Chapter 384: This is Asura
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
...
Fang Zhengzhi would rarely be this pa.s.sionate about a battle which he had little chance of winning. However, the rush that he was feeling was too awesome to give up.
More importantly, his opponent was Nangong Hao.
Most people could not understand this feeling. However, put simply, would there be any satisfaction in defeating an unknown weakling?
Perhaps a little, but not too much.
However... if one defeated someone famous and powerful... it"ll be a different story altogether.
Nangong Hao made a name for himself four years ago, earning himself the t.i.tle of the top talent in the Great Xia Dynasty. Furthermore, his cultivation state was a full level above Fang Zhengzhi.
Yet, with 40,000 troops as witnesses, he could not easily defeat Fang Zhengzhi.
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to clash with Nangong Hao a few more times.
But...
Just as he was having the time of his life, he felt a wave of iciness crash towards him from above.
"Sneak attack?!" Fang Zhengzhi looked up instinctively. This was part of his reflexes, especially since he was so adept at the sneak attack tactic.
However, he did not notice anything.
To be more precise, all he saw was a ray of sunlight. It was rather bright and piercing.
Then, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
It felt like needles or a sword.
In actual fact, what Fang Zhengzhi didn"t know was that when he raised his head, a silver ray of light had already reached his chest.
Bai Xing would never let his victim know in advance that he was under attack.
By the time his victim felt the icy chill, it was all over. The blade was already on its way. As for the iciness...
It was the suppression after he had released the blade.
Fang Zhengzhi felt that a sneak attack was coming, but he had no way of dodging the sword. It was so fast that he didn"t even have time to react to it.
...
The cold icy killing intent rose and spread in all directions, causing all the dust in the air to freeze in that instant. It looked extremely queer.
However, if one looked closely, one would see that every speck of dust was covered in a layer of white ice. This was not dust anymore. It was ice.
Yun Qingwu watched quietly from the cliff. Her lips parted and pursed as she watched the dust turn into ice. She clenched her fingers tightly, almost as if she was saying something.
However, even the guys closest to her could not hear anything.
Of course, this was partially because of the fact that Yun Qingwu"s voice was too soft. However, it was more because they were too captivated by the icy ground they saw in front of them.
From the freezing of the dust to the ice falling to the ground...
Less than a second had pa.s.sed. However, for Yun Qingwu, this was a slow, agonizing wait.
In actual fact, the wait had begun from the moment Bai Xing disappeared.
She waited anxiously for the sword to find its mark.
And now...
The blade had struck, right between Nangong Hao and Fang Zhengzhi. To be more precise, the blade had struck Fang Zhengzhi"s chest, just as she had guessed.
Did that mean that it was all over?
The ice fell to the ground like drops of rain, making pitter patter noises as it did so. It was light and almost soundless.
The ragged breathing of the candidates was much louder in comparison.
They did not see the ray of light coming down from the heavens, but it would be impossible not to see the light strike Fang Zhengzhi.
The iciness that enveloped the land also engulfed the hearts of the candidates.
They did not know where the ray of light had come from or why it had struck. However, they knew that they were in enemy territory, and this ray of light was not a good sign.
"Fang Zhengzhi!"
A voice rang out from within the crowd. This voice was icy, but traces of anxiety were clear for all to hear.
When Yan Xiu saw the ray of light, he was not stunned like the others. The only thought in his mind was, how is Fang Zhengzhi?
...
Fang Zhengzhi did not know what Yan Xiu was thinking. If he did, he would definitely reply that he was not fine, and that he was furious.
In actual fact, Fang Zhengzhi always had a different outlook on life from the people in this world.
If he could avoid getting hurt, he would. If he could avoid fighting, he would. As such, when he was going to fight and get hurt, there was no point in asking him if he was okay.
The answer was obvious.
Fang Zhengzhi had seen Bai Xing before. As such, when he saw the figure appear in front of him with a bright red demonic eye, the only thing he could do was...
"Bai Xing, f*ck your mother!"
Fang Zhengzhi rarely cursed this badly. Normally, he would choose comparatively more civilized terms.
However, this time, he felt that only the crudest and most despicable swear words could describe the anger he felt.
Then, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The bright red stream of blood rocketed through the air and landed on the snow white ground some distance away. It looked like a red flower in the snow.
In fact, Bai Xing felt the same way as Fang Zhengzhi. He too wanted to curse and swear. However, Bai Xing was a demon.
To the humans, the demons were an evil race.
However, to the demons, they were royalty. They were the rightful rulers of the world.
As such, the demons rarely chose to scold others. Ordinarily, they would choose to kill before they chose to scold.
But right now, Bai Xing really wanted to scold and curse.
It wasn"t just because Fang Zhengzhi had just defiled his mother with his words. More importantly, his strike had hit home, but Fang Zhengzhi did not die!
Of course, Bai Xing"s strike had hit its mark.
Even though it had been more difficult than he expected... When his blade was thrust towards Fang Zhengzhi"s chest, the blade in Fang Zhengzhi"s hand mysteriously appeared in front of his sword.
Then, there was a crystal clear sword that was aimed at his side causing him to feel like his blade wasn"t his.
However, these were not enough to stop Bai Xing.
His sword still found its mark.
