Chapter 30: Silver Armor
Yu Xian was not going in thinking he could defeat the White Ape. His goal was to buy time.
Nora glanced at Chen Ling and nodded. "Alright. Just be careful."
If she left Chen Ling alone and something happened to her, Nora would never forgive herself. So, despite wanting to help Yu Xian, she decided to stay behind.
As Yu Xian stepped out of the private box, his body instantly turned a vivid red. Right after, a large cluster of tiny bubbles covered his frame, a sight guaranteed to make anyone with trypophobia scream on the spot.
Immediately following that, silver threads formed from Silver Blood rapidly wove themselves together, enveloping all the bubbles to construct a sleek suit of silver armor.
This time, the silver threads he created were incredibly fine. Tightly interwoven, the armor bore absolutely no trace of being knitted together. With its sharp, distinct contours and a surface as smooth as a mirror, it gave off a feeling of absolute invulnerability.
When Zhang Shou saw Yu Xian's flashy transformation and armor, his eyes lit up. "Salted Fish, you look absolutely badass in that!"
A suit of armor like this was every guy's ultimate dream. Zhang Shou felt that if he could wear something like that, his courage would skyrocket by a thousand percent, enough to let him stand tall before even a progenitor-level existence.
Yu Xian clenched his fists to make sure the armor wouldn't interfere with his movement. "Alright, let's split up. You go rescue people. I'll hold the giant ape off!"
Now was not the time to play around. Zhang Shou nodded and immediately turned around to leave, while Yu Xian headed in the opposite direction.
Down inside the cage, Zhou Tai held the heavily injured Bai Jinlong in his grasp. Weighing the man in his hand, he let out a deep, malicious laugh. "Thank you very much. You’ve helped me discover the true path to becoming stronger. As a reward, I'll let you experience the true meaning of speed and power!"
He flung Bai Jinlong with all his strength. Bai Jinlong instantly smashed through the alloy cage, hurtling toward the spectator stands. However, just as he was about to crash violently into the ground, a silver streak flashed past and pulled him to safety.
Zhou Tai frowned and glared at the figure clad in silver armor holding Bai Jinlong. Unable to gauge the newcomer's strength for the moment, he chose not to make any rash moves, and the two sides locked in a silent, tense standoff.
Yu Xian already thought highly of the White Ape's strength, but the moment he caught Bai Jinlong, he realized he had still underestimated it. The silver threads covering his body had nearly snapped while trying to stop Bai Jinlong. The Blood Energy bubbles beneath the silver threads burst one after another.
Even though he had two layers of buffer, Yu Xian's arms, which he had caught Bai Jinlong with, were still fractured. Granted, they were only hairline fractures. Due to his constitution, the injuries healed themselves in the blink of an eye.
Fortunately, while designing this armor, Yu Xian had gone for the absolute maximum aesthetic appeal. He had drawn heavy inspiration from various movies and TV shows to ensure his armor radiated the aura of an absolute powerhouse.
As long as he stood perfectly still without moving, no one could guess what his actual strength was. Evidently, his imposing appearance had successfully bluffed Zhou Tai, and neither side made any moves.
No great power came without a price. While Zhou Tai had successfully triggered a deeper awakening of the White Ape's Zhu Yan bloodline through the unique traits of the Brain-Clinging Neural Parasite, that awakening had come at a steep cost. The White Ape was severely depleted. Right now, it desperately craved food. If provided with enough food, the White Ape could grow even stronger, perhaps even advancing to Eagle rank.
Outside the cage, the three supernatural beings quietly retreated. Despite being Bee-rank professionals, they felt a crushing sense of inferiority in the White Ape's presence. Their movement, however, shattered the delicate balance between Yu Xian and Zhou Tai.
Zhou Tai's eyes shifted, instantly locking onto one of the middle-aged men. The next second, the White Ape lunged forward like a striking predator. Yu Xian had kept his eyes glued to the creature the entire time, so he instantly reacted. A silver thread shot out like a whip, binding the man Zhou Tai targeted and yanking him backward with a sharp tug.
With the White Ape's punch coming crashing toward him, the middle-aged man felt a terrifying gust of wind. Just as he thought the punch would pulverize him, he was yanked backward. By the time he came to his senses, he was already sitting in a chair.
Only now did the middle-aged man realize what had happened. He had just taken a walk on the edge of death. Cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body as he gasped for air.
The other two supernatural beings had wisely retreated during the attack. By the time Zhou Tai controlled the White Ape to rise back to its feet, no one was left around it.
Yu Xian altered his voice with two layers of bubbles. "Your opponent is me. Don't even think about harming the innocent."
He was worried Zhou Tai would recognize his voice. If Zhou Tai realized that the individual before him was not as strong as his armor made him seem, things would get incredibly troublesome.
