Volume 4: Hidden Battles – Chapter 206: Infinite Charm

The situation was now critical; success or failure hinged on this single move. Chu Tianyu had no time to overthink—turning back to save Xue Feifei was not only impossible due to time constraints but also because she was already in a semi-comatose state. The reason she continued to resist and launch attacks with her cold mist against the Illusion Flame was purely out of love, belief, and perseverance…
Even if Chu Tianyu returned to Xue Feifei’s side now, it would be of no use. He couldn’t save her, and letting her see him escape unharmed would weaken her resolve, likely causing her to be instantly reduced to ashes by the intense heat of the Illusion Flame!
Chu Tianyu had combined the essence of several combat techniques, focusing all his energy at the core of his fist. His master had once taught him the principle of using softness to overcome hardness, and even greater hardness to break softness. For this final attempt, Chu Tianyu lacked the anger and impulsiveness he had earlier. With his entire being focused on his fist, he gathered all his strength, ready to release it the moment he struck—success or failure now depended on fate!
Thus, Chu Tianyu had no choice but to go all in. Riding on the momentum from his earlier energy surge, he lunged forward, aiming at the “Infinite Bond” he had long targeted. Mid-punch, there was no resistance as expected, and he easily broke through. Yet, this lack of obstacle brought him no joy. On the contrary, he had no confidence in this desperate strike, especially given the current situation, which gave him a badpremonition. Just like his first punch at the Illusion Flame, it seemed utterly ineffective. And now, with what should be its “vital point” left unguarded, there was only one possibility…
According to its instinctive judgment, Chu Tianyu’s attack couldn’t possibly cause it any harm—likely resulting in the same outcome as before!
At that moment, in a flash of insight, Chu Tianyu’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Xue Feifei beside him, attacking the Illusion Flame with a thin layer of cold mist surrounding it. Clearly, her attacks were now extremely weak—the mist was so faint it was almost completely burned away by the Illusion Flame.
Seeing this, Chu Tianyu had a sudden idea, giving him a new plan.

With this idea in mind, Chu Tianyu hesitated not at all. He turned his body, spun his fist, and quickly utilized the combat energy he had honed in the forest to sweep horizontally across the already faint mist. At the same time, he pushed forward and bent his five fingers back. Instantly, a mass of mist formed in his palm! Driven by Chu Tianyu’s combat energy, the thin mist immediately drifted and covered the bond behind Huan Yan. As his body shifted, Chu Tianyu, holding the mist now gathered into a ball in his palm, regulated his energy again and continued his attack.

Chu Tianyu’s mid-attack change was clearly aimed at using Xue Feifei’s mist to see if he could add an extra element to his final strike. By leveraging the effects of the mist combined with his full-power punch, he hoped to successfully break that intangible bond. As for what would happen after breaking it, that was beyond his concern.

Immediately afterward, accompanied by Chu Tianyu’s roar, a fierce punch wind erupted, followed by his powerful fist. A loud explosion sounded as his fist struck hard, sending up debris and rocks. Chu Tianyu’s entire body sank almost arch-shaped into the ground…

The immense recoil force caused Chu Tianyu to spit out a mouthful of blood instantly. The situation was somewhat similar to when he was in Motuo, under the control of the Black Dragon’s energy. The only difference was that this time it was Chu Tianyu who took the initiative. With his now formidable physique, though without the support of true energy, his resistance to such impact forces was actually more effective and useful than with true energy.

So although Chu Tianyu spat out a large amount of blood immediately, he did not lose consciousness. He felt no pride or joy at his seemingly earth-shattering punch. What concerned him now was whether his sudden strike had broken that bond.

Although at the moment of impact, Chu Tianyu clearly felt a pause in his punch, and he seemed to hear a faint freezing sound in his ears, he wasn’t sure if he had achieved his goal. So after delivering the punch and spitting blood from the shock, he didn’t relax at all. Instead, he forced down the turmoil in his body and struggled to get up to check on Huan Yan’s condition.

