Painting of the Nine Immortals

Chapter 25: The Flamboyant Debut of the Guiding Law

Translator: /Tatienne Editor: Tennesh/Rundi

"Do you dare to come down here and face death?"

His voice was calm with a trace of dominance. Everyone at the arena fell silent in that instant.

Who was crazier?

The one who said do you dare to come up and battle?

Or the one who said do you dare to come down and face death?

Who's there to judge who's better than the other?

Pairs of eyes gazed toward Ling Xian's direction, all of them were full of admiration. The blood in these people's bodies was boiling after what Ling Xian had said. The collateral siblings who had been bullied and lived in the shadows of these elites were especially agitated and almost screamed to support him.

The opponent was the youth leader of the Ling clan. A genius youth with sixth level qi. How many people dared to talk to him this way?

On the stage, the leaders of the Ling clan were astounded as well. With their training, they could easily hear the conversation between Ling Chen and Ling Xian. They did not expect Ling Chen would choose to ruin Ling Xian's reputation under everyone's gape.

"Ling Chen is going too far," Ling Tian Xiang said in a frosty tone.

"Yes, he took it too far." Ling Tian Qing's face was as heavy as water. He has been so busy taking care of the administration duties of the clan, that he overlooked his beloved children's disciplines and manners. Seeing Ling Chen's disrespectable arrogance today, his heart pinched.

How could someone like that be the clan leader one day?

"Third brother, let's put this to a stop."

"Big brother, I want to see if Ling Xian can truly defeat the Tidal Sword Technique. If he can't, then he deserves to lose his reputation. He is merely a collateral sibling, why should we care? Why kill our nephew's good mood by calling off the fight?" Ling Tian Ao smiled eerily.

Ling Tian Qing frowned. He was just about to argue when Ling Tian Xiang's cold laughter interrupted him. She stared at the third elder with her beautiful eyes. She wanted Ling Xian to teach this man a lesson. "Third brother, I want to take you on for a bet. Do you dare?"

"Haha, if little sis you are interested, of course, I will take you on." Ling Tian Ao became curious. "What kind of bet were you thinking of little sis?"

"I bet that Ling Xian will defeat Ling Chen within three moves," Ling Tian Xiang said very confidently.

"It seems that you place a lot of trust in the fella, but he only has a qi level of five. Even if he really can break down the Tidal Sword Technique, he cannot compete with Ling Chen. Let alone defeating him in merely three moves?" Ling Tian Ao was surprised and unsure from where Ling Tian Xiang's confidence was coming.

"You don't need to worry about why I am so certain. Just tell me straight, do you dare to take on the bet with me?" Ling Tian Xiang giggled again.

"Haha, what's there to be afraid of?" Ling Tian Ao roared with laughed. "Then I will bet that Ling Chen will defeat Ling Xian in less than three moves."

"Good. I heard that you have recently acquired a purple and green meteorite. Why not use that as the wager?" Ling Tian Xiang's eyes flashed with cunningness. "As for me... I will bet with the quasi-instrument our father gave me. What do you think?"

"This…" Ling Tian Ao was a little reluctant. A purple and green meteorite was priceless because it was an ingredient required to construct an eighth-ranked instrument. He only acquired it out of sheer luck, and therefore he was hesitant to give it up.

Then he remembered that there was no way he could lose, and recalled that Ling Tian Xiang had a quasi-instrument precious enough to make anyone drool. He was getting greedy, and so he bit his tongue and said, "alright. Let's make the bet."

"Little sis, that quasi-instrument was given by father for you to protect yourself with and it is extremely valuable. Are you sure you want to bet with that?" Ling Tian Qing asked.

"I have made up my mind." Ling Tian Xiang peeked at the overpowering Ling Xian below the stage. The complex emotion she felt towards him overwhelmed her again. "Let us wait and see."

