A Chaotic World

"Mm," Nanlan Qianxue nodded before looking towards the Pure Snow Serpent King.

"This..." Nanshen Qin turned towards Lu Tianzi, who could only shrug.

Both of them had an idea of what might have happened, but neither could say that they were completely sure.

Originally, the Pure Snow Serpent King should never have been capable of an attack like that. For it to have suddenly gained this ability after the 'short chat' with Nanlan Qianxue, it had probably either awakened some latent potential that was sleeping within, or had obtained some pointers from Nanlan Qianxue.

Regardless, it was a good thing that the Pure Snow Serpent King seemed to have benefited. So since Nanlan Qianxue did not seem to wish to elaborate, Nanshen Qin would not pursue the matter either.

But that aside...

"Who are you people exactly?" Nanshen Qin could not help but ask.

In fact, this was a question that he had been meaning to ask since a while ago.

He had never heard of Lu Tianzi's and Nanlan Qianxue's names prior to this. For a pair of martial artists with relatively low cultivation levels at the Fourth and Second Origin Cycle respectively, it was rather surprising that they possessed medicinal and talisman making skills of their level.

Even though they did mention that they had come from Sacred Cliff City, that only explained Nanlan Qianxue's expertise in the art of talismans. As for Lu Tianzi's medicinal knowledge, it could barely be passed off as a personal inclination towards the field if they really had to.

But now, as a Second Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, Nanlan Qianxue was actually able to influence the mature Pure Snow Serpent King, even allowing it to grow in strength?

One had to know that the Pure Snow Serpent King possessed strength at the Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm!

To be able to do so meant that Nanlan Qianxue either had an extremely fortuitous encounter in the past, or the duo's background was actually far greater than what they were letting in on.

Lu Tianzi smiled when he heard Nanshen Qin's question.

He did not enjoy talking about themselves because it was difficult to explain how they obtained their current strength. However, he also thought that it was understandable for Nanshen Qin to be curious, especially after Nanlan Qianxue's actions today.

Of course, he could always choose to avoid the question. But this was a good opportunity to satiate his curiosity about a particular matter as well.

"Rather than me explaining in words, how about we let our fists do the talking?" Lu Tianzi replied.

"Hmm?" Nanshen Qin revealed a look of surprise. "Young Sir Lu means... you want to fight?"

Such a turn of events instantly drew the attention of everyone present.

"Hey, hey, let's calm down a little," Nanlian Hui immediately stepped between the two. "Young Sir Lu, perhaps you have misunderstood Senior Apprentice Brother Qin's intention. He was not trying to question you or anything like that. If you don't wish to say it, that is fine as well. Right, Senior Apprentice Brother Qin?"

"Junior Apprentice Brother Hui is absolutely right. I apologise if my careless words ended up offending you in anyway earlier," Nanshen Qin clasped his fists towards Lu Tianzi.

"Don't worry, that's not it at all," Lu Tianzi shook his head with a smile. "Honestly, I have always wondered about the strength of those on the Heaven's Warrior List, so I'm hoping that Brother Nanshen can enlighten me a little regarding this matter. At the same time, Brother Nanshen can take this chance to find out what you want to know about me as well."

Previously, he had the experience of exchanging a few moves with another martial artist on the Heaven's Warrior List. However, that was under a situation where neither side really put in that much effort.

On top of that, he had advanced a little since then. So this was a good opportunity to gauge his new strength level against someone on the list.

"So that's it," Nanlian Hui let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. I was worried for a second there."

It was very normal to be curious about those on the Heaven's Warrior List, so Lu Tianzi's explanation quickly put them at ease.

"I understand," Nanshen Qin nodded. "Sounds good to me. Let's do just that!"

Indeed, a lot could be told from observing how a martial artist fought.

A martial artist's techniques, responses, movements... all of these could reveal bits and pieces of their background and training, as well as what kind of experiences they might have gone through in the past. Many times, it could even directly reveal a martial artist's exact background, especially if a famous technique was executed.

