Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Fierce
Mai Xiongbo’s words made Mu Wanjun’s face drain of color.
This was no time for hesitation. She steeled herself, and the Inner Qi within her Dantian Qi Sea began to surge wildly.
’My only choice now is to risk it all!’
Autumn Water and Sunset!
This was a forbidden technique from her swordsmanship. Once unleashed, it would allow her Power of Slaughter to break through the First Stage of Inner Qi and just barely touch the Second Stage.
Facing Mai Xiongbo, who was at the Second Stage of Inner Qi, she was still outmatched, but this gave her a fighting chance.
If she could break through, her odds of survival would increase dramatically. After all, Weishui County City was still the Garrison Commandant’s Office’s domain. The current chaos was only temporary and would eventually be suppressed.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Mu Wanjun had pushed the Qiushui Sword Technique to its absolute limit.
In that instant, the Sword Aura surging before her flared brilliantly.
Autumn water flowed like sunset clouds, Inner Qi lashing out with a divine elegance. It was as if the sky had filled with violet light and was now pouring down.
The Power of Attack and Destruction from this move had broken through the First Stage of Inner Qi, reaching the realm of the Second Stage.
The violet light pressed down for only an instant before being smothered by an even denser darkness. Accompanied by the CLANG of metal striking metal, the once-magnificent violet glow began to rapidly dissipate.
Mai Xiongbo’s palms, black as ink and as large as fans, repeatedly crushed Mu Wanjun’s Sword Techniques.
’It still wasn’t enough!’
Mu Wanjun sighed to herself.
With Autumn Water and Sunset, her combat power had indeed reached the Second Stage of Inner Qi, but Mai Xiongbo was a veteran of that realm. It was no surprise that he could shatter her Sword Techniques.
"Lord Mu, for a prodigy such as yourself, I have to admit, it almost feels like a waste to kill you."
A mocking smile played on Mai Xiongbo’s lips as he gazed at Mu Wanjun’s despairing face. ’In the face of absolute power, what does it matter if she’s a prodigy?’
’Chen Ping’an...’
Mu Wanjun sighed inwardly, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward the spot where Chen Ping’an lay collapsed.
’Must such a promising young talent, one with the potential to make the Rising Star Chart, die here with me today?’
Huh?
Mu Wanjun’s heart leaped in surprise.
Flying Locust Stones!
With a few flicks of his wrist, Chen Ping’an sent several razor-sharp stones hurtling toward Mai Xiongbo.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The power unleashed by a Perfection Level Flying Locust Stone technique, augmented by Inner Qi, was not to be underestimated.
Mai Xiongbo had his back to Chen Ping’an and didn’t see the attack coming, but he located the projectiles by sound and his body flashed to the side.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Mai Xiongbo dodged three of the stones, which slammed violently into the wall and gouged out two sizable holes.
Mai Xiongbo slapped the last stone away, and it clattered to the floor.
"Run!"
Chen Ping’an had shouted to Mu Wanjun the very instant he launched the Flying Locust Stones.
Though the Flying Locust Stone Attack hadn’t caused Mai Xiongbo any real harm, it had forced him to move and created an opening.
Mu Wanjun would not let such an opportunity slip by. Using the last dregs of power from her fading Autumn Water and Sunset, she forced a breakthrough and dashed toward Chen Ping’an.
"You weren’t poisoned! How could you purge the toxins without being in the Inner Qi Realm?"
Mai Xiongbo hadn’t expected this turn of events.
How was this kid before him unaffected by his special poison mixture?
From the moment he arrived, even before revealing his identity, he had been assessing Chen Ping’an’s Martial Arts Realm. Based on his aura, he was only at the Qi Blood Sixth Layer, nowhere near the Inner Qi Realm!
"I may not have reached the Inner Qi Realm, but my Qi Blood is blazing and has reached its peak. I fell for your dirty trick, but thankfully, the Poisonous Power didn’t penetrate too deeply!"
Chen Ping’an steadied himself, his face grim, and put on a weak appearance.
In reality, his Inner Qi had forced the Poisonous Power out the instant it entered his body.
Of course, he wasn’t about to tell Mai Xiongbo the real reason, just as he wouldn’t reveal that his displayed Realm was merely a disguise created by his Golden Finger Panel.
