“So that is your answer. Let’s see how much strength you have left with those injuries!”
Lui Yam rolled his sleeves up. He was not holding back anymore.
“Martial soul, descend.”
Blue soul energy surged out of Lui Yam’s body in response to the cry. Arcs of electricity crackled along the soul energy that now engulfed his body. The wind pressure from the energy pushed the grass against the ground, the electric arcs ignited all of the nearby greenery. On a closer look, even Lui Yam’s muscles seemed to be affected by the soul energy. They appeared to contain even more strength within them now.
Tung-Fong Sau Man spoke in a soft voice, “Martial soul, descend.”
Unlike Lui Yam’s soul energy, the energy that seeped out of his body was grey-white and silently wrapped around him. If Lui Yam’s aura was that of a brave general rushing headlong into battle, Tung-Fong Sau Man’s aura was that of a quiet scholar.
This frail scholar slowly walked forward to face his enemy. However, all the grass where he set foot withered and died.
Lui Yam wasted no more words. All he wanted at the moment was to tear the person in front of him into pieces, pieces smaller than the pebbles and sand beneath their feet. And he had to be quick, for fear of any unseen variable interfering.
“Lethality: Lightning Elephant Rush.”
Lightning covered Lui Yam’s entire body, transforming him into a ferocious lightning elephant. The beast charged toward Tung-Fong Sau Man, crossing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He raised his palm and struck the younger man’s chest.
“Lethality: Dragon’s Claw, Crushing Grip.”
Tung-Fong Sau Man did not hold back either. Immense soul energy erupted from his hands and a white dragon claw flew towards Lui Yam. However, Lui Yam did not seem to have any intent to dodge. He simply endured the attack with his tough physique. He could feel the blood in his veins churning uncomfortably, but he powered through and placed his palm on Tung-Fong Sau Man’s chest.
Tung-Fong Sau Man was confused. He felt no power coming from the palm at all. Of course, Lui Yam would not let him off that easily.
“Lethality: A Debt of Ten Thousand Bolts.”
A small lightning ball instantly formed in Lui Yam’s palm which he pressed against Tung-Fong Sau Man’s chest. Lui Yam quickly tumbled away and leapt several dozen metres away.
The lightning ball was very unusual indeed. Tung-Fong Sau Man could not get it away from himself no matter what he did. His face turned dark upon this realisation. Lui Yam did not waste any time. He put both hands together and shouted loudly at Tung-Fong Sau Man, “Lightning’s wrath upon debtors; heaven’s justice in action!”
Boom.
Dark clouds filled the sky in less than a second, thunder rumbling within. It began to drizzle, the droplets soaking Tung-Fong Sau Man’s black robes. He looked up at the thunderclouds with narrowed eyes. He could see the crackling lightning as the clouds gathered power for a devastating attack.
The gaunt scholar could easily sense the vast amounts of lightning soul energy above his head, but the gentle smile on his face remained unfazed. He smiled in the face of the shifting clouds. He looked down at the lightning ball stuck to his chest and let out a laugh.
“A lightning rod, I see. Seems like I won’t be able to avoid this one.”
He raised his right hand and unleashed a defensive move of his own.
“Lethality: Repentance of the Royal Dragon.”
Soul energy surged out of his body in response, causing the robe to flutter loudly. The energy instantly turned into tens of thousands of silver needles around Tung-Fong Sau Man that shielded him entirely. His silhouette instantly vanished from Lui Yam’s view under the needles.
“Fall!”
Lui Yam pressed down with one hand and the black lightning in the skies crashed down violently towards the black-robed figure on the ground, like feral horses broke free from their leash.
Tung-Fong Sau Man took no steps. He stood his ground and looked up at the crashing lightning. He calmly pointed at the lightning and the silver needles all around him rushed forward, determined to intercept every lightning bolt.
Clink, clink, clink.
Metallic ringing persisted without end. Every bolt of the black lightning would shatter dozens of silver needles, but the endless army of needles that followed would overwhelm it and dispel its power entirely. At a single glance, Tung-Fong Sau Man seemed to be dealing with his predicament quite leisurely. He would wave his fingers and the silver needles would move to his will and stop the bolts of lightning.
Every time his silver needles were close to being exhausted, another wave of soul energy would rise from within him, turning into yet another swarm of needles by his side. However, Tung-Fong Sau Man’s face turned increasingly pale with every wave of reinforcements that he conjured; a telling sign that he wasn’t having such an easy time at all.
Dozens of black lightning bolts struck the ground every second, the deafening sound of thunder rumbling across the night sky. This terrifying phenomenon had not only scared away all beasts and critters within five miles, but had also drawn the attention of a particular group of individuals.
