novelraw Chapter 166 - 164: Reversal
Chapter 166 - 164: Reversal
They were likely the two most mild-mannered people from Thunderlight Hall and Beast Hall, yet they had raised the most ferocious and aggressive of Spirit Beasts.
Elemental Power determined the duration of the fusion, and in this respect, Ren Dongliu had an absolute advantage. The combat power of the two Spirit Beasts was comparable. While the Red Roar’s aptitude was a bit higher, the Four-armed Golden-eyed Nixiong had clearly advanced after some fortuitous encounter, leaving them evenly matched.
With Ma Tian’Er and Ren Dongliu’s current strength, it was clear the main focus was still on unleashing the power of their Spirit Beasts.
The two were locked in a stalemate. The longer the deadlock continued, the more it favored Ren Dongliu. The first one to break their fused state would be the loser.
Two fists are no match for four, and Ren Dongliu gradually gained the upper hand. After all, he lived in the Spirit-Controlling Valley and often watched the Spirit Beasts at play. He liked to study and analyze them in his spare time, and all those observations were now surfacing as combat instincts. Ma Tian’Er, however, truly hated fighting.
Soon, the Red Roar was steadily beaten back. Ma Tian’Er was getting anxious; she didn’t want everyone’s efforts to be wasted because of her.
’I can do this. I have to win!’
The Four-armed Golden-eyed Nixiong rushed over, knocking the Red Roar aside. It followed up with a leap, pouncing on the Red Roar as its four great axes chopped down.
In her panic, Ma Tian’Er acted on instinct. She forgot she was in a fused state. As a Technique Cultivator, her first reaction was to use an Array.
—Soul Suppressing Talisman Formation.
In the eyes of the crowd, the Red Roar was being steadily pushed back. But suddenly, for reasons unknown, the Red Roar raised its left hand to meet the attack. That clumsy hand seemed to...
SHIMMER...
An Array appeared. The Four-armed Golden-eyed Nixiong never expected it and crashed right into it.
Soul Suppressing!
Ma Tian’Er was stunned too, but she reacted quickly. The Red Roar unleashed a heavy Sweeping Thousand Soldiers.
The Four-armed Golden-eyed Nixiong tried to dodge, but it was momentarily stunned by the Array’s suppression effect. It could only watch as the Wolf Fang Club struck its abdomen.
BOOM...
The Nixiong was sent tumbling away. The Red Roar leaped forward, bringing its Wolf Fang Club crashing down toward the Four-armed Golden-eyed Nixiong’s head.
The wind pressure kicked up a cloud of dust. The Wolf Fang Club stopped right before the Nixiong’s eyes. Both Spirit Beasts were panting heavily.
Both sides froze.
With a flash of light, Ren Dongliu disengaged from his fused state.
Ma Tian’Er was a step ahead of him. Not only had she mastered fusion, but she could even use Magic while in that state.
The entire reversal happened in an instant. It looked like Ma Tian’Er was about to lose, so how did it turn out like this in the blink of an eye?
In truth, it wasn’t that Ren Dongliu couldn’t fight on. But neither he nor Ma Tian’Er were combative by nature. The moment he saw Ma Tian’Er have her Red Roar use Magic, Ren Dongliu lost his will to fight.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still. Everyone was just waiting for a single voice.
"Thunderlight Hall... wins."
Yu Lingzi’s voice lacked its usual strength. He had thought this match was in the bag—the one with the least suspense.
But...
"I... I-I’m not hearing things, am I? We, Thunderlight Hall, won! Holy crap, we won! HAHAHA..."
"We won! We won! Thunderlight Hall is victorious!"
Aside from the cheering members of Thunderlight Hall, everyone else was stunned. They couldn’t even wrap their heads around it. Was this real?
It felt like a dream, so unreal. How had they just... lost in a daze?
Is this still the same damn Thunderlight Hall???