He swiped away Fang Zhengzhi"s blade and his sword took a hit from Nangong Hao"s blade. However, his sword did not stray from its intended path.
However, just when his blade hit Fang Zhengzhi"s chest...
He felt a hard object. This did not feel like human flesh. This was a metal, a metal that was strong enough to block his blade.
But Fang Zhengzhi was only wearing a leopard print leather suit...
Where did the metal come from?
Unless Fang Zhengzhi was also wearing armor underneath, armor that had saved his life.
Of course...
No matter what the reason was, the fact was that Bai Xing had failed to a.s.sa.s.sinate Fang Zhengzhi. That was a truth that he could not deny.
Nangong Hao turned to look at Bai Xing. He did not look at Bai Xing"s appearance or the blade in Bai Xing"s hand. He merely looked at Bai Xing"s red demonic eye.
Then, he swung his sword.
There was no hesitation.
When he battled Fang Zhengzhi, his attacks were silent. However, this time, his blade hummed as it sailed through the air.
This was the sound of a dragon, the hum that resulted from prolonged suppression.
All of the ice on the ground seemed to be summoned by this hum. They flew towards Nangong Hao"s blade and congregated there.
Then, they formed an icy, h.e.l.lish aura.
"Hum!"
...
Bai Xing knew all along that Nangong Hao was powerful. However, he was still shocked when he saw this strike.
He could feel that even with his powers, he needed to defend against it with everything that he had.
"Boom!"
Bai Xing"s body flew back more than 10 steps. He steadied himself and stared at Nangong Hao, then back at Fang Zhengzhi.
He had always thought that his sword was quick.
Only now did he know that there was someone else below the Rebirth State that was just as quick as him. That person was Nangong Hao.
If not for the fact that Nangong Hao had attacked his flank, Bai Xing was confident that he would have been able to penetrate whatever armor Fang Zhengzhi had.
Of course, this was all history.
Bai Xing had thought that his strike had no chance of failing. But yet, Fang Zhengzhi had blocked his blade and Nangong Hao"s sword had clashed with his. In the end, he had been stopped by Fang Zhengzhi"s armor.
He had to admit...
This was quite a hit to Bai Xing"s ego.
Furthermore, Yun Qingwu and the elites of the demon race were all observing from above. This was not just a matter of being humiliated.
He decided to make good his failure...
He would kill Fang Zhengzhi AND Nangong Hao.
...
Nangong Hao"s sword was pointed at Bai Xing but he did not look in that direction. Instead, he looked at Fang Zhengzhi.
From the moment Bai Xing appeared, Nangong Hao knew that the combat examinations had been paused. If his guess was correct, the war of the Southern Mountain Range had begun.
Naturally, his sword would not be pointed at Fang Zhengzhi.
"Go first!" Nangong Hao"s voice was not loud but it was determined. However, he was quite shocked to see a silver metallic glow where there was a tear in Fang Zhengzhi"s leather suit.
He knew exactly how powerful Bai Xing"s attack was. Even though he had struck Bai Xing"s blade, all he did was weaken it slightly.
As for its accuracy...
It had been unchanged throughout.
As such, the thing that managed to defend against Bai Xing"s attack was that metallic, mirror-like object.
"She really gave that thing... to him..."
...
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to leave as well, but he knew that he couldn"t. He was Bai Xing"s target.
He felt much better after he finished berating Bai Xing.
However, after being snuck up on, it would be impossible for all his anger to dissipate after a single curse.
If not for the fact that Traceless Sword went against his will and turned back... If not for the fact that Nangong Hao had attacked Bai Xing"s sword... If not for Chi Guyan"s Heart Protection mirror...
Most importantly, if Bai Xing had not aimed for his heart...
He would have been dead.
At the very least, he could not be able to retaliate.
Fang Zhengzhi rarely fought battles he had no confidence in winning. He knew that Bai Xing was a Rebirth State Demon.
However, for some queer reason, after he spat out the mouthful of blood, his heart burned with an unquenchable rage.
It seemed to originate from his hand.
More precisely, it seemed to originate from the Traceless Sword.
However, what he did not notice was that the blood that he spat out was now being collected by his sword. It was being incorporated into that purple stain.
The purple stain began to expand.
This caused Fang Zhengzhi much discomfort. However, his eyes began to turn purple, a weird glow swirling around in his pupils.
Just at this moment...
A red beam of light appeared in front of him. It was the shade of blood, and it was different from the iciness he felt from the silver beam of light.
This cold felt like it came right out of h.e.l.l. Furthermore, the stench of blood was strong.
Fang Zhengzhi turned back instinctively.
He saw a figure almost entirely enveloped in red light. Then, he saw two glowing, bloodshot eyes.
"Yan Xiu?!" Fang Zhengzhi had seen Yan Xiu use the Dao of Asura, but he had never seen Yan Xiu use it in this way.
It wasn"t because Yan Xiu looked any different.
But... his aura...
This aura came from within his body. It did not feel like Yan Xiu was using the Dao of Asura. Instead, it felt like the Dao of Asura was complementing Yan Xiu. In other words, Yan Xiu was the Dao of Asura!
"Die!" Yan Xiu bellowed as his eyes turned completely red. The Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan in his hand was covered by a layer of red crystals.
It looked beautiful and translucent, but it was filled with killing intent.