Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Thousand Thunder Summon Arrives!
Facing the encirclement by Wu Chang, Liu Shan, and the Fog Demon, Chi Yuan did not panic, nor did he try to escape. Instead, he was surprised as he scrutinized the two halves of the Shadow Mask.
"Young Hero Wu knows the art of artifact refining?"
Wu Chang casually replied, "Just a little."
Chi Yuan shook his head, speaking earnestly, "This is more than just a little. You bypassed the flaws of the Demon Transformation Technique, making this half-finished product nearly complete. You even figured out some of my intentions and displayed that part of the ability ahead of time."
"And you completed all this casually in the wilderness. In terms of artifact refining, I am not your equal. But it makes sense, given that Young Hero Wu hails from the Tang Sect, known for crafting such exquisite mechanical hidden weapons. It’s not surprising you’re skilled in artifact refining."
Wu Chang shrugged, "At this point, even if you flatter me, I still won’t stop and let you go."
Chi Yuan laughed, "No need for that, I was merely delighted by a worthy opponent. If we had met a few years earlier, we would surely have been friends."
Wu Chang: "Five years ago?"
Five years ago marked the day the Black Mountain Bandits slaughtered Huai Valley Village.
Chi Yuan’s face showed a moment of pensiveness, as if recalling something. After a brief moment, he came back to his senses and said:
"Yes, if we had met then, things might have turned out differently. Unfortunately, once some things start, it’s hard to turn back."
"Though I’ve delved into the Demon Transformation and Artifact Refining technique, I do hail from the Daoist tradition. Even without a magical artifact, I am not powerless. Young Hero Wu, be careful."
Just as Chi Yuan finished, he formed a spell with his hand. Lightning flashed in his palm, and a burst of palm thunder shot forth.
Wu Chang felt his vision blur, and when he looked around, the Fog Demon had already evaporated and dispersed.
The Shadow-Facing Face showed an extra message.
"Shadow: The Fog Demon has been dispelled, and will require 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds to reform."
Thunder Technique, being the most effective magic technique against demons, allowed Chi Yuan, with his overwhelming advantage over the Fog Demon, to instantly "kill" it with a single Palm Thunder before Wu Chang could see what happened.
"Young Hero Wu, does my Thunder Technique please your eyes?"
Chi Yuan shook his Daoist robe, releasing countless strands of lightning. Threads of electricity spiraled out from beneath his robe, winding around his body before converging at the Daoist crown on his head.
Wu Chang squinted at Chi Yuan, clicking his tongue—never mind pleasing the eyes, because right now it’s utterly blinding.
The oppressive aura he felt from Chi Yuan was no less than that of Doctor Charles from the Moonlight Sanatorium.
It’s important to note that Doctor Charles was a small elite monster in a B-level scenario, possessing values at least in the 17 to 19 range.
And this was just the pressure from Chi Yuan himself. Combined with three magical artifacts capable of becoming demons, he was overpowered even as a hidden boss in a C-level scenario.
He took two steps back to put some distance between himself and Chi Yuan, then commanded Liu Shan to launch an attack on Chi Yuan.
Liu Shan, agile and vicious in attack, was better suited for combat than trimming the Tree Demon’s branches—apt to test Chi Yuan’s mettle.
While deploying Liu Shan, Wu Chang, determined to prevent Chi Yuan from using another Palm Thunder to instantly kill Liu Shan, lifted his hand and fired a shot at Chi Yuan, providing cover for Liu Shan to approach.
Not daring to directly confront Wu Chang’s "hidden weapon," Chi Yuan had to hide behind a large boulder, thus ignoring Liu Shan’s attack.
Liu Shan seized the opportunity to use his body technique, rushing behind the giant boulder to engage Chi Yuan in combat.
Who would have expected a sudden burst of thunder behind the boulder, the explosive sound almost rupturing eardrums.
Once the ringing in Wu Chang’s ears subsided, he saw Liu Shan had returned to accompany the Fog Demon within the mask.
"Shadow: Liu Shan has been dispelled, and will require 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds to reform."
Not good!
