Chapter 98.1

Man vs G.o.d

Su Chan knew something was wrong the moment she saw Yundong flinch . What happened? What in Tao"s name happened? Su Chan zoomed in with her eyes . Yundong"s face was twisted in pain, and he kept blinking his eyes . Grr! That pesky old man must have done something to Yundong"s eyes!

Yundong"s knees. .h.i.t the ground .

The old man was now moving, though he appeared to be limping .

Yundong was still kneeling on the ground, doing nothing to defend himself .

Xianjue, Yundong! Xianjue!

With Xianjue, it was still possible for Yundong to dodge the old man"s attacks even though he couldn"t see . But why wasn"t Yundong standing up to defend himself? Staying in a kneeling position would impair his mobility and compromise his defense .

Argh! No use worrying about this now . I have to go help him!

Su Chan sprang to her feet . But then she stopped . She turned back around . Zhou Qin was staring back at her grimly .

"Go," Zhou Qin said with a nod . "Go help him, I"ll be okay . I"ll call the cops and go check on the others . " Zhou Qin jerked her chin towards the students who were cowering in fear near the long vehicle .

Su Chan nodded and returned her gaze to the old man . Footsteps sounded behind her; Zhou Qin was already running towards the car . Su Chan wasn"t sure who these "cops" were supposed to be, but she didn"t care .

Maybe they were the same men who wore those strange badges .

The old man stopped moving . He crouched down . Blood spilled from the old man"s mouth, and he broke into a coughing fit .

For a moment there, Su Chan thought the old man had given up . But then the coughing stopped, and the old man rose to his feet again . Determination flashed inside his eyes as he wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth with the sleeve of his robe .

Then, the old man started limping towards Yundong again .

"Yundong!!!!" Su Chan yelled . She tried to switch on her Xianjue"s clairvoyant mode, but cursed when she realized that the old man was out of her range . Only Yundong"s Xianjue had that kind of insane range .

Su Chan"s legs moved, propelling her towards Yundong .

She had barely taken two steps before something made her stop .

Wait a minute… Is he…

Yundong had let his hands drop limply to his sides . Su Chan zoomed in with her eyes, focusing on Yundong"s face . He was no longer blinking . His eyes were closed, and there was a tranquil look on his face .

The penny dropped when Su Chan noticed the state of Yundong"s hair, which was standing upright .

Oh, clever, clever Yundong…

Su Chan zoomed out, her eyes darting around as she searched desperately for Zhou Qin"s whereabouts .

Yundong was bridging the Three Gates just like she"d taught him last time . He knew that a frontal attack was coming, so he was trying to create distance . Forcing his opponent away to keep himself outside of his opponent"s striking range . That way he wouldn"t have to dodge or parry at all .

Brilliant .

Great combat instincts .

She found Zhou Qin seconds later .

Zhou Qin was beside the long vehicle, helping two girls to their feet .

But that"s in the direct line of—

Su Chan"s gaze snapped towards Yundong .

Yundong was now on his feet .

She zoomed in .

White steam rose from the top of his head

Uh-oh . . . .

Su Chan sprinted towards the car as fast as her legs could carry her . "Back away from the car!!!" Su Chan yelled at the top of her lungs .

Zhou Qin, along with several other students near the car, froze .

"Get away!!!" Su Chan waved her arms wildly .

Su Chan reached the car in record time . She dove for Zhou Qin and grabbed her arm .

Then, Su Chan scurried away from the car, dragging Zhou Qin with her . As they moved, Su Chan swiveled her head and looked towards Yundong . The old man had finally reached Yundong and was about to launch another Shadowless kick .

Yundong c.o.c.ked his fist back .

"Down!" Su Chan yelled, pulling Zhou Qin to the ground .

The moment they both hit the ground, the air in front of Yundong exploded in a soundless clap . The old man did some weird acrobatic move at the last second—he twisted his body sideways while jumping backwards .

WHOOSH!!!

A powerful shockwave blasted a straight path from Yundong towards the long car, hurling the old man away like a rag doll . A loud, metallic crunch sounded followed by the sound of gla.s.s shattering . The car skidded sideways, producing an ear-piercing screech which lasted for seconds on end .

