Chapter 579: Challenge (III)
The distance from the Myriad Beast Mountain Pass to the Southern Mountain Pass wasn't far. Sima Xian having originally been part of the team's main force so far, his cultivation was bound to have grown tremendously. With his addition, Long Haochen's group had just gathered, reaching its peak state.
Having been cooperating together as a group of seven so far, they were bound to have a great loss of strength without Sima. And the same went for their morale.
Originally, the fastest should be Cai'er, but after her loss of memories, Long Haochen really wasn't at ease letting her go look for Sima Xian. Han Yu being steady, and with the full flight speed of Star King satisfying, having him go was naturally the most fitting. On the way back, Star King would carry the two at the same time, and since all were light users, they could use their spiritual energy as supply to enable Star King to accelerate.
After Han Yu left, Long Haochen returned to the room, and directly asked Chen Ying'er, "Ying'er, tell us about your current abilities and what your grandfather can do in battle. Know yourself and know your enemy to then emerge victorious in a hundred battles out of a hundred."
Chen Ying'er looked at Long Haochen with some worries, "Boss, do we really stand a chance? Grandfather is really too powerful, I'm afraid that..."
Long Haochen showed a laugh, "Have some more self-confidence. We are currently in no way weak! And it's only by confronting powerhouses of higher level that we can have possibilities of progressing. Although the gap separating us currently from Temple Head Chen is very large, I believe that as long as we put forth everything we have and show sufficient strength, he shouldn't make things difficult for us by preventing us from leaving."
Chen Ying'er's eyes lit up, "You're right. Grandfather is after all an elder. If we can resist his attacks for some time, maybe he will be at ease."
Nearby, Lin Xin showed a mischevous laughter, "Ying'er, forget about the rest. After the test your grandfather gives us starts, you must convince him to not use his domain against us. As long as it doesn't come out, we definitely have a chance. Let me tell you that Boss managed to kill the forty-ninth ranked demon god, Demon God of Clear Vision. And a short time ago, we also managed to resist in front of an undead powerhouse whose spiritual energy definitely exceeded 200,000, relying on the Conjoined Spiritual Boost, helping Haoyue achieve his evolution. In a situation where your grandfather doesn't use any equipment, he may not necessarily manage to defeat us."
Chen Ying'er asked in a start, "Boss, is this title of Saint Knight Head for real?"
Wang Yuanyuan giggled as she replied, "Of course it's for real. Do you think Captain could be just talk? He has been formally appointed as Provisional Saint Knight Head by the Knight Temple. I estimate that our boss will become a Divine Knight in just a few years."
Long Haochen showed a bitter smile, "Don't be too hopeful. Temple Head Chen has plentiful battle experiences, and will be even more powerful than all the enemies we have faced before. At the time we face demons, we can at least restrain their darkness element to some extent thanks to my light attribute, and in Haoyue's world, his aura managed to suppress them to some degree as well. But against Temple Head Chen, we won't have any advantages of such kind at all."
"Who said we won't! I'll be there!" Chen Ying'er suddenly hopped, quite proud of herself.
"You? Don't tell me this summoner who used to be unable to summon at all could have become reliable?" Lin Xin asked in a shock.
Chen Ying'er unhappily replied, "Don't be complacent, has-drugs-bro, come to fight a duel if you have the confidence. This lady will surely show you no chance at all, do you still have some confidence?" Speaking such words, she showed her fist to Lin Xin. With her small arm, this didn't have any persuasive force, causing everyone else to burst out in laughter.
The only one who wasn't laughing was Long Haochen. With a nod, he responded, "Alright. Ying'er, if you can, go find a training field to duel Lin Xin."
"Eh? Is that for real?! Boss, that's no good. What if I turn McDull into roasted pig barbecue. Ying'er will have a real grudge." Lin Xin laughed mischeviously.
Long Haochen shot him a glare, "Don't be too complacent. After two years passed, your cultivation grew, so how could Ying'er not have made some progress as well? So can you find a fitting training ground, Ying'er?"
Chen Ying'er showed in her gleaming eyes, a quite malicious look shooting at Lin Xin, with a nod, "Of course I can find it. Has-drugs-bro, in a bit this lady will show you what's a terrible bully."
Lin Xin curled on the sofa, and made a shaking motion. In a cheap thrilled voice, he declared, "How scary! I'm so afraid! Unreliable beauty Ying'er, I forgot to tell you that the great me has already learnt the use of offensive magic. That's not just Fire Curse anymore."
Chen Ying'er stared blankly, "You learnt the use of offensive magic? How about your original vow?"
,
Lin Xin got up from the sofa in a jump, "That's a matter of the past, and matters of the present came into play. Let's go, let's go. Show me what progress you made in the past two years. The little pig McDull show now be a magical beast of the eighth rank right? Maybe the ninth rank? That's no issue, he's still no opponent in front of your brother."
