Not Every Scorched Bamboo Should Be Thrown Away
The five main nodes continued to support the array. Li Man did not immediately add new bamboo arrays. She first looked at the four nodes that had already been cut off.
Number 7, Number 9, Number 2.
Number four.
She handled the fire attribute cascading effect quickly just now. Now that Huo Wu has taken the initiative to extinguish the fire, the differences between the four bamboo sections have become clearer.
The ninth is the most serious.
The heat had already penetrated into the bamboo joints, and the moment Qingyu's Soul Power approached, it would immediately become agitated.
Number 7 is slightly less severe, but still leaves a lingering residue. There's no need to touch these two again.
"Seven, nine."
Li Man retracted her fingers.
The two bamboo segments, which had originally retained their physical form, lost their Soul Power connection and completely withdrew from the array.
Zhenqi. The name was just something she temporarily gave herself. Scorched Bamboo Abandoned Path was already doing this.
The contamination has been confirmed, so we should cut it off completely. The problem lies with units two and four. Unit two has heat inside, but it hasn't continued to spread.
Number Four is even lighter, leaving only a ring of heat on the outer layer. She cut it too quickly just now and didn't even have time to confirm whether the fire attribute had actually entered the actual transmission channel.
"Don't touch these two yet."
Dong Jian, who was making a side Huo Wushuang at the center line, turned around after hearing this.
"Bring them back?"
"I'm not answering now."
"Then keep it?"
"Um."
Li Man redirected her Soul Power to the outer perimeter of number two, avoiding the main path and leaving only her perception.
That bamboo node, separated from the Ten Thousand Bamboos Return to the Veins, seemed to be isolated by a layer. Temperature changes could be felt, allowing confirmation of whether it was continuing to deteriorate.
However, none of the teammates' Soul Power paths will pass through there.
"Number Two temporarily sealed off."
Then came number four.
"Temporarily sealed off."
Dong Jian didn't ask any more questions. That was clear enough. Being cut off didn't mean it had to be completely discarded.
Since the situation was unclear, they decided to keep an eye on it from outside the net. Huo Wu, on the other side, had obviously also noticed the change. She had already switched to support Huo Wushuang, but suddenly raised her hand again.
A streak of fire swept over Yu Tianheng's head and headed straight for node number five. Li Man did not switch immediately.
The fire only brushed against the bamboo tip; the outer layer heated up, while the inside remained stable.
"Keep."
The second flame then struck number six. This time it was even heavier. Scorch marks immediately appeared on the surface of the bamboo joint.
The heat pressed inward along with the jade Soul Power, and Li Man's finger broke off.
"Number Six, truly abandoned."
The movements were even faster than before. Huo Wu noticed. She didn't stop.
The third flame struck number three, leaving obvious scorch marks as well. But Li Man did not abandon it.
"Temporarily sealed off."
Number Three exited the main network, maintaining peripheral awareness. Huo Wu's brow twitched for the first time. She had already noticed.
Li Man no longer applies the same rule to all fire-affected nodes.
"You learn very quickly."
Huo Wu's voice wasn't loud. Li Man replied to her from across the arena.
"You teach quickly too."
Huo Wushuang, who had just been knocked back by Yu Tianheng's punch, couldn't help but glance back when he heard these two sentences.
"Can you two finish fighting before you talk?"
Yu Tianheng pressed down with a burst of lightning.
"They're talking about their own things."
The next punch was already upon them. Huo Wushuang could only block again. The pace of the game didn't slow down because Li Man redefined the node state.
It's actually tighter. The mainnet now only has four fully functional nodes. Two are temporarily blocked.
Two were completely abandoned. The other one had just undergone a light fire test and was still under observation. Li Man had to remember even more things at the same time than before.
Previously, nodes only had two states: usable or unusable.
Once it's cut off, she can completely erase that part from her attention. Not now. Has the temperature on number two continued to drop?
Have the remaining flames on the outer layer of Unit 4 been completely extinguished? Unit 3 was just re-burned; has its internal condition deteriorated? These questions remain unanswered by the main network.
It wasn't participating in the transmission, yet it still occupied her senses. Her temples began to tighten. Li Man didn't show it, only shortening route number five.
"Yu Feng, don't go towards number two."
The Yu Feng is turning back from the sky.
"Know."
"Osler, number four is empty."
"I saw it."
The others in Imperial Fighting Team didn't wait for her to re-establish the formation. Yu Feng immediately raised the level. Osler borrowed space from the edge of Dugu Yan's poison zone to return to the center line.
Ye Lingling also moved two steps to the right to avoid the temporarily sealed-off area. Li Man only needed to tell them where they couldn't leave for the time being.
The rest of the journey is up to the teammates to find. Dong Jian watched this scene without reporting the key points for her. His attention was focused on Yu Tianheng and Huo Wushuang.
Blazing Fire is increasing the pressure on the front lines. After Huo Wu realized that the deception was becoming increasingly difficult, her tactics quickly changed. The four fire-attribute Soul Master no longer took turns targeting the array's core.
