Chapter 48 – Shamed Into Anger

“Why are you trying to kill us?” Seeing that Lu Chengye wasn’t saying anything else and was about to take action, Fang Yang quickly spoke out.

Talking too much led to a villain’s death. This truth could be understood by reading more books and listening to more stories.

It wasn’t that Lu Chengye didn’t know this, but just like every villain with this knowledge, he couldn’t help showing off when faced with a secure victory.

Lu Chengye raised his chin and said haughtily: “Do you even need to ask? Fang Yang, there is actually no deep grudge between us. At most, you opposed me, and I destroyed half your cultivation in return. Our debt is settled.”

“Are you the one who told someone to put the Blazing Sun Flower in my bowl?” Fang Yang asked in a tone of surprise.

“You’ve only realized it just now? Hahaha, how have you survived until today when you’re this stupid?” His poisoning had been exposed, but Lu Chengye wasn’t flustered at all. Instead, he regarded Fang Yang with disdain and shook his head with a sigh, as if regretting that this youth had been born with looks but no brain.

“You!” Fang Yang shouted furiously, gripping the hilt of his sword.

“But!” Lu Chengye’s voice suddenly rose, drowning out Fang Yang. He continued in a cold tone: “Who told your useless shixiong to humiliate me that day? It’s obvious that he won through luck – it was an unfair victory! As a result, he’s the object of everyone’s admiration while I, the real champion, have become a joke!”

Blocked behind Fang Yang, Cao Zirui was moved when he heard this, and finally remembered who Lu Chengye was. It turned out that he was the final champion during the Foundation Establishment tournament that day.

And the useless shixiong Lu Chengye had mentioned should be the junior disciple Feng Ye, whose swordsmanship was so exquisite that his own couldn’t match it.

Feng Ye’s victory over Lu Chengye had not just been luck. Cao Zirui had clearly seen that there was nothing wrong with Lu Chengye’s sword – it had broken entirely because of Feng Ye’s repeated attacks.

But although he knew this, he didn’t refute Lu Chengye at this moment. If he angered the other party, Lu Chengye might just kill them directly.

Although buying time wouldn’t provide a solution to their current crisis, it was better to delay as long as possible.

Thus, Cao Zirui simply remained standing behind Fang Yang while secretly regulating his spiritual power.

“By poisoning me, weren’t you trying to prevent me from participating in the afternoon competition?” After Fang Yang learned that it was Lu Chengye who’d poisoned him, it was also easy to guess his reasoning. 

It was precisely because he felt that he had a strong rival, and wanted to block his way to the championship.

“You’re a waste!” Fang Yang said coldly. “You didn’t even have the courage to confront me head-on, yet you have the nerve to say that someone else won unfairly!”

When he heard this, Lu Chengye clenched his fingers so tightly that his knuckles cracked. Fang Yang had hit the nail on the head, and he was shamed into anger, veins popping out on his forehead.

However, just as he was about to lose control, he suddenly calmed down and donned a mocking smile once again: “Whatever you say. Since you’re about to die, shouldn’t I allow you some last words?”

“There’s no deep grudge between you and me. If you need to blame something, just blame your bad luck. Who told you to hang around Feng Ye when there are so many other people you could spend time with?” As Lu Chengye spoke, he raised the hand holding the golden arrow, as if preparing to take action.

Not good. I haven’t delayed long enough, Fang Yang thought. The Mysterious Big Brother had fallen silent after telling him to buy some time, and he had no idea what to do next.

He asked him silently in his spiritual consciousness, but there was no answer.

It couldn’t be that he fell asleep again, right?

Of course Feng Ye hadn’t fallen asleep. It would be strange if he was able to.

The battle on land had not yet begun, but three hundred meters under the sea, the battle horn had already sounded.

The tentacles surrounding Feng Ye were spread out like chrysanthemum petals, and had closed in while Fang Yang was talking to Lu Chengye.

Feng Ye was trapped inside a cage of continuously constricting tentacles. Once the opening and closing suckers came into contact with his skin, they would inevitably begin to tear off swathes of flesh.

And he was unarmed, lacking even a sword to cut off the tentacles.

The situation seemed to be getting worse.

