Chapter Eighty-Two: The Iron Armored Mechanism—Iron God's Courage

"Very well!" the young man shouted in fury, "Let me show you the true skill of the Sun family!"

He stamped his foot, shattering the ground beneath him. Then, with a sweeping motion of his hand, he released his inner energy. At once, dust billowed and surged, obscuring everything in sight.

Qingyuan had intended to use a fire talisman, but the swirling dust blinded him to the scene ahead. Forced to put away the talisman, he gripped his iron staff tightly. Before he could act, a sword thrust emerged from the haze.

It was the young man surnamed Sun, striking with his blade.

Qingyuan brought his staff down to parry, but the sword abruptly changed direction, angling with cunning precision toward Qingyuan’s waist. Qingyuan stepped back, narrowly evading the thrust.

The Sun youth pressed in, closing the distance swiftly. He was clearly a master of martial arts, seeking victory by skill of arms.

"Indeed, a true scion of a noble house," Qingyuan thought to himself as he defended, "arrogant, perhaps, but by no means incompetent."

For those who practice the Dao, mystical arts are paramount, but at the lower stages of cultivation, physical techniques often decide the outcome of a duel. The Sun family youth relied on his expertise in martial arts, believing Qingyuan, as a Daoist, skilled only in the arcane, and thus forced a close-quarters fight to exploit what he thought was his opponent’s weakness.

Yet, he hadn’t anticipated that Qingyuan possessed such immense physical strength.

In the span of a few breaths, the two had already exchanged over a dozen moves. The Sun scion’s martial skills were refined and intricate, while Qingyuan countered every clever strike with overwhelming force, breaking subtlety with might and dissolving each attack.

"How is this possible?" The Sun youth grew increasingly astonished as the fight wore on but dared not let up for even a moment—his swordwork grew ever more relentless and unpredictable, desperate to deny Qingyuan the slightest reprieve.

Close combat had always been his forte; against those who practiced the Dao, this tactic usually gave him the upper hand. Now, even when exploiting his strengths against his opponent’s supposed weaknesses, he could not suppress the man before him. If the fight shifted to Daoist arts—Qingyuan’s true domain—wouldn’t he be completely overwhelmed?

"So this is how the Sun family trains its disciples," mused Qingyuan as he parried another flurry, already discerning the youth’s methods. "If I create some distance and employ my Daoist arts, victory is within reach."

...

Martial arts, rooted in human endeavor, are limited to the Threefold Heaven; Daoist arts, being divine, reach far beyond.

The three stages of martial cultivation—vital energy, internal force, and the grandmaster’s path—correspond roughly to the Threefold Heaven of Daoist cultivation. But in truth, even within a single realm, the teachings of different sects and families can vary greatly, not to mention the gulf between martial and Daoist paths.

The difference between the Threefold Heaven of martial arts and that of Daoist cultivation is vast. And in actual combat, the outcome is far from certain.

For instance, at a distance, Qingyuan could easily use Daoist arts to subdue a martial artist like Xu Xiao. But at close quarters, hand-to-hand combat, martial prowess becomes indispensable.

Qingyuan had studied martial arts himself, though his focus had always been cultivation, and thus paid little heed to physical technique. Even so, he could not deny that, at the realm of the Second Heaven, martial skills still played a crucial role in battle.

Only upon reaching the Third Heaven, when a cultivator’s will is fused with the Dao and spells are conjured with a thought, do martial techniques begin to lose their significance. At the Fourth Heaven, one transcends mortal limits, attaining the status of an Adept—battles at this level are decided by mystical powers alone, with a wave of the hand commanding the elements, and martial arts rendered almost obsolete.

Within the Sun family, disciples below the Third Heaven are trained to rely more heavily on martial techniques. Thus, when facing martial artists, they win by Daoist arts; against Daoists, they close in for hand-to-hand combat.

"Damn it!"

The Sun youth, unable to gain the advantage and feeling his own strength waning while Qingyuan remained as vigorous as ever, realized he could not maintain close combat for long or he would be defeated. He decided to switch tactics and use Daoist arts, breaking off the fight.

Both men, sensing the impasse, seized the opportunity to separate, instantly widening the distance between them.

Qingyuan reached into his robes, retrieved a talisman, and flung it forward.

The fire talisman burst into a blaze midair.

At the same time, the Sun youth hurled an object—a round, palm-sized orb, black as iron.

Boom!

The burst of flame struck the iron sphere, breaking apart, while the orb glowed red-hot like a brand and crashed to the ground.

Qingyuan did not pause; after one fire talisman, he immediately followed with another.

The Sun youth answered in kind: after one iron orb, another quickly followed.

Qingyuan threw another fire talisman, but as he reached into his sleeve again, he realized his supply was nearly exhausted.

"Damn…" he thought. At this rate, he’d soon run out. He stopped, switching to his iron staff to meet the next attack.

The Sun youth waved his hand, sending another iron orb whistling toward Qingyuan’s head.

Qingyuan swept his iron staff, striking the orb dead-on.

But at that instant, a mocking smile flickered across his opponent’s face.

Catching sight of that smirk, Qingyuan’s heart tightened.

There was a sudden clang!

As the staff struck the iron orb, countless spikes erupted from its surface.

Qingyuan turned his face aside, dodging one of the spikes, and with a surge of strength, sent the spiked iron ball hurtling away.

"There’s more…"

With a cold laugh, the Sun youth tossed another iron orb.

This time, Qingyuan did not meet it head-on, but dodged at a distance.

With a heavy thud, the iron orb—imbued with tremendous force—crashed into a boulder, embedding itself deep inside.

An instant later, spikes shot out, riddling the boulder, now the size of a millstone, with holes.

The Sun youth lifted his chin, sneering, "You use talismanic arts, I use iron-armored mechanisms. What do you say?"

"It matters little," Qingyuan replied, his eyes flashing with a strange light and his voice calm. "When I inquired about the Sun family, I learned a bit about your methods. Among the arts of your Second Heaven disciples, there is a mechanical technique, and the most common device is the Iron Spirit Sphere."

"Others may not know the subtleties of the Iron Spirit Sphere, but I’ve heard a thing or two about mechanical arts. Among Daoists of the Lower Three Heavens, the Iron Spirit Sphere is well-known."

He clasped his hands behind his back, holding a carved wooden figure of tiger and wolf, his expression impassive as he continued, "The spikes on these spheres can be extended or withdrawn at will. With enough skill, they can even be launched like arrows from a bow. But you, it seems, can only extend them, not retract, and only after the sphere strikes something do the spikes deploy…"

At this, Qingyuan chuckled. "It seems you, a cultivator, have spent too much time on martial arts. Even with just one device, you can’t wield it perfectly, can’t command it at will… Your skill is lacking. What a pity for these Iron Spirit Spheres—treasures in the eyes of many—but you fail to use them to their fullest…"

The Sun youth, proud as ever, flushed with anger at these words. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled yet another Iron Spirit Sphere.

Qingyuan released two fire talismans at once, igniting twin bursts of flame.

One talisman struck the Iron Spirit Sphere, heating its surface red-hot and sending it crashing to the ground—this time, the spikes did not emerge.

The other talisman flew straight at the Sun youth.