Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-342-30041322

When Lu Ping’s swordsmanship was approaching the stage of a great sword divine ability, he had started studying the [River Unification Ocean Sword Art]. The sword arts in the [North Ocean Twelve Ultimates] were all linked together and their powers increased with one another. As a result, the [Green Jiao Sea Haunting Art] wasn’t the only one that had reached the stage of a mini divine ability.

In other words, to practice the [River Unification Ocean Sword Art], Lu Ping had to first train the other sword arts to the stage of mini divine abilities. Otherwise, there would be always be weak spots, preventing him from practicing the [River Unification Ocean Sword Art].

Just as Li Xuan-Liang evaded the Kui Water Yin Lightning, the Sword Jiao rolled in mid-air and exploded into 1296 spiritual sword lights. Then, like a river, the sword lights rushed towards Li Xuan-Liang.

Another mini divine ability!

This time, not only were the Li Clan members shaking in fear, even the Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters that were spectating with their divine revelations were also feeling shocked.

The lightning strike, the giant light sword, the spiritual sword Jiao, and the sword river, these represented four different mini divine abilities!

Since when was an Early Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master able to practice so many mini divine abilities? This was uncommon even amongst Mid Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters!

The sword river’s power was much stronger than the [True Origin One Essence Sword Art] and the [Green Jiao Sea Haunting Art]. This was because it was from the combination of the [Great River Eastward Sword Art] and [Thousand Stacks of Snow Sword Art], forming the largest foundation for Lu Ping’s progress towards a great sword divine ability.

As the person facing the sword river, Li Xuan-Liang immediately felt the immense power in the attack causing his face to turn pale white.

Li Xuan-Liang didn’t care about teaching Lu Ping a lesson anymore since he was clearly the one that was getting lectured. Lu Ping’s four mini divine abilities had made him realize that he wasn’t even a match for the young man who had cultivated for far fewer years.

As their weapons clashed, Li Xuan-Liang’s nascent mystic treasure quivered and was pushed to the verge of breaking, so he quickly recalled it. As it was returning, the sword river slammed into Li Xuan-Liang’s shield mystic treasure.

Crack…—

The sword river first broke through Li Xuan-Liang’s mini protective divine ability, hit the shield, and then caused it to crack.

At the same time, a loud buzzing noise was heard as the island’s protective formation was restored. Immediately, Li Xuan-Liang let out a sigh of relief.

The reason he hadn’t evaded the sword river and had taken the brunt of the attack was mainly because the island’s protective formation was down. If he evaded the attack, the spiritual sword lights would bombard the island and damage its properties, which he didn’t want to see happening.

Even though he now knew that he wasn’t a match for Lu Ping, he still had to uphold his duty as the clan head.

Now that the island’s protective formation had been restored, Li Xuan-Liang no longer had to take Lu Ping’s attacks head-on, giving him more room and opportunities.

Immediately, Li Xuan-Liang moved to the side while recalling the turtle-shell shield mystic treasure that was gradually breaking against the sword river.

Whilst Lu Ping could control the sword river to continue chase after Li Xuan-Liang, he didn’t want to. Instead, he pretended to be barely able to control the sword river, bending it slightly as if he was trying to pursue Li Xuan-Liang unsuccessfully, causing the sword river to strike the island’s protective formation again.

Dongg—

Inside the Li Clan’s Ancestral Hall, Li Cheng had just replaced the hundreds of mid-grade spirit stones and a dozen high-grade spirit stones in the formation chassis and restored the protective formation. But right after, he heard a loud rumble in the sky as more than half of the spirit stones exploded into dust once again.

"What?!"

Li Cheng exclaimed in shock and took half a step back. Fear gradually creeped into his heart, as he murmured, "What is this power… The protective formation almost broke with just one attack…?"

Previously, Lu Ping had only broken the protective formation with three consecutive mini divine abilities, but this time, he brought the formation close to breaking with just one hit.

In the sky above Flying Lightning island, the battle had stopped after three Core Forging Realm Enlightened Masters appeared between Lu Ping and Li Xuan-Liang.

Lu Ping smiled mockingly at them. Thanks to his abnormally powerful divine revelation, he had already sensed their arrival when he first broke the island’s protective formation. In similar situations, having a stronger divine revelation really proved to be advantageous, especially against hidden dangers.

When the three Enlightened Masters came out of hiding, Li Xuan-Liang’s spirit was visibly boosted, but he quickly turned red in anger and embarrassment. They were clearly allies, but he had also realized that they must have been hiding and watching all this time. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have all appeared at the same time.

"Haha, Junior Nephew Lu sure is worthy of being Senior Sister Liu Tian-Ling’s disciple; what exceptional prowess to fight squarely with Junior Brother Li. Give martial uncle some face and let’s count this as a draw, what do you say?"

Li Xuan-Liang was furious. He opened his mouth, but he didn’t know which angle he could take to claim to be victorious in this fight.

On the other hand, Lu Ping just looked at them with a strange smile on his face. According to the man who had just spoke, he was a generation older, so according to the customs, he had to show his respects.

Hence, Lu Ping politely clasped his hands together, and greeted, "Chong Hua Palace’s Lu Xuan-Ping greets junior uncle. Forgive junior for not being able to recognize you. May I know your good name? I will be sure to pay a visit in the future."

The man smiled, "I’m Xuan-Yun, my cave-dwelling is named after me."

