Chapter 90 - 89: Exploiting a Bug

Chapter 90: Chapter 89: Exploiting a Bug

"Trap."

Qu Hao spun around, flicking his hand to send out four Talismans.

The golden light from the Talismans formed four walls, encasing Lei Wenjie.

"Qu Hao, after all these years, you haven’t improved one bit!" Lei Wenjie laughed loudly as a Black Lotus burst forth from his body, instantly shattering Qu Hao’s Talisman cage.

After smashing through the golden light of the Talismans, the Black Lotus didn’t disperse. Instead, it enveloped Lei Wenjie within its petals.

Qu Hao’s expression changed. "The Demon Lotus Transformation?"

"That’s right, the Demon Lotus Transformation," Lei Wenjie said with a smug smile. "Qu Hao, I’m afraid you won’t be leaving today, even if you want to."

As he spoke, countless smaller Black Lotuses flew out from the giant one surrounding him. They swarmed in every direction like flies, blocking off all escape routes for Qu Hao and the others.

Meng Mingzhe unleashed a beam of Sword Light, slashing toward the small Black Lotuses.

"Don’t," Qu Hao cried out urgently.

But it was too late.

The Sword Light struck a Black Lotus as if it had hit a grenade.

BOOM! With a tremendous explosion, Spiritual Power erupted outwards, setting off a chain reaction of detonations among the surrounding Black Lotuses. The blast left Meng Mingzhe covered in soot and grime, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Hand over Li Hao, and I’ll let you live," Lei Wenjie said with a light chuckle, releasing another wave of Black Lotuses to replace the ones just spent.

"Impossible," Qu Hao said.

’What a good guy!’

Hiding behind Qu Hao, Li Ye was completely unscathed. He watched the unyielding man with a sense of admiration, silently aiming the tip of his sword at Qu Hao’s lower back, yet he hesitated to strike.

’Striking my teammate can raise his Attributes and increase Qu Hao’s combat strength.’

’But I don’t think I can break through Qu Hao’s defenses.’

’After all, even the Jade Pendant he gave me can block nine attacks from a Divinity Transformation Realm expert. He must have an even stronger Body-Protecting Treasure on him.’

’Striking a teammate but failing to break their defense would be pretty awkward.’

But Li Ye couldn’t just come out and say it. If he ever told Qu Hao that getting stabbed by him would raise his Skill Level, Qu Hao would probably slap him to death on the spot.

’Oh, well!’

’I overestimated my own combat strength.’

’But it’s not like there’s no chance. As long as Lei Wenjie and his companion on the other side keep up the pressure, they’ll eventually deplete Qu Hao and the Sect Leader’s Protective Treasures and Spiritual Power. That’s when I’ll make my move.’

’In any case, the longsword in my hand is a top-tier Magical Treasure from the Cyan Sun Sect. It can’t be so weak that it can’t even pierce the physical body of a Divinity Transformation Realm expert.’

’Besides, I can only strike my own teammate once per battle. I’m not in a hurry.’

’As for the Protective Treasure the Cyan Sun Sect and Qu Hao gave me, it might be useful against anyone below the Divinity Transformation Realm, but it’s completely useless against an actual Divinity Transformation expert. Their attacks are all combo strikes.’

’Whether it blocks ten attacks or nine, it’ll be destroyed in an instant!’

’A Divinity Transformation Realm expert might be able to use that moment to escape or counterattack, but for a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator like me, it’s just the difference between dying a little sooner or a little later. It’s completely fucking useless!’

"Junior Martial Uncle Qu, if we just keep running, we’ll lose all momentum! If we fight them head-on, we might have a slim chance of survival," Li Ye whispered, his voice full of righteous-sounding persuasion. "If you really can’t beat them, just leave me behind and escape on your own. You can find someone to rescue me later. I’m useful to them, so they probably won’t kill me..."

"Did you hear that, Qu Hao? Even he is asking to be left behind. Just hand him over," Lei Wenjie said with a laugh. "Give him to me, and I promise I won’t hunt you down."

"Bullshit!" Qu Hao roared. "The people of the Upper Three Sects would rather die in battle than trade someone else’s life for their own cowardly survival!"

Lei Wenjie was tempted to expose Li Ye’s true colors and provoke Qu Hao further.

But after a moment’s thought, he held his tongue.

