Thriller Paradise

Chapter 78 Lin Yan's End

Feng Bujue’s speed was quite astonishing. Looking at the entire Thriller Paradise, the players who could match or surpass him in speed were probably no more than ten.

But among the NPCs, there were quite a few who could reach that level.

Lin Yan was one of them.

Hidden weapons and qinggong (light body technique) were both martial arts that were very suitable for women to practice, and Lin Yan’s accomplishments in these two skills were considerable.

Of course, she had put down hidden weapons for many years… because there was simply no need to use them.

As early as when she was twenty years old, she could throw things like grass, wood, and sand with the power of hidden weapons. And by the time she was thirty, she could take a person’s life with just a flick of her finger.

Moreover, the external martial arts moves she used were all from superior martial arts… In this regard, she and Yuan Qi were worlds apart.

Taking Yuan Mengzhu (Alliance Master Yuan) killing Song Wuqi as an example: the palm Yuan Qi used to break the tree from a distance was actually a very ordinary pushing palm technique, but his internal energy was extremely strong, hence the power.

But the moves Lin Yan used to kill Bao Qi were extremely complex and profound. The internal energy required for that gentle flick was so low that it could be ignored, and the power when she struck was like a breeze. But… in just a moment, that “breeze” transformed into a violent gale, causing even more damage than Yuan Mengzhu’s palm wind.

This… was the power of superior martial arts.

Although Yuan Qi’s Mingchen Xuan Gong was also a superior martial art, it was the only "divine skill" he had ever learned. The other martial arts he knew… especially external martial arts… were mostly miscellaneous, self-taught techniques and common, widely available skills. Fortunately, Yuan Mengzhu had rich combat experience and wasn't stupid… Over the years, he had integrated these useless martial arts into a set of his own combat routines, and its power was not bad.

Lin Yan was different… From the age of six, Cao Qin personally taught her martial arts theory and various peerless skills. Therefore, whether it was internal energy, external techniques, mental cultivation methods, or moves… the first things Lin Yan learned were all the most brilliant and perfect martial arts.

For example, the qinggong she was using now—"Xiaoyao Cun (Carefree Step)"—when used, it left no trace and didn't waste an ounce of energy. It was not only light and fast but also created the illusion of "appearing and disappearing" for the opponent.

Faced with this kind of extremely fast and teleportation-like sudden attack, Feng Bujue naturally couldn't avoid it…

Jue-ge (Brother Jue) was also decisive. He immediately activated [Unmoving as a Mountain], which he had hidden in his coat pocket, intending to use the bead's effect to withstand this attack.

However…

Lin Yan actually discerned the bead’s rhythm!

In that split second, Lin Yan flipped her wrist, flicked her jade finger, and released a probing burst of energy towards Feng Bujue.

Half a second later, that burst of energy collided with the mountain-shaped defensive barrier.

Seeing this, Lin Yan snorted coldly. Her right leg immediately paused and stopped her forward momentum, retreating several zhang (approx. 3.3 meters).

Thus… the bead's effect of "withstanding all external attacks within five seconds" was wasted.

“Hmm… as expected, she’s powerful…” Feng Bujue thought to himself, “Anticipating the enemy, not revealing any flaws… So… what should I do after five seconds…”

This was indeed a very serious problem… In a one-on-one fight, the "madness" effect of Mad Poker was useless. This move could only reflect the damage in a crisscross pattern when attacked by more than two forces. Therefore… [Unmoving as a Mountain] was Jue-ge's only "hard defense" method.

But now, this method had been used up… Next, if Feng Bujue were to receive an unavoidable attack, he would have to withstand it with pure defense.

Given that Lin Yan's speed was faster than his, "unavoidable" situations would probably occur frequently. And being constantly attacked by this level of NPC, the consequences were self-evident…

“Okay… it seems there’s only one way.” Before five seconds had passed, Feng Bujue had reached a conclusion.

Offense is the best defense.

Feng Bujue didn't want to reveal [Chuck Norris's Razor] before the final, but he didn't want to be killed here either. So… before the Mountain Bead’s force field disappeared, he made up his mind… He summoned [Mad Poker] and activated the "Mad Slaughter," which could only be used once in each script (the cooldown time in Free Exploration mode was twenty-four hours).

In an instant, black poker cards surged out like a swarm of insects, rushing towards Lin Yan like a tide.

“Is this… a demonic art…” Unexpectedly, Lin Yan still didn't give up even after seeing Jue-ge's trump card, “…Even if it’s a demonic art, I’m not afraid!”

