Chapter 122: Mage vs. Cultivator

"I believe it is my turn now"

Hearing Cao Man's words, the two who were measuring each other both sighed. They then retracted their weapons and bowed towards each other.

"It is my loss", the Dao Ming Zhu said.

"No, I am sure if it continued, I would have been the one to perish", Azurite said. He then looked towards Cao Man, "Would you also allow me to rest?"

"Sure", Cao Man replied nonchalantly.

It only took a few breaths before Azurite once again picked up his shield and readied his stance. "I am ready"

Hearing this, Cao Man summoned his golden staff.

The two did not exchange formalities, as they only nodded at each other. Cao Man was the first to strike, his feet leaving marks on the floor as he rushed straight towards Azurite. And with only two meters separating them, Cao Man swung his staff.

Azurite quickly raised his shield to block the oncoming attack.

But his shield suddenly disappeared again.

"What!?" was Azurite's final word before the staff slammed directly on his helmet.

"!!!"

Azurite's whole body flew as his head took the full impact of the golden staff.

His body did not stop flying until it hit the wall, head first.

The impact from the staff and the wall completely made Azurite blacked out for a second. The moment his vision returned, he once again saw a golden circle blocking his eyes.

He swiftly ducked down and grabbed the staff, trying to swing it over his body in an attempt to throw Cao Man. But as soon as Azurite felt the staff on his hand, it disappeared. This caused him to lose balance and once again slam himself to the wall.

The other Elders laughed at his display of clumsiness.

Cao Man, however, did not even pause as he once again summoned his golden staff. He rotated his body, using its momentum to hit the groggy Azurite, making him fly to the side and almost falling to the hole that was created by Princess Sofia and the Matriarch.

"This world truly is intriguing", Cao Man finally stopped his relentless attacks as he slowly approached Azurite. "Artifacts don't exist here. Items that are bound by blood"

"One can not summon his weapon or store it inside his Sea of Qi if he wishes to", he continued, "But, at least honor exists, right?

...Wrong"

As soon as he said that, another Elder suddenly appeared in front of the stunned Azurite. It was Bu Fang, the tall Elder that was also in Karl's party. Azurite's vision was still blurry due to the hit he took on his head.

And without even waiting for Azurite to recover, Bu Fang grabbed his ankles and swung him to the wall, creating another hole. Weirdly enough, this fully woke Azurite.

With his vision completely returning, Azurite quickly grabbed the biggest flying debris that came from the crashing wall he could reach for. And once Bu Fang's swing returned him inside the tower, he folded his knees with force. He then used the swing's momentum to slam the debris he was holding straight to Bu Fang's head.

The grip on Azurite's foot instantly loosened as the huge debris exploded on Bu Fang's face. Bu Fang flew almost a dozen meters, rolling on the ground like a rag doll. But he recovered himself before he could hit a wall.

With Bu Fang and Cao Man slightly shocked with his counter attack, Azurite was finally able to catch his breath. But it was short lived, as the first Elder he fought, Xiao Luli, slammed her shield straight to his head, causing his helmet to fly away.

Azurite's ears ringed as the vibrations from his helmet caused him to become discombobulated. He did not even feel the next attack that came from Cao Man's golden staff.

Cao Man's staff slammed towards Azurite's jaw. A loud snap resounded in the air as his jaw was instantly dislocated from the force of the staff.

And soon, Bu Fang also joined in taking turns on hitting the poor Azurite.

Dao Ming Zhu, Azurite's 2nd opponent, could not help but sigh as a worthy adversary was reduced to a play thing. He had no plans to stop them, though.

It is unfair, true, but he is still an enemy. But to be able to still fight back even when three Elders ganged up and tricked him, that was already a testament of his strength.

But alas, his fate was sealed as soon as the most deceitful of them all, Cao Man, became his opponent. Cao Man was the kind of man that thinks that result is the only thing that mattered.

It will take a divine intervention for Azurite to even walk out of this alive.

"Well…"

Call it divine intervention if you must. But it was then that a chilly and unfamiliar voice echoed throughout the room,

"Well, this isn't really fair, is it?"

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice resounded in the room, instantly making the three elders stop their relentless attacks against the bloodied Azurite.

"Sister Xing Cai really will be disappointed seeing her companions like this. Ay, this should be called Cheating Pavilion instead"

"Who is there!?", Xiao Luli quickly threw her shield towards the direction of the voice, the throne.

They all looked at the flying shield until it was casually swatted away.

"What…"

"It's him!", Bu Fang quickly raised his fingers and pointed at the young man that was suddenly sitting on the throne.

"Ha? You know him?", the other Elders were confused with the sudden appearance of a golden-haired boy.

"It's Xing Cai's brother!"

"The boy that Sect Master Li Xue mentioned!?", one of the Elders hollered.

"Shhh!", another Elder covered his mouth, "The Matriarch might hear us!"

"The Matriarch is busy fighting. Don't be over dramatic!"

"Since… when was he sitting there?"

"...", with the final question, the Elders finally closed their mouths. Since when? They did not even detect anyone coming in.

Azurite Paladin though, could not help but feel relieved as their reinforcement was finally here. And so, with a slight smile from his face, he finally let himself fall into unconsciousness.

Cao Man, however, was already slowly backing away. He knew how abnormal this boy was, he did not want to be here for what happens next.

But before he could even take his third step, Viel stood from the throne.

"How about a fair match, then?", Viel said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Whether you fight me or… I forgot the rest of the line", Viel shook his head, "J-just come, all of you. You don't have to worry…

...even the outcome of time will not change"

***

"Interesting"

The Matriarch's long black hair waved in the wind like silk, her hand placed on her chin as she looked at the spectacled woman floating in front of her with curiosity.

"How old are you?", she asked, "I envy the people of this realm. To reach the same strength as you have, the normal cultivators of my realm will have to spend centuries, even the ones from the west. This magic of yours is similar to theirs, but at the same time, different"

Princess Sofia, who was currently inside her flying bubble, chuckled in reply.

"I share the same sentiment, Matriarch. I also find your people very interesting. More interesting than the elves, in fact.", Princess Sofia smiled, "I can't wait to dissect you once this is over"

The Matriarch also smiled, but she suddenly disappeared from her position as a thunderous explosion resounded in the air.

Sofia quickly reinforced her bubble for the Matriarch's incoming attack. The sound of the Matriarch's golden robes cracked as she suddenly appeared on top of Sofia's bubble. And then, another explosion reverberated in the air as the Matriarch slammed her palm straight down towards Sofia's bubble.

Sofia's bubble was slightly squashed in the air. It wobbled snappily a dozen times in just a fraction of a second before it flew downwards straight to the ground, causing a huge crater to ripple on the ground.

The ones that were unfortunate enough to be near where the bubble landed, were crushed to death by the wave that the crater made.

The ones that were still watching inside the village immediately started to run away in panic. If only they did not stay and watch what the commotion was all about, maybe the ones that were crushed would still be alive. But alas, curiosity always has a price.

Sofia's bubble slowly disappeared as she casted a wind spell to push out all the dust that was covering her vision.

"Sorry about that", slowly, the Matriarch descended to the ground a few meters away from her, "I don't like fighting in the air"

Hearing this, Sofia's smile turned wider. "That was a mistake"

As she said this, the ground beneath the Matriarch quaked. And like a ravenous wolf, it opened up and swallowed the Matriarch whole. But the mouth of the wolf quickly exploded, revealing a laughter as the unfazed Matriarch smiled towards Sofia, and with a mocking tone, she slowly said,

"Is. That. All?"