Chapter 327: Fire in the Dark

Artifact Manifestation was the ultimate skill of each Horseman of the Apocalypse. The four of them had a duty to prevent monsters from escaping the Inner Hell, so the spell they possessed was bound to be extremely powerful. Arguably, the same spell in Sila’s possession was classified as an item skill, meaning its ability was weakened, or nerfed in game terms. If used right, however, the power it displayed would still be tremendous.

Regretfully, Sila did it all wrong. It was natural though. Magic was the type that relied on knowledge and experimentation. The result of each spell was fixed and reliable regardless of place and time. It was the opposite of qi which was flexible and versatile, depending on the user’s aptitude and understanding. Meanwhile, psychic power was unpredictable, greatly influenced by the user’s state of mind.

While Zarnak was knowledgeable and wise, its scope of knowledge was limited to what its masters had experienced. Among its former masters, some had witnessed Artifact Manifestation, yet no beings fully comprehended the ability as much as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse did.

Artifact Manifestation’s actual usefulness didn’t lie in the ability of the artifact it summoned but how quickly the user could convert their magic power into an artifact. It could be done in an instant. In that sense, the user could compress a spell that normally took an entire day to cast into an artifact then deform it, unleashing said spell right away. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse relied on this exact ability to reign over hordes of monsters trying to escape.

However, not only did Sila not define which spell he wanted to manifest, but he also randomly expended his magic power. In fact, if Artifact Manifestation was a qi-type skill, he would have already suffered from qi deviation. Or else, if it was a psychic type, his power might have become unstable and exploded right in front of his face. It could be said that the current results were fortunate enough.

Since he started the game with qi and had high aptitude for psychic power, Sila didn’t understand the amazing qualities of magic. He didn’t even care about why most monsters, including all gods except Lucifer, belonged to the magic type category.

Magic type was arcane, fair, and loyal. It never bit its master like qi and wasn’t unpredictable like psychic power. By spending magic power, the user would always get something in return. Also, there was no way a caster would be harmed by their own spells unless there were external interruptions. Even if a spell caster cast an AOE fire spell to burn the entire area, including where they were standing, they would still be fine.

Sila had paid his magic power, mixing seven elements together, to trade for an artifact, yet he had no clue what kind of results he could expect from it.

Since Sila spent his magic power randomly, naturally, the system generated a random artifact for him in return.

Pandora’s Box wasn’t designed to be opened. If it was in the hands of one of any Horseman of the Apocalypse, they would have thrown it at their enemy and deformed the artifact, changing it back into a compressed mass of magic power. The power of seven elements would then explode. In a sense, the ability of the box held no meaning.

Even in the Monster Realm, only a few monsters would know the name Pandora. She was a being who had lived in a primal era. Most of those who knew her name would have already forgotten her or died.

Thus, no one knew what was inside the original Pandora’s Box—the inheritance she left behind. Its ability remained a mystery.

The reason why all players’ vision snuffed out wasn’t because they had died, but because all natural light was gone, completely. It was as if someone had spilt black ink on the canvas called the sky. Be it the sun, the moon, or the stars, none could be seen in the sky.

The world was under a veil of darkness that was darker than any nighttime.

Players all over Monster Soul panicked, thinking that they were under a blind curse. Some who were in the middle of fights got injuries or died. It took a short while before they discovered that they could light fires. If someone were to look at the Main Continent from up in the sky, they would see that small dots of manmade flames were gradually lit up on the land below.

The game’s management team had to urgently hold a meeting, consulting for a long time over what to do about the unexpected situation. It hadn’t happened yet, but in half an hour, there would be a system announcement about a certain event. Since there was no precedent of the system holding another event during the time of war event, the meeting became quite hectic.

***

Sila was aware that he wasn’t blind. Qi-type players possessed sharp senses, so he knew for a fact that there were no abnormalities within his body.

Amidst complete darkness, his eyes caught a glimpse of mana coiling around a sand sword, so he retreated barely in time using Formless Martial God.

Sila’s chances of victory were dimmer than the current natural lighting. There was no light of hope. His body, experience, and intuition all admitted that much. Still, his brain’s amazing clarity reminded him that hope always existed as long as he was alive.

There was a certain verse in the Flaming Cloud Qi’s Flame Part, saying, “If a path can’t be found in the dark, light a fire.”

The mentioned fire referred to the Flaming Cloud Qi itself. Normally, the practitioner would master the Cloud Part before the Flame Part for them to obtain wisdom. However, if the time came when they encountered a foe who they couldn’t defeat with only wisdom, they must overwhelm it with power.

