169 - 174
Chapter 169 - Demon?
Seeing this, a thought flitted through Ling Lan's mind. The leader's aura was in a chaotic state, causing him to lose his usual composure ... this was definitely a great opportunity to kill him. But just when Ling Lan was about to make her move, three figures flew towards them from three different directions.
"Leader!" shouted one of the team members.
Meanwhile, another team member saw the blood-soaked Xiao Lai laying in the leader's arms, and could not help but cry out in dismay, "Xiao Lai!"
Still in hiding, Ling Lan quietly lamented the lost opportunity. If those three people had come just 5 seconds later, she would have had enough time to make her move. Ling Lan was a decisive person. Seeing that there was no longer any possibility of launching a sneak attack, she once again muffled all signs of her presence, sinking down to hide like an inanimate object.
The team leader pushed down the sorrow and rage he felt in his heart, and said through gritted teeth, "Xiao Lai was the target of a sneak attack by the opponent. He's dead! The opponent is proficient at concealment and assassination. You must all be careful." His turmoil had only lasted for a moment. By now, he had already regained his calm, and immediately deduced Ling Lan's general position. "He shouldn't be far from here. From the time I sensed killing intent and rushed here, only 3 seconds have passed. He would not have had the time to go too far."
The team leader believed that although he had been thrown into mental turmoil by Xiao Lai's death, he had not lost his sensory abilities. If Ling Lan had chosen to run away back then, he would definitely have sensed the boy's movements. But when he had arrived at the scene, the surroundings had been still and silent. That meant that the other must have chosen to lay low somewhere close by.
Perhaps, the boy was just by their sides now, just waiting for a chance to strike a killing blow.
"From now on, the three of you shall be one team. When you search, don't stray too far from the others. It's best if you all can keep an eye out for each other." The team leader knew that the other three members of his team were at about the same level of strength as Xiao Lai. As such, they would be in danger if they got stranded on their own, so he decided to let the three of them search as a group. As for himself ... if the opponent thought that he was a good target on his own, he would let that punk know that, before true strength, any brilliant sneak attacks or assassination attempts were all futile.
"Yes, Leader!" acknowledged all three men with serious expressions. Xiao Lai's death had raised their guards; they were not confident that they would be able to evade the opponent's undetectable sneak attack on their own.
Ling Lan saw the four of them split up into two teams and start searching in two different directions. Ling Lan's luck was undoubtedly excellent — the first directions the two parties began searching in were coincidentally not where she was hiding. Of course, this was just a temporary reprieve. When the two parties did not find anything in the directions they were searching right now, they would definitely circle back to search the places they had not covered on their first run. In other words, if Ling Lan just continued to hide here, she would still eventually be discovered by the opponents.
Ling Lan considered her options, and then decided to find a chance to trail that group of three. Although on the surface, going after the team leader to try and execute an assassination seemed more likely to succeed, Ling Lan somehow had an unexplainable feeling in her heart that there was something dangerous about that team leader. It was this sense of danger that made her give up on trying to sneak attack that team leader immediately.
Of course, for Ling Lan to launch a sneak attack on the three-man team without being caught was also very difficult. However, Ling Lan believed that as long as she was patient and focused, it may not be impossible.
Right then, a gust of wind swept by, shaking the leaves on the trees, causing them to rustle loudly. With a light push of her palms, Ling Lan sprang off the ground and flew towards the direction where the three-man team had gone ...
When the wind died down, Ling Lan drifted softly to land like a leaf, dashing into another concealed spot to continue hiding once more ... Ling Lan's patience was extremely high — even though she still could not see hide or hair of the three-man team, the moment the wind stopped blowing, she would stop moving as well, and would remain still until the next gust swept by.
On the other end, the team leader was searching with his head bowed. His ears twitched with the sounds of the wind. Though his face remained expressionless, doubt flashed briefly through his eyes ...
He actually could not hear anything out of place. Other than the sounds of the wind, and the rustling of leaves, all he could hear was the sound of their own footsteps as they traipsed through the dry grass. Could he have made an error in judgment? Was the opponent still choosing to hide at his original spot and not planning to try another sneak attack? Or had he perhaps already gotten close to them, and he just could not hear it?
The leader's expression became grim. Just then, a tendril of fog abruptly appeared in the forest. It slowly became thicker and thicker, until the leader's figure was hidden within this dense patch of white fog.
********
The members of the three-man team kept the instructions of their leader close to heart; the distance between them never exceeded 10 metres. Not only that, they each also made sure to keep one team member within sight at all times. This was the triangular formation unique to the Federation military, and it was considered a defensive formation with no blind spots.
Ling Lan continued to use the sound of the wind as cover, sneaking up stealthily to the three-man team. However, she was not happy. Instead, her brows were tightly furrowed, because she had noticed that under this formation, she would have no chance whatsoever to try a sneak attack.
She needed to mess up this formation as soon as possible! Ling Lan knew she did not have a lot of time. Little Four, who had been keeping an eye on the leader, had just told her that he had lost track of the leader. Although Little Four was using high-definition satellite monitoring to scan the area where the team leader had disappeared, that area had already become a thick cloud of fog. Under these circumstances, even the most high-definition satellite would be ineffective.
Ling Lan reckoned that the fog was part of the other's innate talent ability. Under the cover of the fog, perhaps the other had already turned back and was rushing here at full speed. Meanwhile, she not only had to find a way to finish off these three people in front of her as soon as possible, she still had to beware the aftermath. She did not want to be like the tragic mantis which stalks a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it 1 .
A gust of wind swept by, causing the shrubs and trees around to sway gently, rustling. At the start, the three-man team had been in a state of paranoia, which then toned down to nervous caution ... and now, they were calm. At this play of the wind, they merely cast brief glances reflexively at those areas which emitted sound.
Seeing this, an idea sparked in Ling Lan's mind ...
The three men saw nothing strange and so continued to walk and search. Not long after, another draft swept by, and like before, the trees and shrubs emitted a round of choppy noises — but this time, an almost imperceptible object shot out along with this gust of wind.
Taking advantage of the wind, Ling Lan had sent an extremely thin and small, yet extremely sharp, ice needle flying out at the team member closest to her. At this time, the other's range of sight just happened to turn towards some source of sound. Moreover, the direction of this turn just happened to expose his most defensively weak temple to Ling Lan.
Ever since humans have used gene agents to spur the development of the body, their bodies' vitality and resistance had been strengthened greatly in comparison to that of Ling Lan's previous world 10,000 years ago. Thus, besides the areas of the head and brain, there were no longer any fatal weaknesses on any other part of the body.
If Ling Lan wanted to rely on this extremely thin ice needle to give the opponent a death blow at any other part of the body, that was almost impossible. Only by shooting it straight into the head to destroy the other's brain could it achieve a killing effect. Just like how Ling Lan had killed that Twilight Empire mecha operator on planet Demonbeast — using a short wooden needle to pierce through the other's lower jaw diagonally to penetrate the brain, killing the opponent by destroying the other's brain. Otherwise, just purely piercing the throat may not necessarily guarantee the other's death.
Compared to the layers of defense shielding a mecha operator's head, this three-man team before her, due to their disguise as teachers, had not donned any defense for their heads. This gave Ling Lan the possibility of achieving one-hit kills.
Ling Lan's ice needle was truly too small and thin, and on top of that, she had used the sound of the wind to cover its tracks — only when the ice needle was no more than 10 millimetres away from the opponent did his expression twist in realisation.
No matter how much she tried to hide the attack within the sound of the wind, a Qi-Jin level combat expert would have a defensive Qi flow around him, so when the attack approached this Qi flow, it would be noticed by the opponent. This was also why Ling Lan had chosen to do a close-range assassination at the start with Xiao Lai. After all, hidden weapons were not very effective against Qi-Jin experts who were on their guard.
That person was just about to move his head to dodge the attack, when Ling Lan's long prepared spiritual attack followed. This time, her spiritual attack was not as intense as the one she had used against Xiao Lai, which could cause someone to fall unconscious directly. Instead, this attack would only concuss the head of the target, making him lose control of his movements, briefly paralyzing the other.
