Chapter 640: Struggle to be First
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Aquamarine Jade Flute became a dragon of light and furiously charged towards Mo Wen. It contained an indomitable aura.
“Mo Wen, don’t even think of crossing the Lotus Lake,” Gong Zhangyan roared angrily. He channeled all of his power into the Aquamarine Jade Flute. His own silhouette fell into the waters of the lake. In order to deal with Mo Wen, he had actually actively forfeited the Fighting Spirit Tower’s trial.
The burly youth that was not far ahead of Gong Zhangyan was shocked. He gave Gong Zhangyan an astonished look. Only after he noticed that the aquamarine light dragon had pa.s.sed by him and that it was not aimed at him, did he breathe a sigh of relief. He frantically turned to look at Mo Wen who was out in front.
No matter how small the attack was, it was highly possible for it to cause them to fail the trial. The ancient martial art pract.i.tioners were focusing all their power to resist the Lotus Lake’s pressure. Any disturbance could cause them to fail.
Moreover, a genius such as Gong Zhangyan had sent out an all-out attack.
The gaze that the burly youth gave Mo Wen bore a hint of pity. Right now, he just recalled the earlier enmity between Mo Wen and Gong Zhangyan on the altar. Gong Zhangyan was indeed a lunatic. He would actually rather forfeit the trial of the Fighting Spirit Tower than let Mo Wen win.
At the very front, Hao Qian and Hou Jingfeng’s figures trembled. Although they had not turned to look back, they could sense what was happening behind them. Originally the two of them were somewhat nervous and afraid that the attack was for them. The two of them breathed a sigh of relief when Gong Zhangyan roared out Mo Wen’s name.
A gloating look appeared in Hou Jingfeng’s eyes. Mo Wen’s performance on the Lotus Lake had made him somewhat worried that Mo Wen would surpa.s.s him. Although Hou Jingfeng had cultivation at the later stage of the Golden Elixir realm put him at a higher level than all apart from Hao Qian, Mo Wen was a very unique figure. He could not get a read on Mo Wen.
Mo Wen would have to try and fight off Gong Zhangyan’s attack from behind. He would certainly fail the trial, and Hou Jingfeng’s compet.i.tors would decrease by one.
Mo Wen’s facial expression was ice cold. He had not expected that Gong Zhangyan would attack him at this particular moment. He was way too narrow-minded.
A split second had pa.s.sed since Gong Zhangyan had launched his attack. The aquamarine dragon image would reach Mo Wen in the blink of an eye. Its attack power was quite frightening.
Mo Wen sighed. Right now, if he unleashed too much power to block the aquamarine dragon image, he would certainly be unable to block the pressure from the sky and would fall into the Lotus Lake. Helping Pei Fengwu had expended part of his power and he had not yet fully recovered. If he was to attack, he would face the same fate as Gong Zhangyan. Both of them would go down together, falling into the Lotus Lake.
In the end, Mo Wen did not try to block the aquamarine dragon image. He simply let it crash into him. The golden light shroud on his body furiously brightened twofold. At the same time, his entire being turned completely golden, the Indestructible Body of Vajrapani enveloping his entire body in an instant.
As the aquamarine dragon image furiously crashed into Mo Wen’s body, he staggered a bit but managed to stabilize his figure. He used the recoil to propel himself another forty to fifty meters across the lake.
The golden light shroud that the Five Beast Hoops had turned into shattered. The five bronze hoops flew backward. Then, with a spin in mid-air, they flew back into Mo Wen’s sleeve.
The skin on Mo Wen’s Indestructible Body of Vajrapani was also completely shattered. The golden light flickered a few times and his skin tone returned to normal.
Mo Wen spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His face went pale. He had used his body to forcefully thwart Gong Zhangyan’s all-out attack. No matter how powerful his defense was, he could not fully withstand the attack, having already suffered serious internal injuries.
However, in the end, he had managed to use his body to foil Gong Zhangyan’s attack. His figure did not drop into the Lotus Lake. He still remained standing firmly on a lotus leaf.
“This freak!” The burly youth stared at Mo Wen in disbelief, his eyes full of astonishment. He had actually used his body to thwart Gong Zhangyan’s attack, not evading or dodging. Using one’s body to block the attack from a spiritual weapon was practically the stuff of fairy tales. However, it had actually happened in front of him.
Gong Zhangyan was an ancient martial art pract.i.tioner at the pinnacle of the intermediate stage of the Golden Elixir realm. He was just a step away from the later stage of the Golden Elixir realm. His cultivation was equal to that of the burly youth. Also, he had used a top grade spiritual weapon, the Aquamarine Jade Flute. One could imagine how powerful its attack power was.
Even an ancient martial arts pract.i.tioner at the later stage of the Golden Elixir Realm would be killed by a direct hit from the Aquamarine Jade Flute. It would have been impossible even for absolute geniuses like Hou Jingfeng and Hao Qian to use their bodies to block Gong Zhangyan’s attack.
Hao Qian and Hou Jingfeng, who were at the very front, turned to look behind them at almost exactly the same time. They each drew in a cold breath. For them, Mo Wen using his own flesh to block Gong Zhangyan’s Aquamarine Jade Flute was an absolutely huge blow. If it were them, they wouldn’t have dared to do so at all.
Even though Mo Wen had a protective spiritual weapon, under such circ.u.mstances, he shouldn’t have been able to block the attack. That was because the formless power suppressing them on the Lotus Lake was enough to lower the protective spiritual weapon’s power by more than ninety percent. It could even be said to have negated its power.
In other words, that attack could only be foiled by the ancient martial art pract.i.tioner’s own flesh. Was Mo Wen’s body actually that powerful? To survive an attack from Gong Zhangyan’s Aquamarine Jade Flute was one thing, but the fact that he had not fallen into the Lotus Lake was remarkable.
