Translator: Irene Editor: X
The atmosphere in the magistrate court was tense. Nine golden needles were completed, stirring up much excitement, but also tremendous anxiety for everybody. Once the next part of the plan started, there was simply no room for errors.
To save time, the node at the Heaven Pit was handed over to Ai Hui and his group while the other eight nodes were distributed to other teams to investigate.
Teams came back consecutively to report, and so far, there was only good news.
The "treating the city as a piece of cloth" plan was the key element for Central Pine City’s survival. The mayor and dean placed high hopes on it. Honestly, the fact that things could drag on until now was already far beyond their expectations. This also gave them sufficient time to complete the "treating the city as a piece of cloth" plan.
Perhaps it was the succession of good news that significantly lifted the dean’s mood . His tone became lighter as well. "Only Ai Hui and his group are left now."
"Yes, only their side is left," Mayor Wang Zhen spoke ruefully. Only they knew how hard it was to survive for this long.
"I never thought you would task Ai Hui with the Heaven Pit." The dean felt somewhat woeful as well. He now had faith in Wang Zhen since things would have been worse if not for the decisions made by the latter during critical times.
As if he had thought of something, Wang Zhen laughed as he replied, "It wasn’t easy at all to get Ai Hui to do something. We have been offering Heaven Merit Points, rewards, and training methods to entice him. There’s no one in Central Pine City richer than him."
The dean burst out laughing too. "That’s not too bad. At least you only gave out the rewards after receiving his services. You should’ve seen what he was like when talking over conditions with me. No mercy!"
With a smiling expression, Wang Zhen asked, "So you’re trying to say that I must agree since he was finally willing to take on this responsibility?"
"I just have no idea what’s going on inside." Concern was evident in the principal’s face. "We should’ve gone with them."
"Don’t worry." Wang Zhen comforted. "We’ve not seen all of Ai Hui’s abilities. Plus, Shi Xueman is with him so what could go wrong? That fellow has the level-headedness of a general. It’s thanks to him, and not us, that the city is still standing."
The principal nodded.
Without Ai Hui, the consequences of the war on Long Street would be unimaginable. The outcome of the Heaven Pit battle would have been different if not for Ai Hui’s reminder to dive.
Any hesitation at that point would have led to a completely different result.
Twice, during desperate crises, it had been Ai Hui who pulled strongly against the crazy tides.
"A chaotic world creates heroes, eh." Wang Zhen was somewhat moved. "Seeing the progress of that fellow, from a student to ‘The Lightning Blade,’ really reminds us of our old age. The world belongs to the youngsters now."
The principal sighed. "Yeah, I only hope for them to come out of it safely."
"They will." Wang Zhen’s tone was exceptionally certain. "We persevered and sacrificed so many people not so we would just fail. We will start nailing the golden needles once Ai Hui and his people are back."
In the dark subterranean world, the rolling waves of the lava river carried bright, glittering sparks.
Two silhouettes, one male and the other female, flew and fought at an extremely high speed. A green arrow ray and red bloody glow collided continuously in midair. The lady was dressed in red and her poses were strange, appearing and disappearing in the air like a demon. The man was holding a bow and arrow while following closely behind, his movements as fast as lightning.
Wherever they were, sand and rocks flew everywhere as they filled the air with fiery rain from the lava river.
It could be seen that neither dared to fight too recklessly since they were thousands of kilometers underground. If they fought too hard and triggered a collapse around them, they would be buried alive. No matter how strong they were, there was no chance of survival if they were trapped.
"Vice Division Leader Yu has been chasing me for five days. Are you my admirer? Following me so closely."
The red lady’s laughter echoed between the rocks as a green arrow ray pierced through her body from behind. Yet, it did not penetrate her body, but landed among the rocks. The red silhouette in midair faded as it was actually an afterimage.
"It’s vice division leader."
Deadpan, Yu Mingqiu corrected the lady’s mistake as the bowstring in his hand moved lightning fast. An arrow ray was swiftly launched at the red shadow that appeared from the other side, but again, it went through an afterimage and struck a wall.
From the time he searched for her aimlessly to the time he reached her, he immediately noticed that her strength was linked to the blood poison in countless ways and pursued her even more actively.
The lady’s appearance verified some of his conjectures. The blood poison disaster in the Induction Ground was a plot! He had wanted to capture and interrogate the opponent to find out more about the mastermind, but was shocked by her strength.
Both had been fighting for five days and nights, but there had not been a winner so far!
Yu Mingqiu had extreme confidence in his abilities since he was the vice division leader of a division after all. In all of the Avalon of Five Elements, his ability was among the top.
Yet, he quickly found that his opponent’s ability was not beneath his.
What surprised him more was the fact that instead of elemental energy, her body contained a very foreign force. Blood poison, blood disaster, mysterious lady, unknown force, misleading background…
He was indescribably shaken, knowing he was on the brink of obtaining the truth.
