novelraw Chapter 834 - 833 - No Holding Back
Chapter 834 - 833 - No Holding Back
"Senior, may the little one go somewhere safe?" He pointed at Hope and the old man softened slightly before waving to the side. A potent formation simply sprang into existence that even Annabelle had no chance of pulling off.
The sheer skill so casually displayed spoke ill of his chances.
"Hope, go over there. You will be safe." Dragons were arrogant but they did not go back on their word once given. She looked up at him teary eyed and ran over. Once she passed the barrier, it realigned to a strength Lind had no hope of cracking.
"That all you have left to say?" Lind was about to say no but then froze and looked at his ring. "That ring won't help you with me boy!"
The stern look told him that the old man knew about Haro but that was not what Lind was thinking of.
"I have a piece of honor I would ask an appropriate person to take care of." His words made the old man look stunned.
"And who would you be needing, boy?!" Anger was clearly rising but then Lind summoned a single bone. It was a claw but the aura was clear to all. The change was instant.
The temperature physically rose and true rage was on the old man's face.
"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!" Lind remained calm before he tapped the bone and a faint resonance of spirit Qi was felt. All the blood drained as shock was now on his face.
"The soul is intact and requested I bring him here. I would request this matter be addressed first." Lind was not simply buying time. There was a real chance he could die and Haro had never told him what would happen to the ring if that happened.
While the things in there were precious, they were just things. Razor's bones, on the other hand, were not something he could risk.
A pouch of fine cloth was tossed at him. He saw the intricate inscriptions and powerful aura left no doubt he was looking at a peak mid grade 7 item.
"That pouch will hold him safely. I have already summoned the appropriate person. Did they give you a name?" Lind smirked as he was tempted to answer it was his Father-in-Law but did not want to muddy things up more.
[Father-in-Law, I am handing you off. I have a challenge to overcome.] He felt approval but when he went to transfer the bones a pressure equal to the old man filled the tunnel.
[I understand family honor so do not hold back.] Humans would find such sentiments insane but after Lanbao and Razor's teaching, Lind found dragons were something he seemed to attract all his life.
Battle maniacs.
A hooded figure in fine robes appeared and solemnly took the pouch. They bowed low to Lind and even lower to the old man.
Now, all issues were removed.
Lind put his robes into his ring as he was running out of them. Transforming was impossible in the tight space but the old man was looking at him very differently.
"I do not hate you, boy. If nothing else, you have honor. Still, that is that and this is this!" Before he could register the shift in the moment, Lind felt his jaw ache as he was launched across the tunnel.
He scraped along the wall but noted it hurt him yet he could not even crack the stone or crystal!
It was reinforced!
Blood trickled but he had no time to assess the damage as his instincts screamed of danger.
Emerald scales flashed across his skin as he flipped away and a fist stopped short of striking the wall where his head had been.
The old man was too strong for the protections on the tunnel!
He could not assume the stalagmites and stalactites might not have the same care from his foe, but Lind was not above testing the theory!
He dodged back into the tunnel but the old man was like the wind! His smile as he appeared in front of Lind made hope die as the world tilted when his stomach screamed it had been struck,
If not for his scales, he would be in far worse shape.
"Is that all you have?! You had such power over my granddaughter but now you are pathetic!" The words were not fair. Lind was keenly aware of his power and confined to the tunnel could have terrible results.
Still, the fact his hand to hand combat was so pathetic was telling of his weakness. He had come to rely on his harmony and sheer Qi reserves over time. He had combat skills but it was clear that in front of a seasoned expert he was a child!
Yet, he was not so passive to take it lying down!
Battle Aura flared as his emerald eyes glowed. A smile crossed the old man at last as he laughed as he closed in.
The lethal danger did not lessen but the tension faded a bit from the fight. It was not so vicious.
His scales, aura, and experience allowed him to dodge the attacks at last but when he finally hit the old man, it was like hitting steel!
There was no sense of any damage imparted but his fist spiked in pain as his bones broke!
What was his flesh made of as a human?!
"Ha! That tickled, boy!" A backhand came at him but Lind was able to dodge even as pain shook him all over. He had simply been taking a beating without leaving a mark on his opponent.
