Trial of Skill

Chen Feng's face was flushed red with excitement. It was obvious that he was thrilled—perhaps even overly thrilled.

"You broke through? Congratulations."

Chen Feng's talent was not lacking, but he had always been one opportunity short of stepping into the Transcendent realm. He had waited ten years for it.

The suppression of ten years had suddenly been released, and Chen Feng's joy was nearly overflowing.

"Thank you for your guidance, my lord!"

Chen Feng dropped to one knee, clasped his sword in both hands, and lowered his head.

"I didn't help you with anything. What are you thanking me for?"

Chen Feng did not think so. Though Lin Jun had not helped him openly, Lin Jun had helped him break through the barrier in his heart.

That mental barrier had prevented him from advancing. If not for Lin Jun, he would have remained trapped in his plight.

Lin Jun had not helped him do anything, yet Lin Jun had made Chen Feng understand why he practiced martial arts.

Demons. He practiced martial arts to slay demons.

It was that simple. He should not hesitate, nor should he look before and behind. Just like Lin Jun, he should ignore all that miscellaneous nonsense. As long as he could bring his sword down upon a demon's neck, that was enough.

After scrambling and struggling through martial sects and the Demon Exorcism Bureau, he had nearly forgotten why he had begun practicing martial arts. Bound by the favor Yang Yan had shown him, he had almost come to practice martial arts merely for the sake of practicing martial arts.

Now that the barrier in his heart had been shattered, his cultivation naturally flowed as smoothly as water finding its course.

"My lord, this subordinate has a request."

Chen Feng slowly rose, gripping his treasured sword tightly as he looked at Lin Jun.

Ten years sharpening a sword—now was the time to test its edge.

Chen Feng knew he was no match for Lin Jun, but he desperately wanted to know exactly how wide the gap between them was.

The sun slowly rose, and Green Forest County regained its vitality.

Sunlight fell upon Chen Feng's resolute face.

Lin Jun saw through Chen Feng's intentions and slowly stood as well.

He had been worrying about where to vent the Tiger Baleful Intent filling his body, and Chen Feng had delivered himself right to his door. Wasn't that perfect?

"You'd better be careful."

Chen Feng suddenly felt that something was wrong. For some reason, he felt as though he had made a terrible decision.

But since he had already issued the challenge, there was naturally no taking it back.

Chen Feng gritted his teeth and charged forward with his sword.

So what if it was a mistake? Was that enough to make him shrink back?

Even if Lord Lin was powerful, he was no weakling either!

What Lin Jun could do, so could he!

Morning sunlight streamed through the window onto Duan Yan's face. She frowned slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

A bowl of thick porridge and a small plate of side dishes sat atop the bedside cabinet, though both had gone cold.

Duan Yan did not care. She wolfed down breakfast in two or three bites, then pulled out a handful of snacks from her pocket.

She had originally planned to finish the snacks and crawl back into bed for another nap, but the clanging and banging outside irritated her to no end.

It sounded like someone was hammering iron.

Left with no choice, she got dressed and stormed toward the source of the noise, brimming with anger.

"Keep it down! It's early in the morning, and if you won't sleep, I—"

Before Duan Yan could finish, the sight before her frightened her into lowering her voice.

Standing before her were none other than Lin Jun and Chen Feng.

At that moment, Chen Feng was frantically launching all kinds of Demon Exorcism Bureau sword techniques at Lin Jun. Those exquisite sword arts had been brought to perfection in Chen Feng's hands.

It was clear that Chen Feng had put tremendous effort into these sword techniques.

On the other side stood Lin Jun. From beginning to end, he had not moved even a single step.

He stood there like a verdant pine, and no matter what attacks Chen Feng unleashed, they had not the slightest effect on him.

Blinding lightning flickered over Lin Jun's body, gathering around him into a suit of Thunder True Armor. Whenever Chen Feng's sword struck that lightning armor, it rang like iron being forged before being bounced away.

Each time he was thrown back, Chen Feng's entire body twitched for a while before he could recover and launch another attack.

Lin Jun had not even drawn his saber... oh, right, his saber had shattered.

Duan Yan patted her little face and looked doubtfully at the sun in the sky.

"Am I still asleep?"

If she was not mistaken, that was clearly Thunder True Armor on Lin Jun.

This was wrong. Very wrong.

