8mi Chapter 58 Power and Wind
Chapter 58 Power and Wind
Lin Mu carried a long spear into the courtyard.
The courtyard was small, with earthen walls on three sides and piles of scrap iron in the corners, covered in rust.
In the middle of the courtyard stood an old locust tree, most of its leaves fallen, its bare branches piercing the twilight.
Lin Mu stood under the tree, gripping the gun in his right hand, and a surge of internal energy flowed from his palm into the barrel.
The patterns on the gun barrel suddenly lit up, and the force rose along the spiral patterns to the tip of the gun, emitting a cold glint.
He stepped forward with his left foot, thrusting out the spear tip, the Wind-Controlling Spear—the spear spiraled, leaving a faint, swirling trail in the air.
He practiced for the time it takes to drink three cups of tea, and the more he practiced, the smoother he became. The hidden energy flowing through the spear became faster and faster, and the cold light at the tip of the spear gradually condensed from flickering to a stable point of light.
He opened the booklet; the Wind-Controlling Gun was at its peak, 26/100.
At that moment, a very faint "crack" sound came from outside the courtyard wall, as if a dead branch had been broken by foot.
Lin Mu's eyes narrowed. He pressed his left hand on the gun barrel, his right hand loosely gripping it. He unleashed a burst of speed, his body suddenly rising into the air. He followed up with another step, his entire body leaping over the courtyard wall like a night falcon.
The spear drew an arc in the air, its tip pointing downwards, aiming straight for the shadowy base of the wall.
The man, with a high ponytail, wearing a white robe, and with half a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, was leaning lazily against the wall.
As the spear tip pierced his face, he tilted his head, drew a short knife from his waist with his right hand, and slashed diagonally upwards with the back of the knife, deflecting the spear tip by half an inch with a clang.
The tip of the gun grazed his earlobe and pierced the wall soil, sending bits of earth falling down.
"Finally found me?" The short sword twirled between Quan Feng's fingers as he looked at the long spear.
"You actually managed to figure it out."
Lin Mu did not answer; the dead are the best people to keep secrets.
With a twist of his wrist, the gun barrel was pulled out of the wall and soil with a spiraling force, sending debris flying.
Quan Feng took a half step back to avoid the flying dirt, but Lin Mu's spear was already slashing horizontally towards him.
Quan Feng blocked with his short sword, and with a clang, sparks flew in the twilight.
Both of them took a step back.
"Hmm, this is interesting."
Quan Feng's eyes lit up.
He pushed off the ground with his left foot, and his body suddenly lunged forward.
He flipped the dagger in his hand, tip pointing downwards, and slashed upwards towards Lin Mu's lower abdomen.
This strike was cunning—low angle and close distance, making it impossible for a long spear to be used effectively at that range.
Lin Mu retreated with a swift movement, his spear shaft held vertically to block, the tip of his knife scraping against the shaft and sending sparks flying.
Using the recoil from the clash of swords and spears, Quan Feng lowered his body, squatted down, and spun half a circle. The short knife passed under his armpit and stabbed straight at Lin Mu's ribs.
Lin Mu slammed his spear downwards, deflecting the short sword by three inches.
The knife tip grazed his clothes, leaving a tear in his gray shirt.
"good."
His blade came slashing down like a storm.
The knife never missed Lin Mu's neck, wrist, or knee.
This sword technique has no fixed method; it's like the explosive force of the Zhenshan Fist is incorporated into the sword's momentum, with each strike carrying a heavy, explosive power.
The knife tip sliced through the trunk of the old locust tree, the bark cracked open, and wood chips flew everywhere.
The back of the knife struck the earthen wall, and the earth fell down in a flurry, leaving a shallow pit the size of a bowl.
Lin Mu's spear was at a disadvantage at this close range.
Quan Feng's every strike was like a boulder rolling down a steep slope, each strike heavier and tighter than the last.
He looked for an opportunity to counterattack during the gaps in his parries.
Just as Quan Feng's seventh strike was about to land, the momentum of the strike faltered slightly. He pushed off the ground with his left foot, unleashing a sudden burst of speed, advancing instead of retreating.
The spear shaft snapped against the blade, using the force against itself, and the spear tip thrust upwards, aiming straight for Quan Feng's throat.
Quan Feng dodged to the side, the tip of the spear grazing his ponytail and piercing the earthen wall behind him.
Lin Mu twisted his wrist, and the gun barrel spun in the wall and soil, sending up fragments of soil that forced Quan Feng to take two steps back.
The distance between them has increased.
An inch longer, an inch stronger.
Lin Mu no longer gave him a chance to get close.
The spear unfolds, and the spiraling force of the Wind-Controlling Spear ripples from the shaft to the tip.
