147: Chapter 147 Life or Death

"Risking your life?"

Teacher Liu sneered, his whip tracing a bizarre arc in the air, carrying black Qi as it coiled toward Zhang Wen's neck.

"With just your meager Early Stage Domain Realm spiritual power? You won't even be able to touch me, will you?"

Zhang Wen's pupils constricted; he clearly didn't believe it. With the System's support, if he couldn't even defeat an ordinary Late Stage Domain Realm opponent, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash his brains out.

"Whether I can win or not, I'll have to try to find out."

He suddenly lowered his waist, the sky-splitting startling thunder spear spinning half a circle in his palm. The Lightning Radiance at the spear's tip was like a living coiling Dragon, traveling along the spear shaft. "Pity, you miscalculated one thing."

"Oh?" Teacher Liu's whip was already close at hand.

"I. Have. Cheats!"

Zhang Wen let out a thunderous roar. Pale gold Lightning Radiance suddenly surged around his body, and fine thunder patterns appeared on the surface of his skin, forcefully withstanding the black Qi on the whip.

That was the appearance of the Indestructible Thunder Body at full power. Although it couldn't completely grant immunity to the curse power, it could greatly weaken the erosion of the cold spiritual power!

"Tremor Step Treading Thunder Marks!"

He stomped his left foot violently on the ground. Domain Realm spiritual power poured into the ground through his sole. The hematite-paved ground instantly cracked into spiderweb-like patterns, and pale purple Lightning Radiance exploded along the cracks, forming a thunder zone several zhang wide!

The fake hostage was just about to launch a sneak attack from the side when they were blown away by the Lightning Radiance the moment they stepped into the thunder zone. The school uniform revealed under the black robe was instantly charred.

"Myriad Thunders Coiling Dragon Break!"

Seizing the moment Teacher Liu was forced back by the thunder zone, Zhang Wen held the spear with both hands. The Lightning Radiance at the spear's tip suddenly condensed into a several-zhang-long thunder Dragon. The Dragon's head was held high as it charged toward Teacher Liu with a roar that tore through the air!

This spear strike was a Fusion of ninety percent of his spiritual power. The coiling Dragon carving on the spear shaft seemed to truly come alive, and the Lightning Radiance on its scales was so piercing that people couldn't keep their eyes open.

Teacher Liu's expression changed slightly; he clearly hadn't expected Zhang Wen to be able to use this move so exquisitely at the Early Stage of the Domain Realm.

He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the whip. The black Qi instantly surged, transforming into a giant ghost claw that collided fiercely with the thunder Dragon!

"Boom!"

The shockwave from the explosion of Lightning Radiance and black Qi made the entire fork in the road tremble, and fine gravel fell from the rock walls.

Zhang Wen was shaken back three steps, his tiger's mouth numbed, while Teacher Liu was also blown away by the residual power of the thunder Dragon, crashing into the stone wall, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

"Interesting."

Teacher Liu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, the greed in his eyes growing even stronger. "This Thunder Power is purer than I expected... It seems Old Man Gongsun has given you quite a few resources."

Zhang Wen ignored his mockery and turned to look at Su Xinyue during the interval: "Can you still hold on?"

Su Xinyue leaned against the stone wall. The black patterns on her lower leg had already spread to her knee. Her face was as pale as paper, yet she still gripped her short blade tightly, ice-blue spiritual power condensing at the tip: "Don't worry about me, breaking the curse is more important!"

The rustling sound behind them grew closer and closer. The Bone-Eroding Ant swarm had already crawled past the corner of the fork. Their dark red carapaces shimmered with a faint light in the dimness, less than ten zhang away from them.

"I don't have time to waste with you."

Zhang Wen took a deep breath. The tip of the sky-splitting startling thunder spear began to vibrate at a high frequency, emitting a piercing hum. "One last move to decide the winner!"

Teacher Liu's pupils constricted. He felt an extremely dangerous aura from Zhang Wen!

"Madman!"

He hurriedly formed hand seals, black incantations appearing on the palms of both hands. "You think this can kill me?"

"Not necessarily kill you, but it can cripple you!"

Zhang Wen's hair stood on end, and the Lightning Radiance around him had turned into a blinding silver-white. "Thunder Wrath: Instant Prison Kill!"

This was one of his trump card finishing moves, compressing Thunder Power to the extreme to erupt with several times the speed and destructive power in an instant.

The words "Instant Prison" in the name described this move being so fast it could drag an enemy into a thunder purgatory!

