章 257: A quick deal.
The thunderous roar rumbling throughout the area seemed to drown out everything else, even the sounds coming from the collapsing coliseum becoming faint. And having made such a grand entrance, how could Yumao and Liang Chen not immediately become the centre of attention?
Yumao had even purposefully set his length to around a mere two metres so that he could perfectly coil around Liang Chen to truly perfect the image. The others might not notice it, but Liang Chen had spent enough time with Yumao to realize that he currently looked more than just a little satisfied. He might enjoy this grand scene and the dumbfounded attention of everyone else, but Liang Chen was different, rubbing Yumao's head for a short moment.
"Don't be so overdramatic, you could have just razed the entire coliseum in one fell swoop so that there wasn't any longer any risk of rubble falling on people. You could also have done it much quieter, without roaring like an angry kitty."
The grandiose display that had just caught everyone's attention was a stark contrast to Liang Chen's more subdued reaction, but to the onlookers, it only served to further shroud Liang Chen in mystery. After all, if you had the ability to show off and be grandiose, why would you want to just finish things quickly and neatly? Yumao had much the same opinion, spitting out a puff of air.
"Bah, why would you want to do things in your quiet manner? It feels good to show off from time to time, Mother will be the one who has to do it all the time if you don't learn that lesson."
Yumao's words only further dumbfounded the onlookers, the beast could actually communicate using human words? But if it could do that, why hadn't it taken human form at the same time? Liang Chen rapped Yumao on the head and then crouched down in front of the stiff Zun twins, smiling while he introduced Yumao.
"This little fellow is Liang Yumao, I'd refer to him as my brother, but he'll start sulking if I don't refer to him as my son. He'll stick right by you and keep you safe, there are few places safer than under his wings."
Yumao slithered down from Liang Chen's body and grew a little, coiling up next to the two children to keep them safe. Of course, he also knew that Liang Chen fully intended for him to also keep an eye on the surroundings to prevent any deaths, Liang Chen was definitely well aware that this was something that Yumao was perfectly capable of.
The two Zun twins wanted to say something, but their pupils shrank abruptly just as they opened their mouths, their gazes drifting past Liang Chen. Liang Chen had already noticed what stunned the two of them, the calming smile remaining on his face as he straightened his body and spun around.
He clenched his left hand as he spun around, throwing out a punch so heavy that it distorted the air around his fist. And just as his fist reached peak power, it collided with the outstretched hand of the Stone-Soul King, who had rushed past Tien Bao and Enlai Yuan-Hah.
The robe covering Liang Chen's left arm was instantly disintegrated, what remained of the seating area around him getting flattened and pushed down into a small crater. But even with all this rampant energy tearing up the area around him, not a shred of the energy got close to the Zun twins, Liang Chen perfectly controlling his energy to split up any remnant energy that might reach them.
His legs tensed while his elbow bent slightly, but he still managed to match and resist the attack of the Stone-Soul King, who was currently looking at him with unbridled desire. A dense grey mist burst forth from the Stone-Soul King the moment Liang Chen blocked his charge, rushing over to Liang Chen to swallow him and everything around him.
But Liang Chen had already anticipated a counterattack from the Stone-Soul King, it was the entire reason he had punched out with his left hand. His grey spear appeared in his right hand and swung out, his immense physical might practically causing the maw-shaped head of the spear to roar as it cut through the mist and smashed into the waist of the Stone-Soul King.
It was only in this first exchange that Liang Chen actually started to radiate even the faintest amount of energy so the strength he revealed succeeded in catching the Stone-Soul King off guard. The enemy was launched to the side, but his expression was still flush with a glint of victory, because he saw part of his poison cloud wash over Liang Chen.
He was originally a highly poisonous Demonic beast, and that property had only grown stronger after he evolved to become a Divine Beast. The number of enemies his poison hadn't been able to handle over the years could be counted on a single hand, so he was right to be arrogant with it. But sadly for him, he was doomed to have to use his second hand to count the number of survivors in the future.
While stabilizing his body a few tens of metres to Liang Chen's side, he could only watch on in a dumbfounded manner as Liang Chen waved his hand and dispersed the poison with a gust of wind. The poison of the Stone-Soul King was definitely terrifying, but Liang Chen's affinity with poison had already reached a ludicrous degree. If it wasn't for the Stone-Soul King's energy within the poison, then Liang Chen could freely absorb it to restore his energy.
And even if he completely ignored that, then there was still the matter of Liang Chen's strongest poison, the white one he had acquired from the spider corpse within the Mystic's Hidden Realm. He had no idea what sort of level that beast had reached, but it was definitely not low for it to have a spot in a graveyard set up by the Sealing God Empyrean. When faced with that white poison, this grey poison had no choice but to fade and vanish.
Liang Chen could be considered the nemesis of the Stone-Soul King thanks to his poison resistance, but it was only he that had this poison resistance. The same couldn't be said for other people, or say, the items that Liang Chen wore on his person. As such, when he dispersed the poisonous cloud, he felt something on his face grow heavy, a cracking sound reaching his ears.
And then, without warning, the Heaven Altering Mask he had been wearing fell from his face, having turned to stone thanks to the intense poison. Liang Chen's expression sank slightly, but contrary to what he expected, there were no exclamations from the surrounding people.
He swiftly used his senses to check the area, and to his surprise, his appearance hadn't actually changed despite the destruction of the Heaven Altering Mask. He didn't have to spend any time pondering over what the cause might be, the culprit made himself known straight away, the excited voice of Shen Fei resounding inside Liang Chen's head.
