Chapter 172
Chapter 172: Reverse Scale of an Assassin
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT , Rock
Ling Jian let out an indifferent chuckle, completely ignoring Yu ManTian. In response to the nudge of his heels, the spirited horse gave out a neigh and galloped away. Yu ManTian's body darted into the air like a dragon soaring out from the ocean, his sword shooting out at a lightning fast speed. Knowing that this burly man had an incredible ability, Ling Jian didn't dare be careless. With a 'shiiiiing', his sword was brandished, meeting Yu ManTian's blade head-on. As the two swords collided, their bodies shook from the impact and Yu ManTian's ferocious charge was stopped. As the force from his jump ran out, he had no choice but to land back on the ground. But because Ling Jian was already on a horse, he sped up even further from the blow!
Yu ManTian was angered to the point that steam could be seen rising from the top of his head. However, he also knew that Ling Jian's movement technique was far superior to his. If Ling Jian really wanted to leave, it would be impossible to hold him back. Since his sword was unable to keep Ling Jian behind, he could only watch as Ling Jian escaped. He couldn't help but spit on the ground as he scolded, "I wonder what kind of a despicable scum and savage animal would be able to train such an inhumane assassin! For such a person to remain alive, it is going against the law of the heavens!"
Yu ManTian was really only trying to vent the pent-up anger in his heart. After all, an assassin would never fall for such a provocation, and Yu ManTian had already given up the thought of fighting Ling Jian.
However, Yu ManTian didn't know that his moment of carelessness had indeed touched Ling Jian's reverse scale. [1] The huge battle which could have been avoided had broken out again!
In the next instant, Yu ManTian suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the atmosphere around him as a cold and dense killing intent surrounded him. Lifting up his head, he saw a black dressed man with hateful eyes glaring at him! The black dressed man was like a sharp sword out of its sheath, with a strong battle intent and desire to massacre the world!
It was Ling Jian who had already left!
At this moment, the dense killing intent and almost crazed battle intent from Ling Jian startled Yu ManTian. What could have enraged this fellow?
It was the last phrase spoken by Yu ManTian that had enraged Ling Jian. Everyone had a bottom line in their hearts; if someone were to cross that line, even a spineless man would fly into a rage! Ling Tian was the reverse scale in Ling Jian's heart!
Anyone who dares to humiliate my young noble must pay the price! The price of his life! If it isn't that person's life, it will be my own life!
Yu ManTian's final phrase had insulted Ling Tian. This was something unforgivable in Ling Jian's heart. If Yu ManTian were to scold Ling Jian, Ling Jian would have been long gone already. But now that he had insulted Ling Tian, this was something that Ling Jian would never be able to endure!
Just this single phrase had determined that the both of them would not stop until one of them died!
If you humiliate the young noble, DIEEEE!!
No matter who you are!
A life and death battle today can no longer be avoided; it is either your death or mine! The only thing able to wash away such humiliation would be fresh blood!
"Oi? Brat, what's wrong? Why aren't you leaving already?" Yu ManTian couldn't help but grow excited, as his aura also began to build up. All is fine as long as you are back. Third Master Yu will teach you a good lesson!
"You, deserve, to, DIE!!" With a chilly tone, Ling Jian said calmly, emphasizing on every single word. You actually dare to insult the deity in my heart! While Ling Jian still looked emotionless, rage was burning deep in his heart. At this moment, he had already forgotten about the gap between the both of them. There was only a single thought in his heart: Kill him!
"Hahaha…" Yu ManTian let out a laugh and said with disdain, "Just what I wanted! This is not the best place for us to fight, follow me!" As he said that, Yu ManTian flew up his horse and Ling Jian followed him without hesitation. In his eyes, only the person who had insulted his young noble existed. A person who was about to fight him to the death!
The two horses then left one after another. Ling Jian's chilly gaze locked onto Yu ManTian with an aura of ruthlessness exploding from his body. So what if your martial arts are higher than mine? Will I, Ling Jian, be afraid of you? Even if I cannot win against you, I am confident of dragging you with me to hell! I, Ling Jian, am my young noble's sword! Ling Tian's sword! I will never disgrace the name of my young noble!
As long as I have a single breath left, no one can insult the young noble in front of me!
So what if I win? So what if I lose? So what if I live? So what if I die?! They are all not to be feared!
By the river, a peach forest.
Spring had ended and it was the beginning of summer. The originally barren forest was now filled with small fingernail-sized peaches all over the trees. Below the trees, the originally intoxicating petals had already disappeared from the world because of a heavy rain, leaving behind the fragrant earth.
Even upon leaving the branches of the tree, the petals would continue to guard the tree by turning into fertilizer.
