Chapter 202

Yan Hai advanced in the darkness, half his body dully aching .

The impact from that collision earlier had nearly caused his whole body to fall apart . Quite a few bones were broken . If not for his strong recovery ability, he would still be confined to his bed, paralyzed .

His blood spiritual force was still shallow but his recovery ability already exceeded that of others . Thinking about the mystical skills set his heart on fire . If he could establish enough contributions, he could possess those mystical skills .

He must have that blood crystal .

Tonight was his last chance . There was a mission the next day and everyone within the city had to battle, him included . Plus, his disguise was still useful for him .

He did not enter upon arriving at the alleyway of Vanguard Training Hall . The accident from earlier had taught him that he couldn’t afford to make the least bit of a mistake . The A-1 unit’s strength exceeded his imagination . He couldn’t defeat any one of them .

He needed the blood crystal, not a battle .

There were many ways to gain possession of the blood crystals, and battling was just one of them .

He took out a small flag; its face was badly damaged and its pole was left with only half a bone . On its face was a little demon painted with cinnabar . This was an object he had gotten hold of unintentionally while training . He had not known what it was initially, but after much researching and consulting of friends with related experience, he found out that this small flag was actually a spirit-beckoning banner .

During the Cultivation Era, the spirit-beckoning banner was the most common treasure within the blood sects . It was generally used to train spirits, blood demons, and the like .

It could develop a certain connection with the blood spiritual force within his body .

As time passed, the spirit-beckoning banner became dilapidated . To Yan Hai, however, it was still an outstanding treasure . It was also because of this that he realized the artifact remnants from the Cultivation Era were of use to him . Later on, he committedly searched every place that collected artifact remnants, but failed to find anything else he could use .

He took out a small knife and slit his own arm, making a shocking cut .

Fresh blood dripped on the banner in a steady flow and disappeared upon contact with it . The little cinnabar demon on the flag then started to look more tender, beautiful, and alluring .

Following the unceasing blood flow, Yan Hai’s face turned rather pale .

Suddenly, a red blood mist rose from the spirit-beckoning banner and amidst it, a faint and blurry little demon could be seen .

Joy spread across Yan Hai’s pale face . He sat cross-legged on the ground and shut his eyes .

The silhouette of the little demon gradually faded and disappeared .

This was his biggest card and also where his confidence lay tonight . Able to conceal itself, the little demon was more than suitable for theft . If he could get the blood crystal, this amount of fresh blood sacrifice wasn’t even worth mentioning .

The little demon’s field of vision was gray, ice-cold, and still . Yan Hai was adept in controlling it since it wasn’t his first time .

It drifted over the wall . Yan Hai saw everyone standing in a circle with Ai Hui in the center . He could see clearly as he was looking from above .

He felt slightly puzzled . What were these fellows doing?

He scanned the surroundings but did not see the blood crystal . To the little demon, the blood crystal was of great benefit . It was like a torchlight in the dark, very conspicuous .

Then, all of a sudden, a wave of intense motion burst out from Ai Hui’s body .

Not good! Had he been discovered?

Yan Hai’s heart started beating faster, but he tried hard to remain calm . That shouldn’t be the case . The little demon beckoned by the banner had no elemental energy motion . It was impossible for even the dean of Central Pine Academy to detect its presence .

He reckoned Ai Hui was about to test a skill or something .

Yan Hai became more focused . Ai Hui hadn’t displayed any moves since the start of the day, so he was also very curious about Ai Hui’s abilities .

Ai Hui was very excited .

He did not expect the blood crystal to be able to activate the artifact remnants on the Dragonspine Inferno . The artifact remnants would cease to be . If the blood crystals could stimulate certain treasures, then the remnants left in the Silver Mist Sea which had once been considered trash would become much more valuable . Their prices would also increase exponentially .

It was a pity he had no money to start a business . Or? He could contact his master and mistress and perhaps earn more money at the embroidery workshop . Then again, he quickly started laughing involuntarily . He might not even survive this calamity, so why was he thinking about earning money?

He should further develop his Dragonspine Inferno instead . As its power increased, his chances of survival increased as well . Plus, it could be seen that the Dragonspine Inferno was still far from reaching its limit . That meant that he needed more blood crystals, since the sword had more potential to improve .

Ai Hui collected his thoughts .

He was already fairly familiar with [Crescent Moon] . Using [Big Dipper] to operate it was the challenge .

The seven palaces within his body vibrated simultaneously and out of them flowed seven rays of elemental energy . Ai Hui prepared to converge them .

Just then, without any sign, the sword embryo between his brows suddenly jolted .

An indescribable feeling overtook Ai Hui’s body . Cold . From head to toe, he felt a sense of coldness . His joy and excitement vanished as he became immersed in this unprecedented, cool state .

Feeling something, Ai Hui turned his neck and walked towards the perimeter wall .

