Free Web NovelChapter 157: Chapter 152: Like a Shadow
Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhao Lin’s first reaction was that Xiang Bao had found a disciple from the Fire Jade Department to deal with him. But he quickly realized something was wrong.
’If he’s a disciple from the Wuxiang Institute, why is his face covered?’
The man moved like a coiling dragon, a startled swan goose. His speed was so great that Zhao Lin doubted he could keep up even at a full sprint.
’Which disciple of the Wuxiang Institute could possibly do that?’
Beyond that, Zhao Lin sensed an extraordinary aura from the man, one quite similar to his master, Zhu Huaishan, yet even more abundant and vigorous.
’A Blood Realm martial artist!’
Alarm bells screamed in Zhao Lin’s mind. He remembered that Xiang Bao had an older brother in the inner court and blurted out, "You’re Xiang Shaofeng!"
"Quick on the uptake, aren’t you!"
Xiang Shaofeng roared with laughter and tore the black cloth from his face, revealing deep-set, wide eyes, a prominent nose, and thin lips.
"My little brother said you have a peculiar Cultivation Technique, that you defeated him despite only being at the First Layer of the Qi Realm. I came to see what you’re made of. How about it? Care to spar for a couple of rounds?"
Without a word, Zhao Lin reached behind his back for the signal flare.
’Xiang Shaofeng is a Blood Realm martial artist and one of the top talents of the inner court. I’m no match for him. I have to alert the elders and deacons.’
’For an inner court disciple to come and stir up trouble in the Wuxiang Institute’s harvesting grounds is a major transgression. That much is obvious.’
Zhao Lin was fast, but Xiang Shaofeng was faster. With his Qi and Blood circulating at full power, his figure blurred into a wisp of green smoke. In a single bound, he was upon Zhao Lin, striking out with his right palm.
The energy projected from his palm was over half a foot long, sending out a surging heatwave with an overwhelming aura.
Zhao Lin felt a suffocating pressure. He dodged in a flash, barely evading the palm strike, and without a second thought, he turned and bolted.
"Not bad at all!"
Xiang Shaofeng smiled faintly. Gathering his energy, he leaped forward, sticking to Zhao Lin like a shadow.
One pursued and the other fled, their intense chase tearing through the mountains.
Wind whistled past his ears. With Xiang Shaofeng never more than a step behind, Zhao Lin experienced for the first time what it felt like to be completely outmatched in speed.
It was impossible to pause for even a second. He was nearly caught several times, only managing to escape by a hair’s breadth by jetting energy from his acupoints to make sudden, desperate changes in direction.
Zhao Lin sent out an ultrasonic wave to monitor the situation behind him. He discovered that Xiang Shaofeng was intentionally cutting off his routes down the mountain, preventing him from reaching the elders and deacons for help.
He tried to grab the signal flare several times, but Xiang Shaofeng’s attacks always thwarted him.
With no other choice, he ran toward the treacherous, densely wooded areas of the mountain, hoping to use the complex terrain to his advantage.
Xiang Shaofeng was growing even more surprised. They were so close that he could tell there were no energy fluctuations in Zhao Lin’s legs, meaning he hadn’t practiced any leg-strengthening techniques.
’So why is he so fast?’
’I cultivate the Wind God Leg, which is famous for its speed. I’ve immersed myself in this Cultivation Technique for ten years; when it comes to speed in the inner court, if I claim to be second, no one would dare claim first.’
’Yet here I am, a dignified martial artist at the Second Layer of the Blood Realm, struggling this much to catch a mere disciple at the First Layer of the Qi Realm.’
’What’s even stranger is that I can hear that "hissing" sound Xiang Bao mentioned. It seems to be coming from the acupoints on his chest and back. It’s utterly inconceivable.’
’What kind of Cultivation Technique is this?’
’For Qi Realm and Blood Realm martial artists, no matter how profound their power, their energy can’t leave their bodies. Even for a Primordial Realm martial artist, energy can typically only be projected from the palms and feet.’
’It’s with this bizarre Body Technique that he keeps changing direction and escaping right when I’m about to grab him. He’s slippery as an eel.’
