Fortune War

In the dimly lit space, the nine-petaled flower repeatedly sought battle but failed, and its occasional angry curses were clearly tinged with frustration.

It's very enjoyable to stay behind the scenes and watch all sorts of clowns jumping around.

But encountering such an opponent is undoubtedly a very difficult thing.

Even when they're face-to-face stabbing each other in the back, the other party still keeps it completely hidden.

If they weren't already locked in combat, one would almost doubt the existence of their opponent.

"I spotted you. There was a hint of white on you. Even if you're good at hiding, how long can you stay hidden?"

A resounding sound erupted from the nine-petaled flower, sweeping across the surroundings like a radar scan.

This is the third ability of the Nine-Branched Flower, and also its most effective ability at present.

This type of sonic vibration lacks lethality, but it can effectively pinpoint the opponent's location.

A flash of white light appeared in the darkness, and a petal transformed into a flying blade that slashed far away.

The ability to use sound makes it difficult to unleash the killing power, and the conflict between the two abilities brings about various regrets.

The petal-shaped blades traced a beautiful arc in the distance, and specks of golden light fell into the darkness.

"Can you hide for a minute, an hour, a day, or a year?"

The petals curled up, catching the falling golden glimmers, before rolling back into a nine-petaled flower.

Like a sadist licking blood, this little bit of golden light brings nothing, but the reward is satisfying.

"If I injure you once, it will inevitably happen again, a second, a third, a fourth time, until your physical condition deteriorates and it becomes increasingly difficult for you to conceal your form!"

The rare blow had an effect; the nine-petaled flower, less unsteady than before, began to speak out and constantly adjust its observational focus.

But no matter how he provoked, berated, or reprimanded his opponents, they never responded.

The other party seemed to only know how to hide, only to conceal themselves in the shadows.

After being swept away by the sound once, the other party became even more cautious, and the continuous waves of sound failed to find any trace of them again.

"You ruined my plans, yet you don't dare show your face at all?"

Zhang Xuezhou's performance resembled that of a newcomer with special abilities but lacking combat experience.

Nine-Petal Flower somewhat regretted that he had unleashed his full power at the very beginning of the contest of magical abilities. If he had shown weakness, his opponent might have fallen for it and been killed in one fell swoop, instead of ending up in the current protracted situation.

Time is passing by, bit by bit, which is not a good thing.

This is one battlefield, but in reality, it's another.

In terms of strategy, one must compete to see who is better; in reality, one must also compete to see who is better.

In a contest of tactics, one must rely on the methods they develop; in a real-world conflict, one must rely on the contingency plans they devise.

For competitors from other regions, the means of real-world combat are clearly limited, and they will inevitably be at a disadvantage; last night's clash almost proved everything.

It all stems from the fact that their plans have been constantly attacked and destroyed. Unlike a hundred years ago, modern firearms are incredibly powerful and have broken free from the limitations of time and distance, capable of delivering a destructive blow almost instantly upon discovery.

If we cannot defeat our opponent in this round, all our strategies will come to naught.

"You shouldn't be a descendant of Luo Zhong?"

During the adjustment, the ability to generate sound waves was restored. The nine-petaled flower no longer relied on sound waves to vibrate in the dark as before, thus causing the opponent to fail to hide and reveal itself.

The voice within the flower-shaped body seemed to be filled with speculation, or perhaps making some kind of judgment.

"You've probably just gotten this far through good luck; perhaps we don't need to fight!"

All sorts of angry shouts and provocations failed, and as their methods ran out, the voice from the nine-petaled flower turned to speculation, and gradually softened.

As the petals unfurled, a naked man with long hair emerged from the flowers.

He sat upright among the petals, his appearance handsome yet somewhat eerie, his youthful face making him look only in his early twenties.

"I have revealed my true human form and am willing to communicate with you sincerely," the naked man said. "We can fight, but we can also cooperate!"

"Oh?"

A faint sound came from inside.

A small white shadow appeared, then disappeared into darkness.

"A vast world cannot contain only one, nor can this world be unable to contain you and me." The naked man looked at the spot where the white light had appeared. He stared for a few seconds, but did not launch an attack. Instead, he slowly spoke, "You and I cultivate from the same lineage. We can collide and destroy each other, or we can intertwine and grow stronger!"

"Um?"

A low response came, and the naked man quickly turned to look at the area behind him.

This time he didn't see the white figure emerging from the darkness, but compared to before when he was randomly attacking in the shadows without knowing where his opponent was, he at least responded a little more this time.

"If you're willing to cooperate with me, I can pay a price to withdraw from this competition," the naked man said. "Then we can join forces!"

"The tortoise spirit worshipped?"

Another brief sound came, and a strange look flashed across the naked man's face before he slowly turned to look to his left.

"That is Xuanming. Offering sacrifices to him will grant you one instance of assistance," the naked man said. "But you need not worry about lacking the protection of the Xuanming God. As long as you can keep up with me, and with me leading the charge, we can both command the vast universe, thus shattering the void and standing tall in our own domain!"

"Um!"

A vague, incoherent response came from behind, and the naked man's expression changed slightly.

But he didn't get angry. As if he had switched roles, he spoke up repeatedly, mentioning mutually beneficial cooperation plans and even explaining how to operate after the cooperation.

"You don't seem very sincere and have no intention of joining forces with me!"

After a long conversation, he slowly looked up at a dark area.

There was no response from the darkness. The naked man chuckled softly, and nine blooming petals slowly enveloped him.

In the darkness, the giant nine-petaled flower slowly began to rotate, each petal gleaming coldly like a knife.

"Since you refuse to negotiate, then it's a fight to the death between us, your life or my death!"

A voice emanated from the nine-petaled flower, and the nine petals flew out again, then multiplied into hundreds, and then into thousands.

Petals fluttered and swept through every corner.

"Having interacted with you for so long, I can roughly judge your behavior. If I can't catch you the first time, I'll try the third, the fifth time..."

The voices within the nine-petaled flower grew increasingly agitated, once again entering a state of life-or-death struggle.

He would mutter to himself from time to time, and then shout loudly, his voice completely erratic, as if he were going mad, or as if he were confused and putting pressure on people.

As a grayish-white shadow emerged in the darkness, his voice suddenly turned into a maniacal laugh.

From the very first time you responded to me, you were destined to fail!

Nine-Petal Flower's voice carried a hint of satisfaction amidst her laughter.

As time progressed, everything finally tilted in his favor, and he gradually gained control of the timeline.

He roared, and countless flower-shaped blades swept down.

A resounding crash echoed, and a colossal, six-zhang-long (approximately 33 meters) black-gray dragon emerged from the darkness.

The voice from the nine-petaled flower paused, its gaze fixed on the dragon's pair of grayish-white, empty eyes.

"You're dead?"

His voice clearly carried a hint of surprise, as he had never imagined he would encounter a dead opponent.