STNS: Chapter 498 (Patreon)

It introduced itself as Shénlóngyǐ. The name was a blending of the words shén, which meant divine, and lóngyǐ, which meant dragon. It was a pretentious name, but many cultivators were pretentious, absorbed in their own power and feelings of superiority. Why shouldn’t a magical beast be the same? In either event, it had named itself mere seconds before it attacked her.

Hou Jingshu had been on the defensive ever since.

Because it had a much higher cultivation than her, she could not tell how powerful it was. She suspected it had reached the beginning stages of the Realization Realm. She would have been able to sense its cultivation if it was still at the Seeker Realm, and this thing would have killed her already if it was stronger than the Realization Realm.

[Dragon Aspirant’s Breath]

Shénlóngyǐ exhaled a mystical, silvery mist from its mouth. Hou Jingshu already knew not to let that touch her. She had watched as it touched the nearby trees and froze them solid. Not only was this technique a powerful offensive ability, but it could be used defensively too. Shénlóngyǐ could hide within the mist since it didn’t harm him.

There!

A tail suddenly erupted from the mist like a bolt of silver lightning. Hou Jingshu lowered her body to the ground, allowing the attack to pass over her head. She could have almost sworn it scraped against her scalp.

The first time Shénlóngyǐ attacked like that, she had leapt into the air. It was a habit of cultivators to assume the high ground because it was easier to launch techniques, but it was stupid with this creature. It had reversed the course of its tail in a split second and swatted her from the sky. That single attack had been powerful enough to almost break her arm. Even now it was dangling useless at her side.

Despite this, she didn’t run.

In spite of the danger, Hou Jingshu was grinning.

It was a fierce, wild grin, the kind someone could only display when they were truly enjoying themselves.

[Transcendent Serpent’s Strike]

Her cultivation was rumbling deep within her chest as Shénlóngyǐ struck her with his tail. The attack was so swift it felt like his tail had teleported. Each strike was enough to shatter any defense she could put up. She had already seen his attack destroy boulders the size of a small house.

“Ha. Ha ha ha!”

[Dragon’s Roar]

Hou Jingshu inhaled deeply, gathering chi and oxygen into her lungs, then released it all in an immense roar that imitated the fearsome bellow of a dragon. The vibrations from the roar spread through the air. Several trees shattered and the ground cracked. Her attack struck the tail, and though it didn’t stop the tails descent, it did make Shénlóngyǐ hesitate--she used that time to move away.

The tail slammed into the ground. The earth shattered. Shénlóngyǐ had already frozen the ground, so what remained was ice shards that flew in all directions. Hou Jingshu danced across the ground as she was forced to swing her spear faster than she ever had before, avoiding the shards she could and striking those she couldn’t.

“Now I’ve got you!!”

“!!!”

Hou Jingshu had barely a moment to realize the danger before Shénlóngyǐ’s tail slammed into her side. Heavenly Dragon Skin was already activated and it was the only thing that saved her. Even then, it couldn’t protect her completely.

She screamed as the bones in her arm finally snapped like brittle twigs. The attack lifted her off the ground and sent her sailing through the air. A tree stood in her path, but she plowed right through it, shattering the trunk as she continued on. Several more trees were felled before she struck the ground hard enough to leave her gasping and tumbled across the earth.

D-dammit… this creature… is so strong…

“Haaaah… haaah… ha ha ha…”

Shénlóngyǐ had five techniques. The first was something he called Whispers of Temptation. It used the hypnotic qualities of its voice toi manipulate and sway the minds of weaker-willed beings. This technique did not work on Hou Jingshu; she felt nothing when it tried this, which had riled it up something fierce. It also had Serpent’s Coiling Grasp, Mirror Scale Reflection, Transcendent Serpent’s Strike, and Dragon Aspirant’s Breath. Serpent’s Coiling Grasp was simply a constricting technique. It coiled its body around a target and squeezed, crushing whatever was in its grip with overwhelming force. Mirror Scale Reflection was a defensive technique. Its scales shimmered and reflected incoming attacks. It had used this technique when she attacked it with Clawing Heavens. The chi-created claws of the technique had shattered upon contact and the damage that would have been done to it was reflected back at her.

Fortunately, she didn’t rely on techniques like that to fight.

Her body was her weapon.

