Chapter 778: Victory in the Flames |
"Don't fret! This is only a portion of my power! Just a fragment!" he laughed out loud.
Fiery chunks of dirt plummeted down, adding to the flames. The scene lasted mere moments as Ming Yue retaliated, swinging her sword out. Powerful gusts of wind blew through the scene, putting out the fires.
There was smoke everywhere, covering the space in a thin veil. It wasn't difficult to see through but with her speed, she practically vanished.
Hong Shi lifted his red hot iron club, resting it on his shoulder, and sharpened his gaze.
"Hiding won't get you anywhere! The only way for you to win is to defeat me, you'll have to make a move at some point because if not, I'll be coming to you", he said with a cocky attitude.
"So, are you going to do something?!"
The old man looked around before bringing his club forward. He started to spring it, gradually going faster and faster until it was a blur.
Something seemed to ignite in the air and the club burst into flames!
"Come on then! Come out!"
He swang the club around, letting the flames raze across the smoking landscape.
Hong Shi grinned before turning around and bringing the butt of his club up, blocking a swift sword strike from Ming Yue.
The woman had appeared behind him, attempting to strike at his blind spot but she failed. He pushed her off before lunging forward, punching her in the stomach.
"Heuk!"
She coughed harshly, feeling the air being forced out of her. The young cultivator flew back several meters, landing on her feet before dropping to one knee.
"Hah! That's not good enough here! Say hello to the squirrel for me!"
He shouted out before swinging his club at her.
"Defeat you, huh?"
Rather than avoid it, she stood her ground, standing back up. With Blood Moon in one hand, she unsheathed the Black Blade with the other. Crossing her swords, she lunged forward into the spiraling flames.
The blades howled with power as two arcs of light shot out, slicing the flames apart before clashing with the club itself.
The old man's strike was stopped in its tracks. He grunted, trying to break Ming Yue's technique but he couldn't do it quick enough. By the time, his club smashed the arcs of energy to bits, Ming Yue had closed the distance between them.
She suddenly thrusted both swords into his chest.
Hong Shi suddenly froze, seeing the two swords embedded into his body. Looking up at her, there was a smile on his face as he lowered his club.
"Heh, you're pretty good."
His body suddenly faded into light as did the smoking environment around her. She soon found herself in a massive hall that was empty like the previous floor.
But instead of seeing a floating squirrel, she saw a small ball of fire. It flickered in front of her before transforming into a small figure, looking similar to Hong Shi's silhouette.
"That was a solid hit, girl! You've certainly had your fair share of fights! Now then, what will it be? Some personal advice? One of my techniques? Or would you like a little boost to your cultivation?" he asked.
Ming Yue thought about this carefully. Considering it was her first choice, she didn't want to waste it.
"It has to be either the first or the third option but which one would be better?"
Taking a moment to think, both Xiao Yin and Senior Zhen voiced their thoughts.
"You should get the power!"
"I believe that the personal advice would be better suited."
The former picked the third option while the latter picked the first, both opinions opposing one another.
"If she gets more power, reaching the Heaven Realm would be much quicker!"
"But with personal advice, she might be able to reach it without needing power. It is important to focus on aspects outside of just cultivation."
"I mean... even then, it's not like this is her only opportunity. There's ten thousand of these guys, right?"
With Senior Zhen's reasoning, Xue Yue's voice faltered, grumbling a bit. Taking both sides into consideration, Ming Yue made her choice.
Looking at the floating ball of flame, she said it out loud.
"I'd like the first option, senior."
Hong Shi's spirit chuckled.
"Oh hooh, personal advice, hm? In that case, I will answer a few questions of yours to the best of my ability."
Ming Yue didn't take much time to think of what she wanted to ask.
"This fight ended rather abruptly. It was a fatal attack but you could've continued or brought me down as well. Why didn't you?" she asked.
Hong Shi was quiet for a moment, thinking of a way to word his answer.
"Hmm, perhaps, that is what you were aiming for, to learn more about the Divine Citadel. Smart, smart, now you wouldn't be going to the next challenge completely blind. Now then, to answer that would be to ask about the nature of this challenge and well, this is a trial, no? I'm not here to kill but to test you and a fight is just one of many ways to do so. The condition is to defeat me or for myself to declare it my loss", he explained.
"Then, you admitted defeat?" she said.
"The moment those swords pierced me in my chest, I deemed it my loss. To go any further would just be embarrassing myself. Nevertheless, I applaud your skill and your battle sense, even destroying an entire forest didn't faze you."
"But, you're in the Heaven Realm, what of your Heavenly Domain?" she pointed out.
"Heh, did you think everyone who reached the Heaven Realm has their own Domain? Creating something like that requires an enormous amount of energy as well as an incredible understanding of oneself. After all, a Heavenly Domain is like giving form to one's own Dao and that could take centuries of self-reflection."
Ming Yue was taken aback by his words, not expecting him to talk about Heaven;y Domains in such a way. She quickly cupped her fists and bowed.
"I thank this senior for their guidance."
Hong Shi laughed.
"Ahahaha, it's been quite a while since someone's treated me like this. I quite like you, little one. I think that you'll reach high in the Divine Citadel! Seeing as this is the case, I'm willing to give you just a tiny bit of power."
From the floating ball of fire came an ember, flying towards the young cultivator and entering her chest. Warmth spread throughout her entire body, nourishing the meridians before flowing into her core.
From that small world were the five skies layered on top of each other and the outermost layer which was a thin shell of light. It grew thicker, flickering with power.
It was a momentary sensation but she certainly felt herself reaching for the Heaven Realm.
She examined herself inwardly before looking at Hong Shi's spirit. The ball of fire started to dissipate as he gave her a few final words.
"Remember, it only gets more difficult from here."
As the last sparks vanished, her eyes landed on the staircase ahead of her, leading to the next hall. She bowed once more before ascending to the second trial where a figure awaited her.
It was a young woman, who sat with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. There was a sword laid flat by her side.
"Mm, a visitor, I suppose Hong Shi must have lost."
Noticing her arrival, the young woman grabbed her sword and stood up, unsheathing it.
"Come, bring your weapon out, make whatever preparations you need. It matters not to me."
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