Path of Alchemy Mastery-Chapter 323 - 224: Fire Dragon Protection

Even a clay Buddha has a third of ire; being attacked without fighting back simply wasn’t Mu Can’s nature.

Under the annoyingly incessant assault of the man in black, similar to that of a fly, Mu Can was in a terrible mood. He was itching to pin the man to the ground and relentlessly grind him into the dirt.

"You say you are Wang Fu, but do you even know who Wang Fu is? The younger brother of Wang Cai—do you know who Wang Cai is?" Mu Can dodged the incoming dagger and laughed loudly.

Indeed, seeing Mu Can’s laughter, the man in black ceased his attacks, gradually revealing his presence in front of Mu Can.

"I don’t care who I am, and I don’t care who Wang Cai is. I just want to tell you, your death is certain," the man in black stated coldly, gazing at Mu Can.

Those eyes, utterly devoid of any human emotion, were filled with madness and bloodlust, causing Mu Can’s heart to pound; they were more frantic than any eyes he had ever seen, even more so than the eyes of the Blood Beasts he had encountered in the Demon Clan camp.

But what was different was that though the man’s eyes were filled with a desire for killing, he still managed to keep his wits about him. This was a very strange thing. What kind of race would produce such a contradictory scenario—as if born solely for slaughter and yet knowing the meaning of their existence?

"If I’m destined to die, can I ask you some questions?" asked Mu Can, his face full of smiles, not at all angered, as he looked at the man in black.

This question made the man in black himself take a moment of pause, now considering Mu Can to be a fool.

This guy must be an idiot, right? I’m about to kill you, and you don’t resist, yet you still want to ask me questions?

"Since you’ve accepted your own death, then as per tradition, I shall grant you clarity before your demise. That is the ethical thing to do as an assassin." No sooner had the words left his mouth than the man in black hesitated for a moment. Why had he said this? Could he really be an assassin?

"I ask you, you’re confined here, but did the rules tell you that you can’t kill the Challenger?" Mu Can’s barely concealed smile and the upwards curve of his lips, as well as his squinted eyes, all showed that he was in a pretty good mood.

"Rules? What rules?" probed by Mu Can, the man in black paused, dumbfounded. This half-dragon youth in front of him couldn’t actually be insane, could he? Now, he began to consider whether he should use a Secret Technique to shrink Mu Can’s head to the size of a prayer bead as a trophy after killing him.

"Wait, Secret Technique... how do I possess such a Secret Technique? Who am I, and who exiled me here?"

The moment the man in black began to ponder, his brain throbbed excruciatingly, and he clutched his head and crouched on the ground as before.

"Just as I thought," said Mu Can with an enlightened expression.

The man’s response confirmed Mu Can’s speculations and also gave him a clue regarding the man’s origins.

Mu Can had begun to understand the general gist of the whole situation.

The man in black was very likely to be someone from another Plane that had once invaded the Mortal World; that Plane was probably one filled with slaughter and destruction. Unfortunately, after the invasion, the man was stripped of his memories by the Great Power who created Tongshen Mountain and was exiled here to guard.

The reason why Mu Can asked about the rules was that outside, he had never heard of anyone dying while attempting to conquer Tongshen Mountain. If that weren’t the case, there wouldn’t be so many flocking here trying their luck.

This point was Mu Can’s greatest reliance; within Tongshen Mountain, there must exist some kind of rule protecting him from mortal danger. Therefore, there must be a restriction on the man preventing him from actually killing Mu Can.

"Damn it, I wonder if others faced the same level of challenge. This is simply not something an ordinary person can get through. The first stage is this hard; how on earth are we supposed to get through the next two?" Mu Can cursed inwardly.

If Mu Can knew about the trials others had undergone, he would’ve likely had more to say than a few disparaging remarks.

Wang Cai’s trial was ridiculously easy. His test was on mastery of Array, and after being exposed to the Heavenly Dao for so long, Wang Cai was practically an Array Master himself. In the Mortal World, if he dared to claim second place in these skills, no one would dare claim first, especially with his Qiankun Compass at his side, which rendered him almost invincible.

Thus, Wang Cai broke through nine Arrays, and as nine streams of red light entered him, even though Wang Cai was just an Artifact Spirit, that red light nourished his Spiritual Body, growing it by more than half. Knowing the grand advantage he had gained, it was unsurprising how delighted Wang Cai had appeared before.

However, one slight downside for Wang Cai was that while his Spiritual Body was being transformed, he faced immense pain, akin to being reborn from the ashes, remaking his spiritual form amidst excruciating discomfort. Yet there was a trace of relief during the reshaping—that was why Mu Can heard Wang Cai in both pain and joy.

Only later did Mu Can learn this. Compared to them, the people from the Wang Cai Divine Sect had much easier challenges; no Beast Tide to contend with, just defeating a Demon Beast of equal level to pass.

But as always, the rule that the effort you put in equates to the rewards you receive applied; those who faced only simple trials earned much lesser benefits, and some didn’t even know about the red light at all.

"I don’t know who I am, I have forgotten everything about myself, I only knew when I woke up that I was in this place, and the only thought in my mind is to kill you," the man in black declared, looking at Mu Can and speaking slowly.

In this moment, Mu Can actually felt a tinge of pity for the man in black; having his memory erased and exiled here, not knowing who he was—this indeed was a pitiable affair. However, these useless sentiments were swiftly cast aside as the man in black seized the opportunity while Mu Can was distracted to launch another attack, slashing a long gash across Mu Can’s back. Had Mu Can not dodged in time, the blow could have gravely wounded him.

"Fire!"

"Wind!"

The Wind Dragon and the Fire Dragon intertwined and appeared on the platform, lighting up the entire platform as if it were daylight.

The mighty Fire Dragon, aided by the Wind Dragon’s momentum, began to circle around Mu Can slowly. freēwēbnovel.com

The Fire Dragon protected his body.