To be struck by lightning, not once but twice, resulted in Fang Zhengzhi"s originally pathetic outlook to seem even more miserable.
Some tattered parts of his blue gown had already turned black, and the hair on his head had been struck upright. He looked as if he had just came out of an explosion.
Of course, it was not easy to get rid of the light headed feeling.
"Hahaha….." Chi Guyan could not help but burst out laughing. She palpitated back and forth, resembling a quivering stem of flower.
"Happy?" Fang Zhengzhi seemed dissatisfied.
"I think two strokes are insufficient, maybe three strokes are needed!" Chi Guyan"s eyes s.h.i.+mmered with rays of light, and she looked like a military advisor.
Fang Zhengzhi gave Chi Guyan a scornful look. Three strokes? Think I"m foolish? A person can commit one or two foolish mistakes, but cannot make three foolish mistakes consecutively.
Three strokes!
That would then be three lightning bolts.
Even a fool would be able to predict that. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had always prided on his own wits, how would he believe Chi Guyan"s words again?
"Three strokes? You go then!" Fang Zhengzhi responded without hesitation.
"Okay then, I"ll be going up down. Don"t you regret, if I"m able to solve the Eighth Heaven, you do not have any opportunity left." Chi Guyan nodded her head casually.
"Wait!" Fang Zhengzhi stopped Chi Guyan once again.
He did not know why, but he had always felt that Chi Guyan seemed a little weird. Although he was certain that Chi Guyan was using him.
But, there was certainly more than what had met the eye.
Because, there was a motive behind Chi Guyan"s actions.
To see him suffering from being struck by the lightning bolts? There was a slight possibility, but it was not high.
Afterall, with Chi Guyan"s character, she would not resort to such behavior just for her satisfaction. Furthermore, they were in the Divine Rain Pond, and they had the same purpose, which was to enter the Ninth Heaven.
What was the reason then?
Fang Zhengzhi looked at Chi Guyan and her alluring complex, as he could not help but feel a little suspicious of her actions.
Chi Guyan seemed to have noticed his stares, and predicted that Fang Zhengzhi would stop her soon, "How? Do you want to try?"
"Of course, I am a man. I can"t let a lady get in front of me. Right?" Fang Zhengzhi replied casually.
"Alright then, you can give it another try!" Chi Guyan nodded her head, and her expressions did not have any changes at all.
Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi felt even more bewildered.
Something"s wrong!
Very wrong!
The more calm Chi Guyan seemed to be, the weirder he felt about the whole situation. More importantly, Fang Zhengzhi knew that she did not want to lose.
Then why did she give the opportunity to himself?
Furthermore, since she continued to allow Fang Zhengzhi to attempt the problem, it must be because Chi Guyan knew that her attempts would not yield any fruitful outcomes.
Having thought about that, Fang Zhengzhi"s eyes lit up immediately. If Chi Guyan was sure that her attempts would be futile…..
Did it not mean that she already had an answer in her heart?!
Fang Zhengzhi started recalling what had happened previously. Then, he looked at Chi Guyan"s behavior, and he was even more sure of that.
First she pretended to be kind, advising him to draw two strokes instead of one.
And even pretended to be enthusiastic about wanting to try.
And now she"s saying that two strokes are insufficient, three strokes are required…..
It was obvious that she was trying to induce him to have the wrong thoughts.
More importantly, since the beginning, Chi Guyan had never expressed her ambitions of reaching the Ninth Heaven. In fact, it had felt that she was trying to intentionally delaying the time.
This was too incomprehensible.
Because, Fang Zhengzhi knew that Chi Guyan was not only compet.i.tive, but proud and arrogant.
This pride was something Chi Guyan would never abandon.
To be more direct, anybody would have intentionally delayed the time if they wanted to win the gamble, but Chi Guyan would never do that.
Because, being a prideful being, she would never choose to give up when faced with the obstacle in the Eighth Heaven.
Chi Guyan wanted to enter the Ninth Heaven too.
Furthermore, her desire to do so was no lower than that of Fang Zhengzhi"s. But Chi Guyan deliberately suppressed such a desire, and did not express it out…..
As such, Fang Zhengzhi wanted to enter the Ninth Heaven even more badly.
Indeed…..
Chi Guyan was not only capable with her skills, but her intelligence was incredibly high too, and could be said to be the Demon of all demons.
Unfortunately, this Demon was his opponent, and he had to triumph this opponent no matter what.
How?
Fang Zhengzhi was left with a few choices. The first was to continue to give it a few more attempts, and maybe one of them would be the answer.
