Chapter 20 – A Level 17 Misfit Heroically Saves the Fair Maiden
Chapter 20 – A Level 17 Misfit Heroically Saves the Fair Maiden
Lin Mu Yu was secretly dumbstruck by Qu Chu’s perspective on life. Compared to himself, Qu Chu seemed to be a more capable and worldly person. Could it be that all the Saint realm experts were like this?
At any rate, the strongest person that Lin Mu Yu had seen so far was this level 94 Saint realm master, and the second was Hawkeye, whom he killed. It was a pity that Hawkeye treated human life as dirt, thus he was simply an unforgivable villain compared to Qu Chu.
……
In the afternoon, the three travelers had entered the true depths of the Seven Star Forest. All kinds of spirit beasts roam freely and many of them are murderous carnivores. Luckily, Qu Chu’s knowledge and prowess was great enough to safely guide two youngsters around the hunting paths of spirit beasts.
Finally, they arrived at a piece of wasteland as the night fell. Qu Chu was excited and smilingly voiced, “Princess Xi, we shouldn’t be too far from an appropriate beast spirit now!”
“Oh?” A blank expression appeared on Tang Xiao Xi’s pretty face.
Qu Chu explained, “Obviously we are in the autumn season right now, but the grass in this field had all dried out. However, this is a sight that you would normally see in the winter, so there has to be a fire element spirit beast around here. Furthermore, for it to affect the environment to this extent, it must be at least 2000 years old!”
Tang Xiao cheerfully said, “Sounds good. Let’s hurry over.”
“Aye!”
Chu urged his horse forward as Lin Mu Yu and Tang Xiao Xi followed behind him.
As they moved closer and closer, even the wind that was blowing in their face had a burning feeling. A little bit further, the forest was left barren and brown, leaving only dried up trees all around. Qu Chu dismounted and picked up a twig, only for it slowly crumble to bits. He noted, “These trees has been dead for at least 3 years, so this beast must have nested here for at least the same amount of time. As such, it must be quite familiar with the terrain and smell around this area. You two have to be careful, because we might have run into an extremely strong spirit beast. If this beast is more than ten thousand years of age, then you two will have to run away as fast as possible!”
“Run away?” Lin Mu Yu cautiously asked: “Elder Qu won’t lose to a ten-thousand-years-old spirit beast, right?”
Tang Xiao Xi giggled and replied, “Silly Mu Mu. Old Qu is a level 94 Saint Elder, while a ten-thousand-years-old spirit beast is about equivalent to a Saint Elder’s strength. If this beast is more than thirty thousand years of age, then its strength is equivalent to a level 100 Saint King. Basically, running won’t help us at that point.”
Qu Chu turned to smile at Lin Mu Yu and joked, “Hey, are you afraid yet?”
Lin Mu Yu lazily sat on his horse and retorted, “It’s alright. Having a princess and a Saint Elder accompany me to be eaten isn’t much of a loss for a level 17 weakling like me…”
Tang Xiao Xi glanced at him and laughed with feigned displeasure, “You’re taking it well!”
Qu Chu also subconsciously smiled. He could not see the normal arrogance and hatred for the world that one would normally expect from a youngster. What he saw more was his gentle nature and his motivated spirit. This was one of the reason why he took a liking to Lin Mu Yu. Perhaps another reason was this kid’s praiseworthy alchemy skills.
……
Continuing on, Qu Chu tied his horse to a nearby tree and carefully pulled out the sword on his waist. It was a scarlet red sword that somewhat fitted his personality. Although Qu Chu had entered the Saint realm, he still had a blazing temper. Furthermore, his martial spirit is the Flame Cauldron. The fact that he was so naturally connected to the element of fire was the main reason why Tang Xiao Xi’s grandfather allowed her to train under Qu Chu.
The three travelers slowly arrived at the base of the mountain and found a big cave between the rocks. The surrounding rock surfaces had been scorched black. Qu Chu bent down to take a sample of the muddy ground and sniffed. He remarked, “The last time it passed here was about two days and two nights ago. Could it be inside the den?”
Tang Xiao Xi asked, “Old Qu, do you know what kind of spirit beast lies inside this cave?”
Qu Chu looked at the flame track on the ground and noted, “A crawling creature, but it seems that… a part of its body is slithering like a snake… What in heavens is this?”
As he spoke, Qu Chu looked at Lin Mu Yu and Tang Xiao Xi, “You two wait outside while I go in alone. The beast seems to be sleeping and is definitely more than 5000 years of age. Not to mention that with your strength, you two won’t be able to help anyways.”
