"Then your opponent is me." Da Tiechui hefted the colossal hammer onto his shoulder and looked straight at Bei Feng.
"You couldn't even beat Yin Fu. What makes you qualified to stand before me?" Bei Feng glanced at him, voice cool.
"Hmph! I let anger cloud my head just now. I was careless. This time I'll show you what I'm really capable of!" Being belittled lit Da Tiechui's fuse; he barked the words through clenched teeth.
…
A bluish mist clung to the ground. Bitter wind knifed through the passage, turning the place eerie and bone-cold.
"So cold… Where are we, Shaoyu?" Tianming hugged himself, shivering as he peered down a mysterious corridor.
"How would I know? I shouldn't have let you lead the way. We wandered around and wound up in a ghostly place like this," Shaoyu shot back, glaring.
"Heh, I was just curious. Took a few turns and—bam—we're here. Should we… go in and take a look?" Tianming asked, eyes shining.
Shaoyu rubbed his chin, then nodded. "Let's. I'm curious too. I didn't know Mohist Mechanical City even had a hidden area like this."
They had barely agreed when a crisp voice rang out behind them. "Hey! You two—where are you going?" Both boys jumped, then sagged in relief when they turned and saw Yue'er.
"Yue'er, don't yell behind people like that. You'll scare us to death," Tianming grumbled.
"Weren't you with Brother Goku? What are you doing here alone?" Shaoyu asked, curious.
"Hmph! They kicked me out. So I went for a stroll," Yue'er pouted, clearly still annoyed.
"Arguing? Doesn't sound like it…" Shaoyu muttered.
"Yue'er, we're going to check up ahead. Want to come?" Tianming invited brightly.
"Sister Rong said this is Mohist restricted ground—no entry." Yue'er's eyes sparkled. "But they made it so mysterious… sounds like an adventure. Let's go." She giggled and led the way toward the forbidden zone.
Because Goku had warned them in advance, the Mohists were out fending off intruders; not a soul remained to stop the trio. The three slipped into the restricted area without any trouble.
…
In the forest, countless Qin soldiers bled themselves against the traps—rolling logs, spear pits, storms of crossbow bolts.
They pushed forward over a carpet of bodies, paving a path through the Mohists' snares with their lives.
"General Meng Tian! The woods are riddled with mechanisms. If we press on like this, our losses will be devastating!" a captain knelt and reported.
"Mohist Mechanical City is truly hard to crack." Meng Tian frowned. These were his Meng clan elites; he was loath to waste them. "Sound the withdrawal. Pull our men back."
"Yes, General!"
"What are your orders now, General?"
"We wait. The National Preceptor's party has already infiltrated the city. With mechanisms like these, only blood will open the way—and night is falling. We hold position and reassess at dawn."
"Understood!"
…
"Master Ban! The Qin seem to be pulling back," a Mohist disciple reported.
"Night's coming. They'll resume at first light," Ban said, face set. "Have Gao Jianli and Da Tiechui returned?"
"They're being held up by Liu Sha's Mo Ya and Bei Feng…"
"What? Why didn't you say so sooner!" Ban blanched. "Mo Ya and Bei Feng aren't easy opponents. Move out the mechanical beasts—now. We're going to support Gao and Da Tiechui."
"Right away!"
Black feathers spiraled through the air as Mo Ya flickered around Gao Jianli like a string of shadows. Wind hissed; grasses and branches bent and rattled around the duelist's feet.
Gao Jianli stood still amid the drifting feathers, focus honed to a knife-edge. The instant Mo Ya crossed a line, Shuihan would answer.
A sudden roar of wind detonated not far away. Whipcracks of air tore at the canopy; gale walls spun outward like thunder made visible—a raging net of wind that swallowed the sky around it.
Mo Ya aborted his pass at once. Da Tiechui's Thunder God Hammer had turned the clearing into a maelstrom. Forget using lightness skills—just staying upright was hard. From the edge of the storm they felt themselves being dragged inward. Once you fell into the core of Thunder God Hammer, even the likes of Mo Ya would be lucky to limp away.
"So this is the Thunder God Hammer up close. Impressive." Mo Ya made the call instantly: his silhouette blinked beyond the storm's reach.
Bei Feng and Gao Jianli flowed away in the same breath, their lightness skills both among the finest. Against top-tier movement like that, Da Tiechui's hammer couldn't connect. Power without purchase was just wasted strength. For the moment, all he could do was whirl the hammer and churn up circles of shattered earth.
In mere moments the surrounding trees lay flattened. Mo Ya took in the wreckage with a rueful smile. "Frightening power. But if it never lands, it only drains you."
A tiger's roar ripped the night. Three mechanical white tigers bounded from the trees, their landings making the ground tremble.
"Looks like their backup's here," Bei Feng said as the tigers thundered in. "Our job was to stall those two. What now?"
Mo Ya eyed Gao Jianli and smiled. "I wanted to savor the famed chill of Yi Shui Han tonight. Fate disagrees. Another time."
He and Bei Feng shared a glance and vanished into the canopy, skimming over the treetops.
"Cowards! Get back here!" Da Tiechui bellowed, taking a step to pursue—this had to be the most frustrating fight of his life. His trump card had been neutralized again and again.
"Let it go," Gao Jianli sheathed Shuihan. "We can't catch them."
"Run while you can!" Da Tiechui spat, but halted.
Mohist riders leapt down from the white tigers. "Iron Chief, High Chief—are you all right?"
"How's the city?" Da Tiechui slung the hammer onto his shoulder.
"The Qin have halted their assault. But at dawn they'll be back. Master Ban says the greater danger tonight is enemy elites slipping in under cover of dark."
"Got it. We're heading back."
…
Mechanical City, Council Hall
Master Ban looked around the room, face grave. "According to sir Goku's intelligence, the Gongshu clan is likely in play. Stay sharp. Maintain full alert."
"The Gongshu's Dominating Mechanisms have crossed blades with our Non-Offense school for a century. Who will they send?" Gao Jianli's voice was cold.
"Gongshu Qiu—the new-generation head of their Dominating school," Ban said. "He's said to possess exceptional talent, surpassing several generations of predecessors. Some even claim his mastery approaches their founder's. Where our founder emphasized restraint, the Gongshu focus on lethality. Qiu has obsessed over the duel our founder lost to the Mohists long ago; if they've sided with Ying Zheng this time, he will come."
"From his name alone he sounds like he's here to seek vengeance,'" Dao Zhi quipped, face unusually solemn.
"And sir Goku?" Ban turned to Duanmu Rong. "Where is he now?"
"How would I know?" Duanmu Rong said coolly. "He went into his room and never came out."
"Now that you mention it… Tianming and Shaoyu aren't here either," Dao Zhi added, glancing around.
_____
T/N:
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