It would only last for a split second; the target would be back to normal almost immediately . However, this one split second was enough — with fear and shock, the opponent found that it was too late to dodge!
The ice needle plunged soundlessly into the opponent's temple, leaving no trace except an extremely miniscule red dot where it had entered ... as well as that rictus of horror right before the moment of death!
In the meantime, the other two people did not notice that anything had happened. They continued to search ahead, still staying in their triangular formation. But after walking a few steps, they realised that one of their members on one of the corners had trailed behind ...
One of the remaining members stopped and shouted out doubtfully, "Xiao Lin, did you find something? Why aren't you keeping up?"
Xiao Lin just continued to stand there unmoving, staring off fixedly at a spot, as if he had found something.
The two of remaining members looked at one another, then agreed tacitly to go over to take a look. They carefully made their way over and one of them walked right up to Xiao Lin's side. He nudged Xiao Lin on the shoulder and said, "Hey, why aren't you answering?"
Unexpectedly, this nudge caused Xiao Lin's entire body to fall forwards. The two men were shocked — one of them quickly got into a defensive pose nervously, while the other moved forwards to check on their companion, only to find that Xiao Lin had stopped breathing ...
"Ahh ... that goddamn bastard, you need to f*ckin' come out and show yourself! What kind of hero attacks from the shadows?! Come fight me one on one if you have the guts!" That person leapt up abruptly, screaming out into the dimly lit forest hysterically. He was thoroughly frightened by this silent and unexpected passing of Xiao Lin.
" Xiao Chong 1 , calm down!" the other team member yelled anxiously, looking around warily all the while. The surroundings were quiet and still, not a figure in sight ...
"Leader! Leader!" bellowed the hysterical team member, hoping that his team leader would hurry over to investigate the cause of Xiao Lin's death.
However, all that answered him was still silence. Even his leader was nowhere to be seen or heard. The hysterical team member gradually calmed down, but his complexion also grew increasingly paler. He could not help but think: Could it be that their team leader had also already been killed silently and unexpectedly like this?
He shook his head emphatically. No, the leader was so strong and formidable. He definitely wouldn't be offed by a 13 year old child ... but, was their target really just a 13 year old child? Or perhaps the one behind the deaths of his comrades was not their target at all? Perhaps it was a demon?
He thought of that large hole in Xiao Lai's chest that had been created by an unknown weapon, and then looked down again at Xiao Lin laying on the ground without a mark on him. All he could see was the terrified expression on Xiao Lin's face, as if he had seen something horrific right before he died ...
1. i.e. After she finishes off the three men, being killed by the leader from behind. (FYI, an oriole is a type of bird.)
2. literal translation: Little Worm. The name of this character is what makes me think the team is using codenames. 'Lai' and 'Lin' of the other two mentioned could be taken as generic surnames or even be part of their given names, but the 'chong' character here (worm) is obviously not a name anyone would saddle their child with.
Chapter 170 - Split-Core Twofold Detonation Technique!
"Xiao Fei, there was clearly no one around earlier, but Xiao Lin still died, even leaving with such an expression on his face. Our opponent isn't human!" Although science and technology explained that there were no ghosts and spirits in this world, the bizarre nature of Xiao Lin's death had still caused Xiao Chong to panic. "Right now, even the leader has disappeared! He must have died at the hands of that terrifying demon too! If we continue to stay here, we'll definitely die!" Facing such a creepy situation, even a braver man would be affected by fear.
"Slap!" Xiao Fei threw a tight slap across Xiao Chong's face. In reaction, Xiao Chong gaped, expression still anxious, confused, and helpless.
"You need to godd*mn calm down!" barked Xiao Fei, "The leader had mentioned that the opponent is good at concealment and assassination, so it's not surprising that he knows some methods that we cannot understand. But this doesn't mean he's invincible!"
"Besides, I don't believe the leader has really been finished off." Xiao Fei knew his leader's capabilities very well — if even the leader could not resist, then they would really have no chance of leaving this forest alive. He told himself that he must remain calm. The moment the both of them got caught up in panic, then death would really be at their heels.
Xiao Fei's calm and steady words finally lessened Xiao Chong's panic. His gaze began to rove, but just as he was about to say something, he suddenly saw the bushes about 10 metres behind Xiao Fei burst apart soundlessly. Countless blades of grass and leaves shot out like arrows at Xiao Fei's back.
"Watch out!" Xiao Chong's previous panic was wiped away instantly. A cold light shone from his eyes as he pushed Xiao Fei gently to one side with his left hand. Then, lifting his right hand, he charged towards the bush the attack had come from. A formless blast of Qi-Jin, and the grass and leaves flying towards them were instantly obstructed.
A muffled "bang!" — the two invisible forces collided. Xiao Chong's body was shaken by the blast, and he felt the breath and blood in his chest roil ... calmly, he circulated the hidden force in his body, and once more gathered the energy at his palms to push out at the opposing force once more ...
The addition of this burst of Qi-Jin finally suppressed that formless energy, and the grass and leaves frozen in the air were immediately thrown back from whence they came.
Hiding in the opposite direction, when the muffled blast rang out, Ling Lan's complexion paled, as if sustaining some great blow. However, her expression did not change and her vision did not waver. She still kept her eyes coolly focused on the other team member, the one who had been pushed aside by Xiao Chong, Xiao Fei.
That's right, her target this time was none other than Xiao Fei. The flying grasses and leaves earlier were indeed her tactic, but that move was just a feint, an intentional attack to lure the attention of Xiao Chong.
Although Xiao Chong's surface panic had looked very real, the invisible bloody aura lingering about them proved that these people were all veterans who were used to bloodshed. How could they be so easily frightened by a comrade's unexplained death? His performance was undoubtedly meant to lull Ling Lan and try to entice her into attacking.
After figuring things out, Ling Lan decided to just play along. Even though she risked getting injured this way, she would obtain another chance to kill off yet another one of her opponents. This was an undoubtedly worthy exchange.
Right after Xiao Chong blasted away those grasses and leaves, with no hesitation, he stomped on the ground, and using the reaction force generated from it, he pounced towards the area that had been blasted apart. Both his palms were thrust forward, formless Qi-Jin behind them as he struck out!
Since the formless force had come from this direction, then the opponent must definitely be hiding there! He had caught the killer! Glee flashed through Xiao Chong's eyes. As long as the opponent exposed himself, based on the strength he had sensed from their last encounter, Xiao Chong was confident that he would definitely be able to kill the other by working together with Xiao Fei.
With a loud "Boom!", dirt was thrown up into the air along with shrubbery as the ground was blasted apart by the force of his attack. At the end of it, a deep pit of about a metre wide in diameter laid before Xiao Chong.
"A good opportunity! Explode!" At this moment, Ling Lan, who had been hiding to one side, saw Xiao Chong leave the side of the other team member, and immediately detonated the spiritual power she had planted by Xiao Fei's side.
Ling Lan was not confident that she could kill two Qi-Jin experts at the same time with a spiritual blast. In comparison with Xiao Chong's late stage Qi-Jin strength, Xiao Fei with his early mid-stage Qi-Jin strength was undoubtedly easier to kill. Therefore, from the very start, her target had always been Xiao Fei — always start from cartilage when gnawing on bones 1 , after all.
The formless and colourless spiritual power, under Ling Lan's control, exploded in an instant, creating a massive shockwave aimed straight for Xiao Fei's brain.
Xiao Fei, who had been pushed to one side by Xiao Chong, had already been in defensive mode. His attention was currently focused on Xiao Chong's attack — the moment he noticed any sign of the opponent, he would follow up with an attack of his own and help Xiao Chong.
However, before he could notice anything, tremors abruptly coursed through his mind. This was a warning signal, an ability of every fighter who managed to enter Qi-Jin stage. Could it be that the opponent was trying to launch a sneak attack on him?
This notion had barely passed Xiao Fei's mind when the hidden force spread out across his body ballooned rapidly — if anyone or any hidden weapons approached him, he would be able to sense it ...
