Which Path Would Remain When the Fire Burned to the End

The temperature on the arena rose a level within a few breaths. Huo Wu stopped lighting any particular bamboo stick. The flames of the seven Blazing Fire began to spread outwards simultaneously.

Huo Wushuang held the front line, while the other fire-attribute Soul Master took up positions separately. The originally falling lines of fire were joined together into a large area, and the high temperature pushed outwards from the center of the arena, bringing all of Li Man's remaining nodes into the affected range.

The Green Jade Dragon Bamboo did not turn red all at the same time. The degree of heating varied from place to place. Number 5 was closest to the edge of the fire, so the outer layer heated up first.

The fourth station had just reopened and was relatively stable internally, but it was then engulfed by a new heat wave. The second station remains temporarily closed.

Number One serves as the most crucial link between Ye Lingling and the front lines; the flames have already reached the edge of the battle line.

There are two outer nodes; one was directly burned, while the other was only subjected to continuous high temperatures.

Every node had to be selected. Li Man's fingers moved rapidly.

"Number Six has truly abandoned the game."

The bamboo segment that had been burned through immediately broke off.

"Number 8 has truly abandoned the game."

The second flame had penetrated into the inner layer and was no longer worth preserving.

"Number four is temporarily sealed off."

The newly reactivated node has exited the mainnet again.

"Number five, stay."

She didn't explain each of her judgments. No one in the room had time to listen.

As Yu Feng turned back from the high ground, he avoided Zone 4. Osler cut back to the middle section along the edge of the poison zone left by Dugu Yan. Ye Lingling changed her position once, leaving the shortest healing distance for Yu Tianheng.

The number of escape routes decreased, but the people were still moving. Huo Wu noticed this and tightened the fire's intensity once again.

Don't give her time.

Huo Wushuang immediately charged forward. Yu Tianheng met him with his Thunder Dragon Body.

Boom!

The two clashed head-on, and flames and lightning exploded simultaneously. Dong Jian stood to their side and behind, not fully activating his Mountain Domain.

The black Fourth Soul Ring was glowing, but the ground feedback only covered a small area. He had learned to filter it when Luochuan Academy tricked him with a lot of vibrations yesterday.

We can't cram everything in today. The fire is burning, Yu Feng is blowing.

Osler made rapid positional changes. Li Man kept switching positions.

If he were to spread out the Mountain Domain for another thirty steps and simultaneously use his Force Observation to chase after seven people, he would soon be repeating the information overload that occurred during the war.

Dong Jian only locked three places: Huo Wushuang Yu Tianheng.

The connection between Ye Lingling and the front line is crucial. The rest is left to her teammates. There's no lengthy analysis in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm.

It's just a simple record in one line.

"Input has been actively restricted."

Dong Jian withdrew his attention. Huo Wushuang threw a punch at Yu Tianheng's right shoulder. Yu Tianheng did not retreat, but blocked the punch with his dragon arm, and instead pressed his left foot forward.

This time, Dong Jian didn't remind him. Yu Tianheng knew for himself whether he could fight or not. From the side, a wall of fire suddenly separated Osler and Dugu Yan.

Dong Jian didn't care.

Osler immediately changed course, slipping out from the outside of the firewall that wasn't completely closed. Dugu Yan simultaneously withdrew the poisonous fog to the other side, leaving him an opening to return.

The Imperial Fighting Team Battle formation was already incomplete, but everyone was still doing their own thing. Li Man didn't have time to look at them.

Her attention was entirely focused on the node status. Number 5 was heating up too quickly; leaving it any longer would leave residual attributes.

"Temporarily sealed off."

The temperature at point two actually dropped. The fire on the outer perimeter wasn't touched again. Li Man sent in a wisp of jade-green Soul Power.

The first section is stable. The second section is stable. Then we head back to the main road.

There was still no fire attribute reaction.

"Number two is returning."

The blue light returned. Between opening and closing the seal, Li Man's temple throbbed violently. Her hand paused for a fleeting moment.

Ye Lingling, who was closest to her, noticed immediately.

"Mental strength?"

"It can still hold on."

Li Man only replied with this one sentence, "The truly troublesome parts have now been fully exposed. The points that were completely abandoned can be forgotten."

Nodes currently on the mainnet will provide feedback along the Ten Thousand Bamboos Return to the Veins). However, temporarily blocked nodes are stuck in the middle.