Zhou Tai narrowed his eyes at Yu Xian and immediately activated Zhu Yan's ability, the Echo of War Drums.
Thump!
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Yet, Yu Xian felt absolutely nothing. If Zhou Tai could actually manage to make his heart beat, Yu Xian would practically owe him a thank-you. Unfortunately for Zhou Tai, vampires didn't have a heartbeat, which made them immune to this particular ability.
It doesn't work on him? Zhou Tai reassessed his opponent in a new light.
Yu Xian, standing still, exuded the immaculate aura of an elite master. That mirror-smooth silver armor paired with his slightly fluttering cloak gave off an imposing aura.
Moreover, the red lenses over his helmet's eye sockets completely obscured his gaze, making it impossible for Zhou Tai to read his emotions through his eyes. Those red lenses were formed from Blood Energy. They provided decent defensive capability and also enhanced Yu Xian's vision.
Under the dual enhancement of Silver Blood and Blood Energy, he could track things extremely precisely. This was also why he could clearly see Zhou Tai's movements.
If it had been another time, Zhou Tai would have had enough patience to continue stalling before his opponent. But his current situation was troublesome. First, the beast-fighting arena was located in human territory. The longer he stayed here, the more dangerous it became. Second, the White Ape was starving and urgently needed replenishment. He could not afford to waste any more time.
Zhou Tai controlled the White Ape to grab the alloy cage. With a sudden burst of strength, he hurled it. He managed to rip out the cage, which was firmly anchored to the ground, and sent it flying straight toward Yu Xian.
The spectacle was extremely exaggerated, and even Yu Xian was startled by the move. However, his reflexes were lightning-fast. The bubbles beneath his feet provided a tremendous force. Bending his legs, he leaped into the air.
The moment the cage came hurtling toward him, he slammed his palms against the metal frame and pushed off, using the momentum to fling himself backward. At the same time, several silver threads latched onto the ceiling chandeliers, pulling him clear of the cage's trajectory in a narrowly avoided, breathtaking escape.
A deafening explosion followed, and dust billowed into the air. The cage slammed heavily into the spectator stands, violently shaking the entire arena. The area it struck caved in, and the walls developed large cracks.
If the cage had landed directly on Yu Xian, it would have likely split him in two on the spot. Although he wouldn't have died, it would definitely not have felt good.
Yu Xian looked at the deformed cage below and felt that it was even more terrifying than facing Jin Sheng. This is too terrifying!
The White Ape exhaled a burst of steam from its mouth. The attack had consumed a considerable amount of its energy. Unfortunately, it had failed to hit the target, wasting its strength.
However, it was not all in vain. Through Yu Xian's actions, Zhou Tai also realized that, at the very least, his opponent was avoiding the White Ape's attacks instead of taking them head-on, suggesting that Yu Xian's strength was inferior to his.
In that case, I should test his speed! If both my speed and strength vastly outmatch his, I can end this battle swiftly, Zhou Tai thought.
To execute his plan, Zhou Tai needed to expand his attack radius. He scanned his surroundings, then maneuvered the White Ape down to the base of the arena and violently ripped away the long protective barriers lining the front of the spectator stands.
As he grabbed two of these massive barriers, his attack radius instantly exploded from a mere two meters to a staggering ten meters. As long as his opponent was within a ten-meter radius of him, Zhou Tai could easily swat him to death.
On the other side of the arena, Yu Xian watched the White Ape's actions, his brow twitching slightly beneath his helmet.
The very next second, Zhou Tai drove the White Ape's legs into the ground, launching it forward like a cannon shell straight toward Yu Xian. At the same time, he swung both barriers inward like a massive pair of pincers, attempting to crush Yu Xian between them.
Yu Xian's hands twitched subtly, and four silver threads danced through the air like serpents, cleanly slicing the incoming barriers. The silver threads were not made from Silver Blood alone. They also contained Yu Xian's own blood.
After receiving his promised 10 kg of silver from Nora, he had more than enough silver threads. Even after constructing his armor, he had surplus silver threads available for both offense and defense.
Of course, reproducing his previous feat against Zhou Tai, where a single flick of his wrist unleashed a dense, sky-covering web of silver threads, was out of the question under these conditions. While maintaining his silver armor, he could deploy a maximum of four to five silver threads simultaneously, with an effective reach of anywhere from fifty to three hundred fifty meters.
Nonetheless, it was more than enough. Before the massive barriers could even reach Yu Xian, they disintegrated into a shower of fine shards. Amid the cascading debris filling the air, the silver armor enveloping him remained pristine and gleaming like new, perfectly preserving his mysterious, elite master presence.