Quan Feng's short sword was forced to take a defensive stance in the face of the long spear, and the clanging of the swords and spears was as dense as a rainstorm hitting a tin roof.
Each collision sent sparks flying, and the hidden force ripped through the weapons as they clashed and collided, filling the air with a scorching smell similar to that of flint striking metal.
The two fought from the backyard to outside, and from outside to the edge of the paddy field. The afterglow of the setting sun coated the surface of the paddy field with a layer of dark gold light. When their feet stepped into the paddy field, the splashing water was shaken into a fine mist by the hidden force.
Quan Feng initially yawned occasionally, but as the battle continued, the laziness on his face gradually faded.
His eyes lit up when the fight reached the thirtieth round.
By the fiftieth round, his breathing began to become heavy, and the blade of his short sword hummed from the force of the spear as he parried, causing his hands to go numb.
By the seventieth round, he was starting to struggle.
In terms of speed, Quan Feng is no less than Lin Mu; in terms of strength, his explosive power is even more intense.
The problem lies in resolving the hidden force.
After each parry, Lin Mu secretly used body tempering techniques to neutralize the remaining internal force, while Quan Feng needed to expend extra energy to digest the aftershocks of the spiraling force after each time he was knocked back by the spear force.
Back and forth, the gap accumulated to a level that was visible to the naked eye.
Quan Feng deflected Lin Mu's spear tip with a single strike, using the recoil to stagger back five steps before regaining his footing.
He looked down at his hand holding the knife.
The tiger's mouth was torn open, and blood flowed down the handle of the knife, dripping into the muddy water on the ridge of the field, creating a thin ripple.
"Okay." He looked up, his eyes filled with even more excitement.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Then Lin Mu saw a golden light emanating from Quan Feng's body.
The light seemed to emanate from beneath his skin, spreading from his chest to his shoulders, from his shoulders to his arms, and finally converging in the hand holding the knife.
At the same time, several very faint golden lines appeared on his bare neck and wrists.
Immediately afterward, a dark shadow flashed by, and Quan Feng's blade was already slashing towards him.
This strike was twice as fast as the fastest strike before.
Lin Mu instinctively leaned back, the blade grazing his neck, the chill penetrating to the bone.
He could feel the sharp force of the blade just half an inch away from his skin; any closer and it would sever his Adam's apple.
At the same time, his spear had already thrust out, the tip of which was precisely pressed against the center of Quan Feng's brow.
The hidden force was condensed at the tip of the spear but not yet released. If it were pushed forward just one inch, it could pierce his skull.
The two stopped at the same time.
Quan Feng held a short knife to Lin Mu's neck, the blade as thin as a cicada's wing between it and his skin.
Lin Mu's spear tip was pressed against Quan Feng's brow, the dark blue patterns on the spear still flowing.
The leaves of the old locust tree were shaken off by the strong wind during their fight, fluttering between the two men.
"I am Quan Feng, the chief disciple of Zhenshan Martial Arts School, and the 38th generation descendant of the Quan family in Heyuan County."
"I saw you winning so easily in the ring that day, and I wanted to have a match with you."
"And I also took care of your little tail."
Quan Feng reached his left hand to his waist, took off a bronze plaque, and threw it on the ground.
The dark bronze-colored plaque is engraved with the character "崔".
"I'll count to three, then we'll move them all away," Quan Feng said.
Lin Mu did not answer.
"one."
Quan Feng's dagger was still pressed against Lin Mu's neck, the blade reflecting the last rays of sunlight.
"two."
Lin Mu's spear tip was pressed against Quan Feng's brow, and the dark blue patterns on the spear were still slowly flowing.
"three!"
The two remained motionless, like two golden Buddhas.
The blade was pressed against his neck, and the tip of the spear was against his brow.
A withered leaf swirled down from the old locust tree between the two men, neither daring to look at it for long.
The fact that his secret had been discovered made Lin Mu feel uneasy.
He tried to keep the other party there, but no matter how he planned it, it would only result in a lose-lose situation.
Moreover, Quan Feng seems to still have some energy left.
It is still unknown what kind of technique that golden pattern was.
After careful consideration, he suddenly used his left foot to break through the wind, the spear tip withdrew from Quan Feng's brow, and he retreated more than two zhang away.
Quan Feng blinked, twirled the short sword between his fingers, and then sheathed it back at his waist.
Lin Mu wanted to go forward and stop him, but Quan Feng leaped up onto the top of the courtyard wall in a few bounds.
The white robe fluttered in the evening breeze.
Before disappearing, he turned back, a lazy smile returning to his lips, and gestured with his chin towards Lin Mu.
"I believe in you."
Goodbye to the martial arts examination.