Chapter 266 - The Struggle

Although he was caught off-guard, Xiao Chen could see Wan Gufeng’s intent to kill him. The venom in his eyes was simply unmistakable! In his haste, Xiao Chen cast all six of the remaining flames in his hand at Wan Gufeng who was suddenly on the offensive, hoping this would stave him off. There was no more time to worry about the unsteady control of his magic, especially now with a strong enemy charging at him!

But by now, Wan Gufeng knew how dangerous the flames could be, no matter how small and weak they looked. He tilted himself and evaded the flames and dove for Xiao Chen, thinking that success was his as the little flames fell to the ground behind him. But from the corners of his eyes, he looked with horror as the flames that flew past him turned back for him!

“IMPOSSIBLE!”

He croaked with shock and cursed as the six little fiery orbs veered back, their little flames biting at his heels. He twisted himself and barely avoided the flames as their heat chafed at his feet, burning his shoes into soot.

But this was hardly the end of it: at Xiao Chen’s control, the flames buzzed around in pursuit of Wan Gufeng with the doggedness of sharks on the scent of blood.

Here was an old man of more than a hundred years old, trying to desperately escape from a few little balls of flames that chased after him like bees. What was previously a gritting skirmish had become a hilarious scene that many contestants began laughing and jeering at him.

It was the first time that Wan Gufeng had to endure such a humiliation; desperate beyond measure, he cast a bolt of magic from his fist, directed at the six flaming balls. Suddenly, Xiao Chen felt a shudder in him, then a jolt of pain as he spat a mouthful of blood.

The six balls of flames each represented every cardinal point of the Nine Heaven-scorching Flames magical formation. Striking at the flames was akin to destroying formation with sheer force, and the force of the attacks would be directed towards Xiao Chen, who was the conjurer of the formation. Worse still, a simple blow from Wan Gufeng, a conjurer of the Nascent Soul Realm, was enough to inflict damaging injury to him.

Wan Gufeng quickly realized that he had stumbled upon the weakness of the spell. He continued dodging the flames while sending bolts of magic at the flames whenever he could. Not far away, Xiao Chen was struggling to endure the drubbing, but he was getting weak.

Yu Yifeng began to realize what was happening. This is not the usual pyromancy! Otherwise, Xiao Chen would not be injured by the force rebounded at him! He rushed to behind Xiao Chen and clasped both hands on his back, beginning to inject True Energy into him.

Seeing what he was doing, everyone else realized Xiao Chen’s need for more True Energy. Many began rushing over and followed Yu Yifeng in supplying more their energies to him.

Suddenly, the six fireballs grew in size and speed! Wan Gufeng realized what was happening. “Xiao Chen, and by extension his spells, would become more powerful if he continues to be fed on everyone’s True Energy!” He began to worry if he would lose. Frantically, he bellowed, “Leave now while you can! I will spare you all!

A few of the contestants heard this and felt a flicker of hope. With Wan Gufeng now occupied, there was indeed a solid chance to escape! But before they could react, the students of the School of the Savage Flames and the Faith of the Lofty Clouds rushed forward as one and funneled their True Energy into Xiao Chen’s body.

Wan Gufeng roared again, “LEAVE NOW! OR I’LL HUNT YOU! WHEREVER YOU GO!” He has only Xiao Chen in his sights now and the Hearts of Illusory Moon no longer mattered.

More and more people were getting swayed by the warning. But even with the growing adversity, there were also people who refused to give in to tyranny and coercion. A shrill voice rang through the stirring crowds of hesitant contestants like a resounding battle cry, “Anyone who leaves now is a coward!” A young man stood up and joined the lines of people supplying their powers into Xiao Chen.

Another loud voice cracked like a whip, “Death it is then! We’d never cower like wimps!” A few more young men shuffled through the doubtful rest and helped to channel more True Energy.

By now, the six fireballs were no longer orbs of fire; they have become six huge, sparkling stars that blazed with the radiance of the sun. Wan Gufeng was still ducking and diving for dear life. If only he could kill them all! He sent another ray of magic at the six shining stars, only to have it ricocheting back at him, sending him crashing back over his head for several ten feet.

Xiao Chen muttered a quick word of command and steered the six stars to surround Wan Gufeng and close off any ways of escaping. No matter where he went, the six stars continued circling around him like flies on a corpse, presaging his impending doom.