Had he always been that weak? He had been able to create powerful artifacts, weapons, and armor with elixirs none could match but was his body just pathetic?
Anger rose, but at himself, not his opponent.
"Oh ho? I like the look in your eyes. My granddaughter is powerful but like you, she relies too much on Qi. It is a part of us but makes even powerful dragons lose sight of the foundation. Our bodies house it all. Immortals can survive without them but they are not so disposable." The muscles flexed on the old man and then Lind was flying once more as his shoulder cracked audibly!
How was he so fast?!
Lind reviewed all his training and recalled a similar issue he had. Shoti was a terrifying enemy with her whips of Qi and matter working together seamlessly.
A grin crossed Lind's face as he had a crazy idea come to him.
He could not use his Qi like a 6 elemental as he was used to in the tight quarters but he could use other skills as he had no limits!
He had all elements at his disposal so why could he not use the same Arts?
Unlike what Wyndam had created, a set of Arts unique to 6 elementals, Lind had long studied Arts to recreate them for his own use and comprehension.
He simply had fed the lesson to Wyndam and later relished true 6 elemental Arts like the Storm Arts series.
He had been holding back, trying to prove that 6 elementals were a power in their own right that he forgot the true power of his 6 primary elements.
He could do ANYTHING he had ever studied or seen!
A storm of Qi suddenly filled the tunnel but it was not something that seemed to even slow down the old man. He cut through it like a hot knife through butter.
Yet, the snap of a whip caught him off guard. It was not only 1 whip, but 12!
Demonic and natural Qi were in solid forms making intricate patterns that even the old man could not ignore! Further, battle aura covered all of them!
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Finally, stopped pretending how weak–" A fang shaped ghost nearly closed on his location but the old man simply snapped his right arm and leg up and down respectively to shatter it.
Pain suddenly made his eyes widen as faint cuts appeared on his palm and bottom of his foot!
The battle shifted as the old man now was feeling slightly overwhelmed by various attacks that seemed to flow from one style to the next. The battle aura also increasing in power that actually made the smile vanish from his face.
"Brat, I am not so–" A screech of a roc filled the tunnel and made the old man reel backward as his ears were filled only with ringing.
Before he could recover, a giant rock came barreling at him. It looked too similar to a stone dral attack that he could not comprehend what was going on.
It slammed into him and while most would have been sent flying, the old man only grunted at the slight pain he felt.
"Are you done mimicking others, boy?" It had been a little effective, but still, it did nothing but irritate the Shard Tier in front of him.
Lind was heaving breath as his mind and body were not used to the output and fine control he just did. He had used all the attacks he knew best but in the end, he had not truly mastered them.
Still, it bought him some time to think and that was what he needed more than anything.
"You have opened my eyes to a glaring weakness. I thank you for that, but I cannot fall here." Lind's emerald eyes lit up and the feeling in the tunnel changed. The old man looked on unimpressed but then was shocked when all his Qi ceased to function.
While he had mostly used his body, his power and recovery still depended on the base movement of his Qi through his body. It was now stopped!
"Wh–what did you–" The old man felt every millennia he had lived weighed down his body but Lind was not fooled. It might have been devastating to a human, but a dragon was not so weak!
Emerald flames built up and fired at full strength with all he had left. He controlled it to not touch the sides of the tunnel but that was all.
Lind fell to his knees in frustration. He felt it. Despite all he understood and pushed for in the fight, he still fell short.
Smoldering, but completely alive. The old man slowly stood up but his crimson gold eyes now held respect in them.
"I at least acknowledge my granddaughter had no chance against a monster like you. To be able to push a Shard Tier this far, no Sliver Tier can stop you. Yet, you do not pass my inspection. You have failed my test. You die." He was serious but Lind could only curse his stupidity.
All that was left to do and he would die right there. The realm would likely die with him as no one else could ascend. Still, he looked death in the face as he had so many times before. He would not bow or beg.
A fire brighter than the sun built up around the old man's fist and came slamming down. There was no test, no final evaluation, but true intent to kill!
Just as the flame seared his skin, the old man was sent flying into the ceiling by an ephemeral claw!
"GET AWAY FROM MY SON!" A massive female ryuu soul was the last thing Lind saw as darkness closed in.