However, after entering the area ahead with full confidence for half an hour, Zhang Yinli’s face finally changed as his confidence crumbled.
This was because he realized that Ou Yangming did not sneak an attack on him as before, and had really disappeared. Ou Yangming was nowhere to be found.
Various thoughts crossed Zhang Yinli’s mind right away, and his forehead was covered in beads of sweat.
‘Did Ou Yangming take advantage of me getting used to the regularity of our battles by secretly escaping out of the dense forest? Or was he so unlucky that he entered a powerful spirit beast’s territory when he escaped through the Blood Light Art, and ended up getting eaten by the beast?
‘It’s fine if it’s the latter, but if it’s the former…’
Zhang Yinli was in a terrible mood. He carefully studied the different traces in front of him as he wanted to find Ou Yangming’s track.
He vaguely identified Ou Yangming’s path through some small details, so he quickly sped up to hurry in that direction.
After walking for an unknown period of time, Zhang Yinli suddenly stopped. His body tensed up as he looked at his surroundings because he faintly sensed a formidable aura that was locked on him.
He slowly straightened his body and said coldly, “Ou Yangming, are you not going to come out?”
Zhang Yinli was somewhat at ease once he sensed the aura because he recognized that it belonged to Ou Yangming. It turned out that the young fellow neither suffered misfortune nor escaped; he was waiting for him here.
Following that, a figure walked out from behind a big tree. It was the Ou Yangming that Zhang Yinli was familiar with.
Ou Yangming did not look much better than Zhang Yinli as he looked battered as well. That said, their eyes were still radiant, as though the suffering throughout the seven days had not consumed their willpower, but sharpened it instead
Zhang Yinli came to a sudden realization when he noticed the look in Ou Yangming’s eyes, so he asked, “Are you… Not planning to escape anymore?”
Ou Yangming answered proudly, “Escape? Heh, I’ve waited too long for this day!”
Zhang Yinli responded sternly, “Okay, if that’s the case, let’s fight till one of us dies!”
A Yang Grade powerhouse actually told a Force Grade martial artist that they would fight till one of them died. If this actually happened during a normal situation, they would definitely be laughed at.
Nevertheless, at this moment, whether it was the person who said it or the person opposite him, they both had a grave expression on their face and did not treat it as a joke at all. This was because they had exchanged dozens of blows over the course of seven days. Through the frequent battles, they had recognized each other’s strong combat power, as well as the resolution to never give up.
They both knew that the person opposite them was the strongest opponent they had met in their lives thus far.
Both of them needed to get past this stage to continue living their life.
A flash of sword-light was seen as Zhang Yinli transformed into an intense light that zoomed out. If a person who was familiar with him were present at the moment, that person would surely make a shocking discovery that his power, speed, and attack angle seemed to be different from before.
In the past seven days, Ou Yangming was not the only one who underwent significant stimulation, Zhang Yinli had also benefited greatly.
Despite that, Zhang Yinli would have never believed before this that he could learn so many useful things from an unimportant Force Grade martial artist.
“Ding—”
When the saber and the sword clashed, essential Qi surged and gushed out of the urumi.
Ou Yangming would stagger each time this happened, but it was different this time. While his body fell backward, his feet were still rooted to the ground, they had not moved an inch.
Subsequently, saber-lights were seen flickering as he slashed at Zhang Yinli from different angles. Besides, the saber seemed to have come to life in Ou Yangming’s hands as it could always find the weak point on the sword no matter how the urumi moved. Each attack was aimed at Zhang Yinli’s arm, so Zhang Yinli could not perform his attacks well.
They were in a deadlock for some time before Zhang Yinli realized that he was stuck in a trap of his own devising.
As he roared, a sword-light as cold as snow attacked Ou Yangming regardless of the situation.
Each time he performed this technique that would cause both sides to perish together, Ou Yangming was forced to back away.
However, Ou Yangming showed no impression of weakness this time. His saber-light turned into a sea, wave after wave of tides surged to block Zhang Yinli’s sword intent.
