Two Fires, One Wind Eye

Two Fires, One Wind Eye

When the yellow wind surged forth, Shrek was still some distance from the Wind-Calming Stake.

The lamp in Ning Rongrong's arms dimmed first. Then its flame was stretched into a thin thread by the wind, as if it might snap at any moment. Xiao Wu was up ahead, holding off an armored Little Demon. When the wind shifted, the creature actually used the sand to ram straight at them. Tang San had no time to think. He struck his wooden staff downward, using the recoil to retreat to Ning Rongrong's side and forcibly deflect the blow.

Ma Hongjun nearly started cursing.

"Did they trigger the mechanism?"

Ning Rongrong hugged the lamp tightly, her eyes never leaving the wind patterns at the edge of the screen.

"Don't curse. Perform Lamp Guarding first. There's a backdraft on the right. Lower the fire a little more."

Ma Hongjun held back his breath. The flames in his palm swept low across the ground, just barely forcing away the yellow mist rushing in from the right. But the mist scattered without vanishing. It was swept into the air, then pressed back toward Spirit Hall along the wind. The two screens were clearly separated by different routes, yet the wind seemed like one rope—when one end was pulled, the other tightened as well.

Spirit Hall's side was even more dangerous.

After Hu Liena pressed down the Wind-Calming Stake, the chaotic patterns on the stone pillar lit up all at once. Heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the valley entrance. A tall figure draped in broken armor emerged from the wind, dragging a massive stone staff behind it. With every step it took, great waves of sand shuddered across the ground.

Before it even came close, it merely raised a hand and waved. Broken stones immediately rained down on the Spirit Hall team.

Xie Yue charged forward at once, blocking again and again with his twin blades. His arms went numb from the impacts. Hu Liena shielded the lamp with one hand and slid half a step back. Yan instinctively wanted to unleash his flames, but the instant they rose to his waist, he forcibly pressed them down.

If the fire rose too high, it would feed the wind.

They had just suffered for that mistake.

But if the fire was too low, it could not stop that stone staff. For the first time, Yan felt that fire could be this awkward: too big was no good, too small was no good; too fast stirred up the wind, too slow got people killed. And yet the deacon holding the lamp looked terribly pale, though his eyes remained fixed on the ground.

"Your Holiness, there are two wind vents beneath the pillar. One is bright, and one is dark."

Hu Liena dodged a chunk of flying stone.

"Explain."

"The bright one is on our side, as if it's been scorched by fire. The dark one is on the other route. If we only suppress the bright vent, the wind will pour back in through the dark one."

Yan's expression darkened further after hearing that.

This mechanism was not something one team could suppress alone.

The people in the shop gradually saw the issue as well. At the end of Shrek's route on the left, there was also a half-buried stone pillar. It simply had not been lit yet, and the base of the pillar was pitch-black. Meanwhile, Spirit Hall's Wind-Calming Stake on the right was already shrouded in yellow light, while the Wind Eye was madly spewing sand.

Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow slightly.

"A shared mechanism."

Grandmaster said quietly, "Triggering the mechanism first lets you seize the initiative, but it also means taking the pressure first. If the other team cannot keep up, that initiative will become a burden instead."

Lin Chuan, seated behind the counter, slowly added, "That's why it's a race, not two teams running separately."

The word "race" sounded simple enough, but once they truly entered the map, everyone understood the trouble behind it. If the faster team released all the wind, they would have to bear it themselves, and those behind would suffer too. If the trailing team deliberately delayed supporting the mechanism, the backlash of the wind would eventually sweep over them as well.

Tang San had already figured it out.

"We light the dark pillar."

Ning Rongrong asked, "And after we light it?"

Tang San stared at the faintly linked wind patterns between the two screens, speaking rapidly.

"Both sides suppress their flames at the same time. Spirit Hall suppresses the bright vent, and we suppress the dark vent. The flames can't be high. They have to stay close to the pillar's base. Otherwise, the wind will ride the fire upward."

Xiao Wu looked ahead.

"I'll draw those two on the left away."

Ning Rongrong immediately said, "Don't lead them too far. The lamp has to pass the pillar."

Ma Hongjun had already stepped before the dark pillar. He raised his head and shouted toward the screen on the right.

"Hey, Yan!"

Yan was being forced back by the tall figure. Hearing him, his expression soured even more.

"What are you shouting for?"

"Can you hold?"

"Better than you can."

Ma Hongjun laughed in irritation.

"Fine, then don't die. I'll count to three. We lower the flames together and press them to the pillar roots."

The flames in Yan's hand paused.

He had wanted to retort, Why should I listen to you? But the figure in the wind smashed down with its staff again. Xie Yue blocked it for him, and his health bar instantly dropped by a chunk. Hu Liena shielded the lamp as she circled past the flying stones, then turned back and shouted, "Yan, stop bickering."

Yan gritted his teeth.

"You count."

As soon as he said that, the shop suddenly fell silent. The two fires that had been at each other's throats only moments ago had actually found the same rhythm at this moment.

"Three."

Tang San lit the dark pillar.

"Two."