Mo Wen’s figure shook. In the time it took for his aura to retract and be released again, he had completely stabilized his figure. He was like a stone pillar standing on a lotus leaf. However, his face was pale and there was blood in the corners of his mouth.
In reality, his cultivation was only at the Embryonic Breathing realm. Even if he practiced three martial arts methods at the same time, his acc.u.mulated Inner Qi was far inferior to an intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial arts pract.i.tioner. The reason why he could go against intermediate stage Golden Elixir realm ancient martial art pract.i.tioners was largely due to the power of his body. After being strengthened by the Vital Qi and the three tail feathers, the power of his body had already reached an intense level. Even a Martial Arts Grandmaster would find it hard to compete with it.
By combining different aspects of his power, he could surpa.s.s a martial arts pract.i.tioner at the intermediate stage of the Golden Elixir realm.
The power of Mo Wen’s body was something that many ancient martial art pract.i.tioners could not imagine.
Gong Zhangyan looked at Mo Wen in disbelief. His eyes contained frenzied incredulity and dissatisfaction. He fell into the Lotus Lake with a splash. With a flash of light, he disappeared without a trace. Under such conditions, he was still unable to deal with Mo Wen.
“He will surely repay this grudge one day.” Mo Wen cold glanced at the spot that Gong Zhangyan had disappeared from. His voice was so cold that the burly youth nearby could not help but feel a s.h.i.+ver down his spine.
Raising his hand to wipe away the blood from the corner of his mouth, Mo Wen’s silhouette continued to move forward.
This time, he did not dare to preserve his ability anymore, charging forward with all his might. Being severely injured, he was not certain that he could reach the end of the Lotus Lake.
Hao Qian and Hou Jingfeng, who were still ahead of him, began to slow down, but Mo Wen started to speed up. Heavy rain poured from the sky. Thunder and lightning constantly struck and the pressure kept increasing.
In a short while, Mo Wen pa.s.sed Hao Qian and Hou Jingfeng and continued making his way forward.
“He… how is it possible?” Hou Jingfeng’s expression was sullen beyond compare. He stared at Mo Wen. Mo Wen’s power was clearly below that of his. Besides, Mo Wen had encountered a few hiccups along the way. Yet, Mo Wen could still overtake him. What did that say about Hou Jingfeng? Did it mean that he, the famous genius in the ancient martial arts world, actually paled into insignificance when compared to Mo Wen?
Hao Qian and Hou Jingfeng exchanged a glance. They could see shock in each other’s eyes. Even Hao Qian, who was always confident about himself, started re-evaluating Mo Wen.
“Elder Brother Hao, if this continues, the two of us will surely be behind him,” Hou Jingfeng said with a hostile expression. Hao Qian was second now while he was third. The distance between the two of them was less than five meters, so they were not a huge distance apart.
They had traveled another hundred meters and the burly youth could no longer hold on. With a plop, he sank into the lake.
On the surface, only Mo Wen, Hou Jingfeng and Hao Qian remained.
“n.o.body knows the final result until the very end,” Hao Qian said with a cold expression. He looked at the pavilion at the end of the Lotus Lake. They were only about three hundred meters away from it. But this journey of three hundred meters caused everyone to have difficulty even just moving a step.
Right now, Mo Wen’s speed was reducing as well. Each step forward was a huge challenge.
“Elder Brother Hao, the brat remains a threat now that he is ahead of us. Why don’t we join forces and eliminate this threat first?” Hou Jingfeng said to Hao Qian, speaking slowly as a light flashed in his eyes.
They were ancient martial arts pract.i.tioners at the later stage of the Golden Elixir realm. Additionally, their backgrounds were not ordinary. Some of the abilities and hidden tricks that they had were not something other ancient martial art pract.i.tioners would be able to fathom. Both of them had also kept some power in reserve.
“Forgive me for not being able to commit such a dirty act.” Hao Qian cast a cold glance at Hou Jingfeng. Then, ignoring his suggestion, he moved forward expressionlessly.
With his ident.i.ty and fame, he disdained joining forces with Hou Jingfeng to attack an ancient martial art pract.i.tioner who was younger than him.
“Humph, then just you wait and see Mo Wen being first. Not only will he gain the highest reward from the Fighting Spirit Tower, but his fame will also be more renowned than yours in the future.” Hou Jingfeng coldly snorted and his facial expression was ruthless. Hao Qian was too proud and too arrogant. Hao Qian probably still didn’t think that Mo Wen could pose a threat to him and so didn’t see the need to join forces with Hou Jingfeng.
Hou Jingfeng knew that Hao Qian’s ability was far beyond this. He had hidden his true ability. But he also knew that Mo Wen most likely had even more trump cards in his hand, especially that mysterious, terrifying puppet. The puppet cast a large shadow on Hou Jingfeng’s mind.
Initially, Hou Jingfeng had hoped to join forces with Hao Qian, then make use of Mo Wen’s power to eliminate Hao Qian. After that, he would see whether he could find an opportunity to kill Mo Wen as well. But Hao Qian had not been fooled. Hou Jingfeng could not now do anything.
Actually, Hou Jingfeng didn’t know that right now, Mo Wen was very helpless too. The Black Gold Puppet that Hou Jingfeng was so scared of could not be unleashed at all.
Mo Wen discovered that he could not release the Black Gold Puppet in this place. There seemed to be a mysterious power suppressing the Black Gold Puppet. With its ability, if he had its help, crossing the Lotus Lake would certainly be an easy task.
However, this trial was obviously very fair. It had actually taken into account Mo Wen’s puppet. Unable to use the power of the puppet, he could only depend on his own ability for everything.