There was a party not far away, composed of men and women of varying ages. Judging from their clothes, they seemed to be a gathering of two different groups. Their feet did not touch the ground as they flew through the forest. They weren’t flying very high at all; some of the frailer trees were even uprooted by the winds conjured by their movements.
A man in sky-blue robes stared at the lightning storm in the distance and shouted out loud at the others, “Faster!”
“Understood.”
The party led by him unleashed even more soul energy and accelerated forward. The other group immediately hastened upon seeing this.
The storm lasted for two entire minutes. Even Lui Yam was showing signs of fatigue now. It seemed like the move earlier had drained him substantially as well. In truth, he had already battled Tung-Fong Sau Man a little earlier and had succeeded in injuring him grievously. The supply of soul energy within him was already running low, and his meridians were even more empty now.
Lui Yam grasped the opportunity upon seeing the silver needles fade from Tung-Fong Sau Man’s side.
“Lethality: Lightning Wolves’ Thousand-Mile Hunt.”
Dozens of lightning wolves formed out of the soul energy and sprinted toward Tung-Fong Sau Man.
“Lethality: Vile Turbulence.” Tung-Fong Sau Man waved his hand. Foul, grey-white energy erupted from his sleeves, instantly corroding all the lightning wolves. What remained of the energy rushed toward Lui Yam.
“Lethality: Lightning Sparrows’ Gratitude of Ten-Thousand Miles.” Lui Yam converted his soul energy into liquid electricity and cast it forward. The liquid electricity instantly turned into hundreds of lightning sparrows. They neutralised the foul energy and swooped down at the enemy; a debt of gratitude to be repaid.
“Lethality: Vile Guardian’s Armoury.”
Tung-Fong Sau Man converted his own soul energy into a foul liquid and cast it forward as well. They transformed into countless weapons; knives, spears, swords, staffs and more. Over three hundred weapons stood guard beside him, an armoury of the highest calibre!
Clang, clang, clang.
Just like the Debt of Ten Thousand Bolts from earlier, the lightning sparrows vanished cleanly into thin air upon clashing with the weapons.
Lui Yam could not accept this result. His precious daughter had always been a precocious girl from a very young age. Naughty at times, perhaps, but she would never have strayed from the proper path.
It was all the fault of this imbecile. His rage would not be pacified if he didn’t kill this man. Unfortunately, the commotion from earlier would definitely have drawn the attention of those people. At the very least, if he couldn’t kill him, he was resolved to strip him of all his cultivation powers.
Lui Yam rallied the rest of his soul energy and made a seal with his hands. He shouted once more, “Lethality: Thousand Lightning’s Decree.”
Soul energy continued to surge to his hand, but it wasn’t enough. Thunderclouds gathered in the air again, even more menacing and dangerous than before. Lui Yam wanted nothing more than to kill Tung-Fong Sau Man where he stood. To that end, he wrung out every last inch of soul energy left in his veins. He had decided to end this fight with this one move; damn the consequences!
A person’s meridians were pathways for energy to circulate through the body. They were rather fragile; even the slightest mistake could damage the meridians. However, at the same time, they were strong enough to allow immense quantities of soul energy to pass through. The act of squeezing the remaining soul energy out of the meridians was not a wise one. Meridians without soul energy were akin to blood vessels without blood flowing through them. The results were obvious.
“Thunderclouds gather at my call. The spirit of lightning; the bane of man. Wrath returned in kind. O, heed me, God of Thunder! Obey my decree!”
Lui Yam’s words were as deafening as the crackling thunder. Varicose veins bulged on his arms, clear for all to see, a sign of his blazing anger.
“Ah.” Tung-Fong Sau Man could sense his dwindling reserve of soul energy. He sighed softly. “It seems like there is no running from this one. I only regret not being able to see Ching one more time, or watch little Fan grow up.”
Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something. He hit his own forehead in frustration.
“I can’t believe I forgot to tell Ching Yeung little Fan’s name.”
He shook his head, as if blaming himself for the mistake. But this was no time to reflect on mistakes. His tightly gripped fists loosened and he used the last of his strength to gather the last of his soul energy. He raised one hand up high and yelled, “Lethality: Ten Thousand Feet Tall, The Forbidden Realm of the Dragon Palace.”
A palace carved of grey jade rose from the ground, reaching towards the sky. It was grand and majestic, like the dragon palace of legends. This was Tung-Fong Sau Man’s final line of defence, a fortress that denied entry to monsters and demons of all realms!
The dragon palace was daunting and fearsome, but it came at a cost. The moment the palace was fully formed, a sharp pain shot through Tung-Fong Sau Man’s heart.
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