novelHire Chapter 880: A Glance That Lasts a Lifetime
Chapter 880: A Glance That Lasts a Lifetime
Tang Er was well aware of the power of his Battle Technique.Under normal circumstances, Li Qingran should have been completely immobilized by now, her clothes pierced through by the vines, with the paralyzing thorns already embedded in her skin. Considering that she was, after all, the captain of the Battle Soul Hall's First Team, and the tournament rewards were provided by the Hall Master himself, he didn't want to make things too ugly.
As long as Li Qingran surrendered voluntarily, he would stop immediately.
However, the anticipated surrender did not happen.
The other party remained silent.
Tang Er's expression darkened a few shades.
"Stubbornly resisting, huh? My Heavenly Net has a second stage, called Vine Burst. Once I activate the second stage of this Battle Technique, even I can't fully control the resulting effects.
This is just a match, not a life-or-death struggle. Miss Li Qingran, there's no need to gamble your life for a single competition."
There was still no movement from within the vine prison.
Tang Er frowned.
He could almost picture Li Qingran inside, gritting her teeth and holding on stubbornly, refusing to admit defeat.
Little did he know.
Inside the vine prison.
All outside gazes and sounds were completely blocked by the Mother's Love Grass.
This killing move from Tang Er had instead become a sheltered harbor, providing a private space for the master and disciple.
Only a few scattered beams of light filtered through the gaps, dappling the two figures.
Fear and panic gradually dissipated in the gentle exchange of gazes.
Chen Huaian held Li Qingran in a virtual embrace.
Although his arms passed through her waist, although his chest couldn't feel her body warmth,
the peace born from their souls intertwining felt more real than any physical hug.
"Master..."
Li Qingran knelt on the ground, her small hand gently caressing Chen Huaian's cheek.
Her fingertips traced over his pale brows and eyes, over his snow-white hair.
Even though what she touched was emptiness, her fingertips trembled violently as if scalded.
"You've suffered so much."
Large teardrops rolled down her small face, already streaked with tears,
falling onto Chen Huaian's snow-white robe, passing right through it, and shattering on the dusty ground below.
She could see it.
Although her master was still impossibly handsome, still maintaining that calm and composed demeanor.
But the exhaustion that couldn't be dispelled between his brows,
the remnants of desperation and lifelessness deep in his eyes, as if he'd just crawled out of hell—these couldn't deceive her.
What kind of near-death experiences had that man, who always stood before her smiling and saying "If the sky falls, your master will hold it up," endured in places she couldn't see?
That heart-wrenching pain she felt earlier was definitely not an illusion.
"It's alright... you're back."
Li Qingran sniffled, her tears turning into a smile.
Even if it was in this strange "Battle Soul" form, even if he had no physical body.
As long as he was here, the sky was still blue.
Looking at his little disciple's tear-streaked face, the softest part of Chen Huaian's heart was struck hard. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He could only raise his hand, hovering it above her head, performing the very familiar head-patting gesture he often used with Li Qingran.
His gaze was gentle, conveying reassurance: Your master is fine.
Countless days and nights, when they nestled together, her master would often pat her head like this.
Although she couldn't feel the physical touch.
That warmth, Li Qingran felt it.
*Rip—*
A faint tearing sound broke the tranquility between them.
The vine prison was contracting.
A thorn shimmering with a deep-blue poisonous glow pierced through the fabric at Li Qingran's shoulder, embedding itself into her fair skin.
A thread of crimson blood seeped out, starkly visible against her snow-white skin.
Chen Huaian's hand stopped in mid-air.
Those eyes, originally full of tenderness, instantly frosted over the moment they saw that splash of red.
Cold.
Bone-chilling cold.
Even though he was currently only a Battle Soul, even though the power he could currently wield in the Canglan World was less than one ten-thousandth of his peak strength.
But...
A dragon has its reverse scales; touch them and you die.
Li Qingran keenly sensed the change in her master's aura.
She was stunned for a moment, then her eyes flickered.
The "Ice Goddess" mask she wore in front of others instantly shattered,
replaced by the coquettish and mischievous expression she only revealed within the small wooden hut on Sunset Peak.
"Master~"
She leaned forward slightly, virtually resting against Chen Huaian's chest, lifting her small face, blinking her big eyes, her tone full of grievance:
"That guy outside with the fire poker is bullying me."
"He stabbed me with a thorn, and even said he'd be ruthless and destroy the flower."
"Your disciple can't beat him, Master... Please teach him a lesson for me!"
Chen Huaian looked down at her, helplessly shaking his head, his eyes filled with indulgence.
How could Li Qingran not be able to win?
She's a grown woman now, still acting spoiled.
But...
He turned his head, his gaze piercing through the gaps in the vines, looking outside.
The indulgence in his eyes vanished instantly, leaving only utter indifference.
He does need to be taught a lesson.
He actually dared to injure his disciple?
Unforgivable.
He slowly raised his right hand, index and middle fingers pressed together.
The air grew still. A wisp of extremely faint yet pure Sword Intent gathered at his fingertips.
*Break.*
He thought silently.
The finger sword slashed out.
...
Outside the arena.
Tang Er looked at the black cocoon that had contracted to its limit, showing no movement whatsoever. The last of his patience finally ran out.
"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."
He snorted coldly, his five fingers suddenly clenching tightly, as if crushing a heart.
"Since you insist on this, then I have no choice but to... go all out!"
"Vine Burst!!"
The moment his words fell.
*BOOM—!!!*
A tremendous sound erupted.
But it wasn't the muffled explosion of vines, but rather... the sharp shriek of a blade slicing through metal.
The cold indifference on Tang Er's face hadn't even faded before a violent white shockwave erupted from the center of the black cocoon like a volcanic eruption.
"What?!"
He only had time to let out a shocked cry.
That supposedly indestructible "Heavenly Net," which even a Soul King would struggle to break free from, in that instant, was like tofu thrown into a meat grinder.
*Snap!*
Countless vines, hard as iron, shattered inch by inch, turning into a sky full of black dust.
Fierce Sword Qi mixed with vine fragments, forming a black-and-white storm that instantly swept across the entire arena.
"Ah!!"
Tang Er only felt an irresistible, overwhelming force hit him.
His entire body was sent flying like a ragdoll, smashing heavily against the protective barrier dozens of meters away.
The members of his Slime team behind him were blown into disarray by the Sword Aura, tumbling like rolling gourds.
The spectators in the stands all jumped to their feet in shock.
The referee squinted his eyes, staring fixedly at the center of the arena, his hands trembling beneath his sleeves.
This sharp, piercing aura... could it really be emitted by a Soul Ancestor?
A few breaths later.
The dust settled.
Complete silence fell over the arena.
On the pockmarked arena floor, a vacuum zone with a diameter of a hundred meters had appeared.
The ground was covered with dense, crisscrossing sword marks, each one bottomless, growing more concentrated towards the center.
And at the center of those sword marks.
A figure in white robes stood proudly, holding a sword in one hand.
His form was ethereal, yet radiated an aloof arrogance that looked down upon the world.
And in his arms.
Li Qingran was tightly wrapped in his wide, white robe, covering her tattered, blood-stained clothes, concealing all her dishevelment.
This girl, seen as an Ice Goddess in the hearts of countless Soul Masters, was now curled up in the man's arms like a docile kitten, only her exquisite, pretty face visible.
Her eyes paid no attention to anyone or anything around her.
She just stared obsessively at the man's profile.
As if in all of heaven and earth.
There was only this one person.
...