It was a moment when fear finally overtook Wan Gufeng. He felt nothing but despair as he could vaguely see death looming over him. Each of the six stars enveloping him held indescribable powers. “Is this my end? At the hands of a boy barely half my age?!”

At the very same moment, Xiao Chen uttered his final word of command with hopes that he had finally checkmated his adversary. A simple word, “detonate”, escaped his lips, before the blood that he had kept in his mouth gushed out luridly. He had purposely kept himself from vomiting more blood, fearing that the sight of blood escaping him might destroy the delicate morale of the people supporting him behind.

As commanded, the six shining stars began to glow more brilliantly, emitting lights so strong that no one could open their eyes. The pure white light flooded across the entire battlefield, bathing everyone in complete white before the first crack of the explosions rang in their ears. The ground beneath their feet shook and fractured at the force of the six supernovas as the impact of the explosions threatened to collapse the Time-Space continuum.

A column of smoke and detritus with the shape of a mushroom cloud rose into the air, bursting through the strata of the sky as everything in the vicinity of the explosions were reduced to dust fluttering with the scuds of wind. Even from afar, many of the contestants were thrown off their feet when the explosions occurred.

The air around them became thick with fumes and dust, soot and vapor. Visibility was low that no one could see clearly ahead. Then a sinister voice croaked from within the midst of the dense smoke and steam, heralding Xiao Chen’s deepest fear, “Heh heh heh heh… Heh heh heh heh…”

The raucous cackled echoed through the diaphanous veils, striking fear into the hearts of those still standing. “Impossible! How could he have survived such a cataclysmic disaster!? Is he a monster?!”

The mists slowly thinned, revealing Wan Gufeng, who was still standing upright, bloodied and mangled. His ripped and shredded robes that hung loosely from his shoulders and his sanguine red eyes made him look like a maniacal monster on the verge of losing control. Everyone watched, terrified and panicked, and no one dared to move.

“Heh heh heh heh… You’ll never get out of here alive! I’ll soak every inch of this Forest with the blood from each and every one of you here…”

His voice tunneled through the woods with the ominosity of tolling bells of a funeral procession that everyone could not help but tremble as panic continued its incapacitating grip upon everyone. With Wan Gufeng’s prowess, there was a probability that he could end anyone’s life before his or her jade note breaks.

On the other hand, Xiao Chen was utterly spent; his face was pale as Death itself. Unable to use the magic of the Nine Heaven-scorching Flames again, he waved his hand and gripped at the hilt of the Blood Lotus Demon Blade that appeared magically to him, feeling the sting of the saber’s cold thirst for blood seeping into him. The blade of the saber glinted dangerously with a shade of scarlet and its cold steel ringing loudly, trumpeting its entrance into battle.

He swiped a hand along its sharp edge, feeding the saber with his own blood and the weapon shone brilliantly with a macabre glow of red. Ghastly winds began breezing around everyone present, caressing the sweat-glistened skins of the people present so lightly that an electrifying chill zipped down their spines before they felt it hard to breathe. The demonic blade was ready for battle!

It was a pity that the imposter who had pretended to be Xiao Chen had long fled. Otherwise, he could watch for himself the true spectacle of the actual Blood Lotus Demon Blade manifesting in all its terrible glory!

“Heh heh heh…” Wan Gufeng chortled vilely. “So, boy, let’s see what other tricks you have left! Riptide!” He yelled, swinging his arm in an arcing motion into the air. Winds began churning around him, and a blade of wind hacked down at Xiao Chen with terrifying ferocity!

The blow threatened to split the earth even as the winds howled around the battlefield like wailing spirits. The plants and trees around him cracked at their trunks and stalks, unable to withstand the force of the luminous form of the sword of wind even before it hit the ground and fallen leaves took into the air, tossed around violently by the wild gusts of winds. The rest of the contestants remained devastated beyond any ability to neither help nor react, incapable of believing that Wan Gufeng, despite his grievous injury, could still unleash such a disastrous attack.

“Let’s see it then!”

Xiao Chen responded with a deafening yell and leaped into the air to meet the blow. Like a comet, he climbed into the air, leaving trails of mirage-like hue in his wake. Bold even in the face of the destructive power of the blow, he raised the Demon Blade over his head. It came down in a forceful curve with all of Xiao Chen’s might, releasing a scythe-like blade of magical energy at the gigantic sword of wind.

