Chapter 361: Fighting the Umbrella Painter

Floating Life Painting... Chen Ling murmured the three words.

"You already know the name." The old man spoke slowly. "It's time for you to be on your way."

As his voice fell, the old man casually opened an oil-paper umbrella. As the ribs were stretched taut, a cluster of striking plum blossoms bloomed amidst the misty rain!

Brown branches flew flexibly from the surface of the umbrella like thick snakes slithering through the air. The petals upon them spun, and points of red light rushed toward Chen Ling at an astonishing speed!

Chen Ling snorted coldly. His deep blue pupils discerned the trajectory of every petal, and his body turned into an afterimage to dodge precisely. Then, he stomped his feet hard on the bluestone slab, the terrifying force allowing him to graze past the slithering brown branches as he whistled toward the old man's face!

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

"You think a painting can trap me?"

Chen Ling snorted coldly, pulled out his pitch-black pistol instantly, and pulled the trigger on the swarming branches!

The next moment, all the branches vanished into nothingness. Chen Ling twisted his body flexibly in mid-air and delivered a whistling whip kick toward the old man's head!

Chen Ling's movements were extremely fast. Before the old man's expression could even change, he was kicked to pieces, but what splattered out wasn't blood or brains, but a pool of colorful oil ink!

Chen Ling froze in place.

At the same time, under another willow tree in the distance, a figure slowly closed the oil-paper umbrella in his hand and emerged from the brown trunk.

"The 【Judgment】 path? Are you from the Soldier Divine Path, or the Play Divine Path?" A young, surprised voice rang out.

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

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

"So this is the real body..."

This was the first time Chen Ling had encountered such a strange Divine Path. After all, back in the Aurora Domain, everyone was from the Soldier Divine Path; if you didn't agree, you just started fighting. But the methods of the young man before him were truly baffling.

Of course, the one who was also baffled at this moment was the young man holding the paper umbrella.

Chen Ling locked his gaze on the young man and was about to rush out from the stall when the young man raised a hand in advance and said faintly:

"Rise."

Around Chen Ling, four closed paper umbrellas suddenly opened at the same time, surrounding him like a blooming bouquet!

Green mountains, ink boats, sparks, and white cranes—four oil-paper umbrella surfaces with distinct but similar styles all came to life. Mountain shadows like copper walls and iron bastions surrounded Chen Ling, slamming his figure, which was about to rush out, back to its original spot!

Chen Ling staggered back a few steps to steady himself. The next moment, an ink boat suddenly crashed down from the mountains, carrying terrifying kinetic energy as it slammed into his body.

A ruthless glint flashed in Chen Ling's eyes. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and suddenly threw a punch to meet the ink boat!

Thud—!!

Under the impact of the ink boat, Chen Ling's palm emitted a crisp hum, and his bones shattered, but the terrifying force that surged out immediately afterward also shattered the ink boat, turning it into ink that drifted into the void.

Seeing this scene, the young man holding the umbrella in the distance looked shocked.

"This strength... is he a monster?"

"You think a few umbrellas can stop me?"

With one hand shattered, Chen Ling's momentum became even more ferocious. He clenched his other fist and swung it toward the mountains, a terrifying explosion immediately echoing beneath the sky!

Numerous mountain shadows were blasted to pieces by Chen Ling's punch!

Several clusters of sparks and a white crane flew out, chasing the blood-red afterimage, but they couldn't touch him at all. A chilling murderous intent swept through the drizzle!

The young man was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Chen Ling to break through his killing formation so violently. He immediately prepared to put down the plain paper umbrella in his hand, but before the umbrella could block him, he felt a blur before his eyes, and the umbrella handle in his hand had turned into a willow branch.

"This...???" The young man froze in place.

"Still want to use an umbrella?"

At the same time, Chen Ling raised both hands, snapped the oil-paper umbrella in two, and tossed it into the river like trash.

With a gust of wind, the figure in red had already rushed to the young man's face!

In the young man's astonished pupils, Chen Ling's fist rapidly enlarged, slamming into his chest with the force of a thousand tons!

Bang—!!

As Chen Ling's fist landed, he first felt a softness. A wisp of ink drifted out from the young man's hem, turning into a white flower to block his chest. The punch force surged into it, shattering it in the blink of an eye, and then landed solidly on the young man's chest!

The young man's body was like a kite with a broken string, smashed away by the punch. He broke the railing on the stone bridge behind him and plunged headfirst into the river!

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

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

A patch of ink drifted up from the bottom of the river, floating on the water surface like a colorful, lonely boat.

The young man struggled to climb up from the water, standing soaking wet on the lonely boat, coughing violently. Scarlet blood splattered onto the boat, a shocking sight.

"Damn it... who exactly are you??" The young man looked at the figure in red on the shore, light flickering in his eyes.

He could feel that the opponent was a Third-Order just like him, but in terms of combat power, the opponent was far stronger than himself. Even though he had set up several oil-paper umbrellas in advance, he hadn't been able to suppress Chen Ling—something almost impossible among those of the same rank.

"Does it matter?" Chen Ling said faintly. "Even if you knew... you are destined to be a dead man."

Feeling the murderous intent radiating from Chen Ling, the young man felt a chill in his heart.

He gritted his teeth, took out an item resembling a walkie-talkie from his pocket, pressed the button, and spoke in a deep voice:

"Liu Town, coordinates 【132,01】, open-air environment, no cover above, no other flying objects! Requesting Level 4 support!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a flash of doubt crossed Chen Ling's eyes. He looked at the walkie-talkie in the young man's hand, and a bad premonition rose in his heart.

Calling for backup when you can't win...

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

Murderous intent flashed in Chen Ling's eyes. He stomped hard on the ground, and the figure in red swept through the air, rushing toward the young man standing on the ink boat!

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

A bolt of black lightning, as if drawn by a calligraphy brush, struck down instantly from the empty sky, landing precisely on the leaping Chen Ling. Black thunder slithered in the air, the terrifying pressure of a peak Fourth-Order contained within that single stroke, exploding out of thin air!!

Boom—!!!