Chapter 395 - 253: Getting the Treasure (2)

Chapter 395: Chapter 253: Getting the Treasure (2)

Yu Fei swiftly closed in, just in time to see a fiery stream of light shoot toward the sky. It was followed by a chaotic dance of sword gleams and blade-like Gang Qi, accompanied by the occasional scream.

At the center of the fiery stream of light, a brilliant, fist-sized golden orchid grew out of the void. Its transcendent aura was only at the early high-tier level and not particularly dense, but it possessed an innate purity and divinity. This was what made the Golden Flame Orchid so valuable.

Any item that could alter a Martial Artist’s aptitude was a priceless treasure.

More than twenty Martial Artists were locked in a chaotic battle, many of them in the Gang Qi Realm. Yet, their combined assault was focused on a core group of just four people. Of those four, only one was at the Gang Qi Realm; the other three were at the Five Realms Divine Intent.

However, the flow of battle defied the disparity in numbers. Among the four being besieged, two were prodigy Martial Artists with support abilities, and their combat prowess was so immense they were actually forcing the horde of attackers back.

This revealed the stark difference in combat power between the prodigies of the Seven Greats and ordinary Martial Artists. For them, fighting across realms and taking on ten opponents at once was the norm before reaching the Grandmaster level.

Using his Illusory Sword Intent for cover, Yu Fei stealthily slipped past the chaotic crowd and arrived before the Golden Flame Orchid, ready to claim it.

"Bastards! If we can’t have it, neither can they! Brothers, attack the ground beneath the Golden Flame Orchid! That way, no one gets it!"

A skinny man among the attackers had suddenly shouted this. In the heat of battle, one of his arms had been severed, and it had fallen into the lava, instantly turning to a wisp of green smoke.

This meant he would be permanently crippled, his chances for future advancement reduced to almost nothing.

Although this world’s medical and martial arts were advanced, they hadn’t reached the point of regenerating severed limbs, which filled him with venomous resentment.

At his words, the expression of a female prodigy turned grim. She was one of the two sensory-type Martial Artists Yu Fei had detected earlier.

Seeing that the crowd was about to act, she knew she couldn’t stop them in time. After all, she was facing a group of Gang Qi Martial Artists. She might be able to kill her opponents, but that didn’t mean she could block all of their attacks simultaneously.

Yu Fei, who had just positioned himself before the Golden Flame Orchid, was thoroughly annoyed. He had just managed to "fish in troubled waters," sneaking to the core of the conflict to quietly make off with the prize, only for some smartass to pop up in the crowd.

Harvesting a Golden Flame Orchid took time; one had to sever its invisible, extremely tough stem. Yu Fei estimated that any ordinary method would take at least a minute or two.

The wind-up for his Fallen God Finger wasn’t finished. Left with no choice, Yu Fei had to reveal himself!

"Who’s that?"

"Where did he come from?"

The ordinary Martial Artists being pushed back and the four from the Seven Greats alike all stared with shock and anger at the figure who had abruptly appeared beneath the Golden Flame Orchid.

The man wore a thin, flowing white Ice Silkworm Robe and a ridiculous red crab mask. He had somehow managed to deceive everyone and had nearly snatched the prize for himself.

Jie Yu was furious. She had come deep into the Jiaoyan Sea to procure a Golden Flame Orchid for her brother, the one Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist in their group of four.

They were all from Tianchen University. Her brother’s potential, however, was only rated D-class, so he wasn’t considered a prodigy. After finally finding an orchid and fighting off a mob of treasure hunters, they were about to have their prize stolen from right under their noses by this damned crab-masked man.

Jia Lan was about to make a move, but then the skinny, one-armed man suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, Brother Crab, nice moves! We’ll help you hold off these four dogs from the Seven Greats so you can grab the Golden Flame Orchid. In return, we split the prize. With your skills, you can take a ten-percent share. How about it?"

The one-armed man was certain Yu Fei would agree. The situation was chaotic, and his group refused to let the people from the Seven Greats walk away with the prize for free—they’d rather destroy it. With Yu Fei’s interference, they saw a glimmer of hope.

He figured that without their help, Yu Fei would find it impossible to escape.

The crab-masked man slowly turned around. The ridiculous eyes on his mask wobbled like antennae as he spoke in a deep voice:

"This item is bound to me by fate. So... get lost!"

Hearing such an arrogant declaration, the crowd was about to lash out in anger when a blinding sword light suddenly flashed within their very souls. The bone-deep agony caused many of them to bleed from their noses and mouths.

’So unbelievably domineering!’

Even the two prodigy Martial Artists from the Seven Greats clutched their heads in agony, their expressions going blank for a moment.

Jie Yu was decisive. "We’re retreating!"

With those words, she leaped away, fleeing into the distance without a backward glance.

