CHAPTER 538: CHAPTER 538. BATTLING THE EIGHTH PRINCE

Huang Zhan was fighting Huang San and Yang Li simultaneously. The two had a lower cultivation level than he, but he couldn’t defeat them. They cooperated excellently. Huang San’s wood elements perfectly synchronized with Yang Li’s fire, boosting her already powerful S-affinity flames to a new height. Huang Zhan was instead the one on the back foot.

As for the lightning scepter in his hand, it consumed a lot of aether with each usage. He had already used it too many times when he fought Hua Ling’s team. He didn’t expect there would be intruders. He was running low on aether. Thus, not only could he not use the scepter anymore, but his art usage was also now limited.

While fighting the two, Huang Zhan continued to communicate with his team from time to time.

’Da Niu, respond!’ Huang Zhan demanded in his mind. However, he hadn’t received any reply for some time.

The mental links granted by this pocket world not only let them talk telepathically but also know the general position of their team members. It didn’t inform them of the well-being of each member, so he couldn’t tell if the others were still alive. All he knew was none of his underlings had moved far from their positions for quite some time, which meant they were static.

That fact, added to none of them replying to his messages, was a strong indicator that something had happened to them. Could it be that all his underlings had died? This thought was both impossible and unsettling.

He knew Huang San and Yang Li had achieved miraculous cultivation improvement. The last message he received from Da Niu was that he encountered Huang San’s three remaining members, and their cultivation had similarly reached the Spirit Stage.

Since that was the case, those three might have been the ones responsible for his team’s inability to reply. However, despite their improvements, they should still not be Da Niu’s opponents. Why did Da Niu not respond to his call as well?

Da Niu was more powerful than a regular Peak Spirit Stage, especially after using the Great Bull King transformation art. The thought that his strongest underling was defeated by a bunch of cultivators who had just entered the Spirit Stage was something he could not comprehend.

Still, he could not think of another reason why Da Niu didn’t respond to his call. This disconcerting thought distracted him. It made him careless.

Yang Li utilized the chance and got close to Huang Zhan. Her rapid claws targeted the prince. Each claw delivered a massive fire burst. This fire burst was boosted even further by Huang San’s leaf darts. Huang Zhan could dodge a direct hit from the claws, but he could not dodge the massive fire burst that hit a large area. Flame washed over him.

If not for the vine armor from his Nature Assimilation protecting his body, he would have been burned badly. Even so, the flames still hurt him. Its heat was unbearable.

Huang Zhan used Lion’s Roar as he moved away from the searing flames. He found that this sound martial art was most effective against Yang Li. Every time he used his rope dart to target her, it was always repelled by her defensive arcane art, the Scorching Field. Her mastery of the art caused every incoming assault to trigger a powerful explosion that deflected the attack, even from one executed by an Intermediate Spirit Stage like him.

The Lion’s Roar assailed Yang Li and prevented her from staying close, but Huang San anticipated his movements. Huang Zhan found a barbed whip lashing from the direction he was retreating to.

Thanks to the mental link between team members, Huang San and Yang Li could communicate silently and, thus, cooperate effectively without Huang Zhan hearing them discussing their strategy during combat.

Huang Zhan grabbed his rope dart and pulled it to a taut state. He used the stretched rope dart to block the barbed whip. The vines along his rope dart immediately wrapped around the barbed whip, locking it down.

Huang San didn’t mind losing the barbed whip. It was not a real weapon but one created from his arcane art. He let go of the barbed whip and used his golden sword to execute his confusing slash-thrust swordplay. Huang Zhan twirled his rope dart, erecting a defensive sphere around him, blocking Huang San’s sword attacks.

Huang San’s attacks were never meant for offense. They were to keep Huang Zhan from moving away. Their battle had been in a stalemate because Huang Zhan kept a safe distance from them. They managed to get close now. They intended to keep it that way.

Yang Li jumped and attacked from above. Her arms spun, creating a massive flaming hurricane that trapped Huang Zhan in the center. With flames all around him, he was forced to face Yang Li directly. He grabbed the blade of his rope dart and performed a thrusting martial art as if the blade were a spear.

His higher cultivation had him at an advantage in a direct contest like this. Under the driving power of his spear art, the blade in his hand forced through Yang Li’s repulsive Scorching Field and pierced her shoulder.

