Chapter 8: Si Debing (Part 1)

Red Beard Lei Zhenhuo was furious. He shouted, “Kid, you’re just a professional at the eighth-tier altar, yet you dare treat us like this! Do you want to die?” In this world, a difference of one altar level meant a huge difference in strength, especially among high-level professionals. Thus, those at lower altar levels respected those at higher levels greatly.
Guo Shier asked, “What do you want us to do to you?”
Si Debing replied calmly, “Two choices… choose for yourselves…”
Guo Shier exploded in anger. He said coldly, “Is it… one path to join your family, and the other is to destroy us? Damn it… can’t you come up with something new?” He was utterly fed up with the rules of this world, which was also why so few wandering professionals reached high levels. Few could remain free; when large families or sects encountered wandering professionals, they always offered two options: join or be destroyed.
Si Debing was momentarily stunned. He had indeed planned to say that, but not expecting Guo Shier to say it first made him feel awkward. A sinister glint appeared in his eyes as he said, “I can’t understand…”
Guo Shier interrupted him again, “You can’t understand… that we’re weak yet still dare to be so arrogant, right?”
Wang Keer struggled to stop advancing. Her face was pale, and she was filled with rage. She could have advanced smoothly, but now forced to stop, she would need time to recover. Annoyed, she said, “Shier, I’ve stopped advancing. Don’t be polite with them!”
Lei Zhenhuo and Si Debing couldn’t help but laugh. They exchanged a glance, and Lei Zhenhuo nodded before stepping back. Si Debing stepped forward and said, “Let me see… why you brats are so arrogant.”
Actually, as soon as Lei Zhenhuo and Si Debing saw the three of them, they became interested. Hearing Guo Shier say he was a wandering professional made them even more eager—there was even a wandering professional at the eighth-tier altar. Professionals without any backing were treasures, and they would look for trouble just to have an excuse to attack.
So no matter what Guo Shier said, they would force the three of them. Guo Shier was well-accustomed to this, so he wouldn’t engage in polite conversation with them. In his view, this fight was inevitable. Professionals in this world spoke with strength—as long as he could withstand their attacks, even if he couldn’t defeat them, he would still have the right to speak.

Si Debing guided the nine-layer altar toward the magic array. Halechi shouted, “Elder, what do you intend to do?”
Guo Shier said, “I’ll handle the outer defense. You take care of the attack. Wang Keer, how are you?”
Wang Keer replied, “I’m fine… You don’t need to worry about me!”
Halechi was somewhat fearful and hesitated, “Should I attack?”
Guo Shier said, “Yes, you attack while I defend. Let’s see how strong he really is.”
Halechi felt dizzy. He was forced to use an eighth-grade sacrificial treasure and a ninth-grade one in battle—should either be damaged, there would be no one to compensate him. He still didn’t realize that Guo Shier already had plans to steal from them. Judging by the time, he knew Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen would return soon. If they arrived in time, Lei Zhenhuo and Si Debing would suffer greatly.
Si Debing pulled with both hands, and the blue sphere in his hands immediately stretched into a blue long sword. He smiled and said, “This sword… is called Blue Dream. I hope you’ll like it… Haha, I think you’ll be quite enchanted.” Though he was mocking them, he remained cautious inside. The Soul Suppressing Cauldron floating above the magic array exerted immense pressure on him. With his insight, he could already tell the Cauldron’s extraordinary nature.
Guo Shier turned and said, “Then leave that Blue Dream to you.”
Halechi was at a loss. How could anyone treat people like this? That was a sacrificial treasure belonging to a professional from a nine-layer altar—not some trivial item. But at this point, he had no choice but to fight. If the opponent’s sacrificial treasure broke through the Soul Suppressing Cauldron’s defenses, the three of them wouldn’t survive. If he didn’t go, did he expect Wang Keer to fight? Even if Wang Keer agreed, she didn’t have the strength. At that moment, he longed for Li Ran and Qi Wu Zhen. If they were here, such misfortune wouldn’t have happened.
Guo Shier activated his full defensive capabilities. He also felt a bit curious about the Soul Suppressing Cauldron. After several rounds of refinement, its quality and power had greatly improved, especially its defensive strength. The best feature of the Soul Suppressing Cauldron was its defense, while its offensive power was much weaker. But the real trump card lay within the Cauldron—spirit beasts.
Si Debing slowly transformed the blue sphere in his hands into a long sword, aiming to impose immense pressure on his opponent. With a light throw, the dark blue sword circled around the altar, emitting a sharp whistling sound as the cold air from the sword extinguished the flames around it.

When the blue long sword reached the altar once again, Si De Bing pointed, and the sword hovered in front of the altar. A stream of air surrounded the sword, filled with countless tiny ice crystals. A glow shimmered on the blade’s surface, with runes appearing and disappearing intermittently. Si De Bing sneered and snapped, “Go!” With a flick of his fingers, hundreds of virtual runes shot into the sword’s body. The blue long sword suddenly grew enormous, reaching two hundred meters in length in an instant.

