Path of Alchemy Mastery-Chapter 322 - 223: Bitter Battle (Extra thanks to Xin Zai Xia Xue for the support)

If the meaning of life lies in constant fighting, then the significance of a person’s life is to fight continuously and achieve victory.

Mu Can had taken this saying as his personal motto. No matter how powerful the enemy, no matter how treacherous the path ahead, Mu Can would steadfastly continue on. The road he chose, no matter how full of hardships and trials, Mu Can would never give up.

"Stop playing tricks, if you want to fight, let’s fight." Mu Can lost his patience. He knew that since the mysterious man in black was part of the trial, things became very simple—it was to defeat him and turn him into red light that could nourish his own body.

Although he said this out loud, Mu Can was silently communicating with the Reincarnation Pearl, to have enough power to protect himself when he truly encountered danger. Right now, only the Reincarnation Pearl could grant him this power.

"Got a temper, do you? Before I came here, I had a temper just like yours," said the man in black. Although he held daggers in his hands and looked fierce, his voice was soft and gentle, causing a feeling of fondness upon hearing it, even sparking curiosity about what kind of face lay beneath that black veil to have such a tender voice.

"Before coming here? Enough with the tricks; if we’re to fight, let’s fight," said Mu Can as he activated the Mystic Dragon Nine Revolutions. His arms, covered in dragon scales, reflected a faint light, dazzling to behold.

"A snake’s cultivation technique," said the man in black as he looked at Mu Can’s arms, a hint of memory flickering across his expression.

"It’s been too long since I’ve moved, so long that it feels like my body is rotting away. Who am I? Who am I really? Why can’t I remember who I am? Who am I? Who am I, really?" The man in black started mumbling to himself, but soon became increasingly agitated, grasping his head tightly in pain.

What kind of act is this? Aren’t we supposed to be fighting? Mu Can could already feel that although the man in black was powerful, he wasn’t absurdly so—his strength was about that of a Martial Saint at the peak, plus it was very likely that he had been sealed for countless years. Mu Can felt that he had a fighting chance against him.

But now the man in black’s behavior completely baffled Mu Can.

Was this the great being who established Tongshen Mountain who casually found a gatekeeper, or was it a defective product? It felt as though his mind was broken.

"Your name is Wang Fu, you’re Wang Cai’s brother, from a remote little village. You live by chopping wood every day. Look at those two injured daggers; they are meant for chopping wood," said Mu Can, his eyes flashing, as he suddenly spoke.

"You’re courting death." The man in black abruptly stood up, the injured dagger drawing a beautiful arc in the air, and instantly vanished from sight.

Mu Can only felt a chill at the back of his neck, and without thinking, he crawled forward. In that lightning-fast moment, a blade gleamed past the back of Mu Can’s head, so close that it shaved off a few strands of his hair.

"You just strike without a word, huh!" Mu Can cursed inwardly. This man in black was too outrageous, attacking without giving any time to prepare.

"If that’s how it is, then let’s fight," said Mu Can as he turned around, on high alert for the man in black who might flee immediately after a missed strike.

The man in black held a dagger in each hand, staring coldly at Mu Can, his eyes gleaming red with not a trace of emotion.

"According to my habit, I will sever your head and carry it with me, sized down to that of a prayer bead. You will become a part of my collection." The pain that had contorted the man in black’s face before had vanished, as if the person who had screamed while clutching his head was not him.

"Your habit? Who the hell are you?" Mu Can knew that although he still had the strength to fight the man in black, it was a close call, and he wasn’t even sure if he could win without the help of the Reincarnation Pearl.

"Stop trying to provoke me with words. I have sealed those memories away. Now, I am the one you call Wang Fu, but I am here to kill you. However, I should thank you for giving me a name." The man in black looked at Mu Can with a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Damn it, a miscalculation; a theft gone wrong. If that’s the case, then let’s battle." Mu Can cursed inwardly. He had not expected the man in black to have this trick up his sleeve, to be able to seal his own memories.

But recalling the time he first met Purple Cloud, her soul fragment seemed to have the same capability to seal memories, to spare herself from suffering.

The twin daggers wielded by the man in black were so skillful that they could be described as supernaturally agile. If Mu Can hadn’t been protected by the Reincarnation Pearl, he would have been cut by those daggers long ago. Even with its protection, Mu Can found it perilous to defend himself.

And those daggers were incredibly sharp. Mu Can dared not use his body to resist them. Just a moment ago, a light graze on his arm by the dagger resulted in a cut before his eyes—the ultra-hard Dragon Scale, no less. It was the first time Mu Can had seen a weapon that could breach the defenses of his own arm.

Whoosh!

Mu Can ducked his head to dodge a stab aimed at his neck by the man in black, who immediately vanished into the darkness. Yes, just now, the man in black had used some secret method that plunged the entire platform into darkness.

Darkness was the perfect ally at this moment. The man in black, concealed within it like a fish in water, made Mu Can’s situation indescribably difficult.

Poor Mu Can couldn’t even get close to the man in black, yet the assassin’s dagger would always thrust from an inconceivable angle at him. Just now, unable to dodge the man in black’s dagger, Mu Can acquired another long cut on his arm, bleeding profusely as if it cost nothing. Had it not been for Mu Can’s greatly enhanced healing ability following his Dragon Transformation, such blood loss would have put him in a life-threatening position.

"Damn it, this won’t do; this guy is a natural-born assassin." Mu Can cursed inwardly. The type he feared the most were these assassins who targeted one’s weak points—utterly unbearable.

"The assassin’s weakness, the assassin’s weakness." Mu Can pondered desperately, how could he force the man in black to face him in direct combat?

Otherwise, in such a scenario, like a frog being boiled in warm water, he would definitely be the one to fail in the end.

"Damn it, that’s it!" They say necessity is the mother of invention, and indeed, a brilliant idea dawned on Mu Can.