With that said, she straightened her chest and back, and closed her eyes slightly. She took a deep breath from her dantian (energy center) and lifted her palms to both sides of her body.

In that instant, the zhenqi (true energy) released by Lin Yan actually made a sound, like a crane crying in the sky.

In the blink of an eye, two streams of dark green light swam out from her palms, spiraling nimbly, protecting her body in a round and thick zhenqi shield.

Chi chi chi chi chi—

The black Mad Poker cards rushed towards Lin Yan like a rainstorm but were all dissolved by the qi shield, unable to get close to her.

“Heh… very good.” Just as the attack and defense were at a stalemate, Cao Qin’s voice rang out from outside the battle circle.

At some point, he had followed them here, arriving at the commentary… oh no… at the viewing position.

“This ‘Xuanwu Jin (Black Tortoise Force)’… already has seventy percent of my power, it’s more than enough to defend against this magic.” Cao Qin’s comment reassured Lin Yan.

“Eunuch Cao…” Feng Bujue was still able to make time to talk to him, “…The ‘Xuanwu Jin’ you mentioned, is it also one of the ‘twelve martial arts that can dominate the martial world’?”

“Not at all~ not at all~” Cao Qin replied, “This Xuanwu Jin is one of the four mental cultivation methods of the ‘Four Symbols Divine Art’. Strictly speaking, it’s not a single martial art, but a quarter of one.”

“Tch… you’re ruthless.” Feng Bujue spat and then said, “Speaking of… why did you run over here too, Eunuch? Do you want to help Miss Lin?”

“No, I’m not helping anyone.” Cao Qin replied indifferently, “I came because… although the battle over there is good to watch, I’m still more interested in the outcome of the duel between my disciple and Feng Liaozhu (Chief Feng).”

“Even if your disciple is killed by me, you’ll stand by and watch?” Feng Bujue’s expression gradually turned cold, and he asked sideways.

“Hmph…” Cao Qin snorted coldly, “If Lin Yan really dies here, it can only mean… that she’s nothing more than this.”

“This is a plan you’ve been setting up for decades… She’s the ‘Martial Arts Supreme’ you’ve raised with your own hands!” Feng Bujue reminded him in a solemn tone.

Cao Qin shook his head and replied in a deep voice, “Feng Liaozhu, what do you think the Martial Arts Supreme is? If they need help in a one-on-one fight… then they might as well not fight at all. Calling hundreds of people to boost their momentum like Yuan Qi… what’s the difference between that and a thug?” He paused for half a second and continued, “Furthermore… today’s battle is both Lin Yan’s revenge battle and the final test for her to become the Martial Arts Supreme… Even if I wanted to help, Lin Yan herself wouldn’t agree.”

“That’s right!” At this time, Lin Yan, who was surrounded by the black energy vortex, also interjected, “Feng Bujue, do you really think you can kill me?”

“You… you all don’t seem to understand the situation…” After two seconds, Feng Bujue shook his head and said, “Eunuch Cao, I’ve already said it so clearly, and you still don’t understand?”

As soon as he said this, Cao Qin’s expression changed. He suddenly realized that Feng Bujue’s previous two sentences were not probing anything but were expressing—I can already kill her, are you really indifferent to this?

“No…” But Cao Qin still didn’t believe it. Lin Yan was someone he had cultivated with his own hands, how could she be so easily defeated, “…That’s impossible, you’re bluffing!”

“I also thought it over and over again…” As he spoke, Feng Bujue had already taken out [Yi Da] from his knapsack and attached the [Unmoving as a Mountain], which had just come off cooldown, to the slingshot’s leather pouch, “…Before making this decision…”

“Slingshot?” Cao Qin’s face showed suspicion when he saw this. Although he didn’t believe that the other party could kill Lin Yan with this kind of thing, he still felt an instinctive sense of unease in his heart.

“Let me…” Feng Bujue quickly aimed at the target. The Mad Poker in his hand had already dissipated when he pulled the bow. At this moment, the black light dispersed… Lin Yan was directly exposed in front of Yi Da’s crosshairs, “…Send you off on this final journey.”

…………

Autumn.

Late Autumn.

More than forty years ago, a similar late autumn.

Night.

Long night.

Five years after the Cangling Sword Debate, a desolate long night.

That night, the autumn wind was like scissors, and the clouds were heavy.

A group of figures holding swords and sabers broke into a residence under the cover of night.

