Chapter 255 - Liao Nan
The iron-tower blood elementalist stood like a statue in astonishment. The point of the snow-white Cirrus was stuck against his chest. Shi Xueman was still in position to rush forward, but remained motionless.
The sounds of fighting were deafening in Central Pine City, but here at the warehouse gate, there was only dead silence.
Liao Nan and the triangle-eyed blood elementalist’s expressions were frozen. Their eyes were filled with shock and fear.
The iron-tower blood elementalist looked down with difficulty, like rusty machine. Even such a simple action required almost all his effort. His eyes were vacant with astonishment and incredulity.
The snow-white Cirrus was surrounded by white fog. The figure at the other end of the spear was blurred in his vision.
The tip of the spear, made of Firmament Iron, was crystal clear, like a sapphire. Its blade which was as thin as a cicada's wing reflected his pale face.
On his chest, cracks spread like a spider web from where the spear point was poking.
This… was really like broken porcelain.
His body turned out to be as fragile as porcelain…
He had always been confident in his body. Only now did he realize that such confidence was ridiculous.
But it was too late to learn this, and the powerful attack had been too abrupt. He didn’t feel rage or unwillingness, however, only freedom. Such an ending… was not bad for him.
His body that was as heavy as an iron tower fell backward, throwing up a dust cloud. once again, everything fell into silence.
Shi Xueman recovered her spear slowly. She looked tranquil, as if she hadn’t done anything special. There was no trepidation or anxiety on her face. Her eyes were calm, as if she was in her own family’s training hall.
"As the descendant of the Shi Family, I’m honored to have fought with you using the move [Cloud Whale]."
Her voice was clear and sonorous. Waving Cirrus in her hand, the girl looked at them peacefully.
A streak of fear flashed across the triangle-eyed blood elementalist’s eyes. Just now, he’d said those lascivious words on purpose to get his companion aroused, so that the idiot would initiate an attack first. He didn’t care about that idiot’s death at all, but Shi Xueman’s strength was indeed outside of his expectations.
That spear move just now was stunning.
Clap, clap, clap.
Liao Nan applauded. With excitement and admiration, the former mayor’s bodyguard said, "I’d heard of the Shi Family’s inheritance, [Hydromancy], which covers everything related to the water attribute. Having seen it myself just now, I have to admit that it really lives up to its reputation. That spear move was as powerful as a mountain and could hardly be withstood. [Cloud Whale] deserves its fame. What’s more, the spear move is forceful. As a girl, you didn’t weaken its power at all, and instead added to its glory. I really admire it."
Liao Nan gave a salute with respect.
Shi Xueman was indifferent. She stood still with the spear in her hand.
The triangle-eyed blood elementalist said coldly, "Stop that nonsense. Let’s fight back together."
"Together?" Liao Nan laughed out loud. "I dare not. The bad example is right in front of us. You’d better go your way and I’ll go mine."
The triangle-eyed blood elementalist didn’t really care about his words, simply giving him a grim smile and saying, "If so, then enjoy your time with your goddess. I’ll leave first."
Then he bent his knees and bounced up. Like a flash, he immediately disappeared behind the dilapidated walls.
Shi Xueman became less anxious in her heart and slightly moved her fingers that were tightly holding the spear. Although she had seemed to utilize that spear move effortlessly, in fact it had consumed a great deal of her energy. The surging energy and blood inside of her chest were only soothed after a while.
That move was called [Broken Sea], indicating that the sea would be broken by the bump of a Humpback Cloud Whale. With this move, she could gather all her strength and elemental energy from the eight palaces at the point of the spear, which would create an astonishing destructive power. The spider-web like cracks were its unique feature.
The power of [Broken Sea] correlated with the number of elemental energies one could control. Every eight elemental energies would drive its power to a higher level.
Shi Xueman was only able to control eight elemental energies.
Practicing [Broken Sea] was extremely difficult, and only those who had achieved elemental internalization could do so. Shi Xueman was already pushing herself to utilize this move, after which she needed about thirty seconds to recover every time. During the recovery period, her fighting strength was zero.
She had noticed the precautions the three blood elementalists took against each other, so she’d decided to bet on her judgment. It was a risky bet, since if she was besieged and caught in a dogfight, the situation would be dangerous.
Fortunately, she won.
Her attack had scared the two who were still alive and one of them left. Now only Liao Nan was here and her strength had recovered, which was a perfect ending for her.
But just as she felt a bit relaxed, what Liao Nan said next made her nervous again.
"I know you are buying yourself time."
"I’m familiar with the distress signal of A-1 unit," Liao Nan said with a spurious smile on his face.
Shi Xueman was not swayed by him and tightly held Cirrus in her hand. As long as Cirrus was with her, there was nothing to fear. No matter how disadvantageous the situation was, she would not lose her courage.
"Let’s fight if you want!"
The flickering light of the explosions in the distance lit up Shi Xueman’s cold and perfect face, which attracted Liao Nan’s attention like a magnet.
Liao Nan looked at her as if he was looking at the most beautiful masterpiece in the world. Suddenly, he said, "Do you know what happens when an elementalist is infected with blood poison?"
