Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 124-Star Stream Lake Pt.13:The Second Trial

Ugh so I had this written on paper because I couldn't type it at the time and have been hating the thought of having to type it up while on vaca.  I feel so unmotivated spending Christmas on a plane again lol. I have some things planned for the New Years which I hope will go through so stay tuned. Happy holidays! Enjoy your break time! Thank you to all brothers and sisters who have walked The Nine Paths for 2 years now and those who will come to join the Dao!

Lineir was left gently falling into the sky and before he landed he made sure to dispatch the two golems wounded by friendly fire.

Lightning slash!

While frozen by their own side's attacks, the golems were extremely vulnerable. Lineir's attacks easily managed to penetrate their defenses and damage their chests as their primary defense, their arms, were disabled.His ranged slash shattered the ice restraining them and cut through the ice armor on their chests to break the core.

Whirrrr.....

The two machines slumped down and deactivated as Lineir landed upon the disabled hexagon.

Hong!

Right as Lineir retrieved Mizuchi he was forced to flee once again as the remaining 5 golems fired their beam attacks!

As he dodged he analyzed the position and attack pattern of the golems!

"Hmph" He snorted, "it's obvious the golems are trying to push me back and delay me. Additionally, the hexagons seem to come from the spots the golems avoid firing upon. If that's the case then..."

Flicker

Lineir blurred out of sight and reappeared atop one of the destroyed golems. The other golems tracked him and fired upon his new location. He ducked behind the gigantic body of the slain ice golems.

Hong! Hong! Hong!

The ice blasts hit the other side of the golem and rapidly froze the entire left side. When the sound of the beams ended Lineir jumped up onto the frozen golem body.

Wump!

The golem body rattled furiously as from below, a hexagon fired and jetted lava into the underside of the golem. Lineir up top was actually lifted off the ground as if he was surfing using the golem as a board!

Pssssssshhh

Lineir balanced atop with more grace than even the most experienced mortal fishermen. He rode the body like it was a ship astride a wave and then vaulted off at the highest point and sprinted away from the other golems.

Hong! Hong!

The numerous other golems rapidly fired after Lineir but he had broken their encirclement and even with the uncertainty of the hexagons firing he was able calculate paths up the mountain with his Madness Eyes!

Soon he had made it to a new section of the mountain.

"You have qualified to enter Ice Crown Hall as an Outer Court Disciple. Next is the Inner Disciple assessment. Good luck." The uncaring voice of the Estate Spirit spoke without letting Lineir have a word in edgewise.

"Spirit of the Estate, as I am already qualified, could I please leave and return now? I assure you, I definitely will be back once I have settled my other affairs!" Lineir tried to reason with the Estate Spirit but it was not listening.

"Let the 2nd trial begin!"

Another local portal opened up and Lineir was left with no choice but to walk in facing the Estate Spirit's silence. 

Shua Shua Shua

Endless snowflakes swirled around Lineir as he was placed inside of a raging blizzard. The cold immediately began to invade his body like a virus. His Flame Qi flared inside his Second Heart trying to burn the chill from his merideans.

Fuaaaaaaa

He soon realized that this test was very different from the last. The previous test would have been passable for many cultivators. It was simply a test of combat and evasive abilities. There were many ways to beat it. Even if one didn't have a strong cultivation base, or strong combat skills, perhaps they could use evasive techniques or other tactics to make up for it. It was a very open test of one's abilities. However, this test was clearly a test of one's endurance and Qi reserves! Without a certain level of cultivation, or a certain level of understanding of the Laws, it would be impossible to pass!

"Humph, my cultivation level may be low by the standards of the Higher Realms, but the Nine Path's of Asura is the strongest forbidden foundation. I have never feared a contest of endurance or willpower!" Lineir said something weird. Most cultivators would not have considered this a test of "willpower". Endurance yes, but if it got too cold to withstand, then most would definitely retreat rather than risk suffering at the hands of the cold Qi in the air. However, with this exclamation Lineir actually retracted his Flame Qi, letting the chill invade his bones. 

Ssssshhhhhhhiiiiiii

The freezing cold grabbing onto him could only be compared to the icy touch of a ghost. It was insidious and once inside, could not be dispelled! However, even when this fearsome cold invaded his body, Lineir did not react by pumping in Flame Qi. Instead, he continued to rotate his Second Heart slowly like a slow fire. If his body, blood, and marrow were a sort of pot and stew, then he was like a slow simmering pot of stew. The chill invaded his bones partway and froze his blood but due to the constant rotations of the Qi in his meridians, he avoided fatal injury.

It had to be said, this technique was something only a madman would try. Let alone try, it was something only  madman would dream up! Imagine how much people suffer and how many people would be willing to run without a shirt on a cold winter's day? How many had the willpower to exercise in even a little chill breeze? Yet here Lineir was actually risking his life! To allow your marrow and bones to continually hover on the brink of completely freezing, this would cause terrible damage to most cultivators. Only Lineir's foundation of an Undead Heart, Phoenix Fire, and The Nine Path's of Asura could withstand such a crazy method. It had to be said Lineir could not instantly regenerate like some specialized cultivators, but he could sustain massive damage without dying and even maintain near full combat power despite being what most people would consider half dead! He was simply extremely hard to kill!