Chapter 4898 — You Didn't Believe Me Yourself

But the moment Wei Zhao truly struck, Chang Laiting's expression changed at once. This was no single-attribute Wildfire Fist of before; it was plainly a dual-attribute technique fusing fire and earth, one that had undergone the same qualitative transformation as his own Explosive Sword. What came surging toward him was not flame at all, but a ferocious tide of molten rock!

The sight gave Chang Laiting a real start. He realized he had underestimated this Northern Island trash somewhat; the fellow was no ignorant bumpkin who knew nothing, but a sly, sinister creature lying in wait, playing the pig to eat the tiger!

"I have three attributes, you have only two—and you think you can match me?!" Chang Laiting roared, and the power of his Explosive Sword rose to its absolute peak. Though its chief target was Wei Zhao, everything within dozens of li around them suffered a devastating sweep.

Wang Xinyan and the others were unharmed, but the precious natural treasures strewn across the ground met their ruin; in that single blow they were blasted clean away. The group exchanged looks—this bastard truly was squandering heaven's bounty with wanton waste.

Yet even so, Chang Laiting still gained no advantage over Wei Zhao this time. The ferocious molten rock that Wei Zhao had assembled on the spot was blasted away entirely, but Chang Laiting himself was likewise driven back step by step by it. Judging by the scene, he had not merely failed to profit—he had come off the worse, for after all he had been forcibly pushed back by Wei Zhao!

"Impossible! A piece of Northern Island trash like you could actually block my Explosive Sword?" At last, a measure of wariness entered the look Chang Laiting fixed on Wei Zhao.

"Maybe it was just luck. Care to try again?" Wei Zhao said mildly. That Savage Molten Fist had been a move he improvised on the spot, and its power was indeed considerably greater than the single-attribute Wildfire Fist. Multi-attribute martial techniques truly were stronger than single-attribute ones—that much was proving true.

"Hmph, luck of course! You think you're actually a match for me? A mere wretch from the Northern Island—who do you think you are!" Chang Laiting sneered and came at him again, sword in hand. This time he still used the Explosive Sword, but no longer as the simple straight thrust of before; now he paired it with an utterly ruthless sword art.

If the power of his ordinary sword moves was five, then the Explosive Sword's power was at least twenty—and now, paired with this savage swordsmanship that traded wounds for lives, its might pressed close to thirty. This was the true strength of Chang Laiting.

Wei Zhao's gaze narrowed slightly. The man did have some skill; were it not for running into him, an ordinary expert of early Xuan Sheng rank would indeed be no match for this creature.

At a thought, Wei Zhao pushed the experiment one step further. Beyond the Savage Molten Fist he had just improvised, he blended in one more attribute: mist.

Before Chang Laiting could bring his sword in close, the savage molten rock came surging at his face. He had already had one taste of it and knew its power was in no way beneath his Explosive Sword; his heart tightened with dread, and he hastily twisted aside to dodge.

But unexpectedly, he knew not when, molten rock had surrounded him on every side. Chang Laiting's face drained of color in an instant, his features stamped with shock and disbelief.

One had to understand: though such novel techniques fusing multiple attributes were immensely powerful for a Xuan Sheng expert, they also drained true qi to an extreme. Even with his own foundations, a dozen or so Explosive Sword killer moves at most would leave him exhausted—and if this Savage Molten Rock could trade blows with his Explosive Sword, its true qi cost could hardly be small either.

Yet the scene before him showed molten rock blanketing the heavens and the earth, so dense that it outnumbered the previous display a hundredfold at least. How could this creature—a mere newly advanced early Xuan Sheng—possibly unleash a killing move of such vast range? And even if he could force it out, did he not fear dying of exhaustion on the spot?

The situation was dire. Chang Laiting had no leisure to think further; seeing the savage molten rock come crashing down in a vast deluge, he hastily swung his black sword to block. He was no master of defensive techniques, and should that molten rock wound him, the consequences did not bear imagining.

He split one mass of savage molten rock with a single sword stroke—and suddenly froze. There had been no physical resistance at all. This was a phantom?

"Haha, so it was all bluster!" Chang Laiting at once believed he had seen through Wei Zhao's trick—no wonder the fellow could conjure such a heaven-and-earth-covering tide of molten rock. Had they all been real, the boy would surely have dropped dead of exhaustion long ago. So they were merely phantoms without the slightest lethal power!

"Is that so? A friendly warning: being too careless can get a man killed." Wei Zhao stood off to the side, arms folded, smiling with perfect ease. These phantom molten rocks were, plainly put, mere mist-shadows conjured from thin air now that the mist attribute had been added; true, they amounted to a smokescreen—but who said every last one of them was a mist-shadow?

"Save your big talk! A Northern Island wretch like you thinks he can kill me?" Chang Laiting laughed in pure fury. Now that he knew the molten rock was only phantoms, his alarm vanished entirely; he simply barreled straight through them, black sword aimed at Wei Zhao's throat. Defense was not his style, after all—attack was his very lifeblood.

But before he could reach Wei Zhao, a blow smashed into his back, searing with a scorching, blistering pain. It was, beyond all doubt, the savage molten rock.

Chang Laiting's whole face twisted with the pain—and this was after he had prudently laid on a layer of protective true qi. Even so he had suffered badly; otherwise, that single blow would likely have punched straight through his back and killed him on the spot!

"I told you not to be too careless. You didn't believe me yourself—you can't blame anyone else for that." Wei Zhao shrugged helplessly. All that talk had genuinely been an attempt to help the man; he had only reached three attributes, and there were still many things he wished to test. An experimental subject was hard to come by—he could not let the fellow die just like that.

"You despicable, shameless bastard!" Chang Laiting was both pained and furious. He was still trapped amid layer upon layer of savage molten rock, and after such a heavy loss he dared not be careless again. He knew that perhaps nine of every ten were mere phantoms, but he had no choice but to guard against them—if a few real ones came amid them, he would be dead or crippled.

His black sword whirled into an impenetrable defense. Once bitten by a snake, one fears even a well-rope for ten years; after that loss, with the searing pain at his back goading him on, Chang Laiting could barely hold on to even the most basic judgment. His only recourse was to cleave apart every mass of savage molten rock that came at him—he could no longer concern himself with which were real and which were false.

His swordsmanship was indeed profound and ferocious, but alas it was a purely offensive art; using it to defend was rather like putting the cart before the horse. He lasted less than a few breaths before the savage molten rock, mingled among the many layers of phantoms, struck him simultaneously in the chest and leg. (To be continued.)