Book 7: Chapter 52: The Third Ace |
As Zhang Hong Yu gloated over Ruan Zhan falling for the trap, Zhang Xiao Hua shot the hellfire towards Ruan Zhan as expected. When he attacked Wan Li earlier, he had merely waved his hand before borrowing the tattered banner’s reflective power. For Ruan Zhan, he not only used both hands, red light also shone from his unblinking eyes!
The light wasn’t like the beautiful evil-warding glow of the bloodwood sword. Although his eyes had been refined from red lotuses, they were instead dark red and filled with blood aura. The moment the light appeared, a gale swept up over the ground. Using wind to strengthen fire, the hellfire had grown twice as large. Like a giant blue maw, it snapped towards Ruan Zhan who was drawing glyphs in the air!
Ruan Zhan wasn’t flustered. He continued drawing glyphs with one hand, manipulating the wind blade to attack Zhang Hong Yu and alleviating Xiao Xia’s predicament. His other hand swiftly formed a barrier in front of himself, blocking the hellfire’s attack. However, Zhang Xiao Hua was mighty and he had used his full power in that strike. How could Ruan Zhan hold it off with one hand? With a strike, the sound of shattering glass rang out, announcing the destruction of the barrier. Yet this time it was critical!
Zhang Hong Yu was elated at hearing the sound. She spat another huge burst of corpse breath at the seated Xiao Xia. She wanted to thoroughly erase her to alleviate the resentment in her heart. She didn’t expect that with Ruan Zhan’s life still under threat, he would still continue to pay attention to Xiao Xia’s side. A second wind blade shot over.
Hearing the sharp whistling next to her, Zhang Hong Yu cried out. She wanted to flatten her body once again and avoid the hidden omni-directional strike of the wind blade. However, her transformation was slightly delayed since she misjudged the situation and along with her injuries. She felt a firm chill pass over her left leg.
A foot long section of shadow fell from her body to the ground. Without the main body’s support, it swiftly dissolved and scattered. The rubble around it was ground into powder as if crushed by something extremely heavy! There was no sound of collision, only Zhang Hong Yu’s scream. Her tender, childish voice contained hatred and unwillingness, along with a bit of satisfaction that their scheme had worked. It was exceptionally chilling in the dark night.
Pain! How many years has it been? She hadn’t felt pain ever since she was filled with mercury. She had almost forgotten how it felt. She had thought ghost’s didn’t feel pain. But when Ruan Zhan’s wind blade cut off the black miasma that formed her leg and completely dissolved it, dust to dust and ashes to ashes, she had once again felt pain. She didn’t know if it was suffering or pleasure. The feeling of pain meant she was alive, but was she really?
However, if one of her legs could be used in exchange for a heavy injury or fatal blow on Ruan Zhan, resolving the threat against her big bro, she felt it was worth it. It was fine even if her shade was permanently crippled.
Behind her, the was a large crash. People nearby might have assumed thunder was rumbling in the murky sky. However, she knew that was the sound of her big bro’s hellfire striking something and exploding. Fire used high temperatures to combust an object. It wasn’t a tangible object in and of itself. However, her big bro’s hellfire was different. Not only did it have a freezing burn, it was also exceptionally hard. It could even penetrate steel plates! With such a loud noise, Ruan Zhan was probably ashes in the wind.
She saw three men and a tiny shadow still standing behind her. None of them were lying on the ground. The men still stood in the uneven pattern along with Yue Xiao Xia. Although their positions had shifted slightly, the overall layout didn’t change. However, a deep pit had appeared in the middle. The four of them now stood around it.
Ruan Zhan’s hands were still empty. Two fingers on his left hand pointed at Zhang Xiao Hua while his right arm hung by his side. However, his fingers there formed a strange seal. His face was pale but he didn’t seem injured.
What, did her big bro’s attack fail? What had gone wrong?
Zhang Hong Yu’s heart suffered another blow at the setback. Glancing at Bao Da Tong and Wan Li, she saw that Bao Da Tong didn’t look serious at all. He was grinning, as if everyone was playing a game with him. Both hands were raised, with the Bloodwood Sword held in his left hand, pointing in her direction. Due to his spirit power and mana, a strand of red light surged from the tip of the sword, swirling like a transparent snake, constantly hovering and spitting towards her. Although she remained still, the radiance on the sword made her feel a sense of unease, as if being firmly locked onto and unable to escape!
He had another sword in his right hand. It was similar to the one Wan Li was using, a peachwood sword covered in glyphs. The glyphs had been drawn with special ink, similar to the ones on Yue Xiao Xia’s body. It was due to these glyphs that gave the ordinary peachwood sword some spirit power. However, that peachwood sword had snapped. Only half its length remained, pointing towards Wan Li.