He had to take his opponent down no matter what. This exceptionally seductive lady in red was the biggest clue.
Yu Mingqiu was like dogskin plaster, pestering her nonstop and not giving up even after five days and nights of chasing.
"Vice division leader? You really look down on me." The lady in red laughed gently and unreliably. "The Avalon of Five Elements is no fun, why not join us? I’ll reserve a division leader position for you. This promise I can fulfill."
"Vice division leader position… you’re talking like it’s real," Yu Mingqiu said dismissively.
"Yes, the timing’s just right. We are preparing to establish 13 divisions, so this is an extremely rare opportunity. If you miss it, it’d be difficult to talk about the division leadert position. Perhaps Brother Yu will meet a few familiar faces. Not everyone is as stubborn as you."
Yu Mingqiu was slightly shaken inside, but his movements were not sluggish. "Familiar faces? Come, tell me a few names and I’ll see."
"Hehe, join us and you’ll know, Brother Yu."
Both had been using such banter to sound each other out for the past five days.
The lady in red felt gloomy too. Her time in Central Pine City had not gone smoothly, and then she had to bumped into Yu Mingqiu and became tangled with him. Initially, seeing that Yu Mingqiu was exhausted, she had planned to capture him. Yet, Yu Mingqiu was outstandingly tough. Not only did she fail to defeat him, she got harassed by him.
"I’m so cool, yet you’re trying to use a mere division leader position to get rid of me? Don’t look down on me!"
A whole chain of words flew out of his mouth rapidly as his arm movements sped up as well.
The lady in red did not drop her guard and easily dodged his attacks. "It’s a pity that you’re not interested, Brother Yu. Five days have passed. I wonder if the people waiting for your rescue are still alive or have fallen into the blood fiends’ mouths. Seeing that you’re coming for me so relentlessly, we must be closely related?"
Yu Mingqiu burst out laughing. "Unable to escape, it’s depressing eh?"
"I’m just curious as to why you would chase after me so closely and diligently?" the lady in red asked with an innocent face.
Yu Mingqiu answered righteously, "Because I’m lost."
"Lost…" The lady in red was baffled by his reply and was unable to connect the dots.
"Between going after you and finding my way, I think the former is easier." Yu Mingqiu’s reason was invulnerable.
"..."
It was even more complicated underground. Both were lost at this point and knew not where they were. The lady in red moved forward and along the lava river since there were numerous lava river tributaries that were certainly unobstructed. On the other hand, those seemingly open, accessible cracks and caves easily led to dead ends.
She would have no choice, but to grapple with Yu Mingqiu if they reached a dead end.
It was not her plan to engage in a face-off with such a strong opponent right now.
She did not want to waste any more time on Yu Mingqiu. While he seemed to be carefree on occasion, his thoughts were often elaborate. Any slight carelessness on her part will allow him to mislead her easily.
The determination displayed by Yu Mingqiu made her understand what kind of strength and abilities such a fearsome opponent possessed.
What she needed now was time. If she had some more time, she could easily use her beast subjugation spells to subdue a powerful blood-traced fiend. With its help, she could then gain equal footing and attack Yu Mingqiu from there.
Suddenly, she noticed a wispy, faintly discernable magma odor in the air.
The nearest lava river was about 50 meters away from where she was, and there was an open zone in the vicinity. This wisp of magma odor, mixed with blood spiritual force, produced unique undulations. The surrounding traces of blazing corals being eaten jolted her mind.
Lava spider!
Judging from the leftover blood spiritual force undulations, it was a highly-transformed lava spider. It was likely to be a "blood-faded" lava spider.
When the blood traces that the blood fiends developed started to stabilize, their blood-colored bodies would fade. They would then be termed "blood-faded" when their skin and fur recovered its natural color.
A completely blood-faded blood fiend looked no different from regular wild beasts, but were stronger and much more powerful. Blood-fading was a sign that the blood traces on the fiends’ bodies were thoroughly stabilized. They would enter a whole new realm at this point.
If she could engage the help of the lava spider, she could definitely get rid of Yu Mingqiu.
Killing a vice division leader was a considerably impressive contribution. If she had better luck and could capture him alive, she would have a heavyweight subordinate.
No matter how loyal, one would not be able to resist the Blood of God.
How could mere mortals resist it?
With a twist of her body, she suddenly made her way into the narrow crevice.
Yu Mingqiu was stunned. Not good! He chased after her hurriedly.
For the past five days, the lady in red had been fleeing along the lava river instead of threading through any crevices. Such a sudden change caught him off guard and slightly delayed his reaction time.
This little delay caused him to lose sight of her upon entering the crevice.
Luckily, there was only one path. Without a word, he sped forward.
