NOVEL WEB Chapter 110: Battle Instinct
With a roar, a soul force of icy blue swirled around Long Yin, transforming into the phantom of a giant white bear.
His hands, covered in white fur, seemed to grasp at the air, his posture caught between tension and relaxation, with his tailbone sinking low.
Ten meters away, Ling Yi stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, casually relaxed, raising his right hand, thumb folded inward, four fingers hooked. With a brief word, he gestured to Long Yin, “Come on—"
Long Yin bit down, steeling his resolve. With a powerful kick from his legs, his entire body tensed, unleashing formidable strength. An invisible ripple appeared beneath the stone platform; without it, the iron-hard dark stone surface might have shattered under Long Yin's force.
The pale yellow soul ring beneath his feet shone faintly as Long Yin’s soul power surged within him. His strength soared exponentially, and icy blue light gathered and solidified on his hands, transforming into a pair of frost-emitting icy claws.
In that moment, Long Yin bent low, mustering his strength, and charged forward in great strides, his claws thrusting towards Ling Yi.
First Soul Skill: Ice Bear Claw + "Beast Martial Soul: Xinyi Fist Frame" Seventh Form: Violent Bear Crushing Stone—!!
This attack, equivalent to combining a century-level soul skill with a decade-level one, unleashed immense force and momentum, rivaling even the second soul skills of ordinary Soul Masters, stirring a fierce wind across the black-and-white stone platform.
The wind swept past, causing spectators Zhang Lei, Zhang Mufeng, and Qingqiu Xin to squint their eyes.
Facing Long Yin’s near-maximum effort attack, surpassing even his own second soul skill 'Ice Wolf Assault' in anything but speed, Ling Yi merely sidestepped the leading claw with a casual shift of his body.
With another foot maneuver, Long Yin's following claw merely brushed Ling Yi's clothes and missed entirely.
A fierce wind generated by the claws swept across Ling Yi's loose garments, making them flutter wildly. Yet, this seemingly ferocious attack failed to harm Ling Yi in the slightest.
In a flash of barely a moment's hesitation, Ling Yi's right hand, which had not summoned his martial spirit at all, flashed out like a lightning bolt, seizing Long Yin's arm with an iron grip. With a swift kick, he struck Long Yin’s now significantly bulkier ankle. Using the brief moment when Long Yin lost his balance, Ling Yi leveraged the momentum of his opponent's forward charge and swung hard, as if wielding a mighty forging hammer, slamming Long Yin onto the black-and-white stone platform.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang, bang, bang...!!!”
From over ten meters away, three audible gulps were heard simultaneously as they watched this somewhat brutal scene unfold, though the sound was overshadowed by the commotion on the stone platform.
“Boom—!”
The massive black-and-white stone platform trembled slightly, and Long Yin, released by Ling Yi, lay flat on the ground. His once azure eyes had morphed into the eyes of reincarnation, feeling as if the world was spinning, his body on the ground while his soul seemed to hover mid-air.
It took a good while before Long Yin's senses returned. He felt his entire being ache with soreness and fatigue; a wave of excruciating and numbing pain crashed over his nerves repeatedly. Only then did he faintly hear the familiar “bang, bang, bang—!” sound ringing in his ears.
And then, “Boom—”
A figure fell next to his left hand. With the corner of his eye, Long Yin glanced over—it was Qingqiu Xin.
"Bang——!"
Another figure appeared, this time on his right—it was Zhang Mufeng.
"Bang——!"
To Zhang Mufeng's right, another figure emerged. Though he couldn't see clearly, Long Yin, whose mental faculties had returned, knew it must be Brother Zhang Lei.
Before Long Yin could ponder further, a wave of soul power surged once more. In the next moment, like rain from the heavens, a refreshing green light enveloped him and the other three lying on the ground.
At this moment, Ling Yi's voice echoed in their ears:
"Remember, combat can also be an art. Unless you possess overwhelming strength or speed, brute force is futile. Use your brain—!"
After speaking, Ling Yi stomped his foot on the ground, addressing the four who were still sprawled on the ground, enjoying the lingering invigorating energy of the 'First Soul Technique: Life Abundant'. He said in an annoyed tone:
"Alright, get up quickly and continue!
You've been activated—your blood and muscles are stimulated by me, nurtured by the 'Life Abundant' energy. To absorb it to the fullest, treat yourselves like metal molds and join me in tempering from the inside out—!"
Upon hearing this, the four slowly sat up, turning their heads left and right, exchanging glances. Whether it was Zhang Lei or the three with Zhang Mufeng, they suddenly felt like comrades sharing the same trench. They all nodded vigorously and got up, looking at Ling Yi who stood not far away.
In the next second.
Soul power of various colors gleamed as seven yellow rings appeared. Reinforced by their martial souls, Long Yin and Qingqiu Xin charged forward holding an Iron Stick and a Hoe, along with Zhang Mufeng and Zhang Lei, all heading towards Ling Yi.
Seeing this, Ling Yi casually extended his right hand, where azure soul power emerged. The vine-like Blue Silver Grass martial soul slithered out like a spiritual snake from his fair palm.
Grabbing the main stem with a perfect grip, he swung it effortlessly.
'Crack—!'
The whip-like vine tail struck through the air, making a resounding crack.
Ling Yi took the initiative to step forward, facing the oncoming four.
Seventy to eighty meters away, at the top front of two positions labeled Zhen and Xun, two figures appeared.
These silhouettes crouched at the top of the scaffold, their glowing eyes watching the figures crisscrossing on the black-and-white stone stage, their upright ears keenly monitoring every corner of the warehouse.
…
An hour later, Ling Yi emerged from the large warehouse with a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. He saw Ling Shan, Ling Si, and Zhang Miao had already stopped their training, one drinking water while another gnawed on jerky.
Nearby, Mother Zhang Xiaoyu and Aunt Ling He watched with a few maids at their side.
Stepping forward, Ling Yi, his heart moved, summoned his martial soul again. Three strands of faint green life energy flew over, precisely landing on Ling Shan and the other two.
With a wave, he retracted his martial soul back into his body, nodding towards his mother and aunt who turned to look at him. "Mom, Auntie, Brother Lei and my three friends are inside the warehouse. It took a toll on them from the practice, so let's arrange for dozens of kilograms of cooked meat and rice, soup, and such to be sent in—"
"Alright~" "Yes~ We'll arrange it now—"
Zhang Xiaoyu and Ling He replied in unison.
Ling Yi’s smile remained unchanged as he nodded, turning to the side to see his three younger siblings looking eagerly at him. In a gentle voice, he asked, "How was it? Did you learn anything?"
"Big brother~" "Big brother~" "Brother Yi~"
Ling Yi shook his hand, stopping the three from speaking over each other, and chuckled softly, "Don't rush, one at a time—"
“Alright,” she said, scanning the hopeful faces of the three children before eventually resting her gaze on the smallest, Zhang Miao. “Miaomiao, you go first—”
(End of Chapter)
