Chapter 20 - Li Kang Advances to the Meridian Crystallization Stage After a Fortuitous Encounter with Elder Suhn Lin

Elder Suhn Lin leaned against the smooth wall of the village tavern. His lithe fingers skillfully rolling a cigarette, he attuned his ki hearing and made out the sounds of Li Kang walking in his direction.

"Martial spirit summon: Gorgeous fire harpy elementalist." The flaming silhouette of a warrior manifested next to Suhn Lin. "ki ability: flaming inferno." The elder used his ki powers to light the cigarette and sharply inhaled. Based on his judgment, he should have time to take two more hits before the mysterious junior that had been killing his clansmen appeared around the corner. Smiling, Suhn Lin leaned against the wall and put the cigarette to his lips, after all, what was a pathetic bone tempering kid to an expert like him?

Damn, Li Kang stopped and leaned against the wall. He had just overheard the elder summoning his ki Spirit and preparing a powerful ambush. I need to be careful, even though this is likely the worst elder that the clan has, he's still a level one meridian crystallization stage expert. Thinking quickly, Li Kang silently jumped up to the roof and crept across the tiles. Slightly leaning down, he saw the elder calmly smoking directly below him. It appeared that the Suhn clan had not elected to send any back up. Ordinarily it would be the case that one meridian crystallization level expert could take on even up to three level five bone tempering phase experts, the power gap was just too large! With Li Kang though, weren't the Suhn clan looking down on him? He had two grade one heavenly treasures in his possession after all.

Li Kang pulled out his daggers and dropped from the roof, landing right in front of the elder. Suhn Lin didn't acknowledge Li Kang at all as he casually flicked the embers off of his cigarette, "ki ability: burning comet rain." The embers manifested into fiery missiles and streaked through the air. After his recent level up to peak stage five bone tempering stage, Li Kang was no longer intimidated by a basic ki ability such as this, despite its stylish delivery. With three fast strokes he cut the projectiles out of the air. As the smoke cleared, elder Suhn Lin glanced up to see Li Kang unscathed, wearing an insufferable smirk.

"That's all you've got? Haha I guess the Suhn clan is all just useless trash." Li Kang mocked. Suhn Lin sneered, "Impossible, a bone tempering stage can't survive my ki Aura attacks. Don't press your luck kid. You should have taken the opportunity just now to run away, I guess you're as stupid as you look."

"ki ability: Harpy smoke screen." Suhn Lin bellowed with rage. The alleyway was engulfed in a thick shroud. Using his ki Sight, Suhn Lin could see Li Kang perfectly and pounced with a massive kick infused with fire ki energy. The smoke screen was the perfect ability to bully a lower stage opponent, as he wouldn't have attuned his ki senses yet and would be completely blind and disoriented! Unexpectedly, Li Kang dodged away, running along the wall and flipping behind Suhn Lin. Multiple flashes cut through the smoke, pressuring Suhn Lin onto the defensive.

Realizing that this wouldn't be as easy as he expected, Suhn Lin unsheathed his katana and unleashed a powerful AOE ability. "Gorgeous fire harpy elementalist: flaming vortex!" Li Kang, jumped back like a speeding bullet as the flames raged and decimated nearby buildings.

 Panting, Li Kang caught his breath 100 meters away, Damn, isn't this elder's martial spirit a bit too broken? How many different ki abilities does he have? 

"ki ability: Burning flame speed!" The enraged Suhn clan elder appeared in front of Li Kang and unleashed a flurry of blows, giving up on defense and aiming to get a quick victory. Even if he might take a hit in the process, this junior would definitely fall! Unfortunately for Suhn Lin, one blow was all Li Kang needed since he had the grade one heavenly treasure: the dagger of avarice! Seeing his opportunity, Li Kang lunged forward and stabbed Suhn Lin in the abdomen. Power surged into his veins and he seized Suhn Lin by the collar and threw him to the ground. A white flash engulfed his vision as he cycled the power from the dead elder. His ki channels were swollen with power and his meridians shone brilliantly then cooled into shining gems, crystallized and in a permanent state of ki conductivity. In only a month, Li Kang had broken into the next stage, Meridian Crystallization stage one!

With this unprecedented level up, Li Kang was now strong enough to bond a martial spirit, so he set his sights on this goal. Li Kang hurriedly retreated and left the half-torched Suhn clan village, not before rummaging through the fallen expert's pockets of course.

With the Suhn clan village suffering the loss of one of it's six elders, a dozen lower ranked members, numerous buildings, and most shockingly, their grade one heavenly treasure, Li Kang had crippled the clan in a matter of weeks. The once prosperous clan had been reduced to merely another rung on the ladder of destiny.