CH 60

Dark clouds were surging, thousands of tiny raindrops were continuously falling from the murky sky, and the wind howled as the soaked branches and leaves swayed back and forth, making a strange rustling noise. At this time, two hazy shadows were pursuing each other at extreme speed, jumping and shuttling rapidly throughout the treetops.

Xiao Yu’s footsteps came to a halt as he stepped on a wet tree trunk, turned around sharply, and drew out his blade. The cyan light of the luminous beast blade shook the surrounding area, tearing the void as tiny drops of water flew from the tip of the blade. The sharp light of the weapon cut through the raindrops heading for his opponent. All the leaves in front of him were crushed, and the weapon’s wind swept up the broken leaves and raindrops from the sky and showered them on Zhao Changping, who was following him closely. The latter hovered in the air for a few moments before stopping his forward momentum, and his body fell quickly, eventually stepping on the trunk of another large tree.

Zhao Changping looked at Xiao Yu with surprise in his eyes and said, “You are a first-order warrior.”

Xiao Yu said lightly, “You too.”

Zhao Changping showed a curious smile and said, “You are really arrogant, but you have the ability to be so. I just chased you down at full speed, yet you don’t look tired. Your strength should have reached the middle stage of the first order.”

Zhao Changping was also a first-order warrior, albeit at the low stage, as it didn’t look like it had been long since he advanced. Xiao Yu’s strength was close to the middle stage of the first order but not quite there just yet. The main reason why he was much faster than Zhao Changping was that he could instantly identify the right angle for leaping and ejecting with his eyes of insight. Furthermore, the ghost cloak could reduce his weight to a certain degree, and the wind boots could boost his movement speed; just now, amidst the chase, he was only using 70% to 80% of his full speed.

“If you want to fight, fight; there’s no need to spout nonsense.”

“Very well.” Zhao Changping was not angry and raised the four-foot-long sword in his hand, “This sword is called the ‘rock cleaving sword’. a white-grade weapon. It is very sharp, so you have to be careful!”.

This Zhao Changping is quite an interesting character; he actually introduced his own weapon before starting the fight, just like a hero.

Xiao Yu’s strength was just a bit higher than Zhao Changping’s, but the famous “Thunder War God” innate skill was by no means inferior to his own; he dared not have any thoughts of underestimating the enemy.

Zhao Changping wanted to say something again, but he couldn’t say a word. The figure of Xiao Yu in front of him suddenly flickered, turned into an afterimage, and disappeared as many water droplets flew around. A sharp whistling sound came from the side. Zhao Changping’s face changed, he squatted down, and the sharp cyan blade slashed across the top of his head, splitting the thick tree trunk in half as it fell down with a bang.

“so fast!”

It was also the first time that Zhao Changping met someone as powerful as Xiao Yu, and his heart suddenly became full of fighting spirit. He held the sword in both hands and met the blade as it fell on his head. When the two weapons collided, a surge of air raced in all directions, blowing away the wet leaves. Following a rattling sound, the immense power crushed the branches beneath Zhao Changping’s feet, and he plummeted tens of meters in height.

Xiao Yu leaped and landed on a nearby big tree, lying on the straight trunk at ninety degrees like a spider; he suddenly exerted force in his lower body, and his feet left two deep footprints on the trunk, propelling himself forwards. He then shot out like a bullet at Zhao Changping, who was falling in the air. However, although the latter was in midair, he reacted quickly and swung his sword to block the attack.

With a clang of iron hitting iron, Zhao Changping was pushed away by a huge force. Xiao Yu stepped on another big tree and swung his blade again to slash at his opponent, who had yet to find his footing.

Zhao Changping was taken aback.

This young man is really powerful; he has perfected the angle and timing of his attacks. Holding back is impossible.

He didn’t hesitate, and he roared. The long sword made a strange shrill sound before striking Xiao Yu, who was approaching from the skies.

Xiao Yu’s pupils contracted instantly. Feeling something amiss in his heart, he immediately withdrew his blade and retreated, Zhao Changping’s sword edge barely brushing past his clothes. Xiao Yu’s field of vision instantly turned dark, and he nearly collapsed. His opponent immediately took the opportunity to swing the long sword that was making a buzzing noise and stab him again. Xiao Yu dared not block, and he dodged in a hurry.

He could feel an electric current covering his whole body.

He has electricity on his sword!

Xiao Yu was keenly aware of that feeling just now; it was precisely the feeling of being shocked by an electric charge. Zhao Changping really deserved the title of “Thunder War God”. 

This must be his innate ability. It was indeed thunder and lightning. 

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Yu might not be scared. Still, in the current setting, where water shrouded everything, Zhao Changping could be said to have chosen the right time and place, as the power of his skills could be maximized over here. His abilities were simply impossible to guard against.

Zhao Changping’s long sword was still humming slightly, and occasionally he could see a trace of an electric arc flashing across the sword. Suddenly more electric arcs appeared on both sides of the weapon, and the other party suddenly accelerated and rushed toward Xiao Yu in a flash. Wielding a long flashing sword, he chopped down.

Before the long sword could even reach his body, Xiao Yu was engulfed by a tremendous electric current that covered his entire body; his hands and feet instantly turned numb.