If those techniques was all this creature had going for it, she might have been able to gain the upper hand, but it was also cunning. It made strategic use of Dragon Aspirant’s Breath to freeze the battlefield and create icy barriers that limited her movement. She couldn’t break through those barriers so easily either. Hou Jingshu had already tried smashing through one and her arm had almost been frozen as a result. She could cut through them if she infused her spear with chi, but it took too much time and concentration, and Shénlóngyǐ would use that as a distraction to attack her.

But honestly, the worst part about the dragon’s breath was how it froze the ground. Hou Jingshu had been on ice once or twice before thanks to her sparring sessions with Mei Xilan. That was the only thing keeping her alive right now.

[Dragon Aspirant’s Breath]

Shénlóngyǐ once more exhaled a thick silver mist, which spread across the area, freezing the ground, trees, and very atmosphere. Hou Jingshu scrambled to her feet and jumped backward to avoid the technique. The ground before her soon became a bright silver color as a thick layer of ice coated everything.

What should I do? How can I win?

Hou Jingshu continued thinking fast as she dodged its attacks. It tried to slam into her with its tail once more, and she dodged out of the way by skating along the ground. She had begun getting a feel for the ice and was now stable enough to slide across the surface.

Shénlóngyǐ was an arrogant creature, which perhaps explained why it hadn’t just killed her yet. It was toying with her, basking in its feelings of superiority, certain that it could kill her any time it pleased. She was already using this to her advantage by gathering intelligence on it. This was how she learned of its five techniques.

Its large size compared to her was also an exploitable weakness. While it was fast, its size meant it had trouble maneuvering in tight places. This forest wasn’t much of a problem, but if she could lure it to an area with obstacles that it couldn’t just destroy, she could use the terrain to her advantage.

She decided to begin with hit and run tactics. This was a tactic that she had learned from the Shang Kingdom’s army. It involved striking an opponent immediately after they launched an attack, then disappearing into the forest.

[Dragon Aspirant’s Breath]

[Transcendant Serpent’s Strike]

[Serpent’s Coiling Grasp]

Shénlóngyǐ tried to use every technique it could to kill her, but she dodged them to the best of her abilities. It was getting easier. She had noticed this already, but her cultivation had been rising throughout this entire fight. The feeling of her chi swelling empowered her and gave her more strength and stamina than she had before. Her cultivation had been at the first subrealm of the Seeker Realm, but now it was beginning to push into the second subrealm.

While searching for a place that would give her an advantage, Hou Jingshu eventually discovered the mouth of a large cave. It reminded her of a magical beast’s gaping maw. Stalagmites and stalactites covered it. While she didn’t know what might be inside, if this led to a series of tunnels, she might be able to use them to her advantage.

With a grin still on her face, Hou Jingshu ducked underneath a tail swipe and scrambled for the entrance. Her broken arm flailed uselessly behind her. She ignored it as she darted between the rocks and into the cave.

“Do not think I will let you escape!!”

The creature hissed as it came after her, crashing head first through the cavern, destroying the rock outcroppings she had to avoid.

This cavern did indeed have numerous tunnels that led deeper into the mountain. Breathing heavily through her nose, Hou Jingshu selected one at random, dashing deeper into the mountain’s interior, Shénlóngyǐ hot on her trail.

She felt an immediate shift in the battle. The confined spaces of the tunnels restricted Shénlóngyǐ’s movement, making it harder for the magical beast to maneuver and use its full strength. Limiting its strength like this helped even the playing field somewhat. The branching tunnels also offered opportunities for her to ambush it, and by choosing this location, she could not control the flow and pace of the battle. She no longer had to simply defend and could actually attack. It couldn’t even use Dragon Aspirant’s Breath since turning the area into ice would make it easier to collapse the tunnel and bury them both.

“HAAAAAH!!”

Hou Jingshu rushed out from a side passage as Shénlóngyǐ slithered past and tried to pierce its scales with her spear. She had channeled a vast quantity of chi into the weapon, causing it to glow a bright gold like the dragon scales covering her body. The tip clanged against the surface but did not penetrate. She had expected this to happen, but that did not make her any less displeased.

Storing her spear inside of her storage ring, Hou Jingshu quickly withdrew as Shénlóngyǐ turned around and came after her. It had a hard time maneuvering, but being a snake, it was still able to make full turns while inside of the tunnels. The tunnels themselves were about twice the width and height of the creature.

