Chapter 242: An Auxiliary Lightning-type Special Ability
“I think I know what Fangyuan’s attack ability is,” Xia Fei said gravely.
“What is it?” Phantom anxiously asked.
“He perhaps has a lightning-type special ability as an auxiliary. There’s no way his attack can have such a strong penetrative power if it’s just fire alone, for only lightning is able to penetrate one’s body so instantly and so thoroughly. A human’s body is mostly water, after all, so it can easily conduct electricity.”
“But how will you explain that blue flaming glow that came from Smokeshadow’s body the instant he was sent flying?” Phantom asked, puzzled.
Xia Fei chuckled lightly. “That’s because the voltage of Fangyuan’s lightning ability is huge. The moment a human body experiences a voltage beyond what it can handle, it will result in an intense burning. If it were purely a fire attack, the flames on this body ought to be red. Thus, Fangyuan’s special ability is most definitely not that simple. I postulate that there’s a ninety percent chance of him actually possessing an auxiliary lightning ability.”
Phantom was silent. Out of all the nature-type special abilities, lightning was among the scariest and most explosive powers to have. Warriors with that special ability would not only be able to deal fatal injuries to their enemies at close range but also able to release electrical currents as ranged attacks. In fact, once an electric-type ability user was sufficiently strong, not only would they be resilient to enemies’ attacks, they could even generate powerful electrical backlash.
Besides, Fangyuan did not simply just have a lightning special ability, he also had speed that clocked several thousand meters a second. If a psychokinetic user like Xia Fei used Celestial Moon to engage in a close range fight, Fangyuan would be able to dodge it so calmly.
“Fangyuan’s ability is simply too strong. He is like a high-voltage receptacle; be it ranged or melee, there’s simply no way of taking advantage of him one bit.” Phantom then proceeded to ask somewhat skeptically, “Hey, Xia Fei; do you have any way to deal with someone with both speed and lightning abilities?”
Xia Fei had always been bright, so if even he could not come up with the right tactic to deal with Fangyuan, this meant that there was a possibility of this sparring session between the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect and the Sky Eradicator Sect to reach an ending that Phantom had no wish of seeing.
Xia Fei shook his head and made his way back by taking long strides. “Nope, I’ll have to think about this further.”
Seeing Xia Fei return with a gloomy expression, Manatee hurriedly handed that Bloodthirsty Screech to Xia Fei as if he had just completed an important mission, his att.i.tude severely earnest.
“Brother Xia Fei, you don’t look so good. What happened?” Manatee asked.
Xia Fei laughed. “It’s nothing. Just something I have yet to make sense of. Who’s up for the next match?”
Upon mentioning the next match, Manatee became very lively. He loved martial arts, as well as the thrill of a fight, to the very core. He merely lacked the opportunity to practice it, and Xia Fei believed that if Manatee could receive proper guidance, he had what it took to be an outstanding warrior.
At the end of the day, he had thirst in his eyes, the sort that spoke to a natural pa.s.sion toward battle. If someone wanted to succeed, pa.s.sion was a must. If a child enjoyed swimming right from the start, but the family, instead, forced him or her to practice the piano, it would be very unlikely for the kid to succeed in a field he or she had no interest in. After all, a resigned acceptance was completely different from a yearning to learn.
“The next match will be with one of our sect sisters. I heard the sect brothers talking about how amazing that sect sister is. I heard that she got accepted as Silvershadow’s disciple when she’s still very young; as for her special ability or what cultivation rank she’s at, none of the fellow disciples has a clue, for she has been cultivating all by herself, never once speaking with anyone else. She’s practically a mystery!” Manatee excitedly gushed, a hint of envy in his words. After all, this sect sister had been able to demonstrate her talent at a young age and got accepted into the disciples.h.i.+p, while Manatee was already well in his teens, yet never had he received the opportunity to learn any combat techniques. All he did was the various miscellaneous tasks he had been a.s.signed to do, and he was also often bullied by his fellow sect brothers, indeed hardly living an easy life.
Sometimes, life was just that unfair. Manatee was born with the desire for combat, yet he did not even have the chance to learn it. If he was truly given the chance, who knew what would be the outcome? Sometimes, all someone needed was coincidence. Reality had already proven that when giving the seemingly mediocre humans a chance, they could very well be rewarded with the entire world. Unfortunately, it was not just everyone who would get such a chance.
Xia Fei nodded. “So who is she going up against?”
“Still that same fatty from before, Fangyuan,” replied Manatee through gnashed teeth.
Xia Fei knitted his eyebrows. “Why is it that guy fighting twice in a row?”
“Three,” Manatee corrected as he extended three fingers. “He wants to fight three rounds with the disciples of the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect. All we need to do is win once to defeat him.”
It was very evident that this was an unfair matching. The a.s.sa.s.sin Sect would never have accepted such a three-versus-one setup in the past, but the sect was no longer what it used to be. Even if the disciples felt ashamed with such an arrangement, they still had to accept this implicitly insulting compet.i.tion.
Phantom had a distasteful look on his face, while even the fairly slow-witted Manatee was clenching his teeth tightly.
This was most definitely humiliating. Phantom could tell that Sect Master Craneshadow had encountered a huge dilemma, which made him accept such arrangements.
No matter how hard he tried to console himself time and again, Phantom still felt very indignant and aggrieved. He turned to look at Xia Fei, only for him to resume that look of being completely unaffected by the ongoing situation, lighting a cigarette as he quietly waited for the second round to start. In his eyes, the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect hardly mattered. What truly mattered was being able to see Fangyuan’s abilities and come up with a method to deal with him.
The universe was vast and filled with mysteries. Who knew when Xia Fei might come across a demonic-type ability user again? Thus, it was very important for him to figure out how he could deal with such an opponent who wielded two abilities at once.
Fangyuan stood in that ring, yawning as he propped his chin on his hand. He looked very relaxed, as if he was just taking something out of his pocket, when he beat his opponents—an effortless exercise on his part.
It was dozens of minutes later when a delicate, young lady came stepping out with lithe steps, shly making her way to the ring from the lounge.
She was not too pretty, a small nose along with some visible freckles on her face. Though she was no longer young, looking to be at least eighteen or nineteen years old, the child-bearing age of girls on many other planets, she still acted like a prep.u.b.escent girl.
The thousands of people spectating made her very uncomfortable, her cheeks turning beet-red, looking down onto the ground as if she had done something wrong.
The ring platform was two meters high, and this lady was only around 1.6 meters in height. Even if she reached out her hands, she would not be tall enough to get up the ring.
She made several clumsy attempts to get on it but to no avail. Ultimately, the lady had to bring a chair over from the side and use it as a footstool before she finally managed to climb onto the ring.
She only made it into the ring after expending so much effort. Everyone watched as she tidied her hair, exhaling out in relief.
The entire sparring field went silent. It was clear that she was not the only one who felt relieved; everyone seemed to have been worrying for her the entire time; this frail-looking lady had not stayed at home yet had come to this ring where she could very well die at any time. It was far too outrageous.
However, Xia Fei did not make fun of this lady due to her clumsiness. The fact was that Xia Fei had never once underestimated anyone, especially the old or women, so being able to come out after Smokeshadow meant that, in terms of her strength and capabilities, she was above that of Smokeshadow.