Book 3 Chapter 22 – Thunderous Strike
'A guardian, or a beast?' Li Yiming dropped his head down against the steering wheel. His desperation grew as dawn came and he came to the realization that his entire night had been fruitless. 'Oh no… Liu Meng, it doesn't matter who it is, she's…' Li Yiming opened his car door, dejected, and sat down on a stone bench in a park nearby. Before he knew it, he took out a half finished pack of cigarette from his bracelet and was looking for a lighter. However, even that task ended with frustration.
He stared blankly at the sewer cover as he once again sank into deep regret. The cigarette between his fingers had been torn into several pieces. Suddenly, a few bugs that flew out of the ventilation holes caught his attention. He quickly rolled back and hid amidst the vegetation while keeping his attention wholly on the sewer cover.
'These bugs… Zeng Qian?'
The little bugs spiraled around above the cap and spread out into different directions. They seemed no different from the ones that could be found in a park in the morning. After a little while, the sewage cap suddenly moved and slowly opened. A slightly swollen hand with white skin emerged, and it was not long before its owner fully revealed herself: Zeng Qian was there.
'Why is she…' Li Yiming was puzzled. But Fang Shui'er's appearance broke his train of thoughts. The two sisters emerged from the sewers with dirty clothes and covered in stains, but it seemed like their foremost concern was to inspect their surroundings for potential threats.
"They know." Zeng Qian said with a frown. She could no longer sense any of the bugs she sent out. It seemed like their enemies had expected them to take such a escape route and planned an ambush.
"I'm so sorry. If I had taken your advice before, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation." Fang Shui'er sighed in self-reproach. Ever since the incident in Ning Village, she always thought about finding a way to make up with her sister. She did not think that the team she had spent so much time finding would betray them.
"No use saying that now. I wouldn't think that they would dare fight us in the open anyways." The smile on Zeng Qian's mask remained unchanged, but her eyes let through a ferociousness indicating that she was ready to fight for her life.
"And why would we need to fight you?" A voice suggesting at some amus.e.m.e.nt was heard. A couple descended from the skies with their hands held together. The man had a black tailcoat and his partner, a red one-piece. Both looked fas.h.i.+onable enough to attend a c.o.c.ktail party.
"What do you want?" Fang Shui'er's hand trembled while holding her bow. She interposed herself between the couple and her sister.
"Haha!" Both smiled, revealing their sharp canine teeth.
"Vampires?" Zeng Qian seemed even more alarmed.
"Don't use such indecent words. A difference in our talents, that's all. How would I call these poisonous bugs of yours, otherwise?" The woman had a vicious smile, and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, partially revealed by the deep neckline of her robe, trembled as she spoke.
"Give us your storage items and we'll grant you a quick death." Five other people appeared behind the two, they all seemed to have absolute confidence in their victory.
When Fang Shui'er saw the five followers, she took a step closer to her sister. A halo of light slid across her skin and her beautiful armor was fading in and out of existence. Zeng Qian made seals with her hands and her skin began to glow green.
'They're chasing them for items?' Li Yiming was struck by anger when he thought that Liu Meng could have suffered the same fate. He stood up from where he was without thinking.
"Li Yiming?" Fang Shui'er had the entirety of her attention on the seven opponents in front of her. The sudden noise behind her almost made her jump back, but her fear quickly turned into surprise when she saw that it was Li Yiming. 'Why is he here? Maybe, just maybe…' Fang Shui'er had begun to hope once again.
In the same way Fang Shui'er was surprised by Li Yiming's sudden appearance, the group of seven were also confused. Most of them turned their heads to look at an elderly man amidst their ranks.
"That's impossible! I scanned the whole area with my focus. There shouldn't be anyone else here. How did you evade my perception?" The old man asked loudly, shocked and terrified by the consideration that someone could slip through his attention. He had been relying on his focus probing technique to succeed in domains until now, and the thought of it failing distressed him greatly.
'He has a technique like that? No wonder we couldn't run away no matter how hard we tried.' The revelation, at least, made Fang Shui'er realize that her previous efforts had been futile.
'Focus scan? Even Li Huaibei's technique couldn't do anything to me, who do you think you are?' Li Yiming laughed inwardly at the old man and paced steadily toward the group of seven.
"Stop!" One of them, a vile-looking man, suddenly swung his arm and shot out a purple ball toward Li Yiming.
Li Yiming was about to dodge the projectile until a closer look convinced him otherwise. 'A lightning ball? I'll gamble.'
Li Yiming paused his march as the lightning ball neared him. He continued to walk steadily, projecting an air of calmness, just like Li Huaibei did. This was no surprise, since he had "been" Li Huaibei for the past few days. When Li Yiming thought about Li Huaibei's technique, it was natural that he would also imitate his air.
The ball of lightning hit Li Yiming and sank into his body like a droplet of water into the surface of a lake. Not even his sleeves moved from the impact.
Fang Shui'er eyes shone with hope. She knew that Li Yiming was strong, but not that strong. The ball of lightning that struck him looked ordinary, but it was at least a level-two technique, and the fact that Li Yiming could disregard it completely made her think that he might just be the one that can save her. 'It seems like I'll get repaid for my efforts back in the restaurant.'
Li Yiming's opponents also seemed impressed.They had recognized Li Yiming, and, some were already whispering about how it should not be a surprise that someone who stayed with Li Huaibei had this kind of strength. The man who threw the ball of lightning was even more shocked, and, above all, enraged by the humiliation of being disregarded. He let out a long cry and spread out his arms. Purple sparks ran down his entire body as he prepared his next attack.
"Die—!" The man roared. He swung his arms and the numerous purple orbs that had formed around him shot toward Li Yiming. His friends also readied themselves to deliver a fatal blow if Li Yiming was ever to show an opening. It was one thing to fear Li Huaibei's reputation, but another to back off so easily in a domain, especially since they had already committed to hunting the Fang sisters down for their belongings.
The hundreds of purple orbs coalesced into a single purple beam and hit Li Yiming in its entirety. However, just like before, except for the blinding explosion of light, it did nothing to stop Li Yiming. Li Yiming continued his slow pace toward the man, feeling more and more like Li Huaibei as he remembered the bloodbath that had occured back in Eden. As the light faded out, the anger in Li Yiming's eyes was no longer visible. What shone was the silent intent to kill.
"Lightning? I have some too." An idea suddenly occurred to Li Yiming and he took out a broken bronze coin. He flicked it towards the man who just attacked him and shouted, "Thunder!"
The calmness of the cloudless morning sky was suddenly broken. A purple light flashed across the sky and struck the man Li Yiming pointed at. An instant later there was a burst of white light so intense that everyone had to close their eyes.
Katcha!
The loud explosion noise that lagged behind the light was heard. It was strong enough to make one's ear ring.
A huge, smoldering crater was seen when the light receded, and three people were collapsed on the ground right next to it, one of them moaning in pain while the two others had pa.s.sed out. The man Li Yiming had directed his attack at was nowhere to be seen.
