Chapter 535: 535. Lose-lose
At this moment, neither of them were in good shape.
For Xu Fu, losing an arm was a minor issue.
The biggest problem now was—the excessive consumption had led to his inability to suppress his body’s original consciousness, and his hand kept trying to touch the mask as if on its own accord.
As for Lu Yao, he was nearly at his wits’ end.
Today, he had taken the “war of attrition” strategy to its extreme. Now he was down to only the Pipa and the Blade of Freedom.
Especially that last laser barrage, which looked impressive but had actually drained all of his remaining willpower.
...
Although in poor condition, neither of them let it show on their faces, each wearing an elegant and composed smile as they said:
“Otherworld visitor, I’ve developed a great interest in your world and would very much like to visit it myself.”
“Back to sweet-talking, I see. It seems you’ve run out of tricks.”
As the two exchanged verbal jabs, their respective backup teams cautiously approached.
Confusion was written on the faces of both sides— who had won?
Lu Yao had been beaten from start to finish, which logically meant he should be the loser.
But he seemed fine now while Xu Fu looked a bit worse for wear…
The leader from the Izumo side was Commander Hayashi Senjuuro, his face changing like the weather, tightly gripping the cruciform spear in his hand;
Yu Yanmei led the way for the Yi Dynasty side, drawing the Divine Sword Tai’a, her aura surging with a fighting spirit!
The others were no less courageous.
Dong Fuxiang, Shi Rongchun, Fu Fangsheng and others had their morale high; Bai Jingting and Yun Qinglan each locked onto an opponent of the same realm, ready to strike at any moment; even Su Er was unperturbed, her pretty face cold as frost.
In comparison, although the Izumo side looked fierce, they were far from being as united as this group.
In the midst of the tense standoff, Lu Yao and Xu Fu both signaled their forces to back down simultaneously.
Of course, both wanted to eliminate the other once and for all, but couldn’t be sure of the opponent’s current state, and to fight rashly could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Lu Yao absolutely did not want his close allies harmed, and Xu Fu was also eager to deal with his abnormal state, so they both ceased hostilities by mutual consent.
The two stared coldly at each other, leading their respective followers away slowly.
There was no need for tough talk like ordinary people did, as there was no point. They both knew well that neither would spare the other and what lay ahead would be a matter of life and death.
This great battle thus came to an end, leaving behind Mount Kumgang, whose landscape had been changed forever.
The area had once been known for its breathtaking beauty and steep terrain, but now, that “beauty” was unlikely to be associated with it again.
Once the lava solidified, the place turned dark and dreary, looking like the surface of an alien planet from a distance.
~~~~~~~~~~
In Pyongyang, at dawn.
Lu Yao had a good sleep and had mostly recovered.
He stood up, stretched lazily, and made a sound like twisting and pulling steel.
“Mission accomplished beyond expectations!”
Lu Yao was in high spirits, not only having fully glimpsed the secrets of the Thunder Tribulation Realm but also further liberating the Creation Immortal Boat and the Willpower Golden Dragon.
The price he paid was merely 2 billion units of Yan Huang willpower, barely worth mentioning.
This was because only Lu Yao had the confidence to say so. The total population of the Otherworld at the moment was only 2.6 billion, not to mention the Yan Huang willpower without a single side effect.
For such an astronomical amount of willpower, Lu Yao needed only to return home to easily obtain it.
Now, according to the plan, he intended to go back and use Blue Star’s technology to cross the Heavenly Tribulation.
However, this task was not as simple as he anticipated.
After fighting against Xu Fu, Lu Yao had gained a deep understanding of the Thunder Tribulation Realm. The previous idea of using high voltage electricity for cultivation was probably impractical.
The essence of Crossing Thunder Tribulation was not merely enduring lightning but using the life-and-death forces contained within the thunder to forge and temper the Divine Soul.
“Things don’t always go as one wishes.”
“What are you feeling sentimental about?”
