STNS: Chapter 487 (Patreon)

Wu Jian, Shuchang, and Hou Jingshu glanced around at their new surroundings. The world that they had been in previously had faded and the air shimmered with a silvery-blue mist. They could not see anything past the mist. Wu Jian immediately noticed that it was thicker in some areas than others. He didn’t know if that meant anything yet.

“What… is this?” asked Shuchang.

Zhou Wen snorted. “This is my domain. You don’t need to know how it works, for you’ll be dead soon enough.”

Wu Jian cocked his head to the side as they spoke. Sounds within this domain appeared delayed, echoing unnaturally as though reflecting the distortion. He didn’t think this space was that large, but the way sound bounced made it seem vast.

“We will need to be careful,” Wu Jian said. “Judging by the name and her powers up to now, this domain must be one that manipulates time.”

“What an intelligent boy,” a voice said behind him.

Wu Jian’s eyes widened as something sharp stabbed into his back. He avoided a fatal blow by shifting his body, but the attack still went through his shoulder. He was lucky. His Body of the Celestial White Tiger was still active and that had made his skin much harder to pierce. The attack didn’t go all the way through.

He spun around to confront Zhou Wen, but then realized that Zhou Wen was still standing where she had been. Looking back, his eyes widened when he realized there were not one, not two, but three Zhou Wens in this space. Was this one of her abilities? Some kind of clone technique? Those did exist, though they were rare. Her abilities were also exclusively the ability to manipulate the Dao of Time, so maybe… these were duplicates that had been created from a specific point in time? Wu Meiying had told him about temporal clones. They were clones that had all the abilities of the original user, but they were physically much weaker. They would dispel after being struck with a sufficient amount of chi since that would disrupt their ability to maintain cohesion.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me?” asked Shuchang.

“If they are, then my eyes are playing the same trick,” Hou Jingshu said.

“These are temporal clones,” Wu Jian told them. “Strike them with a sufficient amount of chi and they’ll dispel.”

Zhou Wen pursed her lips. “You seem quite knowledgeable about time techniques. Did Wu Meiying tell you that?”

“Mei taught me a lot of things.”

“How dare you refer to her so casually!”

Zhou Wen and her clones quickly attacked Wu Jian, Hou Jingshu, and Shuchang. Since Wu Jian was currently at his strongest, he decided to hold off Zhou Wen to give the other two time to kill this woman’s clones. He engaged her in a battle that combined both hand-to-hand combat and techniques. This woman was much better than him. She was more powerful, had more techniques at her disposal, and her domain allowed her to freely manipulate time to an extent. She swung her right arm. Wu Jian thought he dodged, but blood sprayed from a wound on his left arm. She kicked at her. He moved back to avoid it, or so he thought. A powerful blow struck him in the chest hard enough that he thought his ribs might snap. Her attacks continued to hit him no matter how or where he dodged. Even blocking didn’t seem to help.

How is she doing this? How does this technique work?

Wu Meiying had taught him about domains that manipulated time, but she’d not told him about Temporal Domain. Presumably, she didn’t know Zhou Wen could use it. She surely would have told him how it worked if she had.

Hou Jingshu and Shuchang were both fighting one of Zhou Wen’s clones. Shuchang’s entire body was still covered in bright red flames that encased his form like armor, and he was attacking with martial arts. That armor must come at the cost of not being able to fully utilize other techniques. All abilities came with a price. The more powerful the ability, the higher the price. So what price did the Temporal Domain have?

“Hrk!!”

Wu Jian groaned as he tried to block Zhou Wen’s latest attack, but the attack still struck him anyway. He had raised his arms and took her punch on his crossed forearms. It was strange. Even though he felt the attack strike his forearms, the next second, it felt like a powerful blow had slammed into his chest. This had to be some kind of time technique, a result of her Temporal Domain. He staggered back but didn’t have time to do much else because Zhou Wen was attacking him again.

If I’m just going to get hit anyway…

“RAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Wu Jian roared as he threw himself at Zhou Wen. She punched him in the face. She must have expected him to block because her eyes went wide when he accepted the attack. It hurt. Blood immediately welled up inside of his broken nose, but he didn’t back down, pushing forward through both the pain and her strength. He grabbed her forearm in a vicelike grip with one hand, then launched his own attack with the other. His punch slammed into her cheek so hard she would have gone flying had he not kept a firm grip on it. He yanked her back, then punched again. Again. Again. He hit her several more times and only released her after the woman’s face had been bloodied.

Leaping back, he summoned Pale Moon, raised it above his head, and channeled massive quantities of chi into the blade as the woman was staggering back. He spread his feet apart, then swung.

[Cleaving the Heavens in a Single Stroke]

This was perhaps his most beautifully executed technique. His swing was perfect. A moment of stillness filled the atmosphere before the chi he had gathered erupted in a bright flash of brilliant light and power. It tore apart the ground as it traveled toward Zhou Wen. He was certain the attack would hit.