Some fires are real. Some are just smoldering.
Another portion landed directly between people and nodes, making it unclear to Li Man whether the fire's purpose was to force her into a new position or to continue contaminating the bamboo joints.
The real and the fake are mixed together.
Just as Li Man confirmed that the outer heat of the fourth layer had decreased and was preparing to reconnect, Huo Wu suddenly unleashed another arc of fire.
The arc of fire didn't touch Number Four; it landed nearby. However, the resulting heat wave raised the temperature of Number Four again.
Li Man stopped immediately upon encountering the Soul Power on the main path.
"Continue the lockdown."
She didn't confront it directly. But something changed on the second side. The internal residue was getting weaker and weaker.
No new fire attribute entered. The Azure Jade Soul Power tentatively passed the first stage and stabilized.
The second section remained stable. Li Man did not take it all back at once.
Start by opening a small section. Once you confirm there are no issues, then reconnect the node to the main network.
A bluish light appeared. Number Two was revived.
"Return."
Dong Jian's lips twitched slightly upon hearing that word.
"There are more and more names."
"To make it easier for you to remember."
"I don't care about formations."
Li Man didn't even glance at him.
"Then shut up."
Dong Jian indeed shut up. Huo Wu, however, kept her eyes fixed on Number Two. She quickly understood what "returning to the starting position" meant.
The nodes that Li Man previously cut off may not have truly disappeared permanently. Her method of using light fire to continuously deceive the array's core has largely failed.
"Unrivaled, strike!"
Huo Wu suddenly changed her command. Huo Wushuang immediately rushed towards Yu Tianheng's front. At the same time, another Blazing Fire Power Attack System approached Dong Jian from the side.
Huo Wu Dancer then set fire to three locations in succession: No. 5, No. 2, and so on.
There's also the connection to the main formation beneath Li Man's feet. The intensity of this round of fire has clearly increased. Li Man must make a judgment.
Number 2 has just returned to the starting position, and the risk of continuing to bear the fire is very high. Number 5 remains stable. However, the main formation under our feet cannot be easily switched.
She cut off number two first.
"Temporarily sealed off."
Then pull route five inwards. Finally, take a step back to avoid the third line of fire. That's the last step.
Dong Jian suddenly noticed a blank space.
After the second temporary sealing, a very obvious area without a formation appeared between the left and center of the Imperial Fighting Team.
To outsiders, there was no azure light beam or moving array points over there. Huo Wu clearly thought so too.
She pushed one of her teammates towards that direction, preparing to block Yu Tianheng's sideways advance. Dong Jian did not remind Li Man to make a backup.
Instead, he took half a step closer to the empty space. Just then, Huo Wushuang threw a punch at Yu Tianheng. Yu Tianheng blocked it.
The two Soul Power exploded. Yu Tianheng's body was shaken and he staggered backward. Dong Jian raised his hand and only touched him on the back of the shoulder.
"Empty."
Yu Tianheng immediately noticed the area without the bamboo array. Normally, that would be the path that Imperial Fighting Team had cut off himself.
But now there's no rule saying you can't leave. He turned around and cut directly through the temporarily sealed-off area. Huo Wu was clearly taken aback.
She was planning to block the "array path". But Yu Tianheng didn't follow the array path at all. Dong Jian didn't give him any new bamboo nodes either.
A blank area became the cleanest angle for a sudden attack. The Thunder Dragon Body erupted suddenly.
Yu Tianheng sliced past Huo Wushuang and punched the Soul Master responsible for connecting behind Blazing Fire.
The opponent hastily parried, forced back several steps by the Thunderclap. Huo Wu immediately countered with her own fire to support, but the attack failed to break through.
This Blazing Fire the fire lines that were originally pressing down on Li Man's formation to retreat a bit. Li Man used these few moments to reconfirm the status of Number Three.
The pollution is too severe.
"What a waste."
The circuit 3 circuit has completely shut down. The temperature on the fourth circuit has dropped again.
"Return."
The blue light reconnected. One was abandoned, then activated.
Li Man's forehead was covered in even more sweat.
She now has to manage the mainnet, temporarily suspended nodes, and the old path that may be reverted to at any time. She needs to confirm each switch herself, Ten Thousand Bamboos Return to the Veins will not make decisions for her.
Huo Wu watched this series of changes and stopped laughing. She raised her right hand. The other members of the Blazing Fire began to move closer to her.
The scattered lines of fire were slowly withdrawn. Dong Jian saw this and immediately gave a warning.
She wants a bigger one.
Li Man could already feel the temperature on the stage rising. Huo Wu had been Huo Wu all along. In the next round, she clearly wasn't going to give Li Man time to judge each one individually.
Flames gradually spread from the Blazing Fire array. In one place, then in two.
Expanding outwards further, Li Man raised her hand and pressed down on the main vein of the Green Jade Dragon Bamboo. Each remaining node began to heat up.