Chapter 294 - 238: Desperate Ground

In a duel between Martial Artists, intent is paramount.

For a master like Zhao Xuanqi, the slightest shift in an opponent’s state of mind was a massive opening he could exploit.

The two were locked in a stalemate. But with his opponent’s reinforcements arriving and victory seemingly within reach, his mentality was bound to subtly shift.

As the saying goes, the last ten miles of a hundred-mile journey are the hardest half. With success just around the corner, few could remain as cautious as they were at the start. Even a master like East Mountain Good Horses was no exception.

And Zhao Xuanqi keenly perceived this momentary opening. Or perhaps, this was the very moment he had been waiting for!

BOOM!!

He activated his Secret Technique, and Qi and Blood surged to his head. In that instant, he pushed his Spiritual Power to its absolute peak. His entire head felt as if it would explode, a piercing pain like needles stabbing into his brain, and crimson blood immediately began to stream from his eyes and nostrils.

ROAR!!

A terrifying roar exploded in East Mountain Good Horses’s mind. His eyes trembled as if the sky were falling and the earth splitting asunder. The head of a Qilin, both majestic and savage, became the sole image in his thoughts.

His mind seized, the smile on his face froze.

The entire process took less than a thousandth of a second, an ephemeral flash that an ordinary person wouldn’t even have time to blink through.

But for Zhao Xuanqi, it was enough time to launch one attack!

BAM!!

His body abruptly released its Force. His frame swelled under the surge of Qi and Blood, his arm moving like a phantom serpent, like a Wandering Dragon. In an instant, it pierced through East Mountain Good Horses’s two-handed defense and drove straight in.

Then, he erupted!!

BOOM!!

Gang Qi detonated and Force raged. A sudden thunderclap echoed over the sea as East Mountain Good Horses’s body was sent flying backward like a cannonball, moving at a speed the naked eye could barely follow, and slammed heavily into a large cargo ship.

The ship’s hold burst apart, and its hull snapped in two, collapsing inward as it sank. The wreckage of the vessel obscured East Mountain Good Horses’s body, making it impossible to see his true condition. But after taking such a heavy blow head-on, even a Harmony master would surely be severely injured and lose most of their combat ability.

’What?!’

Bursting through the smoke from the explosion, the pursuing An Yuan Wuyan and Furukawa Naoto’s pupils contracted, and they came to a sudden halt.

Several kilometers away, atop the Holy Ring Bell Tower, the consuls of the Five Nations watching the battle through special spyglasses saw the entire scene unfold. Shock was written all over their faces.

From the start of the explosion to the end, the entire sequence took no more than ten seconds!

They had originally thought Zhao Xuanqi was using the Purple Gunpowder Bomb to injure the Neon Nation masters. The terrifying explosion would weaken them and make them wary of his special bombs. This would have allowed him to better utilize the port’s terrain and facilities to delay the Neon masters for as long as possible, creating an opportunity for the other two groups of Divine Land masters to attack.

From the very beginning, they had never imagined that Zhao Xuanqi would clash with them head-on. After all, no matter how you looked at it, such a move had little chance of success. It was like throwing an egg against a rock. Delaying the opponent’s main fighting force was the best strategy.

However, to their surprise, the bomb’s explosion was merely a diversion. What Zhao Xuanqi wanted was to use the brief chaos it caused to take one of them out first!

In less than ten seconds, if the plan had failed, he would have been besieged by three Neon masters. At that point, Sanhe Port would likely have become his grave!

In fact, Zhao Xuanqi had indeed come dangerously close to that desperate situation.

What an insane plan. But what was even more insane was that he had actually succeeded!

Seeing is believing. Hearing countless legends and battle records about Zhao Xuanqi couldn’t compare to the shock of witnessing him in person. What’s more, Zhao Xuanqi’s performance had far exceeded the limits described in the rumors!

Watching Zhao Xuanqi stand firm on the sea’s surface, facing the two Neon masters, the same thought arose in the minds of all the Five Nations consuls.

’If this man is not killed, the Divine Land will know no peace in the future!’

"Very good, Hundred Beasts Fist Qilin. You truly live up to your reputation. But do you really think you have a chance of winning just by injuring one of us?"

"How naive. Very well. Since a man like you was not born in our Neon Nation, then there is no reason for you to exist in this world."

Looking at Zhao Xuanqi, who stood before him and had stopped fleeing, a chilling smile appeared on An Yuan Wuyan’s grim face.

CRACK!!

Faintly, it sounded as if something had shattered.

The next moment—BAM! An Yuan Wuyan’s stooped frame instantly swelled and expanded as if being inflated, the sound of his bones popping echoing all around him.

This old man, whose skin was covered in wrinkles and seemed to be at death’s door, now had skin that became smooth and firm again. His white hair turned black, as if he were aging in reverse.

In the blink of an eye, he had transformed from an old man on the verge of death into a young man who looked to be under thirty.

He was tall and powerfully built, with a resolute face and eyes like blazing suns. A potent life force radiated from him, faintly manifesting as a hazy green aura. Where the aura touched, it seemed as if grass and trees were sprouting from the surface of the sea.

Like a withered tree blooming in spring, it was as if he had reversed the flow of time!

"Mr. Furukawa, let’s end this quickly. Kill this man. Give it your all."

At this moment, An Yuan Wuyan’s expression was calm and indifferent, as if he had lost all emotion.

"Understood."

A bizarre smile touched Furukawa Naoto’s kabuki-actress-like face. Clad in the kimono of a diva, his body began to twist on the spot as he started to softly chant unknown syllables in a fluctuating rhythm.