216. Fierce Battle with Fu Hua
To Yun Ling's surprise, Lin Chaoyu's personality was a bit cunning. He had thought Lin Chaoyu was genuinely gentle to the core.
Afterwards, having just revealed his less-than-ideal side, Yun Ling invited Lin Chaoyu to the movies, only to be rejected. He could only sheepishly go to the cafeteria for dinner.
Of course, the nightly training sessions were still essential.
However, this time, Mei didn't give Yun Ling and Kiana a chance to be alone.
Lin Chaoyu taught her sword techniques, while Yun Ling taught Kiana how to improve her sword aura.
Fu Hua, as always, watched the group train.
During a break, Fu Hua quietly approached Yun Ling.
"Yun Ling, you... seem to have improved quite a bit." Fu Hua looked at Yun Ling's profile and softly voiced her doubts.
"I had some insights last night, so I improved a little," Yun Ling replied with the same excuse as he gave to Lin Chaoyu.
"…Want to spar with me?" Fu Hua suddenly asked.
"Sparring with Teacher Fu Hua…then this space might not be big enough."
Yun Ling glanced around. Although he didn't know how strong Fu Hua was now, he could sense the unfathomable power within her.
It was definitely not something Yun Ling could contend with at his current level!
"It's alright, just hold back a bit. When sparring with me, you don't need to be as timid as with Chaoyu. It should make things much more comfortable for you."
Fu Hua had occasionally watched their sparring sessions and could clearly feel the gap in their strength widening.
From Lin Chao Yu being able to make Yun Ling suffer with her sword techniques before, to being so restrained this morning, Yun Ling's progress was too rapid.
While not comparable to that of 'Sword God' rapid progress, his talent was definitely among the top few she had ever seen.
"Alright."
Yun Ling didn't waste any more words and immediately assumed a fighting stance, preparing to test his strength with the Soul Essence within the Taixu Sword Qi.
With the 'Combat Experience' reward from the fifth simulation, he shouldn't lose too badly.
Fu Hua stood with her legs straight, her usually calm expression now tinged with seriousness. Even just standing there, she exuded immense pressure on Yun Ling.
Fu Hua was definitely the strongest person he had ever encountered!
Even stronger than Aunt Sushang and Aunt Lingshuang!
Beads of sweat trickled down Yun Ling's temples, his throat involuntarily bobbing. Although Fu Hua's attacks seemed to have numerous openings, in reality, there were absolutely no weak points.
'Opening Sword Style: Instant Dust'!
This was the fastest move in the Taixu Sword Qi. Because of its extreme speed, before even dust could rise, Yun Ling was already in front of Fu Hua, unleashing a powerful and unrestrained punch.
To others, it seemed as if Yun Ling vanished in a flash.
But despite such terrifying speed, Fu Hua easily blocked the attack with a simple elbow parry.
Yun Ling showed no surprise, turning and kicking at Fu Hua again with an uncanny posture.
Caught off guard, Fu Hua was forced to take a step back before managing to catch the kick.
Yun Ling's attacks were like a relentless storm, and for a moment, Fu Hua appeared to be completely overwhelmed.
"Is Yun Ling's fighting style so...savage?" Kiana seemed to have found the right word.
His attacks, completely devoid of defense and resembling those of a wild beast, made Yun Ling's previous image crumble.
At least before, he wielded a sword, and with a little pretense, he could still be described as a dashing young nobleman, or at least someone with a respectable appearance.
Completely unlike this frenzied state.
"No, Kiana, you haven't grasped the Soul Essence yet, so you probably didn't see it. Yun Ling has perfectly fused his Soul Essence into all his attacks, and his entire body seems to have been forged into a weapon. For an ordinary person, even a light scratch would likely be fatal or crippling to them," Lin Chaoyu explained.
If it were her, she probably wouldn't even last three rounds before collapsing.
Yun Ling, at this moment, was like a primordial beast awakening from antiquity, kicking, sweeping, smashing, punching, and palming—seemingly chaotic, yet still holding back some power.
Fu Hua seized a momentary opening, striking Yun Ling in the chest with a palm, sending him flying.
However, to everyone's surprise, including Fu Hua's, Yun Ling actually stabilized himself in mid-air, then incredibly stomped on the air, propelling himself back at an even greater speed.
