Chapter 59: Playing a Peak Match Against Hai Bodong (Part Two)

Chapter 59: Playing a Peak Match Against Hai Bodong (Part Two)

Feeling the fully unleashed formidable aura radiating from Hai Bodong's body, Xiao Se helplessly rubbed his forehead and stored the tattered map into the system space. After all this fuss, a fight was still unavoidable.

"Elder, is there really no peaceful resolution? If possible, I'd rather not fight you." The smile on Xiao Se's face gradually faded as he said with a helpless sigh.

Xiao Se could already sense Red Queen's anger building up to its absolute limit. Hai Bodong had repeatedly attempted to strike at him; if this continued, he would undoubtedly be beaten into a swollen mess resembling a pig's head by Red Queen.

"Does your teacher possess a Heavenly Flame?" Hearing Xiao Se's words, Hai Bodong answered with a question of his own. The bone-chilling aura around him receded slightly, and a hint of wariness flickered across his brows. To be able to cultivate such a young Tier 2 alchemist, perhaps this mysterious mentor was actually a high-level alchemist capable of reaching Tier 6.

If that person also possessed a Heavenly Flame, wouldn't he be the exact alchemist he had been searching for so desperately to refine the Po'e Pill?

"No, I came to the Tago Desert precisely to search for a Heavenly Flame," Xiao Se shrugged and smiled faintly.

"No? Since you don't, then hand the tattered map back. For the sake of your mysterious teacher, I won't make things difficult for you." Learning that even Xiao Se's mysterious teacher lacked a Heavenly Flame, a heavy look of disappointment flashed across Hai Bodong's eyes as he spoke coldly.

"My apologies, this item is extremely important to me. Even if you disagree, I will not hand it over." Letting out a soft breath, Xiao Se mentally recited a brief prayer of condolence for Hai Bodong. This time, a severe thrashing for the old man was practically guaranteed.

"Just by relying on your beast flame? Decades ago, this old man was already a Dou Huang powerhouse. Although I've been living in seclusion here due to certain reasons, it is still not your turn—a mere wet-nosed brat—to bully me!" Seeing that Xiao Se was stubbornly refusing to return the map, Hai Bodong flew into a towering rage. A thick, arm-sized ice spike condensed instantly in his palm, and he thrust it directly forward.

Seeing the incoming ice spike, Xiao Se curled his lips in resignation. Tipping his toes lightly against the ground, his figure instantly retreated outside the doorway.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Seeing Xiao Se attempting to flee, the old man's anger flared even higher. Wrinkles clustered on his face, making his expression look all the more ferocious as he slammed his foot heavily against the ground and gave chase.

Outside the house, Xiao Se's body was already enveloped in a battle qi armor of purplish-cyan flames. Staring closely at the furiously pursuing Hai Bodong, he said rather helplessly, "Elder, can't we compromise?"

Xiao Se's inquiry received no reply from Hai Bodong; instead, he was greeted by a dozen revolving ice spikes.

Watching the rapidly hurtling ice spikes, Xiao Se slightly bent his knees, and the Purple Cloud Wings behind his back snapped open in an instant. With a powerful spring, he shot straight up into the high sky.

"Kid, I never expected that besides a beast flame, you actually possess such a rare treasure as flight Dou Techniques. However, that still changes nothing. If you know what's good for you, hand back the tattered map." Standing amidst the swirling chill in front of the ancient map shop, Hai Bodong looked up at the purple wings unfurled by Xiao Se in the air and shouted sternly.

Xiao Se shook his head without replying. He had never been someone who enjoyed being passive, and knowing that Hai Bodong was about to unleash another move, he gripped the magic sword tightly in his right hand. Suddenly extending his left hand and raising it high above his head, a basketball-sized purplish-cyan fireball instantly condensed in his palm.

Overlooking the scene from above, his left hand clenched into a fist. The fireball scattered, splitting into two, then four, and within the span of a breath, it transformed into sixteen parts. Driven by the battle qi within Xiao Se's body, the sixteen small fireballs orbited along a vertical axis, forming a rotating, shifting ring of light that finally morphed into sixteen blazing flame swords.

