Chapter 119 - Tough and Soft   The valley was littered with the corpses of cultivators and Ironfist Demonic Apes. There was so much blood that it filled the atmosphere and created a river of blood. The stench of blood reeked in the air and gave them the misconception that they were in purgatory.

The battlefield was beyond miserable and the Murderous Incense was too terrifying. Not only did it cause the Ironfist Demonic Apes to fight among themselves, but the branch’s disciples were also affected by it.

Furthermore, Lin Yun’s breakthrough dealt a fatal blow to the Golden Flame Sect’s branch. The entire sect had suffered a heavy blow and they would require a decade to recover.

“Senior Brother, that person…seems to be Lin Yun.” A Golden Flame Sect’s disciple came over to Mei Zihua.

“Lin Yun? Who’s that?” asked a baffled Mei Zihua. He had never heard of this name in the Azure Cloud County.

“He’s an outsider. When he was in the second stage of the Xiantian Realm, he killed Yan Teng’s son. The Blood Sect even went as far as issuing a Blood Bounty.” explained the disciple.

“Senior Brother, it’s natural that you don’t know about it since you’ve been in secluded training. The Azure Sun County is filled with stories of Lin Yun. The Violet Flame City’s Kong Clan was also annihilated because of him. Many people are curious about his origin since he’s so bold.”

Mei Zihua pondered briefly before he spoke out, “That fellow dared to kill Yan Teng’s only son. No wonder he dared to rob me of my Dragoncloud Fruit.”

Mei Zihua knew about Yan Teng. He was a Profound Martial Realm in the Blood Cloud Sect with horrifying strength and brutal means. His name could strike fear in the hearts of everyone in the Azure Sun County.

Since Lin Yun even dared to kill Yan Tianrui, the snatching of the Dragoncloud Fruit was nothing.

“Senior Brother, do we have to report this to the sect?” asked a disciple.

“No need.” Mei Zihua waved his hand with a smear of killing intent in his eyes, “Since he’s in the Azure Sun County, then he must be here for the Azure Sun Realm. At that time, I will teach him the outcome of offending me!”

However, the other disciples knew that Mei Zihua did not want today’s matters to leak out. After all, if news got out that Mei Zihua couldn’t even deal with someone in the third orifice of the Xiantian Realm, it would be a huge blow to his reputation.

Looking at the mess in the valley, the killing intent in Mei Zihua’s eyes surged. This was the first time he had suffered such a massive loss in the Azure Sun County.

Worst of all, Lin Yun practically had unlimited spiritual energy after consuming the Dragoncloud Fruit. So even if he caught up to Lin Yun, he had no confidence in obstructing him.

But if Lin Yun managed to refine the Dragoncloud Fruit, his cultivation would probably improve further. If that happened, it would be much harder for Mei Zihua to deal with Lin Yun.

However, Mei Zihua was still confident in his own strength.

If he hadn’t been exhausted from his fight with the Ironfist Demonic Ape King, he definitely wouldn’t have let Lin Yun escape so easily.

At the same time, Lin Yun started to refine the Dragoncloud Fruit after he found a remote location. The Dragoncloud Fruit was a treasure and its value might be inferior to the Eighth Grade Lava Core, but there was a special use for it. As for its actual effect, Lin Yun would have to feel it himself.

“There’s a dark influence from the Dragoncloud Fruit!” Lin Yun knitted his brows in concern.

The irritable aura in the Dragoncloud Fruit was terrifying and it could erode his consciousness.

Earlier, Lin Yun could hear a voice in his mind that tried influencing his heart. If it weren’t for his fight with Mei Zihua, the influence would have gotten stronger. But even so, he couldn’t afford to be careless now.

Holding onto his heart firmly, Lin Yun could feel the immense spiritual energy gushing out from the golden cyclone.

Boom!

The cyclone spun like a blazing flame, which unleashed the terrifying aura from within his body.

“Come, let me see how strong you are!” exclaimed Lin Yun. Looking at his spiritual energy, he was filled with confidence. In the next second, spiritual energy gushed out from the golden cyclone, cleansing the irritable aura from the Dragoncloud Fruit.

As his spiritual aura cleansed the Dragoncloud Fruit, the irritable aura permeating Lin Yun began to weaken.

“It’s going pretty smoothly!” rejoiced Lin Yun. It looked like he had to thank Mei Zihua.

If his opponent wasn’t strong enough for him to vent out the irritable aura from within his body, he would probably be devoured by now. He couldn’t even imagine the outcome.

Mei Zihua should be one the strongest among his generation in the Azure Sun County.

Mei Zihua did not look much older than him, but he had already possessed this cultivation level. Even with the Fiery Demon Physique, the Dragoncloud Fruit, and his completed Xiantian Pure Yang Art, he actually couldn’t gain any advantage from his fight with Mei Zihua.

It was fortunate that he managed to charge his way out with the Fiery Demon Physique. Otherwise, the outcome would be dire.

Time slowly passed. Under his spiritual energy’s cleansing, the Dragoncloud Fruit was constantly purified and the irritable aura gradually disappeared.

After an unknown amount of time, the irritable aura in his body released a soft light. Within the light, Lin Yun also emitted a slight dragon aura.

“Dragon aura!” Lin Yun exclaimed. He never imagined that the Dragoncloud Fruit would give birth to a strand of primordial dragon aura. It might be weak, but it was still genuine.