They don't handle transmission, and they have to stay in Li Man's sight. When things will continue to worsen, when they will cool down, and whether they can recover—it's all up to her to keep an eye on them.

Number four, number five, and another outer node whose status is currently unknown after being touched by fire.

Three temporary states coexisted simultaneously. Li Man's mental energy seemed to be divided into several strands hanging in different locations.

Huo Wu clearly sensed her burden. The next round of fire came even more fiercely.

"Rise!"

Flames rose simultaneously from three sides, dividing the arena into several high-temperature zones. The area in front of Yu Tianheng and Huo Wushuang was one of these zones.

There is a piece of land between Dugu Yan and Osler.

The area around Li Man and Ye Lingling was also forced into an increasingly narrow safe zone by the fire.

The Yu Feng could circle around from above, but the ground became increasingly difficult to traverse. Huo Wu no longer guessed which one Li Man would abandon.

She pushed all the choices at once. Li Man looked at the formation. Number One couldn't be out of action for too long.

Once Ye Lingling loses a stable distance from the front line for treatment, Yu Tianheng will no longer be able to continue the high-pressure confrontation.

Number 2 has just reopened and can be used. Number 5 remains temporarily closed. Temperatures began to drop on the 4th.

The other two master nodes were nearing their limits. She didn't attempt to restore the nine-node structure. It was impossible.

There's no need for that.

"Yu Tianheng, I will only protect one path ahead."

Yu Tianheng punched Huo Wushuang.

Which one?

"The one under your feet."

That's enough.

Hearing this from the other side, Dugu Yan immediately reopened the poison field.

"I don't care about me."

Li Man didn't stand on ceremony.

"Find your own way."

"Know."

Dugu Yan raised her hand, and the emerald poisonous mist circled along the edge of the fire zone. The flames could disrupt the poison, and the poison could also force the Blazing Fire team members not to cross the line recklessly. The two attributes suppressed each other, and neither gained an absolute advantage.

Those Yu Feng simply don't touch the ground.

He swept over the fire zone, his wind blades aimed precisely at the moment the Blazing Fire's back row raised their hands to unleash their attacks.

With no path through the Jade Array, Osler focused on the opening created by the Yu Feng. As soon as the wind blade pressed down, he immediately advanced.

The first strike missed. He immediately retreated. Dong Jian saw this but didn't say a word.

He now only needs to ensure that the most important axis doesn't break. Huo Wushuang clashed with Yu Tianheng again. This time, Yu Tianheng was forced back a step by the flames.

Dong Jian immediately moved to the side and rear, avoiding contact with the fire and the elemental Soul Power released by the Huo Wushuang.

He only caught the momentum that Yu Tianheng had when he retreated. His palm gently landed on Yu Tianheng's shoulder and back, Circular Rotation.

He shifted his retreat direction to the side. Yu Tianheng smoothly changed his steps, not letting the movement come to a complete stop. Thunderclap roared again.

Upon seeing Huo Wu, Huo Wu immediately moved a line of fire towards that side position. Dong Jian stopped.

"It's broken here."

Yu Tianheng stopped himself, not charging headlong into the fire. Both of them were well aware that Dong Jian could follow the body's momentum.

Fire attributes cannot be used as a force that can be converted. The fire field continues to shrink. Li Man discards another completely corrupted node.

The main network is now less than half of what it used to be. Huo Wu hasn't relaxed, though. She's been keeping an eye on Li Man's remaining surface routes.

Which one is bright? Which one is dark? Which one has been burned black?

Node number five has been temporarily blocked since the end of the previous chapter. Huo Wu swept it with heat waves twice, but failed to burn through it completely.

Because Li Man never reused it. In Blazing Fire's eyes, that place was already a useless road.

When Huo Wu was closing the fire zone for the last time, she even deliberately shifted her attention away from Number Five.

She focused her main firepower on Number One and Number Two. Li Man saw it. At that moment, the temperature of Number Five also dropped to a level where it could be tested.

But she didn't start immediately. She waited. Huo Wu Dance moved forward through the fire.

Number One is under even greater pressure.

Yu Tianheng's frontal assault was simultaneously suppressed by Huo Wushuang and another Blazing Fire attacker.

Dong Jian stood to his side and behind, and the space he could manage was getting smaller and smaller. Yu Feng and Osler were still tied up on the outside and wouldn't be able to come back for a while.

Ye Lingling's healing light fell, and Yu Tianheng's shoulder burn wound quickly recovered to some extent.

