Overpowering the Golden Duo

In everyone else's eyes, Yan's fire-attribute Martial Soul was the perfect counter to Lin Qing's, and the sea of fire covering the ground had sealed off every escape route.

But Lin Qing knew better. How could the Chaos Lone Bamboo, tempered in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, possibly fear flames?

Yan didn't use his full strength. He merely stepped forward and drove his right fist, wreathed in flames, straight at Lin Qing.

He wasn't exceptionally fast, but the wind from his punch was scorching, and tiny tongues of flame burst through the air around his fist.

Lin Qing didn't retreat. He pressed his left hand to the ground and activated Bamboo Sea Emergence.

Bamboo shot up from the gaps between the stone slabs, forming a barrier between the two.

Yan's fist smashed into a bamboo stalk, splitting it down the middle and scattering flaming fragments.

But his second punch followed close behind, and a second stalk shattered in the fire.

"As expected of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. Even without being able to make use of his flames' advantage, he can still break through defenses with sheer strength."

Lin Qing moved among the bamboo branches, using a pole vault to reposition himself. He released his Bamboo Soul, sending it toward the edge of Yan's consciousness.

Yan's movements faltered for an instant, but he all but forced his way through the interference and slammed both fists into the ground.

Yan's flames burned at an extremely high temperature and could even scorch Soul Power.

But when the heat wave washed over Lin Qing, the crimson-gold mark within him gave only a faint pulse.

It absorbed every trace of the fire poison and heat that had invaded the surface of his body, transforming them into pure spiritual Qi that flowed into his meridians.

If not for the protagonist group, they really would be the continent's geniuses among the younger generation, Lin Qing couldn't help marveling inwardly.

"It's over." Seeing Lin Qing standing still, Yan assumed he had nowhere left to retreat.

His right fist engulfed in violent flames, he took a step forward and drove it straight at Lin Qing's face.

Instead of retreating, Lin Qing advanced.

He charged into the scorching sea of fire, his feet pounding forward without a trace of fear.

Bamboo Transformation activated in an instant, bluish-green bamboo-joint patterns appearing on both arms. He didn't even bother with the flames licking at his body.

"Has he gone mad?!" Shen Du couldn't help crying out from the sidelines.

"No." Hu Liena stared fixedly at the center of the sea of fire, her deep-purple eyes narrowing slightly. "Look at the hem of his clothes."

Amid the sea of fire, there wasn't so much as a scorch mark on Lin Qing's clothes.

He walked brazenly through the wall of fire. Facing Yan's punch, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, he raised his bamboo-transformed right arm with precision to block it.

Fist and palm collided. This time, Lin Qing didn't retreat, not even half a step.

Not a single crack appeared in the patterns on the bamboo layer's surface. Instead, a chill seeped out.

Yan's pupils widened sharply. "You... aren't afraid of fire?!"

"Your fire is too weak," Lin Qing replied coldly. His left hand shot out and seized Yan's wrist.

The Mark of Ice lit up in his left palm, and an extremely cold chill surged wildly into Yan's meridians.

Half of Yan's protective flames were snuffed out in an instant. A thick layer of white frost covered half his body, and his movements abruptly stiffened.

Lin Qing stepped in, and the crimson-gold mark on his right palm and the cold from his left hand erupted at once. The two mutually repelling forces blasted into Yan's body through his arm.

Yan let out a muffled grunt. The flames protecting his entire body were blasted apart, and he flew backward like a ragged sandbag, skidding more than ten zhang across the stone slabs before finally coming to a stop.

It was still the fusion of ice and fire, ordinary-looking enough, but when the two extreme attributes erupted at close range, almost no one could withstand them.

Yan braced himself against the ground and tried to get up, but the agony of ice and fire clashing in his chest sent him back to his knees just as he had raised himself halfway.

Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Lin Qing a short distance away, his eyes full of shock and disbelief.

"I lost." Yan lowered his head, his voice hoarse.

Qin Wuj iu's voice broke the silence. "Lin Qing wins."