Then it was over . Silence fell .

The smell of burnt rubber a.s.saulted Su Chan"s nose . She glanced towards the ruined car . All of its windows were shattered, and the dent in the middle of its body was so great that the car appeared slightly bent lengthwise . Several dark lines marked the pavement, no doubt left behind by the car"s rubber wheels when they were sliding across the concrete .

"Stay down," Su Chan whispered to Zhou Qin .

Su Chan climbed to her feet and sprinted towards Yundong .

To her surprise, the old man was still standing even though he had been blown away by the shockwave earlier . His dark robe, however, was now torn apart with pieces of it still floating in the air .

Su Chan"s footsteps echoed as she ran . The moment she got close, Yundong stiffened and started backing away from her .

"Who"s there!" he said and got into a fighting stance .

He still can"t see…

Su Chan immediately stopped running . "It"s me, beloved . It"s me . "

Yundong"s posture relaxed . "S- Su Chan?"

Su Chan closed the remaining distance between them . "Yes, I"m here now, beloved . Let me see your eyes . "

Yundong lowered himself to the floor with a loud groan .

Su Chan crouched down and flipped open one of his eyelids .

"The b.a.s.t.a.r.d went for my eyes . . . " Yundong grumbled . "I dunno what he did . But it hurt like h.e.l.l . I think it"s that robe of his . "

"Rock dust . Sand," Su Chan said, lowering his eyelids . She made a sound of disapproval in her throat . "Must have sent it to your eyes with those air currents . Now hold still . Keep your eyes closed . "

Su Chan adjusted her posture so that her hands were hidden behind Yundong"s body, away from the crowd"s view .

Yundong tried to rub his eyes with his hands .

"Tsk! Don"t rub your eyes," Su Chan said, slapping his hand . "Hands off!"

Yundong let his hands drop .

Su Chan shut her eyes and muttered an incantation for an extraction spell .

"What? I didn"t catch that . You were whispering something," Yundong said .

A green glow appeared in Su Chan"s hand .

""Nothing," Su Chan said . "Just hold still . "

Su Chan held her hand in front of Yundong"s eyes .

Yundong sighed . "Much better…"

Seconds later, Su Chan withdrew her hand .

"Okay, you can open your eyes now . "

Yundong"s lashes fluttered .

"Why didn"t you use Xianjue?" Su Chan asked .

"Couldn"t get it to work," Yundong said, blinking a few times . "Eyes hurt too much . "

Oh… Right .

"Can you see now?"

"Yeah . " Yundong wiped a stray tear with his sleeve .

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No . Just the eyes . But the pain is gone…" Yundong stared at her . "What did you do?"

"It—"

The sound of maniacal laughter stilled Su Chan"s words . Slowly, she rose to her feet . "Up, Yundong . Quickly!" Su Chan held out her hand .

Yundong slid his hand into hers and she pulled him up .

"d.a.m.n it . I thought I had him for sure," Yundong said . "How the h.e.l.l did I miss?"

Uh… h.e.l.lo? Maybe because you couldn"t see?

Su Chan bit back the snarky remark . Sheesh . All this stress must be getting to her .

Su Chan cleared her throat . "He was thrown away by the shockwave, but he dodged at the last second, so he didn"t take the full brunt of it . "

The old man started clapping his hands .

"Wow . . . Wow!" the old man said, removing the rest of his tattered robe from his body . "I haven"t had so much fun in years . Years! Hahahaha! Oh… This is going to be interesting!"

"Hahahahaha! Can you imagine? After spending so many years engaging in boring duels with hacks who claimed to be masters… And now, finally! Finally I found a worthy opponent!"

"Crazy son of a… Hey… Why is he ripping his shirt off? What the h.e.l.l is he up to?" Yundong said .

The old man was now naked from the waist up . The way his ribcage was pushing out against his skin made him look like someone who hadn"t eaten in weeks .

Su Chan narrowed her eyes . "I don"t know . . . "

Su Chan scanned the area for the crowd .

