Chapter 292: Rapid Dispatch
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Someone had once compared various materials in the world.
Purple Crystal got its name not just because it was a purple colored crystal. In fact, Purple Crystal had a second meaning - not easily broken.
The Daos that Xiang Tianying understood and used were not weak at all. After all, he was ranked seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll. The Purple Crystal Territory was one of his strongest.
In times of crisis, Xiang Tianying’s composure shone. He did not scamper away nor did he try to open his eyes.
He chose to close his eyes and defence.
His ears perked up as he tried to listen out for Fang Zhengzhi’s attack.
Tang Zhongming’s reaction was not much weaker.
However...
He was slightly slower than Xiang Tianying.
This slower reaction caused his Ice Crystal territory to be crushed by Xiang Tianying’s Purple Crystal Territory before it fully formed.
"Boom!"
Tang Zhongming felt a huge impact on his back as he was sent flying.
Tang Zhongming finally understood why people said that one should not be afraid of powerful opponents but should be terrified of selfish friends.
...
Fang Zhengzhi did not like competitive duels.
On a stage, there was limited space so his opportunities were also correspondingly limited. Furthermore, with nowhere to hide, he had less chances for a sneak attack.
The woods on the other hand...
He had lived in the woods all his life. There were trees, rocks, and other natural obstacles for him to hide behind.
He could effortlessly calculate the blind spots and launch his sneak attacks.
And now...
Heaven had bequeathed upon him the ideal location.
The Eastern Hunting Grounds were in the middle of a forest.
All he needed was time and distance.
The Sun Shooting Bow excelled with range and not close combat. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi needed time to use the Million Sword Illustration to form an arrow. He would not have this luxury on stage.
Before the arrow could form, his opponent would have closed the distance.
When Xiang Tianying and Tang Zhongming blocked him, Fang Zhengzhi’s bow was virtually useless. As such, agreeing to their terms or not would have made no difference.
However, once Xiang Tianying had proposed that they took turns to fight Fang Zhengzhi...
Fang Zhengzhi knew that this battle was unavoidable. It didn’t matter if they took turns or attacked him together.
He needed to use the environment to his advantage and unleash the power of the Sun Shooting Bow.
...
All of them began to recover slowly from the effects of the flashbang. They saw a ray of light from afar.
The light closed in slowly.
It was a jade green light that made an arc in the air. It screeched as it tore through the air at neck breaking speeds.
Tang Zhongming had never expected to be hit in the chest so quickly after he took a blow to his back...
Furthermore, this hit was much more severe than the previous one.
He felt like a million swords pierced through his body, trying to tear it apart.
Even though his Ice Crystal Territory was up, his main focus was on defending the blow he suffered from the back.
This caused his front to be left relatively undefended.
Furthermore, Tang Zhongming was not in a good state after being hit the first time. Even if he tried to defend against the arrow, he would still have suffered some injuries.
Fang Zhengzhi understood this.
He would take advantage of the weaker opponent.
This was a simple logic. When faced with two opponents, one who was well prepared and one who had slipped up...
One should always attack the one who slipped up.
As such, Fang Zhengzhi trained his arrow on Tang Zhongming without hesitation.
"Boom!"
Tang Zhongming’s body was sent flying once again. This time, his body was surrounded by rays of green light. These were all sharp lightswords which shredded the armor he wore.
Then, an explosion.
Tang Zhongming finally knew how it felt to fly. However, this was too intense for him.
He could not take it.
"Dong!" Tang Zhongming’s head crashed into the ground. His eyes rolled and he fainted. His body was covered in wounds.
A huge crater appeared just below his body as clouds of dust were sent skyward.
After the dust settled, it covered all of his wounds, but Tang Zhongming was now caked in dust.
"Ah! What happened, what happened?"
"Who was injured?"
"What was that sound?"
All of the competitors who had yet to fully recover from the flashbang screamed in terror.
However, they quietened down quickly.
All of the competitors who regained their vision noticed the crater in front of them. Then, they saw the unconscious Tang Zhongming.
"What... What is happening?"
"Who did that? Could it be..."
"Oh god, it’s... it’s Tang Zhongming. How... how is this possible?! Tang Zhongming is ranked eighth on the Rising Dragon Roll!"
All of them were terrified when they saw the state of Tang Zhongming.
He was ranked eighth on the Rising Dragon Roll. He was an elite in the empire. How could he have lost in the blink of an eye?
Furthermore, he had lost in such a humiliating manner.
Who didn’t know the Tang Family?!
Xiang Tianying finally opened his eyes. When he did, he was stunned by what he saw.
"Tang Zhongming is defeated? So quickly? How is that possible!"
Xiang Tianying was keenly aware of Tang Zhongming’s abilities.
Even though he was one rank higher than Tang Zhongming on the Rising Dragon Roll, it was because he knew the Dao of the Purple Crystal. This was something that Tang Zhongming couldn’t break. If not for this advantage, he would not be able to defeat Tang Zhongming.
But now, Tang Zhongming was lying on the ground.