After running for a while, Zhao Lin felt his whole body heat up. He was panting heavily, and a wave of exhaustion washed over him.
This was a sensation he had never experienced before.
Zhao Lin knew why.
A cheetah could only sprint at top speed for three minutes at most. Any longer and its body would overload, leading to death from overheating.
In the past, he could always shake his enemies the moment he started running; he never needed to maintain a full sprint for so long.
If he kept running like this, even if he wasn’t caught, he would eventually run himself to death.
What he didn’t know was that Xiang Shaofeng was also gritting his teeth, pushing himself to the limit. Even a Blood Realm martial artist would find this level of exertion difficult to sustain.
But this only strengthened Xiang Shaofeng’s resolve to capture Zhao Lin.
’Letting myself be caught is out of the question,’ Zhao Lin thought. ’My life probably isn’t in danger, but I’ll definitely be humiliated. More importantly, I won’t be able to protect the herbs, and this entire trip will have been for nothing.’
’Even if I report this to the elders later, it’ll be useless. Without catching him in the act, it’s just my word against his. They’ll probably just laugh at me!’
Right now, Zhao Lin had only one thought: find a cliff and jump. No matter how strong a Blood Realm martial artist was, he couldn’t fly.
’Taking off from a standstill is too slow. Not only would it expose my abilities, but I’d also become a sitting duck.’
Fleeing blindly, Zhao Lin had no idea where he’d ended up. As his eyes scanned the surroundings, he suddenly spotted a cave to his front right.
The cave was well hidden, its entrance mostly obscured by vines and shrubs. One would never notice it without looking closely.
However, when Zhao Lin’s ultrasonic wave entered the cave, it didn’t return for a long time.
Zhao Lin shot a quick glance in its direction and noticed a faint light coming from within. An idea sparked in his mind.
’Light in the cave means it connects to the outside world—either to another exit, or to the cliff face on the other side.’
’Index Finger Peak has one gentle slope and one sheer cliff. The latter is more likely.’
’Either way, if I keep running, I’m destined to be caught. Might as well take a gamble. If it’s a cliff, I can leap off, and that Blood Realm martial artist will only be able to watch.’
With this in mind, Zhao Lin feinted, making a move as if to run to the left.
Xiang Shaofeng followed like a shadow, reaching for his shoulder.
But unexpectedly, Zhao Lin blasted a jet of energy to his left, using the force to pivot sharply to the right. His target: the cave.
It was too late for Xiang Shaofeng to stop him. Seeing Zhao Lin charge into the cave, he bellowed, "Let’s see you run now!" and plunged in after him without a moment’s hesitation.
Zhao Lin drew his ox-tendon rod and, without looking back, hurled it straight behind him.
Hearing the whistle of the projectile, Xiang Shaofeng threw a punch. The ox-tendon rod instantly shattered into splinters, but the action had slowed his momentum.
The moment Zhao Lin entered the cave, he felt a sudden chill, and his heart sank.
The cave’s entrance was deceptive; the inside was a world unto itself.
It was a cavern over a hundred feet high and extremely spacious. Strange rock formations stood everywhere—stalactites, stalagmites, and stone pillars—and the walls were pocked with dozens of caves of varying sizes.
The scene reminded Zhao Lin of the subterranean karst caves he had seen in his previous life.
The cavern walls glistened, suffused with a faint blue luminescence.
Zhao Lin had assumed the light in the cave was from an outside opening, but he now saw it was just glowing fluorite.
Hearing a noise from behind, Zhao Lin didn’t dare linger. He scanned the various openings and made a break for the largest one. freewёbnoνel.com
Above the mouth of that cave hung a row of stalactites, like icicles hanging from the eaves in winter.
Just before diving into the opening, Zhao Lin spun around and slammed his fist into the stalactites.
KRA-ACK...
The ancient stalactites, formed over millennia, cracked and thundered down, blocking the pursuing Xiang Shaofeng and forcing him to a halt.
The fallen stalactites piled up, blocking most of the cave’s entrance. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Xiang Shaofeng punched and kicked his way through the rubble, but by the time he cleared the entrance, Zhao Lin was nowhere to be seen.