They hadn’t expected it to be so easy. The monsters gathered here, represented by the octopus, had thought that the person a god had sent them to kill would be very difficult to deal with.

Who could have expected that this human would be helpless in the deep sea, and was about to be eaten by the octopus without them even having to lift a fin?

Most of the monsters held this opinion, convinced of their impending victory. Except for a black fish mingling amongst the group of monsters, yet not fitting in with them at all.

Sea creatures were generally larger than those that lived on land, due to the buoyancy of the sea reducing the burden of weight on the body.

And the monsters living in the sea were more powerful than ordinary marine fish, as well as several times larger. The octopus encircling Feng Ye had tentacles that stretched dozens of meters long, and its body was as large as an adult sperm whale.

This black fish stood out amongst the group of monsters, each one bigger than the other.

Not because it was slim.

This black fish was more like a whale than a fish. He didn’t have scales like fish do, just smooth, slick skin over a thick layer of fat.

This black fish had the size and appearance of a normal whale. Although it was unknown what type of whale it was, it did look similar to the creature people were familiar with.

Moreover, there was no fluctuation of spiritual energy within its body. It looked like an ordinary, innocent fish that had swum into the wrong set. 

However, the other monsters didn’t dare to get within a few meters of it, deliberately avoiding the area around the black fish. If a monster approached even accidentally, it would immediately retreat far away as soon as it noticed.

Of course, there was no fish other than Hao Chen who could instill such fear in monsters that were used to dominating the depths of the sea. 

This wasn’t his true form, but an incarnation formed from a piece of fan bone. This fan bone could transform into a crow on land, and a black whale in the sea.

Due to this, he was able to keep his body size within an inconspicuous range and sneakily blend into the group of monsters encroaching on Feng Ye.

Otherwise, if he actually transformed into his true self, this small floating island would likely be directly submerged beneath the resulting tsunami caused by his transformation into a Kun.

And Hao Chen didn’t want to reveal his identity so prematurely. His true form was so enormous that it would be nearly impossible not to see it, and he was more or less aware of this.

Taking all factors into consideration, using an incarnation to follow the monsters and observe was the best option. As for his human form, he was still floating far away in the sea with his eyes slightly closed, controlling the movements of the black fish with his spiritual consciousness. 

He saw Feng Ye become trapped unawares in a cage made of octopus tentacles, his fate undetermined.

The black fish floating quietly in the sea couldn’t help but wave its tail anxiously. He had said to “kill him without mercy,” but in fact, those were empty words.

It would be difficult to relieve the feeling of being “made a fool of” without saying a few harsh words. But the words had indeed been spoken, and his anger had subsided.

He didn’t want Feng Ye to die. There were so many mysteries surrounding this person, and he was so interesting. If he died like this, wouldn’t Hao Chen have to return to the frozen North Sea and sleep out of boredom?

But he did not withdraw his command. The strongest of these monsters was only at Nascent Soul stage, which Feng Ye should be able to handle. This was a good opportunity to test his strength.

He had been watching with this in mind, but unexpectedly, the cage formed by the octopus’s tentacles kept shrinking, but Feng Ye showed no sign of escaping.

The black fish’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. Could it be that he had misjudged Feng Ye’s strength? Or was this fellow unable to swim blindly in this dark sea, with no ability to fight back? 

If that was the case…..should he go and rescue him?

The body always reacted faster than the brain. Before he could come up with an answer, his tail had already swung twice and propelled him forward a few meters.

But before he could actually make a move, the seawater suddenly became turbulent.

The source of the turbulence was the octopus that had trapped Feng Ye. Its tentacles spread out again, and its furious voice was transmitted through its sea of consciousness to every monster present: “He got away!”

Got away? The black fish looked at the octopus’s tentacles in surprise. They were empty but for a few golden wisps that were eye-catching in the deep, dark sea.

This was an array that had triggered and was about to dissipate.

“A teleportation array.” Hao Chen recognized the function of this array. When Feng Ye was trapped by the tentacles, it had seemed that the situation couldn’t get any worse.

But inside that cage, he was also isolated from sight. In a short period of time, he had drawn a teleportation array and escaped from danger without anyone noticing.

After a brief moment of surprise, Hao Chen’s mood turned into joy. He had been right about this person.