Naturally, Flaming Cloud Qi was classified as an art of the fire element according to the principle of Five Elements. The qi would stimulate the user. If Sila didn’t circulate it, he would be like an ordinary person. However, once he circulated it, the Cloud Part would enhance his cognizance while the Flame Part would stimulate his inner force from within.

Fire is one of the classical elements of nature. Flaming Cloud Qi had the power to control fire, so it was undoubtedly almighty and powerful.

Angelic Flame and Demonic Flame began to merge. Sila intended to use white flames while Dark Self wanted to use black ones. Their struggle for survival led to a perfect synchronization, subconsciously leading them into the deeper world of Flaming Cloud Qi.

Flaming Cloud Qi — Nirvana Part.

A swaying aura enveloped Sila. Saying the aura was like a group of flames would be an understatement. It was like Sila had become light itself. His aura spread and got rid of the darkness in an instant. Inverse Zhongsuyuan City became even brighter than what it would be if the sun shone down upon it.

Pumin felt both joy and surprise. It seemed he had greatly pressured Sila to the point that his son achieved a breakthrough sooner than expected. Sila’s current level of power was comparable to the Demon God Zenga’s—whom even Pumin in the past couldn’t get a single win against.

The brainwave technology and profound arts were supporting each other. No one could predict what would happen to the Wulin Masters Association in the future. The era where profound arts reached their apex might be arriving soon.

Even mana in nature was burnt, vanishing without leaving a trace. There was nothing the Nirvana Flame couldn’t burn. No one could borrow power from nature anymore.

Sila looked at his palm. A golden aura of light coiled around it and would move according to his desire. Even the air was burnt to nothing, leaving nothing for breathing. Despite there being no oxygen, the golden qi flame didn’t disappear since its fuel was Sila’s lifeforce. The only time that the Flaming Cloud Qi’s user couldn’t exert the Nirvana Flame was when their lifeforce had run out.

If this phenomenon were to happen in the real world, Sila’s inner force would constantly go down until he reached his death. In Monster Soul, however, the cost of using the Nirvana Flame was none other than his health points. No, they weren’t just his health points but the maximum value of them.

“My master, you’re not ready for this power. Stop using it. If your health points reach zero, you will permanently cease to exist in Monster Soul,” Zarnak warned.

If the health bar reaches 0/0, the character naturally can’t survive. The user will have no choice but to delete their avatar and start anew.

Sila quickly extinguished the Nirvana Flame. Despite that, 200,000 of his maximum health points had already been consumed. The reason why Zarnak had never brought up the constant use of Nirvana Flame to Sila was because it knew that Sila was still unable to properly control the flame. The power that should have been used sparingly was instead rapidly consumed.

There was no air left for breathing. Luckily, Sila, Pumin, and Irene had mastered Profound Qi Circulation Art. They could rely on the inner-breathing technique to prevent themselves from suffocation. However, regardless of how great they were as profound practitioners, no one could continue to survive in a place with no air. Given their masteries, they could hold their breaths for at most an hour.

Both sides were more concerned about Revin and Burapha’s match. One of them was a magic type while another was a psychic type. Unlike qi type, they wouldn’t have a way to survive for long in this kind of environment.

Nevertheless, their own fight had yet to come to a conclusion. To give their aid to Revin or Burapha, Pumin and Sila had to finish their battle as soon as possible.

“Irene, go and help the city ruler,” Pumin requested, to which Irene nodded. She turned her head to look at Sila once before she left.

Sila could only watch as she disappeared.

Heaven’s Decree Sword Art could no longer be used since the mana in the air was gone, leaving none to be borrowed. Still, the title Sword Prodigy wasn’t so simple. Pumin wielded the sand sword using both hands as he took a common-looking battle stance. A powerful qi reinforcement was clad around the sword while a gentle breeze coiled around him.

One against three. If someone fights barehanded, those are the odds of winning against someone with a weapon. In order to increase his odds, Sila unwillingly took the Thousand Ruptures Axe into his hands. He regretted that he didn’t have Lookhin’s Oceanic Mind or Cross’ Psychic Armament. If he did, he wouldn’t have to lift the axe up using his arm strength.

‘I hope that art will work... Well, I doubt it. I have never tried it before.’ Sila reluctantly pinned his hopes on a certain art that he had learned in passing.

It was an art living in the deep corners of his memory. Sila went over its utilization in his head, switching his Flaming Cloud Qi circulation method from the Flame Part to the Cloud Part. What he needed right now wasn’t raw strength but keen insight.

