Black Crow Brings Spirit Hall Pursuers
"Hand over the fragment, brat with Twin Martial Souls."
Li Zhexian did not attack immediately.
"First, answer a question."
The black-robed man made no sound.
"Can you hit me with all your strength?"
Three black feather markings had already lit up on the back of the black-robed man's hand, and two Yellow Soul Rings and a Purple Soul Ring emerged from beneath his feet.
"Stop playing the fool."
"I'm asking seriously."
"Hand over the fragment."
"If you won't answer, I'll take it that you don't have the strength to move me."
Black Crow lifted a hand. A black feather grazed past Li Zhexian's face and lodged in the stone pillar behind him.
Li Zhexian touched his cheek. There was no blood on his fingertips.
"What's your name?"
"Black Crow."
"Is that the name of a bird?"
"It's the name I use in the Treasure Hunting Team."
"What does the Treasure Hunting Team sell?"
Black Crow raised his hand, and more black feathers flew out from behind his cloak.
"We look for ruins, Soul Bones, and anything else worth money."
"The fragment in your hand should belong to us now, too."
Li Zhexian spun the black fragment once between his fingers.
"Who's the best fighter on your team?"
Black Crow looked at him, seemingly judging whether he was truly mad or deliberately stalling for time.
"You're the person in Spirit Hall's secret order."
"What kind of secret order?"
"Not long after you left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, your portrait was sent everywhere."
"What did it say on the portrait?"
"Twin Martial Souls, level-ten Soul Power, and a ruin fragment in your possession."
"All of that describes you."
Li Zhexian put the black fragment into his storage bag.
"Who are the people of Spirit Hall?"
Black Crow did not answer.
"Did they make me look good in the portrait?"
Black Crow still said nothing.
"Am I taller or shorter than I am in the portrait?"
"Do you still want to leave here alive?"
"That depends on whether your hits have enough weight behind them."
The third Soul Ring had lit up.
Black feathers shot at him from every direction in the stone chamber, carving deep gouge after deep gouge into the walls.
Li Zhexian drew the Azure Lotus Sword, knocked aside two black feathers, then put it back in its sheath.
"Now that's more like it."
Black Crow raised his fingers.
Black feathers sealed off the space above the chamber, while feather blades attacked from the sides and the ground at the same time.
Li Zhexian stayed where he was and did not dodge.
A feather blade pierced his shoulder, deducting 9,600 points from his shield.
A ball of purple light fell at his feet.
Black Crow's hand stopped in midair.
Li Zhexian lowered his head and looked at the wound on his shoulder.
"Do it again."
"You're already hurt."
"It's not a serious injury."
"Put a little more strength into it."
Black Crow watched blood run down from Li Zhexian's shoulder.
Li Zhexian took two steps forward, and the feather blade lodged in his shoulder swayed with him like a wooden stick.
"What on earth are you?"
"A person who needs to be attacked."
Black Crow brought his five fingers together.
Every black feather in the stone chamber changed direction and shot toward Li Zhexian.
The feather blades struck his body one after another, and his shield value kept falling.
A second ball of purple light dropped to the ground.
The system notified him that the prize pool quality had risen due to highly concentrated damage.
Li Zhexian bent down and picked up the ball of purple light that had fallen earlier.
When the light dispersed, a black pill lay inside.
Inside the purple light that had fallen afterward was a Soul Bone fragment.
Li Zhexian looked at the things in his hands.
"Long-range attacks still aren't enough."
Black Crow walked up to him.
Black Soul Power emerged from the ground and coiled around Li Zhexian's ankles, then bound his waist and arms.
"Hand over the fragment, and I can spare your life."
"You hit pretty well just now."
Li Zhexian raised his head.
"Can you put even more strength into it?"
Black Crow pressed a hand against his shoulder.
Soul Power forced its way through the wound and into his chest, deducting 4,300 points from his shield.
The bones in Li Zhexian's shoulder made a few sounds, and blood dripped from his chin onto the ground.
"Are you stalling for time with your own life?"
"I'm waiting for the prize pool to upgrade."
Black Crow's hand stopped moving.
"What's a prize pool?"
Li Zhexian did not explain it to him.
This was what he had been waiting for.
As long as the attacks were strong enough, the things the system gave him would get better and better.
