First Battle Against a Great Fighter (Four-Thousand-Word Mega Chapter)

The tent fell silent. Almost everyone looked at Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan with admiration in their eyes.

Although both of them had extraordinary talent, the distance between them and their instructor was like a chasm that was difficult to cross. The gap between a Dou Zhe and a Great Fighter was not something talent alone could narrow or make up for.

Only one person had a faint smile on her pretty jade face, as if she was not the least bit worried about someone because of this match with such a huge disparity.

"This place is cramped. Let's go outside."

Smiling faintly at Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan, Instructor Ruo Lin was the first to walk out of the tent. As her full, graceful figure swayed, it released a mature, alluring charm.

Lin Qingyun looked rather helplessly at Xiao Yan beside him and shrugged.

The reason he had called Medicine Elder out—wasn't it supposed to reduce unnecessary trouble? But what he had not expected was that, even under Medicine Elder's pressure, Ruo Lin's attitude would still be so firm.

Of course...

"Damn old man, he must be taking revenge. He definitely is, hmph!"

Having decided in his heart that it was because Medicine Elder had not been powerful enough, he calmed himself and stepped forward to follow. As for everyone inside the tent, after hesitating for a moment, they all rushed out in a swarm, fighting to be first.

At this moment, without anyone noticing, the sun had already begun to set in the west. The faint red afterglow laid a thin red carpet over the square, and the Blue Stone Slab floor that had been baked for an entire day also gradually began to cool. Standing in the center of the square, one could still vaguely see the crowd in the distance that had not yet dispersed.

A refreshing cool breeze swept through the square, making the people who had just walked out of the tent feel their whole bodies loosen with comfort.

Under everyone's gazes, Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan walked to the center of the field and stood opposite the smiling Instructor Ruo Lin.

Even on an occasion like this, Lin Qingyun seemed not to feel the slightest pressure. He smiled faintly and said, "Instructor, we'll go easy on you later."

Hearing this, the corners of Instructor Ruo Lin's mouth curved into a gentle smile. "Still running your mouth? Just don't cry later." Toward Lin Qingyun, Ruo Lin felt a bit of anger and a bit of helplessness. He was a little slippery fellow who made people both love and hate him.

Her fair hand slowly rose, and a green Storage Ring on her slender finger flashed faintly. A blue long whip, glowing with a strange light, abruptly appeared.

The whip was azure from end to end, and dense energy fluctuations actually rippled from it. At the end of the grip, a snake's mouth had been meticulously carved. Within the open jaws, a blue Magic Core the size of an infant's fist was deeply embedded. From the grip all the way onto the whip itself were some strange patterns, and within those patterns, faint glimmers radiated, as if guiding the energy within the core.

Lin Qingyun had long heard of this kind of weapon inlaid with a Magic Core. Even the Xiao Family had a few, though their grades were nowhere near this high.

But it had to be said that after a weapon was inlaid with a Magic Core, its might greatly increased for its user. Especially after it matched someone of the same attribute, their combat strength would increase by at least one or two levels.

For example, Instructor Ruo Lin herself had the strength of a Five-star Great Fighter. With this whip in hand, she could fight a Six-star Great Fighter, and might even have the upper hand.

Lin Qingyun felt a bit of a headache coming on. He looked at Instructor Ruo Lin and gave a dry laugh. "Instructor, go easy."

Facing Lin Qingyun's dry laugh, Instructor Ruo Lin fiercely flicked the whip.

Crack!

The whip struck the ground with a loud, crisp sound. Even the hard Blue Stone Slab floor was directly split open.

Lin Qingyun's eyelids twitched wildly. Clearly, the former was telling him through action: no way!

"Brother Yun, we should take this seriously." Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Here. Use any weapon you like."

With a wave of her jade hand, Instructor Ruo Lin took out two iron swords from her Storage Ring. She held them by the hilts and flicked them lightly, and the iron swords turned into two black shadows, shooting swiftly toward Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan.

Looking at the iron swords flying toward them, Lin Qingyun and the other remained motionless, allowing the swords to sweep over with force.

However, when the iron swords were only half a zhang away from their bodies, they suddenly froze in front of them in an extremely abrupt manner. Then they fell, stabbing into the cracks between the Blue Stone Slab.

Shrugging, Xiao Yan pulled out the iron sword and waved it around randomly to test the feel.