Despite receiving a stab wound, Yang Li didn’t yelp in pain, nor did she retreat. It was as if she had expected this. Her flaming claws grabbed Huang Zhan’s arms. The sharp energy from her fingers hooked into the arms and refused to let go. Huang Zhan might have higher cultivation, but she also had an advantage over him. The fire produced by her S-class affinity was extremely fierce. Even if he was physically stronger, her flames still burned him badly.

It was Huang Zhan who let out a painful yell. The searing heat was cooking him alive. His vine armor was excellent against physical attacks, but less effective in reducing the heat from Yang Li’s fire.

Huang Zhan used the Lion’s Roar again, but this time, Yang Li refused to back off, even as blood leaked out of her pained ears. She seemed intent on gambling her life in a race to see if her fire could finish him off before his roar liquified her brain.

To make matters worse, Huang San’s entangling vines wrapped his legs from below. He was anchored and prevented from moving away.

Huang Zhan yelled furiously amidst the blistering torture, "Raaghhh...!!! Damn you two, insignificant pests! How dare you treat me, the future king, this way!"

The vine armor wrapping his body started wriggling. They suddenly left Huang San’s body and shot in all directions. Huang San’s entangling vines were ripped violently during the process. Many of these vines shot at Yang Li, who was too close. A good portion was blown to ash thanks to her Scorching Field, but some pierced her. Although none hit her fatal parts, she was forced to let go of Huang Zhan’s arms.

Once his arms and legs were freed, Huang Zhan performed a swift roundhouse kick that struck Yang Li’s side and sent her away. He then attempted an escape. The blade of his rope dart had melted due to the prolonged exposure to Yang Li’s fire. He had also let go of his Nature Assimilation to free himself from the entangling vines and Yang Li’s clutch. He no longer had a weapon or armor. He finally accepted he could not defeat these two and decided his best option was to flee.

Huang San stood in his way. The golden longsword was aimed at Huang Zhan.

"Little brother! Are you so heartless that you want to assassinate your own flesh and blood?" Huang Zhan asked.

These words caused Huang San to falter. The thrusting golden longsword stopped advancing.

Huang Zhan grinned at Huang San’s hesitance. He rushed past Huang San and elbowed the side of his head, sending him reeling.

"What are you doing?!" Yang Li scolded Huang San. She was charging back despite her wounds, but Huang Zhan had put a distance between them. With his higher cultivation, their chance of catching him was not good.

"I will get back at you two. You mark my word...!" Huang Zhan exclaimed. He was looking back at his two opponents while moving away. He sensed someone else appearing on the path he was heading to. He remembered then there was still a fourth person there. His heated confrontation with Huang San and Yang Li had made him neglect this vital point.

He turned back and saw Hua Ling before him. Hua Ling had only one arm, and her glaive was gone, but she had a short sword as a sidearm. His one good arm was now holding this short sword.

She charged forward using her Phantom Stride and executed a Moon Slash. Without his vine armor, Huang Zhan didn’t dare to be careless. He and Hua Ling had the same cultivation level. Hua Ling might be heavily wounded, but he was also not in his best condition after the taxing battle with Huang San and Yang Li. Hence, he didn’t clash directly with Hua Ling. He shifted to the side and dodged the moon slash. He then delivered a kick that struck Hua Ling’s side.

Hua Ling gritted her teeth and endured the pain. She threw her short sword.

Huang Zhan was startled when Hua Ling let go of her weapon, but he was still responsive enough to evade the thrown weapon. Unfortunately, he wasn’t responsive enough for Hua Ling’s next move. She used her arcane art, the vine whip, which wrapped around his neck. She yanked the whip, strangling and pulling him toward her.

While he was driven toward her, she lunged forward and delivered successive kicks to his chest. The repeated kicks cracked his rib cage. The power from the kick also caused her vine whip to snap. He flew back from the force.

Yang Li came from behind Huang Zhan. Her flaming claws dug deep into his back and broke his shoulder blades.

Huang Zhan screamed loudly, both from the pain of his broken bones and from the searing heat burning him. He was thrown onto the metal platform below. He lost his strength and fell to his knees.

Huang San landed before him and aimed the tip of his golden sword at his throat.