Chapter 229 - Lian vs. Long Tian - 2
“Yellow Dragon Bloodline, Activate! Earth Law, Personal Gravity: Strength!"
Long Tian activated his bloodline. Even though he didn't appear to be worried, his mind wasn't quite so carefree.
'Lian is a dangerous opponent. Her fighting style is calm and precise, devoid of unnecessary movements and wastes of spirit power. Therefore, this technique isn’t a simple technique to keep me locked up. I have to hold out and wait for my moment.'
“Lotus of Love Bloodline, Activate! Wood Law, Wood Armor." Lian also activated her bloodline. Now that Long Tian was about to get serious, she couldn't afford to spare her strength.
'If we consider our attack power, Long Tian's is certainly superior. He also hasn't yet pulled off the move he used against Mario Rossi. Hei said that the power of that punch is superior to even Spider Lance. I must avoid being hit by that technique unless it is unavoidable.'
Whoosh!
Lian moved towards the center of that invisible bubble, where Long Tian was. At the same time, the four ends of the two ribbons also moved towards the center, ready to attack.
Bam!
Long Tian moved his swords and struck hard at both ends of the ribbons, knocking them back. Then he moved to dodge the attack from the other two ends and used his swords to parry Lian's palm.
'His attack power has increased. His sword strikes are more powerful than before and can repel my ribbons even without using the Repulsion technique. But even if he is more powerful, as long as I stay here, I have the advantage.' Lian immediately noticed Long Tian's increase in power but continued to attack anyway.
'I understand. The ribbons’ ends attack together with her. Since they attack from five different directions, if I wanted to aim accurately at Lian, I would have to let myself be hit by the other four attacks. Also, the body of the ribbons aren’t static: they move depending on where I go.' Long Tian analyzed as he defended himself from attacks.
In fact, Lian's ribbons weren't stationary in the air but were mobile, swirling in the air without distorting the invisible sphere in which Long Tian and Lian were. In doing so, there was no way for the Imperial Prince to get out with his speed or some other tricks.
Peng! Peng! Peng!
The attacks continued to follow each other relentlessly, and Long Tian could only defend himself passively. Such a sight shocked the spectators: the Imperial Prince had affirmed his supremacy in previous fights without much difficulty. Now, however, he was being crushed by Lian's amazing and brilliant control ability.
'Good. Now I understand most of the ribbon attack patterns. It’s time to get out of here.' Long Tian thought to himself as he suddenly charged to the side.
"Intent of the Double Swords, Imperial Slash!"
Long Tian's spirit power condensed on his double swords. His already devastating attack power soared once again, and the swords swung into the ribbons blocking his way.
"Wood Law, Root Binding."
Suddenly, plant roots formed under Long Tian's feet that attempted to immobilize him and thus stop his escape attempt. However, the Imperial Prince's senses were incredibly sharp, and as soon as he noticed the danger, he leaped forward.
Boom!
Long Tian's attack was only partially successful. In fact, part of the roots had managed to attach themselves to one of his feet and pulled him backward, causing him to lose his balance. Thus, only one of the swords struck the ribbons while the other struck the floor of the combat stage.
"Intent of the Ribbons, Crushing!"
At Lian's command, the silk ribbons moved swiftly around Long Tian, who was still pinned down by the roots. In an instant, the ribbons rolled up like thick branches on Long Tian, completely trapping him. Then, they began to increase the pressure exerted to crush everything inside to a pulp.
“Concept of Authority, Activate! Earth Law, Repulsing Barrier!"
Boom!
Upon activation of Long Tian's technique, the ribbons crushing him were thrown as if they were made of paper. They couldn’t put up the slightest resistance.
"Embrace of Mother Earth."
Long Tian thrust his swords into the ground, and immediately after, a monstrous pressure rushed from above to where Lian was. The young woman tried to resist, but the force pushing her to the ground was too strong. In an instant, Lian had to kneel with both legs and couldn't even raise her head to look at her opponent.
Whoosh!
The ribbons that had been blown away by Long Tian quickly returned to their mistress, positioning themselves on top of her. As soon as they did that, Lian's perceived pressure plummeted.
