Chapter 155 - Courting Death (Final) (Patreon)

Time seemed to freeze as Lucian turned his head just enough to see the golden-horned serpent open its mouth. Everything else vanished from his perception as he focused entirely on Vermilion Tide and her offensive technique.

I need to move, Lucian thought. Flying isn't possible yet, and maneuvering my body in midair will be difficult, but I must find a way.

He neither despaired at the situation nor grew angry that Grandmaster Miao had left him in such a dangerous position.

He would never blame others for his problems.

Lucian watched golden flames infused with visible sound waves pour from the serpent's mouth, traveling at a ridiculous speed and aimed at him.

Vermilion Tide isn't moving. She must be focused on controlling the technique and making it as strong as possible, he thought, a crimson hue spreading throughout his body.

His Blood Essence was rapidly consumed, condensing within his body and flowing toward his severed arms.

Three breaths of time, he said? Lucian recalled, his eyes cold and devoid of fear. Very well.

Then, the Blood Essence on his arms exploded along a river of blood.

Golden flames and sound waves struck his previous location, the air growing heavy as the flames disintegrated the blood wave.

Vermilion Tide narrowed her eyes, detecting the rapidly moving spot of Qi deviation, and saw the crimson trail connecting it to Lucian's previous position.

Lucian had detonated Blood Essence, using his wounds as outlets to expel blood, much like he had once done when vomiting blood infused with Qi. This time, however, he did it far more violently, causing severe damage to his body and draining his reserves by half. 

He had wanted to create enough force to shift his body in midair and evade the attack.

Well, he succeeded. Partially.

With a wave of Vermilion Tide's hand, a golden spear infused with the serpent's previous breath shot toward Lucian, while the horned serpent opened its maw, prepared to fire again.

Vermilion Tide watched angrily, full of expectation, convinced she had cornered Lucian. Her goal was to force him to reveal his true strength so that she could reveal hers. One couldn't forget that Vermilion Qi still rested within her golden Dantian!

But she would not activate it before she saw Lucian's true capabilities. Doing so would mean surrendering the initiative, and Grandmaster Miao had taught her to act with more patience.

While she waited for Lucian to block or dodge the golden spear, ready to direct the serpent's breath toward his escape route, Lucian merely smiled, his eyes shining.

What a fascinating attack, he thought. Material flames that gain incredible mass upon contact. Salazar would be interested in this. Arthur... No, he wouldn't care about this lowly technique.

Lucian had watched as his blood, when struck by the flames, was crushed flat, as though an immense force had suddenly descended upon it. And the reason he could spare thoughts for anything beyond survival, even remembering his adoptive son, was simple.

He had found no way out.

There was nothing he could do besides accept the activation of the Curse of Wrath.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, fate had other plans.

Moments ago, before Grandmaster Miao and Madame Ching had ascended into the clouds, another event happened. As if by coincidence, Wang Chen, hidden in an alley and ignored by the masses fleeing in droves from the streets surrounding the Broken Maze, slowly opened his eyes.

"He will die," a voice said beside him. "Your benefactor is about to meet death. Oh, that's how she told me you called him that. Is that right?"

Severely wounded, with broken ribs and internal bleeding, Wang Chen struggled to recognize the speaker. He could only make out a man wearing a uniform, with a sword hanging from his waist.

"I can save him," the man said, staring through the Qi barrier surrounding the Broken Maze with innocent eyes. "But only if you agree to come to the Sailor School. That girl is talented, but she's too blind. Talking to you may help her see."

More than anything else, the school's name struck Wang Chen like lightning.

Bai Xiaomeng was there!

He didn’t know if Lucian was in danger, but meeting Bai Xiaomeng was a stroke of luck he could hardly believe would come again. Without hesitation, Wang Chen nodded, agreeing with the mysterious man.

The moment he did so was the exact moment the golden spear was about to strike Lucian.

Back in the Broken Maze, when Lucian was about to be hit, the golden spear was cut in half!

Vermilion Tide's eyes widened as a shiver ran down her spine.

In the distance, Lord Ye Ren watched the battle and sighed in awe.

“The Southern Sword Demon has arrived,” he muttered.

Zhi Jian stepped on a flying sword while his usual weapon rested in its scabbard at his waist. One of his hands remained behind his back, and the other, pointing with a single finger infused with Qi, had destroyed the golden spear.

Smiling, he calmly appraised the battlefield.

“Go on,” Zhi Jian said, using Qi to hold Lucian in the air while staring at the horned golden serpent. “Strike me. Do it.”

Vermilion Tide was about to unleash the Vermilion Qi and summon the flaming feathers when Zhi Jian continued,

“Do it, because tonight, I want to draw my sword.”

Hearing his words, Vermilion Tide froze.

Meanwhile, Lucian watched everything with equal parts surprise and suspicion.

Why did he interfere? Because of the Resonant Sea Ancestor? Was that lie really this life-saving? Is he afraid of angering her?