“Naive.”

The woman waved her hand and a wave that distorted the air rippled outward. His technique vanished the moment the two powers touched. However, while his attack was gone, the wave  continued to move outward, causing all the damage he had done to revert back. It was like watching time reverse itself--no, that was probably what he was seeing. This domain was allowing her to reverse the flow of time in this area.

“You caught me by surprise, I’ll admit, but did you really think such a straightforward attack would be enough to ensure your victory?” asked Zhou Wen. Her once bloody face was now pristine, as though the wounds had never happened. “You clearly do not understand how outmatched you are. Allow me to show you why an ignorant and foolish child like yourself will never amount to anything.”

***

[Dragon’s Roar]

Hou Jingshu gathered chi into her lungs and released it in an immense roar that imitated the fearsome bellow of a dragon. It hit the temporal clone, though it did not dispel it. The clone didn’t even stagger as she raced forward, through Hou Jingshu’s attack, and engaged her in martial arts. Zhou Wen was a talented fighter. She seemed to realize that getting in close was the best way to limit Hou Jingshu’s attacks. The weapon she used was a spear, which was best used at a longer range because of its extended length and reach. She was unable to truly use the weapon’s full power.

[Heavenly Dragon Skin]

Grabbing her spear with both hands and chi flowed through her body, Hou Jingshu did what she could to block the woman’s relentless barrage. Her skin was barely visible beneath her clothes, but what flesh could be seen was covered in golden scales. These scales significantly boosted her defensive powers. That was what allowed her to endure this woman’s attacks. She waited and waited and waited, until she saw an opening, and then she took it.

[Clawing Heavens]

Hou Jingshu swung her spear downward, chi erupting from the tip to form the shape of a massive dragon’s claw. This was one of her aces. Most people only thought she could use this technique with her hands, but she could actually use it with any part of her body and even her weapons. The attack rent the air. Then it struck Zhou Wen--or it should have. Hou Jingshu frowned when her attack went through Zhou Wen without a hint of resistance.

It’s not her!

Hou Jingshu spun on the balls of her feet. The cloud clang of her something striking her spear as she raised it to defend herself echoed all around her. She was pushed back, feet creating a pair of trenches in the dirt, and glared at the woman who had attacked her.

“Your instincts are quite sharp. I should have expected nothing less from that creature’s disciple,” the disgust evident in Zhou Wen’s voice made Hou Jingshu furrow her brow. She did not have time to ask why this woman hated her master, and she was sure this woman wouldn’t answer even if she did.

[Death Rending]

Leaping back to gain distance, Hou Jingshu swung her spear again, upward this time, as a black energy sliced into the area where Zhou Wen had been standing. The wave of darkness was like a sharp blade that could cut through anything. However, Zhou Wen once against disappeared.

Hou Jingshu had already seen this technique. She spun around to attack the woman before she could strike--only to be met with nothing. Hou Jingshu blinked. Then her eyes widened as she sensed movement behind her. She moved, shuffling to the side, but she could not avoid the strike to her torso. Blood splattered against the ground as a clawed hand tore into her side. Hou Jingshu ignored the pain as she spun and swung her weapon.

[Death Rending]

The attack once more hit nothing. Zhou Wen had vanished again. Hou Jingshu grimaced as she set herself in a defensive stance and warily eyed her surroundings. She sensed movement to her left and swung. A cut appeared on her side. It wasn’t deep, but when she moved again to block an attack she sensed behind her, a much larger gash opened on her left thigh. The attack had cleanly torn through her Heavenly Dragon Skin. More cuts opened on her body. She couldn’t even defend against them because she couldn’t see the woman attacking her, and it felt like her instincts were betraying her because every time she turned after sensing an attack, it was to find nobody there.

As more and more cuts accumulated, the ground became stained with even more blood. Hou Jingshu’s vision was becoming blurry. She realized with a start that she had lost way too much blood. She had also used up a lot of chi. Her attacks were all powerful, but they were useless if they didn’t hit, and they burned through chi like nothing else. Dragon techniques were some of the most chi extensive amongst the four guardians.

To make matters worse, Hou Jingshu was not getting stronger.

Her cultivation method was one in which she gained strength by enjoying fights with stronger opponents. The stronger the opponent and the more she enjoyed the fight, the greater her cultivation became. Consequently, if she did not enjoy the fight, or if the opponent was not stronger, she could not increase her power. These two factors had to both be present--and one of them was not present right now. She did not enjoy fighting this woman. All she wanted to do was kill her, all she felt was immeasurable anger.

Hou Jingshu soon fell to a knee as her yin tendon, a fibrous band that linked the muscles in a person’s calf. Blood gushed from the open wound. She might have tried to stem the flow of blood, but at that moment, Zhou Wen appeared in front of her, eyes cold and emotionless as she raised her hand to deal the finishing blow.