The pitter-patter of water droplets hitting the ground drowned out all other sounds in the vicinity. It resembled a melody of serenity, a huge contrast to the devastation that had just occurred here a few moments ago.
But unlike what most would think, this was not the sound of rain.
Instead, it was the sound of remnant water hitting the ground – remnant water from an impressively large-scale water technique that had drowned out the entire area.
Tidal Hammer – Chen Pingxi’s signature technique.
It summoned a giant pillar of water from the heavens, slamming it down upon her target like a hammer from the heavens.
This was no ordinary water, but one that had been imbued with essence energy. The impact from this liquid hammer was nothing to be scoffed at, enough to cause the entire ground to sink in.
Every single tree and piece of vegetation in the area had been flattened under this overwhelming force, turning it into a wide clearing.
The ground that had been lush with vegetation now resembled a wet marsh, with the knee-deep water taking some time to fully drain out of the area.
After witnessing this technique, even her allies could not help but gape in awe, momentarily unable to utter another word.
This was true for the Yin Yang Sisters, the entire Mo Group, and even her sect mate Zhou Qin.
Yet regardless of how impressive the technique looked, Chen Pingxi herself seemed to be in a sorry state right now.
Her face was pale, her breathing was irregular, and her limbs were trembling. It was not nearly to the extent of being about to fall over, but anyone would be able to tell that it was taking her quite some effort to even remain standing.
No matter how one looked at her current self, she definitely did not appear to be someone capable of pulling off something like that.
And they would not be entirely wrong to think so either.
Even though this was considered her signature technique, Chen Pingxi had actually seldom used the Tidal Hammer on such a large scale, especially in the absence of a nearby water body. Doing so would put a huge strain on her, which had inevitably reduced her to her current state.
If not because of the urgency of the situation, she would never have chosen to push herself to the limit like this!
The startled San Wanfan slowly retreated in fear, backing away from the Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator that had been forced to the ground after receiving a direct hit from Chen Pingxi’s Tidal Hammer.
Chen Pingxi’s attack had slammed down on this land with the Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator at the very centre, and its legs were not nearly strong enough to remain extended under the force of the impact. Not just that, but the introduction of such a gargantuan amount of energy-imbued water had also directly extinguished the black flames that it had summoned earlier.
It was an impressive move that could be said to have killed two birds with one stone.
However, San Wanfan could tell that it was not over just yet.
The Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator might have received quite a blow from the Tidal Hammer, but it would take more than that to truly take it down.
Still, one thing was for certain – this Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator was definitely an anomaly!
Sometimes, there were monsters and beasts that managed to acquire special abilities, be it through some fortuitous encounter or through pure enlightenment.
This granted them special characteristics that would usually not be exhibited by others of the same species.
Otherwise, regular Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligators were simply not supposed to be capable of breathing fire, not to mention fire of such destructive power!
The unexpected fire-element attack had completely caught his party by surprise. Most of them had reacted fast enough to put up some basic form of defence, but not all of them were so lucky.
In fact, even those who had put up defences did not escape unscathed.
While the flames on his body had already been extinguished by the Tidal Hammer, San Wanfan could still feel a piercing pain all over, a result from the burns that had resulted.
However, he knew that this could already be considered to have gotten off lucky.
After noticing that the Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator was still recovering from the earlier hit, he quickly rushed over to the party member who was positioned nearest to him.
“Are you all right, Junior Martial Brother Teng?” San Wanfan knelt beside Teng Qi and asked.
Unlike him, Teng Qi had failed to react in time to the Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator’s flames, receiving a direct hit!
While the flames had been put out, the damage had already been done. Covered in burns, Teng Qi weakly looked up at San Wanfan and let out a bitter smile.
“Looks like my time in the mystic realm is up,” Teng Qi struggled to verbalise through the agonising pain. “Please don’t let things end like this for our party.”
“Don’t worry, I will not let your sacrifice be in vain,” San Wanfan said, rage welling up within him. “If not for that Quan bitch, how could we have ended up in such dire straits right now? I assure you that I will avenge this shame by launching a counterattack on them. No matter what it takes, I will make them pay!”
“Mm, I’ll be waiting for your good news...!”
With that, Teng Qi turned into a figure of light before dissipating altogether.
“Don’t just stand around! The Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator is about to recover!” Ye Yuyang shouted. “Hurry up and follow us!”
This time, the Mo Group no longer ignored their warnings.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Gritting his teeth in a mix of indignation and embarrassment, San Wanfan shouted to the rest of his party.
“Retreat!”
***
“Teng Qi activated the jade tablet and is returning!” Zhao Yunxiao announced.
“Senior Martial Brother Teng?” Yuan Shang exclaimed in shock.
“Damn it, yet another one!” Sect Protector Pei cursed before stomping over.
“Physicians!” Fei Weng shouted.
Upon his cue, two physicians rushed over to Teng Qi’s spot, quickly putting up curtains to tend to his severe burn wounds in private.
“What happened?” Sect Protector Pei was as straightforward as before. “Tell me all the details!”
“Is it that bunch from the Vermilion Bird Sect?” Yuan Shang immediately followed up.
