AGM 255 - Thoughts of Revenge
With his perception, Qin Wentian managed to avoid many traps. But in addition to having to avoid the traps, he also had to deal with the rain of thunderfire from above, as well as carrying Bailu Yi in his arms. And as a consequence, Qin Wentian was ambushed, and suffered a palm strike from a Puppet. If it weren’t for the physique that he gained from the Fiend Transformation Art protecting his internal organs, the blow would have seriously injured him.
“Let me down, I’m fine,” Bailu Yi shyly remarked. After getting down, she stared at Qin Wentian and asked with concern in her voice, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright. Guard me while I break the formations.” The Astral Energy in Qin Wentian’s Yuanfu began to rumble as he moved back and forth with terrifying speed. Momentarily, the runic outline of a Divine Inscription took place as a gigantic Roc manifested from it.
Bailu Yi warily regarded their surroundings with a Divine Weapon in her hand. She had already released her Astral Souls, as well.
Qin Wentian had a heavy expression on his face, as he knew that the traps set up here were all extremely powerful. He needed to inscribe a third-ranked Inscription in order to have sufficient power to be able to defend against them.
After which, Qin Wentian sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes. The gigantic Roc defended the falling balls of thunderfire, while Bailu Yi was in charge of repelling the attacking Puppets.
The candle flame within him peacefully burned, Qin Wentian could sense his surroundings with an unprecedented clarity. It seemed as though he could see through this formation in its entirety. The intricacies of the runic outlines left him in awe and wonder as he continued studying them, trying to find a way out.
“Continuous linkage of over hundreds of Inscriptions.” Qin Wentian’s heart pounded with excitement. Indeed, in one of Bailu Yi’s secret manuals which he had read, the distance between a third-ranked Inscriptionist and a fourth-ranked one was like the difference between Yuanfu and Heavenly Dipper. The level of difficulty was astonishingly high. Formations were born because of Divine Inscriptions, and although the power of this formation was suppressed to the peak of the third-ranked, it was after all, still a fourth-ranked formation.
Qin Wentian could sense that within this fourth-ranked formation, a vast majority of third-ranked Inscriptions were linked together, complementing and synergising perfectly, even to the extent of containing a multitude of variations which ultimately resulted in an amount of power greater than the sum of one whole.
“If I wish to break this, I have to negate the entirety of the third-ranked Inscriptions in one sitting. That’s basically impossible, so the only method left to me is first understanding some of the Divine Inscriptions here, negating it before it gets repaired, and then forcing my way out from the flaws I create.” Qin Wentian mused. He understood that there was no way for the current him to completely break apart a fourth-ranked formation. This must be the reason why Grandmaster Fenrir said, as long as they could exit the formation safely, it was good enough. There was no need to break it completely.
“Among the third-ranked Inscriptions here, there must be some stronger and some weaker ones.” Qin Wentian cautiously searched as he sent out his heart’s sense. His perception could faintly sense several blurry silhouettes within the formation. He marvelled at the speed and fluidity of the Li Clan brothers’ actions. If nothing went wrong, the three of them should be the first team to exit this formation.
Other than those three, Ghaus also appeared in his perception. He was protected by three Puppets and his current position was actually quite close to Bailu Yi’s. If he wished to, he obviously had the capability to aid her. However, he chose to work alone. He couldn’t be bothered with the additional ‘baggage’ that was Bailu Yi.“What an excellent character.” A cold light flashed in Qin Wentian’s eyes. Ghaus’s reputation was undeserved. He cared too much for his own pride, and wanted to compete directly against the Li Clan’s three brothers and be the first to exit the formation.
Shifting his attention to the silhouette of Yan Tie, Qin Wentian knew that it was impossible to ambush or assault him. Yan Tie was even more cautious; he had several Puppets by his side protecting him, as he searched for a method to exit the formation.
The youth from the Demon Cult, as well as Zuo Yu and his assistants from the Scarlet Thunder Sect also appeared in Qin Wentian’s perception. Abruptly, a look of shock flashed in his eyes as he witnessed a dagger being driven through Zuo Yu’s heart. The murderer was none other than the youth from the Demon Cult. After finishing off Zuo Yu, he tossed his body into a ball of thunderfire, then collected Zuo Yu’s interspatial ring after his remains had turned to ash.
In the blink of an eye, all from the Scarlet Thunder Sect had fallen.
The youth from the Demon Cult didn’t stop, a sinister gleam appeared in his eyes as he searched his surroundings for other prey. As long as he completely killed off another team, the total number of teams participating within this formation would be reduced to three. Hence, with only three teams remaining, his entry into the secret realm would definitely be secured.
“Hmm?” The youth frowned as he glanced about, as though he sensed someone spying on him.
Qin Wentian immediately retracted his heart sense, he understood that amongst the participants, there wasn’t a single person with good intentions.
“Wait, there’s an opportunity over there.” Qin Wentian’s perception sensed that the fluctuations of energy waves from a Divine Inscription was weaker compared to the surrounding area. However, he didn’t open his eyes yet, as he still needed time to study the Inscription.
A look of worry appeared on Bailu Yi’s face, she could sense the manifested third-ranked Roc was getting increasingly weaker.
“Negate.” At that moment, Qin Wentian’s closed eyes snapped open. Standing up, he moved in a certain direction with his fingers stabbing forwards. The runic outlines of the Divine Inscription there shimmered, as sounds of something dispersing rang out.