It was a dilapidated small house, and there was only a woman and a five-year-old girl inside.

That woman was Lin Chang’s wife. Five years ago, she was expelled from the Ye Manor with that title…

She didn’t tell anyone that she was pregnant with Lin Chang’s child at the time.

Because she was afraid, she was afraid that telling would bring even greater misfortune to this child.

She was already a miserable person. Like Lin Chang, her parents had died early. Besides her husband, she had no other relatives in this world.

Lin Chang treated her very well. Even after being controlled by inner demons, Lin Chang’s attitude towards his wife was as always.

Perhaps… this ordinary woman was the last harbor of Lin Chang’s soul.

And for her, her husband was everything. She lived only for him and was willing to give everything for him.

But one day… Lin Chang left home and never came back.

She waited foolishly, but what she got was news of her husband’s death and the hatred of the world.

She was not a martial artist, nor did she have a family to return to. If it weren’t for the child in her womb, she would have already gone to the Yellow Springs with her husband.

But for the sake of the child, she decided to live on.

She had to live on…

When she was expelled from the Ye Manor, some servants of the Ye Manor took pity on her and gave her some scattered silver coins.

She drifted to a remote town, changed her name, settled down with those silver coins, and made a living by mending and washing clothes… barely scraping by.

She raised a child without a father, was looked down upon, and despised… year after year…

But she endured it all.

Seeing Xiao (Little) Lin Yan growing up healthily, she felt that these sufferings were nothing.

Unfortunately, after five years, even those days had come to an end.

Finally, someone in the martial world had found out about the “Lin Chang’s widow.”

Under the guise of revenge, they broke into the residence at night, wanting to force this woman to hand over “Lin Chang’s peerless martial arts secret manual.”

But, Lin Chang didn’t leave any secret manual at all…

The woman couldn’t hand anything over, but those people didn’t believe her…

They beat her, tortured her, but to no avail.

This made them even more furious, so they grabbed the crying child beside her and put a steel knife on her tender neck.

The woman begged them hoarsely to let the child go. Already covered in wounds, she knelt on the ground… desperately kowtowing and begging.

But she didn’t arouse even a bit of their pity…

Finally, she broke her head and fell in a pool of blood, no longer moving.

Those people finally believed that they couldn’t find any peerless martial arts secret manual here.

Just as they were preparing to kill the child as well, a figure flashed in and ended the lives of these people in just one second…

…………

Under the cherry tree, blood stained the beauty's clothes red.

“Heh…” Lin Yan smiled. When she lowered her head and saw the blood hole in her chest, she revealed a poignant smile.

In the instant she fell, Feng Bujue stepped forward and embraced her.

He knew she still had something to say.

“My… father… was… was he… a… a… what kind of… person…” She looked at Feng Bujue and asked a strange question.

“He was a hero, a Martial Arts Supreme,” Feng Bujue replied.

“That’s… that’s great…” Lin Yan’s mouth was bleeding, but her eyes revealed relief, “Mother… didn’t… lie to me…”

While saying these words, Lin Yan’s hair rapidly turned white, and her maiden-like appearance was aging at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“Feng… Bujue…” Her voice also quickly became old, “Actually… I… don’t… want… to be… the… Martial Arts… Supreme…” Her speech was already intermittent, “I… just… want… to be with… my… parents…” Speaking was already difficult and unclear, “When I was little… sometimes I would see… my mother… alone… secretly… secretly crying… I just thought… if my father was still here… it would… be… good… woo…” She spat out a large mouthful of blood again, and Feng Bujue could clearly feel her body trembling.

“I hate you…” Lin Yan cried, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks. At this moment, she looked even older than her actual age, “Also hate those so-called… righteous martial artists… it’s you… who… killed my parents… woohoo… but I… woo… I can’t avenge them…”

Feng Bujue looked at her, listening to her crying, and was speechless.

Until the end, he could only sigh helplessly, “You’re tired, sleep… when you wake up, you can reunite with your family.”

“Rea… really?” Lin Yan seemed to be somewhat delirious. After hearing these words, a glimmer of expectation appeared on her dying face.

“Really, I promise,” Feng Bujue replied.

“Then… that’s… really… great…” Lin Yan couldn’t finish this sentence, and her eyes lost focus.

Feng Bujue was silent for a long time before closing the eyes of the old woman in his arms.

He gently laid her corpse on the ground, letting her rest in this heart-burying place where cherry blossoms fell.