Crane Wing Double Link

Zhou Yuxuan knew exactly why they had changed their attitude. Having witnessed Emiya and Old Tang's performance, they had finally confirmed that the path of Magic Circuits was not only viable, but one that could go far.

They had originally thought that joining forces to carve up the Chen Family was the main event. Now, however, they felt their previous thinking had been too conservative, causing them to misjudge the situation.

Zhou Yuxuan was simply too proper in his dealings with others to dismiss people casually just because he was impatient. Otherwise, the noble families would not have dared approach him so freely to ingratiate themselves.

"Reporting to the Wu Family Head, I am in good health, and Wa Lord is equally full of vigor."

Wu Jianhong burst into laughter and slapped Zhou Yuxuan hard on the back, making a booming sound like a drumbeat. "Ah, Yuxuan, I heard that something happened at the Tomb of the Three Kings some time ago. You were saved then by your newly appointed Chief Steward, weren't you?"

Zhou Yuxuan's heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged. "Thank you for your concern, Wu Family Head. The people below cannot keep their mouths shut and spread idle gossip. The Chief Steward is a talent personally valued by Wa Lord. Perhaps certain people simply enjoy stirring up rumors behind the scenes."

"The Zhou Family's new Chief Steward... I wonder whose outstanding disciple he is." Wu Jianhong still had not given up, practically asking outright about Emiya's background.

Zhou Yuxuan knew that, in Wa Lord's eyes, Emiya was practically forbidden territory, someone the noble families could not touch. Emiya himself also did not want to be burdened by trifles. If Zhou Yuxuan let down his guard here, the noble families' vast network of spies would cling to Emiya like sticky plaster.

"Wu Family Head should wait patiently. On the day of the agreed operation, you will naturally witness the Chief Steward's prowess."

Seeing the dim sky in the distance, nearly evening already, Zhou Yuxuan recalled Wa Lord's instructions. He cupped his hands and said solemnly:

"Wu Family Head, rather than persist in fruitless inquiries, why not seriously consider why Wa Lord is willing to share the entirely new path of magic with the various noble families? In other words, why did she choose only those of you she knows? Even if the information is tightly sealed, it will eventually spread beyond these borders and reach every nation."

Once the day came when it could no longer be concealed, those who arrived would not be limited to people like them.

The smile vanished from Wu Jianhong's bearded face. "Yuxuan, do you have something to teach me?"

"I would not dare presume to instruct you. It is merely a small suggestion... Wu Family Head, Wa Lord likely feels that the voice of our noble families is not loud enough at present. Some people are far too much of an eyesore, such as the Gattuso family the Chen Family has allied with, or Cassell..."

The noble families of China had nominally always been responsible for handling domestic dragon-related incidents and strictly guarding against foreign hybrid forces... Yet for many years, their methods had been conservative. Not only had dragon blood and dragon treasures flowed out in large quantities, but hybrid organizations represented by the Secret Party had also emerged—Cassell had even opened a preparatory school branch in China, recruiting large numbers of wild hybrid freshmen from here every year—

In truth, the Black King's Bloodline Descendants in China had become an important source of students for Cassell, while the noble families had nearly abandoned this area altogether.

Wa Lord believed that the Magic System was an opportunity, an opportunity to change the current state of affairs.

Wu Jianhong seemed to realize something. His thick beard trembled twice, and even the bulging muscles on his arms tensed. He solemnly cupped his hands toward Zhou Yuxuan. "Wa Lord... truly possesses magnificent ambition..."

After returning the gesture, Zhou Yuxuan turned around unhurriedly and walked away with his back to Wu Jianhong, intending to continue with his duties. "Yes. Therefore, I hope the Wu Family Head will show some ambition as well."

This was a choice of sides, a complete reshuffling of power. The Bai Family had already openly taken its position. As for the remaining few, the intelligent noble families had surely already made the right choice in their hearts.

"After all, you would not want your family to become the next Chen Family, would you?"

Whoosh—

The sharp cry of blades tearing through the air rang out as two cold flashes shot from the shadows like venomous snakes.

"Heh, I dodged!"

Old Tang now considered himself both naturally gifted and well-trained. He executed a flashy spinning leap with his eyes closed, and the aura of ancient treasured swords brushed past him.

Clang—!

After the black-and-white bronze shortswords crossed past Old Tang on either side, they swiftly scraped against the solid ground. With a piercing screech, the road beneath their edges was cleanly sliced open, the cut surfaces smooth as mirrors and smoking faintly.

"Old Tang! Watch out for this!" Emiya's voice came from afar, followed by another pair of black-and-white swords.

The black-and-white swords spun rapidly through the air, producing a humming whistle. Their nimble trajectories resembled wisps of thread drifting through the sky.

As they closed in, the two black-and-white swords Old Tang had just dodged also spun and danced dangerously, like assassins swooping in once more from the shadows—

Thus, the two paired sets of swords, four shortswords in total, began sealing off Old Tang's escape routes from every direction—front, back, left, and right!

"Damn it! Don't bring out another pair! At this rate, Old Tang might get his arms and legs broken just from being your test dummy!"

Old Tang's mind raced as he tensely sensed the flight paths of the paired swords—Ganzhiang and Moxie.

The next instant, he performed an unbelievable move. He leaned far back while spreading his legs like a bow. The swords coming from the left and right collided in front of his chest with a clang and fell to the ground, but the blades coming from the front and back unfortunately grazed his pant legs...

With a rip, the Patagonia track pants Old Tang had just bought split open, leaving two neat tears.

"Don't worry, there will not be another pair. Two pairs of swords for Crane Wing Double Link is already the limit."

Emiya walked over and retrieved Ganzhiang and Moxie. During this period, he had not practiced anything else with his projections. He had focused solely on Red Archer's specialty: projecting Ganzhiang and Moxie. His efforts had finally paid off, and he could now give the projected swords their mutually attracting property.

Using that property to develop the Crane Wing Triple Link, which made enemies extremely difficult to evade, had become his training goal. And, incidentally... he could help Old Tang train that supercomputer brain of his as well.

However, Red Archer's Crane Wing Triple Link was an unavoidable technique that relied on the eyesight and experience to see through an opponent's actions before throwing three full pairs of Ganzhiang and Moxie. With Emiya's current experience and skill, he was still only at the level of Crane Wing Double Link.

Old Tang patted off the dust with a miserable expression. He felt that his recent training had been utterly grueling. He had finally latched onto the Zhou Family's deep pockets, his wallet gradually filling up, and had even bought several sets of designer clothes. Yet they were being ruined one training session at a time. His good brother claimed that sweating more in training meant bleeding less on missions, then launched them into an intense grind. Old Tang was too embarrassed to admit that he really wanted to lie down and play StarCraft, wasting this unparalleled talent for magic.

As Old Tang let his thoughts run wild, he suddenly saw Zhou Yuxuan walking toward him and Emiya.

"Wa Lord summons you. According to the latest intelligence sent by The Trio, the Chen Family has recently made some unusual moves. Our operation is about to begin."

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