Although astonished, Fu Hua immediately counterattacked, but her hand was unexpectedly blocked by almost invisible threads.
Yun Ling's whip kick slammed heavily into Fu Hua's shoulder.
Fu Hua only bent over for a moment before flinging Yun Ling away again.
Yun Ling used the same tactic, once again stepping on the silk threads he had just laid out, launching attacks on Fu Hua from different angles.
The spectators only saw Yun Ling flying around on air, while Fu Hua could only barely parry.
"He actually suppressed Master..." Lin Chaoyu's face was filled with disbelief.
But this suppression didn't last long. Fu Hua suddenly slammed his fist into the ground, sending a huge shockwave rising from the ground.
The threads Yun Ling had laid out during his attacks all snapped, forcing him to pause at a distance.
Clearly, Fu Hua was now getting serious, and Yun Ling dared not charge in directly.
"Ruoshui, it's your turn!" Yun Ling summoned Ruoshui, flew into the sky on his sword, transforming into countless swords, and attacked Fu Hua.
Fu Hua conjured the 'Grips of Tai Xuan' wristband in her hand, deflecting tens of thousands of sword energies with her physical prowess alone.
"Inch Heart Fist Technique - Tiger's Roar!"
An invisible wave of energy surged towards Yun Ling, who dodged with his sword.
But Fu Hua continued to unleash her fists, countless gusts of wind attacking him.
The gusts of wind exploded in mid-air, creating deafening roars.
Yun Ling could only dodge haphazardly, finding no opportunity to retaliate.
"Looks like I have no choice but to use that move, 'Water Transforms into Three Thousand,' Sword Formation, activate!"
Yun Ling formed a sword incantation, and raindrops poured down from the center of Water Transformation.
Although it appeared to be just rain, it was actually rain composed of countless sword energies—clearly the move the 'Sword God' had used on the Kipchak Grasslands.
Yun Ling had only made a slight modification.
Fu Hua immediately erected an invisible membrane to block the raindrops.
Suddenly, Fu Hua seemed to sense something and immediately dodged to the side.
Yun Ling had appeared beside her without her noticing, his attack failing before he vanished instantly into the rain.
Fu Hua not only had to contend with the falling rain but also constantly guard against Yun Ling's attacks.
However, Fu Hua quickly found a way to break the deadlock. With a powerful punch, she knocked down Ruoshui, the sword formation above, and then, with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, kicked away the lurking Yun Ling.
"Cough... Teacher Fu Hua is indeed truly strong." Yun Ling gasped for breath, having used all his strength but still unable to defeat Fu Hua.
"You're also very strong." Fu Hua flicked the water droplets off her hands. Yun Ling's fighting style was versatile and agile, with no weaknesses in close combat or ranged attacks.
The only method Fu Hua could think of for the moment was to break through with brute force.
"But let me make one last struggle." Yun Ling extended both his hands and gently grasped them.
The raindrops that had just fallen to the ground instantly gathered into a giant water sphere, completely enveloping Fu Hua.
This water, manipulated by Yun Ling, possessed an internal pressure dozens of times greater than normal!
Fu Hua could barely move her fists or feet inside, meaning she could hardly break free by brute force.
After trying for a while and realizing she truly couldn't escape, Fu Hua's opinion of Yun Ling rose slightly even higher.
"Yun Ling...won?" Mei seemed surprised by this outcome.
Lin Chaoyu was also slightly puzzled; if Fu Hua couldn't break free, she would definitely suffocate and faint.
"Yun Ling, quickly release Teacher Fu Hua! Don't let her get hurt," Kiana reminded him.
Yun Ling nodded. He would have released the sphere even if they hadn't asked, because he had already...
Suddenly, the water sphere manipulated by Yun Ling began to churn restlessly, and large amounts of white steam began to escape.
With a crisp "thud" as Fu Hua's toes touched the ground, the battle came to an end.
Surrounded by white steam, Yun Ling seemed to see a fiery red figure before collapsing from exhaustion.
...
T/N: Sorry for the late update, have been sick these past few days with constant overtime from work, so I have a little time to translate. I will try to make the update more consistent. Thanks for reading.