Shaking his head, he forcibly suppressed the dizziness caused by the ringing with sheer willpower, reasoning that Chi Yuan wouldn’t create such a commotion just to deal with Liu Shan.
If he were Chi Yuan, he would launch a surprise attack when the opponent was disoriented by the thunder.
He quickly moved to the sacrificial altar, leaning his back against the wooden altar, vigilantly watching the surroundings.
With Chi Yuan lurking in the shadows, only the wooden altar, being an insulator, could give him the peace of mind to safely guard his back.
After about three or four breaths, an inspiration sparked in his mind as he sharply turned his head to the side.
Chi Yuan, unbeknownst to him, had managed to sneak within fifteen meters, palm crackling with thunder, prepared to launch a sneak attack.
Wu Chang quickly shifted his position to the other side of the wooden altar, making it impossible for the Palm Thunder to directly aim.
At this moment, he embodied the Qin King, circling the altar as if using it as a pillar.
Chi Yuan’s ambush having been foiled, he didn’t bother pretending anymore, transitioning from a sneak attack to a charge.
With lightning surrounding his entire body, Chi Yuan’s sprint left afterimages, his speed matching that of Liu Shan.
During the charge, the lightning trailing behind him accelerated beside him, transforming into two other Chi Yuans.
Three Chi Yuans charged at Wu Chang side by side, their movements in perfect unison, making it difficult to distinguish the real one at a glance.
Chi Yuan’s intentions were clear: he was challenging Wu Chang to a game of three-in-one, seeing if he could hit the real body.
If faced with a disciple of the Tang Sect wielding a traditional hidden weapon—which, though powerful, could only fire once every five breaths—this move would be highly threatening.
After all, missing would allow Chi Yuan to close in, handling him before the hidden weapon could reload.
Unfortunately, Wu Chang wasn’t a Tang Sect disciple and wasn’t using a traditional hidden weapon.
Once Chi Yuan was within seven steps of him, he transformed into a Western Cowboy, pulling the trigger ten times in quick succession, instantly emptying the six silver bullets and consuming four points of energy.
As Chi Yuan, charging, approached within two meters, he suddenly took three shots, collapsing to the ground with an expression of disbelief.
Clutching the wound on his chest, Chi Yuan smiled bitterly, "So your hidden weapon can fire like a crossbow..."
"Of course, who would reveal all their cards to someone they just met?" Wu Chang replied naturally.
Leaving this hidden strategy was purely a coincidence.
When they first met at the ghostly inn, before triggering the hidden side quest, Wu Chang noticed Chi Yuan’s magical artifact swirling with resentment, suspecting this Daoist was not a good person, thus wanting to hold something back.
He deliberately revealed that his weapon had a long reload time to let the other party drop their guard, hoping to catch him off guard when fighting.
But after triggering the side quest and Chi Yuan explaining the source of resentment on the artifact, Wu Chang temporarily believed in Chi Yuan’s good intentions, avoiding conflict.
However, believe as he might, Wu Chang didn’t correct his previous lie, instead taking great inspiration from it.
During the scenario’s run, he consistently felt a vague sense of being watched.
Initially, he thought it was an evil spirit spying on him, so he maintained the deception to protect his trump card.
Whether battling the Fog Demon in Chen Family Village, ambushing the Liu brothers, or fighting Liu Shan, he consistently displayed a weapon with low fire rate and slow reloading, regardless of whether anyone was watching.
Evidently, his performances over this period had an effect. Observing him for a while in secret, Chi Yuan identified the traits of his hidden weapon, leading to today’s clone charge.
Followed by Wu Chang emptying the clip.
Chi Yuan coughed up blood, wheezing, "Looks like I’ve lost."
Wu Chang politely replied, "What a pity."
Chi Yuan: "But I’d like to give it one more try."
Wu Chang: "?"
A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart. He quickly ejected the cylinder and began reloading bullets, aiming to kill Chi Yuan.
But this time, Wu Chang was really too slow in reloading.
Chi Yuan uttered four words, "Thousand Thunder Summon!"
The next moment, lightning struck from above them.
The blinding lightning turned the world into a dazzling white.
Boom!