Chapter 497 - 304: Strange Shackles, Yuwen’s Ability (2)

Chapter 497: Chapter 304: Strange Shackles, Yuwen’s Ability (2)

As the two of them walked away, Wang Kai recalled how he and Yuwen had first met. It was back during their freshman year of college.

"Hey, Kai, from now on, I’m your boss. If you get into trouble, just drop my name!"

"What makes you my boss?"

"Oh? You don’t like that? Then let’s have a go. Whoever wins gets to be the boss!"

"A go it is, then! As if I’m afraid of a punk like you..."

And so, Yuwen became his boss. In his heart, Wang Kai never really liked associating with people like Yuwen, but for some unknown reason, he’d grudgingly played the part of his lackey for four years. And now, he truly was one...

「The next day」

Feng Hua and the others officially received the order to counterattack. As expected, their five classes were assigned to guard Matie Road.

Qingshan’s face was livid.

"That bastard actually went through with it. Does he really think we’re that useless?"

Feng Hua silently studied the combat map. Matie Road was a long, narrow, winding region, flanked on both sides by stretches of the Evil Magnetic Forbidden Land hundreds of kilometers across. This left a very short operational radius for combat, but the road connected to the rear of Celestial Sword Gorge.

If this place were left undefended, the enemy could charge straight through into their rear. However, it was also the most difficult location from which to launch an offensive. Terrain like this typically only required a small force to defend.

Stationing their group here meant they would have no part in the main counteroffensive.

Zhang Xunyi was sitting cross-legged, his longsword resting across his lap. For some unknown reason, his aura suddenly destabilized, and the sword wavered before clattering to the floor.

"Everyone, I have a bad feeling!"

His words immediately drew everyone’s attention. As a pure Sword Cultivator, Zhang Xunyi’s spiritual perception was exceptionally keen.

"Something’s wrong with that Yu Wen Baji guy!"

Zhang Xunyi mulled it over for a moment before speaking. "The classmate from our Iron-Blooded Divine Guard who died was named He Yuan. To be honest, we had a very poor relationship. I was affected by his death in battle, but not to the point where I feel I absolutely must avenge him. War is brutal, and life and death are governed by fate. I, too, have struggled on the brink of death."

Before he could finish, Li Jueyin tried to cut him off. His words were rather chilling.

"Zhang Xunyi, you..."

But Zhang Xunyi’s expression was serious. "Let me finish. You can call me cold-hearted, but that’s just who I am. Even if I had been the one to die there, I wouldn’t hold any resentment.

My point is, ordinarily, a guy like Yu Wen Baji gets on my nerves, but I can’t beat him right now. So, I should just avoid a direct confrontation and wait to fight him another day. When I’m strong enough, I’ll use every means at my disposal.

It’s like with that guy, Yu Fei. I refuse to admit defeat, but I acknowledge his strength. I’ll stay far away from him until I’m absolutely certain I can win."

"But ever since I ran into Yu Wen Baji, something has felt very wrong. My martial intuition is telling me that if I avoid him, my martial will is going to suffer for it!"

Zhang Xunyi’s eyes were full of confusion. "This shouldn’t be happening. And it seems the more I interact with Yu Wen Baji, the stronger this feeling gets!"

Feng Hua shot to her feet, asking in surprise, "You feel it too?"

"You too?"

Qingshan dashed in front of them.

"I feel it too!"

For a moment, they were all stunned. The whole thing was just too bizarre. A warrior’s will should sooner break than bend, yet theirs were being forcibly twisted. The thought sent a chill down their spines.

"But I don’t feel anything like that," Li Jueyin said, confused.

"If I wanted to leave, I could, at any time. I don’t feel anything strange at all."

After some discussion, they realized that only Master and Li Jueyin were unaffected. The wills of all the others had been twisted, to varying degrees, whenever they confronted Yu Wen Baji.

"What the hell is going on?"

"So what do we do now?"

A murderous glint appeared in Feng Hua’s eyes, but she weighed her options for a moment before saying calmly, "This is too bizarre. We have no proof, and we can’t defy a direct military order in wartime over a mere suspicion."

"For now, our priority is to carry out our orders. We’ll avoid any conflict with Yu Wen Baji while we’re in the Demon Mountain Realm.

Once we’re back at the academy, I’ll consult Mr. Tang. His own master is Principal Shenhan, so I’m sure they can figure out a solution."

Pausing for a moment, Feng Hua looked at the others and laid out her instructions.

"Go back, calm everyone down, and prepare for the operation. Also, quietly investigate the other students in your classes. See if any of them have experienced the same kind of feedback from their martial intuition that Zhang Xunyi and I have."

"Also, conduct this investigation privately. Don’t draw any attention to it."

