Chapter Twenty-Four: Ruins of the Ancient Battlefield

"Isn't this a wetland?" Qin Xiaochuan, the last to emerge from the thicket, cried out at the sight before him. A wetland, after all, was a place thick with tall grass, riddled with hidden pools and treacherous traps. Here, one careless step and you'd plunge into a water-filled ditch. The ground was so damp and slippery that even the grass, drenched with dew, made footing perilous. Such places, for their wetness, had earned their name.

"Don't underestimate this place," Master Jinghai replied, turning to address them after hearing Qin Xiaochuan's exclamation. "This is the remnant of an ancient battlefield, and within these mountains, it's where the spiritual energy is most concentrated. It's also the best place for you to gather spirit energy and unleash your power."

"I see. Indeed, I can feel my strength slowly returning," Kongming said, stretching out his arms to absorb the abundant energy around him. He looked utterly at ease and satisfied.

"How are you feeling?" Xia Dan asked with concern, glancing back at Qin Xiaochuan, who had just caught up.

"No good. Though my strength is coming back—" Qin Xiaochuan focused on the spirit energy in the fingers of his right hand and shook his head helplessly, "the remaining energy isn't enough to unleash a spirit orb..." Staring at Kongming across from him, Qin Xiaochuan thought grimly: If this Kongming is actually the demon child, then in my current state, I don't stand a chance. What should I do?

"I declare the match begins!"

"You're really out of luck," Kongming said with a self-satisfied smile as Master Jinghai announced the start of the match. He flexed his wrists, rolled his neck, and grinned at Qin Xiaochuan. "I do feel sorry for you, but in the world of combat, timing and luck are part of victory, too. Raise your spiritual level and your luck will follow. I was surprised to find someone else could unleash spirit energy besides me, but it seems you can't use that technique anymore. So—" As he spoke, Kongming charged at the visibly tense Qin Xiaochuan. "With just my bare hands, I can take you down. Prepare to die!"

As Kongming rushed at him, Qin Xiaochuan braced himself, shifting into a fighting stance—only to feel his feet slip. The damp ground and dew-soaked grass were so slick he couldn’t muster any force at all. "What? My foot slipped..." he muttered, glancing down just as Kongming’s right hook smashed into his face. A flurry of blows sent Qin Xiaochuan sprawling backward, sliding across the wetland in a streak of water.

"He’s done for—he doesn’t even have the strength to dodge or counter!" Zhang Yang said anxiously as he watched Qin Xiaochuan fall onto the grass. It seemed the earlier fight in the dark combat chamber had drained all of Qin Xiaochuan's energy, and without recovery, he was at a terrible disadvantage.

"Let me end your suffering," Kongming said, seeing Qin Xiaochuan downed by his attacks. He rushed forward, ready to press his advantage.

"Now's my chance!" Qin Xiaochuan’s eyes flashed with a desperate ferocity—the look of a cornered beast. Seeing his fist within reach of Kongming’s head, he seized the moment and, mustering every ounce of strength he’d managed to recover, drove his right fist with a piercing whoosh straight into Kongming’s cheek.

"What!?" Kongming felt the force of the punch and jerked his body backward, trying to evade, but Qin Xiaochuan’s fist grazed his cheek, the wind pressure slicing a gash into his left face. Blood instantly welled out.

"He dodged it—damn!" Qin Xiaochuan’s all-out blow had left only a small wound on Kongming’s face. A look of disappointment crossed his eyes; that was all the strength he had left.

"That was close..." Kongming muttered, his hand pressed to the bleeding cut. He was shaken; seeing Qin Xiaochuan sprawled on the ground, barely able to stand, he had let down his guard. "I didn't expect your punch to still be that powerful. Looks like I can't fight you up close."

With that, Kongming drew four round throwing blades from his robe, slotting them between his fingers. "I'll have to use my special move against you. Here—catch!" He flicked his wrists, sending the toothed, spinning blades hurling toward Qin Xiaochuan. Each blade shimmered with a faint aura, spirit energy layered atop the weapon itself, boosting its destructive power.

