Chapter 1043: Chapter 796: Mana Devourer
Long Yi was taken aback for a moment, and then he thought carefully about the words Little Zi had said before. Suddenly, he had a realization.
"This is indeed abnormal," Long Yi said.
Yes, Long Yi noticed, until just now, he even had a feeling of being exceptionally carefree. He felt as if he had already begun to distance himself from the matter at hand, drifting outside of reality, but Little Zi’s words had snapped him back to awareness.
"I’ll check your head," Little Zi said.
"Okay," Long Yi nodded, allowing Little Zi’s small hands to rest on his forehead.
After a while, Little Zi put her hands down, shaking her head with some confusion: "It looks like your spirit couldn’t be better, but I instinctively feel that your spirit is very ’majestic’..."
"That should be the problem with the Divine Status," Long Yi replied.
Long Yi then recounted what had happened during the night to the girls.
"You mean to say, you’re becoming a god?" Ai Lin’s eyes widened.
"Isn’t that a bit too easy? If creating a few lives could make one a god, wouldn’t becoming a god be too simple?" Long Yi shook his head.
"Creating life is not essentially easy," Ai Lin said.
"Well, regardless, I should still be cautious. My ’fortunate’ days have not yet begun, and I certainly don’t want to suddenly turn into a great saint."
Listening to Long Yi’s especially emphasized inflection, Ai Lin was certain that the Long Yi of past times had returned. Ai Lin was not actually worried about what happened to Long Yi, because she had great faith in him. Even if something did happen to him, he was still Long Yi, and that wouldn’t change at all.
Today would be the semifinals and finals.
In the semifinals, Long Yi’s opponent was an old Mage, who was also an Elder named Ze Ka. Long Yi hadn’t seen him before; Ze Ka had not been present at the meeting when Elma returned to the upper echelons. However, judging by his posture, his strength was definitely strong.
Ze Ka’s face was taut, unsmiling. He had no interest in this newly surfaced Long Yi. As a powerful Mage, he hadn’t encountered a match for many years. But this time, Solis had given him the order to eliminate Long Yi at all costs. Ze Ka wouldn’t hesitate to annihilate anyone, but he was curious why eliminating a mere person from the Human Realm required someone as powerful as himself—were the others useless?
However, as the battle progressed round after round, Ze Ka realized that Long Yi was far stronger than he thought. Especially his understanding of battle, which might not be inferior to his own, had piqued Ze Ka’s interest.
And now, Long Yi was standing before him.
"You know? I haven’t encountered a match for a long time," Ze Ka said to Long Yi.
"Same here. If you check my battle record, you’ll find that I have never lost," Long Yi said.
"Then today, right now, you will encounter your first defeat in history! Because you will face me, Ze Ka, the Master of Magic Arts, the Devourer of Mana!"
Ze Ka shouted aloud, while a very peculiar Array materialized around his body, twisting and spiraling to envelop him.
At the same time, Long Yi turned to look at Xiaodie, and Xiaodie also looked at Long Yi innocently. Although they did not know what the title of Devourer of Mana actually entailed, could it really be stronger than Xiaodie?
Long Yi watched Ze Ka, waiting for him to show his abilities, while Ze Ka also watched Long Yi without taking the initiative to attack.
"What’s next, Devourer of Mana? Don’t tell me you think I’ll attack you after hearing your title and seeing your strange Array?"
Long Yi looked at Ze Ka with a smile, and Ze Ka’s face suddenly flushed. Of course, that was exactly what he had hoped. In fact, almost every enemy, even after hearing his title, couldn’t help but strike first. In a magical duel, seizing the initiative is crucial; the first to act generally gains the upper hand. Ze Ka did the exact opposite; he excelled at playing defensively and countering, making him a very difficult opponent.
But Long Yi wasn’t fooled, firstly because Long Yi simply wasn’t an impulsive person; secondly, Long Yi actually wanted to see what abilities this so-called Devourer of Mana had, so he had been waiting for the other party to make the first move all along.
Ze Ka’s eyes twitched, the magic swirling around him dissipated, and he started with a standard Electric Shock Technique in an attempt to directly overwhelm Long Yi.
In a Mage’s duel, what magic one uses to begin can reveal a Mage’s style. For instance, a Mage who starts with magic missiles is either a novice or favors a steady approach—magic missiles can be cast immediately without preparation. Starting with magic missiles does not require consideration for subsequent spell connection, and it allows for a wide range of changes afterward, making it hard to counter.
However, the drawback is that magic missiles themselves have limited killing power. Though they can somewhat restrict the opponent’s positioning, the effect is ultimately limited. If the subsequent connection is poor, it’s very likely to force the caster into a passive position.