Of course, he might not be able to guess the correct answer, and would eventually be struck motionless by the lightning bolts. It was very possible that Chi Guyan would then attack him from behind, resulting in him being unconscious.
The probability of this happening was very high.
Chi Guyan was willing to allow him to continue trying because she wanted to drain his energy, so as to ascertain her victory.
The second choice was to allow Chi Guyan to try, but even if he were to enter the Ninth Heaven, he would be behind Chi Guyam.
Then, he would have lost the bet.
Of course, there was the third choice, which was for him to suddenly have an epiphany, and to suddenly discover the key to the Eighth Heaven, so as to enter the Ninth Heaven.
However, he had yet to gain any insights.
Furthermore, his mind had seemed to be entrapped by Chi Guyan, and all he could think about was three strokes, four strokes, five strokes, six strokes…..
Wait.
Talking about the numerous strokes, would there be a possibility…..
That it was not a matter of how many strokes there were, but that one must draw out all the principles from the First Heaven to the Seventh Heaven?
Draw all of them?!
Fang Zhengzhi"s eyes lit up again, as he felt that this situation was very plausible. However, he felt that it was almost impossible to fulfil such a scenario.
Even for the most brilliant and skillful painters, it would be impossible for them to duplicate the drawings from the First Heaven to the Seventh Heaven.
Afterall, it was too difficult.
The difficulty was not within the drawings themselves, but the fluctuations and changes, especially those in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Heavens. How was it possible to ill.u.s.trate those fluctuations?
Downright impossible.
But what else could it be?
The First Heaven, the Second Heaven, the Third Heaven…..the Seventh Heaven.
Fang Zhengzhi started recalling his past memories in the previous Heavens, as the images of the drawings flashed through his mind.
The complex philosophies, the different cycles…..
Wait!
Was there a possibility…..
Understood, understood!
In an instant, an idea flashed through his mind. It became increasingly clear to him, and he immediately picked up his brush.
"How? Still not going to give it another try? If three strokes are insufficient, you can try four strokes, or even five or six strokes….." At this moment, Chi Guyan"s voice rang in the air again.
"Hm, alright!" Fang Zhengzhi nodded his head, as he wielded the brush tightly and prepared to follow Chi Guyan"s suggestions. However, he stopped almost immediately.
Wrong!
If Chi Guyan had thought of that idea too, how would Chi Guyan stand aside helplessly and allow him to solve the Eighth Heaven?
There must be a problem.
If he were to really follow her suggestions and draw a few strokes on the paper, it was only natural that she would not stop him. In fact, she would be even more delighted for that to happen.
But once his actions were perceived to be able to solve the Eighth Heaven? Would the girl, at the most important point of time, attack him from behind?
Probably, most probably!
In an instant, Fang Zhengzhi seemed to have understood why Chi Guyan did not want to attempt even though she knew the answer.
The reason was because she was afraid that if Fang Zhengzhi were to know what she was doing, he would attack her from behind too!
In that case…..
He understood everything else already.
Chi Guyan had indeed thought of a method as to how she was going to solve the Eighth Heaven, but she was afraid to say, and she could not do it. Because, he was just behind her.
And currently, he was facing the same problem.
Even if he were to think of the solution, he had no way of executing it too, because Chi Guyan was just behind him, and once he made his move, Chi Guyan would definitely attack him from behind.
High intellect?
Fang Zhengzhi had never felt so ingenious before, and he knew that Chi Guyan would definitely not wait for him to win her.
This was a little awkward.
Both of them did not dare to make their moves first, because the person who first made the move would then be the loser of the gamble.
How?
"If you still don"t move, I"ll proceed to try then?" Chi Guyan looked at the motionless Fang Zhengzhi, and could not help but urge him once again.
Upon hearing this, Fang Zhengzhi was sure of his idea.
Chi Guyan desired to enter the Ninth Heaven too, but there was less than half an hour of time left.
"Okay, I"m going!" Fang Zhengzhi did not hesitate any longer.
He leapt up and wielded his brush across the paper, and started drawing on it.
Chi Guyan"s eyes lit up instantly.
However, the light in her eyes disappeared not long after, as Fang Zhengzhi had already landed on the ground, and there were three ink strokes on the picture.
In the end…..
Needless to say.
After the three strokes had disappeared, the horizon started to change once again. Simultaneously, three purple lightning bolts struck down from the sky.
"Chi Guyan, I hate you!" Fang Zhengzhi seemed dumbfounded, as he tried to duck behind Chi Guyan"s body.