Even if one deliberately tried to hide all information, some things come instinctively to a martial artists and were extremely difficult to hide, especially when they were caught by surprise. If nothing else, it would at least their experience level in handling certain situations.

As a Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, and one who was on the Heaven's Warrior List to boot, Nanshen Qin was certain that he would be able to force the Fourth Cycle Origin Core realm Lu Tianzi to reveal at least most of his background, if not all of it!

"Shall we do it right now then?" Lu Tianzi suggested.

"Now? You mean right here?" Nanshen Qin replied.

"There's no reason not to," Lu Tianzi shrugged. "This looks like the perfect place to do so."

Nanshen Qin looked around them and smiled. "There's no reason not to indeed."

Thanks to the Pure Snow Serpent King's earlier move, they were now surrounded by a ring of tall snow walls that blocked out the outside world. It was unlikely that there would be any interferences in the near future.

"Please be careful, Senior Apprentice Brother Qin," Nanlian Hui cautioned.

"Don't worry, I've got this," Nanshen Qin waved it off. "Now, everyone back off."

"As long as you understand..." Nanlian Hui took a few steps back, but still could not help but feel worried.

Of course, he was not at all worried about Nanshen Qin. Instead, what he was worried about was that Nanshen Qin could fail to control his strength, and end up hurting Lu Tianzi. After all, there were five full boundaries that separated the two.

After one reached the Origin Core realm, the gap between each boundary would become much wider than before.

Furthermore, Nanshen Qin was twelfth on the Heaven's Warrior List for a reason. Most other Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artists would not even pose a challenge to him.

Should Nanshen Qin misjudge his strength by just a little, he could end up severely injuring Lu Tianzi. If that really happened, not only would they have to endure the wrath of their master, even their master's treatment regime could be affected!

The rest of the hunting group retreated along with Nanlian Hui, and Nanlan Qianxue was no exception.

But unlike the rest, Nanlan Qianxue was not as worried about Lu Tianzi.

Yes, it was unlikely that Lu Tianzi would be able to defeat Nanshen Qin. However, she believed that Lu Tianzi was not nearly weak enough to be completely blown away by Nanshen Qin.

Because of that, just like Lu Tianzi, she was also looking forward to seeing how strong Nanshen Qin truly was. No, perhaps more than that, she was also curious about how strong Lu Tianzi's was, and how far he could go when matched against someone on the Heaven's Warrior List!

"Well then, do you want to make the first move, or should I do it?" Nanshen Qin said in a relaxed manner. It was obvious that he felt like he had the entire situation under control.

Lu Tianzi answered his question immediately, but not with words.

With a flick of his wrists, the Fallen Sun appeared in his left hand, and the Moon Culler in his right.

Nanshen Qin immediately narrowed his eyes at the sight of the Fallen Sun.

An Overlord rank sabre!

Overlord rank treasures were not items that just anyone could possess, so just the Fallen Sun alone revealed quite a bit about Lu Tianzi's background. He must have either come from an Overlord rank influence, or at least had good ties with an Overlord realm powerhouse.

Not just that, but he also had to have the strength to keep the treasure from the coveting hands of others.

"There aren't that many Overlord rank influences in Sacred Cliff City," Nanshen Qin said with a smile.

At the same time, he also brought out a weapon of his own. It was a huge battleaxe with a surface that was crackling with sparks. Held in Nanshen Qin's two hands, it only made the Ninth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist look that much more intimidating.

He stood there at the ready, thinking to himself as he watched Lu Tianzi charge forward without hesitation.

To avoid overdoing it and hurting Young Sir Lu, I should probably suppress my strength to around the Fifth Cycle Origin Core realm. That should be enough to beat him handily...

Nanshen Qin drove his origin core carefully, drawing out just the right amount of essence energy and converting it into origin force.

Lu Tianzi's Fallen Sun slashed towards him without any tricks, and Nanshen Qin moved to greet it with his battleaxe.

Bang-!

