Chapter 249 Provocation (1/2)

Xiao Chen looked around and found another forested knoll not far away. He drew back another 200 feet and looked at the six fireballs bobbing gently around his palm. In a throwing motion, he swung his arm, casting all six of the fireballs at his target. The fireballs intertwined in one, shooting straight like a comet together.

The fiery comet consisting of six fireballs first circled around its mark, reducing everything in its path to cinders before splitting back into six fiery little suns. Xiao Chen could already feel the heat from where he stood. But the fireballs merely surrounded the little hill; they did not explode. Realizing this, Xiao Chen muttered a spell; a variation he saw from the manual. Immediately the fireballs converged upon the forested knoll.

First, there was a huge noise like a clap of thunder, then the ground trembled beneath him. A disastrous explosion ensued and the forested knoll was utterly devoured within its wrathful force. A huge mushroom of smoke rose from the hill, reaching high up the sky as a huge shockwave rippled from the center towards him.

Astonished at the incoming force, Xiao Chen somersaulted into the air and flew for 600 meters before he landed. He looked back. Everywhere around the hilly forest just now had been utterly laid waste, with gesticulating tendrils of steam and smoke clambering up into the air from the blackened soil of the ground.

Xiao Chen looked at his handiwork, dazed at the devastation he had wrought. The force of the explosion was as powerful as a full-powered blow of a warrior of the Nascent Soul Realm. He would have to practice caution whenever this spell was used, lest he should risk wounding his own allies or friends.

He tried and tested a few other combinations and discovered that odd numbers of fireballs yielded powerful incinerating effects, while even numbers of fireballs produced explosive force.

He had done enough damage to the lands around him, but there was still one more test he wished to try: the use of nine fireballs in unison. He drew his sword and rode upon it to find another hill. He looked down from the sky and took in the scenic view of the beautiful lush forests around the hill, grimacing of what might become of it after the test.

He did not land this time, opting to perform his spell directly from the air. He had to be careful, since he did not know how powerful the force would be if all nine fireballs were used together.

Readying himself, he cast forth the nine fireballs. With another spell, the fireballs threw themselves into the tip of the forested hill and a massive firestorm erupted like a volcano. The inferno grew into a colossal beast of flame, engulfing everything around it, leaving only destruction in its wake.

Xiao Chen felt his stomach in a knot and felt a heatwave coming. He immediately flew up to a safe altitude and watched from above the cumulative results of the monstrous inferno that continued gorging on everything on the hill. There was nothing but fire as if this was the very coming of Hell upon Earth, more so, with the acrid odor of burning wood that filled his nostrils.

It took some time until the torments of the fiery inferno began to subside; the fire died down quickly and the entire hill was bare and black, the only salient spot of black that stood out upon miles and miles of lush, green woodland.

A strong breeze blew by, buffeting the fumes and steam from the wake of destruction left by the inferno. The top of the hill was gone and Xiao Chen could not help feeling the slow trickle of a bead of sweat rolling down his head. The full power of this magical formation was simply too catastrophic to be wielded carelessly. Not even dirt, stone or rock could within stand the force of the fires of Hell, never mind ordinary warriors of the Core Forming Realm.

Xiao Chen steered his sword down to the ground. With this new addition to his entire repertoire of skills, he would not have to overly rely on the others. The Dragon's Wrath was powerful, but its cost was too high for it to be efficient. The same could be said for the two strings of the Fuxi Zither, which he could only use twice or, at most, thrice during a single battle. His powers would have been utterly spent by the time he had used them.

The Devil's Three Turns was his single most destructive magic. It allows its user the power to defeat any enemy at the level of the Nascent Soul Realm or even anyone fresh into the levels of the Nirvana Realm. But it was a double-edged blade; he could only use this particular magic only at the gravest of time, otherwise, he would have to risk losing his own life. Similarly, he would also avoid using the Heaven's Talisman technique for fear of being corrupted more and more frequently.

With a long and heavy breath, he reflected quietly. He needed to strengthen himself as soon as possible. The coming of the Annihilation Era would open the doors to more powerful foes ahead, otherwise, he would only become ”fodder for the strong”, as Fengxi once told him. He began wondering if there might come such time when warriors of the Nascent Soul Realm would be mere lambs for slaughter.

”What a tragic era I've returned into,” he grimaced to himself.

He sat down and rested on his back in the stiff pulpous grass while waiting for his True Energy to replenish. He got up once he was ready and prepared to fly back to Tianyuan City. He had been on constant vigilance since Li Muxue and the others had arrived at the capital of the Middle Continent, continually worrying about their safety and wellbeing. ”One of the tolls of having too many emotional attachments, I guess,” he frowned to himself.

He sighed and leaped up on his sword, streaking through the sky in a bolt of light towards the City.

With more and more people arriving each day for the grand tournament of the Immortal's Sword Assembly, the city officials had announced a decree to outlaw flying on swords over the city. Hence, Xiao Chen had to spend another two hours riding a carriage back to his lodgings. Before entering the alley, he noticed ominous plumes of black smoke snaking up the sky. The moment he came near, he realized that it was his lodging house that has been razed! Outside the courtyard and the rubbles of the destroyed house were mobs of inquisitive pedestrians and bystanders. But they were held back by a troop of Constables of the League who demarcated the scene with barricades.

”XIAN'ER!”

Xian Chen bellowed with fright. With a powerful stomp from the carriage, he propelled himself into the air, nearly causing the carriage to overturn. Panicking, the horse drawing the carriage whinnied hysterically before bucking wildly, tossing the driver of the carriage off its back.