But this was far from over. Hao Chen had come here with the intention of taking off Feng Ye’s mask, so how could Feng Ye escape so easily?

The speed of a teleportation array was fast, but its distance was very limited. He must still be nearby. Perhaps he had used some means to conceal his aura, so all of the monsters, including Hao Chen were unable to locate him.

Hao Chen told this to the octopus using his spiritual consciousness. Upon receiving its orders, the octopus immediately commanded the other monsters to search the sea cun by cun.

The calm seawater grew turbulent as monsters of all sizes shuttled out to search the sea.

The black fish was also observing his surroundings. He wasn’t like the other monsters, which were running around everywhere – he was more like a general sitting in the center of the army, overlooking the entire situation.

Where would Feng Ye have gone? Hao Chen thought as he felt the turbulent seawater all around him. The currents caused by the monsters’ movements were so numerous and chaotic that it was difficult to read them.

Suddenly, there was a slight ripple above him. Hao Chen didn’t take it seriously at first, thinking that a monster had happened to swim above him.

However, the ripples were getting closer and closer, only three meters away from him.

Which monster is bold enough to approach me? The black fish thought in amazement.

Before he could figure it out, the monster made an even bolder move.

It stood on the black fish’s back.

As the Lord of the North Sea, Hao Chen would not allow any creature to stand on his back, even if the black fish was merely an insignificant incarnation. But this time, contrary to his normal response, he didn’t throw that person off in a rage. Because that was not a monster, but Feng Ye under an invisibility array.

Hao Chen: “…..”

The fish’s dark face went slack, as if it had seen a ghost.

Feng Ye hadn’t gone elsewhere. He had come right to him.

Was this a case of destiny bringing people together, or a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road?

Actually, neither was true, because this wasn’t a coincidence.

Just as Hao Chen had thought, the distance of the teleportation array Feng Ye had drawn was limited, and it was impossible for him to directly escape the encirclement of this group of monsters.

But he didn’t have much time to waste here. Although he had told Fang Yang to buy time, Lu Chengye could take action at any moment, so he had to reach land as soon as possible.

He certainly didn’t want to fight this group of monsters head-on, as it would be too time-consuming. Thus, Feng Ye had come up with this idea. He would activate the invisibility array at the same time as the teleportation array and leave here quietly.

And the reason he approached Hao Chen was simply because this was the only area where no monsters were roaming. Everywhere else, monsters of all sizes were searching for traces of him.

Only here did the monsters refuse to even approach.

Therefore, Feng Ye inevitably encountered the black fish that Hao Chen had transformed into.

Feng Ye looked carefully at the black fish floating agreeably in the water under his feet, drifting with the current.

On the surface, this black fish truly looked like an ordinary whale, with no trace of spiritual power at all.

Such whales could be found everywhere in the vast ocean, and were not uncommon. The one under his feet also looked commonplace. 

But floating alone in such a sea while surrounded by monsters was the biggest abnormality. When things went against the norm, there must be a culprit. There had to be a problem with this black fish.

And even when he stepped on its back, it didn’t react at all, which once again confirmed Feng Ye’s conjecture.

Considering that the monsters dared not approach the black fish, it wasn’t difficult to infer that it was the culprit that had gathered the group of monsters.

Otherwise, how could it have been so quiet when Feng Ye came here, yet he was surrounded by so many monsters when he left?

The more Feng Ye thought about it, the more certain he became. His only point of confusion was that he had just arrived and there were no grudges between him and the fish, so why had it chosen to seek him out?

Wait. Feng Ye suddenly realized what the problem was. He had no grudges with the fish of the Floating Island Secret Realm, but the same could not be said for a certain seafood from the North Sea.

Feng Ye suddenly half-crouched beside the fish’s erect dorsal fin, soft, elastic skin under his feet.

He called out tentatively to the black fish: “Hao Chen?”

The skin that had been soft just now immediately tightened, and the tail that would occasionally wave in the water went still.

The black fish seemed to have fallen under a petrification spell, turning into a statue in an instant.

Feng Ye: “…..”

There was no answer, but his reaction said it all.

His eyelid twitched as he stared at the black fish under his feet. He had never thought that the sticky candy he thought he’d gotten rid of would return in such a way.