Starting with Electric Shock Technique, however, is different. Although it requires some casting time, once the spell is formed, it strikes the enemy at the speed of light. And because the characteristics of an electric shock are that it will invariably hit, forcing the opponent to defend, it buys time and space for the caster to launch the next spell.
But starting with Electric Shock Technique has a significant issue; once cast, it will irreversibly affect subsequent spells. After casting Electric Shock Technique, there are very few options for the follow-up spells, making it easy to be targeted. The advantage, though, is that the spells that can follow Electric Shock Technique are either fast or come with additional effects. If cast successfully, the combination of various spells can produce astounding effects.
Of course, all this is contingent on successfully constraining the enemy with Electric Shock Technique.
"Static Electricity Shield!"
This is a spell unique to the Human Realm, using a static electric field to direct all effects of electric shock into the ground. Although it consumes more mana, it is tantamount to being immune to a similar attack!
"Electric Shock Technique!"
Long Yi’s favorite thing was to mimic the opponent’s attack and eventually win against them. This kind of victory that taught them a lesson had a completely different feeling from other victories.
The opponent, upon seeing Long Yi make a move, was ecstatic, and magic once again surfaced vividly around him. He waited for the expected attack, but Long Yi was merely raising his hand without any trace of magic appearing from his palm.
"Sorry, I was just messing with you," Long Yi said, laughing heartily.
Ze Ka immediately realized he had been made a fool of.
"You bastard!"
As an Elder, to be toyed with by Long Yi like this was a blow to Ze Ka’s pride. Annoyed, he abandoned the Devourer Shield and stopped trying to absorb Long Yi’s magic, instead deciding to seriously confront Long Yi.
"That’s more like it, had you told me from the start that you were a Mana Devourer, how could I make a move against you?"
Long Yi nodded, assuming the air of a teachable youth.
Ze Ka, infuriated by Long Yi’s expression, saw him as nothing more than an insignificant brat who dared to give him that look!
"Bastard!"
Ze Ka roared softly, pulling out a magic staff from his private space. The staff was densely inlaid with Cosmic Stone fragments from end to end. Amidst the flickering light, one rune after another erupted from the staff, forming a massive Array.
Long Yi also took out his Cosmic Stone staff at the same time. Compared to Ze Ka’s staff, adorned with fragments of Cosmic Stones, this staff, fashioned entirely out of Cosmic Stones, practically blinded Ze Ka.
He stared feverishly at the staff. Although he had always known that Long Yi possessed such a staff, he didn’t realize what it actually looked like. Now, upon seeing it firsthand, he immediately understood that its value surpassed any magical equipment!
"Someone as weak as you also owns a staff like this?"
Ze Ka sneered.
Long Yi grinned, "What, are you thinking of stealing my staff?"
But Ze Ka retorted, "Steal it? No, it’s just that she deserves a better owner!"
Long Yi was left speechless, "Old man, you really are shameless, making up a reason to steal someone else’s belonging? Fine, since you want to find her a better owner, why not ask her yourself?"
With that, Long Yi actually tossed the Cosmic Stone staff over. Ze Ka instinctively dodged, thinking it was one of Long Yi’s attack strategies. But the Cosmic Stone staff merely hovered there, motionless.
Could it be that there was no scheme? Was this for real?
Ze Ka’s heart started pounding.
"Don’t be scared, didn’t you say she deserves a better owner? Now she is right before you, why don’t you ask her yourself?"
Long Yi shouted from a distance.
Almost simultaneously, the Cosmic Stone staff slowly transformed, turning into a crystal-clear young girl.
"Lingling, the old Mage there wants to find you a new owner, come and tell everyone loudly—who is your owner!" Long Yi turned with pride to face the surrounding audience.
"I believe, Master Ze Ka would be more suitable as my new owner," said Lingling.
The smug look on Long Yi’s face vanished on the spot.
"Hey! What about the defection we agreed on? What happened to the mockery?" Long Yi shouted.
"Because your magic is far inferior to Master Ze Ka’s," Lingling continued.
"Don’t be like that! What about ’forever and ever,’ huh? Aren’t you afraid I’ll cry for you?" Long Yi said, with a mournful look on his face.
Ze Ka wanted to burst into laughter. He had never imagined that he would acquire the Cosmic Stone staff so readily! It was undoubtedly the divine artifact he had long dreamed of!
"Come now, Cosmic Stone staff, let me see what kind of power you truly possess!"
Ze Ka reached out to grasp Lingling’s hand, but she stepped back, avoiding his touch.
"I’m afraid that won’t be possible," Lingling said.
"Why not?" Ze Ka asked, puzzled.
"Because Master Long Yi did not arrange for what comes next," Lingling explained.
"Script? What do you mean?" Ze Ka didn’t catch on right away.
"It’s quite simple—he’s playing you," Lingling said. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
