Chapter 546: Bu Quan vs Yi Jiu
The Honey snow demi-plane.
Gale-force winds howled, and blizzards raged.
Yi Jiu's small form, lost in this vast expanse of ice and snow, resembled a fragile skiff struggling desperately amidst towering waves.
Hailstones the size of millstones, numbering in the thousands, pelted Yi Jiu under the cover of the blizzard.
Yi Jiu dodged relentlessly.
His extensive combat experience allowed him to maintain his reconnaissance battle skill. Without lifting his head, he could pinpoint the hailstones' trajectories.
Bang, bang, bang...
The hailstones missed their mark, exploding upon impact with the ground and releasing bursts of frigid cold.
Within seconds, the freezing air crystallized the surrounding atmosphere, forming a massive ice block two meters tall.
Hailstones detonated intermittently beside Yi Jiu, their frigid fury eroding his skin and leaving multiple frostbite wounds across his body.
Yet Yi Jiu had no time to tend to his injuries.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A barrage of ice spears erupted from the snow, piercing toward Yi Jiu.
He leapt into the air, soaring upward.
A massive figure burst through the blizzard, swinging fists toward Yi Jiu mid-air.
A gold level snow elemental!
Standing three meters tall, the snow elemental was burly and imposing. The fist's wind sliced through the air, amplified by the blizzard, making the threat even more intense.
At the critical moment, Yi Jiu flicked his arm, sending a dagger flying.
The handle of the dagger was connected to his gold level battle qi.
The battle qi converged into a durable long cord.
The dagger plunged into a distant ice block, instantly anchoring itself
Yi Jiu continued his battle skill, his entire body violently yanked forward by the gold level battle qi cord.
Bam!
The snow elemental swung wildly at empty air, sending muddy snow flying everywhere.
Unable to slow down, Yi Jiu slammed his face into the ice block.
Ignoring the dizziness, he scrambled to his feet, frantically pushing off the ice surface with a roll to evade further.
The next instant, the snow giant's ranged attack struck his previous position.
Boom!
The spell shattered the ice into fragments, its residual force slamming into Yi Jiu's back.
Propelled by the impact, Yi Jiu was driven headfirst into the snow.
The snow giant closed in, but its attacks into the snow missed their mark. Yi Jiu had vanished for the moment.
The snow giant pounded its chest in rage, then spotted “Yi Jiu” and resumed the chase.
Yi Jiu's true form lay hidden in a corner of the snowy terrain, urgently healing his wounds.
He downed three vials of potions in quick succession, then raced against time to refine his battle qi.
Within just half a minute, various frost spells descended upon him, forcing Yi Jiu to flee once more.
“So far, three gold level snow elementals have appeared.”
“Even using my strongest camouflage and concealment techniques, I can only maintain the illusion for about thirty seconds at most.”
“Clearly, Shuang Lian isn't trying to kill me outright. She's deliberately maintaining this level of combat intensity to drain all my battle qi, isn't she?”
“My battle qi reserves... still at two-thirds.”
Yi Jiu's mood grew heavy.
Gold level snow elementals were exceptionally troublesome, their magic crystals capable of shifting throughout their bodies. Unless Yi Jiu could pinpoint this fatal weakness, no matter how severely he wounded the elemental, its body would swiftly regenerate within this battlefield environment.
“Huh?” Yi Jiu murmured in mild surprise.
His keen senses detected a sudden pause in the relentless assault.
“Have reinforcements arrived?”
“Are they besieging Shuang Lian, causing disruptions here?”
Just as Yi Jiu speculated, the assault intensified to its previous ferocity.
“Damn it!” The gold level assassin cursed, forced to resume his desperate retreat.
His illusions shattered.
Honey Snow Tower.
Control room.
Bu Quan had officially taken over as the operator.
Shuang Lian stood beside her, guiding her step by step with patience and care.
It was precisely this switch between them that had caused the offensive to weaken.
In truth, even as Bu Quan gradually gained proficiency, the blizzard assault she could unleash still fell far short of Shuang Lian's.
“It's spirit power.”
“My spirit power can't compare to my teacher's. She can simultaneously control colossal ice storms. Even when I push myself to the limit, my storms don't reach one-tenth of hers.”
"My teacher can cast multiple ice spells at once, coordinating them to surround and attack Yi Jiu. But I can only control five spells simultaneously at most, and they're all elementary."
Operating personally against Yi Jiu, Bu Quan acutely felt the vast gulf between herself and her revered mentor.
Before long, Bu Quan voluntarily ceased her control.
The tower spirit took over her task, continuing to chase Yi Jiu into a frantic retreat.
Bu Quan didn't drain her magic power when controlling the tower, but she needed to use spirit power to manipulate various ice-element spells.
“Have some potions,” Shuang Lian said, pulling out over a dozen vials and handing them to Bu Quan.
They were all gold level spirit potions!
Bu Quan paused slightly. “Teacher, isn't it a bit excessive for me to use gold level potions right now?”
Shuang Lian replied, “I've diluted them. After you drink them, their efficacy will be 30% better than taking silver level spirit potions.”
Bu Quan felt a bit embarrassed. “But gold level potions cost over a hundred times more than silver level ones.” This feels like such a waste."
