Chen Xin saw what Lin Xing had in mind, so, being a good teacher, he chose to help.
Five Seven Kill Swords crashed down from above, wrapped in immense fluctuations of Soul Power. They stood at five corners, and a great net woven from Soul Power enveloped the entire battlefield.
Immediately afterward, terrifying Sword Intent formed within the net. Chen Xin's control was extraordinarily precise: the Sword Intent roamed freely, yet would not actually hurt Lin Xing or the Scaled Beast.
Sensing the Sword Intent spreading around him, Lin Xing understood what Chen Xin intended and fought even harder.
He truly had not used even a sliver of Soul Power. He simply imagined that scene each time he threw a punch.
Intent was simply too abstract. Naturally, something so abstract could only be comprehended through an equally abstract method.
The battle that followed was a war of endurance...
Soon, ten minutes passed, then twenty, then thirty... one hour, two hours, three hours...
The Oceanid continuously healed Lin Xing's injuries, while Lin Xing struck the Scaled Beast again and again.
The sight was so brutal that even Fufu could not bear to keep watching.
"Why don't we call it quits, A-Xing? We'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. You really don't have to cling to this moment."
"No need. I believe in myself. A hundred generations have never seen a prodigy like me; ten thousand years will scarcely bring forth anyone greater."
"Did you really think those were just empty words?"
Lin Xing's resolve was exceptionally firm. The battle continued, and after he sidestepped once more, an extremely faint blue current of Qi rose around his fist.
Clang!
It was clearly a fist, yet the punch rang out like a longsword leaving its sheath.
The Scaled Beast's scales were broken through once again, leaving an enormous blue wound on its body.
"Doesn't seem all that difficult..."
He clenched his fist, feeling that Intent, which had almost taken tangible form, and the corners of his mouth could not help curling upward.
By incorporating Chen Xin's Sword Intent, he had found a new way to use it.
"Looks like I really am a genius."
As he spoke, Lin Xing looked toward the Scaled Beast in the distance. Since he had achieved his goal, there was no need to keep holding back.
Chen Xin had been right. The Scaled Beast really could take a beating. At least, after fighting for so long, he had been sent flying by its charges several times, and he had no desire to experience that feeling again.
"He succeeded."
Chen Xin was astonished as well. He truly had not expected Lin Xing to succeed this time, because Intent really was abstract. It was perfectly normal for an ordinary genius to spend eight or ten years comprehending it.
For ordinary people, it was normal to spend decades or centuries without comprehending anything.
Because apart from killing intent, abstract things like his Sword Intent, or Saber Intent, were not something most people could comprehend.
Although killing intent had some connection to Intent, it leaned more toward a combination of one's own presence, Soul Power, and Intent.
Of those, presence accounted for fifty percent, Soul Power thirty percent, and Intent the remaining twenty percent.
That was roughly how Divine Slaughter's Domain worked.
So that thing was very easy to obtain-at least, it was easy for Chen Xin.
He had comprehended Sword Intent too late. Had he comprehended it in his youth, he might already have reached Level 97 or even Level 98 by now.
It would not have been impossible for his killing power to approach Level 99.
But he was already old now. To put it bluntly, he had one foot in the coffin. Although the existence of Intent still gave him formidable killing power, without those decades of refinement, he ultimately fell somewhat short.
But Lin Xing was different. At such a young age, he had actually comprehended Intent so easily. Although being unable to have Soul Rings attached was a flaw, once Lin Xing reached the late stages of his growth, his killing power would definitely be at least Level 97 or above.
Chen Xin was very confident of that. He was also gradually beginning to understand why Lin Xing's Martial Soul could not have Soul Rings attached. It was far too far beyond the norm; this talent simply defied the heavens.
Perhaps that line about a hundred generations never seeing a prodigy like him, and ten thousand years scarcely bringing forth anyone greater, really had not been a joke.
"It's about time."
Lin Xing pulled the Splendor of Tranquil Waters out of the ground, casually brushed off the dirt clinging to it, then pointed the longsword straight at the Scaled Beast.
"You can get ready to die."
As his words fell, the blue gemstone on the Splendor of Tranquil Waters blazed with light.
"Domain Expansion!"
"Clear Abyss of the Azure Stream!"
An intangible blue current of Qi completely enveloped everything within a hundred-meter radius, even encompassing Chen Xin and Ning Rongrong in the sky above.
A layer of blue mist formed a faint membrane, creating something like a barrier that completely isolated the inside from the outside.
Clang!
The sound of a longsword leaving its sheath rang out. Before the Scaled Beast could react, countless longswords formed from flowing water had already pierced its body, pinning it firmly to the ground.
Pained roars poured from its mouth, and its breath grew weaker and weaker. Seeing it was about to croak, Lin Xing decisively raised his hand and tossed out a water sphere, forcibly keeping the Scaled Beast's last breath in its body.
He raised his head to look at Chen Xin and Ning Rongrong high above.
"Teacher, you can come down now."
"If we drag this out any longer, this thing will die."
Lin Xing controlled the strength of the healing, not daring to make it too strong or too weak.
Healing and damage acted on the Scaled Beast at the same time. It was like playing a game, drinking a Regeneration III potion, and jumping straight into lava.
Lin Xing had already reduced the domain's damage to its minimum and was continuously applying small amounts of healing, but Intent was simply too abstract. It was one thing if you could not comprehend it; once you did, its damage was frighteningly high.
At least, Lin Xing himself had been shocked. That Domain Expansion had merely been an improvisation. He had only glanced at the five Seven Kill Swords surrounding him and the Scaled Beast.
Combined with their earlier conversation about Intent and Divine Slaughter's Domain, it had involuntarily brought Douluo Nuo Continent to mind, and he had improvised a Domain Expansion.
Even the name was something he had come up with on the spot. Although it had a few flaws, it was at least passable.
Chen Xin descended from above. Lin Xing's successive displays had left him with little emotional reaction to the Domain Expansion just now.
"Miss Rongrong, hurry and do it. Any later and it'll really die."
"Go on, Rongrong. Absorbing the Soul Ring comes first."
Chen Xin took out an exquisite dagger and handed it to Ning Rongrong.
"Mm-hmm."
Although Ning Rongrong was curious about this domain thing, the Soul Ring was more important right now. She took the dagger and walked over. Seeing this, Lin Xing voluntarily withdrew the healing effect on the Scaled Beast.
The Scaled Beast's life rapidly drained away. Just before it died, Ning Rongrong delivered a stab, putting a final end to its life.
The Soul Ring rose, and Chen Xin swiftly tossed out a cushion, just in time for Ning Rongrong to sit down cross-legged upon it. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lit up in her hand as she began absorbing the Soul Ring.
Lin Xing dispersed his domain as well.
He clenched his fist, feeling that abstract and profound power, then looked toward Chen Xin, eager to give it a try.
"Teacher, do you want to try out the domain I just created? You're so powerful, you definitely won't get hurt."