Chapter 190 Final Journey

Feng Bujue's speed was quite astonishing. Looking at the entire Thriller Paradise, there probably weren't more than ten players who could match or surpass him in speed.

But among the NPCs, there were quite a few who could reach that speed...

Lin Yan was one of them.

Hidden weapons and qinggong (light body technique) were inherently suitable martial arts for women to practice, and Lin Yan's accomplishments in these two skills were considerable.

Of course, she had abandoned hidden weapons for many years... because she simply didn't need them.

As early as the age of twenty, she could throw things like grass, wood, and sand with the power of hidden weapons; and by the time she was thirty, she could take a life with a flick of her finger.

Moreover, the external martial arts techniques she used were all from superior martial arts styles... In this regard, she was worlds apart from Yuan Qi.

To illustrate with Yuan Mengzhu's (Alliance Master Yuan) killing of Song Wuqi: the palm strike Yuan Qi used to break the tree from a distance was actually a very ordinary palm technique, but his internal energy was incomparably powerful, hence the resulting power.

But the technique Lin Yan used to kill Bao Qi was extremely complex and profound; that gentle flick required so little internal energy that it could be ignored, and its initial power was like a gentle breeze. But... in just an instant, that "gentle breeze" transformed into a violent storm, causing even more damage than Yuan Mengzhu's palm wind.

This... was the power of superior martial arts.

Although Yuan Qi's Mingchen Xuan Gong (Profound Art of Destiny) was also a superior martial art, it was the only "divine skill" he had ever learned. The other martial arts he knew... especially his external martial arts... were mostly miscellaneous and widely available techniques. Fortunately, Yuan Mengzhu had rich combat experience and a clever mind... Over the years, he had integrated these terrible martial arts into a fighting style of his own, and its power was not bad.

Lin Yan was different... From the age of six, Cao Qin had personally taught her martial arts theory and various unparalleled skills. Therefore, whether it was internal energy, external skills, mental cultivation, or techniques... Lin Yan initially learned all the most brilliant and perfect martial arts.

For example, the qinggong she was using now – "Xiaoyao Cun" (Carefree Stride) – was performed without leaving a trace or wasting a bit of strength. It was not only light and fast but also created an illusion of "appearing and disappearing" for the opponent.

Facing such an extremely fast surprise attack with teleportation-like effects, Feng Bujue naturally couldn't avoid it...

Jue-ge was also decisive. He immediately activated [Unmoving as a Mountain], which he had been hiding in his coat pocket, intending to use the jewel's effect to withstand this attack.

But...

Lin Yan actually discerned the jewel's rhythm!

In that split second, Lin Yan flipped her wrist and flicked her jade finger, releasing a tentative burst of qi towards Feng Bujue.

Half a second later, that burst of qi struck the mountain shadow-shaped defensive barrier.

Seeing this, Lin Yan snorted coldly, her right leg immediately stopping and retreating several zhang (approximately 3 meters).

As a result... the jewel's effect of "blocking all external attacks for five seconds" was wasted.

"Hmm... As expected, she's powerful..." Feng Bujue thought to himself, "Anticipating my moves, leaving no openings... Then... what should I do after five seconds..."

This was indeed a very serious problem... In a one-on-one fight, the "madness" effect of the Mad Demon Poker was useless. This move could only reflect damage back when attacked by two or more forces; therefore... [Unmoving as a Mountain] was Jue-ge's only "hard defense" method.

But now, this method had been used up... Next, if Feng Bujue received an unavoidable attack again, he would have to rely on pure defense to withstand it.

Given that Lin Yan's speed was faster than his, "unavoidable" situations would likely occur frequently. And being constantly attacked by an NPC of this level, the consequences were self-evident...

"Okay... it seems there's only one way." Before the five seconds were up, Feng Bujue had come to a conclusion.

Offense is the best defense.

Feng Bujue didn't want to reveal [Chuck Norris's Shaving Razor] before the finals, but he didn't want to be killed here either. So... before the mountain jewel's force field disappeared, he made up his mind... Summoning [Mad Demon Poker], he activated "Mad Slaughter," which could only be used once in each script (with a twenty-four-hour cooldown in Free Exploration mode).

In an instant, black cards surged out like a swarm of insects, crashing towards Lin Yan like a tidal wave.

"Demonic arts, huh..." Unexpectedly, even after seeing Jue-ge's trump card, Lin Yan didn't give up. "... Even if it's demonic arts, I'm not afraid!"