At the edge of the arena, Xie Yue opened his eyes and stared at Lin Qing for a full three seconds.

In that instant just now, not only he but even Hu Liena had felt the chilling power of ice and fire within Lin Qing.

This newcomer, who had always been "half-hidden" in their eyes, was far more unfathomably powerful than they had imagined.

A quarter of an hour later.

Qin Wuj iu's voice rang out again. "Second match, Lin Qing against Xie Yue."

Xie Yue walked out from beside a stone pillar, his Moon Blades drawn, their silvery-white edges gleaming coldly in the morning light.

He walked to the center of the arena and looked calmly at Lin Qing.

"You didn't use your full strength in that last match. In this one, show me all your trump cards."

As soon as the words left his mouth, both blades slashed out at once.

The left blade swept across the edge of the bamboo grove, while the right went straight for Lin Qing. He was nearly twice as fast as he had been in their previous sparring match.

Lin Qing didn't retreat. He activated Bamboo Transformation.

At the same time, Bamboo Blade Storm gathered in his palm. A blue-gold blade light clung to the outside of his bamboo-transformed arm, forming a thin blade one chi long.

The right blade struck his bamboo-transformed arm, its edge colliding with the bamboo layer.

Xie Yue didn't pause. His left blade followed, cutting in from the side.

Lin Qing shifted half a step to the side. A bamboo layer formed passively at his waist to block the attack, while the blue-gold blade light clinging to it slashed back at Xie Yue's left wrist.

Xie Yue drew back his blades and retreated. He glanced at the blade light on his wrist, then looked at Lin Qing. "You can use it like that too?"

Lin Qing didn't answer. He stepped forward and released his Bamboo Soul toward Xie Yue.

Xie Yue forced his way through the interference and slashed out with his blades crossed. Lin Qing turned sideways to avoid the right blade, while the left grazed his shoulder. A passive bamboo layer formed to block it, and a crack appeared.

"As expected of Xie Yue. His Martial Soul's offensive attribute is so formidable.

Lin Qing looked at the wound beneath the crack in the bamboo layer on his shoulder.

Using the momentum of that retreat, Lin Qing pole-vaulted backward and unleashed Bamboo Blade Storm: Wind Throw. A vortex of bamboo leaves spread out between them, covering a radius of five zhang.

Xie Yue slashed alternately with his blades, cutting apart the bamboo leaves closing in on him, but the vortex slowed him by half a beat.

Lin Qing used that half-beat opening to gather the power of ice and fire in his right hand and cut in from the side.

Xie Yue blocked with his right blade. Lin Qing changed the direction of his palm strike, bringing ice and fire down on the blade at once.

Ice and fire repelled each other and exploded inside the blade. The silvery-white Moon Blade gave a trembling hum, and an exceedingly fine crack appeared on its surface.

Xie Yue glanced down at the crack, took half a step back, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His Martial Soul had actually been damaged by an attack! Only an attack far surpassing those of the same level could possibly do that.

Now, he probably wouldn't be able to use his Martial Soul again without resting for several days. This kind of situation... he fell silent for two breaths, then withdrew both blades.

"I lost."

"Lin Qing wins this match," Qin Wuj iu announced.

Lin Qing withdrew the bamboo layer and blade light and stood where he was. Hu Liena walked over and stopped in front of him.

For the first time, her deep-purple eyes no longer held that appraising look.

"No wonder you said you weren't planning to hide anything." Hu Liena looked at him for a while, then said mildly, "Your strength no longer belongs in the category of newcomers. Among those at the same level, you really can walk sideways."

Yan walked over with a hand pressed to his chest. His face still showed pain, but his earlier arrogance was gone.

He shook his head with a wry smile. "What on earth have you got inside that bamboo of yours? When I punched it, it felt like I'd hit a block of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice."

Lin Qing didn't explain further. He merely gave a nod.

Qin Wuj iu closed the booklet in his hand and said, "Training is over. Lin Qing, go to the main building tomorrow afternoon to see the archbishop."

[End of Chapter 32]