As for Wan Li, he was the only one injured out of the three. His face was pale and there was a trace of blood around his lips. One hand supported the tattered banner while his other pointed the sword at Zhang Xiao Hua. He seemed a little unsteady, but remained standing. There was actually a hint of a mocking smile playing around his lips.
“Didn’t expect that, right?” Wan Li spoke. “You thought no one would be protecting Ah Zhan while he’s casting spells? Let me tell you, I’m the third ace!”
“Right, an ace that was almost shaken to death!” Zhang Xiao Hua mocked.
“You were clearly on the losing end.” Wan Li was about to speak when Bao Da Tong responded for him. “You’ve cultivated for three centuries while he’s only practiced for three days. However, his flaming handprint was quite presentable, using Yang fire against your hellfire. Even if he lost, it was a glorious defeat. Especially since he managed to block your scheme.”
Had Wan Li protected Ruan Zhan
Zhang Hong Yu’s heart shook. How many more surprises did they have in store? Their attacks had been calculated to put Bao Da Tong on the back foot and then threaten Xiao Xia to lure Ruan Zhan in. However, they hadn’t accounted for Wan Li. He wasn’t a cultivator and also had no innate powers. They didn’t think he could lean a spell in three short days and help Ruan Zhan at the critical moment!
She took a closer look and noticed a talisman in the hand gripping the tattered banner. Zhang Hong Yu had a flash of understanding.
Although Wan Li was an ordinary mortal, there was something unusual about him. His innate Yang energy was abundant. Along with his brave and meticulous nature, he was especially suited for Yang fire spells. If someone with strong spirit power like Ruan Zhan taught him, supplemented his energy and also provided him with a talisman, he was completely capable of grasping the flaming handprint within three days.
Ruan Zhan and Wan Li both kept their eyes on big bro. Although he was uninjured, he didn’t dare act carelessly. Meanwhile, Bao Da Tong held that terrifying bloodwood sword against her, causing a deadlock. They had lost the first round because they underestimated the enemy. In the second round, both she and Wan Li got injured. With each side losing some, the result was technically a draw, but it was still they who were at a disadvantage!
Wan Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Bao Da Tong’s words. He was bluffing, trying to pressure the fiend children. In reality, when Zhang Xiao Hua had ambushed Ah Zhan, it took the two of them together to help Ah Zhan block one blow.
Before coming here, they had decided to use each person’s abilities to their fullest. Once Xiao Xia started learning spells from Bao Da Tong, Wan Li had realized he was the only one lacking in magic. Therefore, Ah Zhan taught him a spell based on his constitution. The rapport between them was excellent. Earlier, when Zhang Xiao Hua pretended to attack him and then attacked Bao Da Tong, while Zhang Hong Yu attacked Xiao Xia, he had sensed they were setting up an attack on Ah Zhan. Ah Zhan was guarding the Life Gate. Although Wan Li didn’t understand spells, he knew that breaking through the Life Gate meant breaking out of the formation. Without this formation, they had no hope of winning. All their preparations would have been for naught.
He completely understood Ruan Zhan’s temperament. If he wanted to do something, he would do it uncaring of his own life or death. Therefore, the moment Zhang Xiao Hua moved against Ah Zhan, Wan Li immediately used the flaming handprint he had first learned three days ago. Yet his flaming handprint only looked good on the surface. When encountering the powerful Zhang Xiao Hua, it wasn’t even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. Luckily, it was accompanied by the force of the talisman. Ultimately, it was enough to block some of the hellfire’s strength and speed. Zhang Xiao Hua clearly hadn’t expected this. Bao Da Tong had reacted swiftly, stabilizing his own situation and using his Southern Trigram’s Heavenly Fire to attack from the other side. Along with Ah Zhan’s deft evasion, they were able to prevent Zhang Xiao Hua’s plan from succeeding.
Bao Da Tong’s words now were clearly meant to anger Zhang Xiao Hua. As expected, the moment his words left his mouth, Zhang Xiao Hua’s dark face turned even uglier.
“However, you shouldn’t mope too much. You aren’t the only one who lost.” Bao Da Tong continued. “I made a bet with Wan Li, saying you would attack me first. Although I’m guarding the Death Gate, I’m still the one operating the formation. If I fail to hold this position down, the formation’s might would be greatly diminished. You guys wouldn’t have to throw yourselves against the Life Gate anymore. You have no idea how happy I was when you attacked me after pretending to attack Wan Li. I never expected it was also a feint. Even your sister attacking Xiao Xia was a feint. To think your real target was Ah Zhan. Therefore, you just made me lose a hundred bucks.”