But even as he pulled this defensive action, he felt a formless energy collide with the defensive hidden force on his body ... He felt his Qi-Jin shudder violently, and then waves of dizziness and disorientation invaded his brain. As if from a distance, he felt like he could hear his own Qi-Jin being detonated by that surge of energy. Boom! Boom! Boom! ...
These concussive forces were focused on attacking his brain. In the end, he felt his brain succumb to these overwhelming energy surges, and with a last roaring blast, it exploded ... he thoroughly descended into darkness and knew no more.
On the other side, Xiao Chong, who was attacking the source of the attacking energy, thought that his two Qi-infused palms would force out the killer hiding within the shrubs. However, other than flying dirt and grass, there was no one to be found ... besides the rustling sounds of the trees and plants stirred by the wind, there was nothing else in the surroundings.
"Damn it!" Seeing his two palms not having their intended effect, Xiao Chong could not help but curse silently, heart doubtful. Had the killer snuck away in the very moment he had launched his sneak attack at Xiao Fei? But he had not heard anyone moving at all! Or could it be that that person had never been there to begin with? In that case, then how had that attack been created?
Sure enough, Xiao Chong was not as flustered as he had appeared to be. Or, more accurately, his previous weak performance was just meant to put the killer hiding in the shadows at ease and get him to attack.
He had indeed gotten his wish. The opponent had struck, but the outcome was not ideal. He did not manage to frisk out the opponent, which made him even more uncertain and lost than before.
He moodily walked back to his teammate's side. Of course, along the way, he did not forget to stay vigilant — he believed that the killer was still nearby. It was only that the killer had a mysterious way of moving and hiding, causing him to be unable to find an opening, so fear began taking root in his heart.
"Xiao Fei, did you find anything?" he asked softly. Xiao Fei had been standing behind him all this while defending, perhaps he had seen something.
Unfortunately, there was no response to his question. Sensing something off, Xiao Chong's expression changed drastically. He rushed over to stand before Xiao Fei and was treated to the sight of Xiao Fei's wide open eyes staring off sightlessly into the distance. Meanwhile, thin rivulets of blood were flowing ceaselessly from Xiao Fei's eyes, nose, ears, and mouth ... With just one glance, Xiao Chong could tell that the other was already dead.
"Aaaah!!" Xiao Chong howled mournfully. Compared to the other teammates, he and Xiao Fei had grown up together, attended school together, fought their first battle together, and survived together. They were the best of sworn brothers. His death caused Xiao Chong to go utterly berserk ...
Hiding within the grass, Ling Lan's current condition was not optimistic either. Her face was as white as paper — that last spiritual blast had undoubtedly drained her spiritual power. Not only that, a spiritual blast was also an attack which extracted a heavy toll on oneself even as it dealt great damage to the opponent 1 . Moreover, the attack she used this time — the split-core twofold detonation technique — actually had an even higher requirement than a regular spiritual blast, with a correspondingly higher damage output.
Though the power of a spiritual blast was indeed very strong, it had a weakness — after it was activated once, the user would not be able to accumulate spiritual power again for a short period to continue attacking. Thus, if Ling Lan used a spiritual blast to attract the opponent's attention, then she would have no way of immediately gathering spiritual strength again to launch another sneak attack. In order to successfully kill off one of her opponents, she could only take a risk and use the split-core twofold detonation technique.
The split-core twofold detonation technique was an area-of-effect technique. It split her spiritual power into two portions, which could then be detonated separately to attack a target. The immense turbulence caused by the twofold blasts of spiritual power could instantly destroy anything tangible or intangible within a certain range.
Ling Lan knew well that that missing team leader was most certainly on his way here. There was no time for her to continue wasting; she needed to finish off these two people before the team leader arrived. Otherwise, up against that leader at the peak of Qi-Jin, Ling Lan had no confidence she would be able to stand up to him even one-on-one, much less if the other still had a helper remaining.
Ling Lan believed that, by using the split-core twofold detonation technique, she would definitely be able to kill off at least one of her opponents. And in reality, Ling Lan had done it. However, the cost was also very high. Not only was her spiritual power depleted, her head ached fiercely, feeling as if it were splitting apart, causing her to feel like puking. Even her physical body sustained a little damage. The only blessing was, setting her spiritual power aside, her combat ability had not been decreased by much.
"Boss, you cannot use any more spiritual power." Checking on Ling Lan's condition, Little Four spoke up to caution her, "Forcefully using any more will cause irreparable long-term damage to your spiritual self."
"Understood!" replied Ling Lan. Her gaze was fixed on the grieving and berserk Xiao Chong. His aura had started to fluctuate; this was undoubtedly a good time to attack ...
Since she already had no way of using spiritual attacks anymore, then all she could do was charge in. With a strong push of her arms, she flew like an arrow towards Xiao Chong who was still howling mournfully up into the sky.
At the same time, a cone-shaped icicle appeared in her hands, and in a split second, she was at the opponent's back.
In fact, Ling Lan already long knew that the so-called innate talents from spiritual mutation actually had very little to do with how strong one's spiritual power was. It was just that the innate talents possessed by a body required spiritual power to trigger. Although Ling Lan's spiritual power was depleted, she still had the tiny bit of spiritual power needed to activate Ice Affinity to make this small icicle ...
At that moment, the wailing Xiao Chong abruptly turned around. He glared at Ling Lan with bloodshot eyes and shouted, "You've finally appeared!"
1. i.e. go for the weakest link when tackling a problem
2. Original phrase here literally translates to: 'Kill 1000 enemies at a loss of 800 to oneself'. It is meant in terms of troops in war, sacrificing 800 of your own men to eliminate 1000 men of the enemy forces.
Chapter 171 - I Want to Live!
The opponent's hand unerringly grasped hold of Ling Lan's right hand which was stabbing towards him, a savage smile appearing on his lips.
It's a trap! Ling Lan realised instantly that the other's unstable aura and his frenzied wailing had all been a sham — all for the sake of getting her to attack!
A piercing glint flashed through Ling Lan's eyes. Regardless of whether the other had done this intentionally or not, at this moment, there was no longer any possibility of a sneak attack.
Defenceless, an unexpected spiritual charge could indeed cause a target to lose control of their actions for a brief second, allowing her to carry off a one-hit kill. However, once the opponent had their guard up, then a spiritual charge, which was not very strong, would not be able to cause the opponent to lose control. Consecutive assassinations had thoroughly raised her opponents' guard, which was also why Ling Lan had chosen to use a spiritual blast instead of a spiritual charge when she had killed Xiao Fei.
Thus, for this attack, she had had no choice but to try her luck in a direct confrontation. She only hoped that she could at least deal heavy damage to the opponent, if she could not kill him, before the team leader arrived, so he would be unable to continue fighting.
Although Ling Lan's right hand was in the opponent's grip, she reacted extremely quickly. Her left hand abruptly swept towards the other's neck, and at the tips of her fingers, an extremely small and thin ice needle was revealed. Against an opponent at the same level of Qi-Jin, even an ice needle, which did not look that sturdy, could give the opponent a fatal wound.
His brief but full-on contact with Ling Lan let Xiao Chong know that this seemingly 13 year old youth before him was actually at a similar level of strength as him. He was also a Qi-Jin level combat expert. Thus, Xiao Chong did not dare to take any risks. With a forceful spring of his legs, he dodged that glittering, cold ice needle of the opponent. But in doing so, his right hand had no choice but to let go of Ling Lan.
He thought that the opponent would take the chance to escape — most assassins who were proficient in the various methods of assassination would choose to distance themselves immediately if their attempt failed. Thus, right after he dodged the other's ice needle, he came to an abrupt stop, aiming to stop the other when he tried to escape.
Regaining free use of her right hand, Ling Lan did not run away as he expected; instead, she chose to get even closer, throwing out a fierce elbow in his direction.
Because Xiao Chong had chosen to stop, he had no room at all to dodge again. He had no choice but to cross his arms and forcefully take the opponent's blow.