Lin Yun couldn’t help but rejoice. He already grasped the tiger’s aura. With a trace of dragon’s aura, wouldn’t he be able to grasp both the tiger and dragon’s might? He might even be able to comprehend something from the Incomplete Dragon-Tiger Fist!

Swish! Swish!

The wisps of soft light that contained the dragon’s aura coursed through his body before recollecting in the golden cyclone.

Boom!

Lin Yun was shocked to discover that he actually made slight progress in the Xiantian Pure Yang Art, which he had already reached the last stage.

Ever since he reached the last stage in his cultivation technique, he couldn’t make any progress. But under the Dragoncloud Fruit’s help, his cultivation technique actually improved. There was an additional wisp of soft energy fused in his spiritual energy.

At this moment, Lin Yun finally understood why Mei Zihua would crave the Dragoncloud Fruit.

Since Mei Zihua’s cultivation technique was stronger than his Xiantian Pure Yang Art, Lin Yun could imagine how tough it would be to make progress. But with the Dragoncloud Fruit, Mei Zihua would be able to make progress in his Golden Flame Art.

After all, Mei Zihua had only reached a lesser mastery in his cultivation technique. Yet he still could contend with Lin Yun, whose cultivation technique was in complete mastery.

Then again, the disadvantage in Lin Yun’s cultivation was also a factor. If Lin Yun’s cultivation were the same as Mei Zihua, he would surely be able to crush the latter.

A brief moment later, Lin Yun opened his eyes and looked pleasantly surprised. His Xiantian Pure Yang Art now contained a trace of soft energy and his body now contained a wisp of dragon’s aura.

It came as a surprise to him. The Xiantian Pure Yang Art was overbearing and now that it had a trace of soft energy. It was a combination of tough and soft, like the path of Yin and Yang.

“Let’s give this dragon’s aura a try…” Lin Yun’s eyes glowed with excitement. When he circulated the Dragon-Tiger Might, the two ferocious aura within his body began to ripple.

When he took a step forth, his action summoned a mighty gale of clouds surging simultaneously—dragon as the wind and tiger as the cloud. As the wind and cloud fused, they created the Dragon-Tiger Might.

Boom!

An aura that was comparable to the Seventh Orifice of the Xiantian Realm exploded from his body. It grew to a thousand meters in radius and crushed the grass and snapped the trees.

“My heavens…” Lin Yun’s view had opened up. He never expected that his Dragon-Tiger Fist would become so strong after consuming the Dragoncloud Fruit. It had brought his Dragon-Tiger Might to the level of seventh orifice of the Xiantian Realm.

“Let’s try it again, coupling tough and soft together.”

Boom!

When Lin Yun threw his punch out, a mountain hundred meters away was reduced to ashes. But that wasn’t all, his punch still had 30% power remaining after shattering the mountain. At the same time, the fluctuation of his punch had formed into a vortex.

Lin Yun flipped and stomped out in the air. As a series of explosions rang out, the force had actually allowed Lin Yun to gain a footing in midair.

“Interesting…”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He began to strike out with his hands and legs. He could feel an endless stream of power coursing through his body. After every strike, his spiritual energy would recover immediately. When he threw out an attack, energy left over from his attack would form into an endless cycle.

Lin Yun performed half a set of fist techniques before he finally returned to the ground. However, he had stayed in midair for the time to drink a cup of tea.

“So, this is tough and soft combined? To send my energy into my opponent’s body and form an endless cycle.” Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts. This time, he could sense that his strength wasn’t the only thing that improved.

Most importantly, his comprehension of Martial Dao had reached a whole new level. Power wasn’t all it mattered in an attack; you still needed energy left over to adapt.

“If I encounter Mei Zihua right now, I won’t have any issue exchanging a hundred moves with him.” Lin Yun’s eyes flashed with expectation.

Mei Zihua didn’t injure Lin Yun, but he was the one who ran away. Now that he thought about it, he felt embarrassed.

Suddenly, he could hear fighting in the woods. When he raised his gaze over, he could see a figure running for his life ten miles away.

“Big Brother Zhang Yue?” Lin Yun’s face changed when he saw Zhang Yue, who he had acquainted back on the Heavenly Flame Peak.

Three Flametailed Wolves were chasing after him. They were demonic beasts in the fifth orifice of the Xiantian Realm. The Flametailed Wolves were cunning, and they would always travel in packs, which meant that there would be at least three traveling together.

The flames on their tails were venomous and even somewhat powerful among the fifth orifice of the Xiantian Realm. So, it would be a bad outcome to be preyed upon by the Flametailed Wolves.

“Damn it! Why am I so unlucky?!” Zhang Yue ran, panicky while gasping for his breath. He never expected that he would be targeted by the Flametailed Wolves right after he came down from the Heavenly Flame Peak. Outnumbered, he had no odds of winning.

There was a sly glow in the wolves’ eyes. They weren’t chasing after Zhang Yue at full speed, but they were grinding down his stamina.

“Why can’t I get rid of these filthy beasts!” Zhang Yue despaired when he saw the Flametailed Wolves right behind him.

But suddenly, a shadow descended from the heavens and threw out a punch.

Boom!

That punch shattered the bones and internal organs of the Flametailed Wolf, claiming its life in an instant. The Flametailed Wolf couldn’t even use the venomous flame on its tail and collapsed onto the ground lifelessly.

When the two remaining Flametailed Wolves saw this scene, they immediately ran for their lives without turning back.

Zhang Yue stopped and when he turned around, he exclaimed out as if he had seen a ghost, “Brother Lin!”