"What do you mean?" Shi Xueman frowned.
Liao Nan spoke in a relaxed tone and even had a smile on his face, as if what he was saying had nothing to do with himself. "As long as you are infected by the blood poison, your mind will be eroded by it and you will finally descend into a beast. No, not beast, but half a beast and half a human being. You will have some remaining consciousness, but your body will be dominated by the beast. You will be irritable and eager to kill. Yes, you will not be able to control yourself. It’s more miserable than death."
Shi Xueman was shocked by what he said.
To any survivor in the Central Pine city, the casualty barrack was something that no one wanted to mention. They didn’t know how to face the fate of the casualties.
Neither did Shi Xueman. It was too desperate.
Therefore, hearing what Liao Nan was saying, her heart shivered.
"The only way to stay alive at this point of time is to become a blood elementalist." Liao Nan paused and then burst into laughter. "I’m not saying this to seek your sympathy. I’m satisfied with what I am now. Of course, it was hard to accept at the very beginning, but now I have let it go. I’m free from care anyway, so why not choose to stay in this world as another form of being?"
Shi Xueman didn’t say a word. Eyes downcast, she suddenly burst out with a strong intent to kill.
"Oh, calm down." Liao Nan smiled. "I know what’s in the warehouse. It will be terrible if you act on impulse and damage the things in there."
Shi Xueman, who was about to rush out, suddenly froze. Yes, he was right. The gold needles in the warehouse must not be damaged. She saw the mayor and the dean leave in the direction of the embroidery workshop, so she could only depend on herself now.
Now, Master Han’s plan of "treating the city as a piece of cloth" was their only hope.
Compared with the golden needles in the warehouse, Liao Nan was of no importance at all.
"Then let’s continue." Liao Nan looked up to glance at the sky and leisurely said, "It’s my great honor to talk with goddess like this. I never had such an extravagant hope before. That’s why I said maybe there would be a chance if I change my way of being. Do you have any understanding of blood elementalists?"
Shi Xueman felt a flicker of interest in her heart, but she didn’t say anything.
Liao Nan continued, "If one wants to transform from a blood fiend man into a blood elementalist, he has to be able to agglomerate blood traces. Hmm, the feeling was spectacular at that time. It was just like drifting up and down in the blood sea of the netherworld, then hearing a voice calling your name. After that you can’t help walking towards the shore, and once you step onto land, you come back to this mortal world."
Shi Xueman only hoped that Duanmu Huanghun and the others would arrive sooner.
Liao Nan was not annoying. Instead, he had an elegant and collected demeanor. Plus, she was very sympathetic about what he had encountered; nevertheless, she intuitively disliked him for no reason.
Suddenly, Ai Hui’s figure appeared in her mind.
That guy was not at all elegant and was always sarcastic and mean; however, you could always see the eagerness for life in that bastard’s eyes. It was so strong and firm that nothing could influence it even a little bit. More importantly, there was not the slightest hint of confusion in his eyes.
In Liao Nan’s eyes, there was only confusion, decadence, and annoyance towards life.
Was it because of what he had been through? Yes, it was understandable that Liao Nan might have become what he was today after such a traumatic experience.
Not everyone was like that bastard who could never be influenced by anyone or anything!
A glimmer of a smile flashed across Shi Xueman’s face.
Noticing the smile on Shi Xueman’s face, Liao Nan cheered up. With more sincerity, he said, "After you can agglomerate the god trace – oh, I mean what you call the ‘blood trace’ – then blood spiritual force can be produced and you become a blood elementalist. Not everyone is equally talented, so the blood elementalists are different too. Basically, there are three categories."
Shi Xueman suddenly asked, "Which three?"
Liao Nan smiled faintly. "The first is called god guard. A god guard’s body is being constantly tempered by keeps by blood spiritual force, which, compared with elemental energy, is far more effective. Your training speed can be largely boosted and your body will become invulnerable. Neither swords nor spears would hurt you. Some gains great improvement in speed, some in flexibility, some in strength, and some in self-healing ability. Most blood elementalists – about sixty percent – fall into this category."
"How about the second category?"
"The second is called god shaman. They are more sensitive to the surrounding environment and are good at communicating with the Nature. They can summon spirits and train blood demons. To be a god shaman requires a lot of talent, so only three out of ten people are qualified."
"But the rarest category is god priest, who is well versed in psychi attacks. They can create illusions to control enemies’ minds. Less than ten percent of blood elementalists can become a god priest. Their attack patterns are hard to predict. If you encounter them, you’d better run for your life."
This suddenly reminded Shi Xueman of the frightening girl in red. She was very likely to be a god priest.
She suddenly asked, "Why are you telling me all of this?"
Liao Nan raised his eyebrows and said with ease, "Although we belong to different sides, I don’t want you to be killed so soon. The battle has just started and it’s sure to last for a long time. If you die in the early stage, I’ll feel lonely. I hope you can live longer."
"I will. We belong to different sides," said Shi Xueman seriously, her eyes downcast. Then, she raised her head; her eyes were cold. "That means we are enemies."
"Get beheaded!"
The cold and clear voice was filled with power.
Shi Xueman’s spear stabbed out.