Everyone stared at Lin Chuan in astonishment. Why was he taking off his clothes before a fight? Was he trying to seduce them? Talk about wishful thinking!
Even Zhang Leyang and the other two looked at Lin Chuan in bewilderment. But they quickly stopped wondering about his stripping and remembered what he had said just before.
"We won't abandon our friends!" Zhang Leyang answered at once.
"Hmph. None of you are getting away, you bunch of good-for-nothings!" one of them said contemptuously, looking at Lin Chuan. He'd seen plenty of people foolish enough to try to buy their companions time, but none had ever lasted long against them. They were completely useless.
"Don't worry. They're no match for me. You go on ahead. Once I've dealt with them, I'll catch up right away," Lin Chuan said calmly and quietly. Then he lowered his voice and added to the three, "I just don't want you to see some of my trump cards. They're a secret, and I hope you'll respect that. Otherwise, I'll have to leave these people for you to deal with yourselves!"
Zhang Leyang and the others exchanged glances. They couldn't tell whether Lin Chuan was telling the truth, but his calm words and unchanged expression made them believe him. Still, turning around and running wasn't their style—especially when Lin Chuan was fighting for their sake.
Lin Chuan's Byakugan fixed on the six people opposite them. They had stopped, looking at the four of them with mocking amusement, as if they meant to let them say their last words before attacking.
Lin Chuan knew full well that using the Great Fireball Technique here would cause a violent disturbance in the spiritual energy. Before, he hadn't known what lay beneath the ground. Now that he did, he no longer dared to use that ninjutsu lightly.
Perhaps this was why the Lin Clan prohibited anyone above Foundation Establishment Stage from entering this place: those above that level could use spells.
As he had just taken off his clothes, Lin Chuan had decided to use Shikotsumyaku. Compared with ninjutsu, which would cause a powerful disturbance in the spiritual energy, Taijutsu was a much better choice. Besides, Shikotsumyaku was a Kekkei Genkai, not ninjutsu, and consumed far less spiritual energy. It was the best option for Lin Chuan right now.
Of course, Gentle Fist was another option. But its nature meant it couldn't kill instantly, so Lin Chuan, who wanted to end the fight quickly, had no choice but to rule it out.
However, if Zhang Leyang and the other two refused to leave even if it meant dying, he'd have no choice. Since Lin Chuan didn't want to reveal Shikotsumyaku, he might have to use Gentle Fist—and judging by what he knew of the three, there was a good chance they wouldn't leave.
It all sounded like a lot, but it had happened in an instant. What Lin Chuan hadn't expected was that Zhang Leyang wouldn't follow his instructions and leave, but neither did he insist on joining the fight. Instead, he turned and led Zhang Mo and Zhang Wei into the cave behind them.
"I respect your decision, but if you're in danger, we'll step in!"
Zhang Leyang left Lin Chuan with those words and entered the cave with his back to him. He hadn't run away or abandoned Lin Chuan, because that went against his principles. At the same time, he respected Lin Chuan's choice.
After all, every cultivator had to keep their trump cards secret. A trump card was a person's last resort. Once revealed, it lost its intended effect. So, for any cultivator, trump cards were their most important line of defense for survival. Unless they completely trusted someone, they wouldn't use them in front of others—not unless they had truly become invincible.
Lin Chuan's lips curled slightly. This was indeed a good choice. Then he turned his attention to the six people opposite him.
The thought of pairing the Byakugan with Shikotsumyaku filled him with anticipation. Both Kekkei Genkai stood at the pinnacle of close-combat Taijutsu, and bringing them together would be an unprecedented union of two powerful abilities. Setting aside Six Paths Power, no one in all of Naruto except Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, possessed two Kekkei Genkai—and hers, too, were complementary.
"Kid, now that you've said your last words, it's time to send you on your way!" As soon as he finished speaking, one of the six—a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining Stage—charged straight at Lin Chuan.
In everyone's eyes, that one man alone was strong enough to crush Lin Chuan. The others didn't need to lift a finger. Some were even preparing to head into the cave and seize the Crimson Flame Lotus.
The sixth-level Qi Refining Stage cultivator advanced on Lin Chuan with a strange gait. He'd received it as a reward after passing the Lin Clan Assessment. It wasn't a spell, but it made his attack difficult to read. At the Qi Refining Stage, when combat was limited to close quarters, it was quite useful.
Yet under Lin Chuan's Byakugan, the technique was riddled with flaws. It did nothing at all.
Perhaps the Sharingan surpassed the Byakugan at picking up subtle movements, but there was no denying that the Byakugan, one of the three great Dojutsu, had an extraordinary advantage in close combat and Taijutsu. This was especially apparent in the early stages, when one's strength was still limited.
Later on, the Byakugan's usefulness did indeed diminish. It wasn't as absurdly powerful as the Sharingan. But by then, Lin Chuan wouldn't need the Byakugan at all, because he had something even stronger: its ultimate form, the Tenseigan, with the power to create and destroy.
With a swish, Lin Chuan darted forward and landed precisely in front of the cultivator, stopping him from advancing and breaking his strange gait outright.
"How could..." The man stared at Lin Chuan in disbelief. How could a kid whose cultivation was lower than his see through his footwork? It was impossible! It had to be a coincidence, he thought.
But just as he prepared to overwhelm Lin Chuan with his superior strength, Lin Chuan's palm struck toward his chest at an incredibly tricky angle. It was as if he had completely predicted the man's next move, slipping past every defense he could muster.
As the man stared in shock, a long, slender bone spike suddenly shot from the palm Lin Chuan had thrust toward his chest. With a wet thud, it sank into the man's chest. He had no time to react before it pierced his heart.
The man's punch was stopped short of Lin Chuan's chest by another bone that burst out, blocking it in midair.
The smiles on the five men behind him froze in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the companion they had thought strong enough to crush Lin Chuan suddenly crumpled to the ground. A bloodstained, bone-like object slowly withdrew from his back, and his body toppled over completely, becoming a corpse.
At that moment, the bone spike in Lin Chuan's right palm had not fully retracted, and the bone growing from his chest was still exposed. Both were stained with blood, making him look eerie and terrifying.
"Now, it's your turn!" Lin Chuan said calmly, raising his right hand and pointing the bloodstained bone spike at the five men opposite him.
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