An audible thud! Both sides had used their full strength — when the two hidden forces collided, loud explosions could be heard. As Xiao Chong had blocked Ling Lan's attack in a hurry, his Qi had not been as substantial as Ling Lan's. Xiao Chong felt his feet become unsteady, and stumbled back three consecutive steps before the force he had received faded. Even so, he felt a heaviness in his chest as his Qi roiled, and he almost threw up a mouthful of blood.
During the collision, Ling Lan's face drained of its colour. However, she had indisputably won the upper hand in this encounter. So, pressing her advantage, she closed the gap as the other retreated, once again getting up close and personal.
"Godd*mmit!" Xiao Chong had yet to find his footing when he saw the opponent attacking once more. Swearing loudly, he did not choose to dodge this time, but instead clenched his fists and struck out fiercely at the opponent. He just knew that offense was the best defense — otherwise, he would forever be passively defending against the other's attacks, completely losing the chance to fight back.
Ling Lan saw the opponent's fist coming at her, but did not evade it. Instead, she used her left hand to intercept the opponent's punch, and then, her right fist swung out ...
A flash of joy passed through Xiao Chong's gaze. Similarly, his left hand intercepted Ling Lan's fist, and the two of them were instantly in a deadlock. Undoubtedly, Ling Lan's choice this time was advantageous to Xiao Chong. From his initial passive disadvantaged position, he had now risen to be on equal footing with Ling Lan again.
Right then, Ling Lan's entire body leaned backwards, and a trace of a smirk played on the corners of her lips ...
"Not good!" Warning bells began to ring in Xiao Chong's heart. Without having to think about it, he retreated swiftly, trying to dodge the threat.
But it was already too late — he felt a heavy force striking his abdomen, and then he was sent flying backwards. In mid-air, a mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth. Ling Lan had used the move she was extremely proficient in by now — Rabbit Sky Leap. Now, her Rabbit Sky Leap no longer had a mere strength increase of 3 times, but 7.
Rabbit Sky Leap was definitely a great skill; its power was formidable and it was extremely subtle. Unfortunately, this skill could not be used consecutively. Because the recoil from executing the Rabbit Sky Leap was too strong, Ling Lan's body could not take the repeated battering of this force. She needed some time to recover before using it again, otherwise it would be too easy for Ling Lan's legs to become permanently damaged.
Even though Xiao Chong had already achieved the late stage of Qi-Jin, bearing the full measure of this powerful kicking force, he was still injured badly.
About to hit the ground, Ling Lan twisted to one side and slapped her right hand against the ground to push herself upright again, once again flying towards Xiao Chong. She swung a long readied fist.
Subtle vibrations could be seen running through Ling Lan's right arm, being transmitted to her fist. This was a combat special skill she had redeemed with honour points from the learning space early on —— Wave Stacking Strike!
Wave Stacking Strike stacked the body's hidden force layer by layer onto one's fist. From just 2 layers at the start, Ling Lan could now stack up to 6 layers, which meant that she could attack a target with up to 6 times her normal Qi-Jin.
Ling Lan knew very well that a woman's physical strength was naturally weaker than a man's — to become strong in her own right, besides needing to make sure her combat skills were better than her competitors, she similarly could not lose in terms of strength to those men. In order to make up for this natural deficit, in choosing her techniques, she leant towards those skills which involved power stacking. This was a reason why she had redeemed the Wave Stacking Strike from the learning space.
Xiao Chong saw the opponent's fist hurtling towards him and he grimaced. In the air, he had no way to change directions and dodge, and so could only take the blow. With a shout, he threw out his own fist, prepared to duke it out with Ling Lan.
A loud "Boom!" The two Qi-Jins crashed into one another and the energy swept outwards in a ring. The surrounding trees could not take this powerful force; they all began to lean towards the outside, and a countless number just broke apart under the pressure to fly out.
"Wah!" In mid-air, Xiao Chong once again spewed a lance of blood. He was thrown backwards at a speed greater than before. Only when he slammed violently into a large tree did his body stop moving.
He slowly slid down the tree trunk to kneel on the ground! Meanwhile, the tree he had slammed into had clear cracks spreading out on its bark where he had landed — it was obvious how forcefully he had slammed into it.
In the meeting of the two fists, although Ling Lan had the initiative as well as the support of the Wave Stacking Strike, she still sustained damage. Being thrown backwards, she stumbled two or three steps back and threw up a mouthful of blood. Only then did the roiling of her blood and Qi settle down enough for her to suppress her discomfort.
"Gotta take your life while you're down!" Seeing the opponent already at a critically injured state, only lacking one final blow to end things, Ling Lan showed no mercy. She stepped forwards once more, pouncing like an arrow at the opponent, throwing a palm out at the same time. The moment she finished off the opponent, Ling Lan would once again conceal herself and lay low to wait for her final opponent, the team leader!
Just as Ling Lan stuck out her palm, her heart throbbed abruptly, a never before encountered sense of danger stealing into her mind ... unknowingly, heaven knows when, a thin layer of fog had drifted to her side.
"Not good! He's here!" Alarm bells rang in Ling Lan's mind. Her palm abruptly changed directions to strike at the ground, and using that rebound, she retreated with a backflip. Then, as planned, her legs stomped firmly on the ground, sending her body flying at lightspeed into the distance, instantly disappearing from the area.
Ling Lan who had flown over 100 metres away in an instant suddenly felt her body being struck forcefully. Blood sprayed from her mouth, and her body plummeted uncontrollably to crash heavily into the ground.
At this moment, behind Ling Lan, a plume of thick fog appeared. Then, a figure emerged from within it — it was the missing team leader.
"Who knew that in just 5 minutes, you managed to kill Xiao Lin and Xiao Fei. Even Xiao Chong almost could not escape your lethal grasp," said the team leader, expression frigid, "You are indeed a dangerous character."
Ling Lan's internal Qi-Jin had been scattered by that last strike. Right now, her limbs were lifeless, but she did not want to give up. So, she slowly forced herself to climb off the ground and stand up straight. Using the back of a hand to wipe away the blood stains at the corner of her mouth, she said bitterly, "A Domain fighter!" Although the opponent had just entered the Domain stage, this difference of one stage made Ling Lan unable to bear even one attack from the other. "Your luck is truly great, actually having a breakthrough on site."
This also explained why the other had taken up to 5 minutes to come. It was likely that the opponent had been in the middle of his breakthrough in this time, and so could not rush over.
"This is still thanks to you, otherwise I would not have been able to find the catalyst to breakthrough," huffed the team leader. The death of his comrades caused him to be unbearably agonised, leading his already peak Qi-Jin to quake violently, coincidentally causing cracks to appear on the shackled barrier on his development. Initially, he was thinking to finish off the other before finding a place to focus on his breakthrough, but unexpectedly, when he activated his innate talent, he found himself already deep in the process of breakthrough. This made him have no choice but to continue with his breakthrough, which was why he was delayed by 5 minutes, causing him to lose two more comrades. The joy of breaking through could not make up for the pain of losing a comrade — this was why his hate for Ling Lan ran even deeper.
He did not give Ling Lan any chance to continue talking. With a quick flash, he had appeared in front of Ling Lan and was reaching out towards Ling Lan's neck.
Ling Lan tried to dodge the other's hand, but found her body pinned in place by an invisible force, sealing away her ability to move. She could only watch helplessly as the opponent easily wrapped his fingers around her neck.
The team leader effortlessly carried Ling Lan by the neck as he headed back to where Xiao Chong was. The opponent's strength almost suffocated Ling Lan to death. Although she did not know why the opponent did not just kill her directly, the desire to continue living made Ling Lan secretly run through her Qi exercises, hoping to recover her Qi-Jin quicker and win an opportunity to live.
The team leader very quickly arrived back where Xiao Chong lay. He threw Ling Lan to one side and bent over to check on Xiao Chong's condition. Only then did he let out a breath of relief. Although Xiao Chong's injuries were severe, he wasn't dead, and so could be considered lucky. He took out a tube of medicinal agent from the bag at his waist and fed it to Xiao Chong.
