Chapter 702: Retreat
Translator: Irene_ Editor: X, TYZ
The dazzling spear ray was released by Xu Jing. He had an additional long white spear in his hand. The light ray blossoming from its body was like an erupting sun, its brilliance gushing toward the sky like a reverse waterfall. As one looked from the edge of the light to the center, the more solid and magnificent it became. Right at the most dazzling core of the spear ray, a bean-sized wisp of black flame could be seen.
It was truly black and deep, like a vacuum.
That was the tip of the spear.
Pu pu pu, the black, candle-like flame broke into a slow dance with the wind.
Xiao Buyu, who was spiraling in mid air, snapped out of his shock and stared at that frail wisp of flame with a heavy expression.
He could sense its danger.
Like a weak lamp light, the black flame flickered along with a strange and terrifying force that sucked the surrounding elemental energy into the spear.
Like pouring hot oil into a raging inferno, the spear rays expanded rapidly.
Xiao Buyu felt his body jerk, as if someone was pulling him from below. It was not just him but also the blood rays, surrounded by other small teams, which abruptly fell into a chaotic mess.
Bewildered, Xiao Buyu looked down with uncertainty at the person holding the spear. Who was that?
He had only heard about Gu Xiaobao and Fu Sisi, so who was this unfamiliar fellow that popped out suddenly? And one so capable at that!
It was an extraordinary spear!
A blazing, snow-white spear ray reflected off Xu Jing's face as he maintained a determined and calm expression on his face.
It was not just his sturdy and cautious character but also his capability that secured him his position in the Sky Leaf Division.
The division was still in its embryonic state and far from perfect.
Madam Ye was well aware that the heavenly elemental energy was an even higher level force. However, it would not form a system that could support her foundation and ambitions if no one was able to perfect it. The members of the Sky Leaf Division were on the forefront of this. They had the deepest understanding of this completely new and foreign force.
The division's innovation and dynamics were unprecedented.
Xu Jing had gotten into people's radars upon creating his own absolute art.
He was born into an aristocratic family. Despite its long history, the family had fallen into a slump and was ultimately crushed in this generation. His spear techniques had originated from his family and were responsible for the fame he had gained since young. He was regarded as a youth with limitless potential and hence had been scouted into Master's Glory.
By blending the heavenly elemental energy together with his absolute art, Xu Jing had come up with an all-new spear technique that Madam Ye was full of praises for. She bestowed him with her well-known spear, Snow Dragon, much to everyone else's envy. Eternally grateful, Xu Jing named the set of techniques [Sky Dragon Spear].
This particular move was [Dragon Candle].
The spear was like a candle flame and the enemy, moths; there was a fatal attraction between the two.
The dazzling spear ray swept across the sky, but just as it was about to swallow the monster, the monster made an unexpected move.
It lowered its body into a half-squat position and pressed its right palm down forcefully, swiftly releasing the Crossed Spinning Top. A red light flashed by like a devilish and fatal blood-colored arrow, shooting into the white, blazing spear.
This red arrow struck the black flame right on point.
After witnessing it all, Xiao Buyu's face changed. "Beware!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Ping!
A crisp, glass-shattering sound pierced through the whistling wind and people's eardrums.
The next moment, all of the white rays disappeared from the sky.
It was as if everyone had been transported from a bright field into a darkroom. Black overtook their field of vision temporarily. A few blinks later, things returned to normal.
They were then greeted by black and red threads everywhere.
The hair-like threads, all tangled together, shot from all directions. There were too many of them to count.
A majority of the Radiance Blood soldiers were being held together by the threads, from which black and red hell-like flames started to rise and interweave. The blood rays enveloping the soldiers were no different from flammable oil, and the flames grew rapidly and swallowed them whole.
Even before they could let out screams, they combusted into fire balls.
Xiao Buyu had a distorted expression on his face at this point. The scene before him had unfolded in an absolutely horrifying manner. Who would've thought that the collision of the Crossed Spinning Top and black flames could generate such a deadly effect!?
What evoked more fear was the fact that the monster was able to control his Crossed Spinning Top so easily.
The situation had turned out to be more severe than he imagined. The burning soldiers had turned into scattered ashes in an instant. In spite of that, the red and black flames did not die out. They followed and spread along the blood rays.
"Move aside! Move away, everyone!"
Xiao Buyu's voice was hoarse from all the tension he felt. He saw, with his own eyes, how a soldier had been set ablaze for moving too slow and getting in contact with the damned flames.
The blood rays that were everywhere had become a path of growth for the flames.
The Radiance Blood soldiers quickly broke from their formations.
The loss was just as great for the Sky Leaf Division.
Feeling something amiss at the last point, Xu Jing had channeled all his heavenly elemental energy into Snow Dragon and managed to survive.
