Intercepting "Whitebeard" (Part 2)

On the outskirts of Sanya, by a vast azure lake.

An elderly man with a graying beard was resting.

He looked to be about eighty, the wrinkles on his face like gullies in a mountain forest. He was short and stooped, so thin that only a skeleton remained. One could hardly help wondering if a gust of wind would send him tumbling headfirst to the ground.

People called him Whitebeard.

After about ten minutes, Whitebeard rubbed his eyes wearily and rose with the help of his cane. He shuffled toward a mountain path, dragging a long trail of blood across the ground as he went.

The tattered gray cotton coat wrapped around him had long since split open in countless places. Through the tears, great patches of festering, pus-oozing flesh were plainly visible. He was injured, gravely so.

The wounds looked as though they had been cut by a blade, but also as though they had been seared by fire.

Perhaps they had been seared with a blade?

Among fourth-rank Transcendent creatures, very few could escape Gu Jiuge's blade alive. Whitebeard was one of them, proof of his strength.

Of course, if Sleeping Beauty had not sealed off all of Star Anise Village with vines, Whitebeard might have died under Gu Jiuge's blade long ago.

Once again, Whitebeard marveled inwardly at the strength of human Transcendents, and at their ignorance.

He could not understand why Gu Jiuge was so powerful.

He could not understand why those two low-rank Transcendents bearing the Strange Tale mark had not fled for their lives, but were instead racing toward him.

All in all, human thoughts and emotions were hard to understand. They were always doing strange things.

Whitebeard smiled. A shadow and a kindly look gradually settled over his aged face.

He tapped his cane lightly in midair. As ripples spread, thick, century-old trees sprang from the ground one after another. The open area soon became a lush, shady forest, with enormous vines spreading wildly across the ground like pythons flicking their tongues.

Eight hundred meters.

Five hundred meters.

Three hundred meters.

...They were here.

Bang!!

As the shot rang out, a bullet trailing a sharp rush of air plunged into the woods. It passed over the treetops, pierced through branches and vines, and bored unerringly into Whitebeard's chest, tearing away a chunk of dark red flesh.

Whitebeard looked down at the wound in his chest, thoughtful.

Apparently, more than two people had come.

Several hundred meters away, Monkey stood halfway up a mountainside, gripping a heavy sniper rifle in both hands. His eyes glowed crimson, and the Barrett's long barrel shone a deep red, like a blazing iron furnace.

Divine Oracle Sequence 105 (Starlight): The user can gain the unique attribute bonus "Moonshadow" for x (time). The user can mark objects within x (unknown), increasing the probability of hitting them to one hundred percent (conceptual). Note: No living being can evade the light of the moon and stars. I am a javelin thrower and a sharpshooter.

Conceptual Oracles were highly practical skills. They might not possess great destructive power, but they could work wonders in every battle.

Since Oracles could only take effect within x (unknown), battles between Transcendents and Transcendent creatures were confined to the surrounding area. Monkey, however, could mark a bullet and send it hundreds of meters away, giving him an advantage and the first move.

An inch longer, an inch stronger. That applied not just to weapons, but to combat range as well.

Bang!!

The second bullet arrived right on time, biting accurately into Whitebeard's neck like a venomous snake. A great cloud of dark red blood burst out.

Unhurried, Whitebeard used his cane as a brush and drew a wall on the ground.

Bang!!

As the third bullet flew toward him, an invisible wall of air suddenly appeared. The instant the bullet touched it, it lost all speed and gravity, coming to rest silently in the wall.

With Starlight Moonshadow's enhancement, the bullet had already become starlight and moonlight on a conceptual level. Living matter naturally could not withstand the assault of light, but light had a weakness: it was easily blocked.

Thus, all one had to do to counter Starlight Moonshadow was put up a wall to block the incoming light.

Bang!!

The fourth bullet came howling in, easily piercing the air wall and boring into Whitebeard's chest, where it exploded in a cloud of blood.

Several hundred meters away, a sneer curled Monkey's lips. "You think I need an Oracle to shoot straight?"

For that shot, he had not used an Oracle, but had acted as an ordinary sniper. The bullet had therefore remained metal rather than light, and could naturally pierce the air wall with ease.

Whitebeard rubbed his brow and tapped his cane lightly. Vast tangles of branches and vines suddenly rose as though alive, weaving wildly through the air until they had blocked every blind spot.

A sniper with a seventh-rank bloodline had actually kept Whitebeard, a fourth-rank Calamity, scrambling to cope. If word got out, few would probably believe it.

"Heaven and earth, go dark."

A warm, mellow voice rang out.

The vine-choked area suddenly plunged into darkness.

Lin Luo's figure slowly emerged behind Whitebeard like a ghost, a short dagger in hand thrusting fiercely toward his neck.

Whitebeard did not dodge. Instead, he drew a sun on the ground. "Let there be light."

God created heaven and earth in only seven days.

On the first day, He said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Divine Oracle Sequence 39-Adam, with the unique attribute "creation."

Whitebeard created light. Even if it was false light, it was still light.

The instant the words left his mouth, Lin Luo's Dark Night Domain was popped like a balloon.

Twisted light surged madly into the darkness like a cyclone.

When an assassin hidden in the shadows had his whereabouts exposed, it meant absolute danger.

Lin Luo suddenly discovered that the instant his dagger touched Whitebeard's skin, it had turned into a pool of cold molten iron, which slowly ran through his fingers.

Lin Luo was not surprised. "Creation" could not only produce something from nothing, but also change the form of macroscopic matter. With the "creation" attribute's enhancement, none of the rules applied anymore.

After ice melted, it might still be ice, but it could flow like water.

After water boiled, it might still be water, but it could rise into the sky like gas.

The dagger had been forged from refined iron. Melting it should have required a temperature of over a thousand degrees, but under the influence of "creation," it could melt at room temperature.

Pfft!

The molten iron from the dagger suddenly flowed backward and brushed gently across Lin Luo's chest, piercing straight through and sending a great spray of bright red blood into the air.

The molten iron was clearly soft, but under the influence of "creation," it could possess the sharp edge of refined iron.

Lin Luo grunted and shot backward.

Suddenly, an angry shout rang out.

"Old bastard, die!!"

Liu Feng was wrapped in numerous twisting black lines, which were not very conspicuous in the space where light and darkness alternated.

His eyes crimson, he raised his broad saber, leaped like a tiger, and slashed viciously at Whitebeard.

Whitebeard raised his cane and blocked the crushing force.

The instant the two made contact, the black lines on Liu Feng suddenly spread out like a peacock fanning its tail. They formed a massive net that descended from above and bound Whitebeard tightly.

The twisting black lines were like venomous snakes, suddenly opening their gaping maws to reveal fearsome fangs.

Divine Oracle Sequence 130 (Spirit Snake): The user can gain the unique attribute bonus "Deadly Poison" for x (unknown) time. The user can call upon "Spirit Snakes" lurking in the void within x (unknown), inflicting "Absolute Confinement" on the target. Note: If a "Spirit Snake" bites your arm, please cut off your own head immediately, because... you are dead for sure.