PAINTING OF THE NINE IMMORTALS

25

"Do you dare to come down here and face death?"
His voice was calm with a trace of dominance. Everyone at the arena fell silent in that instant.
Who was crazier?
The one who said do you dare to come up and battle?
Or the one who said do you dare to come down and face death?
Who's there to judge who's better than the other?
Pairs of eyes gazed toward Ling Xian's direction, all of them were full of admiration. The blood in these people's bodies was boiling after what Ling Xian had said. The collateral siblings who had been bullied and lived in the shadows of these elites were especially agitated and almost screamed to support him.
The opponent was the youth leader of the Ling clan. A genius youth with sixth level qi. How many people dared to talk to him this way?
On the stage, the leaders of the Ling clan were astounded as well. With their training, they could easily hear the conversation between Ling Chen and Ling Xian. They did not expect Ling Chen would choose to ruin Ling Xian's reputation under everyone's gape.
"Ling Chen is going too far," Ling Tian Xiang said in a frosty tone.
"Yes, he took it too far." Ling Tian Qing's face was as heavy as water. He has been so busy taking care of the administration duties of the clan, that he overlooked his beloved children's disciplines and manners. Seeing Ling Chen's disrespectable arrogance today, his heart pinched.
How could someone like that be the clan leader one day?
"Third brother, let's put this to a stop."
"Big brother, I want to see if Ling Xian can truly defeat the Tidal Sword Technique. If he can't, then he deserves to lose his reputation. He is merely a collateral sibling, why should we care? Why kill our nephew's good mood by calling off the fight?" Ling Tian Ao smiled eerily.
Ling Tian Qing frowned. He was just about to argue when Ling Tian Xiang's cold laughter interrupted him. She stared at the third elder with her beautiful eyes. She wanted Ling Xian to teach this man a lesson. "Third brother, I want to take you on for a bet. Do you dare?"
"Haha, if little sis you are interested, of course, I will take you on." Ling Tian Ao became curious. "What kind of bet were you thinking of little sis?"
"I bet that Ling Xian will defeat Ling Chen within three moves," Ling Tian Xiang said very confidently.
"It seems that you place a lot of trust in the fella, but he only has a qi level of five. Even if he really can break down the Tidal Sword Technique, he cannot compete with Ling Chen. Let alone defeating him in merely three moves?" Ling Tian Ao was surprised and unsure from where Ling Tian Xiang's confidence was coming.
"You don't need to worry about why I am so certain. Just tell me straight, do you dare to take on the bet with me?" Ling Tian Xiang giggled again.
"Haha, what's there to be afraid of?" Ling Tian Ao roared with laughed. "Then I will bet that Ling Chen will defeat Ling Xian in less than three moves."
"Good. I heard that you have recently acquired a purple and green meteorite. Why not use that as the wager?" Ling Tian Xiang's eyes flashed with cunningness. "As for me... I will bet with the quasi-instrument our father gave me. What do you think?"
"This..." Ling Tian Ao was a little reluctant. A purple and green meteorite was priceless because it was an ingredient required to construct an eighth-ranked instrument. He only acquired it out of sheer luck, and therefore he was hesitant to give it up.
Then he remembered that there was no way he could lose, and recalled that Ling Tian Xiang had a quasi-instrument precious enough to make anyone drool. He was getting greedy, and so he bit his tongue and said, "alright. Let's make the bet."
"Little sis, that quasi-instrument was given by father for you to protect yourself with and it is extremely valuable. Are you sure you want to bet with that?" Ling Tian Qing asked.
"I have made up my mind." Ling Tian Xiang peeked at the overpowering Ling Xian below the stage. The complex emotion she felt towards him overwhelmed her again. "Let us wait and see."
In the first battle ring, Ling Chen was stunned. After a long while, he finally absorbed what Ling Xian had said. His anger was three inches high, and he gritted his teeth. "You... You... You are a presumptuous handicap! Are you that eager to die?"
"Do you dare to come down here and face death?"
Ling Xian repeated himself; his tone remained dominant.
Facing Ling Chen's endless provocation, he chose to ignore them. He was not afraid of him; he simply did not want to get tangled with the drama. However, Ling Chen only pressed him harder and was unable to identify right from wrong.
If that was the case, then there was no more reason to back off and ignore him. There was one thing left to do.
Fight!
It wasn't as if Ling Xian had no pride. It was simply that after years of hardships, all of his pride was grinded into dust.
He too used to enjoy others' admiration and did not understand how to be humble. However, because he never had the abilities needed fulfill this mentality, he suffered greatly.
Nowadays, he has long shed the pride that engulfed him. He was now humble and down to earth. However, like a sword, as soon as someone forces him out of his sheath, he will shine bright and demonstrate his sharpness.
Ling Chen, drowning in anger at this point, screamed, "you handicap! I will shred all your reputation and torture you until you want to die!"
"Cut the cr*p. Get down here and get killed!" Ling Xian took one step forward. His white robe whistling, and black hair dancing.
"Dammit!" Ling Chen's eyes were spewing with fire. He could no longer keep his fury under control. His left hand held onto his Qing sword and his right hand formed a hand-seal. He was activating the strongest technique he knew - one of the fatal moves from the Tidal Sword Technique.
"Thousand Tidal Waves!"
Lights reflected off the blade as the tip of the sword sliced through the sky. A Thousand rays of light reflected out of the sword with each ray sharp enough to slash open the heaven and the earth. Its speed was as fast as the wind, its damage as severe as fire, and its presence as jolting as thunder!
Ling Xian's expression turned serious. He awakened his Eyes of Execution. Immediately, the endless rays stagnated. Its weaknesses and flaws were clearly displayed.
"It's here!"
A wave of tyrannical energy burst out of his body. Ling Xian's eyes were sparkling, and his movement was heroic like an honorable Immortal.