Chapter 266 - The Struggle (1/2)
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.