The Thunderlight Hall disciples didn’t care about decorum anymore. They were celebrating wildly. They didn’t care if this was the Beast Hall or the Brute Hall—no one was going to stop their celebration.
Yao Yuan and Fang Lufei were dumbfounded. "What just happened?"
"No idea. They just... sort of stumbled into a win..."
"Do you think they’ll continue?"
"I don’t know, but I’m actually hoping we get to fight them."
"Haha, we’ll have to wait and see."
Zhang Liang wrote excitedly, wanting to spread the news as fast as possible.
This was a miracle!
A victory of will! A victory fought for dreams and for dignity!
Never underestimate the heart of a warrior!
Wang Meng was that ferocious tiger, and he had given a flock of sheep the courage of a tiger.
And as it happened, a few of those sheep were actually lions in sheep’s clothing who had worn the fleece for so long they’d forgotten their true nature.
Even if Thunderlight Hall stopped here, it would have been worth it.
Thunderlight Hall—Victorious!
Thunderlight Hall—Victorious!
The Thunderlight Hall disciples who had been suppressing their emotions finally unleashed their passion without restraint.
Older disciples like Chen Haiguan and He Ziyuan were especially overcome. No matter what miracles they achieved in Alchemy and Forging, those were external things. As Cultivators, they had to fight!
Only victory could wash away their shame and restore their dignity.
Light shone upon the disciples of Thunderlight Hall; despair was for the defeated. From this day forward, Thunderlight Hall was truly on the path to recovery.
The next question was, would they choose to continue?
Would they?
Suo Ming was still heavily injured, Zhou Qian’s fate was unknown, and fusions couldn’t be used consecutively—they clearly wouldn’t recover before the next big competition. What could a Thunderlight Hall in this state possibly do?
Zhang Liang really couldn’t say. He didn’t know if he should even make a judgment, because getting this far was already enough. It was truly enough.
But...
A figure appeared before Zhang Liang, and he would never forget this moment.
"Zhang Liang, inform Song Zhong that Thunderlight Hall’s next stop is Fire Cloud Hall!"
It was Wang Meng!
For some reason, the moment Zhang Liang heard those words, he felt a fire ignite within him.
Next stop—Fire Cloud Hall!
"For real? You’re not kidding, right? Thunderlight Hall won again?"
"Could it be a mistake? How is that possible? Beast Hall is pretty decent..."
The news spread like wildfire. This competition had certainly given Zhang Liang an opportunity to expand his reach. Content creates a market, after all.
If Thunderlight Hall’s defeat of Hundred Herbs Hall was a minor upset, then their victory over Beast Hall was enough to shake the entire Holy Hall.
At Hengshan Hall, the hall’s signature mass training session was underway. The disciples of Hengshan Hall stood in neat rows, showing off their magnificent physiques.
"KILL!"
KILL~~~
"KILL~~~~"
Tang Wei was drilling the disciples. "You spineless weaklings, did you not eat? Louder!"
KILL~~~
Crude and tyrannical—that was the Hengshan Hall style. Tang Wei nodded. ’That’s a bit more like it. If I don’t drill these pansies, they go soft.’
Seeing Tang Wei step down, a disciple at the side quickly handed him a towel and water. Shenn Tu walked over.
"The results are in?" Tang Wei asked coolly.
"Yes. Thunderlight Hall, three to two. They turned it around at the last moment." Shenn Tu couldn’t quite describe the strange feeling this gave him.
It had been years since a hall had won two consecutive challenges. Who would have thought it would happen to Thunderlight Hall? Was this what they called hitting rock bottom and bouncing back?
Tang Wei nodded. "What are the specifics? How much combat strength does Thunderlight Hall have left?"
"Thunderlight Hall’s victory was a fluke. They only managed to claw their way back because Zhou Qian fought like his life depended on it. It’s hard to say if he’s dead or alive now, but he certainly can’t continue fighting. Suo Ming is also half-crippled. Ma Tian’Er showed off an impressive fusion with the Spirit Fusion Technique, but she won’t be able to use it again for a while."