“Reverse Inscription,” Bailu Yi breathed in shock. In this exchange, she had once thought that she would be among the most brilliant of all third-ranked Divine Inscriptionists participating in the event. Only now did she understand that when compared to the rest of the participants, she was nothing, nothing at all. This realisation caused tremors to shake her normally resolute heart.
Naturally, there were many of the elder generations within the remaining participants. Only that youth from the Demon Cult and Qin Wentian were of the same generation as her. But in terms of potential, she was far outclassed by the both of them.
The spectators outside the formation could only see the formation flag fluttering with the wind. They had no way to see the current situation inside.
At this moment, in a certain direction, cracking sounds filled the air as the space trembled. Abruptly, three silhouettes exited the formation. This team was the first among the participants to have succeeded.
“The Li Clan’s three brothers. These three brothers can read each other’s intentions, resulting in perfect coordination. Indeed, their outstanding teamwork resulted in this final outcome – they were the first to exit from the formation.
The crowd mused in their hearts, as those from the Watermoon Mountain Villa had smiles on their faces. It seemed that they had the greatest probability of obtaining first in this exchange.
“Hehe, that old man Ghaus isn’t out yet?” Old Third stared in the direction of the White Deer Institute with a hint of provocation in his gaze.
“I’m out.” A voice drifted over as the crowd saw the figure of an old man with his Puppets exiting the formation.
“You were slightly slower compared to me and my brothers, but still, you are pretty capable.” Old Third laughed.
“Hmph, you guys have the power of three, while I’ve no capable assistants.” Ghaus snorted in contempt.
At that moment, Yan Tie and the youth from the Demon Cult both exited the formation. However, they were all alone. Their assistants had all died from the traps and Puppets inside the formation.
“Where’s Little Yi, Grandmaster Ghaus, have you seen her?” Many in the White Deer Institute had expressions of anxiousness written on their faces.
“We were separated when we entered the formation. She followed the other young man, so I’ve no idea where she is,” Ghaus replied, causing those from the White Deer Institute to furrow their brows in worry.
Rumble~~
The space shook again as Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi appeared. Only then did those from the Institute relax. Although he was slightly slower than the others, it seemed that not only did Qin Wentian have powerful perception, he was skilled in the other aspects of Divine Inscriptions as well.
“Okay, everyone has exited.” With a clap of his hands, the formation flag shrunk as it flew back to Fenrir. However, there was a sharp look in his eyes, he was extremely clear on what had happened within the formation.
The three brothers and Ghaus exited the formation with their own power, while the youth and Yan Tie merely made use of the momentary weakness of the formation when it was broken through by the three brothers and Ghaus to exit it. Fenrir glanced at Qin Wentian before his silhouette flickered, as he appeared again on the vantage point. A slight smile adorned his face as he spoke in a faint voice, “Good seedling, indeed.”
“???” The expressions of the crowd looked confused.
Good seedling?
Who was Fenrir referring to?
What about Grandmaster Zuo Yu and the rest that represented the Scarlet Thunder Sect? Did they all already die in the formation?
Those from the Scarlet Thunder Sect all had unsightly expressions on their countenances.
Currently, there were only four teams still in the running.
Watermoon Mountain Villa: Li Clan’s three brothers.
White Deer Institute: Ghaus, Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi.
Yan Clan: Yan Tie.
And lastly, that youth from the Demon Cult.
Next, as long as a team was removed, the top three rankers of this exchange would appear.
The crowd turned their gazes onto the vantage point, looking at Yang Fan and Grandmaster Fenrir. Fenrir wasted no time, he smiled and stated, “The final test, I shall give all of you two hours’ worth of time. Use this time to inscribe the strongest attack-based Divine Inscription you can muster and fight until a loser is determined.”
“Inscribing Inscriptions?” Yan Tie leered sinisterly, looking at Qin Wentian. “Finally the time has come. Do you know how pitiful Leng Ning’s death was?”
An ice-cold intent gushed out from Qin Wentian, his sharp stare resembled swords boring down on Yan Tie. He wanted nothing more than to kill him.
“Do you know how lucky she is to already be dead? If not, I would have properly played with her until my lust was sated, before refining her into a Puppet. After becoming one, I would continue to play her again and again, forever and ever. Only then would it be interesting, no? What a pity.” Yan Tie cackled. “Oh, the Leng Clan also sent a few other maidens to me after that. Do you want to guess what happened to them?”
Qin Wentian’s killing intent was so saturated, that Bailu Yi who was standing behind him couldn’t help but feel her heart clenching. As Qin Wentian stepped forth, Ghaus interrupted, “Step back, this battle is mine.”
Qin Wentian coldly glanced at him, “My Inscription has nothing to do with you. We don’t have to work together.”
“Hmph, you better not affect me then.” Ghaus snorted in contempt. To him, his only real opponent was the Li Clan’s three brothers.
Qin Wentian and Ghaus separated from each other. Since there were only four teams remaining, the training grounds provided by the Star-Seizing Manor was more than large enough.
Qin Wentian inclined his head, staring at the skies above. It was as though he could see Leng Ning smiling at him among the freely drifting clouds.
“Today, I will send those who caused your death to accompany you in hell,” Qin Wentian whispered, not intending to hide his voice. When he lowered his head and stared in the direction of Yan Tie and Yan Kong, the coldness in his eyes was so absolute that those who saw it felt its chill to their very bones, freezing their blood solid.