Zhang Yinli flew backward and leaned his back against a big tree. His eyes were filled with shock and despair.
“Yin Grade… Martial artist!” He uttered slowly.
After all, Ou Yangming was someone who had fathomed the integration of Heaven and man. Therefore, if he was given 4 taels of power, he could seize the opportunity to move 500 kilograms of weight. His Force Grade cultivation base was nothing close to 4 taels of power when he first went against Zhang Yinli.
After advancing to Yin Grade, Ou Yangming’s essential Qi changed wonderfully.
His essential Qi that carried a soft Yin property was more than ten times better in quality than the Essential Qi Light. In particular, its resisting ability could not be compared with its past state anymore.
By relying on the Yin Grade essential Qi, Ou Yangming finally officially possessed 4 taels of power.
Although Zhang Yinli’s attack was still mighty, as long as Ou Yangming could defend against it once, he could disintegrate the second and the third by using Heaven and Earth’s power.
This was the wonderful effect of the integration of Heaven and man. Countless powerhouses greatly desired this, but had never achieved it.
“That’s right, Yin Grade essential Qi.” The saber-light in Ou Yangming’s hand flashed as he showed a look of contempt. “Without the pressure from you, I had no idea how long it would take for me to break through. Hehe, speaking of which, I should really thank you!”
Zhang Yinli’s face turned cold, and he did not know what to feel.
He had been giving Ou Yangming enormous pressure when he hunted him down, but had not expected the fellow to utilize said pressure to become stronger. Just when Zhang Yinli thought he had benefited from this process, the young fellow had actually advanced to Yin Grade.
Zhang Yinli forced himself to suppress the fear and sneered. “You’ve just broken through to Yin Grade, are you going to fight me already?”
“Fight you? You’re wrong, I didn’t lure you here to fight you, instead…” Ou Yangming laughed out loud, and eventually spoke in a fierce and chilly manner, “I’m going to kill
you!”
Following that, he leaped up high, and seemed to have turned into a giant blade that slashed down.
Zhang Yinli raised his eyebrows but was secretly happy. ‘Ou Yangming must’ve lost his mind after advancing to a high grade, how dare he fight force with force against me?’
He quickly channeled his essential Qi to the tip of his sword before he attacked.
The young fellow was too threatening, so Zhang Yinli was determined not to let him get away anymore.
Nonetheless, Zhang Yinli suddenly realized after stabbing with his sword that he had missed. Ou Yangming, who had jumped high into the air, had disappeared.
‘Where did the young fella go?’
This was the first thought that crossed Zhang Yinli’s mind.
Afterward, he felt a painful sensation on his arm. When he lowered his head to look, he noticed his right hand, which was holding the treasure sword, had been slashed from the elbow, and fell to the ground. A substantial amount of blood splattered out of where his arm was chopped off.
The immense pain was finally registered in Zhang Yinli’s mind, and he shrieked painfully as a result.
&
nbsp; Next, Ou Yangming flashed out again, and a blood light was seen on his body for a split second.
The Blood Flight Art.
After advancing to Yin Grade, Ou Yangming’s greatest gain was not the change in his essential Qi, but he was finally able to have perfect control over the Blood Flight Art.
Though plenty of Qi and blood was still required for the art, once he was able to fully control it, the might that could be unleashed rose to a greater and an unbelievable height.
The fact that Ou Yangming had grasped the Blood Flight Art and could perform the integration of Heaven and man in his blood technique allowed him to produce the miraculous effect in an instant.
“This slash is for Jiang Chengwei!” Ou Yangming said coldly to Zhang Yinli, who groaned in pain.
Zhang Yinli stopped to glare at Ou Yangming hatefully, then lowered his body to escape without any hesitation.
Nevertheless, Ou Yangming scoffed, and the blood light appeared again.
“This slash is for Lin Chao!”
“This slash it for Little Shan!”
“This slash is for my first brother in the military!”
“This slash is for my second brother in the military!”