His thoughts were interrupted as the sky above trembled and the clouds parted, revealing the moon and stars in full.

Then, the battlefield came to a halt as two energies clashed. One was pure black, the other was brilliant cyan. Their collision illuminated and darkened the city below in alternating waves, and the auras they released, along with the Qi fluctuations they emitted, were enough to reach the Core Formation realm!

“Oh,” Zhi Jian said with a smile, unsheathing his sword. “They noticed me and decided it was time to end this.”

Then he glanced upward.

“Let me help you guys.”

Everything happened too quickly. Nobody saw what Zhi Jian did before the sword was already sheathed once more.

Next, a white line appeared across the sky, dividing the cyan and black energies. The sword intent it carried reached the Core Formation realm and even suppressed the other two techniques. Because of this, for a single moment, it seemed as though a Core Formation cultivator had unleashed their full strength!

Zhi Jian looked toward the Feathered Serpent Castle and tilted his head.

“If this is all you planned to wake him up from his sweet dreams, it won't be enough,” he said, loud enough for Lucian to hear. "Come on, halfling. Surprise me."

Lucian understood less and less of what was happening. His thoughts were a mess as the aura above pressed upon his body before gradually fading.

Archmage-level strength, he thought through gritted teeth. They all possess techniques within A-Tier. But why? Why do all this? How are my assassination attempt and this show connected?

Then his eyes widened.

Quickly, Lucian turned north. There, azure clouds surged from the horizon, bringing rain so swiftly that his eyes struggled to follow it.

Above those clouds, two enormous, sharp eyes stared at the three techniques. It seemed that the owner of those eyes had sensed a threat, and so it came here to unleash its own strength!

One second after those eyes appeared, all common folk within Three Feathers City collapsed unconscious. Cultivators froze in place as their Qi was suppressed by a higher lifeform, and Lucian felt his mind tremble.

Only the strength of his soul kept him conscious as a domain began to form across the city, azure clouds spreading through the streets.

Then, black clouds erupted from the Feathered Serpent Castle in the next second. With them, a weaker, unstable Core Formation aura emerged, attempting to oppose the azure domain.

Lucian noticed countless black stones glimmering within the black clouds, condensing Qi and shining beneath the moonlight. However, he also perceived that the black one was clearly weaker.

As if to prove his analysis, the azure creature ignored the weak aura and focused on the three techniques. In its eyes, those three combined posed the greater threat. In fact, the owner of the black clouds would never be able to make it move from its forest with such meager strength, but those three infused techniques did!

The Azure Magpie was about to attack when a sigh echoed from the Feathered Serpent Castle.

It sounded ancient, tired, and mildly irritated. Then, a mysterious voice followed it.

“This Seat is not dead,” the ethereal voice said, with a soft but commanding tone, reaching every corner of the city through intent. Then, with a tinge of rage and in a cold tone, it continued, "Scram.”

Grandmaster Miao, Madame Ching, Zhi Jian, and even Obsidian Sea, hidden within the Feathered Serpent Castle, all vomited blood. Their auras collapsed as their techniques were forcibly disrupted.

Nonetheless, the Azure Magpie outside the city suffered far more.

Verdant, vermilion, and obsidian feathers and scales spread through the azure clouds beneath the moonlight, creating a beautiful yet terrifying spectacle.

The colors clashed and shimmered, mesmerizing everyone who could witness them. It felt as though a higher existence had descended from beyond the mortal realm, its mere presence enough to make all who gazed upon it feel insignificant and unworthy.

The Core Formation demonic beast cried out, and its pained screech shook the heavens.

In an instant, the affected portion of the clouds was severed. The verdant, vermilion, and obsidian feathers and scales shattered apart, dissipating like a fleeting dream.

Then, the beast retreated toward its nest within the Azure Magpie Forest, along the rain and its domain.

Everything was settled, as the pressure weighing upon Three Feathers City faded along with the fleeing demonic beast. Commoners slowly awoke, while cultivators recovered.

The Qi walls surrounding the Broken Maze dissolved as well, and all battles inside had long ago come to a halt. All participants turned toward the Feathered Serpent Castle, as another intent emerged from it.

It was weaker than the previous one, yet carried the same unquestionable authority.

“The True Feathered Serpent, City Lord Kun Fei Xing, summons all cultivators present in the Broken Maze to his castle,” Obsidian Sea declared.

Lying on the ground, Lucian let out a laugh. He was bleeding from his old wounds after falling from the sky. Zhi Jian had lost focus and released the Qi holding him moments ago.

Finally, Lucian thought. I'll learn what this was all about.

After the City Lord had intervened, Lucian believed it was time to see the major force's explanation. Otherwise, after causing such a ruckus, the City Lord could end up making Three Feathers City lose all of its remaining powerhouses in a single night.

One could always raise a brave dog, but never a rabid one.