“It’s common knowledge to attack the Life Gate, idiot. You shouldn’t have made the bet.” The silent Ruan Zhan spoke. His voice was filled with vigor, and Zhang Xiao Hua realized that Ruan Zhan was really unharmed. He had to come up with another plan.
He had some idea now why Yue Xiao Xia guarded the Yang position while Wan Li guarded Yin. After the formation was activated, the four guarding it would stand in an uneven rhombus pattern. Life, Death and Yin were on one side while the Yang position was alone on the other. They probably figured the three men were stronger, and thus chose these positions.
Although they would be further away from Xiao Xia, those who wanted to attack her would have their backs towards the other three. That would make it easier for them to launch an ambush. Hong Yu had suffered like that earlier. The three men stood closer together, with no distance separating them. They could combine their powers and increase their strength. They had also worked together in the past and had excellent rapport. This would maximize their advantages.
Xiao Xia’s Yin aura was heavy and she wasn’t suited to guard the Yang position. Yet they had actually used special ink and drawn glyphs all over her to raise her Yang aura. The eight jade plaques on the floor also had similar effects. Jades are Yang aligned and the eight trigrams were of extreme Yang. This eight trigrams formation felt extremely unusual, and could naturally supplement the guardian’s innate deficiency.
However, he still didn’t understand how an extreme Yang constitution like Wan Li’s could guard the Yin position!
Zhang Xiao Hua ignored Bao Da Tong’s provocation and took another glance at Wan Li. He saw that Wan Li had recovered slightly during Bao Da Tong’s rambling, and was no longer supporting himself with the tattered banner. It seemed he had merely suffered a glancing blow. The hellfire hadn’t struck Wan Li’s body directly after all. He was merely damaged by the shockwave of forcibly taking the attack. This made him feel a moment of regret.
Why hadn’t he focused his power on attacking Wan Li? Although he had a special constitution and learned a bit of magic, he still couldn’t be compared to Ruan Zhan and Bao Da Tong. Of course, breaking the formation’s Life Gate would allow them to escape. However, based on his and Hong Yu’s power, there was no need to flee in a sorry state. As long as a single person failed to hold their position, the formation wouldn’t be able to last long. Wouldn’t that save a lot of effort? It was clear that losing a round had affected his mind. He had wanted to escape this encirclement and ended up losing his cool.
From that perspective, he had still lost the second round.
He looked over at Xiao Xia, who was still sitting there unmoving. This made him feel a moment of confusion. Why wasn’t she moving? Was it because she was enclosed in the barrier, or did his opponents have other tricks prepared? Or perhaps, she wasn’t actually at the Yang position, and it was just an illusion?
Thinking of this, he hurriedly focused his attention on Xiao Xia. With a glance, he realized she was physically present, and it wasn’t an illusion. This made him relax, because he believed his judgment was correct. After all, he had three centuries of cultivation. It was because of this that he didn’t fear Ruan Zhan. He only needed to be cautious of the formation and those two treasures. Although Ruan Zhan was innately gifted, he was only a little over thirty years old. How can he be compared to that damned old ghost whose powers he had inherited, along with all his bitter cultivation?!
He came up with another plan.
“Toss that broken sword away.” Wan Li’s voice rang out. “It won’t scare anyone like that.”
Bao Da Tong laughed a little in embarrassment. “I couldn’t bear to use the bloodwood sword to block the hellfire earlier!” He tossed the broken sword aside, pulling out another one from behind the cement tablet. Zhang Xiao Hua and Zhang Hong Yu only realized now that they had all hidden a few things where they now stood. They had clearly been prepared, waiting to shut the door to beat the dogs.
“However, our kid here is really powerful. That sword actually snapped right away, the shockwave almost travelling up to my hand.” Bao Da Tong praised Zhang Xiao Hua sincerely. “I’ve never fought such a strong fiend in my life. Looks like those centuries didn’t go to waste.”
“Obviously, don’t you see that even I got injured?” Wan Li bantered along with Bao Da Tong, as if the enemies weren’t even there. “However, he won’t be able to break this formation!”
His voice had just fallen when Zhang Xiao Hua laughed coldly. “Can’t I? Have a taste of this.” As he spoke, hellfire formed once again in his palm.
This time it was even bigger, covering almost half his body. Then, before Bao Da Tong could speak again, he used both hands to send it flying towards him. At the same time, the red glow from his eyes erected a barrier in front of himself.