Aided by the thought-splitting ability of his Void Clearing Mirror and his tactile sense of sight, Yu Fei had swept his Pupil Technique of Soul Capturing over everyone present in a single instant. He had graciously bestowed a sliver of his Sword Intent upon each of them, sharing the "love" equally.

The moment he appeared, he had drawn everyone’s gaze, which naturally fulfilled the activation condition for his Soul Capturing technique.

Jia Lan, who was also from the Seven Greats, understood the danger. Although Yu Fei was only at the Inner Qi Realm, the soul-deep pain made him realize just how powerful this man was.

Having spent a long time in the Celestial Pride Class, he knew that the world had its share of incomprehensible monsters, for whom cultivation realm was the most useless measurement of power.

As Jia Lan’s group of four retreated, about ten of the other attackers grew anxious and left as well. However, Yu Fei’s perception told him they were still watching from a distance, apparently not ready to give up completely.

The remaining dozen or so people, however, stayed where they were, stirring restlessly. ’After all,’ they thought, ’he’s only at the fourth-realm Inner Qi stage. We’re two realms above him. Surely we have a fighting chance!’

Seeing their pain subside and their malicious intent begin to swell, Yu Fei knew these guys were still not ready to back down.

The skinny man was among those who remained. A skilled agitator, he was just about to open his mouth again.

Yu Fei snorted coldly, deciding not to hold back any longer.

Not understanding the mechanism behind Soul Capturing, the group that remained was still staring foolishly at Yu Fei. They were banking on the hope that his technique was a one-time-use ability.

After all, a technique capable of instantly harming over twenty Gang Qi Martial Artists was, by any logic, not something a mere Inner Qi practitioner should be able to wield.

They never imagined that a sword light possessing a sharpness far beyond the previous one would instantly slash at their souls. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, they were unable to react.

A dozen streams of Sword Qi flashed through the void, and in an instant, the heads of the remaining men exploded, killing them on the spot.

Greed requires the strength to back it up.

On his journey, Yu Fei had come to understand the ecology of the Red Sun Realm. There were no laws or oversight here, only the naked, dark rule of the jungle. Killing for treasure was the norm, and Yu Fei was simply adapting to the local customs.

Seeing the men who had stayed behind die so mysteriously, the distant onlookers scattered like frightened animals. They were now utterly convinced that Yu Fei was no Inner Qi Realm practitioner. He was probably some old monster at the Grandmaster level.

Otherwise, how could he have crushed more than ten Gang Qi Martial Artists with a mere wave of his hand?

Sensing what was happening back at the scene from afar, Jia Lan witnessed Yu Fei’s ruthless slaughter and immediately shouted an urgent warning: "Faster! Let’s go!"

’Such a cruel and powerful technique,’ she thought. ’Maybe Yu Fei isn’t some prodigy unaffiliated with the Seven Greats, but an old monster instead. It’s possible my perception was wrong.’

’Although the crab-masked man’s life aura feels incredibly young, almost like a minor’s, this world is full of countless Secret Techniques. It’s not impossible that he’s some old monster from an evil sect.’

’These people, honestly!’

Yu Fei hadn’t originally intended to kill anyone; his first use of Soul Capturing was merely a warning. But in an environment like the Red Sun Realm, there was no concept of "first come, first served," so he had no qualms about taking the Golden Flame Orchid.

Since the warning had been useless and they still intended to attack, Yu Fei naturally wasn’t going to show them any courtesy.

With the competition eliminated, he finally took a moment to examine the strange orchid up close.

It grew abruptly out of the void itself. Beyond a short stem, it had no visible branches or leaves. Instead, countless bright, fiery particles erupted from it in a constant, beautiful display.

Within his Divine Sense, the transparent section of its stem was perfectly clear. Yu Fei’s hands finished their movements, and a beam of white-gold light shot out from his fingertip. The Golden Flame Orchid was severed and slowly drifted down.

Yu Fei reached out and stored it in his personal space.

Ever since spotting the Golden Flame Orchid, he had been preparing his Fallen God Finger, a technique he had comprehended by accident. This strange skill required a full three-minute wind-up, but its offensive power was unparalleled.

It was the perfect tool for severing the Golden Flame Orchid’s stem. Otherwise, even if he had used his blade, Zhanming, he would have been hacking away for ages.

The ground here was hard-packed and unstable, making it difficult to use Zhanming. His original plan had been to use the Fallen God Finger to secretly collect the orchid and slip away.

’That one-armed man just had to keep running his mouth. He was practically begging to die!’

After an ordinary Martial Artist obtained a Golden Flame Orchid, they would have to flee immediately and use whatever means necessary to return to their home planet. Only then could they consider the prize truly theirs.

Furthermore, it was impossible to carry more than one, because if multiple orchids were brought close together, the ambient temperature would skyrocket.

Yu Fei, however, had no such worries. His personal storage space was enormous; he could fit ten million of them if he had to.