Advancement imminent

A rain of blood fell from the earth toward the sky, carrying waves of foul stench and still-writhing strips of snakeskin with exposed bone. The entire square trembled amid the uproar, black shadows weaving through green light.

The patrol knights who had returned to camp were still awake. Lying in bed, they could faintly hear a rustling near their ears, like something cutting through the air, and assumed a sandstorm was approaching. Such storms were common around Sand City in the Gobi Desert, but some realized it was late at night. Given the hour and temperature, a sandstorm should not have occurred.

The wounded knights who had returned earlier were already fast asleep. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and some of their hairs stood on end. Their subconscious seemed to sense something and tried to rouse their sleeping bodies, but their brains, enjoying their slumber, ignored it all and continued drifting through soft, gentle dreams.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Here, sword shadows danced, black shapes flickered, and green light flashed in and out of sight, accompanied by the rustle of blades cutting through the air.

The faintly glowing elemental armor on Zeng Mu had dimmed, its surface covered in red and black. Protected by the armor, his skin remained untouched by the Yellow Sand Diamondback Snakes' cold blood and potent venom. Neither could even penetrate the finely crafted armor beneath his elemental armor.

An arc of light extending from his Wood Element-wreathed helmet shielded his face perfectly, leaving it spotless. Yetos was another matter. Without a helmet, not only his face but his entire head and neck were smeared red and black.

An ordinary person in his condition would likely have died long ago from poisoning and the loss of body heat caused by the frigid blood. An Elementalist's power, however, could disregard all that. The Elemental Power within his body constantly repelled the invading venom and cold blood. No matter how much there was, he could be considered immune to all poisons for as long as his stamina held out.

William, Aikimu, and Xibizete proved worthy of their rank as Silver-Pattern Knight Commanders. Amid the chaotic frenzy, all three remained composed, their expressions resolute, eyes burning, footing firm, and movements agile. With every turn of their wrists, the sharp swords in their hands cleaved through swathes of the black snake tide like oars cutting through water.

Kanni was the same as ever. Just as before, Zeng Mu still could not make out the movements of the Silver Sword in his hand. In this pitch-black, cold night, that silver gleam seemed to replace the radiant moon, blossoming across the green-and-black square.

But the one who surprised Zeng Mu most was Ma Linya, whom he had been worried about.

Ma Linya was a young woman not yet twenty, an Elemental Healer, and a rather slender girl who looked as though a gust of wind might topple her. Though her temperament burned like fire, Zeng Mu had never imagined she could fight this well.

Whoosh!

The pale gold sword, only recently forged, hissed through the air as she stepped, pivoted, and darted about. Its edge constantly shifted between horizontal and vertical strikes: thrusts, cuts, chops, jabs, sweeps... She executed the dazzling sword techniques with remarkable proficiency: an inverted golden hook, a tiger bursting from its cage, a darting serpent thrust, a left parry followed by a right cleave... Zeng Mu could not even name some of them.

Amazed by what he saw, Zeng Mu set his worries aside and devoted his full attention to fighting the snake tide. No longer distracted, he too began displaying astonishing strength.

His recent period of rest, adjustment, and practice had allowed his soul to settle completely into this body. His body now followed his will with needle-fine precision. With that degree of control, even the Bronze Sword in his hand seemed to possess a spirit of its own. Neither his speed nor his strength could be compared to what they had been in his previous fight.

Under the fierce assault of the seven powerful fighters, the snake tide was like water meeting a dam, repeatedly splitting apart and gathering again.

Before they knew it, after each had expended a considerable amount of stamina, the terrifyingly dense snake tide had lost more than half its numbers. The encircling band was now less than three meters wide, and its diameter had shrunk considerably as well. The elemental snake king lying in the center as if fast asleep was only barely protected, while the seven fighters' relentless attacks were opening gaps in its final defensive ring.

Just then, a brilliant symbol suddenly lit up on the forehead of the Yellow Sand Diamondback Snake King in the center. The symbol was both simple and complex. Ordinary people could not look at it for long, or their vision would go black and they would lose consciousness. Clearly, it was the snake king's Elemental Mark.

The instant the golden symbol appeared, the snake king's golden body shone even more brightly. Its radiance spread across the entire square, eclipsing the green light that had covered it.

At the sight, Yetos briefly panicked and cried out in a shrill voice, "This is bad! It's about to complete its advancement!"

Whoosh! As his words fell, the golden symbol began slowly rotating clockwise.

An elemental symbol rotated clockwise when advancing in level, for that followed heaven's will; it rotated counterclockwise when advancing in grade, for that defied heaven.

Whoosh! Before the others could recover from the dazzling golden light, a burst of green light blossomed around Yetos, overwhelming the gold shining through the air.

With a bang, Yetos launched himself upward. His body traced an arc over the snake tide, and he landed firmly on the snake king's head.

As if under some command, the snake tide instantly abandoned its attacks on Zeng Mu and the others. The snakes turned their heads like fish flicking their tails, and the dense black mass surged toward Yetos. Within seconds, the black tide had swallowed him completely, even covering the snake king's head in black.

The others stood watching, not daring to act rashly. They knew all too well that dealing with Yellow Sand Diamondback Snakes was effortless for them, but inflicting any damage on the Yellow Sand Diamondback Snake King was nothing short of a fantasy.