Zhou Qin had done a superb job getting the injured students away from the damaged car .

Most of the students had already fled the scene while the old man was busy exchanging blows with Yundong . Those who remained were either unconscious or incapacitated somehow .

"Holy s.h.i.t . . . Is the old b.a.s.t.a.r.d still planning to fight in his condition?" Yundong said .

Su Chan zoomed in on the old man"s face .

The old man was still laughing like a loony . He looked like he was enjoying himself .

"Whoa, whoa, whoa . . . What"s that thing in his hand?" Yundong whispered . "Did you see that?"

Su Chan zoomed out of the old man"s face and focused on his hands instead . She managed to catch a glimpse of a flat, yellow object (a cloth? a piece of paper?) before the old man hid his hand behind his back . His other hand slid into the pocket of his pants as though to look for something .

"I knew there"s something special about you, boy! I knew it!" The old man unleashed another round of laughter . "Looks like that kid wasn"t lying when he told me that an expert Cultivator lives in this city!"

"Did he just… s.h.i.t! Su Chan!" Yundong hissed . "He mentioned Cultivator . He knows about us!"

Su Chan narrowed her eyes . Kid? Which kid told him about Yundong?

Was it Ruan Hongling?

The timeline fit .

Just yesterday, Ruan Hongling was at their door, speaking with Yundong . And one day later, this old man appeared out of nowhere to have a dust-up with Yundong?

But this man couldn"t possibly be a Cultivator from the Zhengyi School . The Zhengyi School would never act so overtly, especially in a place crawling with mortals . Well, there was only one way to find out for sure . They had to get this old man to talk—

Hey . . . what"s that smell?

Su Chan closed her eyes and sniffed the air a few times . Burning . Something was burning .

"Umm . . . Su Chan? He just threw something away . . . " Yundong said . "It"s a lighter . . . And he"s holding some kind of yellow paper in his hand . . . "

Su Chan"s eyes shot open . A talisman!

He"s casting a spell!

But what spell?

"And… the paper"s gone . Burnt into ashes . What kind of sick game is this lunatic playing?"

"Hyaahhhhhh!!!!" The old man slapped his chest .

Yundong flinched .

"Yundong . . . Move your Qi to your legs," Su Chan said . "Prepare to run . "

"What! Run? Did you forget his threat earlier? He"s gonna kill . . . "

Su Chan didn"t hear the rest of Yundong"s sentence . She was already tuning her Eryue to focus on the sounds coming from the old man"s lips . Incantations . . . If it"s a spell . . . It probably involves some kind of incantation . . . Come on, come on . . . Here we go!

" . . . Maoshan Jida Zhen Shengong . Bada Yuanshuai Xian Shentong! Hearken to me, O Great Celestial Lord of the Three Realms! Come to me! Show me your power! I offer you my body as a vessel . . . "

Su Chan"s blood ran cold . No… No… It can"t be…

She took Yundong"s hand and gave it a sharp tug .

"Yundong, we have to go . Now!"

Yundong didn"t budge .

"Yundong, come on!! We"ve gotta move!"

Yundong pointed a shaky finger at something in front of them .

Su Chan lifted her gaze .

The old man"s body was now twitching and convulsing violently . The convulsions were accompanied by a series of crunching sound, like the cracking of knuckles, only ten times louder . His skin bulged and contorted as though his muscles were expanding from within . His face began to warp and shift as though a bunch of creatures were trying to crawl out from within his skull but was held back by the elastic layer of his skin . Spit and some kind of unknown fluid dripped to the ground . The old man"s contorted mouth dropped open as he gurgled . More fluid spilled to the ground . Su Chan thought the fluid looked a lot like the contents of a person"s stomach . A putrid smell filled the air a split second later . The old man"s mouth gaped wider as his teeth shifted and rearranged themselves inside his oral cavity . His jaw engorged and shrunk in an erratic rhythm .

All of a sudden, the old man hunched over .

The crunching stopped .

When he rose to full height seconds later, he was no longer an old man . Instead, standing before them was a six-foot-tall man with the build of a tough warrior .