Traversing the path of life and death

Chapter Eight: A Small Test of Skill

Hearing the voice behind him, Lin Yu slowly turned around.

With short, jet-black hair, two small, bright eyes that darted around on her slightly immature face, and thin lips, she didn't exactly inspire a good impression. Her slender body was dressed in gorgeous clothes, and her arms were crossed over her chest, giving her an arrogant and domineering air.

Just as Lin Yu was about to speak, the boy suddenly spoke up: "Lin Yu, I haven't seen you for two years. As your older brother, I miss you terribly. I wonder where you've been hiding these past two years, never showing your face. It's been so hard for your second brother to find you. Recently, I heard from the servants that you can see me in the early morning. Today, I got up early just to wait for you and see you. How are you? Are you happy to see me?"

Lin Yu could tell that the boy was gritting his teeth when he finally said the word "happy." He thought to himself that the boy harbored a great deal of hatred towards him; his previous words were barbed and full of sarcasm.

Seeing the boy's appearance, Lin Yu felt a sense of helplessness.

"Lin Yang, of course I'm happy to see you. I remember everything that happened before very clearly," Lin Yu said with a smile, emphasizing the phrase "things that happened before".

The boy was Lin Yang. When he heard Lin Yu mention 'things from the past,' his smiling expression changed instantly, and he looked extremely angry.

Seeing Lin Yu speak so casually, she was even more furious and said angrily, "Lin Yu, you good-for-nothing from the Lin family, how dare you mention the past? Ever since the test of my innate attribute, I have had my father teach me cultivation. Do you know what realm I am now? To save you from your curiosity, I will tell you. I have now reached the second level of the Solidification Realm. Do you know what the Solidification Realm is?"

Lin Yujian found Lin Yang's arrogant boasting amusing, but upon hearing that he had also reached the second level of the Solidification Realm, he was somewhat shocked. He himself was also at the second level of the Solidification Realm, but he was filled with curiosity about who was stronger and couldn't help but look forward to a contest with him, as well as settling old scores.

"The Solidification Realm?" Lin Yu slowly uttered five words. Seeing Lin Yu's confusion, Lin Yang mocked, "You don't know? Well, let me tell you. The Solidification Realm is the first realm of cultivation. I've already reached it. Looking at your delicate skin, you probably haven't even started cultivating yet. Do you dare to compete with me today and show me the power of the Solidification Realm?" As Lin Yang said this, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Okay," Lin Yu said unhurriedly. Lin Yang was delighted to hear Lin Yu's quick agreement, which was exactly what he had been thinking. At this moment, Lin Yang was filled with excitement, thinking to himself, "I always wanted to bully you before, but I always ended up being bullied by you. This time, let's see how I teach you a lesson in a fair and square way." His smile became even brighter.

“Since I am your second brother, it is not appropriate for me to make the first move. You should make the first move,” Lin Yang said to Lin Yu.

Seeing Lin Yang's affected manner, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel disdain for his behavior. After listening, he said indifferently, "Please enlighten me."

Lin Yang quickly got into position. Lin Yu didn't know any combat techniques at the moment; he had only raised his cultivation level to the second level of the Solid Body Realm, which greatly changed his physical strength. Looking at Lin Yang's stance, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. How could he possibly fight him?

Just as he was worrying, the old man's voice came from his mind, "Use the kind of boxing you used to practice, the kind called Tai Chi, to fight him. Although you haven't grasped the true essence of that boxing, it's more than enough to deal with him. Besides, he started practicing combat skills too early, and his foundation is unstable. He's really unworthy of the word 'combat skills.' His second level of the Body Solidification Realm must have been improved with someone's help. It's far inferior to your step-by-step improvement. So don't worry so much, just fight him with confidence."

Upon hearing the teacher say this, he began to perform the initial moves of Tai Chi.

Seeing Lin Yu display a strange and bizarre move, far inferior to his own combat skills—which he had begged his father to teach him and were naturally incredibly powerful—Lin Yang's face was filled with mockery. He then said to Lin Yu, "Make your move."

Lin Yu slowly walked towards Lin Yang, and slowly extended his right hand. Five faint lights were on his arm. When Lin Yang saw that Lin Yu was so slow, he was filled with joy and hurriedly stretched out his left hand to block. However, when Lin Yu's right hand came over, his left hand failed to block it and hit him hard. A sharp pain came from his body.

The palm strike that he thought would be easily blocked landed on him, filling him with intense humiliation. The earth element within Lin Yang's body formed a faint shield around him. Although it was not very clear, he could still feel the strong earth element gathering there. His arms emitted a faint red light, and wisps of flame emerged from his arms.

Seeing the changes in Lin Yang, Lin Yu thought to himself, "Could this be formed by using the innate elemental power within his body to guide the surrounding elements? It looks quite powerful." Lin Yu did not feel any fear, but was instead filled with excitement, stemming from the warlike emotions in his bones.

"Bang!" The sound of arms colliding reached Lin Yu's ears. "White Crane Soars to the Sky, Vine and Illusion Moon!" Lin Yang roared, instantly unleashing his cultivated combat technique towards Lin Yu. His fiery red arm collided with another white arm, and a slight burning sensation entered Lin Yu's arm. However, Lin Yu was unfazed. The pain he endured while cultivating under the waterfall could not stop him, and this was nothing compared to the pain he had experienced.

The slow and methodical attack frequency left Lin Yang helpless, as each attack was easily blocked. His own combat skills seemed to have no effect on Lin Yu. The opponent's body was like a piece of steel, and his palms ached slightly with each contact. Several attacks in a row had no effect, and Lin Yang was filled with anxiety.

What was supposed to be a quick battle turned into a long fight, but what happened next stunned Lin Yang.

During his battle with Lin Yang, Lin Yu seemed to have entered a mysterious state. His movements were like flowing water, continuous and uninterrupted. In this mysterious state, Lin Yu's body emitted a faint light, with five colors intertwined. Every time Lin Yang's right hand, imbued with fire element, struck Lin Yu, it would repel the fire element, causing no harm to Lin Yu whatsoever. Seeing this, Lin Yang immediately revealed a sense of despair.

Unwittingly, Lin Yang was knocked to the ground by Lin Yu's palm. Lying on the ground, he was panting heavily. When he saw Lin Yu coming, he immediately got up and ran away.

As soon as Lin Yu awoke from that mysterious state, he saw Lin Yang, who had gone far away, looking so disheveled, and a slight smile appeared on his face.