There was clearly nothing, but he “saw” a mist-like presence .

He didn’t know what it was and could only feel its enmity .

The elemental energy circulating within his body became even fuller and richer . Before, Ai Hui had needed to multitask in order to control it, but now, everything went on naturally and smoothly .

Ai Hui drew a graceful trajectory in the sky with the Dragonspine Inferno . At that moment, in the eyes of Shi Xueman and the rest, he was like a completely different person .

He was merely waving the sword in his hand, but every movement was so co-ordinated and aesthetically pleasing that it brought about a casual freeness .

Shi Xueman’s eyes lit up as she recalled the first time she saw Ai Hui’s swordplay . He wasn’t bad then, but now he was becoming and feeling more like an expert .

Only after seeing for herself how he had changed bit by bit did she really understand how fearsome Ai Hui was .

What was even more shocking was that each time Duanmu Huanghun felt pleased about his own progress, Ai Hui would quickly deal a blow to him . He’d thought that his progress was already very speedy but Ai Hui’s was even quicker .

Seeing Ai Hui’s grandeur, Duanmu Huanghun couldn’t help but clench his fist .

You’ve already grown so much?

How great! How exciting!

Having such a strong rival like you is my greatest honor . I won’t make you wait too long!

Duanmu Huanghun felt his blood boil . Unprecedented battlelust agitated his body like raging flames, causing it to tremble slightly .

Suddenly, Ai Hui struck out .

The Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s hand drew a bow-like crescent moon .

The curvy sword ray flashed across the sky, matchlessly fast .

When Ai Hui looked towards him, Yan Hai jolted inwardly . He had been found! There was no time for him to figure out why and he quickly decided to turn and leave .

Before he could take any action, a dazzling light ray rose and a strong fear overtook him . The little demon turned to leave, no longer under control . He knew that this was the demon’s instinctive fear, as if there was something within the light ray that it was very afraid of .

A crescent moon came towards him at breakneck speed .

It was so fast that all he saw was a quick flash of light before feeling something run through his body .

Closely after, a numbness spread throughout his body .

He looked down and saw a hole in his chest area . A bright light ray flickered around its edges and like a dark flame consuming a piece of paper, it continued burning non-stop .

Was that… lightning?

Yan Hai blankly stared at the silver light ray, extending and spreading unceasingly .

He knew now why the little demon was so afraid . During the Cultivation Era, the undead, ghosts, and the like feared the sound of thunder most . Thunder and lightning were regarded as one of the most masculine forces between heaven and earth . It was the evil spirits’ mortal enemy .

But, why was there lightning?

There was no lightning in the Avalon of Five Elements . Amongst metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, only water elementalists were associated with lightning . Their clouds and mists could develop lightning . The lightning between heaven and earth was then affected by clouds . Its violence and destructive force entered people’s field of vision very early . Countless water elementalists had tried creating lightning, but until today, they were still unsuccessful in using lightning in battle .

Lightning in the Cultivation World was entirely different . They were given a special name – “Thunder Stars” . There were many types of Thunder Stars . Blood refinement had Thunder Stars as well, such as the Scarlet Blood Thundergod and the like .

But the Cultivation World was long gone . People today were no longer able to imagine what sort of existence the so-called Thunder Stars had been in the past .

No, not lightning, but Thunder Stars!

Yan Hai did not know why but this thought surfaced within his head and did not disappear .

He stared firmly at the Dragonspine Inferno in Ai Hui’s hand and when he saw the prismatic crystals on it, he finally understood . Artifact Remnants!

But how did Ai Hui activate them? Probably not… by using blood crystals, right?

The heart-wrenching pain caused Yan Hai to withdraw from the little demon’s body and a small wisp of electric current continued to corrode its body . The little demon was like a piece of paper, slowly being eaten up by a dark flame until there was nothing left .

Yan Hai opened his eyes and disgorged a mouthful of fresh blood, his face a few shades paler .

The spirit-beckoning banner in front of him combusted spontaneously without any fire . He couldn’t extinguish it in time so the banner was reduced to ashes . Even the bone, serving as the flag’s pole, was no more .

Yan Hai looked far into the alleyway in bitter resentment before turning to leave .

He had lost a lot today . His one and only treasure was gone and he was also injured . As compared to the blow he was dealt in the day, this psychological damage could not be repaired easily .

Like an injured wolf, he disappeared into the night .

In Vanguard Training Hall, everyone was discussing with excitement about how breathtaking Ai Hui’s swordplay was .

The sword embryo between Ai Hui’s brows fell into a deep sleep once again, and Ai Hui separated from that absolutely ice-cold state . He wondered what he had “seen” earlier . Why was the sword embryo’s reaction so big? Did it sense danger?

Ai Hui felt uneasy and immediately thought about the Blood of God . Thinking about the old prisoner, he wondered, had the Blood of God found him?

That wouldn’t be a good thing…