Chapter no.12 Chen Mong Vs Zhongli

[ POV Change ]

( ~ Slich ~ )

( ~ Slich ~ )

The light of the early morning sun shimmered at the entrance of the school as Zhongli raised his shield to defend himself. He could see the Spiritual Qi swirling around the tip of the arrow, and his eyes widened in alarm. Suddenly, there was a loud boom and the floor beneath him shattered, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

As the dust cleared, Zhongli saw that an arrow was lodged firmly in the ground where he had been standing just moments before. He turned to see Chen Mong, his attacker, jumping into the sky. A talisman floated out of the golden sack that Chen Mong had stolen from his previous victim, and Zhongli knew that he had to act fast.

Without hesitation, Zhongli ran into the school building for cover, dodging the arrows that Chen Mong was firing at him. Despite his aerial position, Chen Mong's shots were oddly off-target, and Zhongli couldn't help but frown in confusion. Why was this attacker, who clearly had the ability to coat his weapon in Spiritual Qi, not as proficient with a bow and arrow as he should have been?

"Hahaha, it's over you bastard, I have the high ground," Chen Mong exclaimed, taunting Zhongli. But Zhongli knew that this attacker was not as foolish as he appeared to be. Surely, Chen Mong was smarter than this, so why was he acting in such an exaggerated way?

[Ting]

[Congratulations! 7 coins have been gifted]

The sound of the mysterious voice from his collar caught Zhongli's attention, and it hit him like a bolt of lightning. This attacker was exaggerating his act in order to gain coins from the mysterious masked figures that seemed to be controlling this game. Zhongli knew that this mindset would be Chen Mong's downfall.

"Collar, how do I use my coins?" Zhongli asked, determination in his voice.

[Opening shop]

The collar responded, and a hologram of a scroll projected in front of Zhongli. He knew that with these coins, he would have the tools he needed to defeat Chen Mong and survive.

...

Up in the air, Chen Mong took out a flat-ended arrow and aimed it at Zhongli's location. His face twisted into a sneer as he shouted, "You bastard! I will give you this only chance. I can sense that you haven't even broken through to the five-elixir realm. How are you going to beat me? I am a Peak Spirit Root realm expert."

Chen Mong's words were met with a chorus of jeers from the mysterious masked figures as they laughed at him as if he was a jester, and Chen could see the coins pouring in as his attack eviscerated the entire building that Zhongli had been hiding in. But just as Chen Mong was about to lower his guard and celebrate his victory, a mist began to roll up, covering the entire ground and blocking his vision.

Suddenly, Chen Mong saw a shimmer in the air and instinctually dodged to the side as an arrow shot passed him. Recognizing the arrow as the one he had used to kill that girl before, Chen Mong immediately turned as he felt a presence behind him. Out of pure instincts, he shot a few arrows that riddled the corpse of his previous victim that Zhongli had thrown at him, but something was off about the corpse as it looked like it had been drained of all its blood.

The feeling of pressure behind him caused Chen Mong to twist mid-air, but Zhongli's fist was much quicker. It bashed Chen Mong across his face, sending him crashing down to the floor. The nimbus cloud talisman that Chen Mong had activated broke down his fall, but he was still groaning in pain as he looked up at Zhongli.

Chen Mong's eyes widened as he saw Zhongli's aura, which was much different from before. It was much more powerful, and he could sense traces of his previous victim's aura in Zhongli's. He immediately put his hands up and begged for mercy, "Come on, the big brother, I give up. No need to kill me. I mean no harm."

Zhongli didn't bother to answer as he charged at Chen Mong, who smirked and projected Spiritual Qi out to form an ethereal bow. Chen Mong launched two arrows at Zhongli, but there was a hidden arrow hidden between the two aimed at Zhongli's Adam's apple. Zhongli, however, just raised his hand forward as a shield launched out from his golden sack, directly taking the hit.

Zhongli ran and skidded forward on his knees, Chen Mong's eyes widened in shock as he saw Zhongli twist mid-way and launch a devastating tornado kick to his neck. Chen Mong, before the darkness of the abyss engulfed him, saw Zhongli's tattoos glow as he felt his previous victim's aura. The snapping of the neck echoed through the plain as Zhongli crashed into the ground, the majority of the power he had absorbed from Chen Mong's previous victim's corpse was all now wasted during this battle.

If only he had been given enough time, then he would have passively absorbed her power into his own. But his collar's warning interrupted his thoughts, [Beep, this grid has been locked. Please evacuate this area within five minutes or you will be terminated]. Hearing the collar's words, Zhongli gritted his teeth as he saw the entire courtyard covered in a red aura.

"Collar, buy a space bag," Zhongli commanded.

[25 coins required]

"Just buy it," Zhongli growled as a crack formed in front of him, and a bag flew out. Immediately, Zhongli channeled Spiritual Qi into the bag before charging toward Chen Mong's corpse. As the corpse contorted into the bag, Zhongli ran towards the east while holding onto a map. The feeling of danger engulfed him as he heard the collar's countdown [1 minute remaining]. Ignoring the collar's words, Zhongli gritted his teeth as he channeled Spiritual Qi all over his body. The tattoos of the Beast Blood Martial Skeleton glowed before his speed doubled as he disappeared into the forest just as the previous red grid turned green.

Zhongli didn't stop running until he was well outside of the grid, panting heavily as he looked back at the forest. He knew that he had made it out just in time, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over him.

With a deep breath, Zhongli opened the space bag and looked at the corpse inside. He knew that he needed to make the most of the time he had, and he began to channel Spiritual Qi into the corpse, absorbing as much power as he could. As the tattoos on his body glowed, Zhongli felt a surge of power coursing through his veins, and he knew that he was ready for whatever lay ahead.