“Now I understand how your formation works. By infusing your spirit power into the ribbons and through the Water Law, you scatter small drops of water in the air. Because they are created by your spirit power, they easily blend with the spirit power in the ribbons. That's why I didn't detect them right away.
By spreading these drops, you can influence my Repulsion and Attraction technique. Also, as long as you stay within a certain radius of your ribbons, you too are unaffected by the forces of Attraction and Repulsion. However, if the force used is too strong, your formation cannot reverse the effect. That's why I was able to wipe out your ribbons."
Long Tian finally understood the effect of Lian's formation and why his techniques hadn’t worked.
'It's amazing that she managed to come up with such a treacherous formation. If she had canceled my techniques from the start, it would have been one thing, but she waited for the right moment before doing so. In addition, she managed to hide the functioning of her formation skillfully. If she hadn't used the ribbons to disperse the Embrace of Mother Earth’s effect, it might have taken me longer to figure it out.
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Her skills with formations are incredible. They go way beyond my expectations. Especially their application in battle.'
Long Tian was genuinely surprised. Lian's performance exceeded his expectations. It wasn't like he underestimated her or didn't know of her strength. However, he didn't think she was capable of devising such an elaborate tactic and cornering him like that.
“In any case, I congratulate you. Although you come from the Forgotten Ocean and, therefore, from a place with lesser knowledge, your talent in formations is superior to most formation scholars of our age. If you were born here in the Empire in an important family, I wonder at what level your knowledge in the formations would be now."
“Thank you for the compliments, but my knowledge in the formations is still far from reaching a satisfactory level. After all, you managed to free yourself." Lian answered with a bitter smile.
She knew from the start that her formation wasn't strong enough to completely restrain Long Tian. Nonetheless, seeing her formation being broken in that way still caused a wave of bitterness.
“To answer your last question, I don't know what level I would have been if I had been born here. However, I only know that I wouldn't be myself today if I had not been born where I was born and hadn’t met those I met.
The pains and joys I felt have formed me and led me to this point. Without them, I would be another person. I could never forget the sensations I felt but above all those who gave me both of my lives. It is to remain by his side that I keep moving forward."
Lian's every word contained a firmness that left Long Tian speechless. The latter understood instantly that the resolve possessed by the young woman was very different from that possessed by a normal martial artist of their age. It contained a desire and a steadfastness that were more like faith.
“Come to me, my ribbons. Silk Armor!"
At Lian's command, the ribbons began to wrap around her, fully encompassing her body. This surprised the audience because this was the first to see Lian use her ribbons in such a way.
Meanwhile, Ye and Xing began to fidget in the section for fighters as they saw Lian being wrapped in ribbons. Their hearts were beating wildly with the myriad of emotions they were feeling.
'It's Mother's technique! It's the Silk Armor!' (Ye)
'Yes, that's it. Lian's ribbons were made from Mother's web.' (Xing)
Hei also shared their feelings. His eyes were wet, and soon a tear fell from both eyes as he thought of her Mother. After all, aside from the spirit core they guarded, his spear and Lian's ribbons were the only remaining objects that testified to the existence of Bao Bei.
'This increase in power... is she unconsciously using a Concept?!' Long Tian wondered, surprised by Lian's increase in spirit power.
"Principal Jing, that's-" Hu Luoyang asked.
“Yes, it is undoubtedly the effect of a Concept and an Emotional type. Therefore, although she hasn’t fully awakened it, it was still activated. Something in Long Tian's words must have triggered it." Principal Long Jing answered.
“One of the Emotional type? I wonder what concept it is. Depending on the answer, it could be good or bad for young Lian. Emotional Concepts are unpredictable and can decide the fortune of a martial artist or their death." Feng Qing commented.
The Emotional type was one of the two types in which Concepts were divided; the other type was called the Abstract type instead.
The Abstract Concept’s definition included all Concepts that didn’t have to do with emotions. Long Tian's Concept of Authority, Xing's Concept of Toxicity, and Ye's Concept of Digestion were all part of the Abstract type. This type of Concept was more difficult to awaken and more difficult to train, but unlike those of the Emotional type, they didn’t present dangers.
The Emotional Concepts were easier to awaken, in a sense. The reason was that they required the martial artist to experience an emotion strong enough to change the person themselves. A deep hatred, a deep love, absolute desperation... These were some of the emotions that could awaken in Concepts.