“My brothers in Heaven, look, I’ve taken revenge for you!”
Blood filled the air, and flashes of saber-lights were seen. Zhang Yinli’s head flew to the sky, then fell to the ground amidst the blood.
His eyes were left widened, making it clear that he had not died in peace.
That being said, nobody knew that, other than pain and fear, those eyes were actually filled with regret too.
Chapter 98 - Reaping Spoils Of The Battle
Ou Yangming’s body swayed slightly. After killing Zhang Yinli with the final slash, he seemed to be dispirited as his body was on the verge of collapsing. He held his forehead while slowly squatting down, and grimaced in pain because his temples were somewhat hurting, as though something was going to emerge from it. Of course, no signs could be seen if one only looked at his outer appearance.
Ou Yangming knew that he was feeling this because he had overused his mental power.
He had 20 points of mental power, which was much more than his other attributes. This was why he could smith explosive arrows, achieve the state of the integration of Heaven and man, and control the power during the Blood Flights.
Nonetheless, there was a price to pay for using his mental power. In particular, the mental power consumed during the Blood Flight was not at all lesser than what was needed to perform appraisal art. If Ou Yangming wanted to control the skill while moving at the speed of light, greater mental power was required.
Throughout the pursuit and flight of these past few days, though they both took breaks in between, the short periods were insufficient for Ou Yangming to restore his mental power to peak condition.
Therefore, when he insisted on killing Zhang Yinli after just arriving at Yin Grade, there was a mental power backlash.
After sitting quietly for some time, the splitting headache slowly went away. That said, Ou Yangming felt extremely sleepy, and wanted very badly to sleep for three days and three nights. Nevertheless, he knew that he would likely become a wild beast’s meal if he did that, and would never wake up anymore.
Hence, Ou Yangming inhaled deeply to circulate an ice-cold gas between his nasal cavity, his thorax, and his stomach. He did that to squeeze every ounce of energy from his body.
At this moment, Ou Yangming missed the fearsome yet powerful half-spirit beast very much.
The Devouring attribute was extremely effective, but he realized that the ability could only be used to replenish his Qi, blood, and energy. A wild beast’s flesh and blood could not be used to recover his mental power.
Ou Yangming could only recover his mental power if he absorbed energy from a half-spirit beast’s flesh and blood, it could even be improved. Needless to say, if a half-spirit beast actually showed up right now, the first thing he would do was escape.
He was not mad enough to challenge a half-spirit beast on his own.
After curbing his thoughts, Ou Yangming forced himself to gather his energy. The Military Fire burned as he swung his wrist, and he attached the Devouring attribute onto his military saber once more. Ou Yangming had purposely cast the attribute aside when he exchanged blows with Zhang Yinli earlier because he wanted to preserve his head.
When he took the head and looked at the man’s hideous face, he suddenly realized that he was not appalled at all, but in high spirits.
Ou Yangming was slightly moved. He recalled what Zhang Yinli had said, so he began searching his dead body for some time. Ou Yangming’s eyes soon lit up because he found some things. Apart from some gold and silver notes, he discovered some treasures.
The most valuable one among them was probably the Fire-absorbing Badge.
This was the second Fire-absorbing Badge that Ou Yangming had seen. It was still in the same form, but he activated his Military Fire right away to absorb the Devouring attribute as he knew very well how terrifying the badge was. Once the badge lost the attribute, it turned into ashes and disappeared.
It seemed like the Fire-absorbing Badge only existed to store the Devouring attribute, thus once the ability disappeared, its body was gone too.
Other than the badge, Ou Yangming also found a robe and a pair of leather boots.
The robe was rather odd as it felt extremely tough, unlike normal robes. The sleeves, that were heavy and layered, would seem like two long whips if they were flapped. Unfortunately, due to the slashes from a military saber at the peak of High Grade, the robe was already ripped and could be considered worthless.
As for the leather boots, Ou Yangming was pretty shocked.
They were actually a rare piece of Good Grade equipment.
