Chapter 360: Battle Umbrella Craftsman

"Fu Sheng Hui..." Chen Ling murmured these three words.

"You already know the name," the old man said slowly. "It's time for you to go."

As his voice fell silent, the old man casually opened an oiled paper umbrella. As the ribs extended fully, a prominent cluster of plum blossoms bloomed amidst the misty rain!

Brown floral branches shot nimbly from the umbrella's surface, resembling thick snakes gliding through the air. Petals rotated on them, and specks of red light surged towards Chen Ling at astonishing speed!

Chen Ling snorted coldly. His dark blue pupils discerned the trajectory of every petal, and his body blurred into an afterimage, precisely dodging them. Then, he forcefully stomped his feet on the bluestone slab, using the immense power to graze past the writhing brown branches and lash out, whistling, towards the old man's face!

The old man's eyes narrowed slightly. Numerous floral branches simultaneously turned back, encircling Chen Ling from all directions and binding his limbs like ropes.

"You think a mere painting can trap me?"

Chen Ling snorted again, instantly drawing a black gun and pulling the trigger on the swarming floral branches!

The next moment, all the floral branches disintegrated into nothingness. Chen Ling's body twisted agilely in mid-air, delivering a whistling whip kick horizontally towards the old man's head!

Chen Ling's movements were incredibly swift. Before the old man's expression could change, he was shattered by the kick. However, what splattered out was not blood or brains, but a pool of colorful ink!

Chen Ling froze in place.

At the same time, beneath another willow tree in the distance, a figure slowly closed the oiled paper umbrella in their hand and emerged from a brown tree trunk.

"Path of Judgment? Are you from the Way of the War God, or the Way of the Play God?" a young, surprised voice asked.

Chen Ling looked back to see a plainly dressed young man standing there, holding a plain, blank paper umbrella, observing him with interest.

Chen Ling glanced at the ink on the ground, then at the young man in the distance, his expression subtly darkening.

"So this is the real body..."

This was Chen Ling's first encounter with such a strange divine path. After all, in the Aurora Domain, everyone followed the Way of the War God, settling disputes with direct combat. But the young man's methods truly left him bewildered.

Of course, the young man holding the paper umbrella was equally bewildered at this moment.

Chen Ling fixed his gaze on the young man and was about to charge out from the stall when the young man raised a hand preemptively and said faintly:

"Rise."

Around Chen Ling, four closed paper umbrellas suddenly opened simultaneously, encircling him like blooming flower clusters!

Verdant Mountains, Ink Boat, Sparks, White Crane—four distinct but similarly styled oiled paper umbrella patterns—all sprang to life. Mountain shadows, like an impenetrable fortress, surrounded Chen Ling, forcefully pushing his charging figure back to its original position!

Chen Ling staggered back several steps to regain his balance. The next moment, an ink boat suddenly plunged down from between the mountains, carrying terrifying kinetic energy as it crashed towards his body.

A fierce glint flashed in Chen Ling's eyes. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and abruptly swung his fist to meet the ink boat!

Thud—!!

Under the ink boat's impact, Chen Ling's palm emitted a crisp hum, and his bones were shattered. Yet, the terrifying power that surged forth immediately crushed the ink boat, scattering as ink into nothingness.

This scene left the young man holding the umbrella in the distance with a look of shock.

"That strength... Is he a monster?"

"You think a few umbrellas can stop me?"

Even with one hand shattered, Chen Ling's aura grew fiercer. He abruptly clenched his other hand into a fist and swung it whistling towards the mountains. A terrifying roar immediately echoed beneath the sky!

Numerous mountain shadows were shattered by Chen Ling's single punch!

Several clusters of sparks and a white crane flew out, chasing the blood-red afterimage, yet they couldn't touch him at all. A chilling killing intent, mingled with the fine rain, swept over them!

The young man was stunned. He hadn't expected Chen Ling to violently break through his killing array. He immediately prepared to lower the plain paper umbrella in his hand, but before the umbrella surface could shield him, his vision blurred, and the umbrella handle in his hand had turned into a willow branch.

"What...?!" The young man froze in place.

"Still reaching for an umbrella?"

Meanwhile, Chen Ling raised both hands and directly snapped the oiled paper umbrella he held in half, tossing it into the river like trash.

As a strong gust of wind swept by, the red-clad figure had already surged towards the young man's face!

In the young man's astonished eyes, Chen Ling's fist rapidly grew larger, descending with immense force onto his chest!

Bang—!!

As Chen Ling's fist struck, he first felt a soft resistance. A wisp of ink floated out from within the young man's clothes, forming a white flower that blocked his chest. The force of the punch surged into it, shattering it in the blink of an eye, before squarely hitting the young man's chest!

The young man's body flew back like a kite with a broken string, knocked away by the punch, breaking the handrail of the stone bridge behind him, and plunging headfirst into the river!

Chen Ling stood steadily beneath the willow tree. He frowned, glancing at his fist, and snorted coldly.

"The force was dissipated... didn't I kill him with one punch?"

A patch of ink floated up from the riverbed, rising to the surface like a colorful, solitary boat.

The young man struggled out of the water, standing dripping wet on the solitary boat, coughing violently. Crimson blood splattered onto the boat's surface, a shocking sight.

"Damn it... who exactly are you??" The young man looked at the red-clad figure on the bank, a glint in his eyes.

He could feel that both he and his opponent were Tier 3, but in terms of combat power, the opponent was far superior. Even though he had preemptively set up several oiled paper umbrellas, he couldn't suppress Chen Ling, which was almost impossible for someone of the same tier.

"Does it matter?" Chen Ling said faintly. "Even if you knew... you're still destined to die."

Feeling the killing intent emanating from Chen Ling, the young man's heart chilled.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled a walkie-talkie-like device from his pocket. After pressing a button, he spoke in a deep voice:

"Willow Town, coordinates 132,01. Open environment, no overhead cover, no other flying objects! Requesting Tier 4 support!"

As soon as these words left his mouth, a hint of confusion flashed in Chen Ling's eyes. He looked at the walkie-talkie in the young man's hand, and a bad premonition arose within him.

"If you can't win, you call for backup, huh..."

However, this area should only be guarded by this young man. Even if others wanted to come as support, it would take time... Chen Ling was confident he could kill him on the spot within a minute and then leave!

Killing intent flared in Chen Ling's eyes. He stomped fiercely on the ground, his red-clad figure sweeping through the air, charging towards the young man standing on the ink boat!

However, the moment he leaped up, a sudden anomaly occurred!

A black lightning bolt, as if painted with a calligraphy brush, instantly struck down from the empty sky, precisely hitting Chen Ling as he leaped. Black thunder coursed through the air, and the terrifying pressure of a Tier 4 pinnacle expert was contained within this single stroke, exploding out of thin air!!

Boom—!!!