A Three-Way Game

Long Yunzhi bent his neck at a 90-degree angle, and the short blade grazed his forehead, slicing off a few strands of hair.

He suddenly detonated the Chakra inside him, trading it for a momentary burst of speed.

Breaking free of the Water Dragon Technique's restraints, he drove his right foot into Mo Jingxian's chest.

The kick missed again.

Mo Jingxian was clearly right there, yet it was like kicking empty air.

Mo Jingxian dodged the attack, arched backward, and kicked his opponent under the chin.

Long Yunzhi was briefly sent airborne.

Seizing his chance, Mo Jingxian flickered behind his opponent and mimicked Gentle Fist, rapidly striking the major chakra points in his back.

A series of thudding impacts rang through the silent space.

Mo Jingxian formed needle-shaped Chakra at his fingertips and drove it into his enemy's body with each strike.

Suddenly!

The scales on Long Yunzhi's back shot out like arrows.

The attack came without warning, and the two were so close that Mo Jingxian had no time to react.

He instinctively shielded his head with both arms and retreated at top speed.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft."

The feathers on his arms proved invaluable, blocking most of the attack.

But a few scales still pierced his defense, leaving two holes in his shoulder and lower abdomen.

Blood ran from his wounds. Mo Jingxian sent water elements toward them, stopping his injuries from getting worse.

Another exchange, and neither of them had gained the upper hand.

Long Yunzhi's back was now covered in countless tiny wounds, left behind by the scales that had fallen off.

The foreign Chakra driven into his body had made it impossible for him to maintain his Transformation Technique.

The scales on his body slowly withdrew beneath his skin, revealing his true appearance.

"Looks like I underestimated you. I never expected..."

Long Yunzhi finally began to regard Mo Jingxian as an equal. There was no longer any trace of disdain in his voice.

But halfway through, Long Yunzhi swallowed the rest of his words, and his face twisted before Mo Jingxian's eyes.

Mo Jingxian had no interest in listening to him blather. He had just retreated to the jade pendant.

He controlled the Water Flood Dragon to retrieve the pendant. Without even looking at it, he slipped it into his clothes right in front of his opponent.

He did it so casually, as if he were coming home and grabbing a packet of instant noodles.

Long Yunzhi's chest heaved. Only after several breaths did he force himself to calm down.

The two entered a lull, seizing the chance to recover and prepare for the deadly fight ahead.

Less than two minutes later, Long Yunzhi suddenly smiled.

"That technique of yours uses the refraction of water to misdirect attacks. Am I right?"

Ah... I didn't expect him to see through it so quickly.

Mo Jingxian had indeed gathered a layer of water elements around his body. It was one application of Chakra Nature Transformation for Water Release.

It was somewhat surprising that Long Yunzhi had figured that out during their brief exchange.

Looks like I still underestimated his talent.

Of course, Mo Jingxian wasn't foolish enough to admit it. He hit back with words of his own.

"You're not used to those legs, are you? If they aren't yours, don't force it!"

Long Yunzhi instinctively furrowed his brow at the taunt, but quickly hid his reaction.

Mo Jingxian caught the brief flicker of change in his expression. So his guess had been right.

Neither of them spoke again. They focused on recovering as quickly as possible.

Their eyes had met, and they were both old hands at underhanded tricks. There was no point wasting their breath.

The final battle came sooner than expected.

Long Yunzhi launched a sneak attack from behind—a mouthful of old... no, a "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

A blazing fireball hurtled toward him, but Mo Jingxian seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He dodged before the technique even reached him.

Two identical Long Yunzhi clones attacked him from both sides.

Long Yunzhi had exploited Mo Jingxian's assumption that he couldn't use Ninjutsu, launching a surprise attack with Shadow Clones.

The result wasn't ideal.

Mo Jingxian had been expecting the sneak attack. As he dodged, he analyzed his opponent's abilities.

After transforming, his enemy couldn't use Ninjutsu. Once he returned to human form, all his physical attributes dropped sharply.

Or rather, this was Long Yunzhi's normal strength, and he had switched back to the fighting style of a conventional Ninja.

The battle had returned to the rhythm Mo Jingxian preferred.

When the two Long Yunzhi clones were still some distance away, their speed suddenly slowed.

"Water Garment Binding Technique."

It was a Ninjutsu he had secretly laid out beforehand. The layer of water was so thin that it was extremely difficult to detect.

Once the enemy fell into the trap, the water garment turned inside out and wrapped the two Long Yunzhi clones tightly.

Then two Shuriken flew at them, and the enemy vanished in a puff of white smoke.

A corpse on the ground got to its feet. The Transformation Technique wore off, revealing Long Yunzhi.

His sneak attack had been foiled, and there was no point staying hidden. From here on... only a fight to the death awaited them both.

They activated the Body Flicker Technique at the same time.

Words had lost their meaning. Only one of them could survive.

They closed in rapidly, and Mo Jingxian's mind and body reached their peak.

Without warning, a blurred figure appeared between them.

By coincidence, he appeared at the perfect moment—just before either of them could strike, cutting straight into the middle of their fight.

Neither hesitated, nor did they need to. They both attacked him almost at the same time.

Mo Jingxian slashed horizontally with his short blade, while Long Yunzhi thrust a flaming hand blade at the man's heart.

Whoever this person was, wherever he came from, he would be dead in the next instant.

The man tilted his head, twisted aside, and blurred his hands. In the blink of an eye, both palms struck their chests.