Very quickly, Xiao Chong regained consciousness. Seeing his leader, his eyes turned red and he said, "Leader, Xiao Lin and Xiao Fei are dead." They had been their comrades! On the battlefield, they had not died at the hands of enemy soldiers, but lost their lives here in a common mission to a child ... Xiao Chong found this hard to accept.
With similarly red eyes, the team leader glanced at the bodies of Xiao Lin and Xiao Fei lying not too far away and said quietly, "Xiao Chong, I'm sorry. I still came late in the end."
Xiao Chong shakily shook his head, "You can't be blamed, Leader, that bastard is just too despicable!" That said, his expression shifted and he asked, panicked, "Where's the bastard?"
The leader threw a glance at the immobile Ling Lan sitting to one side and said coldly, "I caught him. In a bit, we'll use his blood to honour our fallen comrades."
Hearing this, Xiao Chong nodded his head vigorously. He pushed himself to his feet and slowly made his way to stand before Ling Lan. Grabbing her roughly by the throat, he dragged her to the place where Xiao Lin's and Xiao Fei's bodies lay.
Meanwhile, the team leader took the time to bring the body of Xiao Lai over from his place of death, setting him down together with Xiao Lin and Xiao Fei.
"Xiao Lin, Xiao Fei, Xiao Lai, watch carefully, this is the culprit who killed you all. Now, I will send him over to your world ... you all must take proper revenge." As the team leader spoke, silent tears began to fall from his eyes. What he had originally considered a simple and minor mission, had actually ended up with him being separated from his brothers by the boundaries of life and death. In his deep regret, he also hated Ling Lan for his viciousness. He abruptly turned his head and said stonily, "Xiao Chong, kill him!"
"Yes, Leader!" Xiao Chong's visage was gruesome as his fingers on Ling Lan's throat clenched forcefully.
Ling Lan felt as if she could hear the bones of her neck straining under the pressure, about to shatter ... was she really about to die here?
Ling Lan wanted to struggle, she wanted to resist ... but her body was still locked tightly, unable to make any motion to resist. Ling Lan knew that this was probably a manifestation of the opponent's Domain — the opponent was not going to give her any chance to escape.
D*mmit! I want to live, I want to live! Right before Ling Lan descended into unconsciousness, she roared in her heart!
Chapter 172 - Domain Stage?
"Die!" Xiao Chong bellowed, his fingers moving to crush the opponent's throat. But suddenly, he felt his fingers go weak, his entire body feeling somewhat numb and cold. He almost lost his grip on the opponent's neck — fortunately, the opponent was already powerless and unable to struggle, otherwise he might very likely have let the opponent escape.
Could it be that his previous internal injury had affected him? Xiao Chong had just begun to puzzle over the issue when all his confusion was driven away by a wrenching pain in his chest.
He instinctively looked down and was immediately petrified. The first thing he saw was a fair and soft-looking little hand, and in it was a strong-looking heart, still beating ... whose heart was it?
Immediately after, his entire face twisted in shock and fear, because he saw that a bloody hole had appeared on his chest. Right then, fresh blood was gushing out from the hole — not only staining his own clothes, but also painting the plot of land he stood on in red ... Meanwhile, the small figure standing before him remained spotless. Before any blood could spray onto the other, it would be repelled, as if there was some sphere protecting him.
Xiao Chong's vision once more returned to the heart in that little hand, and his mouth was unbearably dry and bitter. So that vigorous thing was his heart? When had his heart been pulled out from inside his body? And he hadn't felt anything when it happened?
At that moment, another fair and soft-looking little hand touched his wrist and gently pushed his hand away. Only then did Xiao Chong notice that he wasn't gripping onto the other's throat at all. There had been a distance of several millimetres between his fingers and the opponent's throat ... he just had not realised it.
After the little hand pushed away his fingers, it lightly patted his cheek. The initially icy and youthful little face of his opponent actually shifted into a smile. The smile was sweet and lovely, making Xiao Chong feel as if he had seen the sun, blindingly radiant yet so warm that people yearned for it.
"You can die now!" However, what followed the warmth of the sun was only cruel reality.
When this merciless murmur was delivered from behind this beautiful smile, Xiao Chong heard a 'splat', as if something had been crushed. He instinctively looked towards the sound, and then found his entire body gripped by wrenching pain, and his life quickly slipped away.
It turned out that his heart had been crushed by that little hand. He even saw the opponent's fingers pinch and rub it tastelessly for a bit before throwing away the shredded meat with a flick. The opponent's hand then immediately returned to its original pristine condition, not even a speck of blood on it, as if its crushing of the heart had all been in Xiao Chong's mind.
Even scarier was the fact that although the opponent had obviously been committing a horrifying and disgusting thing, the opponent seemed to see it as normal. In his gaze were traces of mockery, taunting, and curiosity — but there was no discomfort or disgust whatsoever, as if the other had long become used to doing such things.
This sort of carefree attitude in playing around with others' lives made Xiao Chong feel as if he had been plunged into icy water, his entire body turning cold ... a demon, he was most definitely a demon!
"Leader ..." Arduously, Xiao Chong turned his head to look towards his team leader standing at the left to the front of him, as if trying to warn his leader that a demon had come.
Domain stage combat experts were extremely sensitive to being watched. The team leader quickly turned his head and saw Xiao Chong's gruesome and tortured expression. His expression shifted and he swiftly retreated, pulling a distance away from Ling Lan and Xiao Chong. It wasn't that he did not want to save Xiao Chong, but Xiao Chong's gaze was clearly telling him to run. This made the team leader have no choice but to be cautious and try to figure out the situation before making a decision.
As he pulled away from the two, he could finally see Xiao Chong's condition. Both of Xiao Chong's eyes had turned greyish white, utterly dead and lifeless — he had used up the last of his life to warn his team leader.
The leader's eyes became awash with red, a dark rage sweeping briefly across his face, "Godd*mn, you actually managed to break the bindings of my Domain?"
To prevent any accidents, he had specially used his Domain ability to fully seal Ling Lan's movements, guaranteeing no chance of failure. Who knew he had still underestimated Ling Lan in the end. The opponent had actually managed to break his binding and even kill off his only remaining team member Xiao Chong right before his eyes. This caused him to be both livid and extremely regretful at the same time — he should have just killed the other immediately when he had first caught him, and not brought him back here.
Still smiling radiantly, Ling Lan prodded Xiao Chong who was in front of her with a finger, and then, with a thud, Xiao Chong's stocky body crashed onto the ground.
Only then did the team leader see the cause of Xiao Chong's death. There was a large hole in his chest, blood still flowing from it, and the team leader could also see the mangled bloody flesh on the ground near it. His entire face twisted up, and he cried out, "You're vicious!"
Hearing this, Ling Lan lightly waggled a finger in front of her and said with a grin, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you're wrong. This is not being vicious, but creating a masterpiece. Look at his lovely expression ... normally, you won't ever see such a lovely expression." Ling Lan's smile grew wider. "You should thank me, for letting you see such a rare visage."
"Demon!" howled the team leader, "I'll definitely kill you!" Even as the team leader was filled with hate for Ling Lan, he hated himself for not just killing off this evil demon straightaway back then.
"Kill me? Can you kill me?" Ling Lan laughed and shook her head. The opponent's ignorant words were somewhat hilarious from her perspective. Her force of presence abruptly rose significantly, a terrifying and immense wave of pressure descending upon this little forest. The team leader's face fell and he could not help but exclaim, "Domain stage!"
The team leader's words had barely faded when he shook his head emphatically, face filled with disbelief. "This is impossible. He can't have jumped levels to advance into Domain stage. It's not true, this is definitely a lie ..." He tried to convince himself that what he felt from the other's terrifying presence earlier on was just an illusion.
Frankly, the team leader had reason to doubt what he felt. The further one progressed, the more crucial it became to take things a step at a time. In particular, after entering the Refinement stage, every increase in level was built on the accumulation of one's foundations. It was extremely rare for a cross-level advancement to occur, especially for the Qi-Jin stage, where every increase in level needed the accumulation of years of hard work. Take the leader for example, he had been stuck at the optimal peak level of Qi-Jin for a whole 10 years. Although the Domain stage was just a small step away, he had just never found the right catalyst.