“No, that’s not it...” Teng Qi said weakly from behind the curtains. “We encountered a Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator with an anomaly, and I was caught by surprise by its sudden attack. What happened is like this...”
“How could you be this careless!” Sect Protector Pei’s expression darkened after hearing the full story.
Out of the seven members of the party, two had already been eliminated.
It was one thing to be taken out by rival participants, but falling to native monsters should have been avoidable given their numbers!
“It is all because of that Quan bitch,” Teng Qi repeated what San Wanfan had said to him before he left the mystic realm. “If not for the entanglement with them, we would have been able to face the Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator in our best condition. How could such a thing have happened to us then?”
“Exactly! It’s all their fault!” Yuan Shang echoed his sentiments in a voice filled with rage.
“Quan Hui of the Vermilion Bird Sect...” Sect Protector Pei narrowed his eyes.
“But don’t worry,” Teng Qi said. “Before I left, Senior Martial Brother San promised to avenge this injustice by launching a counterattack on them. I’m sure he will make good on his word!”
“Really? That would be a sight to behold!” Yuan Shang was immediately filled with anticipation.
“Launch a counterattack?” Sect Protector Pei felt the corner of his lips twitch. “Is that so?”
Of course, it would be amazing if they could pull off something like that.
It might not be as impressive as how Cheng Kai managed to defeat Sword Finger Qi Yi in a direct duel, but the feat of taking down a core disciple’s party would still be rather significant!
However, was it truly possible for San Wanfan’s party to pull off something like that?
He was not too sure.
Sensing the doubt in Sect Protector Pei’s tone, Teng Qi quickly added in the same weak voice. “I’m sure Senior Martial Brother San has something in mind. In addition, they have Tidal Fairy Chen and the Yin Yang Sword Sisters with them now, so they stand a higher chance that way!”
“Let’s see,” Sect Protector Pei let out a sigh of worry.
He could sense the party members’ trust in San Wanfan, but trust alone was not enough to make things happen.
That said, he would not say anything to dampen their moods either, especially since it would do nothing to improve the situation.
Like he had just said, they could only wait and see what happened next.
Sect Protector Pei was not the only one feeling worried at the moment.
After hearing the story from Teng Qi, Zhao Yunxiao truly felt like cursing out loud right now.
Yes, he felt bad for the Mo Group as well. After all, they had truly been rather unfortunate in terms of their encounters within the Four Symbols Mystic Realm so far.
But at the same time, he had painstakingly come up with a way to help the Mo Group escape from Quan Hui’s party earlier, yet San Wanfan was actually thinking of heading right back?
There had to be a limit to this stupid pride that inner disciples possessed!
Zhao Yunxiao was confident that had it been an outer disciple leading the group, they would never have even considered running back to challenge Quan Hui’s party.
Or at the very least, he would never have entertained such a foolish thought.
Of course, his personal opinions did not matter here.
Right now, he should only be focusing on what he could do to help San Wanfan’s party, and this applied regardless of whether they were being suicidal or not!
All things considered, it was certainly comforting to hear that they had joined up with the participants from the Origin Lake Sect and Flying Swords Hall.
With such a lineup, overcoming the Bloodtoothed Dragon Alligator should not be a problem as long as they worked together earnestly, even if it was an anomaly.
They would not be facing immediate danger for the time being, so he still had some time to think things through.
Zhao Yunxiao turned his attention to Cheng Kai’s jade tablet, which indicated that the latter was stationary at the moment.
Perfect timing.
He gently tapped the talisman placed in front of him, and began to speak calmly into it.
***
Cheng Kai stood atop a small stone hill, using this high vantage point to carefully scan his vicinity.
Unfortunately, there was not much information that he could gather by doing so. No matter which direction he looked, all he could see was an ocean of trees stretching out endlessly into the horizon, blocking out everything underneath with its thick canopy.
He could spot a few lakes and mountains as well, but there was nothing suggesting that they might be home to any treasures.
No light shooting up into the skies.
No energy fluctuations.
Nothing.
As expected, while everyone always said that the Four Symbols Mystic Realm was full of treasures, a significant amount of effort was still required to actually locate them.
Of course, Cheng Kai was not aiming for the treasures themselves.
It was not like he did not like acquiring more treasures either. But more so than that, he actually preferred a good fight to hone his skills. And what better way to do so than by targeting the participants who might be aiming for these treasures?
But from the looks of it, he would have to do it the old-fashioned way again – by aimlessly wandering the mystic realm and hoping that he would come across someone strong.
It was then that he suddenly received an unexpected message from the sect administrators.
[Travel for about two hundred kilometres northwest from the grand oak nest where you challenged Azure Dragon Sect’s Guo Jingrong. There is a group gathered to test themselves against an ancient mural. You should be able to find a worthy opponent there if you hurry.]
Hmm?
Cheng Kai was stumped for a moment before a grin slowly appeared on his face.
He did not know why he was suddenly receiving such a message. But if the sect administrators wanted to help him increase his efficiency in locating worthy opponents, he would definitely welcome this gesture with open arms!
As for confirming whether the instructions were true, there was only one way to do so – by actually following them and finding out for himself.
After all, it was not like he had a better plan right now!