Chapter 83: Song Xuejiao
Chapter 83: Song Xuejiao
After several exchanges, Xu Jiang’s face darkened with fury. As a True Martial Seventh Realm cultivator, he found it absurd that he couldn’t subdue someone at the True Martial Fifth Level.
“Brat! Dare to take my palm strike?”
Xu Jiang shifted tactics, relying on his cultivation advantage to crush Cheng Lingyu.
“Why not?”
Cheng Lingyu remained indifferent, halting his counterattacks. His eyes held no emotion as he stared at Xu Jiang.
Xu Jiang bristled at the mockery. With a furious roar, he lunged like an eagle diving for prey.
His right fist clenched, true essence churning in his palm. Waves roared with divine might as crimson flames engulfed his fist. Before the strike even landed, the void trembled under its overwhelming force.
Shenhuo Sect disciples cheered, but Jin Miaoyi, Miao Sanxu, and Fang Zhuqing grew uneasy.
Cheng Lingyu’s eyes flickered. As the attack neared, his own fist shot out like lightning. A scarlet afterimage fluttered like a blood-red butterfly in the void.
A flash—then thunder cracked.
Their fists collided in an instant, triggering a violent blast. The energy wave threw Cheng Lingyu back a step while Xu Jiang hurtled through the air.
“Decent Thunder Stage punch. Not bad.”
Cheng Lingyu steadied himself and vanished, reappearing as countless ethereal shadows. His blurred fists rained down on Xu Jiang with impossible speed.
This was deliberate—Cheng Lingyu wanted to push Xu Jiang’s combat power to its limit, using him as a whetstone.
Xu Jiang bellowed, unleashing every Thunder Stage technique he knew in a frenzied counterattack.
Cheng Lingyu held back, using only thirty percent of his strength. He savored the battle’s shifting rhythms, testing his reflexes against danger.
A hundred clashes later, Xu Jiang had exhausted every trick—yet Cheng Lingyu stood untouched.
“Is this the Thunder Stage’s full might?”
Disdain colored Cheng Lingyu’s voice as a shockwave blasted Xu Jiang to the ground. Blood sprayed as the man gaped in disbelief.
“Who… are you?”
“Irrelevant. What matters is you hurt my brothers. Today, you’ll kneel to them.”
Cheng Lingyu closed the gap in one stride. His fists fell like hammer blows—methodical, unstoppable—pounding Xu Jiang backward in a spray of blood and howls.
Four Shenhuo Sect disciples rushed to intervene.
“Kill him!” Xu Jiang rasped through bloody lips.
The five attacked as one, their coordination tripling their threat.
Cheng Lingyu laughed—not in anger, but exhilaration. He met their charge head-on.
Though the disciples used elastic limb techniques and clever formations, their flurry of strikes never truly endangered him.
Cheng Lingyu wove his skills into the battle’s fabric—the perfect crucible for growth.
His cultivation had surged recently, but real combat experience lagged. These fools made perfect training dummies.
No true hatred drove him. He simply sought justice for Jin Miaoyi’s group—and a chance to measure his progress.
Under these circumstances, Cheng Lingyu held back his strength and threw himself into the fight, merging all his learned skills during the intense combat.
The battle between both sides grew fierce, though neither held killing intent. Despite Xu Jiang’s burning hatred for Cheng Lingyu, he lacked the capability to act on it.
Cheng Lingyu split his focus, accumulating valuable combat experience while gaining clearer insight into his own capabilities.
After hundreds of exchanges, Cheng Lingyu suddenly stopped attacking. He let Xu Jiang and the others hit him, but remained unharmed and sent them flying instead.
His body, fused with the active metal source, had become unbreakably tough. Having absorbed multiple mysterious energies from the world, his Physical Body now resisted all blades and spears.
A furious Xu Jiang summoned a high-grade magical artifact and smashed it toward Cheng Lingyu.
The artifact simply bounced off without leaving a scratch.
Another Shenhuo Sect disciple produced a low-grade treasure artifact – a cold-gleaming sharp dagger. Even when stabbed into Cheng Lingyu’s back, it failed to pierce his skin.
“This monster’s immune to weapons! Retreat!”
Their courage failed as the fight continued. The terrified group turned to flee.
Cheng Lingyu caught Xu Jiang and kicked him toward Jin Miaoyi.
“He’s yours now.”
