Chapter 275: Alternative Intentions
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
With the sound of the voice, the entire room appeared to tremble as if it was going to collapse.
At that moment, Lin Feng experienced something strange. He felt as if he was caught in a world that was hot and cold at the same time. Extreme heat mingled with a biting freeze.
This feeling was strange as it was not simply a transition from cold to hot, which would be occasionally cold and occasionally hot. Instead, he felt both temperatures at the same time.
It was also not as if half of his body was cold and the other half hot. Rather, every single inch of his skin felt both hot and cold at the same time.
The cold was extremely cold. In the entirety of Lin Feng's life, the only thing that came close to it was the Xuanming Primordial Water.
Likewise, the heat was extremely hot. Lin Feng had never felt such heat before other than his experience before the few primordial fires.
The temperature in the room did not change at all. Everything felt as if his opponent had cast a spell on Lin Feng's soul. This cold and hot feeling appeared to be felt only by Lin Feng. The Blue Pavilion Holy Man next to him was oblivious.
However, the Blue Pavilion Holy Man soon realized that something was amiss. He snorted coldly, "Cao Wei of the Heaven Lake Sect."
Lin Feng was never at the receiving end of the spells of the Heaven Lake Sect before. Now that the Blue Pavilion Holy Man mentioned it, a name surfaced in his brain.
The Icy Fire Holy Man, Cao Wei, also known as the master of the Heaven Lake Sect.
The contingent of the Heaven Lake Sect that would be attending the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai was personally led by Cao Wei.
"Legend has it that the Heaven Lake Sect is based in a lake in the snowy mountains. Amidst the snowy plains an active volcano resides. No wonder he could cultivate such a weird spell that combines both fire and ice," said Lin Feng smilingly. He was familiar with the spell Cao Wei was casting on him.
The Blue Pavilion Holy Man's snow-white eyebrows danced slightly as he smiled.
If Lin Feng could not defeat Cao Wei, he did not mind helping. However, in that case, the debt he owed Lin Feng would be repaid.
Partners of different power levels could never be equals in a relationship. The stronger party would dominate the weaker one.
"The Celestial Sect of Wonders is indeed extraordinary," nodded the Blue Pavilion Holy Man in approval.
The room they were in was specially prepared by the Great Qin Empire for visitors to Yuzhou City. The environment was pleasant, and to expect it to resist the Immortal Soul stage Icy Fire Holy Man, Cao Wei, would be a joke.
Cao Wei's voice came into the room from the sky. It did not anger, but rather it was only icy cold. "I heart that disciples of your Celestial Sect of Wonders ranked first amongst equals."
"If that's the case, let's spar and determine if your Celestial Sect of Wonder could live up to its boast."
Before he had finished speaking, Lin Feng already felt a massive blast of mana.
Without exiting the room, Lin Feng could see a middle-aged man of average height in the sky. His head was wrapped in a turban and he wore a white robe, like a scholar. He wore a cloak made out of white wool and his gaze was fixated on Lin Feng.
When the two of them exchanged gaze, Lin Feng felt as if his gaze was deep like the ocean, still yet unpredictable.
Cao Wei's gaze was icy beyond belief, but within his icy gaze, a fiery emotion appeared to be burning.
His eyes were white like snow, like an arctic tundra. However, in the whites of his eyes, a fire burned.
The fire was not strong and appeared highly suppressed. When Lin Feng looked at the fire, it was as if he stood at the edge of a volcanic crater and he was staring down at it, looking at the gurgling lava.
Cao Wei said coldly, "The Celestial Sect of Wonders?"
Icy crystals suddenly appeared next to his body. They jumped relentlessly, like flickering flames.
Lin Feng, however, could see that these crystals were made from snow and ice. However, these crystals danced in the sky like fire and burned with intense heat.
Lin Feng thought in his heart, "Could this be their signature move, Icy Blaze?"
The most potent spell of the Heaven Lake Sect was known as the Dark Polar Blaze Mantra. Once one cultivates it successfully, he could cast both ice type spells and fire type spells, combining both for devastating effects.
"Is there something wrong with his brain?" Lin Feng thought. "Why is he spoiling for a fight? Does he not like me? Why does he want to fight for no good reason?"
Cao Wei's Icy Blaze only danced about him initially. Now, it filled the entire sky, enveloping the whole of Yuzhou City in it. An entire heaven's worth of burning fire and freezing ice came down on Lin Feng like a rain of fire.
Faced with the rain of fire, both Lin Feng and the Blue Pavilion Holy Man had to be careful. Every single drop of rain was akin to an ember, brimming with the powerful mana of an Immortal Soul stage cultivator and of course, highly destructive.
Lin Feng sat in the room, unmoving. He extended his right finger and made a grabbing motion in the air.
Instantly, the rain of fire in the sky disappeared.
Before them, a giant dimensional tear appeared, gurgling with chaos. Numerous strands of the Earth, Water, Fire and Wind spiritual energy churned within it, more ferocious than the rain of fire, as it devoured the latter.
The sky above Yuzhou City appeared to have been destroyed by Lin Feng's technique. The void then turned destructive, as it aimed its opening towards Cao Wei as the countless strands of spiritual energy within it rushed towards him as if it was about to eat him up.
Cao Wei's expression did not change. He nodded his head and made an incantation as he bellowed, "Seal!"
The Icy Blaze next to him began to dance. The original blazing hot temperature gradually decreased until it became freezing cold. The exterior of the Icy Blaze, which at first resembled ice and snow, turned into a white flame.
In comparison to the burning snow originally, the Icy Blaze was now a freezing flame. It now danced slowly, as if it was in slow motion. No longer a flickering flame, it gradually solidified.
