CHAPTER 144: 144-2ND ROUND [4]

The golden shell instantly brightened up and then it shuddered for a split second.

And then it erupted.

An explosion of inverted force surged outward, magnified thrice over.

All the violent energy poured into the shield was returned into a retaliatory storm.

Light flared like a miniature supernova, hurling shards of mirrored energy outward. The chamber trembled.

Dust and stone rained down as the shockwave cleaved through the barrier walls.

Silence fell, broken only by the ringing in their ears.

From the settling haze of destruction, Fang Yuan stepped forth carrying Fang Lian by his arm, untouched, perfectly fine amidst the ruin.

With a flicker of intent, he summoned the golden System screen.

His gaze flicked briefly toward the corner of his vision, where faint, glowing numerals hovered in the air, visible only to him.

System Points: 17,400

A sharp breath hissed through his teeth. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

That low already?

A flicker of tension passed across his face, quickly buried beneath his usual composure.

"Tch... I’ll have to start earning points again," he muttered under his breath. "Come on, System—give me a task already."

With a single, decisive thought, his finger tapped the invisible interface.

–5000 System Point deducted!

The numbers bled away like sand in a storm.

+1 Nascent soul realm pill.

In the very next moment, light shimmered in his palm, then solidified.

The pill appeared in his hand, round and rich in aroma.

He didn’t hesitate as he tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it dry.

The effect was immediate, like a rush of energy surged through his meridians, cool and forceful like a river thawing in spring.

His depleted core drank it in greedily, stabilizing the turbulence left by the earlier onslaught.

And all the while, Fang Yuan’s eyes never stopped moving scanning the wreckage around him.

Gu Lanyue currently looked like a broken marionette, lifeblood pooling beneath him, utterly still save for the shallowest, faltering rise of his chest.

As the one who did the most damage to Fang Yuan, the reflective damage he received had been the highest.

Gu Jian on the side was crawling like a gutted insect, leaving a smeared trail of crimson on the shattered floor, dragging himself inch by agonizing inch towards Gu Lanyue.

Meanwhile Lin Xukong was propped against rubble, breath a ragged, wet gasp.

His eyes, wide and bloodshot, burned with impotent, venomous hatred, fixed unblinkingly on Fang Yuan.

And then there was Lin Pei laying utterly still, unmistakably dead.

Fang Yuan began to walk, slowly, deliberately each step echoing like a war drum struck in a dead man’s temple.

The air grew heavier with every footfall, oppressive and thick with dread.

Cradled in one arm, Fang Lian lay unconscious, her breath shallow but steady.

With his free hand, he gently stroked her blood-matted hair, a gesture of haunting tenderness amidst the ruin.

And he was smiling.

That same calm, chilling smile as his gaze locked onto the trio who still clung to life.

Gu Jian, Gu Lanyue, and Lin Xukong, battered, scorched, barely breathing.

He looked at them as one might regard insects under glass.

His voice then cut through the ringing silence, cold and clear.

"You all," Fang Yuan said calmly, his voice carrying like a blade through the smoke-filled air, "should be thanking Sir Gu for that little technique I just used."

His eyes lingered on Gu Lanyue’s broken, wheezing form, what was left of the once-proud cultivator crumpled amidst the rubble.

"He taught me the principle," Fang Yuan continued, his smile deepening, voice almost casual. "Quite thoroughly, at that."

And it wasn’t even a lie. Not really.

After their last clash, a brutal battle that had ended in a draw, neither side able to claim victory Fang Yuan had walked away with more than bruises.

He had walked away with inspiration.

The moment he returned, he had handed over all clan affairs to his uncle, vanished into seclusion, and spent days in absolute silence, replaying every second of the fight, over and over in his mind.

That cursed rebound technique.

The instantaneous return of force.

To Fang Yuan, it had been perfect clay.

He studied it, deconstructed it and then reforged it.

Not as a simple copy but as an improvement.

Because his creed was simple:

If it’s useful... I’ll make it mine.

Gu Jian reached his father’s side, trembling fingers brushing a bloodied sleeve.

He lifted his head, blood bubbling at his lips.

"Fang... Yuan..." he rasped, the words thick with fluid. "Your... family... is in... danger. If you... spare... me... I’ll talk... to... Qin Hai... for... you."

Fang Yuan paused.

A ghost of a smile touched his lips, devoid of warmth. "Oh no," he corrected softly, the calm terrifying. "They aren’t and you don’t have to."

He took another step, the crunch of debris unnaturally loud.

"First and foremost, I am the Clan Head. If need be... I would sacrifice an arm to save the body." His gaze hardened, glacial.

"But if I see a chance to save both the arm and the body..." He let the implication hang, heavy and ruthless. "...I won’t hesitate."

Gu Jian coughed violently, more blood staining the stone. "Wha... what are you... getting at?"

Fang Yuan stared down at him, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

Then it vanished, replaced by finality.

"I think," he murmured, almost to himself, raising his sword, the blade catching the fading, dust-choked light, "I’ll let you go down... without knowing."

The sword began its descent, a swift arc aimed at Gu Jian’s exposed neck.

WHOOSH-CRACK!

A pressure wave hit first.

Dense, suffocating and radiating pure unleashed power.

The air screamed as if torn.

Mid-swing, Fang Yuan’s eyes snapped wide. Instinct screamed louder than thought.

He wrenched his body sideways, a desperate, twisting leap backwards, abandoning his strike.

BOOM!

Where he had stood a heartbeat before, the air fractured like glass.

Dust plumed violently outward in a perfect ring.

And standing within that ring, feet planted on the sundered stone,was a figure, Mid-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator, Lin Zhaoyue.