For now, everything rested on Yetos alone.

Though they could no longer see any trace of Yetos, they could hear a familiar humming-the roar of Elemental Power.

The densely packed snake tide continued converging on the center, gradually forming a small hill that completely covered the coiled Yellow Sand Diamondback Snake King.

Rustle, rustle... The ground shook, and the grains of sand beneath their feet danced and sang softly, telling of the rapidly swelling storm inside that hill, like the faint tremors before a volcanic eruption.

Sensing that aura, Zeng Mu immediately raised his sword and shouted, "Quick! Fall back now!"

In his own world, he had been an Elementalist who had reached the Willful Realm, so he was exceptionally sensitive to the danger of elemental energy. Neither someone like Kanni nor someone like Ma Linya possessed that sensitivity.

The three Knight Commanders had already been uncertain whether to retreat from the surging aura. Zeng Mu's warning prompted them to react immediately. The six scattered and retreated a hundred paces to the edge of the square. Before they could even turn around, the golden and green light beneath their feet suddenly swept up like wind.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The rushing wind battered their ears with a savage, tearing force. Golden and green light mingled and churned like paints, giving rise to a massive surge of energy that swept over the six. It faintly penetrated their two layers of armor, assailing their skin with the chill and sharpness of icy blades.

Faint cracking sounds began coming from their bodies. A closer look would have revealed golden, web-like cracks forming across their bright green elemental armor. The web of fractures spread, and the cracking grew louder. Soon, the Wood Element, merely condensed into the shape of armor, could no longer withstand it and began falling away piece by piece.

Once the elemental armor had fallen away completely, they suddenly felt strangely hot. Looking down, they discovered that their armor had taken on a faint red glow, a sign that it had absorbed intense heat.

The scorching temperature naturally made their brows tighten, their skin burning with unbearable pain. But just as they tried to remove their armor, they suddenly found that the metal beneath their fingers had become bone-chillingly cold.

The golden and green light alternated between freezing cold and searing heat, making their muscles contract repeatedly and goosebumps rise across their skin. The sensation was agonizing. An ordinary person could not have endured it for more than two minutes before going into shock. They resisted through sheer willpower, seemingly locked in a stalemate just like the battle in the square.

"Damn it, what kind of rotten weather is this? Cold one moment and hot the next."

"I heard the nights in Sand City were cold, but I never thought they'd be this cold. Why am I sweating, though?"

"To hell with this! Can't a man get any sleep?"

Complaints rose from many knights in the camp. Unaware of the truth, they could only blame the strange weather. Though the patrol knights ordered back to camp had their suspicions, they dared not disobey and did not take a single step outside their stone quarters. They merely turned toward the barred windows, where they could just make out blurred glimmers, like fireflies and stars.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Here, web-like cracks spread across the square's surface. The rushing wind grew so loud that the six could hear nothing else. The freezing cold, scorching heat, and tearing force of the energy-laden wind robbed their legs of strength, forcing them to their knees. With only a shred of resolve keeping them conscious, they stared at the black tower of snakes like sailors watching a lighthouse on a dark sea.

Ma Linya was drenched in sweat. Beads the size of beans kept forming on her forehead, sliding down her cheeks and dripping from her chin onto the ground.

She panted heavily, trying to ease the heat and cold wracking her body. Seeing her condition, Zeng Mu looked toward her and asked haltingly, "Ma Linya, can... can you still hold on?"

Ma Linya raised her head to look at him. Determination shone in her golden eyes, despite their weariness and softened gaze. "Hah... hah... Don't worry. I can still manage."

"Look, the elemental energy is spilling out!" Kanni shouted excitedly, pointing at the snake mound, his facial expression slipping slightly out of his control.

Wisps of emerald light were now radiating from the once-black snake mound. The green light expanded through its gaps until it spread over the Yellow Sand Diamondback Snakes on the outside. In the blink of an eye, its brilliance intensified until the six could no longer keep their eyes open.

Crack... A faint splitting sound reached their ears. In the next instant, a blaze as dazzling as the sun swelled across the square. The collision and interweaving of the two elemental energies produced an enormous spinning hurricane. As the energy intensified, the hurricane's eye rapidly expanded, and the elemental energy across the entire square began moving toward it and gathering.

Whoosh! Seconds later, an enormous pillar of two-colored energy shot into the sky, easily piercing the dark clouds of night to stand alongside the silver disc set amid the dazzling river of stars.

Boom! Before they could open their eyes, the green-lit snake mound exploded. The immense energy shock wave hurled them to the ground, sending their bodies tumbling across it like loose stones. The dismembered Yellow Sand Diamondback Snakes struck them relentlessly like raindrops, producing a furious clatter. Fortunately, their armor kept the broken bones from piercing their bodies.

The deafening roar continued for half a minute before stopping. Dragging their aching bodies upright, the six struggled to their feet and opened their eyes, only to see the writhing mass of golden light ahead.

The golden mass was nearly half again as large as before. The patterns on its golden scales were even more dazzling, faintly radiating threads of azure light. A peculiar glow flickered in the enormous golden eyes on its knobby, triangular head, which was as large as a stone house.

Like someone waking from a dream and rediscovering who they were...

Or someone opening their eyes inside a coffin...