Shenn Tu paused.
"What about Wang Meng?"
Shenn Tu swallowed. "A complete victory over Jia Shidao."
"A complete victory?" Tang Wei was taken aback.
"Jia Shidao used Borrowing Spirit, but he still failed. Then he just... admitted defeat." Shenn Tu hadn’t seen it himself, but he couldn’t imagine Jia Shidao conceding in such a crucial match.
"That idiot Jia Shidao. He wasn’t trying to hide his strength and ended up shooting himself in the foot, was he?"
Tang Wei snorted coldly.
"It’s possible. He probably didn’t account for Ma Tian’Er’s strength. But what’s more surprising is that Thunderlight Hall has already decided to challenge Fire Cloud Hall next."
Shenn Tu said this, but deep down, he actually admired Thunderlight Hall. Even though he hadn’t watched this match, he could sense an indescribable tenacity about them.
"They don’t know their own limits!"
After saying that, Tang Wei lost interest. ’The higher they climb, the harder they’ll fall. They’ll have to bear the consequences of not knowing when to quit while they’re ahead...’
When the news reached Flying Phoenix Hall, it was received like a joyous announcement.
"Senior Sister, Senior Sister! They won! They won again!" Gao Dandan shouted, rushing all the way to the Flying Phoenix Pavilion.
"Dandan, when will you learn to be a little more composed?"
"Hee hee, Senior Sister, it’s great news! Thunderlight Hall won again!" Gao Dandan said with a grin, her eyes curving into beautiful little crescents.
"Really? But their opponent was Beast Hall. Jia Shidao is a notorious smiling tiger. How could he slip up?" Shurou asked curiously.
"How should I know? Zhang Liang is right outside, he saw it all firsthand. Should we have him come in and tell us about it?"
Gao Dandan was very happy. Given the relationship between Wang Meng and her Senior Sister, he was practically one of them.
"There’s no need to worry so much about outsiders’ affairs," Yang Ying said with a slight smile, shaking her head.
"Senior Sister, how can you call him an outsider? Even though you were just helping each other out, you’re still friends, right? It’s only natural to be concerned," Wan Fanghua said, taking Yang Ying’s hand. Yang Ying had already told Gao Dandan and the others the inside story; with the competition underway and their agreement concluded, there was no need to keep it a secret. She had, however, underestimated the fiercely burning gossip souls of Shurou and the others.
"Exactly! And he might even become our opponent!"
With the four of them chattering back and forth, Yang Ying was left with no choice. "Alright, let Zhang Liang in."
Outside, Zhang Liang was waiting anxiously. ’How I long to see Senior Sister Yang. Just one glance would make everything worth it.’
"Junior Brother Zhang, the Senior Sister will see you."
"Thank you, Senior Sister." Zhang Liang’s apprehension finally gave way to excitement. He would get to speak with Senior Sister Yang Ying again.
Nearly all of Flying Phoenix Hall’s most beautiful girls were present, but while Zhang Liang was excited, he wasn’t flustered.
"Greetings to all you beautiful Senior Sisters."
"Hehe, Zhang Liang, you’re getting better and better with your words. Go on, tell us how Thunderlight Hall beat Beast Hall. There’s a reward if you make it exciting," Gao Dandan said.
"Junior Brother Zhang, just stick to the facts. We mainly want to understand what happened," Yang Ying said, shooting a glare at Gao Dandan.
Gao Dandan stuck out her tongue playfully. Zhang Liang, however, just smiled faintly and glanced at Yang Ying. ’She’s as beautiful as ever. How can anyone be so beautiful?’
"Please don’t worry, Senior Sister. I know what I’m doing."
Then Zhang Liang began to describe the hall battle for everyone. It had to be said, Zhang Liang was a real talent. His description of the entire fight was so vivid it made them feel as if they were there, especially his masterful grasp of the pacing and atmosphere. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)