He had only just appeared, and his consciousness had yet to fully return, but his body had already moved on its own.

With that single strike, the newcomer demonstrated his formidable strength.

One strike, two palm seals. He not only sent both men flying but also branded them with the Ninjutsu "Fire Style: Heavenly Prison."

Mo Jingxian flipped in midair, landed on one knee, and slid backward for a distance before looking up at the sudden arrival.

Mui!

His armor was tattered, a sign of the brutal battle he had endured.

The sneak attack had not been entirely ineffective, either.

Mui was in poor shape. A gash split open his left chest, the exposed flesh charred black.

His right ear was missing. That had been Mo Jingxian's doing.

Mui hunched over, as if protecting something.

A little boy crawled out from beneath him and anxiously checked his father's injuries.

"Father!"

The son of the Hozuki Castle lord—Muku.

Well, now everyone who needed to be here had arrived.

While he had a moment, Mo Jingxian hurriedly checked his own condition.

His Chakra was sealed. The logic behind the technique was exactly the same as that of the "Fire Style: Heavenly Prison" he had taken apart and studied in his room.

He raised his right hand. Water elements gathered in clusters at his five fingertips.

At least the seal only affected Chakra.

The water-element symbols arranged themselves along a special pattern, appearing like five burning flames.

Mo Jingxian turned his wrist and pressed the five fingers, wreathed in burning water elements, against the spot on his chest where he had been struck.

The water-element flames touched the Fire Style: Heavenly Prison seal. Blue streams of flame flowed along the seal's pattern, wrapping around it from the outside in.

After a few breaths,

Mo Jingxian looked as if he were lifting something heavy with his five fingers. He forcibly pulled the Fire Style: Heavenly Prison seal out of his body.

The scene was bizarre, like pulling a radish out of the ground.

"Roar!"

A roar that sounded nothing like a human voice burst out. Long Yunzhi's body shrank dramatically.

The flesh on his body visibly withered, as if a Taotie monster were hidden inside him.

A few seconds later,

Scales spread across Long Yunzhi's upper body again. The sealing symbols on his chest gradually faded, and he broke free of the Fire Style: Heavenly Prison seal.

The duel between two had turned into a three-way brawl, and the situation had grown even more complicated.

"Fire Release: Fire Prison Technique!"

Blazing flames surged up from the ground. In the enclosed space, the technique's destructive power was unleashed to the fullest.

Whether with Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, Mui displayed the overwhelming prowess of an elite High Ninja.

Mo Jingxian dodged repeatedly, struggling to keep up. He had less than twenty percent of his Chakra left and didn't dare waste it on Ninjutsu.

Long Yunzhi charged through the flames toward Mui. The scales covering his body blocked most of the heat.

Unfortunately, he didn't last even a single exchange.

Long Yunzhi flew backward even faster than he had charged in, then took another hit when he landed.

The water elements arranged around Mo Jingxian were being depleted rapidly and were about to shatter.

He ignored everything else and formed Hand Seals at top speed.

"Water Style: Fire-State Seal." It was a Ninjutsu he had developed himself, but he had yet to incorporate it into his understanding of water elements, so he still needed Hand Seals to cast it.

At the same time, he made up his mind.

If this still wasn't enough to win, he would have to activate the trump card he had prepared early.

Long Yunzhi had only just been knocked away, but Mo Jingxian had already finished the six Hand Seals.

He pressed his palm to the ground. Black symbols spread like flowing water, and flames retreated wherever they reached.

The sealing technique activated successfully. Six pillars of water rose from the ground, encircling Mui.

It worked.

The technique had drained all of Mo Jingxian's Chakra. His body felt terribly depleted.

Fortunately, Mui had been caught in it.

"That's an impressive technique."

Although his Chakra had been sealed, Mui's response sent Mo Jingxian's spirits plummeting.

He didn't look the least bit panicked. Instead, he tore off his tattered armor in one motion.

Beneath his chiseled muscles lurked an explosive force as surging as magma.

The wound on his chest was healing, and a pair of black wings spread from his back.

The instant he saw the wings, Mo Jingxian narrowed his eyes.

They were a pair of Satori wings.

He had to admit that Long Yunzhi's belief that there could only be one Satori had misled him.

"Mui, you'd better stand right there and not move."

Long Yunzhi held Muku in his arms, his eyes also fixed on the pair of wings.

So he had used Mo Jingxian's sealing technique as cover to secretly seize Mui's son.

The three sides were wary of one another, and an uncanny silence fell over the scene.

Confusion filled Long Yunzhi's eyes. He asked urgently,

"How can you transform into Satori? It's impossible..."

"The Box of Ultimate Bliss has always been in our family's hands. What makes you think you understand it better than I do?"

Long Yunzhi's scaly face gave nothing away, but his slightly trembling hands showed that his emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Mui stopped provoking him, but he also ceased his attacks.

Only Long Yunzhi's hysterical voice remained in the space.

"You lied to me! No, Satori is the one and only king of the world. You can't fool me!"

Long Yunzhi grew more and more deranged, his arm tightening around Muku.

The child struggled feebly. Mui tried several times to rescue him, but each attempt was stopped by Long Yunzhi's threatening glare.

Long Yunzhi quieted down, as though he had regained his reason. He shot Mo Jingxian a hateful glance.

Then, in a commanding tone, he said to Mui,

"Go kill that Ninja from the other village."