As the flames danced, it froze the various spiritual energies charging towards it before reducing them to nothing.
Lin Feng looked calmly at Cao Wei and the thought, "Perhaps I should test my new spell on him?"
In the earlier clash, Cao Wei used two techniques to fight against one of Lin Feng's techniques and hence, appeared to be at a disadvantage. Taking into consideration how he appeared before Lin Feng brimming with ferocity, it would be hard for him to accept this humiliation.
Indeed, Cao Wei began to mutter under his breath as the Icy Blaze next to him morphed into the shape of a volcano. From within the volcano, a terrible power could be felt.
However, Lin Feng's eyebrows creased, not because his spell was too strong but instead, it was because this spell was too weak.
Its power was not weak, but it was cast too slowly. Once one had reached Cao Wei's level, one should be able to cast a spell with just a single word.
Now, while it appeared to be cast in an instant to passers-by, to Lin Feng the spell was indeed cast too slowly.
At this moment, a fat old man, doubling over in laughter, appeared between the two of them. He chortled happily, "The upcoming conference was meant for the disciples to spar. Why are two masters sparring now then?"
"Calm, calm, please. Please leave some face for the Great Qin. I beseech you."
Lin Feng smiled slightly, "Oh so it's the Vivant Joy Holy Man. How have you been?"
The Vivant Joy Holy Man smiled and said, "You are too kind, Master Lin."
He turned his head to Cao Wei and said, "Master Cao, long time no see."
While he had yet to see this person in real life before, Lin Feng had already made some efforts to understand the key players of the Great Qin Empire.
While this old man appeared to be a ball of joy, he was actually one of the core members of the Great Qin Empire, also known as the Vivant Joy Holy Man.
He was originally a scion of the royal family and had achieved the Immortal Soul stage a thousand years ago. Normally, he would be blissfully touring the land. However, whenever the Great Qin Empire had something on, he would render assistance
No one could have thought that he would attend the Spiritual Conference of Huanghai.
This discovery made Lin Feng slightly uneasy as he thought, "If the rarely-seen Vivant Joy Holy Man had been called upon, what about the other Immortal Soul stage cultivators of the Great Qin Empire? It appears that this Conference is not so simple and that the Great Qin Empire is after something bigger."
"Long time no see," Cao Wei said coldly to the Vivant Joy Holy Man. His eyes darted about as if he wanted to do something.
In that moment, two streaks of sword radiances suddenly split the sky. One landed on the Vivant Joy Holy Man's left, and the other on his right. The razor-sharp sword aura made both Lin Feng and Cao Wei uncomfortable.
"Does Master Cao want to massacre the entire Yuzhou City?" The person on the left, who looked handsome like Aeolus and as youthful and bright like a jade tree, said while laughing, his voice clear like the spring wind. "If the two of you were to actually fight, not only would Yuzhou City be destroyed but the whole of the northern region of the Great Qin Empire."
Lin Feng's and Cao Wei's eyes squinted as they said, "Sun Radiance Swordmaster?"
While the person appeared youthful, he was actually an Immortal Soul stage cultivator with thousands of years under his belt. He was one of the members of the Nine Heavenly Sword Alliance, the master of the Sun Moon Sword Sect, the Sun Radiance Swordmaster.
The disciples of the Sun Moon Sword Sect were paired up after they passed the Foundation Establishment stage as they chose their partners for life. One boy and one girl, one Yin and one Yang. While one practised the Sun Radiance Sword Manual, the other would practice the Lunar Glow Sword Manual as they complemented each other.
If one of them fell in battle, then they would be paired up with another disciple of the Sun Moon Sword Sect of a similar mastery who needed a partner too.
However, as it was extremely difficult to attain the Immortal Soul stage, only the Sun Radiance Swordmaster had managed to reach that stage. His partner was not so lucky. Hence, strictly speaking, he may be the only single person amongst every single cultivator above the Foundation Establishment stage in his sect.
After a thousand years, he was still waiting for his Lunar Glow Swordmaster.
The disciples of the Sun Moon Sword Sect could massively amplify their powers by fighting together. However, if they were to fight alone, their powers too were not diminished in any way. As the swordmaster of the Sun Moon Sword Sect, the Sun Radiance Swordmaster was in no way weaker than the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster.
The person on the right of the Vivant Joy Holy Man was the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster whom Lin Feng had met before. He did not say anything. Without even looking at Cao Wei, his gaze fell upon Lin Feng as he contemplated what to say.
The Vivant Joy Holy Man laughed, "As the host, I beg that the both of you show me some face."
Lin Feng smiled as if nothing happened, "Then, we shall listen to the host." Since he did not lose out on much, he was actually quite willing.
Furthermore, through his observations, he realized that Cao Wei's coming today was not simply a matter of him spoiling for a fight. He appeared to have alternate intentions, and under these circumstances, he did not want Cao Wei to get what he wanted.
Cao Wei, who hovered in the sky, looked at the Vivant Joy Holy Man. Then, he looked at the Sun Radiance Swordmaster and the Supreme Radiance Swordmaster. He nodded his head coldly, "After the conference, we shall settle it."
With the arrival of the host, Lin Feng and the Blue Pavilion Holy Man no longer found it apt to sit in the room. They stood up and flew into the sky. Facing the many Immortal Soul stage cultivators, the Vivant Joy Holy Man laughed happily, "The Spiritual Conference of Huanghai is about to begin as we had reached the official opening date. Everyone, please follow me to the Sea of the Northern Wind."
Lin Feng smiled and nodded his head. As he was about to agree, he thought of something, "F*ck, those clowns are still fooling around!"