh wound.
However, due to Li Chunjun's current position, the golden light, after grazing his waist and leaving a trail of crimson blood, shot toward "Zhang Qing" Zhang Qing, who was standing right in front of him!
Yet, it seemed that a cultivator's spells and the cultivator themselves were connected in some way.
Just as the golden light was about to collide with Zhang Qing's Water Mirror Technique, the light nimbly changed direction and then...
"Break!"
The sword shot out like a dragon!
Li Chunjun's agile mind had already calculated the trajectory of the golden light's redirected attack. The sword he swung landed with pinpoint accuracy on the golden light.
"Bang!"
Sparks seemed to fly in the air.
The golden light formed by the Sharp Metal Technique was actually dimmed by the lightning-fast strike of the sword!
Only now did Li Chunjun see what the golden light really was.
A sword.
A golden sword less than half a foot long, without a hilt.
"A life-bound flying sword!?"
Li Chunjun was surprised.
This "Zhang Qing" was actually cultivating a life-bound flying sword!?
Instead of being a proper Dao Foundation cultivator, he was learning the ways of a sword cultivator and cultivating a life-bound flying sword?
And using the Sharp Metal Technique as a disguise?
"How..."
A flash of astonishment crossed Zhang Qing's eyes.
Li Chunjun...
Had actually been able to discern the trajectory of his flying sword and intercept it head-on with a metal sword!?
How difficult was that?
It was like a martial artist using a single-handed sword to slice a bullet out of the air!
And not just any bullet—a heavy sniper bullet that could change direction at will and was fully controllable!
Especially since the flying sword's sharpness gave it unparalleled penetrating power.
Even a one-centimeter-thick steel plate couldn't stop the flying sword from piercing through.
How could Li Chunjun's sword intercept it!?
The moment the golden light scattered, Zhang Qing clearly felt the Dao Foundation within his body tremble, almost shattering.
Nurturing a life-bound flying sword with the Dao Foundation was too draining on one's vitality.
This tremor even affected his ability to use mana!
Externally, this manifested as ripples in the Water Mirror Technique, which had been activated by a spirit talisman.
Li Chunjun instantly seized this opportunity.
His perception, so sharp that Zhang Qing almost mistook it for divine sense, allowed him to instantly pinpoint the critical node in the ripples of the Water Mirror Technique.
In the next moment, gripping his sword with both hands, he channeled a violent force into his arms. With a fierce twist of his body, he drove the sword into the ripples of the Water Mirror Technique like a nail being hammered into wood.
"Buzz!"
Under the heavy blow that struck the critical node, the ripples of the Water Mirror Technique trembled violently. In Zhang Qing's somewhat horrified gaze, the ripples dissipated completely.
Spirit talismans, after all, were not as effective as one's own spells.
"Bastard!"
Before Li Chunjun could muster the remaining strength in his sword to press forward, Zhang Qing's figure seemed to be moved by an external force, abruptly shifting away.
As he moved, the shock in his eyes turned into a cold, murderous intent. "Originally, to ensure the efficacy of the medicine, 'Scarlet Gold' wasn't aimed directly at your vitals... I didn't expect you to be so ungrateful..."
As soon as he finished speaking, mana surged from his Dao Foundation, pouring into the "Scarlet Gold" sword. The dimmed flying sword once again began to glow brightly.
"Whoosh!"
Almost at the same moment the flying sword's golden light flickered, a short sword shot out with a piercing screech, striking the golden light. The barely stabilized golden light became unstable once more.
By the time Zhang Qing managed to steady the flying sword again, Li Chunjun had already charged forward like a peerless assassin aiming to assassinate a king. Gathering all his energy into one strike, he delivered a thunderous blow, landing with pinpoint accuracy on the newly formed Scarlet Gold sword!
"Bang!"
Sparks flew!
The golden light exploded and scattered!
Li Chunjun could even feel the shattered golden light leaving streaks of blood on his hands!
But the thunderous strike had once again dimmed the glow of Zhang Qing's hard-activated life-bound flying sword!
The life-bound flying sword had been struck heavily for the second time.
Li Chunjun clearly sensed something...
The shell had been cracked!
"Damage to the Dao Foundation."
Li Chunjun stated.
It wasn't a question but a certainty.
Sword cultivators in the first three levels only trained in sword energy.
A life-bound flying sword?
That was something for the fourth level and beyond.
Zhang Qing was using his Dao Foundation to nurture a life-bound flying sword?
If successful, he would ascend to greatness!
He would be nearly invincible among high-level Qi Refinement cultivators.
But the slightest mistake could lead to severe damage to his foundation, or even death.
Perhaps this was why he had gone to such lengths to achieve success in the Body Refinement path.
Becoming a Body Refinement cultivator, using his vital energy to nurture the sword.
"No one can save you today!"
Zhang Qing's face turned ashen.
Without the Water Mirror Technique, he didn't dare to get too close to Li Chunjun. His figure shifted again, appearing ten meters away.
Li Chunjun didn't know what kind of spell this was.
But he had already figured out how to break through Zhang Qing's "shell."
He lunged forward, picking up the short sword he had thrown earlier, which had severed an electrical wire.
As Zhang Qing attempted to gather and control the Scarlet Gold sword again, the short sword was thrown once more.
The half-baked life-bound flying sword was Zhang Qing's greatest weakness.
Others, whether peak martial artists or Qi Refinement cultivators, couldn't keep up with the trajectory of the "Scarlet Gold" flying sword.
Unless Zhang Qing was unlucky enough to encounter a cultivator skilled in detection spells, peak martial artists and first or second-level Qi Refinement cultivators wouldn't be able to withstand more than a few strikes from his flying sword.
But Li Chunjun, against all odds, could "see" the flying sword clearly. Through his control of the battlefield, he repeatedly struck the sword's body with precision.
The comprehensive enhancements brought by his life evolution were increasingly demonstrating their excellence.
He wasn't outstanding in any single aspect.
But he grew evenly across all areas.
(End of the Chapter)
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