Chen Ying'er twitched her mouth, "Facts speak louder than words. Today, if this lady doesn't beat you up as the pig you are, I'll take your surname."
Lin Xin grinned, "Then how about that guy Yang Wenzhao? How grieved will he be to learn that his wife has taken another's surname when we have rescued him?"
"You...!" Chen Ying'er lost her words in rage. But she felt that this was the best time she spent for the last two years. Finally being together with her comrades felt the best!
With Chen Ying'er's status in the Spiritual Temple, finding a training ground couldn't be an easier matter. She led everyone directly to a wide training field in the back of the Spiritual Temple, expropriating it after saying a few words to the manager in charge.
Under the watch of Long Haochen's group, Chen Ying'er and Lin Xin entered the training grounds.
After two years passed, Chen Ying'er's McDull had some visible changes.His body that was a bit longer than a third of a meter didn't grow, instead shrinking by roughly a third. But he gave off a very peculiar feeling: his skin became close to gelatin, appearing extremely sparkling and translucent. In particular, his pair of eyes were like resplendent gems, while his body didn't release any powerful aura, but standing at Ying'er's side, he seemed like an extension of her body, their auras giving off a feeling of matching perfectly.
As Lin Xin was about to head to the other side of the ground, he said, "Ying'er, how about your brother gives you ten minutes to prepare a chant? Aye, I'd really hate to turn McDull into barbecue." Saying this, he rubbed McDull's chubby waist, and pinched his butt. McDull shouted out in anger, immediately leaping up to Chen Ying'er's waist.
"Don't be angry. In a bit, we will teach him a good lesson and that will be it." Chen Ying'er was extremely calm, and didn't show any surge of rage from Lin Xin's shameless act.
That look she gave him was really a strange sight, just like a queen about to lash a slave on a pillar.
Very rapidly, the two increased the distance separating them. Long Haochen, who was standing on the distant watching area, shouted loudly, "Be very careful. Don't aim to wound the enemy for real. Start!"
As soon as Long Haochen's starting call came, the aura of the distant Lin Xin immediately had an earth-shattering change. With a bang, an intense blue flame ascended around his body, and his originally extremely ridiculing smiling expression became extremely cold. In the battles against demons, the countless slaughters made him accumulate a powerful killing intent. As long as he enters his battle state, he will seem like a totally all different person.
Lifting up the Fire Cloud Crystal high, he didn't show the slightest intention of starting off leniently. Raising his staff, he launched six blue fireballs in Chen Ying'er's direction.
Generally speaking, a summoner of same rank would very hardly be a mage's opponent. That's because the summoning spells of mages require a lot more time than the mages' offensive spells. That's why Lin Xin spoke about giving Chen Ying'er some time to prepare her magic.
Lin Xin's self-confidence had its roots. His Heart of Fire was originally far more powerful than an ordinary fire mage's fire, and there's also his great magic control and instant casting ability. Those six connected fireballs immediately spread in the air, encircling Chen Ying'er while leaving gaudy trails of flames on their way.
Lin Xin's control over magic gave him complete confidence to be able to stop it when Chen Ying'er wouldn't be able to resist. His battle experience was really plentiful. In contrast, more powerful mages would rarely show the use of powerful magic, because it not only uses up a lot more and takes longer to chant, but also has a lot of uncertainty. Having a full grasp of the battlefield is the true aim of a great mage.
Facing Lin Xin's offense, Chen Ying'er acted as though she hadn't seen anything. Standing on the same area, her right hand was softly pointed at McDull, shooting a milky white glow from her finger at his body.
This milky white glow carried bizarre twisting waves. The instant it came in contact with McDull, his body abruptly inflated, turning into a gigantic white bear rising up.
"Grooa!!!" The gigantic bear roared to the sky, and an icy blue halation was abruptly released from its body, spreading outwards and protecting the bear and Chen Ying'er inside.
In a movement of wrist, that crystal ball she often used to use appeared in her hand, and her incantating voice was heard.
Puppuppuppuppuppup. In a series of explosions, the six blue fireballs blew apart on the icy barrier. A large amount of gaps immediately appeared on it, but with another roar of the ice bear, its structure became reinforced.
"Want to stop my attacks like that? How naive!" Lin Xin snorted, and also incantated his spell. His previous attack was just a probing, to see how Chen Ying'er would cope with it. However, he became curious to see that McDull hadn't consumed any magic crystals in this transformation, yet underwent it directly. It seemed as though some ability was bestowed to him by Ying'er, and what's more, the calm and composed looks on Chen Ying'er faintly gave Lin Xin some pressing feelings.