Archfiend

Chapter 359: Spiritmaster Xiao Zuo’en (2)

A slight crease formed between Xu Yangyi’s brows. He felt a trace of unnaturalness, but he wasn’t able to figure out what it was specifically for the time being. During his contemplations, the aircraft had already landed in a valley, droning as it descended. To his surprise, the inside of the valley actually hadn’t crystallized! On the contrary, the green hills and pure waters rang true!

The area was around 5,000 meters in size. In the basin located in the mountain range, the green grass was so inviting that it could be slept on, and the jade-green trees were penetrating like shears. In the air, half-a-man-tall machines flew. They were spinning tops that resembled dragonflies constantly flitting through bamboo. There were small green and yellow lanterns flashing between precision instruments. The surroundings were like crystal, and even towering mountain walls reflected a grandness from the bustle.

At the center of the basin was a lake that was around several-hundred meters in size. The lakewater was clear and transparent. With one glance, the bottom could be seen. There were even a few calcified trees collapsed in the water, causing Xu Yangyi to recall a famous scenery on Earth, Xichuan Province’s Jiuzhai Valley. [1]

At the lake side, there was a villa that took up a hundred meters. At this moment, at the side of the villa swimming pool, a fat man wearing sunglasses had two young bikini-wearing women hanging off of his arms. Upon hearing the sound of propellers in the air, his brows furrowed.

“Why did they come again? To bother me?”

“Be good.” His fat palm gently slapped a beautiful woman’s perky butt. He stood up, picked up his night clothes beside him, put them on, and gracefully took out a cut cigarette. Although he was fat, he walked with a cultured air.

“Master Tian.” The air pressure from the descending helicopter blew his pajamas into a mess, revealing his calves. They were pale and fat yet covered in black hair. He laughed heartily and walked over to welcome Master Tian, shaking the old man’s hand like a good friend. “I haven’t seen you in so long, how did you drum up the effort to come today?”

“You flatter me. After all, this is still the Li Family’s estate. I have to come once in a while for a look, as well,” Master Tian beamed with a smile and answered. His words concealed piercing mockery that the other regarded the villa as his own private estate. Afterwards, he promptly leaped over. “Still good, Master Xiao? Say hello to State-Magus Zu for me. Come, Master Xiao, I’ll give you an introduction. This is the new spirit-master that joined the Li Family, Master Xu.”

“Master Xu.”

Xiao Zuo’en then discovered that another man was following behind Master Tian. He looked carefully but didn’t have the slightest impression. Nonetheless, this Master Xu was very young.

“Newly joined?” he answered coolly. His words were directed to Xu Yangyi, yet his gaze looked to Master Tian. “Master Tian, you’re an elder of the Li Family. It’s understandable that you’ve come for an inspection, but him…”

He smiled faintly and spoke no further.

Such a young spirit-master… was seldom-seen, very seldom-seen. And yet… was this new arrival truly a spirit-master?

Then why… didn’t he sense a trace of spiritual force from the other? This was called a spirit-master, as well? Which spirit-master didn’t work slowly for decades before setting foot on the threshold? At such a young age, perhaps it was just “feeling the threshold”, right? And so he dared to call himself a spirit-master? Could this really be a man that the Li Family was preparing to stake heavy capital in?

He snorted light, and the propeller’s wind pressure seemed not to approach him. His pajamas quickly settled down. Xu Yangyi, who was sizing up the area, stowed his gaze and apathetically glanced at Xiao Zuo’en.

“Not bad.”

The peak of initial-stage Qi Condensation, just a step short from being able to stride into the middle stage. Disregarding Master Xiao’s fatness, his foundation was pretty solid. It seemed that this world’s Guardian-Magi of the State had some ability.

It was no more than this, though.

“Greetings, Master Xiao.” He smiled and cupped his hands.

Xiao Zuo’en stared blankly and then burst into laughter. He said with a sliver of ridicule, “Mr. Xu, that’s an out-of-date and ancient courtesy these days. Old things like that won’t work on me here. Speak, why have you come? I was hired by Old Man Li, not Li Mingfang. Although, this place is Li Mingfang’s territory, I signed with the Li Family, not he himself. If you want to smuggle something, I urge you not to think so much.” 