Everyone below could only watch in silence and braced for a thunderous boom as the blows collided. The blast caused a ripple of force that traveled far and caused several nearby hills to crumble and collapse.

Xiao Chen fell back to the ground, panting for breath at the heavy exertion. “If only I have learned the techniques of the Dominant Sky Ten-fold Slash discipline,” he reflected in haste, otherwise, with this Demon Blade with me, I could have easily defeated this monster!

At a distance away, Wan Gufeng’s arm was quivering profusely due to the shock and pain. Xiao Chen’s countermove had caused him to be wounded by the rebound of his own spell. A newly-inflicted gash had appeared on his forehead, trickling fresh with blood. “This is the true Xiao Chen,” those who were watching thought, gasping with awe, “The Xiao Chen who has the potential to defeat even a conjurer of the Nascent Soul Realm!”

Wan Gufeng heaved a long and heavy breath. He too, beheld Xiao Chen with renewed recognition. The fireballs he used was undoubted part of a powerful sorcery, but what parried his Riptide technique was different; that was true strength. A true raw power that could defeat even his own. He began to realize that Xiao Chen could one day achieve great things. More importantly, he was different from others in the aspects of his mind and spirit. Despite possessing merely the strength of the Core Forming Realm, here he was, fearless and gallant enough to challenge a conjurer of the Nascent Soul Realm!

But as his respect for Xiao Chen grew, so festered his hatred and malice for the young man. He could never allow an enemy of such limitless potential any time and opportunity to grow!

Qingluan and Ziyun’er swiftly saw the rancor and bitterness in his eyes. They darted forward, speeding towards Wan Gufeng in two blurry masses of purple and green. In just a blink of an eye, they reached him, their weapons bared like fangs boring down on his head.

With a cold snort, Wan Gufeng was hardly fazed by the sudden attack. With lightning-quick reflexes, he sent two bolts of magic slamming into Qingluan and Ziyun’er’s abdomens. The two girls crashed backwards, both spitting blood from their mouths.

Despite his wounds, it was clear that Wan Gufeng still wielded powers that no ordinary conjurers of the Core Forming Realm could ever hope to defeat. Xiao Chen bolted forward and caught the two girls before they hit the ground and whispered to them, “Do not attempt any direct attacks. Flank him and divert his attention.”

Receiving their orders, the two girls sprang out of his arms and warped into thin air, reappearing at a flash later at both sides of Wan Gufeng. “Contemptible vermins!” Wan Gufeng screamed and was about to send another pair of magical bolts at them, when he realized Xiao Chen was already near.

Being fearful of Xiao Chen’s might, he quickly abandoned his impulse to attack Qingluan and Ziyun’er and concentrated on his main adversary.

But Xiao Chen was already at his limits; he had channeled every whit of his True Energy to protect himself against the strong winds that stung at him. The winds were resonating to Wan Gufeng’s powers and were reacting as if under his commands. Even as he drew closer to his target, Xiao Chen was extremely wary of any retaliation from Wan Gufeng, but he did not stop using his Divine Sense to scour for weaknesses.

Finally, with his Divine Sense, Xiao Chen found Wan Gufeng’s jade note concealed within the folds of his robes. He got so close that he had to endure a point-blank strike from the old man and quickly swiped away the jade note with his psychokinesis magic before withdrawing away seventy or eighty feet, the jade note tightly clenched between his fingers.

Wan Gufeng’s expression turned into one of dismay and confusion as he realized what could happen. He could be instantly transported away from the Forest if Xiao Chen broke the jade note! “But that’s impossible! I had hidden it carefully! How could he have found it!?” A plea escaped his throat, “Please, young one, a moment! Let us talk!”

His remaining acolytes and disciples would be no match for Xiao Chen and the rest of the conjurers if he is forcibly withdrawn from the tournament. They would be mere lambs for slaughter for the next few days when the hunt for the Hearts resumed. Most importantly, his disqualifications would also spell the end of any hopes for his grandson, Wan Yanyan to enter the Violet Illusory Land.

“Please, young one. Let us negotiate. Return the jade note to me, and I’ll promise no one will be hurt.”