Lin Qingyun, however, did not pick up the iron sword. Instead, he took out a black spear from his Storage Ring and lightly touched it to the ground.

The spear seemed somewhat heavy. Even though he had barely used any strength, the Blue Stone Slab on the ground had already shattered.

"Begin!"

Xiao Yan said softly.

Lin Qingyun put away his joking grin, and his expression gradually became solemn.

Their calmness made Instructor Ruo Lin's dark brows lift slightly, and a trace of praise flashed through her beautiful eyes. To have such composure at such a young age, along with the talent they themselves possessed—Instructor Ruo Lin seemed able to foresee that the two little fellows before her might go very, very far on the path of the strong...

"Begin!"

As soon as her voice fell, Instructor Ruo Lin smiled lightly. That smile was like a lotus emerging from water, filled with fleeting tenderness, and immediately drew countless gazes from the surrounding youths.

But behind that smile, Instructor Ruo Lin's slender hand rose. The long whip in her hand was like a venomous snake leaving its cave, drawing a faint blue shadow through the air.

The whip swept through midair, and the slightly cool air immediately gained a trace of dampness.

But the air wave that had been squeezed into a slight arc made Lin Qingyun's pupils shrink.

This was his first time fighting a Great Fighter. Just that powerful strength alone already brought him immense pressure.

The instant the whip was about to reach above his head and fall, Lin Qingyun's body suddenly shifted slightly to the right. Xiao Yan also moved to the left.

The long whip carried a sharp gust of wind and smashed heavily into the ground. The Blue Stone Slab shattered instantly.

There was not even time to notice this. The whip suddenly trembled, like a nimble snake, and charged violently toward Lin Qingyun.

But at that moment, Lin Qingyun stomped hard on the ground. His body bent slightly, then shot explosively toward Instructor Ruo Lin like an arrow leaving the string.

Facing a Great Fighter, Lin Qingyun knew very well that blindly dodging attacks would only cause him to quickly fall into a disadvantage. He would be defeated in just a few exchanges. Only by taking the initiative to attack could he find a slight chance of victory.

On the other side, Xiao Yan did the same, the two of them coming from left and right.

Although Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan rarely sparred on normal days, at this moment, they seemed to share an unspoken understanding.

Lin Qingyun was extremely fast. A distance of seven or eight zhang was crossed in the blink of an eye.

But before he could counterattack, he suddenly sensed a fierce wind coming from behind his head. His foot lightly tapped the ground, and his entire body shot up directly from the spot, leaping two zhang high.

With his body in midair, Lin Qingyun's gaze sharpened. The spear in his hand suddenly lifted, and he turned around. Borrowing the force of his descent, he aimed straight at Ruo Lin.

"Not bad reactions." Ruo Lin laughed softly. The arm holding the whip suddenly shook, and the long whip seemed to have gained sentience as it rapidly retracted. Then, under her control, it became like a sharp sword and stabbed toward Lin Qingyun.

At this moment, Xiao Yan also followed closely. The sharp sword in his hand pointed straight at Instructor Ruo Lin's vital point.

"Water Spirit Shield!"

Instructor Ruo Lin seemed to have long since sensed it. She suddenly gave a soft shout, and from the palm of her other empty hand, a large amount of faint-blue Dou Qi immediately surged out, forming a circular shield before her that covered her entire body.

The iron sword stabbed into the shield. The sword tip only pierced half an inch in before it could no longer advance another fraction.

After blocking Xiao Yan's attack, Instructor Ruo Lin finally looked toward Lin Qingyun. The former narrowly avoided the whip stabbing toward him, but just as the whip was about to retract, it suddenly coiled around the spear.

In that instant, Lin Qingyun abruptly felt a tremendous force pulling him.

"Hmph, just what I wanted."

Lin Qingyun's gaze narrowed slightly. Black Flame rapidly spread from his palm onto the spear shaft and soon attached itself to the whip as well.

The Dou Qi lingering around the whip was instantly devoured the moment it came into contact with the flame. The whip, which had originally been as hard as refined steel, also became extremely fragile. With a light shake, the part of the whip wrapped around the spear shattered at once.

After forcing Xiao Yan back, Ruo Lin was slightly shocked. The spreading Black Flame instantly destroyed the whip in her hand completely. Even the Water Attribute Magic Core that supplied energy lost much of its power.