Translator: Irene Editor: X
The atmosphere in the magistrate court was tense. Nine golden needles were completed, stirring up much excitement, but also tremendous anxiety for everybody. Once the next part of the plan started, there was simply no room for errors.
To save time, the node at the Heaven Pit was handed over to Ai Hui and his group while the other eight nodes were distributed to other teams to investigate.
Teams came back consecutively to report, and so far, there was only good news.
The "treating the city as a piece of cloth" plan was the key element for Central Pine City’s survival. The mayor and dean placed high hopes on it. Honestly, the fact that things could drag on until now was already far beyond their expectations. This also gave them sufficient time to complete the "treating the city as a piece of cloth" plan.
Perhaps it was the succession of good news that significantly lifted the dean’s mood . His tone became lighter as well. "Only Ai Hui and his group are left now."
"Yes, only their side is left," Mayor Wang Zhen spoke ruefully. Only they knew how hard it was to survive for this long.
"I never thought you would task Ai Hui with the Heaven Pit." The dean felt somewhat woeful as well. He now had faith in Wang Zhen since things would have been worse if not for the decisions made by the latter during critical times.
As if he had thought of something, Wang Zhen laughed as he replied, "It wasn’t easy at all to get Ai Hui to do something. We have been offering Heaven Merit Points, rewards, and training methods to entice him. There’s no one in Central Pine City richer than him."
The dean burst out laughing too. "That’s not too bad. At least you only gave out the rewards after receiving his services. You should’ve seen what he was like when talking over conditions with me. No mercy!"
With a smiling expression, Wang Zhen asked, "So you’re trying to say that I must agree since he was finally willing to take on this responsibility?"
"I just have no idea what’s going on inside." Concern was evident in the principal’s face. "We should’ve gone with them."
"Don’t worry." Wang Zhen comforted. "We’ve not seen all of Ai Hui’s abilities. Plus, Shi Xueman is with him so what could go wrong? That fellow has the level-headedness of a general. It’s thanks to him, and not us, that the city is still standing."
The principal nodded.
Without Ai Hui, the consequences of the war on Long Street would be unimaginable. The outcome of the Heaven Pit battle would have been different if not for Ai Hui’s reminder to dive.
Any hesitation at that point would have led to a completely different result.
Twice, during desperate crises, it had been Ai Hui who pulled strongly against the crazy tides.
"A chaotic world creates heroes, eh." Wang Zhen was somewhat moved. "Seeing the progress of that fellow, from a student to ‘The Lightning Blade,’ really reminds us of our old age. The world belongs to the youngsters now."
The principal sighed. "Yeah, I only hope for them to come out of it safely."
"They will." Wang Zhen’s tone was exceptionally certain. "We persevered and sacrificed so many people not so we would just fail. We will start nailing the golden needles once Ai Hui and his people are back."
In the dark subterranean world, the rolling waves of the lava river carried bright, glittering sparks.
Two silhouettes, one male and the other female, flew and fought at an extremely high speed. A green arrow ray and red bloody glow collided continuously in midair. The lady was dressed in red and her poses were strange, appearing and disappearing in the air like a demon. The man was holding a bow and arrow while following closely behind, his movements as fast as lightning.
Wherever they were, sand and rocks flew everywhere as they filled the air with fiery rain from the lava river.
It could be seen that neither dared to fight too recklessly since they were thousands of kilometers underground. If they fought too hard and triggered a collapse around them, they would be buried alive. No matter how strong they were, there was no chance of survival if they were trapped.
"Vice Division Leader Yu has been chasing me for five days. Are you my admirer? Following me so closely."
The red lady’s laughter echoed between the rocks as a green arrow ray pierced through her body from behind. Yet, it did not penetrate her body, but landed among the rocks. The red silhouette in midair faded as it was actually an afterimage.
"It’s vice division leader."
Deadpan, Yu Mingqiu corrected the lady’s mistake as the bowstring in his hand moved lightning fast. An arrow ray was swiftly launched at the red shadow that appeared from the other side, but again, it went through an afterimage and struck a wall.
From the time he searched for her aimlessly to the time he reached her, he immediately noticed that her strength was linked to the blood poison in countless ways and pursued her even more actively.
The lady’s appearance verified some of his conjectures. The blood poison disaster in the Induction Ground was a plot! He had wanted to capture and interrogate the opponent to find out more about the mastermind, but was shocked by her strength.
Both had been fighting for five days and nights, but there had not been a winner so far!
Yu Mingqiu had extreme confidence in his abilities since he was the vice division leader of a division after all. In all of the Avalon of Five Elements, his ability was among the top.
Yet, he quickly found that his opponent’s ability was not beneath his.
What surprised him more was the fact that instead of elemental energy, her body contained a very foreign force. Blood poison, blood disaster, mysterious lady, unknown force, misleading background…
He was indescribably shaken, knowing he was on the brink of obtaining the truth.