Lin Mu Yu nodded, Tang Xiao Xi was not unruly either and stood guard outside along with Lin Mu Yu.
……
Qu Chu wielded his sword and entered the cave alone.
After about five minutes, nothing seemed to have happened. Tang Xiao Xi pouted: “Grandpa Qu Chu couldn’t have been… eaten by the spirit beast, right? It’s been so long…”
Lin Mu Yu could not help but laugh: “Probably not, He is a Saint level expert after all.”
Just after those words left Lin Mu Yu’s mouth, a loud rumbling came out of the cave as Qu Chu’s voice was heard coming from inside, “Run. It’s a 9000-year-old Fire Jiao!”
TL Note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaolong
“Fire Jiao?” Tang Xiao Xi opened her mouth in confusion. She had never heard of a creature called Fire Jiao.
However, Lin Mu Yu knew to not underestimate any opponent. He hurriedly pulled Tang Xiao Xi by her hand and dashed towards the hillside using Starfall Steps. For a second, he felt a scorching hot sensation behind him before he quickly got out of range.
“Roar!”
A deafening roar sounded in the air as a mammoth-size creature chased Qu Chu out of the cave. It was indeed a Fire Jiao, a horse-headed creature with a snake’s body. It had five claws, but its body was slithering on the ground. Not only was it covered in thick scales, its scales were also wrapped in raging flames. It roared and spit out a breath of fierce flames at Qu Chu.
“Good graces… Flaming Jiaolong…” Lin Mu Yu Cursed under his breath.
The 9000-years-old Fire Jiao had roughly the power of level 87. It was slightly lower level than Qu Chu, but the difference in real strength was probably not too great. Furthermore, this was a near-ten-thousand-years-old spirit beast, so its bestial nature was probably enough to increase its strength even more, Qu Chu did not dare to grandstand, so he suddenly stopped his movement and shouted a cry. The Flame Cauldron materialized from his body and condensed into a giant shield in front of Qu Chu.
The surrounding plant life quickly ignited as flames were scattered around. This place was quickly becoming a sea of fire. The Fire Jiao ferociously roared then suddenly leapt forward. Slapping its claws wildly onto the Flame Cauldron, the dragon was intent on attacking Qu Chu.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…”
After sustaining several continuous attacks, Qu Chu was struggling to continue warding off the dragon. His face was beginning to become pale as he started profusely sweating cold sweats. Clenching his teeth, he staked it all in one attack!
“Zing!”
Lightning appeared on the sword blade while Qu Chu activated Verdant Shell. Speeding past the front of the Fire Jiao, he sent out a Lightning Chop with a clashing sound. Immediately, the dragon’s front leg was torn apart by the Lightning Chop’s incredible cutting power. In reality, Qu Chu had used Lightning Chop because he wanted to show Lin Mu Yu how this simple technique could be extremely strong in battle.
Lin Mu Yu was naturally dumbfounded. He understood the ability of a 9000-years-old spirit beast. The scales of the Fire Jiao had to be especially tough, so for Qu Chu to cut off its leg with a single slash, he could not even begin to comprehend Qu Chu’s power.
“Roar!”
The Fire Jiao was no longer able to stand solidly after suffering the immense pain. Opening its blood mouth, the dragon tried to take a bite of Qu Chu.
Of course, Qu Chu would not allow that to happen. Violently calling out to his martial spirit, the Flame Cauldron magically expanded and began to rapidly rotate. With a bang, the rapidly spinning spirit blew open the Jiaolong’s cranium. Qu Chu followed up with a swing of his left fist as a Sonic Punch rippled through the air!
“Boom!”
The fire dragon howled in anguish and fell to the ground, but it was still not dead. Its gigantic whip-like tail swept across the air.
Qu Chu crossed his right arm in front of him as the Flame Cauldron materialized once again. Using the cauldron wall to block the Fire Jiao’s attack, a long blast sounded as the two objects made contact. Small cracks appeared on the cauldron, but the dragon was more miserable since its whole tail had been badly mutilated.
“Agh…”
Qu Chu miserably groaned. Martial spirit and the body are one and the same, so any damage the Flame Cauldron sustained was basically equal to damage that he had taken as well. Blood was seeping out of the corner of his mouth. In order to kill this Fire Jiao, he had sustained quite a bit of damage.
The fire dragon angrily roared. Its strong vitality supported its attempts as it continually tried to swing its sharp claws at Qu Chu.
Qu Chu took several steps back. He wants to use Sonic Punch’s range to strike at this spirit beast’s weakness, or else he might even have to sacrifice half of his life to kill this Fire Jiao.