If his comrades had not died silently one after another before him, causing his emotions to churn and destabilize his internal energy, which unexpectedly then led to the catalyst of his advancement, he might have lingered on the optimal peak level of Qi-Jin for god knows how many more years ...
His advancement had had a certain element of serendipity to it. Still, it wasn't strange — after all, he had already been at the optimal peak level of Qi-Jin; advancement was the natural and logical next step. However, this was not the case for the opponent. When he had exchanged that one move with the opponent, he had learned that the other had already achieved the peak level of Qi-Jin, but was still two ranks away from achieving the optimal peak level. These simple two minor ranks were impossible to overcome without 3 to 5 years of effort — how had he jumped straight into Domain stage in one leap?
Besides that, the Domain aura coming from the opponent was clearly thicker and more substantial than his, just as if the opponent had already entered Domain stage for many years. This was not something an expert who had just entered Domain stage should have — this was completely illogical!
"It wasn't easy to cultivate such a little abnormality, and it was almost ruined at your hands. Just thinking of this, my mood is just terrible. I am not happy at all." Although Ling Lan was saying that she wasn't happy, the smile on her face did not dim in the slightest, instead becoming increasingly brighter. But it was precisely this radiant sunny smile which caused chills to run through the team leader's heart, a never before experienced sense of danger looming in his heart.
"What do you mean?" asked the team leader cautiously. He was naturally very confused right now, somehow just unable to communicate with this seemingly rather insane child before him.
Ling Lan sighed softly, twirling her hair behind her ear gently with a finger, and said with a smile, "Even if I tell you, you won't understand ... it looks like there isn't much time left, let's finish things quickly." That said, he muttered softly to himself, "This lousy body, actually being unable to sustain my emergence for 3 minutes, how horrible ... Number Nine, put more effort into it in future and train up this little fellow's body. Make her just a bit stronger."
Inside the mindspace, expression stony, Number Nine warned, "Stop talking nonsense. Still not finishing off the opponent? Do you really want Ling Lan's body to break down because of your dithering?"
Number Nine was very unhappy. Number One had clearly asked her to go handle the opponent, but this punk Number Five had rushed ahead and snatched the initiative. If she were not afraid that forcefully taking control away from Number Five would accelerate the collapse of Ling Lan's body, she would definitely never let him continue to be in control.
Number Nine's strength was the weakest among the nine instructors. Initially, if she had taken control of Ling Lan's body, she would be able to last for at least 7 to 8 minutes; but because of Number Five's insubordination, rushing out on his own, the time limit was shortened to 3 minutes before it would break down. After all, Number Five's power was just too much for Ling Lan's current physical body to support.
It should be known that the greater the difference between the strength of the person in control and that of the host's, the greater the damage to the host. If Number One took control of Ling Lan's body, it probably would take less than a second for Ling Lan's body to collapse completely.
"Fine, being able to just come out for a while is already good enough." Number Five felt that he shouldn't be too greedy now ... if Ling Lan's roots were really harmed, he would definitely be pummelled so hard by Big Bro Number One that he would not be able to take care of his daily life 1 , and at worst, his consciousness might just be wiped out completely. A shudder ran through Number Five's body, some fear swirling in his heart. He had just wanted to come out and see their host's world, somehow forgetting about his terrifying big bro.
Number Five decided to finish the fight in a few seconds, and then immediately go turn himself in to Big Bro for punishment. So, his fingers flicked lightly, and an invisible force blanketed the area for several li. The team leader felt as if he had been congealed in a thick liquid — every move he tried to make required the strength of nine bulls and two tigers 1 .
"Activate Domain!" The team leader decisively activated his Domain, dispelling the pressure the opponent was forcing upon his body. Furthermore, his body began to become blurred and unfocused as the surrounding forest began to become thick with fog, and then his entire person disappeared within the fog.
Seeing this, Number Five's lips curved up into a smile and he said with a chuckle, "This innate talent ... interesting!" That said, he closed his eyes, as if listening intently for something, but also as if unconcerned by what was happening.
1. Basically, he would be so injured that he would become incapable of living normally.
2. This is a Chinese saying which basically means 'to require a lot of effort'. Kept it literal here as the imagery is pretty straightforward.
Chapter 173 - What Kind of Personages?
Suddenly, the thin and wispy fog behind him became substantial, and a sharp blade pierced towards Ling Lan's back. Number Five seemed oblivious — the blade punching right through to burst out of Ling Lan's chest, but strangely enough, the wound caused by the blade did not bleed at all. It was just as if the leader had stabbed a fake person.
"Not good!" From the feedback of sensation from his hand, the team leader knew that he had been duped. This figure before him was not a real person — stabbing it did not feel at all like stabbing through blood and flesh, but like stabbing a person made of straw ...
Just when the leader was about to turn into fog once more, he suddenly noticed that countless transparent thin lines had appeared around him, gathering to form a net to wrap around his entire body. His shift into fog was interrupted, and his body was securely bound.
"Ah! Explode!" The team leader was naturally unwilling to just give up and be caught; the Qi-Jin of his body suddenly detonated. Although the transparent thin lines were dense and numerous, they were fortunately not very sturdy. They broke apart one after another under the force of the team leader's exploding Qi-Jin, and the leader took the chance to struggle out of the web around him. Still, because he had failed in turning into fog, his entire body was now real and tangible.
"What Domain is this?" The team leader's face changed subtly; he had never before seen such a Domain, which was actually able to set up such an all-encompassing net within this area.
"Oh, this is just a type of Domain modification ..." answered Number Five carelessly. With that reply, his figure instantly turned into a bundle of grass and twigs, breaking apart to drift on the wind. Very quickly, not too far from the leader, the grasses suddenly grew at an insane speed, shooting up and weaving together into one entity, finally changing into the appearance of Ling Lan.
"Plant Replication?" The team leader was startled, and then, as if thinking of something, his expression changed drastically. "Could your spiritual mutation be Plant Manipulation?"
In a forest, encountering a strong fighter with a Plant Manipulation mutation was undoubtedly the scariest thing. This was because the forest would enhance Plant Manipulation — this would be just like entering the opponent's territory; the opponent's attack could come from any space or angle.
"Plant Manipulation? What an interesting way of saying things ..." Number Five said with a grin. He did not have the time or mood to explain things to the opponent, and besides, Number Nine was staring intently at him in the mindspace, clearly afraid he would go overboard in playing around. Number Five did not want to offend the other, just so she would not go and complain to Big Bro Number One.
So, he shouted lightly but crisply, "Net, Form!"
The place where the team leader stood was suddenly overgrown by plants, rapidly meshing into a large net, enveloping his entire person within it ...
The team leader naturally did not just stay still and wait to be captured. He tried to turn into fog once again, but just as he activated his Diffusion Domain, his entire body spasmed with pain, and then his entire body was petrified, no longer able to move. Only at this moment did he notice that the large net was not just purely a large net, but also a fearsome weapon made of countless blood-sucking poisonous vines.
The toxins of the poisonous vines caused him to instantly lose his mobility, and its horrific blood-sucking speed made him feel as if the blood in his body was disappearing rapidly. He felt his energy disappearing, and began to feel lightheaded from the loss of blood. Gradually, he felt unbearably cold ... until he finally descended into ice-cold darkness ...
"Retract ..." Number Five sensed that the prey had already lost all signs of life, and so recalled all of the poisonous vines covering the opponent's body. The vines swiftly sank into the ground, and when the leader's entire body was revealed, it had already astoundingly become a dry corpse, not a single drop of water left within it.
"Alright, you can scram now," said Number Nine curtly in the mindspace, clearly in a bad temper.
Number Five just smiled without retorting. In the learning space, Number Five would not argue against the words of only two people ... one of them was Number One — his overwhelming strength gave him no chance to fight back. And while Number Nine's strength was the weakest, for some unknown reason, Number Five just could not work up the interest to turn against Number Nine, or even think of revenge or anything like that ... Number Five just attributed this phenomena to Number Nine and Number One both being of the cold slackfaced line, and that he just seemed to be helpless against their type.