Other members were not as lucky. They had been standing closer to one another, which had allowed the flames to penetrate two bodies at once.
Six members had not been able to dodge the flames and had turned to ashes as a result. The only difference was that their stronger vitality had enabled them to persist for a longer time, which had also ironically led to more suffering.
Heart-tearing screams that could numb listeners' scalps were heard amid the flames.
The lucky survivors from the Sky Leaf Division were panic-stricken, their faces white as sheets of paper. The six balls of fire were floating not far away from them, so the anguished cries were constantly dampening their spirits and hammering their nerves.
Even the usually calm Xu Jing was now in a terrible state.
Just a few months back, they were merely a bunch of half-adults. Master's Glory had given them much physical power but not emotional strength.
There has never been a shortcut to a powerful will.
Xiao Buyu was the first to snap out of the trauma. The loss was sudden and severe, but the battle had yet to end, so it was not the time to grief.
Where was the monster?
He scanned around for traces.
He quickly managed to locate its position. The monster had gone miles away. Its tired body was curled up into a meatball. With its metallic black hair wrapped around its body, the monster resembled a furry black ball.
Light flashed before Xiao Buyu's eyes.
A few wisps of black and red flames were burning the monster's hair.
A tinge of hope grew within his heart but was quickly trampled on.
The monster unrolled itself faster than the burning flames could spread. With a swish of its claw-like finger, the monster managed to chop off the burning portion of its hair.
The chopped lock of hair was blown away by the wind but turned to ashes before it could go far.
Just like that, the black and red flames begrudgingly vanished into a puff of smoke.
While slightly disappointed, Xiao Buyu quickly recalibrated his emotions.
The monster's cold, almond eyes had dimmed significantly, but it did not appear to be hurt at all.
Xiao Buyu prompted his radiant tiger and then waved his arm. Cherry Warmth released a howling buzz. It was a signal for everyone to gather. With a few nimble steps forward, his radiant tiger took flight. As if awakened from a dream, the soldiers moved to the designated spot as tributaries would converge into the sea.
Xiao Buyu's heart was bleeding from the perishment of one fifth of his members just from a single head-on battle alone.
When he caught the fighting will in his subordinates' eyes, however, he was immediately overwhelmed with pride. The Sky Leaf rookies, on the other hand, were nothing but a bunch of soft eggs, easily losing their heads and becoming wobbly out of fear.
After they reassembled, Xiao Buyu locked his gaze onto the monster once more.
What was it exactly?
Despite his confusion, he knew it was not the time to be indulging in flights of fancy.
All of a sudden, his gaze turned sluggish.
The monster made an abrupt turn and fled without even looking back.
This movement caught Xiao Buyu off guard, to the extent that he fell into a brief daze. When he regained awareness, the monster had already become a black dot.
What speed!
Needless to say, he knew it was impossible to catch up with it. Unknowingly, he heaved a sigh of relief.
This strange monster had put tremendous pressure on him. Because their battle had been brief, he was unable to grasp much information about it. Nevertheless, his rich experience and developed intuition told him that it was extremely, extremely dangerous.
Compared to this threatening and unknown monster, the soft eggs below were evidently a better target.
A cold grin appeared on his lips. Then he tightened his legs around the radiant tiger and dove straight down.
There was only callousness and malice in Xiao Buyu's eyes.
"Kill! Spare no one!"
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Unlike Xiao Buyu and Xu Jing, the bystanders, Hong Rongyan and Autumn Water, who had witnessed the whole scene, were not the least bit surprised. Instead, they were taken aback by Xu Jing's [Dragon Candle] and Xiao Buyu's [Crossed Spinning Top].
"What were those two skills? How powerful… When did they gain possession of such incredible moves?" the clay doll started.
"Never seen those," Hong Rongyan replied.
With that, they fell into silence.
Having exchanged fights with the Sky Leaf Division not long before, both had thought that they were well aware of its ability. Yet, in the blink of an eye, their judgment had been undermined. They had simply and mistakenly believed that they could go on a rampage during this battle.
An ominous feeling rose within Hong Rongyan's heart. The state of affairs seemed to have gotten complicated.
The clay doll broke the silence at this point. "Let them fight it out, heh. At best, both, if not three, parties will be defeated, and we can just wait to reap the rewards…"
Before Hong Rongyan could respond, the clay doll's voice changed. "Aye aye aye, is Scarlet Eye actually escaping? No way, running from a bunch of small shrimps? He's actually running! What kind of demonic god is he… Wait!"
The clay doll paused before screeching, "Aye aye aye! That direction… this… isn't he coming for us?!"
"Ahhhhh! He… he's flying toward us…"