Xin Ci remained calm and composed, facing the direction where the sword energy had come from, and said, "Senior Brother Xia Wu, you went to great lengths to lure me to this place, only to take my life?"
As expected, the figure emerging from the smoke was Xia Wu, whom he had met earlier that day.
Mu Qingqing, watching from the space of consciousness, couldn't help but pat her forehead when she saw Xia Wu appear. "The plot has changed after all. Someone who shouldn't be here has appeared."
In her understanding, the original storyline did not include Xia Wu.
It seemed that the rules of the plane were resorting to various methods to hinder the male lead's growth, all to prevent her from completing the plot and returning.
Xia Wu walked out slowly, holding a long sword.
"Oh, this is quite surprising. Judging by your words, you seemed to have detected my presence long ago."
"It's just that I detected it too late. Back at the Four Symbols Academy's Mission Hall, you had already set a trap for me."
"In Phoenix Cry City, you deliberately appeared before me, luring me to Phoenix Yang Mountain, right, Senior Brother Xia Wu?"
"No, I should call you Nalan Wuxia!"
Xin Ci's eyes, sharp as swords, fixed on the "Xia Wu" senior brother below, analyzing with perfect accuracy.
Xia Wu remained silent, his expression darkening slightly, as if implicitly agreeing with Xin Ci's statement.
He then reached up and tore off the human skin mask from his face.
Revealing a stern face, with fierce eyes like those of a ferocious beast.
Furthermore, this face bore a resemblance to Nalan Wuchang.
It seemed it truly was Nalan Wuxia!
Xin Ci suddenly felt a sense of difficulty. He had clearly obtained intelligence from Luo Fei.
Nalan Wuxia was supposed to be in seclusion, attempting to break through to the mid-stage Earth realm.
Yet, his current cultivation realm was already at the mid-stage Earth realm. Could it be that he had emerged from seclusion early?
Nalan Wuxia's lips curved into a mocking smile, as if he could read Xin Ci's thoughts.
He clapped his hands and said, "I must admit, you are indeed special, but you only managed to surprise me a little."
He then continued, "My useless brother asked me to deal with you, a weak worm. I didn't take it seriously at first."
"Because dealing with a mere Yellow realm cultivator would have been a waste of my time. Who knew that you, this worm, would grow so astonishingly fast, capable of defeating late-stage Profound realm students in less than a month after entering the academy."
"Although to me now, you are just a slightly larger ant, I will not let go of any potential threat that could endanger me."
Xin Ci clenched his right fist and stared at Nalan Wuxia, saying word by word, "So, you deliberately spread false news about you being in seclusion to break through to the mid-stage Earth realm."
"I presume that so-called King-level mission on Phoenix Yang Mountain was also fabricated by you, and you had Elder Sun of the Mission Hall assign it to me."
"The purpose was to lure me out of the Four Symbols Academy and keep track of my movements."
From the moment he entered the Four Symbols Academy, every move he made had been under Nalan Wuxia's control.
This annoyed Xin Ci greatly, but what was more important now was how to escape Nalan Wuxia's grasp.
With a mid-stage Earth realm spiritual power, coupled with Nalan Wuxia's ranking on the Heaven Roll,
His true combat power was likely close to the late-stage Earth realm.
A master of this level was someone he was completely outmatched by with his current strength.
Although Xin Ci spoke with Nalan Wuxia, ten criss-cross chains had secretly burrowed into the ground along the tree trunk.
They gradually extended underground towards Nalan Wuxia's position.
He planned to launch a surprise attack, bind Nalan Wuxia's body with the criss-cross chains, and escape while he was distracted by breaking free.
Unexpectedly, before the criss-cross chains could reach Nalan Wuxia's feet, he had already seen through everything and let out a cold shout, "Superfluous actions!"
He then raised his foot and stomped down hard on the ground, channeling his spiritual power.
With a thunderous roar,
A wave of spiritual energy reverberated underground in all directions, instantly shaking the ten criss-cross chains out of the ground and stirring up a cloud of sand and stones.
Sandstorm erupted all around, making it difficult for Xin Ci to open his eyes.
The next second, the air behind him seemed to be suddenly sucked dry.
Xin Ci's mind went blank for a moment. Before he could even see clearly,
Nalan Wuxia had already appeared behind him!
Without even turning his head, Nalan Wuxia extended two fingers, like the talons of an eagle, and lunged forward.
Xin Ci was all too familiar with this move. It was the same technique Nalan Wuchang had used during the entrance test.
The Six Skills of the Crouching Dragon, Dragon's Tooth Thrust.
However, when this move was unleashed by Nalan Wuxia, its power was tens of times greater than that of his brother.
It was like a flood dragon baring its fangs and claws, pouncing towards him.
Xin Ci had no time to dodge and, in a rush, wrapped his chains around his arm to block.
With a clang, Nalan Wuxia's fingers, as hard as metal and stone, collided with Xin Ci's chained arm.
Not only were they unharmed, but Xin Ci was heavily struck and knocked down from the tree.
He crashed into the ground, creating a large pit.
Xin Ci struggled to stand up from the sand pit, his clothes torn in several places, his entire arm aching and numb, trembling uncontrollably.
If he hadn't used his criss-cross chains to wrap around his arm, his arm would have been disabled on the spot.
However, Nalan Wuxia gave Xin Ci no chance to catch his breath and flashed forward with another move, the Dragon's Shadow Sweep.
A伏龙战矛 (Fú Lóng Zhàn Máo - Crouching Dragon Battle Spear) formed from spiritual energy was already raised high in his right hand, his eyes, filled with cold light, regarded Xin Ci as if he were an ant.
But Xin Ci would not passively endure such an onslaught. Gritting his teeth, he controlled his criss-cross chains and unleashed the Earth Roar style.
Ten chains shot out from the ground beneath Nalan Wuxia's feet with a swish.
But around him, it was as if they were being held back by something, frozen in place.
Nalan Wuxia's expression remained unchanged, still looking down at him with a dismissive gaze.
A golden shield shimmered around him, the Panlong Shield.
The true power of the Six Skills of the Crouching Dragon was displayed to its fullest extent in Nalan Wuxia's hands.
Xin Ci, facing such a powerful opponent for the first time, thought, is this the strength of a Heaven Roll student?
"Xin Ci, dodge quickly!"
Old Han shouted at him anxiously.
But at such close range, Xin Ci had no time to dodge.
He could only watch in a daze as the 伏龙战矛 fell mercilessly.
There was nothing he could do; the gap in their cultivation realms was too vast, and Xin Ci was powerless.
In an instant, Xin Ci's eyes suddenly transformed into the Star Wheel Pupils.
Mu Qingqing had finally made her move.
Xin Ci's spiritual power realm began to rise like a fountain.
Half-step Profound realm, early Profound realm, mid-Profound realm... it stopped only when it reached half-step Earth realm.
Nalan Wuxia's 伏龙战矛 was also shattered by this sudden surge of spiritual power.
Shocked, he quickly retreated ten meters, his eyes filled with astonishment as he watched "Xin Ci's" transformation.
"Is this... a secret art?!"
Nalan Wuxia asked uncertainly.
In his understanding, anything that could temporarily boost one's realm was either a secret art or a forbidden technique.
But either way, their use came at a cost.