Without putting up any resistance, Number Five gave control of Ling Lan's body over to Number Nine. Number Nine did a quick check of Ling Lan's body, and the expression on her face turned even colder. "Number Five, you've godd*mn gone too far with your games."
Even if Number Nine's personality was calmer, when she saw the state Ling Lan's body was in, she could no longer maintain her calm. She could not help but roar like an enraged mother tiger. It turned out that Number Five's use of his Domain had afflicted Ling Lan's muscles with varying degrees of injury. By Number Nine's estimations, Ling Lan definitely would not be able to regain her primordial Qi without a year and a half or so going by. This filled Number Nine's heart with regret and sympathy, and her rage and disgust at the primary culprit Number Five grew even deeper.
Seeing Number Nine's enraged demeanour, Number Five gingerly rubbed his nose. Sigh, mother tigers protecting their cubs should never be disturbed ... he had better run away quickly! Number Five very gutlessly slinked away from the mind-space back to his own area in the learning space, concealing himself.
Seeing Number Five slipping away so irresponsibly, although Number Nine was still infuriated, she knew that she still needed to help Ling Lan clean things up. So, she could only let Number Five off for now. Still, Number Nine was determined that once she returned to the learning space, she would definitely seek out Big Brother Number One and complain, and get him to teach Number Five a good lesson.
Number Nine suppressed the emotional upheaval in her heart, and focused on getting rid of the five bodies and destroying the evidence. Number Nine's innate talent was Cold Flame — she only needed to get a bit of it onto her target's flesh or blood, and the flame would never stop until it had turned the target into ash and dust. It should be said that among the instructors' innate talents, hers was the scariest, but it was unfortunately not suitable for becoming a mecha operator. This was one of her never-ending regrets.
In the Mandora star system, the human body had already evolved till an apex. The humans there were extremely strong — each punch or slap was capable of causing massive damage. Especially after their innate talents awakened, they would only become stronger, absolutely capable of breaking the order of humanity.
However, the Mandora star system was not at all afraid of the fearsome outcome of this human evolution. This was because they possessed mecha which were even more frightening than the strongest human after evolution. As long as a mecha was present, even the strongest human would have no way of resisting.
Let's put it this way. Only one Domain stage expert would appear out of a population of several hundred million, but they would be helpless in front of a Refinement stage special-class mecha operator. The outer shells of mecha were equipped with all sorts of advanced technology, allowing them to be capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, both high and low. They even had various types of energy shields which were capable of resisting all manners of awakened innate talents. A human would just have no way of harming an operator inside a mecha.
Not just that, the weapons and the firepower of the mecha themselves were truly fearsome — all sorts of powerful wide-range attack missiles ... even a Domain stage expert would be helpless against them. Regardless of how strong one's body was, or how fast one's speed was, it would still be no match for a mecha's speed and resilience. There was just no way of competing against the frenzied blasts of these firearms.
This was why no matter how much humans evolved, this was still ultimately a world ruled by mecha. In particular, the emergence of biomecha was just an unexplainable bug for humans.
Number Nine swiftly cleared the scene. She then lifted her head to look out into the distance — several strong presences were approaching, but they were too late. All the evidence here had already been destroyed at her hands.
With a flash, Number Nine disappeared silently from the forest. She had not disappeared for long when several teachers with strong auras appeared in this patch of forest.
It turned out that although the clash between Number Five's and the team leader's Domains had only spanned several brief moments, the fearsome pressure of Domains had still been sensed by other experts of the same stage. The unfamiliar presences stirred their curiosity and confusion, and so they had come to check things out.
Unfortunately, they had still arrived too late. Other than the aftermath of battle and the bits of aura which had yet to fully dissipate, there was nothing to be found.
"Honourable Dean!" A figure appeared on a tree branch; it was the dean of the Central Scout Academy. The teachers present all quickly greeted him.
"Su Qing, sense and see if you can find out what kind of personages we're dealing with?" asked the dean, brows furrowed, to one of the teachers. Su Qing's Domain was Induction — he could determine the characteristics and abilities of a target's Domain from lingering presence signatures, and with that, find out who had been here. Typically, the Federation would have records on the Domains of the various known Domain masters from all countries.
The dean was extremely conscious about the inexplicable appearance of Domain masters here. Mind you, right now was the crucial period when two grades were engaged in a grand armed melee — if any accidents were to happen, it would be a disaster. The Domain masters who appeared here without warning ... were they hostile? If they were hostile, or were perhaps infiltrators from an enemy nation, here to cause trouble ... if massive casualties were incurred among the children at the academy, the dean would have let down the Federation's trust in him, and he would be unable to face the guardians who had entrusted their children to the academy.
Su Qing heard the dean's instruction and quickly responded, "Yes, Dean!" With a quick flip, he landed on the ground, and then activated his Domain ...
Very soon, confusion rose on Su Qing's face. In a flash, he was back at the dean's side, where he then asked softly, "Sir Dean, there are three different types of Domain signatures. There is a majority of a water element type, so one of the Domain masters probably has a water element ability ... but I can't see obvious signs of water in the remains of the battle ... it is possible that the other's ability is some variation of the element of water ..." It had to be said that Su Qing's deductions were extremely accurate — the team leader's Diffusion was, in fact, a variation of a water element ability.
At this point, Su Qing paused, the confusion on her face becoming even clearer. "As for the other two signatures, they're very strange. I can only say I've never sensed this type of strange signature before ... Besides giving me an impression of great strength, I can't figure out anything else. If I had to find a way to describe it, I can only say that one of the signatures gives me a sense of endless emptiness, while the other has an extreme sense of dissonance ..."
The dean was also befuddled by Su Qing's descriptions, but he still managed to glean that Su Qing had been unable to identify the information of the other two Domain masters. So, he asked, "Leave those two aside for now. Can you find a Domain master that somehow fits the first signature?"
Chapter 174 - A Fearsome Ability!
"Our own Federation's Lieutenant General Proteus, the Old Beast of the Northeastern Muqi elite family, King Makino of the Twilight Empire, and General Raye of Dosa. A little further out, those such as Queen Helen of the Aoya Alliance, the Water Sage of the Southstar Galaxy, and the Frost Monarch of the Chaotic Lands all have similar Domain abilities," Su Qing listed all the renowned masters of the entire human world who fit the conditions.
"Similar? Then that means they are all not the one ..." The dean caught what Su Qing implied.
"Yes, although these masters' Domain abilities are extremely similar to what I sensed, they are merely similar." Su Qing knew very well that those masters' Domain abilities were still distinctly different.
"In other words, this is a Domain master who has yet to be registered ..." The furrow of the dean's brows grew even deeper. "Su Qing, in your opinion, could this be some Domain masters intentionally hidden away by an enemy nation? A scheme targeting our Federation?"
Su Qing was silent. The dean's worries were not made in jest — ever since the Twilight Empire set a trap which managed to kill the Federation's god-class operator Major General Ling Xiao, weakening the Federation's deterrent power by a whole three levels, anything could be possible.
However, after some thought, Su Qing opened his mouth to say, "It's also possible it's just some newly advanced Domain masters. We just haven't received their information, that's all." This would be the optimal outcome, but Su Qing was not optimistic about it. This was because one newly advanced Domain master was still possible, but three mysterious Domain masters appearing without warning at the same time? This was clearly a little too much of a stretch.
The dean also knew this well. After a beat of silence, he continued to ask, "Can you find out the whereabouts of the targets now?" No matter what motives these visitors had, they needed to locate them as soon as possible — it was best to take control of the initiative.
Hearing this, Su Qing laughed dryly and said, "Sir Dean, you've forgotten that I'm not good at tracking ..."
The dean rapped himself on the head in frustration and said glumly, "D*mmit, I've gotten confused by all these troublesome matters ... Lu Nan, is he here?" asked the dean, looking towards the group of teachers.
"I'm here, Sir Dean!" shouted a teacher not too far away helplessly, raising his hand. When will the honourable dean remember his face? He had been standing right beside him, and he still needed to ask whether he had come ... it was so sad!