"What kind of flame is this? Heavenly Flames?" Instructor Ruo Lin was somewhat shocked in her heart. Only then did she circulate her Dou Qi and extinguish the flame. Even so, it consumed a great deal of her Dou Qi.

But in that instant of stagnation—

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The sounds of more than a dozen sharp gusts breaking through the air entered her ears. Instructor Ruo Lin suddenly turned her head and saw more than a dozen small iron pieces, with extremely fierce speed and force, shooting toward her like lightning.

"You do have some skill!" Seeing that Xiao Yan, with the strength of a Dou Zhe, could actually perform drawing and shooting objects through the air—something that at the very least required a Great Fighter—Instructor Ruo Lin praised in surprise. She raised her hand slightly, and extremely majestic Dou Qi instantly surged out from her palm.

This Dou Qi was like a hurricane, sweeping wildly. Even those small iron pieces could not maintain their original trajectory and became chaotic, finally falling weakly to the ground.

When one strike failed, Xiao Yan did not stop there. The instant Lin Qingyun tangled Instructor Ruo Lin down, he took a leaping step and had already entered an attacking range where fists and feet could land.

Xiao Yan himself was not skilled in using weapons. What he usually cultivated more were fist and palm techniques. The instant he entered close combat, fists, feet, elbows... any part that could deal enough damage seemed to become a deadly weapon capable of killing. As long as his speed was sufficient, he could unleash a frenzied assault like a storm in an extremely short time.

Lin Qingyun also began using spear techniques. In particular, the flames covering the spear made Instructor Ruo Lin somewhat flustered.

Looking at the lightning-like exchange in the field, everyone watching from outside cast shocked gazes toward Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan. They had not expected that two Dou Zhe, when facing a Great Fighter, would not fall into a headwind, and had even destroyed Instructor Ruo Lin's weapon.

"If not for that strange flame, they would have lost long ago." In the crowd, Luo Bu snorted coldly in envy and jealousy.

"Look at you. If you can do it, then you go up!"

"Exactly. Having such a special flame is their ability too, all right?"

Although Luo Bu's voice was not loud, some students beside him still heard it, and immediately rolled their eyes at him.

"Damn it." Luo Bu muttered in a low voice. His face shifted between green and white as his gaze fixed tightly on the white-clothed youth in the field, a hidden trace of hatred flashing through his pupils.

Everything outside the field did not interfere with the match inside.

"Heartbreak Fist!"

"Mountain Splitting Palm!"

"Through-the-Back Fist!"

...After finally finding an opportunity to attack wildly, Xiao Yan almost displayed all the Fighting Skills he had learned. However, what he had not expected was that the effect achieved was negligible.

In Xiao Yan's perception, Instructor Ruo Lin before him seemed to be covered in a slick layer of water film. Whenever his attacks landed on her body, they would be strangely slid aside, as if he were doing useless work.

"Xiao Yanzi, watch your feet!"

Just then, Lin Qingyun's warning suddenly rang out.

Xiao Yan abruptly became alert. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at his feet, and at some point, the two of them had both ended up standing in a puddle.

Flames suddenly ignited beneath Lin Qingyun's feet, burning that patch of water stains completely away. Only then did he retreat several steps.

After Xiao Yan threw out his final strike, he also rapidly retreated.

At this moment, Xiao Yan's face was flushed, and he was slightly panting. Lin Qingyun was also somewhat breathless. Repeatedly using Chaotic Fire had almost consumed more than half the Dou Qi within his body.

"Not bad, not bad. To be able to last this long, you truly are worthy of being the most monstrous geniuses I have ever seen." Instructor Ruo Lin smiled, her attire still as elegant and outstanding as ever, her bearing alluring.

At this moment, she became even more eager to end this battle. In Lin Qingyun and the other, she had seen everything a strong person should possess. Perhaps it would not be long before these two surpassed her. Such students—she did not want to wait an entire year for them.

"Hehe, everything ends here. This is the final round."

The corners of Instructor Ruo Lin's mouth lifted into a moving smile.

Her Slender jade hand formed a complex Hand Seal, and above her head, a ring of light engraved with complicated patterns slowly took shape.

