Chapter 398: The Cloaked Lady (2/2)

Darkness Element… Chu Cheng’s brain rapidly worked around the new information.

On the battle field, Hades was an entirely different man. His sharp eyes followed her inky shadow as it slithered through the darkness. His right hand lashed out and a raging column of fire spat from his fingertips. It split the darkness three meters from the woman’s nose, directly in her path of descend. If she didn’t manage to get out of the way, she’d be fried black.

She stopped in the air like she hadn’t been moving at all. Hovering in the blackness, she idly waved her hand. The motion summoned a sharp slash of red light to appear right in front of Chu Cheng.

He instinctively leapt backward to avoid the strike. He wasn’t expecting that! A cold sweat had broken out over his brow.

Darkness and Interspacial Disciplines! Not to mention this energy intensity!

She began to descend through the inky blackness, all the while rowing her hand. Each swipe caused scarlet fissures to split reality around Chu Cheng. He dodged, and where he dodged another appeared to cut off retreat.

Lan Jue watched closely from the waiting area. The Pharmacist’s fight had been over about one second after the buzzer rang. Her opponent was an eighth rank, but had received a significant injury from the first round. His unfortunate condition and the Pharmacist’s power meant an embarrassingly quick bout.

Chu Cheng, though? He had some kind of luck.

Lan Jue’s snap judgement was that this woman was a representative of the Dark Citadel. It looked like his fellow Monarch’s luck was no better than his own. No wonder they were brothers – misery loves company.

The unfortunate surprise Chu Cheng suffered made him p[lay passive, but that was not to mean he was in a bad spot. He was Hades, a Divine Monarch and a ninth level, seventh rank Adept!

The last attack woke him up. His fiery orange flames darkened suddenly, and slowly licked out from his every pore. With him at the center, a raging bloom of fire exploded out in every direction.

Those crimson flames didn’t release any heat, but where they met the dimensional scars the two cancelled each other out. Pockets of nothing remained where the opposing powers clashed.

Chu Cheng’s narrowed eyes blazed. His right hand shot out again, and a meteor shower of crimson orbs blasted out in quick succession. However they didn’t seem aimed at his enemy, and instead remained suspended in air.

The air around each hovering orb swirls and waved, like viewing the world from beneath the ocean. The effect stretched around him as well to create a bubble of undulating air fifty meters in diameter.

Her descent continued and all the while she called razor-sharp cracked around her enemy. Yet nothing landed. It was difficult to predict his position in that wavy scene, and where the fissures appeared they were quickly snuffed out in plumes of flame.

The clash had attracted quite a lot of attention, not least from the main viewing platform.

Jun’er was among there, seated once more upon the Terminator’s arm. This time, though, her head ware was different. This one was pink in hue, and fitted the shape of Jun’er’s head precisely. It seemed a significant upgrade from the one Lan Jue had purchased. That one was clutched in her arms. Like any child, her attention was not where the adults were focused.

The Gourmet watched carefully, however, and gently nodded his head at what he saw. His nephew definitely had talent. He knew this power he used to be called the Hellfire Nimbus, which was specifically tailored to deal with Interspatial Disciplines. Adepts who used Interspatial powers required very precise control, and the heat created by the Hellfire Nimbus warped everything. Only two options remained; flee or hope one’s Discipline was stronger than the Hellfire Nimbus.

The woman was surprisingly strong, but Chu Cheng’s reaction had been quick and correct. Now they were moving in to another stage of their dance.

The cloaked woman stopped in the air with a flourish, then joined her hands before her chest. Suddenly the darkness around them congealed until it was thick as paste. It hardened and gathered until it formed in to a rapier, drinking in light from around the woman’s grip.

Her control in air meant she had the power of flight; a sure sign of ninth level. This was confirmed with her ability to aggregate energy – another high-level skill.

Her attacks never ceased. Now her blade swept through the black, and with each swing beams of darkness came tumbling from the heavens.

If her Interspatial Discipline wouldn’t work, than a stronger thrust right through his defenses would have to do. It would be a valiant clash of direct strength.

It was a pleasant surprise to have two ninth level Adepts facing off in only the second round. A lot of the audience woke up and fixed their eyes to the scene. The status of these two upped the stakes – a famous Northern playboy and a representative of the Dark Citadel, head to head! Both of them stood on a fine foundation, but it was the whole package that mattered.

Where the beam of light pierced the Hellfire Nimbus, swirling blooms of fire answered. It slowed visibly, but still encroached and did not look set to waver. It pushed on like it had a mind of its own, and a single-minded desire to cut Chu Cheng in two.

Chu Cheng bore no smile or mirthful expression now. His was a face of concentration. His right hand made a sweeping motion, and suddenly the fires around him changed. Everything about him, even his aura exuded a sense of impending doom.

The hellfire Nimbus erupted in to a shower of firey petals, but just as quickly as it flowed outward it turned back in. Implosive force draw the fires around the column of darkness. A firestorm revolved within the confined of their arena’s shield, gathering together again in to the shape of a blazing lotus.