Although Lu Nan felt a little hurt, he still immediately locked onto the strongest water element energy at the scene and began to search. But this time, he failed — because the energy could only be found within this area of 100 metres. There was nothing else beyond that range, just as if the Domain master had never even left the area.
Lu Nan was undaunted. Without hesitation, he locked onto that somewhat vacant-feeling energy signature, but no matter how hard he tried to lock on, his ability just could not capture that wispy energy. After trying 5 or 6 times, which all ended in failure, Lu Nan could only choose to give up, and try instead to lock onto that somewhat conflicting and uncomfortable energy signature.
Lu Nan thought that this would likely end in failure as well, but surprisingly, he managed to lock on in an instant. However, before he could commence path tracking, he found that the energy which came into contact with his Domain energy had actually begun to burn without being fanned by the wind, and had begun to devour his energy ...
This bizarre phenomenon caused Lu Nan's expression to change drastically. He resolutely cut off the energy he had used to lock onto that foreign energy signature. His reaction time could be considered godlike in terms of speed, and yet, within these short few seconds, that frightening energy had already consumed one-fifth of his own energy.
The dean noticed the change in Lu Nan's expression, saw him stumble back several steps, looking somewhat haggard and weak, and could not help but ask in surprise, "Lu Nan, are you alright?"
Lu Nan's expression was pained as he said, "I'm sorry, Sir Dean, I am unable to find out where the targets have gone ..."
"What is all this?" The dean's irises contracted, doubt and surprise swirling in his heart.
It should be known that even if Lu Nan's tracking ability was not number one in the Federation, it was still more than enough to qualify in the top 3. As long as he tried to track someone, even a master at the Domain level would find it difficult to escape his search. The dean had thought that this time again Lu Nan was certain to be able to find some clue, but unexpectedly, even he was helpless.
"That water element Domain master Su Qing mentioned had never left this area of about 100 metres, so there's nothing for me to find ... Meanwhile, the other vacant-feeling energy, I cannot lock onto it, and as for the other one ..." Lu Nan's complexion paled, expression revealing traces of lingering fear, "That energy is too terrifying. The moment I locked on and touched it, it began to burn on its own, as if it wanted to devour all my energy. Luckily, I cut off that part of my energy without hesitation, otherwise ..."
If he had hesitated at all due to unwillingness, maybe tried to think of some other way, those few seconds of delay might even have caused his entire being to be burned up by that fearsome energy, leaving no trace ... this was just too frightening! The more Lu Nan thought about it, the more frightened he was. He had never before encountered this kind of strange and terrifying energy ... who could the Domain master who possessed such energy be?
Lu Nan's words were heard loud and clear by everyone present. Their expressions changed, and some of them could not help but take a step back reflexively, as if afraid of being contaminated by this fearsome energy and thus bring disaster upon themselves.
After listening to what Lu Nan had to say, the dean contemplated silently for a few seconds, and then, he said faintly, "You all, do you think that the water element Domain master could have died at the hands of this person?"
The dean's words enlightened everyone there. This would explain why that water element Domain master had not left this area.
"But there isn't a body here ..." remarked one of the teachers, confused. However, he stopped abruptly after only spitting out half his sentence, because he thought of the characteristics of the other's Domain. Perhaps after being contaminated by this energy, that water element Domain master had been thoroughly consumed?
Everyone there realised the same thing, and could not help but shudder. They looked at those areas with bloodstains, and a chill rose within their bones. They wished they could just leave this place immediately.
The dean was not expecting a response from the other teachers with his comment. He looked towards the direction where the grand armed melee was going on, sighed, and said, "I only hope now that those two mysterious masters are not targeting the students of our academy ..."
The dean's words had barely faded when the pressure of his presence abruptly expanded, and with a grim expression, he ordered, "Su Qing, return to the central control room immediately. Request a class red comprehensive alert from the mainframe. We must ensure that this grand armed melee ends perfectly!"
"The rest of you, freely choose an area to monitor. We need to cover all the areas where the grand armed melee is taking place, and keep a close eye on the progress of the grand armed melee. If you notice anything suspicious, request backup from the academy mecha squad!"
The dean passed down a long string of commands, spurring all the Domain stage instructors into motion. This time, the appearance of a mysterious Domain master within the Central Scout Academy had caused all these Domain masters to emerge from the depths of the academy where they had been hiding. And all of them were now fully focused on monitoring the grand armed melee! Due to their presences, the grand armed melee was fully under their control at all times, so no major injuries or deaths occurred. For the students of both grades involved, this was truly a pleasant surprise.
********
In a small forested area in the academy, a white-clad, slightly short and petite youth crashed forcefully into a red-clad, tall and thin youth. There was a muffled thud, and then both boys were repelled back from one another to fall heavily to the ground ...
The white-clad youth got up again shakily, roughly swiping away the blood at the corner of his lips. His gaze was as fierce as that of a wolf as he glared at the red-clad youth stumbling to his feet across from him.
They were the 7th grade white-clad Xie Yi and the 10th grade red-clad Yuan Chen. Initially, Yuan Chen had thought that it would be a simple matter to handle a white-clad 7th grader, but who could have expected that Xie Yi had such hidden depths — his strength was no lower than his at all. The two of them fought a difficult battle, ending up in a stalemate.
In the beginning, they were still using some techniques, exchanging blows, using a move to counter a move for a rather glorious battle. But later on, after the two of them had used up most of their stamina, they no longer had the mood to keep dragging the fight on. Thus, they began to fight power with power, trying to use blunt force to overpower the other.
Just like this, they clashed violently again and again — if one stopped to count, they had probably clashed up to 20 to 30 times. It should be said that by now, the two of them were already at the end of their ropes. Now all that was left was to see who would fall first, unable to hold on for that final breath.
"D*mmit, a 10th grade red-coat is really hard to handle. I underestimated them ..." Xie Yi thought glumly to himself, spitting out the blood in his mouth.
Xie Yi was someone who liked to play the pig to eat the tiger, and so had hidden away all this time within Class-B. Although Class-A's Qi Long, Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie and such were extremely popular and well-known within the grade, he was not bothered at all by this. He believed that he would not lose to anyone with his capabilities — the only one he was uncertain about was the uncrowned king of their grade, Ling Lan.
Xie Yi had always been of the opinion that the 'strong' of the scout academy wasn't all that strong. Only at the First Men's Military Academy where all the best talent gathered — that was the gathering grounds of the true aberrant prodigies. Only the cream of the crop of all the planets of the Federation would be accepted there, to become the strongest of the strong.
Thus, ever since he was 6 years old, his goal had been the First Men's Military Academy. He had lain low till now, just waiting for the day he applied to the First Men's Military Academy, when he would make his grand debut 1 !
"Looks like I'll have to use my ace in the hole, although it's quite troublesome to use it ..." Xie Yi was not an indecisive person. Sensing that he would not be able to finish off the opponent under current circumstances, he decided to pull out his trump card and go all in.
Xie Yi shifted into an attack stance with a fist facing outwards, just like before, but this time, a sheen of purple light flashed swiftly across his body. With the flickering of this purple light, the muscles of his face twitched noticeably and his expression was one of sufferance, as if tolerating some discomfort.
"Die!" roared Xie Yi, pouncing fiercely. Meanwhile, his opponent, the 10th grade Yuan Chen, had similarly readied himself to attack. Almost simultaneously, the fists of the two boys collided once more.
"Ahhh!" Yuan Chen howled piteously, his entire body spasming violently as if he had been electrocuted.
Xie Yi's condition was not much better than Yuan Chen's; his body was also trembling minutely, and the pain on his face was obvious.
A few seconds later, the two of them sprang apart to fall to the ground. At this time, Yuan Chen looked wretched. He was unconscious, and black smoke rose faintly from his slightly agape mouth, his body still twitching every so often.
1. Original phrase here literally translates to 'surprise people with one cry'. The reference is to a bird who is typically silent, but the moment it sings, everyone is enraptured and amazed.