In actual fact, Ou Yangming had smithed countless pieces of equipment by now. He was starting to make little of High Grade Attribute Equipment, let alone those that were of Good Grade.
However, this was his first time stumbling upon a pair of leather boots.
As his Military Fire burned, the boot’s attributes appeared in his head.
[Item: Outstanding leather boot (Red)]
(Equivalent Rank: Ordinary Tool, Good Grade, Rank Three]
[Attributes: Toughness +8, Agility +1] Overall, the leather boots had 2 points of Agility.
It was not impressive because it was similar to what his greaves contained, but these were leather boots, which were not included in a normal soldier’s equipment set. If Ou Yangming could grasp the method to refine leather boots, would he not gain another type of equipment?
Despite that, Ou Yangming could not find the key to produce leather boots no matter how he studied the ones in his hands.
It was not strange at all because it was not easy for someone from a certain trade to comprehend something from a different trade. If he could actually grasp the technique by taking a few looks at the boots, he would be considered a deity instead of a human.
That being said, Ou Yangming could confirm after seeing the leather boots that the type of equipment existed in the world. Since that was the case, there was a place where boots were produced, and he could possibly learn the way they were made.
Apart from that, Zhang Yinli carried some small items too, but they did not catch Ou Yangming’s attention.
Honestly, a Yang Grade powerhouse should not be carrying only these items. However, Zhang Yinli was attacking a Force Grade martial artist, and as smart as he was, he could not have expected to encounter a madman like Ou Yangming. Thus, he set out conveniently instead of being fully equipped.
Who knew, the person whom he had only treated like an ant or a clam turned out to be a hungry wolf.
In the end, he ended up worse off from trying to gain an advantage. Not only did he fail to capture Ou Yangming, but he also gave up his life.
Ou Yangming cleaned up the area, then pondered while sitting beside the corpse.
He had exposed many of h
is weaknesses and shortcomings throughout the battle, which was something he needed to fix.
While he had the experience of going deep into the dense forest, and had fought against many people, he had never really been in a life-or-death battle other than the time he went all out against Zhang Hanyu. Hence, when Zhang Yinli suddenly appeared and killed many soldiers at the speed of light, Ou Yangming actually panicked and was on the brink of falling apart.
It was true that his waist sash carried two unique skills, and he was extremely confident about escaping, which was why he returned to the scene instead of abandoning his horse to escape when the horse went crazy. That being said, Ou Yangming was actually hesitant back then.
If he had been decisive and fierce, perhaps the outcome would have been different, whether he fought bravely or decided to flee right away.
As for when his arms were broken by Zhang Yinli after he fell off the horse, it was his biggest mistake.
If Ou Yangming faced the attack steadily instead of being panicked, based on his magical state of the integration of Heaven and man, how could he have been injured by one kick?
It was the result of mercy from Zhang Yinli, who wanted to interrogate Ou Yangming to find out the Fire-absorbing Badge’s whereabouts. If Zhang Yinli had thought about killing Ou Yangming from the start, Ou Yangming would have likely died without being given the chance to turn the tables.
At the end of the day, Ou Yangming concluded that he lacked combat experience, which caused a series of mistakes. He could not help but feel guilty and ashamed after thinking about it carefully.
Nonetheless, nobody knew everything the moment they were born. Wisdom came from experience.
Ou Yangming learned his lesson from the unforeseen event. If something similar occurred in the future, he would definitely face it differently.
His eyes twitched a little as he suddenly heard soft voices coming from a bush.
He had not buried Zhang Yinli’s corpse after killing him, and had not transformed the man’s flesh and blood into Qi and blood for his own use.
Transforming a human’s flesh and blood? It was actually something unacceptable to Ou Yangming. Unless he came across a special situation like the one with Zhang Hanyu, he would rather spend his energy on killing ferocious beasts as he was unwilling to regain Qi and blood by using the flesh and blood of his kind.
Immortal Path to Heaven c1-725 Page 58
