Chapter 157: The Art of Riding Coattails Makes a Return

Lin Zhan recalled his devilish, intensive training back in the hidden grotto of the Hero Pool under the tutelage of the fairy-like Aunt Ning Wanqing. Back then, she would project and condense identical avatars one after another, forcing him to shatter and explode them with his bare fists.

At the very beginning, he had lacked the heart to strike them. Later on, after enduring countless beatings, he had no choice but to fight back, eventually becoming numb to it all. Facing those beautiful avatars, he had learned to deal fatal blows without an ounce of mercy.

Inevitably, this had left a tiny shadow upon Lin Zhan’s psyche—a shadow that would probably only dissipate when he grew truly powerful in the future and genuinely defeated Ning Wanqing’s physical body.

Today, this Shui Xinxin was employing the exact same movement technique, splitting into two—one primary and one secondary. Her true body and her avatar came sweeping toward him from the left and right.

"Damn Lin Zhan, stinking Lin Zhan, go to hell..." Not only Shui Xinxin’s true body, but even her avatar wore an expression of deep-seated hatred. Her lips twitched as if she were uttering the exact same curses.

Shui Xinxin had long abandoned secret telepathic transmission; she had already made up her mind to give Lin Zhan a thorough and satisfying beating first. As for Mount Wushan and the disciples of Sword-Burial Peak, those could all be tossed to the back of her mind.

The two figures crisscrossed and drifted, gradually growing faster and blurrier until they whipped up layers of black light and shadow all around Lin Zhan.

Although he was reluctant to hit a woman, Lin Zhan noticed that Shui Xinxin carried no weapons like swords or sabers; she seemed to rely purely on footwork and martial arts.

In a fraction of a second, Lin Zhan found himself as if trapped inside a vortex.

Inside that vortex stood a man and a tower. Meeting motion with stillness, Lin Zhan thought, *Go ahead and spin, I'll let you wear yourself out first...*

His spiritual awareness locked onto Shui Xinxin’s true body amidst the light and shadows, and naturally, onto her avatar as well. Based on his past sparring matches against Ning Wanqing’s avatars, a single duplicate should possess roughly half the strength of the original body—a force that could by no means be underestimated.

His Blazing Fire Fist was already coiled and ready, primed to unleash a heavyweight strike at any moment. Since it had come down to a matter of life and death, how could Lin Zhan simply sit back and await his doom? Besides, Shui Xinxin’s previous act of framing him—putting on a whole theatrical production complete with tears and rage—was simply too detestable!

In this battle, there was no room whatsoever for mercy.

This mindset was an exact mirror of Shui Xinxin’s current state of mind: she would beat him to a pulp first. Her master’s instruction had been to protect Lin Zhan’s life, but nobody had ever said she couldn't beat him up...

Shui Xinxin’s blur of black light paused for a fraction of a second. A slender hand thrust outward from within, pointing straight toward the center of Lin Zhan’s brow before abruptly deviating downward to assault his chest.

Simultaneously, the avatar materialized behind Lin Zhan, its palms sweeping in from both left and right to clamp down toward his head, the force of the blows carrying turbulent shockwaves through the air.

Lin Zhan sidestepped, instantly turning the crisis to his advantage as he slipped out of the pincer circle. Yet just as Shui Xinxin’s two forms were about to strike one another, they executed nimble gestures, both redirecting their momentum to continue their assault on Lin Zhan.

"Not bad!" Lin Zhan muttered in genuine admiration. Female though she might be, the solidity of her palm wind and the agility of her footwork made her an absolute rarity among experts. It was simply a pity that she was so young, and her emotional and intellectual maturity seemed somewhat lacking; otherwise, she would never have concocted such bizarre excuses just to bamboozle him.

Blazing flames erupted furiously from the tip of Lin Zhan’s heavy fist, while the white pagoda hummed as if vibrating in resonance.

Refusing to meet Lin Zhan’s blows head-on, Shui Xinxin twisted and turned with the agility of a fish swimming freely. Circling to his side, she rapidly thrust her fingers outward with a speed that surpassed even Lin Zhan's.

After all, Shui Xinxin’s cultivation realm surpassed Lin Zhan’s; such agility was something even he struggled to keep up with.

*Swish!*

The point of her finger-force struck Lin Zhan’s shoulder, sparking a collision of intermingling spiritual energies.

Borne along by the impact, Lin Zhan altered his trajectory and threw a punch straight into the illusory shadow of Shui Xinxin’s avatar. The blow sent spiritual energy scattering wildly in all directions before the avatar instantly dissolved into the distance, only to reform and press in once again.

The turbulence of the avatar naturally affected Shui Xinxin’s true body as well. She had yet to master the Crimson Refining Avatar Technique to perfection, and her current strength only allowed her to condense this single duplicate. Her control over her spiritual awareness and energy still left room for improvement, so the buffeting of her avatar caused her brows to knit tightly in utter frustration.

Having witnessed Lin Zhan’s formidable prowess, she now realized through direct combat that her agile footwork did not grant her any overwhelming advantage against him. She was merely a fraction faster, and it simply wasn't working.

It seemed teaching Lin Zhan a lesson was going to be difficult; she would have to step up her game.

Despite her tender age, Shui Xinxin’s cultivation realm actually outstripped Lin Zhan’s. She was an exception to the rule—a natural spirit body who, under Ning Wanqing’s devoted tutelage, naturally advanced by leaps and bounds. Even the Crimson Refining Avatar Technique had been studied and applied in advance, a testament to how crucial innate talent was along the path of cultivation.

Once she threw a tantrum, there was no end to it; even Ning Wanqing would hide far away and often fail to evade her in time—otherwise, she wouldn't have been repeatedly subjected to the indignity of having her thighs locked in a death grip.

That’s right, Shui Xinxin still had one ultimate trump card she hadn't used yet: the "Thigh-Hugging Divine Skill." It was a technique of her own invention, practiced countless times on her master Ning Wanqing, and it had long since reached perfection. Ordinary people simply had no way of dodging it.

With a sudden dart and a low dip, she threw both arms in a wide sweep, and Lin Zhan’s leg ended up locked tightly within her embrace.

Lin Zhan’s leg felt as though it had been filled with lead. He struggled and tried to move, only to find himself firmly and shamelessly held fast by Shui Xinxin.

"Aren't you afraid I'll deal a ruthless blow in this position?"

Since Lin Zhan found it difficult to move, Shui Xinxin was in the same boat. Yet with such proximity, Lin Zhan could easily bring down a heavy fist and utterly wreck her!

The entire process had taken very little time. The avatar had been circling and relentlessly striking Lin Zhan, withdrawing instantly upon a missed blow before swiftly returning to the assault.

This was a tactic Lin Zhan had once used against other opponents; he had never expected Shui Xinxin’s avatar to execute it with such exquisite precision.

However, the avatar was vastly inferior in strength compared to the true body. Lin Zhan calculated that if he simply gritted his teeth and endured a few hits, it would be entirely manageable. His primary goal was to quickly crush her true body, after which the duplicate would naturally disintegrate into nothingness.

Therefore, Lin Zhan maximized his defensive barriers, distantly adjusting the position of the white bone pagoda to keep the avatar’s attacks in check, while channeling the bulk of his spiritual energy to deal with the Shui Xinxin clinging to his leg.

*Sigh,* this was truly absurd. In a duel between cultivators, to end up grappling in such a posture was a first for him.

Shui Xinxin’s grip on Lin Zhan’s leg was far from passive; she employed various maneuvers designed to restrict his movement, a routine she was thoroughly accustomed to.

At a certain moment, Lin Zhan even felt as though his leg might not belong to him anymore.