"Hahaha, so that's who you are! The Wrathful Lord hunting the Sparrow! I'm amazed that you actually managed to get away, I heard that the Sparrow even went to the trouble of preparing a trap for you!"
Liang Chen's pupils moved slightly and landed on the pink-haired youth, who was still standing on the now ruined stone stage. He was practically shivering from excitement as he looked at Liang Chen, the prey he had picked out turned out to be a fish larger than he had anticipated.
Liang Chen didn't immediately respond, smashing his spear down upon the incoming Stone-Soul King. The Stone-Soul King raised his arm and deflected the spear in a surprisingly smooth and deft manner, crossing the small distance between the two in a short instance. He smashed his fist towards Liang Chen's abdomen, but was blocked by Liang Chen's left hand at the last second.
But even though he blocked the attack, the power gathered in it was far above what the Stone-Soul King had used in the previous attack. His feet lost contact with the ground as he was sent flying backwards, the Stone-Soul King immediately chasing after him. But speed had never been one of Liang Chen's weaknesses, that was also true when one spoke about the speed at which he reacted.
He spun his spear so that the tip faced down, digging it into the earth to abruptly halt his backwards momentum. He placed one foot against the spear for support and stretched out the other one, the Stone-Soul King forced to cross his arms in front of his face to block the kick. But a violent gust of wind was unleashed by Liang Chen's foot the moment it touched the Stone-Soul King, once again launching him away and giving Liang Chen time to look at Shen Fei again.
"I'm assuming my current appearance is your doing?"
It really wasn't hard to guess at the culprit, the timing was just too good. Shen Fei didn't sound like he was affiliated with the Tranquil Lake, so he was a bit curious when it came to how he knew about the fact that the Sky-Piercing Sparrow had laid a trap for him.
But thinking about the massive entity that was the Heaven's Secrets Company, he could somewhat guess at the truth of the matter. As for Shen Fei, he directly admitted to it, a faint and sly smile slowly creeping up on his face.
"Correct, I'm using illusions to cover up your appearance, you wouldn't hide your appearance if you were willing to let others see how you really looked. And I can see why, the Sparrow has people in god knows how many places, and you've really pissed him off. Hell, I am even willing to hand you my own Heaven Altering Mask, not like I need it with my illusions."
Shen Fei hadn't used illusions once during the sparring matches, he had only used his sword and the law of the sword, so Liang Chen had no idea that he was also proficient in illusions. Shen Fei was someone who could get a Prince title on the Multiverse Bloodwind List so it wasn't strange for him to have a Heaven Altering Mask, but Liang Chen doubted that he would just hand it over.
"I'd like to get it for free, but you don't really strike me as that generous."
He indirectly asked a question, but looking at Shen Fei's earlier behaviour, he could form a guess as to exactly what he would want as payment. And his guess was immediately proven correct, a grin appearing on Shen Fei's face.
"You're not wrong, you've gotta pay a price if you want the mask. But the price ain't anything too dramatic, you just gotta fight me once this is all over. A 1 on 1, far from prying eyes so that you can really give it your all, I want to see what sort of thing can make even the Sparrow feel fear. Promise me that, and then I'll give you the mask."
Just like he said when he stepped onto the stage, he wanted a good fight. And of all the people present, who could give him a better fight than Liang Chen. Not only was he a newly ascended title holder, he was also capable of causing the Sky-Piercing Sparrow trouble.
And looking at how he dealt with the Stone-Soul King during those two exchanges, although he hadn't gotten an advantage, he was able to stay even with him. This was a big fish, one far bigger than any that Shen Fei had managed to hook before, and he refused to let him go. Liang Chen didn't need to think about it for too long, this was an exceptionally good deal for him since he wanted to remain hidden for now.
"Deal."
Shen Fei nodded his head, signalling the end of the stealthy conversation that the two had engaged in using their Anima Essence. Tien Bao and Enlai Yuan-Hah quickly landed at Liang Chen's side, shock smeared all over their expressions. They knew how strong the Stone-Soul King was, and even though it hadn't used all its strength yet, Liang Chen had still managed to stay even with it for two exchanges, signifying that the strength he was hiding was not negligible.
The Stone-Soul King stood a few tens of metres away from Liang Chen, staring at him with a poisonous gaze. But Tien Bao and Enlai Yuan-Hah were right beside him, and he could also see that Shen Fei was fiddling with his sword, excitement flashing around within his eyes. The odds weren't exactly in his favour, so getting his hands on what he wanted right this instant would not be easy. He was evidently rather decisive, acting the moment he made his decision.
"Tricky, tricky. I'll retreat for now since things didn't go quite as I expected. But don't thank your lucky stars too early, I'll be back, and then I'll bring along my entire herd and anyone else I can find. When it comes to my desires, I'll raze this entire city if I have to, so you just wash your neck."
He spoke as if he was including everyone present, but Liang Chen had seen the unbridled desire in his eyes when the two clashed, that last part was definitely meant for him and him alone. The Stone-Soul King kicked off of the ground and shot into the sky the moment he finished his warning, hardening the Qi beneath his feet so that he could run through the air and quickly dash away.
No one present moved to stop him, mainly because of how extraordinarily hard it was to actually force someone strong to remain behind against their will, especially a Divine Beast. And with the stone-Soul King's departure, peace could be said to have returned to the area, but his final threat left a heavy gloom on everyone's mood.
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ShiranuiShukumei
ShiranuiShukumei A sentient pepper is making me write this, please call the ghostbusters to help me.
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