"Still pushing?"

Dong Jian asked. Yu Tianheng only replied with two words.

"He can fight."

He's the captain. Where to attack is still up to him. Dong Jian looked at Li Man.

Li Man also happened to look up. There was no password between them. Dong Jian simply glanced at position number five.

Li Man's finger had already landed. Huo Wu's next wave of flames pressed down on the center line. It was this moment.

"Return."

Node number five suddenly lit up.

The Jade Ray reconnected to the main network from a location that everyone thought was abandoned.

It lasted a very short time. Li Man had no intention of protecting it long-term. It was just one path.

There was only enough for one conversion. Dong Jian moved first. He didn't rush towards Huo Wu along node five.

The Azure Jade Array didn't increase his power either.

This suddenly appearing passage only provided him with a side foothold that had been blocked by the fire.

Dong Jian stepped in, arriving just behind Yu Tianheng, who had been knocked back by Huo Wushuang. Yu Tianheng's body was still retreating.

His right shoulder sank, and his left leg prepared to find the ground again. Dong Jian touched his upper arm with one hand. Just from this moment, he was already in a retreating position.

With a twist of the waist and hips.

Lead Yu Tianheng backward to the left and then let the next step land at the end of the fifth short circuit.

Yu Tianheng understood instantly. He didn't stop and charged again. As his left foot landed, his retreat turned into a sideways movement.

The Thunder Dragon Body exploded in the direction of its new form. Huo Wu had originally blocked the front and right sides. The left rear angle was just a dead end.

It's only been open for less than a breath.

Stop him!

Huo Wu raised her voice for the first time. Huo Wushuang turned around forcefully, but was half a step too slow.

Yu Tianheng had already cut in from the side and rear. His first strike with Thunderclap didn't hit Huo Wu; instead, it blasted the ground between Huo Wu and the front row.

Boom!

The control of the fire was momentarily disrupted by the Thunderclap impact. The second attack truly pressed towards Huo Wu. Huo Wu could only withdraw a portion of her control over her Soul Power to protect herself.

The large-scale fire immediately weakened. The Yu Feng pressed down from above, and Osler followed closely behind.

As the fire subsided, Dugu Yan's poisonous mist spread out again. At the same moment, all the broken parts of Imperial Fighting Team found new connections.

Li Man did not maintain number five. That node went dark again.

Her mental strength was already approaching the current safety threshold; activating another status effect would only throw her into disarray.

"Abandoned."

This time, Number Five has completely withdrawn. But it has done what it was supposed to do. Huo Wu is trying to reignite the fire.

Yu Tianheng didn't give her a full amount of time. Dong Jian also stopped looking at everyone else. He only followed Yu Tianheng.

Huo Wushuang turned around to intercept. Dong Jian dealt with the physical impact of the collision. Yu Tianheng followed up.

The Yu Feng pressed down on their line of sight from above. Osler forced them to the side. Dugu Yan narrowed their escape route.

After several rounds, Blazing Fire's originally intact control structure was forced to disintegrate. Huo Wu could still fight. Huo Wushuang could still fight.

However, the fire could no longer cover the entire island. After the final head-on collision, the instructor Blazing Fire the team raised his hand.

"I admit defeat."

The referee then announced the result.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy wins!"

Li Man then took back the Green Jade Dragon Bamboo.

All temporary, reopened, and mainnet statuses disappeared simultaneously, and her body visibly swayed.

Dong Jian, who was nearby, reached out and supported her arm. Li Man looked at him after regaining her balance.

"Let go."

"Hold on?"

"Um."

Dong Jian let go. Huo Wu walked over from the other side.

She didn't show any displeasure at losing; she simply glanced at the spot where node number five had just lit up.

"The last one."

Li Man looked up.

"Um."

Next time I'll burn it straight through.

Li Man brushed the sweat-dampened hair from her forehead.

"Then I won't keep that one next time."

Huo Wu stared at her for a couple of breaths, then smiled.

"OK."

She turned and returned to the Blazing Fire team. Li Man didn't look at the scoreboard again. She lowered her head and opened her palm, the Azure Jade Soul Power between her fingers was very faint.

Today, there are two simpler ways to handle the Scorched Bamboo Abandoned Path: temporarily close it or reopen it.

They are far from being proficient.

At least next time someone tries to trick her into dismantling the formation using fire, she won't only have the option of "abandoning" left.