Xu Yangyi only laughed at his rudeness. “I want to discuss business with Master Xiao.”

Xiao Zuo’en measured Xu Yangyi with a glance and scoffed. “Boy, although I don’t know who your master is, spirit-masters aren’t so easily handled. You want to talk business with me? Ask your master to come.”

“If you leave here and don’t set foot for thirty years, I’ll give you a divine ability. You can pick between defense, attack, and speed,” Xu Yangyi replied dimly, simply paying no heed to him.

The scene became quiet once Xu Yangyi spoke.

Xiao Zuo’en and Master Tian looked at him with eyes round. Three seconds later, Xiao Zuo’en began to roar with loud laughter, unconcealed in the slightest.

“You?”

“Hahaha! Just you?”

“Kid, do you know what a divine ability is? A burst of qi encasing the hand to explode? Don’t make me laugh, there are only thirty so-called divine abilities in the State of Shangchen! Just you! Hahaha!”

Master Tian didn’t laugh, instead looking at Xu Yangyi as if he’d seen a ghost.

“Do you agree or not?” Xu Yangyi’s gaze was tranquil as before. “I don’t have much patience. This divine ability can be taken as your legacy magik treasure. I won’t restrict you from handing it down, and it doesn’t matter if you just sell it to other people, either.”

It was practically just like street goods laid on the ground!

“Psshh…” Xiao Zuo’en was no longer able to contain himself. He hugged his fat belly with both of his arms, his laughter almost echoing throughout the basin. A hand exaggeratedly wiped away at his tears. “You’re going to make me laugh myself to death… This is just too funny… but…” he gently coughed and tucked away the smile on his face. “I’m not someone who’s too fond of jokes.”

His voice yet to fall, a streak of dazzling light loudly flashed by, a white steed galloping past a crack! At the same time, a dragon’s cry howled in the valley! In front of Xiao Zuo’en, a ten-meter-long, meter-plus-deep gorge suddenly followed the cry of a sword. A crescent-shaped white light instantly emerged before him!

Bang… A small stone bounced off of Xiao Zuo’en’s face. He forgot to wipe it away, instead looking at the gulch facing him.

The remaining half of his laughter was stiffly pinched inside his throat. The air inside had nowhere to go. Several seconds later, he lifted his head and studied Xu Yangyi with great caution.

At the side, Master Tian was also completely dumbfounded.

Divine ability… this was a legend. State-Magi wouldn’t use one unless they reached the juncture of life and death. Let alone them, they hadn’t witnessed or even heard of any. And yet there were somethings that didn’t need to be seen or heard. One just knew its might!

Like a question from the International Mathematical Olympiad placed in front of a student, everyone knew how brutal this was!

Xu Yangyi softly blew his palm. “This move is called Severing Dragon Typhoon. How about it?”

Silence. Three seconds later, a thin, sinister smile finally appeared on Xiao Zuo’en’s face.

“Did you know…”

“The law of the Clearcloud Realm states: once a person who’s stolen from a master has been discovered, to the extent of having stolen and learned a divine ability, so long as they are a spirit-master they can be summarily executed?” A tinge of strong greed flashed through his eyes. “Right now, I suspect you of stealing a national treasure. Your crime deserves ten thousand deaths.”

Before he even finished speaking, his slipper-clad feet suddenly kicked up with a burst of wind. His entire fat silhouette began to rotate like a spinning top. Like a drill bit, he rushed over in front of Xu Yangyi in the blink of an eye!

Master Tian’s gaze sparked. His hand moved, yet ultimately set down, and he retreated to the side.

Likewise, he was quite curious of Xu Yangyi’s realm!

Xiao Zuo’en probably thought Xu Yangyi appeared over twenty years old, wanting to eat him all up. However, the fat man absolutely couldn’t have expected that this young man’s strength was so valiant that it couldn’t be measured by an ordinary person’s standards!

