Nine Paths of Asura-Original Wuxia

Chapter 182-The Black Heart

Yea that's right. Increased updates. I might even consider daily if you guys manage to break 100 unique viewers daily. Hahaha like that's going to happen.

"Where have I felt this before?" He thought as he spun and blocked with the black blade. A ball of Darkness and Water Qi rushed at him and he quickly did something he normally would not and channeled Flame Qi into the Darkness Blade. The flaming sword and the ball of dense dark water met and exploded as the blade parted through the ball! Lineir felt his feet slide back on the bridge as he was almost blasted off the bridge! This beast was on a different level than the last two! Vaguely he caught sight of a head with its maw opened in the water.

"The terror beast from Star Stream Lake? Or perhaps a cousin?" He wondered as he saw the familiar shape. "No...the ones in Star Stream Lake could not attack with energy blasts. This one must be mature." He narrowed his eyes. Though he was far stronger than when he had encountered this species of Magical Beast he still felt an instinctual fear having used these very beasts to absolutely destroy an aboriginal sect. They were extremely powerful and in the water practically invincible to those below the Celestial Realm. In numbers, even Celestial Realm warriors would struggle in the water and be consumed by stronger members of their species.

"A bit challenging..." Lineir admitted but even still, now that he knew the threat he wasn't overtly worried. He had fought these before after all unlike the previous two monsters so he had some idea of their capabilities. "Looks like this monster is smart though. It wants to wear me down from a distance and sneak attacks from the water. Very well, let's fight a ranged battle."

He drew his sword back, waiting for a hint of motion. His head was slowly sweeping from side to side, his eyes taking in all directions.

Boom!

The Darkness Ball was spat out at him again. As expected it came from behind him. Though the beast had some intelligence it could be predicted. Whipping around he cleaved apart the Darkness Ball and then the Reverse Edge of the black blade glowed and reshaped at a molecular level into an incredibly sharp line.

Reverse Lightning Slash!

The Lightning Qi went over the water and smashed into the Terror Beast which was trying to retreat into the water. It roared and scrambled wildly as its muscles were shocked and became temporarily unresponsive for a moment. Then Lineir locked eyes with it and whirled in the air kicking out once-twice!

Blast Cross Kick!

A flaming cross flew into the air as the murky black eyes of the Terror Beast displayed hatred and panic all at once. The cross crashed into the beast as it regained control of its muscles and branded it causing a smoky smell of burnt meat to fill the air. In just a breath of time it was over and the beast sank into the water. Lineir had perfectly targeted its weak point, neutralizing its advantage in the water with lightning and then attacking it with its hated fire element. It was fortunate however that he did not have to actually slay the beast however as he would probably have to enter the water to do so and it would be a different story. The lanterns dimmed and all was quiet once more as the waves gradually stilled. He approached his prize. The Hematoma altar. Sitting down to meditate in the glow of the blue runes he hoped this time he would gain some suitable rewards.

"Wow Lineir you actually did it!" Yu was ecstatic, "In the past I pursued this tablet but I was actually unable to defeat the beast completely. Fortunately my abilities could cancel its attacks for some time so I managed to steal a glance at this tablet and meditate on its mysteries in seclusion later deriving the Hematoma technique. Now that you've had a chance to comprehend the whole thing you will definitely benefit greatly!"

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"Interesting...definitely interesting. Suddenly I have a desire to see the rest of this trial through." Lineir opened his eyes and looked up from the tablet.

"What did you gain? Did you learn the complete technique?" Yu impatiently asked unable to wait. Lineir replied,

"I did...it is very interesting. You must have worked hard to turn it into the Hematoma technique from only a partial glance. It's proper name is Black Heart. Its original usage should be to create a strong attractive force using the power of Darkness Qi. It has many inventive uses if you can truly master it including defensive ones as well as offensive ones. It will take me a long time to study it to the level where I can fully master all of it and incorporate it into my battle style though. For now...I'm more interested in what's further down this bridge." Lineir glanced with some eagerness in his eyes for the first time in a while.

"I see...I see... you'll definitely have to tell me more about it later. But Lineir, do you think it is wise to continue down this trial? Even though the difficulty is lower than I remember, you still saw how much more dangerous the monsters are getting at each level. Do you have confidence in fighting on? Remember this trial is one hundred percent voluntary. Thus there are no provisions to protect the challenger. If you go too far you can easily die!" Yu didn't want Lineir to overestimate his abilities after some success but Lineir waved him off. He was confident that with the difficulty of the trial so far he could handle more.

"I can do this." He stepped forward confidently onto the next section. However something strange happened. The entire bridge lit up in red. For the first time the bridge gave more instructions. A set of nine candles appeared in a concentric circle in the sky. As Lineir watched one of them rapidly began to burn down. A line of characters appeared on the bridge.

"You have until the last candle burns to complete your goal. At that time you will be able to comprehend the altars you have reached. At the end of the bridge however...the dangers will no longer be scaled upon cultivation level. If you wish to seek my power, my darkness, then you will face my enemies!"

There was a whirring noise and the nine candles began to spin as the bridge began to violently flash everywhere. It was chaos and Lineir realized he was wasting time! He shot forward without a care for the dangers. This was what he needed! A chance to conquer something, apply himself without thinking, a goal!

"Let's fight!" He roared out ignoring the altars as he rushed down the bridge. If the text was to be understood the trial was no longer about comprehending the tablets, that could be done afterwards. Instead now it was about seeing how far one could go in the time allotted!

Sploosh!!