“Heh,” Shuang Lian chuckled softly. “This is far better than you giving away four alchemy workshops to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps outright.”
Bu Quan stuck out her tongue, obediently took the potions, pulled out a vial, and downed it in one gulp.
Her spirit power rapidly recovered.
Before long, she resumed manipulating the magic formation to attack Yi Jiu.
Many spells were beyond her silver level capabilities, but with the mage tower and the magic formation laid out by the demi-plane, she didn't need to construct magic models herself or expend her own magic power.
Bu Quan grew increasingly adept at the controls.
Shuang Lian's occasional guidance allowed Bu Quan to make rapid progress.
Purely practicing spells, her casting experience grew exponentially. Many things could only be deeply understood through actual combat.
After three rounds of rest, Bu Quan felt she had gained immensely.
“If given another chance to fight Yi Jiu alone, my performance would be at least ten times better than before!”
“I've learned so much about choosing which spells to use and when to cast them.”
“These decisions are crucial in combat!”
“Speaking of which, Yi Jiu makes an excellent training partner.”
“Teacher has been so kind to me...”
As Bu Quan silently expressed her gratitude, Shuang Lian nodded in approval within her mind.
She was thoroughly satisfied with Bu Quan's performance during the combat training.
“She's a prodigy!”
"Possessing extraordinary talent and brilliance in alchemy. Though slightly weaker in combat, she still surpasses other apprentices."
“Even after being away from me for a while, she never slacked off in her training. Her foundation is solid.”
"Excellent. It seems she truly took my parting advice to heart. Such a good girl!"
"Drink up. This potion contains something special. Not only does it restore spirit power, but it also raises your spirit power ceiling."
What Shuang Lian secretly invested in Bu Quan far exceeded what the latter perceived.
Shuang Lian did not reveal the hidden secret within the potion.
On one hand, she didn't want to place too much pressure on Bu Quan. On the other hand, though she cared deeply for Bu Quan, she had to maintain an appearance of fairness and impartiality. After all, Bu Quan wasn't her only student!
The effect of the heightened spirit power and mental capacity gradually manifested in Bu Quan's subsequent combat training.
She cast multiple spells simultaneously with increasing ease.
“Excellent. Continue training. Little Quan Quan's combat weaknesses will improve significantly.”
“Most crucially, this training method is extremely safe for her.”
“Training targets of the gold level are also rare and hard to come by.”
Shuang Lian had thought deeply for Bu Quan's sake, her intentions undoubtedly sincere.
“The real focus now remains the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
A sharp gleam flashed in Shuang Lian's eyes.
She had already discerned that the Li Jian Clan and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had deepened their cooperation, even deploying the Spatial Shuttle Squad!
Even though the current head of the Li Jian Clan, Mian Li Zang, was known for his humility and respect for talent, treating a silver level force this way was excessive.
“Perhaps what swayed the Li Jian Clan was alchemy knowledge of the same caliber I witnessed!” Shuang Lian speculated silently.
She harbored no affection whatsoever for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Given her temperament, she would likely have disciplined the survivors. Her earlier covert intervention, rescuing Bu Quan and departing without confronting the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, stemmed primarily from consideration for Bu Quan's personal feelings.
“Regardless, Long Fu is a master of diplomacy, he even persuaded Mian Li Zang.”
“He successfully leveraged the power of the Li Jian Clan, and before that, he enlisted my help too!”
Shuang Lian was unaware of the truth: Long Fu, played by Zong Ge, had actually contributed little to the negotiations. The real negotiator was Zi Di.
Her loathing for the dragonman youngster deepened.
In her eyes, the dragonman youngster was a master manipulator. He'd wielded that skill against the innocent, pure Little Quan Quan, steering her beloved disciple down a path of ruin.
“We must proceed with extreme caution against the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps now.”
Shuang Lian felt she needed to be more vigilant.
The presence of the Li Jian Clan was what truly made her wary.
She had freely disciplined Da Bei and Magician Cai Jing. But now, when dealing with the survivors, she was exercising restraint.
“Perhaps I could extract more alchemy knowledge from them?”
“That giant they snatched away is no ordinary creature, his bloodline level is at least gold level.”
“What reward will Long Fu offer me for helping them reclaim the giant this time?”
“Saving a future gold level talent should at least warrant alchemy materials of equal value to the one they previously gave, right?”
Plop.
Yi Jiu spat out a mouthful of blood, flecked with a dozen tiny ice shards.
His face drained pale, his body numb with cold.
His battle qi depletion had reached 48%, nearing half.
“This can't go on. I must contact them proactively!” Yi Jiu resolved, beginning his prayer.
Previously, he hadn't had the chance, but now that Bu Quan was in control, the external pressure on Yi Jiu had lessened considerably.
This finally gave him the time to pray.
He expended a large amount of divine favor, and his spirit was immediately drawn to the peak of Tranquil Hill.
There, discussions were already underway.
“It's Yi Jiu. His tombstone is glowing.”
“He's back!”
“I knew it! He must be okay, right?”
Yi Jiu's appearance instantly drew the attention of the other duelists.
"Did you escape? Where are you now?" Gu Dong asked immediately.
"Quick, save me! Shuang Lian is about to kill me!" Yi Jiu cried out loudly.
The scene fell silent.