The Emotional Concepts gave even more power than the Abstract Concepts. But to develop them, the martial artist had to feed the emotion that had awakened as a Concept. And if that emotion was gone, it could have repercussions on the user.
For example, the Concept of Hatred would have strengthened the user the more they felt hatred. And prolonged use would have erased any emotion in the user's heart until only hatred was left, becoming a monster of destruction.
Another example was the Concept of Fear which fed on the fear of opponents to make the user stronger. But if the user were to feel fear in turn, the Concept would turn against him, even killing him in extreme cases.
For this reason, the sons and daughters of influential families were forbidden to develop Emotional Concepts. These daughters and daughters were usually very talented, and although an Emotional Concept might give them great power, the danger was too great. Therefore, Emotional Concepts were generally awakened by those who came from ordinary origins or those who were willing to do anything to achieve their goal.
"Whatever Concept it is, it doesn't change what I have to do: win." Long Tian said before advancing towards Lian.
Lian didn’t stand still but moved forward. Since her ribbons were now used as armor, she no longer had the range advantage. If she wanted to hurt her opponent, she had to attack personally.
"Imperial Slash!"
"Flowing Vibrating Palm!"
Peng!
Palm and sword collided. Lian felt a monstrous force crash into her delicate hand, but she didn't give up. Long Tian instead felt Lian's spirit power sending undulations through his sword until they reached his body.
Peng!
Another exchange of palm and sword. With each blow, both fighters could feel their bodies receiving the repercussions from such exchanges. In fact, blood began to leak from the ribbons that wrapped Lian's body, while Long Tian also spat out mouthfuls of blood from time to time due to the internal wounds he had.
'We are even… even though I have increased my strength, the resistance of her ribbons is impressive. It is comparable to the defense Hei possessed against Feng Chen. In this way, even if I overcome her in power, Lian still manages to decrease the damage to a point where she can continue to attack. I have to use the Yellow Dragon Fist.'
"Earth Law, Authority of the Earth: Yellow Dragon Fist."
Long Tian chose to use his secret card: the Yellow Dragon Fist. With this single move, he knocked out Mario Rossi. Now, however, he wasn't limiting himself but was using his full power. Therefore, the damage it would cause was greater than the one created to the young supporting martial artist.
Seeing Long Tian use his secret technique, Lian didn’t retreat. Instead, she stepped forward, ready to welcome the impact of Long Tian's punch.
'This is the moment when I gamble everything. No mistakes are allowed.' Lian thought as Long Tian's fist landed on her stomach.
Crack!
The Yellow Dragon Fist sank deep into Lian's stomach. The young woman felt the full impact and nearly fainted instantly from the pain she felt. Her defensive layer of spirit power that hadn't taken much damage during the fighting broke as if it were made of glass. The ribbons surrounding her body were also blown away, thus removing her silk defense.
Cough!
Lian, whose face was back in the open, vomited blood from her mouth. The stomach wound was anything but mild. Nonetheless, her eyes were still full of determination and will to win.
Grip!
Lian's hands gripped Long Tian's outstretched arm. The Imperial Prince, who was in a momentary state of defenselessness due to the great expenditure of spirit power, had no way of reacting.
Whoosh!
The ribbons that had been blown off Lian's body suddenly moved around Long Tian. However, unlike before, they didn’t wrap around his body but created a kind of spherical barrier where only the arm of the Imperial Prince, still trapped by Lian's hands, protruded.
"Combined Technique: Flowing Iron Maiden!"
Lian then infused all of her remaining spirit power into her ribbons. Soon after, a myriad of wooden spikes formed inside the sphere. Each of these wooden spikes stuck into Long Tian's defensive layer of spirit power.
This technique alone was enough to defeat or even kill most of the Academy's first-year students. However, Lian's offensive didn’t end there.
As the wooden spikes stuck into Long Tian's defensive layer of spirit power, Lian's spirit power flowed from the ribbons inside Long Tian's body through the wooden spikes.
Cough!
Inside that circular prison, the Imperial Prince felt pain from every part of his body as internal wounds formed. Although his defensive layer of spirit power wasn't broken, Long Tian couldn’t help but vomit blood.