"Junior Uncle Xuan-Yun. Oh, I’ve heard my senior sisters mention you before, I’ve finally met you in person today."

Lu Ping wasn’t afraid of Xuan-Yin at all.

According to his senior martial sisters, Xuan-Yun was someone whose cultivation journey had stopped in the Mid Core Forging Realm. He lacked the potential to go further, and also lacked the determination to test his limits.

Hence, it wasn’t surprising that he focused on being an opportunist. He began to weave his own social network with the hope that he could secure a higher position in the sect, whilst also collecting wealth for his descendants and himself.

In reality, cultivators like him weren’t uncommon in sects. Although they rarely rose to the top positions, they were most suitable to deal with smaller clans and parties that were under the sects’ protection. Sometimes, they acted as bridges, connecting the upper and lower strata together; sometimes, they were nothing more than just parasites to the sect.

When Lu Ping mentioned that his senior martial sisters had talked about Xuan-Yun before, he was implying that despite the fact that Xuan-Yun was a generation older, his status in the sect was actually only equal to the senior martial sisters, and hence, the same as him. Xuan-Yun was nowhere close in status compared to Great Ancestor Liu Tian-Ling.

Xuan-Yun immediately understood the meaning behind Lu Ping’s words. He was furious, but also embarrassed, because what Lu Ping had implied was true. In fact, his status in the sect was actually not as important as Lu Ping’s status.

Lu Ping smiled calmly and stopped the topic there; a subtle hint was enough as pressing further would only make him more enemies. Then he said, "Junior Uncle Xuan-Yun, we will call it a draw."

Li Xuan-Liang and the other Li Clan members released a long sigh of relief, while Xuan-Yun also appeared to be relieved. However, through this battle, Lu Ping had established his prestige in the sect as a cultivator equivalent to a Mid Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master. Hence, Xuan-Yun and the other Mid Core Forging seniors could no longer treat him like a junior.

In fat, it was a very one-sided battle. So, there was nothing the Li Clan could do but be grateful that Lu Ping was willing to call it a draw.

However, little did they know, there were other Enlightened Masters watching the battle with their divine revelations. They had no obligations to hide the details, and so in time, everyone would know the truth. By then, not only would the Li Clan be looked down upon, the three Enlightened Masters who stepped in to make the battle a draw would also be belittled.

This was exactly what Lu Ping wanted. The battle had occurred because of the spirit veins that the Li Clan had stole from Huang Li Island, but this reason wasn’t suitable to be disclosed.

However, if he could divert the public’s attention to the outcome of the battle, the pressure would then be all on the Li Clan and the three Enlightened Masters. This way, not only would he get to vent his anger on Li Clan, he would also get to tarnish their reputations.

Lu Ping then looked at the other two Enlightened Masters that had arrived with Xuan-Yun, and said, "If I may ask, are the two seniors also from the sect?"

The two Enlightened Masters were taken back by the question. They exchanged a glance with each other, before the one of the left said, "We aren’t official disciples that have a cave-dwelling on Tian Ling Mountain. I’m the Yuan Clan’s Elder Yuan Xuan-Su, and this is the Lin Clan’s Grand Elder Lin Xuan-Han."

Lu Ping smiled, "Oh, clan elders, Xuan-Ping is honored to meet you two."

The two clan elders quickly returned the pleasantries. Even though they seemed polite and kind, it was just a guise from two cunning old foxes. When they had looked at each other just now, they both saw the ruthlessness in each other’s eyes. Clearly, they both knew about the resentment between Lu Ping and their clans.

Back then, Lu Ping was just an ordinary Blood Condensation Realm disciple, and Liu Xuan-Ling was an Enlightened Master. Who could foresee that in just a few years he would become powerful enough to stand against them on his own.

What’s more, at this rate, he would soon overtake them. Not to mention that after this battle, he would be heavily valued by the Zhen Ling Sect and would be given the best treatment to aid his cultivation progress.

Additionally, he also had another identity as an official disciple of Great Ancestor Liu Tian-Ling, as well as an esteemed Master Alchemist!

In simple terms, the value of a Master Alchemist was close to that of an Avatar Realm Great Ancestor. As a result, from this identity alone, the sect would ensure his safety and provide adequate protection. Furthemore, the other alchemists would also protect their own to ensure the welfare of the entire group.

In short, as much as the clans wanted to get rid of this looming threat, Lu Ping was now untouchable.

As Lu Ping had achieved his goal, he had no reason to linger. After exchanging some pleasantries, he excused himself and left.

The Li Clan’s clan head, Yuan Clan’s elder, Lin Clan’s grand elder, and Xuan-Yun looked at each other quietly, not knowing what to say. A few moments later, Xuan Yun said, "He has secured the upper hand, we should discuss a plan in Junior Brother Xuan-Liang’s residence."

…

A day later, news about the battle spread wildly in the sect, and then across the whole North Ocean. Following that, stories about Lu Ping also began to spread and his profile appeared on the tables of the heads of intelligence divisions in the North Ocean sects.

The return of a missing disciple who came back as a Third Layer Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master, displaying three mini sword divine abilities and one mini lightning divine ability. What’s more, he seemed to have not even used his full strength in that battle.

All of a sudden, Lu Ping became a rising star in his generation. Then, he entered the list of North Ocean Prodigies at Rank 34, "Lu Ping the Water Sword Immortal".

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Editor: Immortal BloodRogue