Lu Yao had just heaved a sigh when someone interrupted him, it was Yu Yanmei coming to see him.
“I’m reflecting on life, always full of uncertainties.”
“Having such leisure thoughts, it seems you’re alright now.”
Yu Yanmei raised her hand and checked, her darling man had indeed almost fully recovered, she subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterward, her beautiful eyes stared at him with a gleam:
“Lu Xiaozi, you actually managed to fight Xu Fu to a standstill… How did you withstand that last spell?”
The bombardment of the “Gamma-Ray Burst” was like a natural disaster, leaving all who witnessed it deeply shocked.
Lu Yao said with a smile, “I was thinking about your health, gritted my teeth and persisted through it.”
A deliberate tease, and in return, he got a roll of the eyes.
Then, Lu Yao also raised his hand to probe Yu Yanmei’s chest and said with surprise:
“Not bad at all, there’s already a hint of ‘Indestructible Will.’ It shouldn’t take long before you enter the Jin Gold Body Realm.”
Yu Yanmei’s body emitted the faint authority of the Golden Body Realm, a clear sign that she was about to break through, which could be described as incredibly rapid progress.
This Moon Fairy only seemed somewhat overshadowed when she stood beside Lu Yao; her achievements would make her a ‘prodigy’ elsewhere.
She spoke somewhat wistfully, “Watching your battle yesterday gave me a huge inspiration and a deeper understanding of the Indestructible Will, which led to this progress.”
Even his own woman had benefited; Lu Yao felt even more that this was a big win.
Spirits are buoyant in happy times, and he cheerfully urged Yu Yanmei to walk,
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“Are you trying to kill me! There’s already so much gossip spreading…”
Lu Yao pursed his lips, “You can’t keep a fire under a paper, did you want to keep it secret forever? Just ignore them.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
Elsewhere, Xu Fu had exerted a great deal of effort and took three whole days to suppress the anomalies in his divine soul.
Now, he finally had the energy to focus on regenerating his arm.
From the void where his arm had been severed, slowly appeared bones, blood vessels, nerves, and other tissues, like a detailed anatomical diagram.
At this rate, a new arm would grow back in just a few days.
Witnessing this miraculous scene, commander “Hayashi Senjuuro” breathed a sigh of relief; it was good news that the Emperor’s battle power was undamaged.
He stepped forward and bellowed, “Your Majesty, I will gather the army immediately and punish those who have disrespected you!”
Xu Fu was about to speak, but his barely mobile new arm suddenly started moving uncontrollably toward the mask!
Although easily suppressed, Xu Fu’s complexion turned sour in an instant.
The psyche of intelligent beings is the most wondrous thing in the world; there is no perfect body-snatching, no matter if it begins from infancy, huge risks remain.
This risk, brought on by today’s heavy toll, had fully emerged. It seemed that the recently acquired Golden Body Realm flesh had to be discarded once again.
At this moment, Hayashi Senjuuro noticed the Emperor hadn’t spoken for a long while and was puzzled.
The next second Xu Fu looked up, his voice ice-cold:
“Release the stuff from the ‘Preventive Water Supply Troops,’ use the Yi Dynasty Army for testing.”
Hayashi Senjuuro’s face shifted slightly, “But… the ‘Tactical Ghost’ is completely uncontrollable… it could lead to the extinction of all humans in Goryeo.”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s just a peninsula,” said Xu Fu, his eyes flashed coldly and he spoke without expression:
“After a successful test, drop it directly onto the Divine Land’s mainland. Hayashi-san, this must be done quickly.”
Hayashi Senjuuro felt his hair stand on end, he dared not say more, stood at attention and bowed, “Yes, sir!”
The “Tactical Ghost” plan started after the great battle of Jinling with the Daechong Church.
An Izumo warrior had taken away a piece of Hong Renkun’s mutated flesh.
The Emperor valued it highly, investing resources into research regardless of cost, and had already achieved some results.