At that moment, Lin Mu Yu could not sit idly any longer. Giving a light shout, the Green Gourd spirit materialized out of his body and swiftly flew out. Tendrils of gourd vine burst out of the ground and wrapped about the Fire Jiao’s injured leg. It was the newly learned Binding Roots ability, but it was no match for the Fire Jiao’s strength. The dragon ferociously roared and exerted its full strength to tear apart the vines.
“Agh…”
Pain shot through Lin Mu Yu’s body as his martial spirit was injured. Although the gourd vines’ toughness was said to be very strong, it was still nothing compared to the strength of a 9000-years-old spirit beast.
But it was not for naught, he was able to distract it off of Qu Chu for a few seconds. When the Fire Jiao turned its head, Qu Chu had released another Sonic Punch. Rippling through the air with a screech, a loud explosion sounded as the Fire Jiao’s eye was directly blown to pieces. Qu Chu continued without giving the beast a moment to rest and sent out three consecutive Lightning Chops!
“Zzzzt zzzt zzt…”
Flesh and blood splashed forth. At the next moment, the Fire Jiao gigantic head dropped to the ground as blood spurted out indiscriminately. The 9000-years-old spirit beast was killed!
……
“Awesome!” Tang Xiao Xi cheers happily.
Qu Chu to wipe a sweat on his forehead and nodded towards Lin Mu Yu in thanks, then said, “Princess Xi, hurry and absorb the beast spirit of Fire Jiao. Absorb it until you’ve accumulated a suitable amount and stop, or else the body won’t be able to handle it!”
“Okay!”
Tang Xiao Xi nodded and sat cross-legged beside the corpse of Fire Jiao. Her Firefox loudly squeaked as it materialized before her and began to greedily absorb the Fire Jiao’s spirit. Rounds of dense flame aura enveloped Tang Xiao Xi and her Firefox.
This process lasted for nearly an hour when Tang Xiao Xi suddenly groaned miserably and fainted on the ground. Traces of fierce flames flew out of her open mouth.
“What happened?” Lin Mu Yu shouted alarmingly.
Qu Chu had a ghastly look on his face as his trembled. If Tang Xiao Xi were to have an unexpected accident, then it would be no small problem. Tang Xiao Xi was the sole granddaughter of Tang Lan, the Duke of Azure Tides, If anything happens to her, then Qu Chu’s life will be in jeopardy!
“The Fire Jiao’s spirit is too strong and Xiao Xi absorbed too much. Her body can’t possibly carry this much. We have to use cold water to cool her off. Quickly!”
Qu Chu suddenly laid his head on the ground and listened to the pulsing in the earth. Standing up, he order, “Lin Mu Yu, use your foot technique and carry Princess Xi 500 meters to the south. There is a lake at that location, so hurry!”
Lin Mu Yu hastily bent down to pick up Tang Xiao Xi, but right as he held her in his arms, he felt as if he was carrying a ball of scorching fire.
“Use your martial spirit to withstand the heat. Go quickly!”
Lin Mu Yu hurriedly called forth the Green Gourd. Sure enough, the little gourd was able to lessen the heat, but the situation was still hard to bear. Using Stellar Step, he dashed towards the lake in the south. Qu Chu’s speed was slightly inferior, so he shouted, “When you get to the lake, jump into it with her in your arm and remove her clothing. Quickly, there’s no time to hesitate!”
Lin Mu Yu’s mind had blanked out. Could it be that I was lucky enough to come across this kind of good stuff?
But he did not have time to daydream as the young girl in his arms was still at death’s door. It didn’t matter what will happen with her in the future, but the most important goal right now is to save her life.
……
Very quickly, the lake appeared before his eyes. Lin Mu Yu brought the blazing Tang Xiao Xi with him as he immediately jumped into the lake.
“Ssssst!”
As if a fireball had fallen into the water, steam rose from the surrounding and blurred the sight within. Lin Mu Yu quickly removed Tang Xiao Xi’s clothes. Not long after, this beautiful princess was nearly naked within Lin Mu Yu’s arms. She subconsciously reached out and hugged Lin Mu Yu’s neck as she suffered through an especially unendurable pain. Perhaps she felt the pulsing coolness from Lin Mu Yu’s martial spirit and decided that it was what she needed.
Compared to Tang Xiao Xi, Lin Mu Yu was facing an even greater trial. This beautiful princess was holding onto him so closely that at that very moment, he was even able to feel her proud soft bosom pressing onto his chest. That kind of feeling could not be represented in words.
Oh boy… I’m losing myself!
Special thanks to my patons: Brian Rose, Andris Baumanis, and Jon Alle.