"Be caref-!" the worried Nanlian Hui wanted to remind Nanshen Qin once more, but his words ended up being stuck in his throat.

Right before his eyes, the indomitable Senior Apprentice Brother Qin had been sent flying through the air with a single exchange!

"What?!" Nanshen Qin exclaimed in shock as he struggled to regain his bearings in the air.

He had only just managed to stop himself in mid-air when he realised that the tip of the Moon Culler was already piercing towards his face.

"Shit!" Nanshen Qin ducked downwards and barely avoided the sword thrust by a hair's breadth, only to see the Fallen Sun rapidly approaching from below.

Not good!

This time, Nanshen Qin hurriedly raised his strength level to around the Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm before trying to block the sabre with his battleaxe.

The thunderous collision propelled Nanshen Qin up towards the sky , his body spinning like a top and his arms numbed from the impact.

Ridiculous!

Nanshen Qin gritted his teeth and forcibly stabilised his body, spinning around to see Lu Tianzi charging right towards him from below. This time, he threw aside his complacency and carefully thought things through.

Lu Tianzi's movement was not fast, but what was with the power behind his strikes?

Was it the Law of Earth?

No, that was not it.

Law of Force?

No.

Law of Gravity?

That did not appear to be it either.

Then how?

How could Lu Tianzi strike with such incredible power that was far beyond the limits of his cultivation level?

What was he missing?

Wait... what's happening?

Nanshen Qin felt his surroundings rapidly lose its colour, fading away into a world of absolute darkness. From below, Lu Tianzi's figure had vanished as well, replaced by a ghastly apparition that was charging towards him with its jaws opened wide, threatening to engulf him whole.

This guy... how interesting!

Nanshen Qin raised his strength level to that of the Seventh Cycle Origin Core realm.

At the same time, his body started emitting electric sparks as he charged up his origin force. These sparks intensified in an instant, forming into a ball of lightning that surrounded him.

Nanshen Qin raised his battleaxe, and the lightning charges around him responded by shifting towards the bit of the weapon. With a powerful swing of the battleaxe, the contained charges fired out like a giant blade of pure electricity. Even the illusion of the Howling Wraith Sword was instantly dispelled by the raw power of the lightning element.

Heaven's Judgement!

In the air, Lu Tianzi's movement speed was not nearly half as fast as on the ground.

The next moment saw a pillar of lightning extending out from Nanshen Qin's battleaxe and striking the ground below in an instant, completely engulfing Lu Tianzi in its path as it lit up the sky.

It bore through the layered snow on the ground, sending out a shockwave of absolute horror that swept away its surroundings. Even the biting winds of the Shimmering Plains had no choice but to halt, unable to approach under the result shockwaves of the powerful attack.

At a distance, the rest of the hunting group could not help but take a few steps back while shielding themselves from the terrifying shockwaves.

At this moment, Nanlian Hui had clean forgotten to care about the well-being of Lu Tianzi as he stood awe-struck, watching the beautiful technique from his senior apprentice brother.

This was an attack of the lightning element, an unstoppable force of nature!

It was the signature power of the twelfth on the Heaven's Warrior List – the Son of Lightning, Nanshen Qin!

But just as everyone was immersed in the moment, the pillar of lightning was suddenly sliced apart from within. This scene was accompanied with a sudden sense of danger that swept over everyone, including Nanshen Qin.

It was an instinctual fear ingrained into one's bones, something that surfaced naturally upon coming face to face with an apex predator.

It was as though a terrifying beast had just been unleashed from its lightning prison.

As the pillar of lightning was forcibly scattered, everyone saw clearly what was the source of this intimidating aura.

Hardened skin, long and sharp nails that resembled an eagle's talons, lighter-coloured and slightly longer hair, toned muscles that seemed to have grown more defined, as well as a single left wing around two metres in length that stretched out to his left.

Floating in mid-air was a Lu Tianzi who looked considerably different from before, but that was not what drew everyone's attention.

Most importantly, he had somehow managed to emerge from within the pillar of lightning completely unscathed!