With that, she straightened her chest and back, closing her eyes slightly. She took a deep breath of true qi from her dantian (energy center), and at the same time, lifted both palms to the sides of her body.

In that instant, Lin Yan's released true qi actually made a sound, like the cry of a crane soaring in the sky.

In the blink of an eye, two streams of dark green light swam out from her palms, spiraling nimbly, protecting her body in a round and solid true qi shield.

Chi chi chi chi chi—

The black Mad Demon Poker rushed towards Lin Yan like a storm, but all were blocked by the qi shield, unable to get close to her.

"Heh... very good." Just as this offensive and defensive stalemate was occurring, Cao Qin's voice rang out from outside the battle circle.

He had followed them here at some point, arriving at the commentary... Oh no... he had arrived at the spectator's position.

"This 'Xuanwu Jin' (Black Tortoise Force)... has seven-tenths of this one's power, more than enough to defend against this magic." Cao Qin's comment gave Lin Yan confidence.

"Eunuch Cao..." Feng Bujue was still able to take the time to talk to him, "... Is this 'Xuanwu Jin' also one of the 'Twelve Martial Arts That Can Dominate the Martial World'?"

"Not so~ not so~" Cao Qin replied, "This Xuanwu Jin is one of the four mental cultivation methods of the 'Four Symbols Divine Art.' Strictly speaking, it's not a martial art, but a quarter of a martial art."

"Tch... I'll give you that one." Feng Bujue spat and then said, "Speaking of which... why did you run over here too, Eunuch? Do you want to lend a hand to Miss Lin?"

"No, I'm not helping anyone." Cao Qin replied indifferently, "I came because... although the battle over there is certainly good, I'm still more interested in the outcome of the battle between my disciple and Feng Liaozhu (Chief Feng)."

"Even if your disciple is killed by me, you'll stand by and watch?" Feng Bujue's expression gradually turned cold as he asked sideways.

"Hmph..." Cao Qin snorted coldly, "If Lin Yan really dies here, then it can only mean... that's all she is."

"This is a plan you've been setting up for decades... she's the 'Martial Arts Supreme' that you've single-handedly raised!" Feng Bujue reminded him with a solemn tone.

Cao Qin shook his head and replied in a deep voice, "Feng Liaozhu, what do you think the Martial Arts Supreme is? If they need help in a one-on-one fight... then they might as well not fight. Calling up hundreds of people to boost their morale like Yuan Qi... what's the difference between that and a gangster?" He paused for half a second and continued, "Furthermore... today's battle is not only Lin Yan's revenge battle but also her final test to become the Martial Arts Supreme... Even if I wanted to help, Lin Yan herself wouldn't agree."

"That's right!" At this time, Lin Yan, who was surrounded by the black energy vortex, also chimed in, "Feng Bujue, do you really think you can kill me?"

"You... don't seem to understand the situation..." After two seconds, Feng Bujue shook his head and muttered, "Eunuch Cao, I've already said it this clearly, and you still don't understand?"

As soon as he said this, Cao Qin's expression changed. He suddenly realized that Feng Bujue's previous two sentences were not testing anything but expressing – I can already kill her, are you really indifferent to this?

"No..." But Cao Qin still didn't believe it. Lin Yan was someone he had cultivated single-handedly, how could she be defeated so easily? "... That's impossible, you're bluffing!"

"I also had to think it over and over again..." As he spoke, Feng Bujue had already taken out [Yi Da] from his knapsack and attached [Unmoving as a Mountain], which had just come off cooldown, to the pouch of the slingshot, "... Before making this decision..."

"Slingshot?" Cao Qin's face showed suspicion upon seeing this. Although he didn't believe that the other party could kill Lin Yan with such a thing, he still felt an instinctive unease in his heart.

"Let me..." Feng Bujue quickly aimed at the target. The Mad Demon Poker in his hand had already dissipated when he drew the bow. At this moment, the black light dispersed... Lin Yan was directly exposed in front of Yi Da's sights, "... Send you off on this final journey."

…………

Autumn.

Late autumn.

More than forty years ago, a similar late autumn.

Night.

Long night.

Five years after the Cangling Sword Debate, a bleak long night.

That night, the autumn wind was like scissors, and the clouds were heavy.

A group of figures holding swords and sabers broke into a residential house in the dead of night.

It was a dilapidated hut, and there was only a woman and a five-year-old girl inside.