In the first battle ring, Ling Chen was stunned. After a long while, he finally absorbed what Ling Xian had said. His anger was three inches high, and he gritted his teeth. "You… You… You are a presumptuous handicap! Are you that eager to die?"

"Do you dare to come down here and face death?"

Ling Xian repeated himself; his tone remained dominant.

Facing Ling Chen's endless provocation, he chose to ignore them. He was not afraid of him; he simply did not want to get tangled with the drama. However, Ling Chen only pressed him harder and was unable to identify right from wrong.

If that was the case, then there was no more reason to back off and ignore him. There was one thing left to do.

Fight!

It wasn't as if Ling Xian had no pride. It was simply that after years of hardships, all of his pride was grinded into dust.

He too used to enjoy others' admiration and did not understand how to be humble. However, because he never had the abilities needed fulfill this mentality, he suffered greatly.

Nowadays, he has long shed the pride that engulfed him. He was now humble and down to earth. However, like a sword, as soon as someone forces him out of his sheath, he will shine bright and demonstrate his sharpness.

Ling Chen, drowning in anger at this point, screamed, "you handicap! I will shred all your reputation and torture you until you want to die!"

"Cut the cr*p. Get down here and get killed!" Ling Xian took one step forward. His white robe whistling, and black hair dancing.

"Dammit!" Ling Chen's eyes were spewing with fire. He could no longer keep his fury under control. His left hand held onto his Qing sword and his right hand formed a hand-seal. He was activating the strongest technique he knew - one of the fatal moves from the Tidal Sword Technique.

"Thousand Tidal Waves!"

Lights reflected off the blade as the tip of the sword sliced through the sky. A Thousand rays of light reflected out of the sword with each ray sharp enough to slash open the heaven and the earth. Its speed was as fast as the wind, its damage as severe as fire, and its presence as jolting as thunder!

Ling Xian's expression turned serious. He awakened his Eyes of Execution. Immediately, the endless rays stagnated. Its weaknesses and flaws were clearly displayed.

"It's here!"

A wave of tyrannical energy burst out of his body. Ling Xian's eyes were sparkling, and his movement was heroic like an honorable Immortal.

"Break!"

He punched. It was a plain and simple punch that was aimed directly at the deadly flaw of the Tidal Sword Technique.

Boom! After a blaring noise, the rays of light from the sword disappeared so fast it was like they were never there in the first place.

Time froze.

Everyone dumbfoundedly watched the scene. All of the onlooker's brains stopped turning.

"What!?" Ling Tian Ao jumped out, his face full of shock.

Ling Tian Qing and Ling Tian Jiao exchanged glances. Each of them could see the astonishment in their eyes. Ling Tian Xiang was the only one who beamed happily. She easily predicted this result and was not at all surprised.

"Impossible!" Ling Chen howled. He just personally witnessed the Tidal Sword Technique fall apart. The technique that he thought was undefeatable was so easily broken apart by someone; the strain on his confidence and arrogance was indescribable. Especially since half of his skills were built on the Tidal Sword Technique.

Right now, like the dispersing light, his confidence was dissolving.

"Again! How could you attack my Thousand Tidal Wave? It must be luck! It must be!" Ling Chen would not accept what was happening, he pointed at Ling Xian and screamed, "again!"

"Useless struggles." Ling Xian frowned. With his Eyes of Execution, what would he, trying again, accomplish?

The result will always be the same

At the moment, Ling Tian Xiang's crisp voice emerged from above.

"Ling Xian, I have made a bet with someone. I bet that you would be able to defeat Ling Chen within three moves. Don't you dare lose my face and make me lose the bet!"

"If that's the case..." the corners of Ling Xian's lips curved up slightly, "Might as well turn this place upside down."

Turn this place upside down!

This phrase contained far too much insolent.

His hair was as dark as ink, and his robe was as white as snow. When he stepped forward, it was as if a row of drums started beating, tumbling on everyone's heart.

"I'll give you one more shot. Attack me!"