Zhang Xunyi’s warning only intensified the group’s animosity toward Yu Wen Baji.

But strangely, the stronger their animosity grew, the more deeply imprinted Yu Wen Baji became in their minds. The memory of his bullying replayed itself over and over, spawning a torrent of distracting thoughts that made it nearly impossible for them to cultivate.

On the path of martial arts, might makes right.

Though Yu Wen Baji’s actions were disgusting, they were still within the rules of the game. The de facto change in leadership of the Celestial Tiger Corps and the invasion of the Yuanmo Royal Clan were events far beyond their personal control.

In truth, the timing of the counteroffensive wasn’t arbitrary. The camp at Celestial Sword Gorge had been breached, and even with the addition of numerous prodigies, holding the line would have been incredibly difficult. It was Yu Wen Baji’s sudden appearance that had halted the enemy’s momentum and inflicted significant casualties.

Unlike the mindless Spider Demons, the Yuanmo Royal Clan possessed their own unique tactical acumen. They considered factors like attrition and casualties. However, their actions were still unavoidably rigid; when faced with a battle that offered little gain, they would instinctively cut their losses.

During this period, it wasn’t just the humans who were gathering their forces; the Yuanmo Royal Clan was as well.

If Yu Wen Baji hadn’t struck first, the Yuanmo forces would have inevitably surged forward. Once the barrier of the Evil Magnetic Forbidden Land near Celestial Sword Gorge was lost, the front line would likely have been pushed back by hundreds of miles.

Matie Road. Due to the influence of the Evil Magnetic Forbidden Land, violent Gang Winds howled through the area year-round.

Dozens of meters up, the energies of the two Evil Magnetic Forbidden Lands intertwined and mingled. Anyone who entered that airspace would lose their five senses, becoming completely disoriented.

Matie Road was essentially a natural kill-zone corridor running parallel to the main front, easy to defend and difficult to assault—for both sides.

Feng Hua and Qingshan led the charge, with Jiang Nianwei, Master, and the others following close behind. The members of all five Celestial Pride Classes attacked in coordination.

More troops waited in the rear, ready to provide support at a moment’s notice. The passage was incredibly narrow—barely fifty meters at its widest point and only a little over ten at its narrowest.

In such a constricted space, they couldn’t fight at their full potential. They had advanced less than a third of the way down the road when they encountered the Yuanmo Royal Clan forces also garrisoned there.

Opposite them were more than twenty members of the Yuanmo Royal Clan.

These royals were handsome and tall, standing nearly ten feet high. Their proportions were identical to a human’s, just scaled up.

But their eyes were as cold as killing machines, and their coordination was seamless. Feng Hua and her group attacked with abandon, but they struggled to make any headway.

Feng Hua, a Gang Qi Realm cultivator, was as swift as the wind. Her sharp rapier flashed like lightning. Her Body Technique was so fluid that even a Rank-7 Yuanmo couldn’t keep up with her.

One-on-one, her strength was enough to slay a Rank-7 Yuanmo. Unfortunately, they were facing more than twenty of them. In this confined space, the creatures covered for one another as they attacked.

Furthermore, at the level of the Yuanmo Royal Clan, while the creatures looked similar, they had distinct specializations in their abilities.

Feng Hua’s rapier glowed with a brilliant white light. In a flurry of attacks, she heavily wounded the spear-wielding Rank-7 Yuanmo before her. She was about to go for the beheading blow when a shield-bearer charged in from the side to save its comrade. As Feng Hua tried to press her attack, a female Yuanmo floating in the air behind them strummed a harp. Yellow Sound Wave Patterns lit up around the instrument, and Feng Hua was instantly bound, unable to move.

Another female Yuanmo conjured green musical notes that enveloped the wounded one. Within moments, the spear-wielding Yuanmo was almost fully healed.

By the time Feng Hua finally struggled free of her bonds, the battlefield had returned to how it was before.

Qingshan and the others faced a similar struggle. Their combat strength was a notch below Feng Hua’s, so they could only tie down one or two Yuanmo at a time, and even then, they held only a slight advantage.

But with the enemy able to rotate its wounded out to recover at will, that slight advantage was practically meaningless.

Whenever Feng Hua’s group tried to unleash a burst of power, the Yuanmo would pull back, letting the Spider Demons behind them serve as cannon fodder while they prepared to re-engage and wear them down again.

Jiang Nianwei bit her lip. ’Their overall strength was still too low.’ If they just had three more combatants on par with Feng Hua, they could easily break this stalemate.

For some reason, a particular figure suddenly surfaced in Jiang Nianwei’s mind.

She thought of Yu Fei, who moved peerlessly across the battlefield. ’If Yu Fei were here,’ she wondered, ’would he be able to lead them to break through this blockade?’