Before the ring of light had fully formed, it seemed to stir the power of heaven and earth. One could vaguely see specks of blue light in the air rapidly gathering.

"There's still a big move!" Lin Qingyun cried out in shock. He had spent so much effort destroying the whip precisely to prevent Instructor Ruo Lin from using the Water Mandala move.

"Xiao Yanzi, get ready to let the old man act." Lin Qingyun's expression was solemn as he transmitted his voice in a forced line.

"Mm!" Xiao Yan nodded. He could also sense the terrifying energy contained within that move.

The instant the ring of light completely formed, it slowly stood upright, then tilted slightly, like a blue Great Sun.

"Water and Sky Merge!"

One word at a time, Instructor Ruo Lin shouted.

In the next instant, vast blue energy surged out from that ring of light like a fountain.

That beam of light seemed to cover the sky, and all between heaven and earth turned azure.

The beam of light was like a long rainbow crossing the setting sun, carrying a somewhat terrifying might as it crashed down overwhelmingly toward Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan.

Looking at the enormous beam of light that seemed to span the horizon, the onlookers immediately cried out in shock.

"Profound Tier Advanced Fighting Skill: Water and Sky Merge?"

"Heavens, Instructor actually used even this move. Looks like the two of them are going to suffer quite a bit this time." Xue Ni shook her head in amazement, then cast a sympathetic gaze toward the two standing in place.

"Instructor is trying to give these two fellows a show of force. With their unruly personalities, if she doesn't properly intimidate them, I'm afraid it really will be a little hard for Instructor to discipline them in the future." Xiao Yu sighed helplessly. She had seen through Instructor Ruo Lin's purpose at a glance.

Although Instructor Ruo Lin had used a Profound Tier Advanced Fighting Skill, Xiao Yu was not too worried. She knew Instructor Ruo Lin would not truly injure Lin Qingyun and the others. Otherwise, with the Water and Sky Merge displayed by Instructor's strength, how could it have only this level of grandeur?

Back at the academy, Xiao Yu had once been fortunate enough to see Instructor Ruo Lin use Water and Sky Merge at full power. At that time, the beam of light formed from Dou Qi had been enough to span the entire training ground. Even Instructor Ruo Lin's opponent, a seven-star Great Fighter, had been miserably defeated. It was far beyond what this shrunken version could compare to.

Looking coldly at Lin Qingyun, who had fallen into a difficult situation, Luo Bu curled the corners of his mouth into a gloating sneer. In his heart, he viciously cursed the former, wishing he would die under this attack.

In the field, the beam of light that seemed capable of blotting out the sky and covering the sun dove down toward Lin Qingyun and Xiao Yan. The immense wind pressure pressed their clothes tightly against the surface of their bodies.

That suffocating force made Lin Qingyun sigh helplessly. The power of a Great Fighter was ultimately not as he had guessed. In the end, he had underestimated it.

At this moment, Xiao Yan slightly raised his head and slowly closed his eyes, but a faintly extremely dangerous aura leaked from the surface of his body.

"Boom!"

The beam of light crashed down, and the entire square immediately shook. Water surged into the sky.

Looking at the place where the water curtain almost blocked all sight, Instructor Ruo Lin smiled slightly. According to the force she had controlled, this attack was enough to knock the two unconscious.

"Yu'er, Xue Ni, carry the two of them out. Soaking in water for too long isn't good for the body..." Instructor Ruo Lin turned her head and spoke gently to Xiao Yu. However, before she could finish, her delicate face, which had been full of smiles, abruptly changed. She slowly turned back, her beautiful eyes staring tightly at the mist-filled area.

Faint mist spread over a small part of the square, but just then, the sound of light footsteps suddenly rang out from within the water fog. One could vaguely see two figures gradually becoming clear.

Instructor Ruo Lin was shocked. Suddenly, she thought of an extremely possible matter.

But before she could speak, Lin Qingyun had already grinned and said,

"As disciples of a master, how could we not have life-saving trump cards in our hands?"

"Instructor Ruo Lin, sorry. Looks like this one-year vacation can't be avoided..."

Phew. Today, a reader pointed out some flaws in the earlier chapters of this book. The author has already revised all of those flaws. When the time comes, everyone can just refresh and read again.

Today is still a four-thousand-word mega chapter. Please enjoy, dear readers. If there are any typos, I hope you will forgive them.