"Don’t underestimate me," Qin Xiaochuan said, fixing his stance as the blades whistled toward him. He tracked their flight, swaying left and right, dodging all four. But perhaps due to exhaustion, one spinning blade sliced his shoulder, tearing his clothing. "If all I do is dodge, how could I not avoid them?" After evading, he fixed Kongming with a glare. "Well? Is that all? You stand there smugly with your arms crossed..."

Before he could finish, a whistling sound split the air behind him. It was too late to turn; Qin Xiaochuan dropped and rolled aside, barely dodging the blades as they swept back at him. As he watched, the four blades arced overhead, then spun around and flew toward him again. "What!? The blades can track me—what kind of technique is this?"

After two rounds of dodging, Qin Xiaochuan's stamina was clearly waning. On the third, the speeding blades cut into his arm and thigh, blood streaming forth.

"My spinning blades can home in on your spirit energy and follow you," Kongming explained, arms folded as he watched Qin Xiaochuan dodge. "Unless you die, the blades won’t stop."

Kneeling beside a tree, Qin Xiaochuan braced himself with one hand, panting heavily—he was battered and exhausted from his frantic evasions. As the blades swept toward him again, he rolled to the side, barely escaping. One blade, blocked by the tree trunk, exploded thunderously, the blast hurling Qin Xiaochuan aside. Clearly, the blades were packed with explosives; a direct hit would either kill him or at least knock him unconscious. No wonder Kongming was so confident—these were weapons meant to finish a fight.

"Hahaha! These blades are filled with my own secret explosives," Kongming crowed, watching Qin Xiaochuan stagger from the force of the blast. "Impressive, isn't it? Stop dodging and give in—just die quietly and save yourself some pain... Hahaha!"

"I can't... I don't even have the strength to stand. If this keeps up, I won’t even be able to dodge. Damn it, I can’t accept this... but—" Glancing at Master Jinghai, Xia Dan, and Zhang Yang, who watched anxiously from the sidelines, Qin Xiaochuan summoned the last of his strength and forced himself upright, trembling all over. His body was at the end of its limits, ready to collapse at any moment; those last desperate dodges had drained him completely. It looked grim.

He glanced back at the three spinning, explosive blades circling overhead, ready to dive for another attack, then stared resentfully at the triumphant Kongming. If that guy really was the demon child... No, I can't let it end this way. I can't lose—not without taking him down with me.

When someone is truly prepared to die, a power surges within them that defies belief. In this moment, Qin Xiaochuan was transformed, a new force flooding his body, banishing pain, banishing exhaustion, banishing even the fear of death. The more desperate his situation, the more terrifying his power became.

Catching the eyes of his friends, he murmured, "The rest is up to you now." With that, he dashed headlong at Kongming, determined to bring him down, even at the cost of his own life.

"You're really going to throw your life away?" Kongming said, raising his right hand, which began to glow with spirit energy. "Don’t forget, I have my Spirit Cannon too."

"I'm not dying alone," Qin Xiaochuan shouted, charging at Kongming with no hesitation. "If I die, I’m taking you with me!"

"Fool! Watch as my Spirit Cannon finishes you off!" Though Kongming tried to sound confident, Qin Xiaochuan’s ferocity made a flicker of fear cross his face. As Qin Xiaochuan closed in, Kongming raised his hand to unleash the power gathered within—

But then: "What?" Just as Kongming was about to fire, Qin Xiaochuan vanished. Kongming couldn’t believe his eyes—Qin Xiaochuan had disappeared right before him. He glanced wildly around; no sign of him. As confusion gripped him, the spinning blades, which had been chasing Qin Xiaochuan, now whirled straight at Kongming. Instinctively, Kongming fired his Spirit Cannon at the oncoming blades. The two forces collided in a colossal explosion, the shockwave sending Kongming flying through the air.

"Where did he go..." Kongming muttered bitterly, even as he was blasted skyward, unwilling to accept defeat.

"He's gone—Qin Xiaochuan really disappeared..." Zhang Yang and Xia Dan scanned the wetland, searching for any sign of him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Just where had he gone? Truly, he was a most mysterious figure.