"Boom!" Jade green clouds ripped through the air, spraying jagged sparks and swirling around like a tornado. Wu Jin threw himself to the right, his fingers clawing at the sheer rock face as the blast missed his shoulder by inches."
"Phew..." He let out a long breath, his gaze settling on the mountainside where the blast had struck. A spiral-shaped hole, resembling a snail's shell, had been carved deep into the stone. He slightly shuddered at the horrifying sight as he silently studied the hole. "This technique seems to deal more damage than the one it used earlier, but it also seems to require a much longer preparation time," he thought.
Alongside Wei Long, Wu Jin had been dodging the dragon's constant onslaught without pause.
But this wasn't just for survival, they were probing the qi dragon for weaknesses. After some time had passed, he finally grasped a few things.
"Juniors, do you not see the environment you're trying to fight me in?" the dragon roared as a second mass of green clouds swirled to life deep within its mouth. "I can fly freely, while you two must cling to the mountainside. I'll warn you one last time: descend the mountain."
Wu Jin however ignored the dragon's warning and climbed toward Wei Long. A faint glimmer flashed in his eyes. "Brother have you found any weaknesses?" He asked
Wei Long lightly nodded, and replied, "Yes, I noticed this thing can only unleash a powerful wind attack when it anchors itself to the mountain. But this beast is smart and probably won't use that technique again since we could exploit it."
He then turned to Wu Jin and asked, "Wu Jin you're a swordsman don't you have any long range sword techniques?"
Wu Jin snickered internally he was looking forward to this question.
Since he was the only swordsman among the two of them and the only one capable of harming the dragon from afar, Wu Jin held the upper hand. Extorting few qi beads from Wei Long should be easy.
A trace of pain surfaced on Wu Jin's face, he sighed deeply and answered. "I do have a long range sword technique, but it consumes more qi."
Wei Long narrowed his eyes. deeply understanding the hidden meaning behind Wu Jin's words.
"Share your qi beads with me since I'm the only one of us who could attack the dragon from afar." He scoffed internally. Not falling into Wu Jin's scheme.
in this current situation handing over his qi beads would be no different than placing his life in Wu Jin's hands. Who's to say he won't make a run for it once he receives the beads?
Thinking like this, Wei Long looked toward the dragon and deliberately changed the subject, "Brother, we need to find a way to get this thing to land on the mountainside so we can attack it."
With a solemn look, Wu Jin lightly shook his head and said, "We might not necessarily need to do that. I noticed every attack this beast has thrown at us contains qi. My guess is that it also has a shrine, and it will eventually exhaust itself. Until then, we just need to keep avoiding its attacks."
At the same time, his mind raced, "It seems Wei Long suspects I might abandon him once I get ahold of his qi beads. Hmph, convincing him won't be easy. I'll have to put off pressing him for now. Since I have the upper hand, an opportunity will surely come."
At the moment, qi beads were no different from one's life. Wu Jin could only abandon the thought of extorting him for now. Wei Long wasn't a fool, pressuring him would only backfire.
"A battle of attrition."
Wei Long gritted his teeth. For him, Wu Jin's strategy simply wasn't feasible.
"I only have nine qi beads. Even though it's been attacking us nonstop and consuming its qi... can I really outlast this beast?" He clenched his teeth and looked toward the mountain peak.
His frightened eyes studied Elder Feng Jing, who still stood at the peak, her gaze unreadable and analytical.
"Profound Scenery sect has deep foundations. There's no way Elder Feng Jing would cut corners on qi beads for this beast. Sigh.... After all, should I..."
He shook his head inwardly, firmly dismissing the thought.
"Brother, the beast has prepared another attack. Get ready to avoid it."
As Wei Long's mind was in chaos, Wu Jin's shout came, pulling him back to his senses. He immediately looked toward the dragon in fright, his youthful face turning pale.
The green clouds within the dragon's mouth finally spiraled into a raging tornado. With a forceful spit, the dragon blasted the swirling mass toward them.
Both of them swiftly leapt aside, narrowly evading the attack.
But the dragon gave them no chance to catch their breath, already preparing its next attack.
Again and again, they could only dodge as the dragon launched one attack after another.
"Trying to defeat my qi dragon through a battle of attrition?" Elder Feng Jing sneered. Easily grasping their battle strategy.
"I came fully prepared for this trial and placed a Monthlasting Wild Lotus Dew inside its body. Although it is only slightly stronger than them, they would actually be better off fighting it directly rather than waiting for it to run out of qi.
"But since they are both wary of each other, it is unlikely they will work together. It seems my previous attempt to sow discord between them have somewhat succeeded." As she thought this her previously unreadable gaze shifted, and a hint of expectation flashed in her eyes.
She was clear of Wu Jin and Wei Long's intentions.
If they joined forces against the qi dragon, they would have a chance of surviving. However, their mutual distrust prevented them from cooperating.
Wu Jin was scheming to use his long range sword techniques as leverage to obtain Wei Long's qi beads, while Wei Long wanted Wu Jin to spend his own qi beads to attack the dragon and not take any losses.
Neither of them was willing to let the other benefit at their expense.
Elder Feng Jing, however, was pleased by their mutual scheming. She had repeatedly made it clear through her trials what kind of sect the Profound Scenery Sect was. In Here, conflicts among disciples were not only tolerated but also instigated. With neither the disciples nor the sect elders bound by blood, there was even less reason to show mercy.
Elder Feng Jing lightly closed her eyes, nodding. "The weak are weeded out, and the strong survive. This is the profound way of my Ancient Profound Scenery Sect."