Hou Jingshu darted down several more side passages, always mindful of Shénlóngyǐ’s presence behind her.

[Transcendant Serpent’s Strike]

Shénlóngyǐ attacked her again, with its head this time, and she leapt into the air just as it tried to crash into her. Soaring up to the ceiling as Shénlóngyǐ slammed into the ground, Hou Jingshu bent her knees, pushed off, and used the momentum to increase her speed. Rearing her hand back, she channeled so much chi into her arm that it quickly swelled as though the blood vessels were being filled with too much blood.

[Partial Dragon Transformation]

She had gotten the idea from seeing Wu Jian’s transformation. Hou Jingshu had picked his brain about how it worked. He activated it by charging chi into Byakko’s blood. It worked similar to a blessing from a deity. Hou Jingshu did not have such a blessing, but she had atavism. According to Loong Chen, she had the strongest genetic ties to her ancestor, the great dragon, Qinlong. In theory, she should be able to do what Wu Jian could do.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

With a roar of both excitement and pain, Hou Jingshu transformed her entire arm. The arm grew larger, more muscular, and gold scales soon covered the surface. These were not scales made of chi but real dragon scales. Her middle and index finger merged together as long claws erupted from where her nails had been. Her hand became more robust and elongated phalanges with sharp, hardened scales that formed talons sharp enough to cut through even the toughest steel.

Still roaring, she slammed her clawed hand into Shénlóngyǐ. Her claws penetrated the magical beast’s hard scales, sinking into the soft flesh underneath. Shénlóngyǐ roared in both anger and agony. Its tail twitched like it was going to attack her, but she clenched her hand, digging her claws into its muscles, then ran. She dragged the creature behind her as she blitzed through the cave, slamming its body into the walls, floor, and ceiling.

“You little pest!!”

[Dragon Aspirant’s Breath]

It craned its neck to fire off more of that misty breath, but this time, it condensed the breath into a beam. She didn’t know it could do that. However, she let go of the creature and dodged. Ice coated the surface she had been standing on and spread as it tracked Hou Jingshu. She pumped chi into her legs, increasing her speed, and closed the distance with her and the creature’s head.

“Shut that damn mouth!”

“GSSSS?!”

Hou Jingshu leapt and slammed her dragon hand into the underside of Shénlóngyǐ’s jaw. Its mouth snapped shut with a clack. Ice spread across the surface of its mouth. Shénlóngyǐ was a reptile, which meant its face wasn’t very expressive, but she thought she could sense its surprise. Running along the wall, Hou Jingshu leapt off when she was above it and threw her hand forward.

“I don’t think you need that eye anymore!”

Shénlóngyǐ hissed in anguish as she rammed her hand through its eye. The eyeball popped like an overripe fruit, a variety of fluids spraying out. Shénlóngyǐ thrashed within the tiny confines of the tunnel. She didn’t know if it was trying to dislodge her or just in pain, but she did her best to hang on, clutching her hand around some tendon located within its eye socket.

“Hrk!!”

Her back slammed against the wall. All the wind was knocked from her lungs. Still she hung on. She refused to let go and began digging her claws even deeper. She had been hoping to reach its brain, but she soon found a large mass of skull standing in her way. Could she break it? Grinning, Hou Jingshu dug her hands into the skull, piercing it with her claws. The thrashing continued. She felt several bones in her back breaking, but she still hung on, squeezing the skull in her grasp.

Loud cracking erupted from inside of Shénlóngyǐ as Hou Jingshu’s cultivation burst forth. She had broken through the second subrealm and used her new strength to shatter his skull. Hou Jingshu knew an opportunity when she saw one and didn’t hesitate to force her way inside. She dove into its eye socket, which was about as big as her, clawed her way through its orbital cavity, and then pierced its brain with her hand. Her body was buried halfway inside of its eye. Her legs were still on the outside. She screamed in agony as Shénlóngyǐ slammed into the wall of the tunnel, breaking her legs.

Everything was tilting.

The world was going dark.

Hou Jingshu eventually came too. She was outside of Shénlóngyǐ. Had she been thrown, or had she half-consciously crawled out of the eye? She didn’t remember. She chuckled along the edges of her vision.

“That was… fun… zzzz…”

Hou Jingshu fell asleep, never noticing the winged shadows that had begun crowding around her.