In a place beyond Feng Ye’s sight, a hint of struggle finally manifested on Hao Chen’s fish face. Feng Ye had yet to drop his disguise, but his own was the first to be seen through.

No! No way!

He couldn’t admit it like this!

So after a brief moment of stiffness, the originally docile and well-behaved black fish suddenly became violent.

He twisted his body vigorously, attempting to throw Feng Ye off his back.

Feng Ye quickly hugged the fish’s body and explained to Hao Chen, who was furious at his identity being exposed: “Listen to me first, I’m in a hurry…..”

Would a person who was shamed to anger listen to him?

Of course not.

The black fish had made up his mind: Not listening, not listening. He twisted his body even harder, rushing around in the sea.

Although the black fish was not slender, it swam surprisingly fast. Feng Ye used all of his limbs to cling tightly to the fish, but the skin with a thick underlayer of fat was so slippery that he had nothing to hold onto.

He was immediately thrown off by Hao Chen, and the commotion here was naturally not hidden from the eyes and ears of the other monsters.

They received orders from Hao Chen and swam over quickly, surrounding Feng Ye.

Hideous, terrifying tentacles blocked Feng Ye’s way again as a wide-open fish mouth filled with sharp teeth attacked him from behind.

He hadn’t escaped after all. Feng Ye looked at the group of monsters surrounding him, as well as the black fish hiding behind them with its tail wagging, and thought with some impatience, It seems this battle is inevitable.

On land, Fang Yang racked his brains for ways to buy time, as Feng Ye was occupied and unable to respond to him.

He once again interrupted Lu Chengye before he could take action: “You have a reason to kill me, but what about him?” As he spoke, he gestured with his eyes toward Cao Zirui behind him.

Lu Chengye subconsciously followed his gaze and answered: “It’s because…..” But just as he was about to say it, he remembered Xue Ren’s repeated warnings that he must not reveal his hand in this.

But was there anything that couldn’t be said to two people who were as good as dead? Lu Chengye didn’t speak this opinion out loud, because Xue Ren had forced him to take an oath, and if he revealed it, his meridians would be severed and his life would be forfeit.

And this had been dragging on for so long that he was a little impatient. If he could get rid of these two sooner, he would have more time to search for treasures. He couldn’t return empty-handed from this trip to the Floating Island Secret Realm, right?

So after his aborted sentence, Lu Chengye suddenly laughed, his smile filled with icy killing intent: “Ask the King of Hell!”

He immediately took an ancient wooden bow engraved with an unknown red totem from his storage bag. Then he placed the golden arrow on the bow and drew it back.

The bow had no string, but when the fingers were placed where the bowstring should be, the dim red totem flared brighter and brighter like burning charcoal.

As Lu Chengye’s fingers holding the tail of the golden arrow drew back, the totem blazed even more intensely, until it caught fire.

The raging fire was transmitted to the arrow through the stringless bow, and this magic weapon, which was supposed to be only earth-grade, immediately gained a terrifying power that far exceeded that of its peers.

Enormous, destructive spiritual power gathered on the arrow and spread in all directions.

The arrow had not yet left the bow, but Fang Yang was overwhelmed by its intimidating aura. His mind went blank as he stood there foolishly.

“Run!” Feng Ye grabbed the tentacle lashing toward him with one hand, raising his head to shout at Fang Yang three hundred meters away.

Fang Yang returned to his senses at this shout, and he realized he had broken into a cold sweat as he stared at the golden arrow.

Considering the destructive force of the golden arrow when it pierced the ground just now, he definitely wouldn’t be able to stand against it!

Lu Chengye’s bow was almost fully drawn, and the flames burned more and more fiercely. The arrow was about to leave its invisible string.

Fang Yang grabbed the hand of the petrified Cao Zirui and turned around to flee.

And the moment they turned around, the bow bent into a full moon, and the arrow was released.

The flames reappeared. Fang Yang turned back while running, and his dilated pupils reflected the arrow that had flown to within a meter of him in the blink of an eye.

Due to the close distance, the small arrow tip was magnified several times in his eyes, lighting up his dark pupils in orange and red. The youth’s slender body was about to be engulfed in raging, destructive fire.

His life was hanging by a thread.

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Chapter 47 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 49