Mu Wanjun stood by Chen Ping’an’s side, her eyes sparkling with delight.
"Ping’an, I’m so glad you’re all right. If we work together, we still have a chance!"
’Chen Ping’an’s Martial Arts Realm has improved again! He’s reached Qi Blood Six Layers Perfection! That must be it. With such powerful Qi and Blood Power, he was able to stop the Poisonous Power from penetrating too deeply.’
The gap between the Inner Qi Realm and the peak of the Qi Blood Realm wasn’t as astronomical as people imagined.
Besides Inner Qi and specialized Cultivation Techniques and Skills, there wasn’t much difference between the two.
Though her own strength was greatly diminished, she could still fight if she went all out. With Chen Ping’an’s help, they might be able to hold Mai Xiongbo off in a drawn-out fight.
"On the strength of this brat?"
A sneer appeared on Mai Xiongbo’s face.
Despite his words, alarm bells were ringing faintly in Mai Xiongbo’s mind.
Mu Wanjun was right. If the two of them coordinated well, he wouldn’t be able to defeat them quickly without risking injury himself.
They were in Weishui County City, after all. If he delayed long enough for the Garrison Commandant’s Office to respond, he would be the one at a disadvantage.
’I need to end this quickly!’
Mai Xiongbo made his decision.
’Even if it means getting lightly injured, I have to take them down as fast as possible.’
Mai Xiongbo’s palms turned ink-black again, and he was about to strike. But then he saw Chen Ping’an grab Mu Wanjun and run deeper into the prison.
Mai Xiongbo froze for a second, then his expression twisted into a sneer.
’Trying to run?’
’Let’s see where you can run to!’
The South City Prison had only one exit. By running deeper inside, they were just fish in a barrel.
Mu Wanjun ran beside Chen Ping’an deeper into the prison, her mind filled with confusion.
She was thinking the same thing as Mai Xiongbo. Outside, in the open space, they could have fought a running battle against him. With a bit of luck, they might have even broken through his guard. But in here, the narrow corridors made maneuvering difficult, and the single exit completely cut off any hope of escape.
’Is he trying to stall for time in here?’
The thought flashed through Mu Wanjun’s mind.
It was one way to buy time, but it was far more likely that Mai Xiongbo would simply block the exit and gradually corner them.
It was an extremely risky move.
Though her mind was full of questions, at that moment, Mu Wanjun placed her absolute trust in Chen Ping’an.
"Where do you think you’re going!"
Mai Xiongbo bellowed, his voice echoing down the narrow prison corridor.
Chen Ping’an darted through the dungeon with Mu Wanjun. Mai Xiongbo hadn’t been bluffing; numerous Prison Guards lay unconscious in the corridors, obviously hit by the same poison.
’By now,’ he thought, ’if I’m not mistaken, someone must have already gone to rescue Wu Haihua!’
But he couldn’t worry about that right now.
Instead of heading for the second basement level, Chen Ping’an turned and ducked into a guard’s duty room.
"Ping’an, what is this..."
Mu Wanjun didn’t understand why Chen Ping’an had brought them here. Before she could finish her question, Mai Xiongbo followed them in, roaring with laughter.
"Did you figure out we have people downstairs? Too scared to go any further? So you’re just going to give up and let me capture you here? HAHAHA..."
The moment Mai Xiongbo stepped into the duty room, several Flying Locust Stones flew at his face. His reactions were lightning-fast. He dodged a few with a flicker of his body and slapped two more out of the air.
"Pathetic tricks!"
Before he had even steadied himself, he sneered at Chen Ping’an. He was about to taunt him when he saw Chen Ping’an, who was standing in a corner, yank a lever on the wall.
A cage made of fine iron suddenly dropped from the ceiling. Normally, he would have been fast enough to easily evade it, but he was still off-balance from dodging the Flying Locust Stones and couldn’t maneuver in time.
CLANG!
The Fine Iron Cage slammed down, trapping him securely inside.
"Let’s go!"
Without waiting to see Mai Xiongbo’s reaction, Chen Ping’an barked at Mu Wanjun, then ran past the Fine Iron Cage and out of the duty room.