The sand sword came at Sila as violently as a hurricane. The strike was simple. There was no waste of energy. Pumin was aware that Sila wasn’t proficient at using an axe. There was a big difference between how to use a sword and an axe. A different kind of weapon wasn’t something a fighter could use skillfully the first time they picked it up. Thus, he pressured Sila from the first strike, forcing his son to block it head-on and lose momentum. He decided to finish the duel by the second strike.

Sila took a short breath to relax his mind. His Five-Attributed Cloud Qi changed his elemental affinity to water. His eyes didn’t look at the sword but Pumin’s center of gravity.

He raised his hands slowly, swinging the Thousand Ruptures Axe upward. Since his movements were slow, he could pinpoint a target accurately despite the axe’s troubling weight.

Once the sword and the axe collided, Sila exerted all his strength. No, he didn’t try to forcefully break apart Pumin’s attack by lifting the axe up. Quite the opposite, in fact. What he did was push the axe down.

What to do when the axe was too heavy to wield by oneself? What to do if one’s own strength was insufficient to take down a foe? Simply borrow the opponent’s strength, then.

Sila was using the final part of knowledge recorded in the Six Moon-Grabbing-Claws scripture, which explained the martial moves’ various applications once the user had built up enough inner force.

Previously, he had believed that he had nearly mastered the art. However, after witnessing Sanon’s Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique, he came to a realization that Sanon’s skills at counterattacking were a hundred times scarier than Kawin’s. For Sila, whose proficiency of the art was below even Kawin’s, thinking that he had nearly mastered the art was quite shameful.

The axe descended in a curve. Sila used his body as a center of the circle, swinging the axe centrifugally. The axe spun around him in a fraction of a second, thrashing Pumin in the most straightforward manner. Before Pumin could be aware of it, the axe was already an inch away from his head.

Apparently, Sila borrowed the force behind Pumin’s strike to accelerate the speed of his swing. The attack neatly connected, dealing exactly 10,000,000 points of damage to Pumin.

Witnessing the result, Sila came to be aware of the terrifying aspect of the art that focused on counterattacking. He now knew the reason why the Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique was hailed as one of the Five Crown Jewels despite it being used only once.

When Pumin was attacking, his defense naturally weakened. While people are running forward, they can’t move back without coming to a stop. The art focusing on counterattacking carried high risks when being used. However, if the counterattack was successful even once, it could immediately turn the tide of the battle.

Pumin’s body was cleaved in half, scattering as grains of sand.

Sila wiped the sweat on his chin. “Pim’s hammer art is surprisingly useful. I will have to thank her later.”

In fact, Pim had insisted that her art wasn’t a hammer art but a mace. Sila had exchanged combat-related knowledge with Pim for one night during his stay on the Island of Beginnings. How to use a hammer wasn’t complex, so he could learn it relatively easily. Unexpectedly, he finally got a chance to use it today.

The uses of a mace were simple, yet powerful; the simplest attack could naturally exert the most powerful might. How to use it well heavily relied on how to make use of its weight, unlike swords or sabers which focused on how the user applied force into their wrist.

Having a chance to personally experience Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique through his body, Sila realized how amazing the counterattack art could be. Well, unlike before, the current Sila had become more humble. He didn’t dare to call his strike just now the Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique. Actually, without the ridiculous attack power of the Thousand Ruptures Axe, he was certain that his previous counter would be simply hard to dodge but lacking raw power. Calling it a Fountain-Surrounding Small Snake Technique would already be pushing it.

“Umm... I think I have mimicked Mister Sanon’s move properly though. Why didn’t my move show the same might as his? What am I lacking, I wonder?”

“I see... So it’s Six Moon-Grabbing-Claws. I was too careless, thinking that it’s not your forte.”

Pumin’s voice rang out as the pile of sand recombined, forming into an uninjured Anubis. The unfolding scene made Sila become restless. He was shocked to see that his last attack was ineffective.

Noticing the change in Sila’s expressions, Pumin knew what his son was thinking. “Don’t be discouraged, Sila. Don’t you know that all Gods of Death are undead? We won’t die unless our health points reach zero. The previous attack was amazing, dealing exactly ten million damages. It’s just that I have twenty-five million health points total. Hit me with it two more times and I will die. Actually, your attack would cause more damage if you reinforced it with qi. Well, I guess you would have already done it if you could. This means that the axe has some restrictions.”

The Thousand Ruptures Axe’s downside was that while the ten million damage might sound life-threatening, it wasn’t enough to kill boss-level monsters at Lord Rank or higher, especially when they were qi type.

“Regretfully, our duel can no longer continue,” Pumin declared as he looked behind Sila.

Sila turned back and found Irene returning. With a soft voice, she announced something to her son.

“By the time I arrived, the match between your friend and the city ruler had already come to a conclusion.”