What was happening?
Could it be that he had pushed Tang Zhongming away?
Even if he did, he should not have caused this much damage to Tang Zhongming. This damage was far beyond what his Purple Crystal Territory could do.
"It’s... Fang Zhengzhi?!" Xiang Tianying did not want to admit it. However, he knew that no one else would dare to or had the ability to attack Tang Zhongming.
In that instant, Xiang Tianying scanned the area for Fang Zhengzhi. After Tang Zhongming fell, he was up next.
"Where is Fang Zhengzhi?"
After confirming that Tang Zhongming was defeated, everyone was on the lookout of Fang Zhengzhi.
Despite hundreds of pairs of eyes looking for him, he was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?!"
"Where did Fang Zhengzhi go?"
"I have experience with finding people! My uncle once told me that if your opponent is not around you, he is above or below you!" One of the talents offered.
"On top?" They all looked upwards.
Then, they realized that there was nothing above them except for the sun and clouds.
Below?
Oh come on! Fang Zhengzhi is only in the Heavenly Reflection State, how can he be below us?
"No way, my uncle will never lie to me!"
"Scram!"
One of the more hot tempered talents kicked this guy on the floor. That talent lay down, not daring to speak.
"Fang Zhengzhi, you shameless b*stard! If you are a man, come out into the open and fight me!" Xiang Tianying hollered as he hid within his Purple Crystal Territory.
"Zoom!" At this moment, another screeching sound rang in the air.
A green glow could be seen in the sky. There was a black crack that trailed behind this green glow as it tore through the air.
"It’s the Million Sword Illustration!"
"Run!"
All of the talents were scared out of their wits when they saw the green glow. They had all seen Tang Zhongming’s tragic state.
Xiang Tianying initially had no intention to run. However, upon seeing the arrow and Tang Zhongming’s fate, he changed his mind.
Even though his Purple Crystal Territory was powerful...
Standing there and taking the arrow was stupid.
He ran quickly into the crowd of talents. Running into a crowd was the safest option. There would always be people to block the arrow for him.
"Boom!"
A huge crater appeared where Xiang Tianying was standing moments ago.
All of the scrambling talents were stunned to see Xiang Tianying run.
"Young Master Xiang, Fang Zhengzhi is aiming at you, go defeat him!"
"Yes yes, we are just watching. Please don’t run towards us!"
"I see Fang Zhengzhi! He is to the west! Young Master Xiang, I am sure that you can defeat him!"
All of the other talents hollered out to Xiang Tianying. Many of them were from influential families as well. Even though they were not as powerful, none of them wanted to be a meat shield.
When Xiang Tianying heard them, his expression darkened. He wanted to charge over, but he did not even know where Fang Zhengzhi was at.
"Fang Zhengzhi, stop hiding! If you are a man, come out into the open and face me!" Xiang Tianying tried to anger Fang Zhengzhi.
However, would Fang Zhengzhi fall for it?
Clearly not.
The reply came in the form of another green arrow.
When the crowd saw the green light arrow flying towards them, they scattered. This was too powerful. Anyone within the blast radius would be severely injured.
Xiang Tianying grit his teeth when he saw the scattering talents. He rushed back into the crowd.
"Boom!" Another crater formed.
...
"Young Master Xiang, why do you keep following us?"
"Yes, you wanted to challenge Fang Zhengzhi. You expect us to take the hits for you? Why are you shameless? To think that you’re ranked seventh on the Rising Dragon Roll."
"Show us how powerful you really are, go fight him!"
All of them were furious after being shot at by Fang Zhengzhi. They could see that Xiang Tianying was using them for his own benefit.
He was clearly using them as a meatshield!
Xiang Tianying’s expression darkened.
He clenched his fists tightly. He really wanted to charge, but he could see that Fang Zhengzhi’s position kept changing.
Everytime he fired an arrow, he would move to a new spot.
In order to get to Fang Zhengzhi, he would need to take at least three arrows. Furthermore, the closer he got, the harder it would be to dodge.
As he closed in, the arrows would be faster. Could he really dodge then?
Xiang Tianying was hesitant.
Just as he hesitated, he realized all of the others scattered. No one wanted to stand near him.
A light breeze continued to blow as the sun shone down.
Xiang Tianying looked around him. He was always treated as a talent. He was pampered by his family and admired by others.
However...
He was alone in this moment.
"Fang Zhengzhi, come and meet me out here!" Xiang Tianying hollered. However, everyone could hear the desperation in his voice.
He was exasperated.
"Zoom!" Another green light appeared in the sky. It screeched as it tore through the air and towards Xiang Tianying.
This time, Xiang Tianying did not run.
He could not run anymore. With his ranking and reputation, he would not be able to show his face in public if he ran from the arrow.
He did not even care about winning.
"Come at me!" Xiang Tianying’s eyes glowed. A purple crystal armor appeared on his body and a purple crystal hexagon hovered above his head.
Then, more and more hexagons began forming, eventually combining into a huge shield.