The intense cold suppressed the heat around it. Where the cold touched the flames, explosive sounds rang out—crackling noisily, quite astonishing. Si De Bing shouted, “Little guys, get ready to withstand this move…” He gave Guo Shier and the others ample time to prepare, and he himself was also fully prepared.

Guo Shier felt extremely anxious, as their position was deadly. He couldn’t move and could only hold his ground, which filled him with unease. Yet he resolved that if things went wrong, he would immediately abandon the rune array. Even if they destroyed it, Qi Wu Zhen should be able to rebuild it. The reason he hadn’t left earlier was because Wang Keer was still inside the array.

Halechi also threw himself into the fight, his peach-colored eyes wide open. Despite the protection of the Soul-Stabilizing Cauldron, he activated his own defenses. A palm-sized shield flew into the air and instantly split into sixteen shields the size of door panels. Then he unleashed his offensive sacrificial treasure. Its design resembled Guo Shier’s Moon Blade to some extent—it was a short axe with a crescent-shaped blade and a black handle.

The black blade, with its curved edge, emitted a purple-green glow. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the blade was formed from lightning, with arcs of electricity tracing streaks across its surface. Guo Shier was surprised—he hadn’t expected this guy to possess a lightning-type altar.

A series of virtual runes were cast, and soon the entire axe expanded. Amidst his chaos, Guo Shier turned to ask, “Halechi, what’s the name of this sacrificial treasure?”

“Thunder Axe!”

Guo Shier couldn’t help but say, “Boring!”

Wang Keer, pale-faced, said, “Whatever its name, as long as it can block that Blue Dream, it’s a good axe!”

The Thunder Axe flew out of the rune array, instantly reaching two hundred meters in length—comparable to the opponent’s long sword in terms of sharpness. Yet Guo Shier knew there was still a slight difference, as the power of an eighth-grade sacrificial treasure differed from that of a ninth-grade one. He watched closely as the two sacrificial treasures clashed. If Halechi fell, he would immediately release his Spirit Beast. In truth, he wasn’t willing to do that at all.

The opponents were experts at the ninth-level altar. The Spirit Beasts posed little threat to them; relying solely on numbers to wear them down was something Guo Shier didn’t want to do. Every Spirit Beast killed meant one less, and although there were many Spirit Beasts in the Soul Calming Cauldron, they wouldn’t be enough to deal with experts at the ninth-level altar—many would surely die.

Guo Shier hoped Halechi could buy some time.

Si Debing’s lips twitched slightly. It was only now that he realized his sacrificial treasure could hardly exert its full power on the Fire Continent. The surroundings were extremely hot, with massive flames everywhere. Once the treasure was unleashed, it would first have to use 20% of its strength to resist the flames. He knew he had been careless, but he still didn’t care. The opponents weren’t professionals at the ninth-level altar but at the eighth-level altar. Even if the treasure’s power was reduced, he was confident he could defeat them.

He cast spells with both hands. Si Debing had no intention of killing them. He and Redbeard Lei Zhenhuo both understood that these three must have been brought here by a professional at the ninth-level altar. Of course, they thought their combined strength was enough to handle the situation, which is why they acted so arrogantly.

Virtual talismans were placed on the blue long sword. Without wasting any more time, Si Debing shouted, “Slash!”

A howling sound erupted as the blue long sword suddenly transformed into countless blue flames. The ice crystals surrounding it were also shot out, like countless stars falling. Amid the blue flames were countless starlight rays. Guo Shier took a deep breath, an idea flashing through his mind: “Truly worthy of the Blue Dream… It’s absolutely magnificent!”

The blue flames and falling starlight, set against the crimson flames, were breathtakingly beautiful. Soon, a terrifying howling sound filled the air. Guo Shier shouted, “Halechi!”

Halechi gritted his teeth and roared, “I’ll fight you to the end! Go!” Bravely, he waved his hands, and countless purple virtual talismans formed two chains that instantly connected to the Thunder Axe. As he moved his hands, the massive axe head rose abruptly, turning into a bolt of lightning that slashed straight forward.

Boom!

Countless bolts of lightning flashed on the Thunder Axe as it collided with the falling ice crystals, producing intense thunderous sounds. Guo Shier narrowed his eyes and saw the two sacrificial treasures crashing into each other, emitting blinding light. A loud roar, along with shockwaves, spread in all directions. The flames around them seemed to be blown by a strong wind, spreading outward.

Halechi wildly swung his purple chains, and in an instant, the Thunder Axe collided with the blue long sword hundreds of times. Just from these few contacts, Halechi spat out a mouthful of blood. He quickly wiped it away with his sleeve and roared, “Again!”
Guo Shier didn’t expect Halechi to have such wild potential. He hesitated for a moment, holding back from moving, and continued to watch nervously.
Si Debing was surprised that his opponent not only blocked his attacks but also wasn’t at a disadvantage at all. Slightly astonished, he said, “Not bad strength. Then let’s do it again!” With that, he sent out another virtual talisman, and the blue long sword transformed into a blue glow. He sneered and said, “Ice River Upside Down!”
Halechi’s peach-colored eyes turned red. Letting out a strange cry, he swung his purple virtual chain talismans, and the Thunder Axe spun like a wheel, like a tornado, charging wildly forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang…