Chapter 85: Lurking Abyss
Chapter 85: Lurking Abyss
Boom!
Amidst the roar of thunder, radiance overflowed. A protective aura shattered as Li Yi’s figure was blasted backward, his feet dragging and leaving two sharp trails on the ground.
On his chest and abdomen, a cluster of golden light flickered unsteadily. This Battle Aura was like a living creature, lingering and refusing to dissipate.
“Hah!” Li Yi’s body shuddered, his skin rippled, and beneath the ‘Siren Splits the Tide’, a violent tremor erupted from within, shattering that dazzling Battle Aura.
“Oh? With the body of a mere Mage, you can withstand my Splendor Aura? Interesting…” A surprised voice sounded from within the swirling dust. The glow scattered, driving away the dirt to reveal a figure as sturdy as an iron tower. “However, you are not a Heaven’s Pride!”
“How can you tell?” Li Yi’s eyes flickered. Instead of answering directly, he posed a counter-question to buy time.
“You have quite a few pieces of equipment, but they are messy and disorganized, lacking a proper system. The quality of your Mana is good, with an inner hidden dragon aura, showing signs of entering the hall of mastery. But it’s a pity it’s mixed and impure. Is it two, or three different streams of Mana? If you are not trying to walk the ancient god’s path of ‘One Qi Transforming into Three Pure Ones’, then your determination is not firm, and you have strayed onto a wrong path. Those of the Heaven’s Pride all have predecessors to guide them; they absolutely would not make such low-level mistakes!”
Yazi’s assessment hit the nail on the head.
“Oh? So, what should I do to return to the right path?” Li Yi adopted a listening posture, asking for advice with an open mind.
“I am not your nursemaid…” Yazi’s gaze was playful as he looked behind Li Yi. “Also, what’s going on with your right hand behind your back? Why do I feel the Mana fluctuations between your fingers are constantly rising?”
“Just an illusion,” Li Yi said, his tone light. His body suddenly spun around, and a mass of dark gloom roared from his right palm!
The spinning water bullet, profound and black, seemed to contain boundless ferocious power. Even within the massive form of Civilization’s Dawn, everything darkened for a moment.
But soon, that darkness was invaded and swallowed by the dazzling light!
Bang!
Bright, sparkling light, like leaping stars, spread across the blood-colored dragon-slaying sword, cleaving the black water bullet into splashing mist!
“‘Water Bullet Spell’? This power… is it a secret technique, or a Bloodline Ability?” Yazi strolled forward, the glow on his greatsword growing increasingly fierce. “It should be a secret technique, right? A commoner like you has no right to possess a Bloodline Ability.”
Li Yi did not speak. He breathed slowly, using every moment to recover his Mana. In his heart, a touch of helplessness rose.
The Bloodline Ability—’Bearing the Stele’—was truly too niche. With the right time and place, it could be stronger than a dragon’s roar. Without them, it was utterly useless.
Currently, it was the latter.
Hum!
His mind shook violently, his vision swam. The blood-colored greatsword seemed to shatter a spatial barrier, already right before his eyes!
On the blade, bloody light surged, and the roar of the Yazi beast resonated, complementing the Splendor Aura and reflecting terrifying power!
Iaijutsu!
That term surfaced in Li Yi’s mind.
“Thousandfold Strategy!”
The four words shot from between his teeth. The Wind-Walking Boots whirled with flowing wind. Li Yi’s figure flickered, illusory and unreal, like an untouchable breeze. The crimson blade edge slashed through empty air.
“Quite a few petty tricks… but they are of little use.” Yazi’s body pivoted back. Before his eyes now floated several figures—afterimages left behind due to movements too fast. “Heavy Strike!”
Boom!
The greatsword struck the ground. The wildly erupting, dazzling Battle Aura was like raging seas and furious tides, swallowing all the human shadows!
Amidst the surging Battle Aura, Li Yi’s feet scraped backward on the ground again. But his hands lifted steadily, pointing to where Yazi had drawn his sword. A flowing fire spilled from between his palms!
Just as expected, Yazi’s figure reappeared in that spot.
Boom!
But before it could be unleashed, the flowing fire disintegrated, instead causing Li Yi to stumble back several steps in a wretched state.
“Damn it, what is this?”
He lowered his head and looked at the scattered points of glittering light covering his body. Li Yi’s expression darkened slightly, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
The shining points gleamed. The circulation of his Mana became sluggish and slow, to the point that his earlier attempt at ‘Maple-Shadow Flowing Fire’ died aborted in his hands!
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. My Bloodline Ability is called ‘Light’s Strike’. Its effect is to enhance light-attribute Battle Aura, adding the property of ‘Sluggishness’ to it. It’s quite effective against Battle Aura and Mana, especially Mana.” At this point, he suddenly slapped himself on the face. “Ouch, I let it slip! Did you guess which family I belong to now?”
“I knew long ago! One of the branches of the ‘Lionheart’ Li Clan—the ‘Lion of Radiant Light’: the Yaoshan Li Clan!” Li Yi’s lips curled slightly. In his heart, he added, “We are, after all, of the same clan…”
“Why pretend ignorance? Now that you know my identity, even more reason I cannot let you live…” Shifting from resting the sword on his shoulder to holding it properly, Yazi strode forward. The bloody sword blade left a dark red scar on the ground.
“Heh, if I played dumb, would you really spare me?” Li Yi turned his face to look at him, a cold smile appearing.
“That is also true!”
Before the words fully faded, the greatsword swept horizontally, tearing through the air towards him!
Li Yi tilted his head, barely dodging.
Vertical chop!
Diagonal slash!
Straight thrust!
Yazi moved with thunderous momentum, a series of actions swift and powerful, carrying immense force!
Wind swirled underfoot, his steps were erratic, his body supple as if boneless. From his fingertips, he occasionally shot out an ‘Earth Binding Spell’. Li Yi used every trick he had, slippery as an eel, dodging each time by a hair’s breadth. Even he himself felt a lingering fear.
“What a flea!”
Yazi sneered. His sword stance changed again, becoming wider and more sweeping. Battle Aura boiled on his palm, and brilliant light overflowed from the blade!
Every strike had a massive amount of Battle Aura splashing out. The furious residual force sent Li Yi flying off.
Before long, Li Yi was covered in sweat, breathing heavily. The lingering Splendor Aura on his body was like maggots clinging to bone, growing brighter and more intense.
“See? The effect of a single Bloodline Ability!”
Yazi’s sword stirred wind and thunder, and his mouth did not rest either. It seemed these words had been suppressed for a long time and were now needing release.
“Bloodline is the unbridgeable chasm between commoners and geniuses! This is the difference between me and my brother, and the gap between you and me! You cannot cross this hurdle! Stubborn resistance will only make your death more painful…”
“Pah!” Li Yi spat out a mouthful of blood-flecked spittle as his reply.
A cold snort sounded. The greatsword reached his body, his protective aura shattered, and Li Yi’s body was sent flying once more.
“Sorry, I’m starting to get bored…” Yazi shook his head, his gaze disdainful. “Your innate talent is not bad. However, no matter how strong an ant is, it’s still just a stronger ant. People are born unequal.”
Li Yi’s expression darkened slightly. He was already quite tired of this kind of bloodline-supremacy talk.
His eyes suddenly brightened. A deep, dragon-like roar from a hidden gorge quietly rose from the depths of his soul.
That Bloodline Rune manifested the form of a Black Dragon, twisting and swimming, roaring towards the Nine Netherworlds!
A new Bloodline Ability was born!
Instantly, an aura of profound coldness and icy chill faintly diffused from Li Yi’s body, bone-piercingly cold.
“Hmm?” Yazi’s eyes moved, then he disdainfully said, “This bluffing trick is boring if used too much.”
“You say I have no Bloodline Ability?” Li Yi smiled coldly, took a step forward, raised his right hand, and demanded, “Then, what is this?”
A wisp of golden radiance gathered at his fingertip.
That radiance was precisely the Splendor Aura that had remained on Li Yi’s body!
“And this, what is it?”
Li Yi’s five fingers formed a claw. Across his body, strands of light flowed upward, swirling in his palm!
It seemed as if the Splendor Aura Yazi had imposed on Li Yi had suddenly turned traitor.
“What… what is this?” Yazi’s eyes flickered, his mind shaken violently. “Is it your Bloodline Ability? No, that’s absolutely impossible!”
“Why not try it and find out?”
With a light laugh and his fingers dancing like butterflies, a deep-colored flowing fire with drifting maple-leaf shadows gathered in Li Yi’s palms. Waves of heat surged forth!
And those streaks of golden Battle Aura actually flowed into the streaming fire, intertwining, entangling, and merging with it, draping a layer of gilded outer coat over the boiling flames!
Yazi’s pupils contracted.
“Maple-Shadow Flowing Fire!”
After uttering the four words, Li Yi pushed both palms forward. The flowing fire was like ten thousand beasts stampeding, rolling waves of scorching heat billowing and striking out furiously!
“Damn it, this can’t be!” Yazi held his sword sideways to block. His mind in turmoil, his movements were a beat slower.
Originally, his protective Battle Aura could have barely withstood it. But that flowing fire actually also possessed the ‘Sluggishness’ property, causing his movements to stiffen once again.
In that moment of Battle Aura stagnation, the violent inferno engulfed him!
“I’ll remember you, Baxia! I will definitely—”
The next instant, a streak of light shot into the sky, and his figure vanished without a trace.
“Oh? Some kind of life-preserving equipment? But such equipment should be very precious…”
Li Yi plopped down on the ground. Inside his body, everything was dry and barren once more.
However, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. First a slight smile, then it grew wider and wider, turning into a wide, toothy grin.
“Bloodline Ability—Lurking Abyss!”