Chapter 157: Advanced level Xiaohou
Zhang Xiaohou felt like his blood was about to burst from his arteries. His body was flushed red, yet the energy surging around him was not fire, but fierce currents of wind that had grown so dense they felt almost tangible. It was as if he was standing right at the center of a storm that was about to tear the entire hall apart!
“AAAAHHHHHH!!!!”
With a raging roar, the green currents around Zhang Xiaohou exploded upward in the form of a soaring wind bird. It slammed into the ceiling of the hall and produced an astonishing blast of turbulent air that spread through the palace like a storm cloud!
“Was it a success?” Mo Fan blurted out when he sensed Zhang Xiaohou’s rising aura.
Mo Fan’s eyes and mouth were agape. He did not expect to see that soaring wind bird. It was the sign that Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Element had improved from the Intermediate Level to the Advanced Level!
“The Nebula has grown into a Galaxy, three hundred and forty three Stars!” Zhang Xiaohou muttered in excitement.
The Wind Galaxy floated in Zhang Xiaohou’s Spiritual World. It was so much more vast and majestic than the previous compact Nebula. The Stars were lining up in rows as they flowed elegantly in the Spiritual World...
The three hundred and forty three Stars were densely accumulated in the Galaxy, flying around like the rest of the Stars. Forty nine of the Stars among them were brighter and more vivid than the rest of the two hundred and ninety four Stars. They were the forty nine Stars that Zhang Xiaohou had already strengthened. The other two hundred and ninety four Stars were still in their early stages with a faint glow.
As Zhang Xiaohou opened his eyes, he could see the vague silhouette of a Star Constellation revolving around him. It was constructed with three hundred and forty three connected Stars. In other words, once Zhang Xiaohou connected his Stars by following the Star Orbits and Star Patterns, it would merge into a Star Constellation, which would then transform into the wide area destructive Advanced Wind Spell!
However, the silhouette of the Star Constellation soon dissipated. There was no way Zhang Xiaohou could remember it, as he had only caught a glimpse of it. That being said, it was only a matter of time until he figured it out!
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At the clock tower, a group of worn out experts who had returned from the battlefield stood around a copper mirror.
They had already given their best. The only thing they could do now was to pray that the journey Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou embarked on was a smooth one.
Luckily, Chief Xie Sang had brought them the magical copper mirror, allowing them to watch the pair’s progress. Otherwise, they might lose their minds if they had to wait aimlessly.
“How are they doing?” asked Lu Xu, his face pale. He did not even bother treating his injuries.
“The distance that the copper mirror covers is limited. Mo Fan took the lotus to some corner, we don’t know what he’s doing. We did see a violent burst of wind rising, it looked like a wind bird,” said Zuo Feng.
Zuo Feng clearly remembered the sign of an Advanced breakthrough. They had clearly seen the silhouette of that soaring wind creature in the reflection on the smooth ground.
“Zhang Xiaohou is back, he’s back, weird... where’s the lotus?”
“Yeah, where did the lotus go!”
“By the way, do you feel something different about Zhang Xiaohou?”
The people expressed their thoughts simultaneously. As they were mostly injured and their clothes were damaged, they did not look like a group of powerful people who controlled the fate of the city, but a bunch of beggars surrounding a piece of treasure they found!
“They left, did they find a way out?” said Zuo Feng.
“It must be, too bad we can’t see them in the mirror. The question is, how did they kill the lotus that can only be destroyed by the force of a Forbidden Spell?”
“Yeah, that’s unbelievable!”
Frankly speaking, none of the experts here could destroy the Eternal Lotus if they were in Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan’s shoes, which meant that if they were the ones in the palace tomb, they would also be trapped in the hall...
However, the pair had made the lotus disappear with some unknown trick. The people were overjoyed, even if they were still confused!
They watched the two successfully make their way deeper into the tomb. According to Xie Sang, they would soon arrive at the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. After that, they would find the emperor sitting on the Ancient Altar!
They were getting closer to the Ancient King. Anything was possible once they reached the Ancient King. The city could remain standing, and the people could survive. The army of undead might even retreat from the battle...
“I thought they wouldn’t make it past the front hall. The Eternal Lotus is too magical, but the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life... hopefully they can cross the bridges safely,” sighed Xie Sang with a slight hint of conscience.
Xie Sang had thought it through after Hong Jun’s death. He had decided to atone for his sins, which was why he handed the copper mirror over, just so the Magic Association could see the situation inside the tomb.
As a matter of fact, Xie Sang had only realized that the copper mirror was not just reflecting a simple drawing when he saw Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou climbing up the stairs...
“What are the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life?” asked the mysterious man.
“One can only reach the Blood Emperor Throne by crossing the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. It is likely the eeriest place in the tomb. Even though the Ancient King allows his descendants to enter the tomb, it feels like he’s not too keen to receive people that are useless or untalented. Apart from the Dark Abyss that stops outsiders from entering the tomb, there are also different tests prepared for his descendants. The Eternal Lotus is there to filter out the weak ones, and the bridges are there to pick the worthy candidate,” said Xie Sang.
The teachings were passed down through generations in the village. The people never knew what they were protecting, but everything was as clear as day as soon as they unraveled the secret of the Dark Abyss and the things that Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou had gone through.
That being said, learning the truth and reaching the Blood Emperor Throne were two different things.
The atmosphere intensified following Xie Sang’s speech. The pair in the tomb was not particularly outstanding in the eyes of these old experts. They had most likely destroyed the Eternal Lotus by luck. If the tests awaiting them at the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life were a lot tougher, wouldn’t they both die a horrible death in there?
It was definitely something the group was not hoping to witness. They had bled and sacrificed for the battle; they were not willing to accommodate the Black Vatican’s Burial Festival. However, the situation seemed grim when they realized that the burden was on two young Magicians.
It was now the second half of the night. The roars of the undead were even fiercer and louder. The golden barrier never stopped shaking. The enormous Mountain Zombie had already rammed into the barrier more than once. Half of the troop that had engaged the Mountain Zombie was dead.
It seemed like the city swaying in the rain would no longer see the next dawn...
“The good news is, Zhang Xiaohou has broken through to the Advanced Level,” said the mysterious man in the silent clock tower suddenly.
“Advanced Level... that’s far from enough, right?” questioned Lu Xu.
“Anyone’s Advanced Level won’t be enough, but Mo Fan and Xiaohou's Advanced Level is a different story,” mumbled the mysterious man.
Everyone assumed that the guy was only comforting himself. They did not think it was a good omen. What difference could it possibly make, apart from granting him a greater supply of energy? He couldn’t even draw a Star Constellation... not to mention that he had yet to fully display what this breakthrough would mean in a place like the Dark Abyss.
“Strange, did anyone notice something flickering past the mirror?” said Du Xiao, who was staring at the copper mirror.
“What thing? I wasn’t paying attention.”
“I didn’t see it.”
Du Xiao frowned. His face suddenly became a lot grimmer.