Miao Sanxu immediately kicked the fallen man. “You dared strike me? I’ll teach you a lesson today!”
Fang Zhuqing joined in, pummeling Xu Jiang with fists and feet.
Jin Miaoyi waited before delivering the final blows, giving Xu Jiang panda-like bruises but avoiding serious harm. As a Shenhuo Sect disciple with a Soul Martial Realm brother, crippling him would bring endless trouble. Superficial injuries, however, could be dismissed as petty squabbles.
“Enough!”
A soft voice froze everyone.
Cheng Lingyu turned in surprise. Jin Miaoyi’s handsome face twitched as he murmured, “Divine Doctor Song…”
Miao Sanxu and Fang Zhuqing fell silent, suddenly tense.
The newcomer in snowy white robes was Song Xuejiao – Yunyang City’s famed divine doctor and Shenhuo Sect’s Third Young Miss, beloved by all.
“Why attack my sect’s disciples?” Her gentle voice carried steel as she surveyed Cheng Lingyu and the others.
Jin Miaoyi forced a laugh. “Xu Jiang beat us days ago. We’re just settling scores.”
Song Xuejiao glanced at the battered Xu Jiang before locking eyes with Cheng Lingyu.
“Didn’t expect to see you here. Your disguise needs work.”
Cheng Lingyu smiled openly. “Your perception shames me, Miss Song.”
“Since you’ve had your revenge, release him.”
Jin Miaoyi hastily nodded, gesturing for Miao Sanxu to haul Xu Jiang upright.
“Don’t cause trouble again, or I’ll punish you.”
Song Xuejiao glared at Xu Jiang, issuing a warning.
Xu Jiang didn’t dare to argue and slunk away.
“You’ve been absent for so long. Would you like to walk around?”
Song Xuejiao turned to Cheng Lingyu, offering the invitation.
The divine doctor was famed for her kindness, a truth known to all.
Though Cheng Lingyu had never met her before, he’d heard tales.
“Since Miss Song is free, I’d be honored to join.”
Cheng Lingyu motioned for Jin Miaoyi to depart first.
On the street, Cheng Lingyu shed his disguise, revealing his true face as he walked beside Song Xuejiao. Their pairing—a golden youth and a jade maiden—drew envious gazes.
Song Xuejiao’s tenderness showed no resentment over Cheng Lingyu’s feud with the Shenhuo Sect. Instead, she guided him through alleys like an old friend, recounting recent events in Yunyang City.
“What do you think cultivators seek after a lifetime of struggle?”
The question caught Cheng Lingyu off guard. His handsome face turned thoughtful.
“They chase freedom to act as they please.”
Song Xuejiao pressed, “Does such freedom truly exist?”
“No. That’s why the pursuit continues.”
Cheng Lingyu’s answer held depth—precisely because true freedom eludes them, cultivators strive endlessly.
“The Lanling Holy Palace treasures surfaced long ago, yet the storm grows fiercer. I hear Ouyang Lie will return soon, and the Divine Martial Sect may intervene.”
Song Xuejiao’s brow furrowed with concern for Yunyang City’s turmoil.
Cheng Lingyu said, “Hua Yuehong holds the key. Peace returns when she departs.”
“Leaving won’t be simple. The Baifo Sect forbids it, yet she won’t let them perish for her sake. With rival factions circling, her choice narrows.”
“Some outcomes may escape her control.”
Though notable in Yunyang City, the Baifo Sect meant little to the Tianyang Empire.
The beautiful jade coffin had already cost the sect dearly. Only Hua Yuehong’s influence prevented greater powers from crushing them completely.
“What do you know of the Baifo Sect?”
Song Xuejiao’s soft query turned Cheng Lingyu’s way.
“Truthfully? Nothing at all.”
“You’re new here. The sect reveres flames. Their spirit stone links followers to the Flame God, conveying divine will.”
“Flame God?”
“Their term—somewhat inflated. Cultivators call it the Flame Essence, a consciousness embodying fire’s path that grants ultimate skills. The stone reacts only to chosen ones, as Shenhuo and Xuanhuo experts learned firsthand.”
“Only Baifo members can awaken it?”
“Two types: priests using sacrificial rituals passed through generations, and Hua Yuehong—the sole Saintess in three millennia who activates it freely. They say it’s her Destiny Stone, bound to her fate through endless mystery.”
“Destiny Stone?”
The term struck Cheng Lingyu as novel.