Swoosh! On the ground, a shallow chasm appeared as Xiao Zuo’en stormed over like a whirlwind. Yet Xu Yangyi calmly observed him like so, not even dodging.

A cold glint flashed through Xiao Zuo’en’s eyes.

He’d long since taken back his contemptuous view of this Master Xu. This was the supreme opening move that had made him famous, “Dragon-Crane Twin Separation”. And while his scorn was already retrieved, he didn’t recognize Xu Yangyi as his opponent in any way.

This was the customary line of thought in a lower realm. Even if one was strong at such an age, how strong could they be?

I’ve got him… His divine ability belongs to me! As he thought of this, avarice flitted through his eyes. As Zu Huai’en’s disciple, he understood much more clearly than outsiders regarding divine abilities! As soon as Xu Yangyi had made the move, he confirmed that this divine ability certainly hadn’t appeared in the national scripture!

I’ll memorize the cultivation method and then hand it over to State-Magus Zu… My future is definitely heading to the next level!

“Dragon Separates Clouds…” Already, his hand had secretly taken the form of an arching dragon. Xu Yangyi didn’t make the slightest motion to dodge. In an instant, Xiao Zuo’en was a meter away from the other, and he suddenly roared, “TAKE THIS!!!”

BOOM! Without warning, a swath of golden brilliance flared from his hand! However, these rays of lights were formless, and that furthermore wasn’t to speak of the crescent that Xu Yangyi had casted just now. The light was nothing more than a pure and unsophisticated cloak on Xiao Zuo’en’s hand. Golden light seemed to radiate everywhere, but it was in fact not condensed. 

“Master Xu!” Master Tian couldn’t help but yell out. In the next second, a heavy sound rang out. Xiao Zuo’en’s arching hand accurately struck Xu Yangyi’s chest.

In this second, time seemed to freeze. Joy had already rose up in Xiao Zuo’en’s heart. He hadn’t foreseen that hitting Xu Yangyi would be so easy!

“That’s it?” Xu Yangyi’s unperturbed voice was heard above Xiao Zuo’en’s head, and the fat man coldly gasped.

How was this possible!

He clearly felt that Xu Yangyi hadn’t defended whatsoever. He’d landed a solid blow on the young man! Even a high spirit-master wasn’t capable of forcibly tolerating this move without any defense! This young man… 

Was strange!

All of a sudden, he screamed, his fat body surprisingly flipping back in midair like a wheel. Crisis had already befallen him, and he found himself backpedaling by several meters. Oddly, the more he flipped back, the higher he went up. Shortly, both his arms swung out in the air, and he took on a crane stance!

“Crane Follows Wind!”

In a flash, dazzling azure light gathered on his slipper-clad feet! In the same vein, his momentum seemed to become great, yet scattered and didn’t form. It was merely the crudest attack skill.

Ripple… A faint sound echoed, and Xiao Zuo’en oddly cried out. An abrupt boom rang out and he flew back, falling back on the ground without the least bit form!

Master Tian licked his lips, his heart pounding frantically.

A monster! 

He hadn’t seen Xu Yangyi make a move at all! Master Xiao had just flew back like so!

This was a disciple that Zu Huai’en was proud of! Although Xiao Zuo’en’s character was in question, there were less than fifty people that became quasi-high spirit-masters! His talents were astonishing!

“Master Xu…” His voice was shaking. He looked at Xu Yangyi and Xiao Zuo’en, not knowing what to say.

“Scattered and unshaped, an attack with power. Physique arts are pretty bad, too,” Xu Yangyi said dimly. “Granted that physique arts are probably like this as well.”

Swoosh! In the next second, he layered Flying Star and Wind Brandishes Traces together. His body drew an afterimage in the air! In the blink of an eye… no, not even a blink of an eye! Before Xiao Zuo’en even fell to the ground, Xu Yangyi had overtaken him and grabbed onto his collar!

“My god!!!” Master Tian cried out in alarm and staggered three steps back. At this moment, he only had one thought!

On that day along the winding mountain road, what kind of luck did they have?!