Hu Liena moved the hand holding the lamp to the rear side of the stone pillar. Xie Yue braced the stone staff with both blades, holding it fast. The flames in Yan's palm were compressed from crimson to dark red, as though hammered into iron.

"One."

The Phoenix Firewires on both sides dropped at once.

Ma Hongjun's Breath-Calming Pure Flame clung to the base of the dark pillar, slowly winding along its stone patterns. On Yan's side, a crimson Phoenix Firewire pressed against the bright wind vent, forcing the yellow mist that was about to erupt back into the pillar inch by inch. The two flames were separated by two routes and could not see one another, yet their Bite locked onto the same beat in the wind.

The yellow wind suddenly stalled.

Someone before the spectator screen sucked in a sharp breath.

"They suppressed it!"

The tall figure threw back its head and howled. It swept its stone staff sideways, trying to smash Xie Yue and the lamp away together. Hu Liena stepped forward half a pace, blocking the flying stones for the lamp bearer. Her health bar dropped by a chunk, but she did not even frown.

On the other side, Xiao Wu lured the two armored Little Demons to the outside of the stone pillar, moving as swiftly as a shadow in the wind. Tang San did not pursue them. He merely stood half a step in front of Ning Rongrong. Ning Rongrong performed Lamp Carrying while watching the fire, the wind, and Tang San's hand signals. Then she suddenly spoke.

"Fatty, leave half an inch."

Ma Hongjun's fingers twitched.

"It hasn't reached the bottom yet."

"If it reaches the bottom, it'll go out!"

Her voice was not loud, but it was perfectly timed. Ma Hongjun stopped the Phoenix Firewire almost on instinct. In the next instant, a faint yellow glow lit up at the base of the dark pillar. If he had kept pressing downward, that tiny light would definitely have been scattered by the fire.

On the right, the deacon shouted as well.

"Lord Yan, pull back half an inch! The vent isn't meant to be sealed shut—it needs room to breathe!"

Yan's hand had already pressed to its limit. Hearing that, his expression sank. Under normal circumstances, he might not even acknowledge a low-ranking deacon daring to shout at him like that. But this man had just correctly identified where the wind was weakest. Yan clenched his teeth and drew the Phoenix Firewire back half an inch.

The Wind Eye seemed as though someone had gripped its throat.

It was not dead silence. Rather, it had changed from a violent roar to a low, heavy breath. The two Wind-Calming Stakes lit up at once, and the yellow wind retreated toward both sides along the valley entrance, exposing an old road buried beneath the sand.

[Wind Eye formation suppressed. Stabilized.]

[Shared mechanism resolved.]

[Stage evaluation: Dual-Line Shared Breath.]

When Ma Hongjun saw those words, he nearly jumped up.

"Dual-Line Shared Breath? That evaluation sounds awesome!"

Yan said coldly, "Don't rate yourself so highly."

"Without me, your side would've been buried by the wind already."

"Without me, you couldn't have lit that pillar either."

The two began arguing across the screens again, but no one in the shop found it annoying. What they had just done really was beautiful. Fire was not simply better when it burned bigger, nor did the one who burned the fiercest win. Both sides needed to know when to hold back, when to leave room, and how to keep their hands steady at the most turbulent moment. For fire-attribute soul masters, that was far more useful than winning a verbal spat.

But Yellow Wind Ridge did not let them relax for long.

After being forced back by the light of the Wind-Calming Stakes, the tall figure did not disperse. It retreated to the end of the valley entrance, then suddenly drove its stone staff into the ground. The sand and rocks on both sides of the old road split apart, and several wind blades surged up from underground, slashing straight at both teams' Wind-Calming Lamps.

Tang San's expression changed.

"Lamp Guarding!"

Hu Liena shouted almost at the same time, "Fall back!"

On Shrek's side, the space Ning Rongrong had left earlier saved them. Xiao Wu spun around and kicked one wind blade aside. Tang San blocked another with his wooden staff. Ma Hongjun rolled half a circle of Phoenix Firewire in front of the lamp, burning the thinnest wind blade off course. The flame shook violently, but it did not crack.

Spirit Hall was half a beat slower.

They had activated the mechanism first and were positioned farther forward. Xie Yue and Hu Liena had already spent much of their strength holding back the tall figure. When the wind blades swept in, the deacon performing Lamp Carrying retreated, but his foot sank into sand softened by the earlier Phoenix Firewire. The lamp tilted, and a wind blade grazed the wick.

Crack.

The sound was quiet, but everyone in the shop heard it.

A thin crack appeared on Spirit Hall's Wind-Calming Lamp. The lamp did not go out, but its color visibly dimmed.

[Spirit Hall Cooperative Advance Team's Wind-Calming Lamp damaged.]

[Current round evaluation decreased.]

[You may continue forward. Risk increased.]

[Cooperative Advance Review Panel detected as active. Apply for shared mechanism review?]

The shop fell silent once more.

Those who had just been competing over speed finally understood that Yellow Wind Ridge would not only reward those who took the first step—it would also record, with absolute clarity, the cost of every attempt to seize the road.