But before he could turn to look, he felt the mountains shaking violently, as if there were an earthquake. At the same time, a surge of heat rushed toward the spring, surrounding him with a wave of heat. Looking at that Illusion Flame, its entire body seemed to have expanded several times over, yet its heat intensity had diminished greatly. It twisted and writhed in the air, as if howling…

Seeing this, Chu Tianyu knew he had won his bet. No matter what the consequences might be, this was a turning point for him—a moment to turn defeat into victory!

Suddenly, a “thud” came from afar. Xue Feifei had also collapsed from exhaustion. Shocked, Chu Tianyu didn’t care about being enveloped by the Illusion Flame’s enlarged form or any obstacles. He immediately rushed forward, flying straight toward Xue Feifei’s lying figure.

Only when Chu Tianyu picked up Xue Feifei did his heart, which had been in his throat, finally settle a little. Her fainting hadn’t caused her to disappear due to the cold mist or the effects of Yu Ning. Instead, she had been harmed by the Illusion Flame’s triple-flame heat. Yet, with the heat emitted by the Illusion Flame at that moment, the aura released by Yu Ning alone was enough to counter it.

Even Liu Xiangshi, who was standing outside, was holding the Cold Net and breathing heavily, clearly feeling much less pressured and able to catch his breath.

Seeing that none of his teammates were seriously injured, Chu Tianyu quickly brought Xue Feifei to his senior brother. To be safe, he took Yu Ning from her hands and placed it in her arms. After exchanging a look with his senior brother to ensure she was taken care of, he gathered his strength again and strode toward the Illusion Flame, which was still writhing in place. As he walked, he gathered energy within himself. By now, Chu Tianyu no longer cared about searching for treasures. His only thought was to pour all his energy into the Illusion Flame—useful or not, he would just strike!

This was the perfect opportunity to strike while it was weak. In just a short while, Chu Tianyu felt the Illusion Flame’s size had shrunk significantly, and this trend became more and more apparent. Would this thing revive again?

Chu Tianyu’s attack arrived in an instant. His yellow-glowing fist struck the outermost layer of flames of the Illusion Flame. By now, the flames no longer had their earlier ethereal blue color but had turned a pale red.

“Pfft~” With that sound, this attack struck the Illusory Flame squarely. The pale red flames formed a barrier like a real one, protecting the core within, which still glowed with a deep blue flame.
Chu Tianyu was overjoyed upon seeing this. He thought to himself, “Good, I’m not afraid of your strength or your defenses. I only fear you’re illusory and lack real power…” As he thought this, his attacks continued without pause, pouring down like a storm upon the red layer of the Illusory Flame.
What surprised Chu Tianyu even more was that the lunar energy within his body seemed to absorb this red flame. With each punch, he felt intense heat energy being absorbed, flowing from his fists to his arms and then to the Ink Dragon pattern on his left chest, gradually replacing the lunar energy. It took control of the entire Ink Dragon pattern, causing its outer layer to emit a dazzling red flame. The entire Ink Dragon seemed to be on fire, once again appearing vivid and real.
Faced with these changes in his body, Chu Tianyu didn’t care too much. After all, his body had been tempered through countless trials; he had seen many storms and knew what his body could absorb. There were already two true dragons, plus the lunar energy he had to absorb every night, the Stone of Life, and so on. Now, even if it was some strange kind of energy, he was confident that he and Feifei could combine their efforts to assimilate and refine it.
Suddenly, his senior brother Liu Xiangshi’s voice came through, saying, “Tianyu, have you interrupted some kind of connection in it? It seems the Illusory Flame is now leaderless; otherwise, it wouldn’t linger in place and let you pummel it like this…”
Before his senior brother could finish speaking, Chu Tianyu realized he had been holding on hard all along. Having seen his devastating blows and observing the Illusory Flame’s reaction now, he came to this conclusion.
But now was clearly not the time to discuss this topic, so Chu Tianyu quickly explained his current situation loudly, “Senior brother, with every punch I land, I feel its energy entering my body and gathering in my chest. Do you know why?”
“What?” Liu Xiangshi exclaimed in shock. Sure enough, he saw Chu Tianyu’s chest glowing brightly red as he moved around, surrounded by a yellow glow. The two lights intertwined, creating a surreal and magnificent sight.