Before his voice had even faded, Zhang Wen's figure had already vanished from the spot.

Only a distorted afterimage of Lightning Radiance was left in his place.

Teacher Liu didn't even see his movements clearly; he only felt a flash of silver-white light before his eyes, followed by a heart-wrenching pain in his chest—the tip of the sky-splitting startling thunder spear had already pierced through his right shoulder, pinning him to the stone wall!

"You..." Teacher Liu looked down at the spear tip in his chest in disbelief, where the Lightning Radiance was frantically destroying his Meridians. "You... you..."

"I'd rather fight to the death than be crippled by you people."

Zhang Wen didn't hesitate for a moment. His left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Teacher Liu's bleeding shoulder.

"To break the curse, your essence blood is needed, right?"

He condensed the last of the Lightning Radiance at his fingertips, forcefully forcing a few drops of dark black essence blood out of Teacher Liu's wound.

As soon as that essence blood left Teacher Liu's body, it squirmed like a living thing, emitting a pungent, fishy odor.

Almost simultaneously, the black patterns on Su Xinyue's lower leg began to flash violently, as if resisting yet also responding.

"Quick!" Su Xinyue trembled all over from the pain. "Drip it onto the curse mark!"

Just as Zhang Wen was about to turn around, Teacher Liu, pinned to the stone wall, suddenly revealed a bizarre smile. His remaining left hand slammed toward his Dantian: "Since I can't have it, then no one will!"

A blinding black light suddenly lit up at his Dantian—it was a self-detonation!

"Not good!" Zhang Wen's expression changed drastically. It was too late to withdraw the spear and retreat, so he could only forcefully push Su Xinyue into a nearby stone crevice. "Hide inside!"

Su Xinyue was pushed stumbling into the stone crevice. When she looked back, she saw Zhang Wen using his body to block the crevice, the sky-splitting startling thunder spear held horizontally across his chest, the thunder patterns of the Indestructible Thunder Body glowing to the extreme.

"Boom—!"

The shockwave generated by the self-detonation swept through the entire fork like a tsunami. Teacher Liu's body disintegrated in the black light, turning into countless fragments carrying curse power.

Zhang Wen's Indestructible Thunder Body was instantly torn apart. He was thrown against the stone crevice like a broken kite, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth, yet his hand still tightly gripped those few drops of dark black essence blood.

The Bone-Eroding Ant swarm was temporarily forced back by the shockwave of the self-detonation, but they soon began to surge forward again, less than five zhang away from the stone crevice.

"Zhang Wen!"

Su Xinyue crawled out of the stone crevice and supported the teetering Zhang Wen, tears falling uncontrollably. "Hold on!"

Zhang Wen coughed up blood and stuffed the essence blood into her hand: "Quick... drip it on..."

Trembling, Su Xinyue dripped the essence blood onto the black patterns on her lower leg.

A bizarre scene occurred.

When those dark black drops of essence blood fell on the black patterns, they actually vanished like water droplets merging into the ocean. The black Qi on the patterns receded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the pain also diminished accordingly.

The curse mark was broken!

"It worked..." Zhang Wen breathed a sigh of relief, his vision going dark as he nearly collapsed.

Just then, a deafening roar suddenly came from the entrance of the fork, accompanied by Wang Wude's furious shout: "You brats! I'm late!"

A crimson blade glow streaked past like a meteor, splitting the surging Bone-Eroding Ant swarm in two. Wang Wude rushed in carrying his giant blade, followed by Zhao Yingming and Li Feiyuan—clearly, they had already dealt with the two Transformation Realm practitioners outside.

"Zhang Wen! Xinyue!"

Seeing the state of the two, Zhao Yingming hurriedly released flames to block the ant swarm. "Chen Mingda's Spirit-Locking Flower can't hold on anymore. I'll take you back to the camp first!"

Zhang Wen leaned in Su Xinyue's arms, his consciousness already somewhat blurred. He only felt Zhao Yingming's flames enveloping them, and Su Xinyue's tearful voice in his ear: "Don't sleep... Zhang Wen, don't sleep..."

He wanted to smile, but could only cough up more blood.

Risking his life... it seemed he really did it.

Only... at the moment of the self-detonation, he seemed to see Teacher Liu's Soul being dragged away by a black chain. At the end of the chain, there seemed to stand a figure wearing a black cloak...

"Who was that?"

Just as this thought flashed by, he completely lost consciousness.