However, would the pride of a martial artist or the reverse scale of an assassin be protected today?
At this moment, numerous sword energies had already filled the peach forest! Occasionally, there would be the sounds of metal clashing. All of a sudden, a loud bang was heard, followed by a long silence.
"Your martial arts aren't too bad!" Yu ManTian said while panting heavily, as traces of injuries could be seen on his body. Looking at Ling Jian who was opposite him, a trace of pity could be seen in his sharp gaze. "The exquisiteness of your swordplay and mystery of your movement technique are things that I have never seen before. The more amazing thing is your ability to combine both of them into one, fully complementing each other. This is indeed a divine skill which I have never witnessed before. It is just a pity that your Inner Qi is unable to keep up with it, incomparable to the density of my decades' worth of cultivation. So, you have lost."
Opposite him, Ling Jian's black clothes were damaged in multiple areas, but an obvious wound couldn't be seen. His black mask had already fallen off, revealing a pale looking face with a trace of blood at the corner of his lips. While he did not have any physical wounds, it didn't mean that Ling Jian had the upper hand. In fact, Ling Jian had suffered a serious internal injury because of his weaker Inner Qi! If it wasn't for the long periods of intense training, he would have already collapsed onto the floor. While his long sword was still in his hand, it was drooping towards the ground. Anyone with a keen eye would be able to tell that he no longer had any strength to fight!
Despite the circumstances, Ling Jian's back was still straight and his expression calm. It was as though he was indifferent towards life and death. However, the killing intent in his eyes was still burning with a resolute gaze!
They had fought for a full two hours! In the face of the relentless attacks from an expert like Yu ManTian, Ling Jian had eventually lost!
With the huge difference in power, his exquisite swordplay and mysterious movement technique were still unable to turn the situation around!
"So what if I am inferior to you?" Ling Jian lifted his head up proudly, looking at the sword point which was a few feet away from him. With a light flick of his opponent's hand, it would easily pierce his throat, ending his life!
Ling Jian let out a self-deprecating laugh before calmly saying, "But I am not dead yet. As long as you do not kill me, I have not lost yet. I admit that I am inferior to you, but I have not been defeated yet! As long as I still have my life, I have not been defeated!"
"If I am unable to treat my own life with indifference, then I am unqualified to be an assassin. Since I am coming out to kill, I must be prepared to be killed! So what if I die? I will just enter into the next cycle of reincarnation!"
At this moment, Ling Jian remembered what Ling Tian had said to him before, as he had just unknowingly recited it. The emotionless and distant gaze of Ling Tian then appeared in his heart. Young noble, Ling Jian is going. Please take good care of yourself! If there is a next life, I will still be young noble's sword!
Yu ManTian was dumbfounded.
He never imagined that this young opponent in front of him would treat death with such magnanimity. Or perhaps was he just trying to deny his loss? Yu ManTian couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration in his heart. Such talent, such a breath of mind, such martial arts! How rare is it! Even if his Inner Qi was weak, that is only in comparison to me. In fact, did I have such a cultivation before I was twenty? It is just such a pity for this outstanding young man to walk such a path of no return.
Yu ManTian was in a dilemma. In his heart, he wasn't willing to destroy such a talent by his own hands. In the instant that he had torn off Ling Jian's mask, he had almost cried out in shock. This expert cold-blooded killer only looked like he was seventeen!
Yu ManTian was extremely clear about how difficult it was for a seventeen-year-old to attain such a level of martial arts. This was an incredulous miracle! Just how much suffering did this teen face to attain such martial arts? A talented person wouldn't be able to turn into an expert just by eating a few hundred-year-old ginseng. To become the epitome of martial arts, one could only rely on his talent, sweat and hard work!
Yu ManTian himself was a martial arts fanatic. Ever since he was young, he relied on an exceptional amount of hard work and bitter cultivation to become than three times stronger than his peers! When anyone from the Yu Family saw the way that he cultivated, all of their mouths would open wide in shock. That was no longer cultivating, that was no different from self-torture! However, it was also his crazed cultivation which gave him the ability to look down on the world with pride.
But facing this teen in front of him, Yu ManTian felt as though he had no right to be proud.
The moment Yu ManTian tore off the mask on Ling Jian's face, that sense of pride had disappeared completely. Even after cultivating in such a crazed manner, was I even half as good as this teen when I was his age? Impossible!
In other words, just what kind of bitterness did this teen suffer to attain such a cultivation?
[1] A reverse scale on a Chinese dragon is a special type of scale on its chin or throat that must not be touched, or else the dragon will go into a frenzy and exert all its strength to destroy you.