With a sweep of the magic sword in Xiao Se's hand, the sixteen flaming swords fiercely shot toward Hai Bodong's location.

"Scarlet Flame Swords."

Following the explosive shout in Xiao Se's mind, the flame swords carried a terrifying piercing momentum and the scorching high temperature capable of melting gold and iron as they violently hurtled toward Hai Bodong.

Xiao Se's sudden attack made Hai Bodong pause slightly, but he quickly waved his sleeve, condensing a thick and heavy ice wall directly in front of him.

When the flaming swords collided with the ice wall, a series of muffled impacts echoed through the air.

Initially, the ice wall defended against the flame swords flawlessly. However, as the continuous barrage of attacks landed, the ice wall gradually began to melt under the searing heat of the swords.

Finally, the ice wall could no longer hold. With a crisp cracking sound, a fracture appeared right at the center of the barrier. The cracks rapidly spread, and the ice wall instantly became extremely precarious.

Seeing his defensive ice wall shatter, Hai Bodong furrowed his brows. Retreating abruptly, he condensed a massive cold-ice halberd in his hand and batted away the incoming flame swords.

Yet, the Scarlet Flame Swords—being a Xuan-tier advanced fire-control technique—were far from that simple. After being deflected, under Xiao Se's precise control, they soared high into the air and traced an arc to strike at Hai Bodong once more.

Hai Bodong brandished his halberd to parry. Though he was kept busy fending them off, the flame swords failed to inflict even the slightest scratch on him.

"Hmph, mere tricks, yet you dare to display your clumsy craftsmanship in front of me." With a cold snort, he spun the ice halberd in his grip, knocking away all of Xiao Se's flaming swords. He then stepped heavily on the ground, retreating onto the rooftop of the ancient map shop. Raising his right hand slightly, the ice halberd instantly shattered into countless tiny ice crystals that swirled around his arm, forming three dazzling rings of ice.

The moment the ice rings formed, dozens upon hundreds of revolving ice spikes suddenly materialized around Hai Bodong.

"Mystic Ice Dragon Soar!"

Following Hai Bodong's stern shout, the scores of mystic ice spikes condensed into a seven-to-eight-meter-long ice dragon, violently charging toward Xiao Se in mid-air.

"As expected of a Dou Huang, none of them are simple characters. Even with his cultivation dropped to Dou Ling, he is practically invincible among his peers. If it weren't for this fused beast flame, I'm afraid my attacks would have been completely useless."

Swallowing a Qi-Recovery Pill, Xiao Se gripped the magic sword tightly in his right hand and urged the Flame Mantra battle qi within his body. Accompanied by a lion's roar, an energetic beast manifested, completely engulfed in purplish-cyan flames, and lunged fiercely forward to meet the ice dragon head-on.

"Raging Lion Roar!"

Witnessing Xiao Se's sudden counterattack, even someone as composed as Hai Bodong could not help a flash of genuine admiration cross his eyes.

However, thinking of the tattered map he had worked so hard to obtain being snatched away, that trace of admiration was instantly replaced by biting coldness.

The ice dragon and the flaming energy lion collided, mutually neutralizing each other. Instantly, a massive billow of steam erupted in the air. In the blink of an eye, the space between Xiao Se and Hai Bodong was filled with a thick, blurring mist.

"Tch, this damn flame..." Seeing that his proud ultimate technique, Mystic Ice Dragon Soar, failed to break through the obstruction of the flame energy lion and merely canceled it out, Hai Bodong clicked his tongue in annoyance, flickered, and vanished into the mist.

High in the sky, Xiao Se lost sight of Hai Bodong. Frowning slightly, he immediately activated his spiritual perception to scan his surroundings. Suddenly, his body trembled, and he spun around, bringing his sword up with both hands to parry.

Before he knew it, Hai Bodong had already appeared directly behind him, wielding the ice halberd in a single hand to hack straight down at Xiao Se.

With a tremendous, earth-shaking clang, the ice halberd collided with the magic sword. Under the immense force exerted by Hai Bodong, Xiao Se was sent flying backward, landing on the ground and plowing a trench over ten meters deep into the earth before finally halting his momentum.