But there was not much use.
Three three lightning bolts seemed to have eyes themselves, as they avoided Chi Guyan before landing on Fang Zhengzhi"s head.
"Hong!" A loud sound rang in the air again.
And smoke started emitting from Fang Zhengzhi"s body, as his eyes turn dull instantly. Next, a "Pu Tong" sound could be heard as he slumped on the ground.
What a astonis.h.i.+ng scene.
Afterall, to be struck by three lightning bolts simultaneously was indeed very amplifying. The entire Eighth Heaven started trembling.
"I, I…..am…..not giving up…." Fang Zhengzhi mumbled a few inaudible sounds, as his body started convulsing.
The power from the three lightning bolts were indeed too strong, and it was clear that Fang Zhengzhi was unable to tolerate the suffering. Even though he seemed unwilling to, he quickly lost unconsciousness and fainted on the ground.
"Shameless thief, are you okay?" Chi Guyan seemed a little anxious, and she no longer laughed upon seeing Fang Zhengzhi"s condition.
She quickly bent her body over.
Her jade-like hands pressed onto his chest, before placing her ears against his body. She seemed extremely concerned.
"Shameless thief, wake up quickly!" Chi Guyan shook Fang Zhengzhi"s body as she screamed out loud, "We still need to enter the Ninth Heaven, wake up….."
"Wake up shameless thief, don"t faint!"
"Endure it for a while longer!"
"....."
Her anxious sounds continued to ring in the air, but after shaking his body for a full half-minute, Fang Zhengzhi did not seem as though he would wake up any time soon.
Chi Guyan"s expression seemed dull, and her soul seemed to have left her body.
"Shameless thief, I"m in the wrong, I did not think about it quickly. But now I have, let"s try it for one last time. Quickly wake up, we can succeed this time round!"
Chi Guyan continued to mumble, "It"s my fault, I shouldn"t have let you try. Actually, upon further thinking, we should use the beginning and the end to simulate a cycle. The First Heaven is the beginning, so there"s only one stroke, and the Seventh Heaven is the end, where the entire evolution fused into one, so we"ll use one stroke….."
Upon saying that, Chi Guyan paused for a while, and it could be seen that her eyes had already turned watery. She sat beside Fang Zhengzhi.
Time started to pa.s.s by quickly.
But Chi Guyan continued to sit motionlessly by Fang Zhengzhi"s side. From her expression, it seemed as though she had no intention of drawing on the picture.
There was only two minutes left till the closing of the Divine Rain Pond, and Chi Guyan let out a heavy sigh once again.
"Sigh….." Chi Guyan stood up slowly.
Next, she looked towards the suspending white drawing, and momentarily after, her eyes lit up, resembling that of the brightest stars in the universe. There was even a bit of colours floating within.
Then…..
Chi Guyan started moving.
Just like a beautiful b.u.t.terfly, she flew up onto the horizon, as her pink dress s.h.i.+mmered brilliantly against the light.
She wielded her brush.
Ink started appearing on the drawing, and the brush seemed to be one that was able to give life onto the things that it had drawn.
Next, the dot that Chi Guyan had created on the drawing started dispersing, creating lines of ink markings, and eventually morphing into recognisable objects and beings.
It must be important to note that…..
Chi Guyan"s actions were not fast. In fact, they were very slow, and her actions seemed very strenuous.
At this moment, Fang Zhengzhi, who was initially unconscious, had some slight movements, and his tightly closed eyes fully opened.
It was a transparent pair of eyes.
As crystalised as water.
He started looking around his surroundings.
"What a great actress, if I had not known your plan, I might have believed your miserable cries just now! Too bad, you"re facing an even better actor!" Fang Zhengzhi smiled. "Do you know how the hero Cao Cao lose at the Red Cliff? It was not because he was not cautious enough, but it was because he fell into the trap!"
Without opening his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi started moving.
It was not a time to dable around, and without hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi rushed towards Chi Guyan, intending to give her a punch to her back.
Sneak attack.
Was always one of his strongest skills.
As such, he was very clear about not crossing the line. That one punch would not be fatal for Chi Guyan, but she would surely faint upon impact.
He knew that if he did not make that punch, his previous sufferings would have all gone to waste.
Fang Zhengzhi was joyous.
Because, after all the suffering, he could finally vent them all out, and capitalising on Chi Guyan"s plan, counterattack and defeat the Demon of all demons.
Upon thinking about this outcome, that Chi Guyan would finally be his servant, he could not help but feel a sense of euphoria take over him. His smile was as splendid as ever.