Light returned to Ling Chen's eyes. He had an enlightenment. The secret to the seventh stage Tidal Sword Technique, the secret he could not understand suddenly made sense to him.

"Hahaha, thank you Ling Xian. You have helped me realize how to advance to the seventh stage of the Tidal Sword Technique. To show my appreciation, I will grant you death!" Ling Chen sneered again as he formed a seal with both of his hands. The meter-long Qing sword flew into mid-air. From one blade, it divided into two, then four, and eventually they diverged into 64 long blades, dashing towards Ling Xian like waves.

The seventh stage of the Tidal Sword Technique. The sword no longer attacks by forming rays of energy. Rather, it replicates itself into multiple swords. In term of power and speed, they were both incomparably better than the sixth stage's swordplay!

The 64 blades whooshed past. Their length as long as the rainbow, their sharpness unmatchable, and their powerfulness disturbed the mountains and the rivers!

"Using only the Tidal Sword Technique, how dare you think you could win this battle?"

Ling Xian's energy was like an unstoppable bull. The sky above his head suddenly darkened as stars rose one by one, eventually forming a galaxy.

The invincible guiding law appeared. A palm large enough to cover the sun and the moon slowly rose behind him and pushed forward. Its undefeatable demeanor was overpowering as if it could break through all borders and diminish the heaviest mountains!

Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique!

Everything was turning into dust!

Pia!

The giant palm pushed forward, breaking all 64 blades and shredding them into powders. Under Ling Xian's conscious control, it shrank into the size of an adult's palm and slapped Ling Chen's face!

Even though Ling Xian was already working his hardest to control the palm, its power was still too strong, and the slap ended up sending Ling Chen flying. There was no other way out of it. The Shadow Heaven Palm Technique was too strong. If Ling Xian didn't attempt to exert control over it, Ling Chen would be a dead body by now.

"This is not possible…" Ling Chen was on the ground spitting out blood. He screamed in disbelief, "what kind of technique is this? How could it face-on attack the seventh stage of the Tidal Sword Technique?"

His question was also everyone else's question.

Every collateral sibling was watching with their mouths open. The expression on their faces was pure shock.

"Oh my god, what was that giant palm? One push and the Tidal Sword Technique was gone!"

"He is so strong! Two moves… No, strictly speaking, if Ling Xian chose to use that technique right off the bat, then Ling Chen would've lost right away!"

"Unbelievable. Ling Chen was defeated so easily. Before, he was mocking and teasing him. He wanted Ling Xian to lose his reputation, but now, he was the one who's been pushed down the cliff."

Unlike these siblings who did not have much experience, when the giant palm appeared behind Ling Xian, a shiver went down Ling Tian Qing and the others' spines. They stood up immediately.

After a long while, the four leaders returned to reality. Their faces carried shock, questions, and disbelief.

"Second brother," Ling Tian Qing suddenly spoke and asked in a whisper, "You have read our clan's records and literature since a young age. You should be able to confirm that what we saw is what I think it is right?"

Ling Tian Jiao chuckled bitterly. "Big brother, you did not read any less than me. You already have an idea of what that was. "Why are you two big men fussing so womanishly? It is what you think it is. There is no need for questions." Ling Tian Xiang's eyes were as gorgeous and bright as ever. Initially, she thought Ling Xian would use his Eyes of Execution to defeat the Tidal Sword Technique. What she did not know was that he was hiding an invincible guiding law.

"At first all lights disappeared, then stars drizzled across the sky, and at last, a giant palm appeared and shadowed the heavens." Ling Tian Qing exhaled deeply. His voice was full of astonishment and joy.

"Heaven Shadowing Palm Technique, one of the six strongest guiding laws. This youth here really is an incomparable genius. His potential must be limitless if he was able to wake a guiding law while still in the Qi stage of training. Having such a rare genius in my clan, my clan will for sure walk the glorious trail for decades."