AZI Volume 5 Chapter 44

As the three turn to face him, Long Hua asks—

"Decided?"

Taking a step forward, Qing Ming Yang draws out his sword, and answers—

"Decided."

"The other two, move over to the side."

Surrounded by Tian Cheng's dummy units, Lin Yu Heng and Xia Ri'er are guided to the side. 

"…"

Glancing at Tian Cheng, who gives a nod before moving herself over as well, Long Hua returns his focus to Qing Ming Yang. 

The blade of Qing Ming Yang's sword seems to be crafted from jade, and the entire weapon measures at three feet in length. 

"Are you not going to draw a weapon?"

Towards Qing Ming Yang's question, Long Hua folds his arms, and replies—

"No need. Against you… Hmm. In less than 30 seconds, and I'll have you on the ground howling in pain."

"…"

Twitching an eye, Qing Ming Yang doesn't ask any more questions, as he takes a step forward with his sword lunged forth. 

"…"

Evading the sword by stepping to the side, Long Hua narrows his eyes. 

Other than wanting to beat someone down, Long Hua also wishes to compare himself to the average Core Formation realm practitioner of the Everlasting Spirit Realm. 

"…"

Turning to face Long Hua, Qing Ming Yang holds his sword with one hand, and slashes with it. 

"…"

Seeing a layer of water being formed on Qing Ming Yang's blade, Long Hua unfolds his arms, while taking a step backwards. 

In the same instance, Qing Ming Yang raises a subtle smirk, while thinking—

(You're done for!)

In an abrupt manner, the reach of Qing Ming Yang's blade went far beyond the amount of distance that Long Hua had placed between them. 

This distance is covered by the sharp current of water that is currently extending from Qing Ming Yang's sword. 

"Oh? Water elemental control?"

"Indeed!"

Just as the water blade is less than a single foot away from him, Long Hua raises his right hand, and—

*Pah!* pinching the water blade between his index finger and thumb, Long Hua causes its form to collapse, and—

*Pah…*

"…"

"…"

Powerlessly, the trail of water lands onto the ground, and is quickly frozen, causing Qing Ming Yang to be stunned speechless, while Long Hua remarks—

"Right now, I have perfect mastery over this element."

"…!"

Hearing this, Qing Ming Yang's complexion turns pale with utter astonishment. 

Being able to attain perfect mastery over one element is considered a difficult feat, and yet—

(This bastard managed to attain perfect water elemental mastery from devouring a weapon spirit?)

Disbelief is more than evident on Qing Ming Yang's face; however—

"Kuh!"

Taking hold of his sword with both hands, Qing Ming Yang closes the gap between Long Hua and himself once more. 

This time, fire is what shrouds the blade of his sword. 

"Mm, I haven't obtained mastery over this element yet, but…"

Gesturing with the index finger of his right hand, Long Hua causes a pillar of water to puncture through the ice, and douses the flames on Qing Ming Yang's sword, while remarking—

"Young man, water naturally counters fire. This is common sense."

"…"

Still having his sword raised over his head, and with his body drenched in cold water, Qing Ming Yang feels like everything he does will be countered by Long Hua. 

Snapping out of his trance, Qing Ming Yang shouts—

"It's not over yet!"

"10 seconds till 30, I need to live up to my words."

"…!"

Closing the gap between them, Long Hua hammers his fist upwards, and smashes Qing Ming Yang in the crotch. 

"Uh…?!"

...…

Back at the Mirrored Moon Café, Yao Ying looks at the mess that she had made with a frown. 

"…"

Seeing the number of tiny eggshells inside of the measuring glass, Zhou'er comes over, and asks—

"Xiao Yao Ying, having a difficult time cracking an egg?"

"I always seem to end up using too much strength…"

Just yesterday, the Owner had returned to the café with a portable electric stove, and placed it above the coffee bean drawer—a bit away from the coffee related machinery. 

Right after that, he had announced something along the lines of—

"Business is slower than usual lately, so he expects us to serve pancakes… Does he seriously expect that to draw in more customers during the daytime?"

Looking back at Yao Ying, Zhou'er continues to say—

"Honestly, Xiao Yao Ying, don't indulge the Owner's whims. He's going to expect us to make steak and whatnot else next…"

"It's fine. I… I need something to distract myself with."

Blinking her eyes, while contemplating, Zhou'er says—

"Well, there's actually a good trick that I can teach you to crack an egg."

"Really?"

Meeting Yao Ying's pale purple eyes, which are filled with anticipation, Zhou'er smiles awkwardly, and replies—

"It's nothing that impressive. Here, you take a chopstick, and…"

Picking up an egg as well, Zhou'er smacks its center with the chopstick—creating a linear crack. 

Dropping the egg's content inside of an empty measuring glass without any shells, Zhou'er turns to Yao Ying, and asks—

"Easy, right?"

"I see. I didn't think of this."

Walking out of the back, the Owner smiles, and says—

"Making progress, I see."

Towards the Owner, Zhou'er says—

"Owner, can you quit asking for the unreasonable?"

"I'm only trying to explore new ventures."

Turning to Yao Ying, the Owner continues to say—

"I've no idea what caused the tension between you and Long Hua, but they say—food is a good way to get through to a person. Maybe, giving him a decent meal would soften him up a bit, and get him into the mood to grant some small request of yours?"

Hearing this, Yao Ying sinks into thought, before replying—

"Thank you."

"No problem. Well, I still got work in the back to deal with, so excuse me."

Watching the Owner as he heads to the back, Yao Ying thought—

(Weapon spirits and humans… These weapon spirits, who are just living their day-to-day lives—they aren't too different from the mortals of the Everlasting Spirit Realm.)

...…

Back in the ruins—

"Ugggaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!"

Taking three steps back, Qing Ming Yang drops his sword, and presses his bleeding crotch, while howling towards the heavens in pain. 

"Ah! Ah! Aaaah!!!"

Kneeling onto the ground with tears in his blue eyes, Qing Ming Yang pants erratically. 

"Ah, this…"

"…Kuh."

Having seen what had just happened, Xia Ri'er looks on with silence—whereas Lin Yu Heng averts his face with a hint of tears in his eyes. 

Just as Long Hua had said, in less than 30 seconds—he had put Qing Ming Yang onto the ground howling in pain.