Chapter 405 - The Black and White Supremes (1/2)

“Are you looking for her?”

A mellow voice resounded through the foggy woods, sending a jolt of shudder through Xiao Chen. The first name that came to mind was Ye Wuxin. With hardly any hesitation, he swung the Unsullied with all his weight behind it. But the blade stopped before it reached within inches of the man; Su Lianyue had been taken hostage!

Looking almost in his late twenties and a face as pale as milk, looking more dead than alive especially with the white robes he wore, the man looked conspicuously extrinsic in the dark shadows of the forest. His left hand clutched at Su Lianyue’s throat as an amused expression could be seen between the locks of snowy-white hair hanging down his face like a set of curtains. In his right hand, he was holding a white folding fan. But it scarcely seemed like the usual instruments used to provide comfort, but rather a dangerous weapon with all thirteen slates of the fan made of dark-meteoric iron, all of them glinting keenly in the dark moonglow.

Xiao Chen steeled himself. This was no Ye Wuxin. But being able to capture Su Lianyue alive, this person must be at least a mage of the later stages of the Nascent Soul Realm and his magic or abilities must be quaint and queer.

A self-satisfied, but no less vile, smile slid across his milky-white face as he drew nearer to Su Lianyue’s ear and drew a deep breath and sneered, “What a gorgeous little one here. What a pity if I have to kill her.”

Su Lianyue curdled with disgust and horror, trying to wrench herself away. But the man’s grip was too strong for her. “Let her go,” Xiao Chen growled, quietly channeling more than half of his True Energy.

“I was bidden to come here to take care of two little mice by the high chieftain. I guess I’ve found you then. But a vermin has no right to speak to me, let alone making demands. But how about a little chat? Why are you here?”

Xiao Chen’s fist clenched tighter with a cold fury blazing in his eyes. Su Lianyue was at the mercy of an enemy with her meridian points sealed, rendering her immobile and defenseless. Snapping her neck and killing her would just be merely a child’s play to this man.

All of a sudden, an unnatural gust of wind howled through the eaves and boughs of the forest shaking the limbs of the trees and the leaves rustled anxiously. A scud of jet-black fumes swept suddenly at Xiao Chen like a black fist. Xiao Chen brandished the Unsullied, hacking in down furiously at the black mist only to be astonished when his weapon was parried off with a deafening clang and some fiery spurts of sparks.

Xiao Chen swiped at the black smog with his hand like a claw. But the black smog flitted swiftly out of his reach and evaded him, only to veer back for another assault. Xiao Chen leaped into the air to avoid it and somersaulted to deliver a successive of blows from his fists downwards at it. The magical bolts hammered into the ground harmlessly, shaking the earth and trees and throwing up dust and soot just as the dark shadow drifted away just in time. The shadow then hovered around the man in white and turned into a man completely dressed in black.

His face and his eyes were dark and a set of dark meteoric iron claw-like maces rested ominously in his hands as if anxious to taste blood. Xiao Chen took a deep breath to calm himself. The odds were slowly stacking against him; not only these two men wielded powers on par, if not stronger, than him. Their magic and sorcery looked strangely unorthodox to him.

With the pair complete, Xiao Chen realized who they were: the powerful direct subordinates of Ye Wuxin known as the Black and White Supremes. The White Supreme was named Bai Yu – White Jade, whilst the Black Supreme was a man named Mo Ran – Black Dye. Similar to Seven Killings, Yi Yeqiu, and Su Lianyue, all of whom the widely-recognized promising talents of the dark side, the Black and White Supremes enjoyed similar notoriety as the future of the Corpse Refinery Sect. Their powers might pale in comparison to members such as Elder Long, but they were nevertheless conferred greater authority in this diabolical order.

Bai Yu smiled thinly. “Consider yourselves fortunate that the High Chieftain is…” But an irate Mo Ran cut him off, “Enough with your prattling!” Just as soon as he finished, the Black Supreme lunged at Xiao Chen again.

Mo Ran’s onslaught of ferocious swipes from his claw-like mace was proof enough to Xiao Chen to understand that he was fighting against a foe immensely experienced in close combat. The Black Supreme’s figure dissolved into five tendrils of black smog that swirled around Xiao Chen and the latter immediately channeled his power and conjured a protective cocoon that glistened with a golden sheen. Then out of nowhere, a black shiny claw flashed dangerously close by.

Xiao Chen tilted himself back to evade the claw, pivoted and retaliated with a strike at Mo Ran’s back. But Mo Ran immediately whirled and sent a blow of his own to meet Xiao Chen’s. The fists met and the resulting force sent a shockwave that tossed leaves and dust into the air while also sending both men reeling backward.

But Mo Ran was quick to regain his balance and he lunged again like a shadow. He’s bloody fast, Xiao Chen thought. Mo Ran was intensely exceptional that no ordinary mage of the same power would have been able to defeat him… In just mere heartbeats, Xiao Chen realized, he had exchanged more than twenty blows with his opponent and he was nowhere nearer to defeating him.

Both of them were fighting in speeds extraordinary to most men, dashing among the trees like a pair of wraiths but never stopped in delivering blows after blows at each other, cleverly missing every leaf, stalk, or branch, although each stroke was lethal and deadly if either of them were not careful. One could have easily described this duel as “artistry,” if not for the air of malice that lingered over them as they fought.

None of his offensive magic with great destructive force such as the Dragon’s Wrath, the Dragon Slay, or the Heaven-slaying Sword would work against an enemy skilled in close-quarters combat. He would not only be missing his target whenever he used these spells or techniques, but he would also be vulnerable to any reprisals from his enemy.

And so the gritting fight continued with both sides showing no signs of tiring. Between the Immortal-override Steps and the ancient combat techniques of Family Xiao, Xiao Chen was feeling the pressure piling swiftly. Mo Ran was simply too agile and fast beyond his expectations.

Everything was but a blur to Su Lianyue who watched from afar. She could no longer tell who from who, seeing only two masses of shadows pouncing on each other. She had never thought Xiao Chen, for all his prowess in magic and sorcery, was such an adept fighter in close combat.

But a smirk came suddenly from the White Supreme still maintaining his grip on her, “Heh heh heh. It seems that the Black Supreme who has never once been bested in speed has finally met his match this night.”

The fight waged on for another several minute until Mo Ran dislodged himself by returning back to Bai Yu’s side. It was a respite equally welcomed by Xiao Chen himself. It allowed him the time to restore his True Energy.

“You have great fighting skills, I’d give you that,” Bai Yu allowed with a sardonic grin, “But if you still refuse to divulge your purpose in coming here, I’m afraid your little gorgeous paramour here is meeting her maker soon…” His grip on Su Lianyue’s throat tightened and she grunted.

The sight of Su Lianyue suffering was enough to rob the breath from Xiao Chen. The odds were immensely stacked against his favor and the Black Supreme was too powerful for him to defeat alone. As if it could not be any worst, he was beginning to fear of being discovered by any patrolling guards who would bring the entire mountain down on him.

Bai Yu sneered to Mo Ran, “Very well. Let me test him this time. Take care of this gorgeous thing…” But Mo Ran snapped, “I’d never hold a woman hostage.”