That woman was Lin Chang's wife. Five years ago, she had been driven out of the Ye Manor with this title...

She hadn't told anyone that she was pregnant with Lin Chang's posthumous child at the time.

Because she was afraid, she was afraid that if she said it... it would bring even greater misfortune to this child.

She was a miserable person. Like Lin Chang, her parents had died early. Besides her husband, she had no other relatives in this world.

Lin Chang treated her very well. Even after being controlled by his inner demons, Lin Chang's attitude towards his wife was still the same as before.

Perhaps... this ordinary woman was the last haven of Lin Chang's soul.

And for her, her husband was her everything. She lived only for him and was willing to give everything for him.

But one day... Lin Chang left home and never came back.

She waited foolishly, but what she waited for was her husband's death and the hatred of the world.

She was not a member of the martial world, nor did she have a maiden family to return to. If it weren't for the child in her womb, she would have followed her husband to the Yellow Springs long ago.

But for the sake of the child, she decided to live on.

She had to live on...

When she was driven out of the Ye Manor, some of the servants of the Ye Manor took pity on her and gave her some scattered silver.

She wandered to a remote town, changed her name, settled down with the money, and barely eked out a living by mending and washing clothes...

She raised a child without a father, facing cold eyes and being despised... year after year...

But she endured it all.

Seeing Little Lin Yan grow up healthy, she felt that these hardships were nothing.

Unfortunately, after five years, even this kind of life had come to an end.

Finally, someone in the martial world had found out about the "Lin Chang's widow."

They broke into the house at night under the pretext of revenge, trying to force the woman to hand over the "secret manual of Lin Chang's unparalleled martial arts."

But Lin Chang didn't leave any secret manual at all...

The woman couldn't hand anything over, but those people didn't believe it...

They beat her and tortured her, but to no avail.

This made them even more furious, so they grabbed the crying child beside her and put a steel knife on her tender neck.

The woman screamed hoarsely, begging them to let the child go. Already covered in wounds, she knelt on the ground... desperately kowtowing and pleading.

But she didn't arouse any pity in them...

Finally, she broke her head and fell in a pool of blood, no longer moving.

Those people finally believed that they really couldn't find any secret manual of unparalleled martial arts here.

Just as they were about to cut the child down as well, a figure flashed in and ended these people's lives in just one second...

…………

Under the cherry tree, blood stained the beauty's clothes.

"Heh..." Lin Yan smiled, and when she looked down and saw the blood hole in her chest, she showed a poignant smile.

In the instant she fell, Feng Bujue stepped forward and held her.

He knew she still had something to say.

"My... father... was... what kind of... person..." She looked at Feng Bujue and asked a strange question.

"He was a hero, the Martial Arts Supreme," Feng Bujue replied.

"Too... too good..." Blood was flowing from the corner of Lin Yan's mouth, but her eyes revealed relief, "Mother... didn't... lie to me..."

While saying these words, Lin Yan's hair quickly turned white, and her youthful appearance was aging at a visible rate.

"Feng... Bujue..." Her voice also quickly became old, "Actually... I... don't... want to... be... the Martial Arts... Supreme..." Her speech was already intermittent, "I... just want... to be with... my parents..." Her pronunciation was getting more and more difficult, and the pronunciation of some words was already slurred, "When I was little... sometimes I would see... my mother... alone... secretly... secretly crying... I just thought... if my father was still here... it would... be good...呜..." She spat out another mouthful of blood, and Feng Bujue could clearly feel her body trembling.

"I hate you..." Lin Yan cried, and tears slid down her wrinkled cheeks. At this moment, she looked even older than her actual age, "I also hate that group of so-called... righteous people of the martial world... it was you... who killed my parents...呜呜... but I...呜... I can't avenge them..."

Feng Bujue looked at her, listened to her cry, and was speechless.

Until the end, he could only sigh helplessly, "You're tired, sleep... when you wake up, you can be reunited with your family."

"Re... really?" Lin Yan seemed to be a little delirious. After hearing these words, a trace of expectation appeared on her dying face.

"Really, I promise," Feng Bujue replied.

"Then... that's... too... good..." Lin Yan couldn't finish the sentence, and her eyes lost focus.

Feng Bujue was silent for a long time before closing the old woman's eyes in his arms.

He gently laid her body flat on the ground, letting her rest in this Burial Heart Land of falling cherry blossoms.