In this situation, Liu Xiangshi also had no idea what to do—this was completely beyond his understanding. How could it be that as the battle continued, Chu Tianyu started absorbing others’ energy for his own use? But what adverse consequences this might bring was even more unimaginable. Sigh, one’s fate is determined by their character.

“Senior brother, what should we do?” Chu Tianyu urged impatiently while continuing to fight.

“Well, you figure it out! I really don’t know!” Left with no choice, Liu Xiangshi had to tell the truth.

“By the way, senior brother, shouldn’t we get ready with your Sky Silkworm Cold Threads and Cold Net? I feel the outer red light has almost been absorbed by me. I’m not sure if the dark blue core in the middle will still stay put—the temperature here isn’t high anymore…” Chu Tianyu reminded him.

Chu Tianyu’s words made Liu Xiangshi snap out of his thoughts. He quickly grabbed the Cold Net, moved in a few quick jumps to Chu Tianyu’s back, and said, “Tianyu, give me a signal when you deliver your final strike. It might not help, but I’ll throw out the Cold Net then—make sure to coordinate!”

“Okay, no problem!” Chu Tianyu replied decisively.

As expected, things went according to the two brothers’ plan. At the moment Chu Tianyu delivered his final strike, he used Yunmen’s amazing movement skills to appear suddenly and propel the Cold Net with energy. A white light instantly stretched over a meter long, covering the last remaining faint blue flame of the Illusory Flame…

However, it seemed unnecessary, as the blue flame instantly solidified into a crystal-clear blue gem the moment the outer red light was broken, falling onto the charred rocks with a “ding” sound.

…

Two months had passed since school started. On the flight from Lhasa to Beijing, the empty first-class cabin contained only two people—Chu Tianyu and Xue Feifei, sitting close together. Their soft whispers and gentle laughter created an intimate atmosphere, causing the flight attendants standing nearby to hesitate, as if faced with an awkward situation.

“Hehe, the charm of a superstar is truly unstoppable! I bet those flight attendants will come asking for autographs in a moment!” Chu Tianyu said without turning around.

“I don’t think so. Aren’t you always claiming your charm is unstoppable? With your current appearance, it wouldn’t be surprising if you captivated thousands of girls’ hearts!” Xue Feifei teased, leaning against Chu Tianyu’s broad and warm chest.

“Fei, Miss Feifei, may I… may I disturb you for a moment? I’m your fan. Could you sign something for me…” One of the bolder, beautiful flight attendants finally mustered up the courage to approach and speak to Xue Feifei. But before she could finish speaking, she saw Chu Tianyu looking at her with a smile, and immediately felt a wave of heat surge through her. Her heart pounded as if there was a little deer inside it. Such a stunning face, such charming presence, and that wild, unrestrained aura that struck straight to her heart left her stunned on the spot. Holding the pen and paper, she was unable to say another word… It took her a while to regain her senses amid the noisy requests for signatures from the other flight attendants. It turned out that the remaining attendants, seeing that the two VIPs weren’t upset, joined in and also asked Xue Feifei for autographs. When the first flight attendant realized what was happening, she looked at Chu Tianyu again but found him appearing indifferent. Though handsome and tall, he had nothing extraordinary about him, let alone the impact he had had on her just moments earlier! It was only with the reminder from her colleagues that she remembered she had intended to ask for a signature… Watching them leave happily, including that flight attendant who kept turning back to glance at Chu Tianyu with a puzzled expression, Xue Feifei smiled at him and said, “You’re really incredibly charming, aren’t you?” As she spoke, her little hand began to “secretly operate” around Chu Tianyu’s waist. Chu Tianyu felt pinched—although it didn’t hurt, he still had to react. So he deliberately pretended to be in pain and “devoutly” begged for mercy, saying, “Hehe, my senior said that my current strength has a greater impact on the opposite sex than fighting those monsters. I just didn’t believe it, so I gave it a try…” “Ahhhh~” Chu Tianyu then let out a pained cry. Clearly, it wasn’t fake, as Xue Feifei had used the true energy of the Green Dragon in her fingers…