The stronger his opponent was, the greater the rewards he could obtain.
The only problem now was that Black Crow had already noticed something was wrong.
The Drunken Immortal Wine Pot floated out from behind Li Zhexian's shoulder.
Azure wine mist spread along the stone walls, and three Li Zhexians appeared in the chamber.
Black Crow reached for one of them.
His palm passed through the wine mist. There was nothing inside.
Li Zhexian appeared on the other side and thrust the tip of the Azure Lotus Sword at the soul chains binding him.
"Viewing the Sword While Drunk."
The sword tip went left, then right.
After two light taps, the black Soul Power quickly lost its strength, like a rope plunged into water.
The soul chains binding Li Zhexian all snapped.
Black Crow retreated to the side of a stone pillar.
"What kind of sword technique is that?"
"I just got it."
"What did you trade for it?"
"I took a few hits."
Black Crow looked at the Azure Lotus Sword in Li Zhexian's hand and understood why he had stood there taking attacks all that time.
This man was not seeking death.
He was using himself to test moves, and using Black Crow as a tool to improve his rewards.
Black Crow pushed his third Soul Ring above his head.
Black feathers gathered behind him and quickly formed an enormous crow.
The giant crow opened its beak, and a dense mass of feather blades compressed into a cluster.
The rubble in the stone chamber rose into the air under the influence of Soul Power.
"Didn't you want to be attacked?"
Black Crow's voice was much lower than before.
"Take all of my Soul Power."
Li Zhexian drove the Azure Lotus Sword into the ground.
The Drunken Immortal Wine Pot hovered above his head, and azure wine mist spiraled along the blade.
"Come."
Black feathers slammed into his body.
The sounds of impacts rang through the stone chamber in an unbroken succession.
His shield first lost 10,000 points, then 12,000, and finally another 15,000.
Balls of black and purple light kept falling from among the feather blades.
The stone slabs cracked, and the fissures ran all the way to the walls.
Li Zhexian spat out a mouthful of blood, then raised a hand and wiped it away.
"Keep going."
Black Crow's breathing had grown very heavy.
"Why are you still standing?"
"You said you'd use all your Soul Power."
"You'll die like this."
"Then hit me faster."
Black Crow no longer held back any strength.
All three Soul Rings lit up at once.
Black feathers, soul chains, and the phantom of a giant crow rushed forward together.
Li Zhexian's body was slammed into the stone wall, and the wall cracked as well.
His shield lost 18,000 points.
A ball of black light fell at his feet.
Li Zhexian reached out and caught the light in his hand.
When the light dispersed, a damaged piece of a metal voucher appeared inside.
The system finished scanning it: a Soul Ring Replacement Voucher Fragment.
Li Zhexian looked at the metal voucher fragment in his hand.
"A Soul Ring Replacement Voucher."
Black Crow was panting.
"What did you just say?"
"At your level, you're finally a little useful now."
Black Crow raised his hand, preparing to use another move.
Li Zhexian had already charged away from the stone wall.
Wind Walking Step carried him low across the ground, and Black Crow's punch hit nothing.
Azure wine mist surged out from the side.
The Azure Lotus Sword pierced through the wine mist and went straight for Black Crow's wrist.
Black Crow summoned black feathers to block the Azure Lotus Sword.
The sword tip scraped across the feather blades and landed on his wrist.
Black Crow retreated toward the stone door.
Soul chains burst from the ground and coiled around Li Zhexian's legs.
Li Zhexian stepped on the links of the soul chains and continued forward.
"Viewing the Sword While Drunk."
The blade passed through the soul chains, severing the Soul Power and blocking Black Crow's retreat.
Black Crow raised both arms, but before his third Soul Skill had finished forming, the Azure Lotus Sword had already pierced his cloak and pinned his body to the stone wall.
The stone wall cracked open as well.
Black Crow lowered his head and looked at the blade protruding through his chest.
Li Zhexian withdrew the Azure Lotus Sword.
"Is there anyone in the Treasure Hunting Team who can fight better than you?"
Black Crow opened his mouth slightly.
But he did not answer Li Zhexian's question.
"We're not the ones you've provoked."
Black Crow leaned against the stone wall, his voice already hoarse.
"The pursuers from Spirit Hall have already arrived."