185: Chapter 185 Sparring

Lin Qing naturally heard the voice of the Spiritual Energy Giant as well. He had been wondering why this Heavenly Staircase was so long; at his speed, he should have long since walked out of the gale layer. It turned out this Heavenly Staircase truly had no end.

These endless stairs were merely an illusion constructed by a Formation, and just a dozen or so Ranks ago, the pressure the Heavenly Staircase could exert had reached its limit, so Lin Qing's assessment naturally came to an end.

As the giant's voice just faded, a streak of black light flew toward him from the depths of the clouds and mist. He reached out and caught it nimbly; it was a Disciple token engraved with the character "Dao".

Lin Qing nodded in satisfaction. A high-Rank token was exactly his goal, though he hadn't expected it to be one Rank higher than a Sequence Disciple. After all, the Spiritual Energy Giant hadn't mentioned there was a Dao Disciple token.

But this could be considered an unexpected surprise. The higher the token Rank, the more authority he could obtain, which should be useful later on.

After putting away the token, Lin Qing turned and walked down the stairs, but the Spiritual Energy Giant's announcement had not yet stopped.

The few who followed were all leader-level figures sent by super factions. Not only was their cultivation at the Peak of the Eighth Rank, but their strength ratings were mostly four or five stars; they were true experts.

The reason Lin Qing's announcement came earlier than theirs was not because Lin Qing's strength was weaker than theirs, but because Lin Qing had walked too fast.

From the moment he stepped out of the cloud and mist area, the people in the plaza stared fixedly at Lin Qing. There was surprise and admiration in their eyes, and some even carried a trace of sympathy.

Lin Qing paid no heed to these gazes and walked straight to the front of the Three Sects Disciples.

"Let's go."

Under the gazes of the Three Sects Disciples, who were looking at him like a monster, Lin Qing spoke softly.

Just then, a loud shout came from the stairs behind him.

"Lin Qing!"

Lin Qing turned his head to look. The person had just walked out of the cloud and mist area; he was a man in white with sword-like eyebrows, star-like eyes, and a full, heroic spirit.

Unlike most people, his weapon was carried directly on his back instead of being kept in a Storage Ring.

It was a long sword just over three feet long. From the hollowed-out scabbard, one could still see the golden light flowing across the blade.

It was Ren Wudi!

The gazes of everyone in the plaza darted back and forth between the two. No one spoke. Seeing Ren Wudi's posture, they knew that a battle was unavoidable.

"Something up?"

Lin Qing looked at Ren Wudi on the stone stairs and asked calmly.

To Lin Qing's surprise, Ren Wudi did not have the arrogance he had imagined.

He first respectfully performed a greeting, then said to Lin Qing:

"How about a spar?"

Lin Qing had always been the type of person who would return respect in kind; if someone respected him by a foot, he would respect them by ten.

Looking at Ren Wudi's expectant eyes, Lin Qing ultimately nodded.

"Fine. But I don't have much time, how about one Move? Use your strongest Move."

Looking at Lin Qing's calm eyes, Ren Wudi knew Lin Qing was not insulting him, so he also nodded heavily.

"Please."

Lin Qing's body slowly rose, arriving at the same horizontal level as Ren Wudi on the distant stone stairs.

The people in the plaza also took to the air one after another, moving away from this area of the plaza, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire of the two's battle.

Someone even took out a recording Formation Plate, preparing to record this thrilling duel.

Spiritual Qi began to surge around Ren Wudi, dyeing the jade stairs and the clouds and mist above gold.

Then he slowly drew the long sword from his back, and the golden aura on his body spread in all directions—not Spiritual Qi, but a Golden Domain.

Lin Qing's eyes narrowed. No wonder this Ren Wudi could obtain a seven-star strength rating; it turned out he had already grasped a Will.

Grasping a Will meant that the conditions for achieving the Tenth Rank had been met.

Ren Wudi was now over 170 years old, with cultivation at the Late Stage of the Eighth Rank, which meant he was very likely to achieve a Breakthrough to the Tenth Rank around the age of 200.

Lin Qing couldn't help but sigh; Ren Wudi's talent was indeed terrifying. However, if that was the case, Lin Qing would have to reveal some of his means.

However, if he directly used the Five Elements Will, it would be revealing too much, so he would just use the Will of Fire and the Will of Wind.

It just so happened that fire countered metal, and wind could aid the fire's momentum.

Thus, a violent wind began to swirl around Lin Qing, and at the same time, a red aura began to spread from his position.

The crowd in the distance only saw two colors, gold and red, colliding in the air, and the space where they met seemed to distort.

Someone exclaimed:

"Ren Wudi is one thing, but who would have thought that this Lin Qing, at the Eighth Rank, had actually grasped a Will as well."

"And two types at that!"

Someone added. At this moment, the Domain of Wind did not have conspicuous special effects, and those with average discernment really couldn't tell.

"What is it that stings my eyes so I can't open them? Is it the future?"

Ren Wudi held the long sword in his right hand, pointing diagonally at the ground, and hundreds or thousands of Flying Swords began to condense around his body.

"Lin Qing, if you feel you can't take it, tell me in time."

A ring of fire exploded around Lin Qing.

"Come!"

Ren Wudi raised the long sword in front of him, pointing in Lin Qing's direction. The small Spiritual Qi swords around him also began to veer, all pointing at Lin Qing.

Then Ren Wudi suddenly took a step forward, the entire jade staircase trembling slightly under his step, while the long sword in his hand thrust forward rapidly.

A giant sword shadow detached from the long sword under this thrust and flew straight toward Lin Qing. At the same time, Ren Wudi shouted in a low voice:

"Thousand Swords · Dustless!"

"Hmm?"

Lin Qing's brows furrowed slightly. Do I have to shout the name too? If I don't shout, will people see it as a normal attack?

Forget it. In consideration of how polite Ren Wudi is, I'll leave him some Face.

Thus, Lin Qing also shouted in a low voice, his Face turning red:

"Wind Fire · Prairie Fire."

Then the flames circling Lin Qing's body began to spread outward and rapidly spin within the violent wind.

In just an instant, the two's Moves collided.

The tip of the giant sword shadow continuously rubbed against the rotating flames, emitting a ding-ding-ding sound as if it were real metal.

The Spiritual Qi debris shattered during the friction was thrown out along the direction of the flames' rotation, scaring the onlookers into retreating another few miles.

Those small Spiritual Qi swords were blown to sway by the violent wind, colliding with each other. Finally, when they managed to touch the flame ring, they were melted the instant they made contact.

Seemingly dissatisfied with the low efficiency, red birds flew out of the flames, actively pouncing on the small Spiritual Qi swords that hadn't yet reached them.

After a few breaths, the giant sword shadow was completely ground away, and not a single small Spiritual Qi sword survived.

The flame ring continued to expand until it reached the edge of the jade stairs, at which point it suddenly dissipated.

Looking at Ren Wudi, whose Face was dull and whose eyes revealed a sense of loss, Lin Qing cupped his hands and said softly:

"You let me win."

Ren Wudi finally came back to his senses, composed his emotions, and returned the salute as well:

"Brother Lin's combat power is astonishing; I am ashamed of my inferiority."