He had to take his opponent down no matter what. This exceptionally seductive lady in red was the biggest clue.
Yu Mingqiu was like dogskin plaster, pestering her nonstop and not giving up even after five days and nights of chasing.
"Vice division leader? You really look down on me." The lady in red laughed gently and unreliably. "The Avalon of Five Elements is no fun, why not join us? I’ll reserve a division leader position for you. This promise I can fulfill."
"Vice division leader position… you’re talking like it’s real," Yu Mingqiu said dismissively.
"Yes, the timing’s just right. We are preparing to establish 13 divisions, so this is an extremely rare opportunity. If you miss it, it’d be difficult to talk about the division leadert position. Perhaps Brother Yu will meet a few familiar faces. Not everyone is as stubborn as you."
Yu Mingqiu was slightly shaken inside, but his movements were not sluggish. "Familiar faces? Come, tell me a few names and I’ll see."
"Hehe, join us and you’ll know, Brother Yu."
Both had been using such banter to sound each other out for the past five days.
The lady in red felt gloomy too. Her time in Central Pine City had not gone smoothly, and then she had to bumped into Yu Mingqiu and became tangled with him. Initially, seeing that Yu Mingqiu was exhausted, she had planned to capture him. Yet, Yu Mingqiu was outstandingly tough. Not only did she fail to defeat him, she got harassed by him.
"I’m so cool, yet you’re trying to use a mere division leader position to get rid of me? Don’t look down on me!"
A whole chain of words flew out of his mouth rapidly as his arm movements sped up as well.
The lady in red did not drop her guard and easily dodged his attacks. "It’s a pity that you’re not interested, Brother Yu. Five days have passed. I wonder if the people waiting for your rescue are still alive or have fallen into the blood fiends’ mouths. Seeing that you’re coming for me so relentlessly, we must be closely related?"
Yu Mingqiu burst out laughing. "Unable to escape, it’s depressing eh?"
"I’m just curious as to why you would chase after me so closely and diligently?" the lady in red asked with an innocent face.
Yu Mingqiu answered righteously, "Because I’m lost."
"Lost…" The lady in red was baffled by his reply and was unable to connect the dots.
"Between going after you and finding my way, I think the former is easier." Yu Mingqiu’s reason was invulnerable.
"..."
It was even more complicated underground. Both were lost at this point and knew not where they were. The lady in red moved forward and along the lava river since there were numerous lava river tributaries that were certainly unobstructed. On the other hand, those seemingly open, accessible cracks and caves easily led to dead ends.
She would have no choice, but to grapple with Yu Mingqiu if they reached a dead end.
It was not her plan to engage in a face-off with such a strong opponent right now.
She did not want to waste any more time on Yu Mingqiu. While he seemed to be carefree on occasion, his thoughts were often elaborate. Any slight carelessness on her part will allow him to mislead her easily.
The determination displayed by Yu Mingqiu made her understand what kind of strength and abilities such a fearsome opponent possessed.
What she needed now was time. If she had some more time, she could easily use her beast subjugation spells to subdue a powerful blood-traced fiend. With its help, she could then gain equal footing and attack Yu Mingqiu from there.
Suddenly, she noticed a wispy, faintly discernable magma odor in the air.
The nearest lava river was about 50 meters away from where she was, and there was an open zone in the vicinity. This wisp of magma odor, mixed with blood spiritual force, produced unique undulations. The surrounding traces of blazing corals being eaten jolted her mind.
Lava spider!
Judging from the leftover blood spiritual force undulations, it was a highly-transformed lava spider. It was likely to be a "blood-faded" lava spider.
When the blood traces that the blood fiends developed started to stabilize, their blood-colored bodies would fade. They would then be termed "blood-faded" when their skin and fur recovered its natural color.
A completely blood-faded blood fiend looked no different from regular wild beasts, but were stronger and much more powerful. Blood-fading was a sign that the blood traces on the fiends’ bodies were thoroughly stabilized. They would enter a whole new realm at this point.
If she could engage the help of the lava spider, she could definitely get rid of Yu Mingqiu.
Killing a vice division leader was a considerably impressive contribution. If she had better luck and could capture him alive, she would have a heavyweight subordinate.
No matter how loyal, one would not be able to resist the Blood of God.
How could mere mortals resist it?
With a twist of her body, she suddenly made her way into the narrow crevice.
Yu Mingqiu was stunned. Not good! He chased after her hurriedly.
For the past five days, the lady in red had been fleeing along the lava river instead of threading through any crevices. Such a sudden change caught him off guard and slightly delayed his reaction time.
This little delay caused him to lose sight of her upon entering the crevice.
Luckily, there was only one path. Without a word, he sped forward.