He wasn’t actually confident he could keep Qu Hao from escaping. Revealing the truth might backfire; Qu Hao might fly into a rage out of shame and kill Li Ye himself.

Li Ye had a special background and had single-handedly stirred up a massive storm. He absolutely had to bring such a talent back to the Demon Sect...

"You just won’t learn until you’re at death’s door. If you won’t hand him over, then you can die with him!" Lei Wenjie flicked his hand, and the Black Lotuses swirled, forming chains that lashed out toward Qu Hao and Li Ye.

’The Righteous Dao cultivators are so pedantic; he’ll definitely protect Li Ye.’

’In a way, Li Ye is Qu Hao’s weakness. Aiming for him is the right move.’

"Despicable."

Qu Hao saw through Lei Wenjie’s plan but was helpless to do anything but muster his strength to defend Li Ye.

He formed a protective shield with his Talismans.

Gritting his teeth, he unleashed his Sword Light, hacking at the Black Lotuses.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

One after another, the Black Lotuses exploded around them. The shockwaves caused the Talisman shield to tremble violently, but it ultimately held.

By brute-forcing his way through, Qu Hao managed to carve out a pocket of space within the encirclement of Black Lotuses.

"Let’s see how long you can last."

Lei Wenjie chuckled softly, channeling his Magical Power to conjure countless more Black Lotuses...

Meanwhile, Meng Mingzhe and Qiu Ming’s fight had also grown heated.

With Meng Mingzhe not having to protect Li Ye, Qiu Ming had no restraints. Both of them were going all out.

In an instant, the air around Li Ye was filled with Sword Light, lotus petals, and chess pieces...

The sight was dazzling. Caught in the middle of a brawl between four Divinity Transformation Realm masters, he, a little Foundation Establishment Stage rookie, didn’t dare to move a muscle. He was utterly powerless to fight back.

This wasn’t a battle he was qualified to join.

The martial arts he had learned in his previous world were completely useless here.

Li Ye estimated that even if he used his time reversal ability, one second wouldn’t make much of a difference on a battlefield like this.

Time pause would freeze everyone, including himself. Even if he could use that second to see the flaws in their techniques, once time resumed, his current cultivation level was too low to exploit those openings, let alone counterattack.

As for time fast-forward, Li Ye still hadn’t figured out what it was good for.

"Li Ye, you’re not going to die here, are you!"

The wristwatch asked in his mind.

Li Ye ignored it. The only way he could communicate with the fiend was by speaking aloud. How could he dare to talk in a situation like this?

Even if he could, he couldn’t be bothered to reply to this useless thing...

The two sides fought with earth-shattering intensity for more than two hours, leveling several of the mountain peaks below them.

The first to falter was Meng Mingzhe. All of his Protective Dharma Artifacts had shattered, and his clothes were torn to shreds. The exploding chess pieces had blasted two bloody holes in his arm and abdomen.

Black energy coiled around the wounds, and the blood that flowed out was black.

Now, his face was deathly pale. He could only brandish his flying sword to parry, with no strength left to counterattack.

Fortunately, he was in the late stage of the Divinity Transformation Realm, so Qiu Ming couldn’t finish him off right away. But with the chessboard blocking his path, he couldn’t escape either...

At this point, Meng Mingzhe was filled with despair. The occasional glance he shot toward Li Ye was tinged with a trace of hatred.

Li Ye stared eagerly at his wounds, wanting to help him out by striking a teammate.

But they were too far apart; he couldn’t reach him!

Left with no choice, Li Ye waved to Meng Mingzhe and shouted, "Senior, come over here! We can fight them together! Junior Martial Uncle Qu will protect you..."

’FML!’

The struggling Qu Hao shot Li Ye a resentful glare but didn’t object. He was a member of the Upper Three Sects; he couldn’t just refuse to help one of his own.

"Heh!"

Lei Wenjie let out a soft laugh and pressed his attack. The Demon Lotus Transformation consumed too much power, so he had already deactivated it.

Now, he was just trading blows with Qu Hao using Sword Light.

Qu Hao’s Talismans and Dharma Artifacts had also been exhausted while fighting the Demon Lotus Transformation. He had already popped several Elixir Pills and was now also relying on Sword Light to fight back.

But on the surface, Lei Wenjie still had the clear advantage.

Qu Hao had expended too much Spiritual Qi fighting the Demon Lotus Transformation. As long as Meng Mingzhe led Qiu Ming over, the two martial brothers could join forces, and Qu Hao would be even more outmatched.