Yang Wan had cultivated this martial art before. Even after cultivating it to perfection, she could only form a thin Thunder Silk Robe.

But what was going on with Lin Jun's?

That was clearly a suit of armor, armor that covered his entire body.

Surely Lin Jun had not spent just one night deducing the missing portions of the martial art, then cultivated it to great mastery in that same night?

This was no longer a question of whether he was a genius or not. Duan Yan simply did not know what words could describe how she felt at that moment.

There was only one thing on her mind now.

How exactly had she joined the Demon Exorcism Bureau in the first place?

Even someone like Lin Jun was merely a minor unaffiliated demon exorcist. What virtue or ability did Duan Yan possess to be entered into the official registry?

She was even a Three-Head Fox-Stripe Exorcist.

"Have the Demon Exorcism Bureau's standards become this absurd now?"

Duan Yan muttered to herself.

Bang!

Chen Feng's sword struck Lin Jun in the chest. The power of lightning surged along the blade toward Chen Feng, and he hurriedly let go.

"I'm done, I'm done. I concede."

Chen Feng knew he was inferior to Lin Jun, but he had always believed that the difference between them should not have been too great.

He had accumulated strength for ten years. No matter how one put it, ten years of accumulation should not have been poor—especially compared to Lin Jun, who had cultivated for less than three months in total.

He had originally expected to fight Lin Jun bloody for over a hundred exchanges before losing and conceding. Yet what he had not expected was that, from beginning to end, he could not even break through Lin Jun's defenses.

From beginning to end, Chen Feng had not seen Lin Jun make a single proactive move.

Such a gap, like an uncrossable heavenly chasm, inevitably left Chen Feng somewhat disheartened. But he quickly pulled himself together again.

He knew Lin Jun was an anomaly, an extreme exception. He could not be judged by ordinary reasoning.

Chen Feng turned, picked up his sword, and sat on the ground, panting heavily.

"Lord Lin, aren't you going to comfort me a little?"

If Chen Feng had not known how extraordinary Lin Jun was, this battle might have made him give up martial arts altogether.

Lin Jun thought for a moment, then said solemnly,

"Your forehand lacks finesse, your backhand lacks strength. And you still want to compete on the same stage as me?"

Chen Feng: ...

Killing a man was not enough—you had to stab him in the heart too?

Still, Chen Feng did not dwell on it. He noticed Duan Yan beside them.

Lin Jun saw Duan Yan as well. He withdrew the lightning armor and walked toward her.

"You're feeling better? You can leave your room now?"

Duan Yan looked at Lin Jun and reached out to touch his arm.

At once, her arm went numb and her hairs stood on end.

Sure enough, Lin Jun really had cultivated Thunder True Armor—and it was the complete version.

"You deduced the missing parts of that martial art last night?"

"How did you do it?"

"Teach me! Really, I can do anything. Teach me!"

She had spent a full five years practicing that cultivation method. After five years, she had only reached minor mastery—and that had only been the incomplete method.

Lin Jun gave Duan Yan a somewhat disdainful glance.

"I prefer the more mature type, with a broad bust. Better if she's a little seductive too. Mm."

Duan Yan slapped Lin Jun in the chest.

"If you won't teach me, then don't. What kind of excuse is that?"

She had never expected Lin Jun to actually tell her, and talent was not something she could learn anyway.

"No, I'm serious."

Duan Yan's face turned red with anger.

Her physique was simply like this. No matter what she ate, she would not grow. Even if she ate every day, she would still be like this. What could she do?

Thinking of that, she stamped her feet in fury and stormed back into her room.

Watching Duan Yan run back inside, Lin Jun could only offer an apology in his heart.

If she wanted him to teach her the complete Wind-Thunder True Armor, he would not hesitate. But if she wanted him to teach her how to deduce a complete cultivation method like this, Lin Jun himself was still relying on his cheat.

By then, Chen Feng had rested enough and stood up.

"Oh, right, my lord. On my way here, I heard rumors that the pawnshop owner's daughter at Heaven Source Pawnshop in the south of the city had died. Her death was especially gruesome."

Heaven Origin Pawnshop?

Lin Jun thought for a moment, then immediately frowned.

Hadn't his daughter only been born a month ago? Her full-month celebration had been quite lively, and Lin Jun remembered it clearly.

"My lord, demons did it."

Chen Feng's tone was extremely certain.