Xiao Yu took a step back, and while avoiding the attack, he swung his blade and slashed at a tricky angle. Zhao Changping was fearless; he held his sword to block Xiao Yu’s weapon. The energy contained in the long sword, full of lightning power, was incredible. Xiao Yu had no doubt that once his blade touched the lightning sword, even if the powerful electric current did not make him faint, it would at least make him lose his fighting power for an instant.

In a battle between two experts, even a small delay could be fatal.

Xiao Yu shook his hand, and the blade flipped flexibly to miss the edge of the sword barely. A cyan light then extended out from the blade and slashed at Zhao Changping’s chest. The latter was wearing white-grade armor with a first-rank “physical protection” magic circle engraved on it. The cyan blade cut the armor, leaving a deep gash, but Zhao Changping was left unharmed.

On the contrary, as a result of this strike, Zhao Changping seized a gap, and the long sword blessed with lightning power scurried up and down like a dangerous poisonous snake, seeking an opening to inflict a lethal blow on its opponent. What Zhao Changping didn’t expect was that the opponent could always see through his own attacks in an instant, causing his strikes to fail repeatedly, which made him feel both amazed and frustrated at the same time.

Zhao Changping’s ability was “Lightning Mastery”, which was similar to but much more powerful than Yun Yun’s “Fire Elemental Enhancement”, and the ability could persist for an extended period in battles.

After more than a dozen rounds of exchange, the two sides had reached a stalemate, with neither side having the upper hand.

Xiao Yu dodged a slash again, but Zhao Changping didn’t stop. Instead, he immediately raised his sword and stabbed again, making the electric current covering Xiao Yu’s body much more potent, leaving his hands and feet numb. This situation was obviously not favorable for Xiao Yu, so he gritted his teeth and forced the other party to pull and jump back; he took several leaps, retreated twenty to thirty meters, and stood on a tall tree with both feet.

Zhao Changping laughed out loud. However, just when he was about to leap out and attack Xiao Yu again, he noticed that the latter had suddenly lowered his right arm, which was holding the blade, and gently lifted his left hand as an incomparably hot energy started condensing in his palm. When Zhao Changping saw this, his eyelids twitched slightly, his heartbeat quickened, and he didn’t dare act carelessly.

The force of the scorching flame swiftly accumulated to form a head-sized burning fireball that rotated at high speed. Layers of burning energy spread in all directions, and a coating of rainwater quickly evaporated into mist in the surrounding area. Next, the fireball shrank violently, compressing and folding into a ping-pong ball-sized fire. Then, under the control of Xiao Yu’s spiritual power, the fireball blasted out of his palm and flew in an arc through the air, right toward Zhao Changping.

Zhao Changping’s complexion suddenly changed. He felt an unprecedented sense of crisis and jumped away with all his might. The fireball exploded right where he was standing moments ago. The sound of the violent explosion was deafening, and layers of hot air waves set off a furious gust of wind that raged amidst the trees and caused a large number of leaves to be blown off one after the other. A large crater with a radius of several meters was blown out on the ground. The area was covered with hot air and steam, making it foggy.

The “Blast Flame” skill was a second-rank fire attribute magic. Although Zhao Changping was not hit head-on, he was still affected. His armor, which was engraved with first-rank “physical protection”, was damaged in many places, and he himself suffered some minor injuries.

“Amazing!” Zhao Changping turned pale, “I’ve never seen such powerful magic!”

Xiao Yu said flatly: “Your ability is also good; I’ve never been at a disadvantage in melee combat, yet I wouldn’t dare confront you in close quarters.”

Zhao Changping took a deep breath and said, “Young man, your strength is indeed incredible; you’re much more powerful than I imagined!” His tone suddenly changed, and he continued: “I can probably guess the reason why you’ve killed Black Bear. Actually, I don’t blame you for doing so because even if he didn’t die in your hands, I would’ve sent him to hell on my own. However, Due to Black Bear’s status and my position, it was always difficult to find a reasonable excuse and timing to finish him off; in a sense, I should thank you.”

Xiao Yu showed a weird expression, “What do you mean by that? Are you trying to reach an agreement?”

“Why not? Even though I have the best conditions for my powers, I still couldn’t do anything to you. My strength is indeed not as good as yours.” Zhao Changping was very calm and added, “But at the same time, even if I lose against you, it will be difficult for you to kill me. I fought you merely to put up a show for Black Bear’s henchmen lest they start causing problems in the camp. I don’t believe you are a true villain, though this kind of meaningless battle was really worth it; perhaps we can cooperate.”

Xiao Yu was a little surprised and said, “What kind of cooperation?”

Zhao Changping nodded and said, “This camp is full of filth, similar to Black Bear. They and their followers wreak havoc all day long, stealing food and raping women. They are worse than beasts and the root of the disaster; unfortunately, I arrived at the camp later, so my foundation is insufficient to take action; therefore, please step forward and help me eradicate this bunch.”

Xiao Yu: “Benefits?”

Zhao Changping suddenly showed a treacherous smile, “As a reward, I will inform you about a hidden treasure. Perhaps, with our combined might, we can obtain it.”