Now, he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to.

In the end, Meng Mingzhe made his way over.

After all, he couldn’t break through Qiu Ming’s chessboard on his own. To escape, he had to rely on Qu Hao.

"Fellow Daoist Qu, we can’t win! Let’s escape!" Meng Mingzhe said quickly as he drew near.

Before his words had even faded,

a beam of Sword Light shot out from Li Ye’s flying sword, cleanly piercing through the wound in Meng Mingzhe’s abdomen.

The sudden development stunned everyone on the battlefield.

The expression on Lei Wenjie’s face froze.

Meng Mingzhe stared at Li Ye in disbelief. Filled with grief and indignation, he raised his sword to cut him down.

Time reversal!

At the critical moment, Li Ye activated the wristwatch.

The Sword Light retreated from Meng Mingzhe’s wound back to the tip of Li Ye’s sword. The expression on Meng Mingzhe’s face contorted before returning to its previous anxiety. Qiu Ming, who had been in hot pursuit, simultaneously flew back several hundred meters...

CLICK!

Time began to flow again.

Li Ye felt his Body Attributes and the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian skyrocket, instantly pushing him from the first to the second layer of Foundation Establishment.

Across from him, a look of pleasant surprise suddenly appeared on Meng Mingzhe’s face.

Without a moment to think, he waved his hand and sent a beam of Sword Light—even thicker than before—slashing behind him, forcing the pursuing Qiu Ming back with a single strike.

Time reversal.

Everything else would revert, but Li Ye would retain the Body Attributes he had at the previous point in time.

Striking a teammate was one of his Derived Skills, so its effect was naturally preserved as well, causing Meng Mingzhe’s combat power to soar.

Although he no longer had the badge, the buff his Derived Skill gave to a teammate was no longer a twofold increase; it had degraded to one-fifth.

But Meng Mingzhe was in the late stage of the Divinity Transformation Realm, so a one-fifth boost was still terrifyingly powerful. If he hadn’t already expended so much energy, that one-fifth increase could have pushed him directly into the Void Refinement Realm.

Watching Meng Mingzhe’s sudden burst of power, Li Ye swallowed hard, instantly understanding what had just happened.

’I’ve glitched the system!’

’I can now strike my teammates without harming them to increase their strength.’

’In that case, I can probably use the same glitch for that ’Sacrifice a Teammate’ skill too. I could kill a teammate, then turn back time by one second to revive them, and the skill’s effect would still remain.’

’This is completely broken.’

"A breakthrough in the middle of a battle? Damn it!"

Feeling the power of Meng Mingzhe’s Sword Light, Qiu Ming wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, popped an Elixir Pill, and maneuvered the chessboard to press down on Meng Mingzhe once again.

Qu Hao, however, was overjoyed. "Sect Leader Meng, we shouldn’t get bogged down in a fight! Let’s work together to break through this chessboard trap."

"Alright!" Meng Mingzhe didn’t know how he had powered up, but the sudden surge in his Skill Level told him he wasn’t going to die. He responded with renewed vigor.

The two of them redirected their Sword Light, striking at the chessboard in unison.

"Senior Brother, I’ll help you."

They had fought for so long, only for their prey to get away because Meng Mingzhe had a sudden breakthrough? What was the point of it all?!

Lei Wenjie decided to abandon Qu Hao, flashing to Qiu Ming’s side. He formed a hand seal and poured his Spiritual Power into the chessboard in the sky.

The chessboard grid, originally formed by nineteen intersecting lines, had been blocking the path behind Qu Hao and the others. But as he joined in, the board flipped, and the net shifted to appear beneath their feet.

The golden grid flickered, as if a chessboard had materialized right under them.

Qiu Ming launched one chess piece after another toward the board.

As the pieces landed on the board, they transformed into Ghost Soldiers that charged toward the three of them.

"None of you are getting away," Lei Wenjie said.

’The wristwatch is still on cooldown.’

’But Li Ye couldn’t worry about that now. He could tell from the sudden change in Qu Hao’s expression that he and Meng Mingzhe probably wouldn’t last another three minutes.’

Li Ye gritted his teeth and shouted, "Junior Martial Uncle Qu, drop your defenses! I mean well, please don’t misunderstand me..."

As he spoke,

he turned his sword and, channeling all his Skill Level, stabbed toward Qu Hao’s lower back.