Chapter 7: You Really Did It!
"So it was a misunderstanding after all!"
The three of them regrouped downstairs. Zhou Yuxuan bowed to Wei Gong Shirou. "It wasn't entirely a misunderstanding. Wa Zhu is very interested in Wei Gong Shirou's previous 'Circuits' remarks. I was ordered by Wa Zhu to specially challenge you to verify the truth."
"Oh, then what did you mean by this place not allowing bounty hunters to enter?"
"Wa Zhu attaches great importance to you. It's fine if you want to understand."
Zhou Yuxuan spoke frankly, his attitude completely different from when he was unapproachable with Old Tang.
"Although Wa Zhu is nominally leading this Chu Kingdom relic mission, the hunters are only doing the preliminary exploration and have no right to the core interests. Afterwards, our Zhou Family will need to control and protect the relic."
"The specific personnel involved, besides my Xiangyang Zhou Family, also include a joint dispatch of people from the surrounding Wu, Wang, Jiang, Chen, Sun, Bai, and other mixed-blood families, utilizing political and business connections to exert control under the guise of developing cultural industries…"
"The original schedule is still far off. Wa Zhu sent me to meet you in advance. If your so-called Western Magic is indeed real, my Zhou Family promises to grant you one request within our capabilities."
"Ah? So much importance on me?" Wei Gong was a bit confused.
Or, are the mixed-blood families planning to transition into the Magic domain?
"That's how much importance… The premise, however, is that you must show your true capabilities!"
Zhou Yuxuan's body shifted, and only then did Wei Gong Shirou notice a wide, ring-pommeled sword strapped to his back, almost flush against him. It looked extremely heavy at first glance, and a rusty bronze chain was connected to the ring pommel.
Old Tang saw Zhou Yuxuan suddenly pull out such a heavy-looking killing weapon and exclaimed that it was unnecessary, unnecessary.
But Wei Gong Shirou was somewhat excited.
The ring-pommeled swords of Shenzhou took shape in the Han Dynasty and continued until the Tang Dynasty. Historically, during the Three Kingdoms period, Guan Yu used a heavy ring-pommeled saber called "Myriad Enemy" (Romance of the Three Kingdoms adapted it into the Green Dragon Crescent Blade). Therefore, from Wei Gong's perspective, it was easy to judge that this was a weapon with a long heritage.
It could truly be called a noble phantasm!
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuxuan did not draw the heavy sword from its black, broad scabbard, but instead swung the bronze chain to attack!
Clang—!
Wei Gong Shirou drew two katanas of different lengths from his violin-case-like weapon box and parried the incoming chain with a diagonal slash.
Before he could counterattack, the opponent continued to step forward and lean in, swinging the chain. Wei Gong, holding his twin blades, clashed with him, making clanging sounds.
Seemingly evenly matched, but Zhou Yuxuan's offense was relentless. He wielded the bronze chain like a ferocious whip, making it impenetrable, steadily advancing. The long chain's attack angles were extremely wide, forcing Wei Gong's katanas to only guard his body, suppressing him within a fixed range. Sparks flickered in the air.
"Is this all you've got?"
Wei Gong did not respond to this level of provocation. Suddenly, his body produced an unusual elemental flow, with bright patterns similar to circuit boards appearing on his hands and feet, and elements also gathered in his pupils.
Reinforcement Magic.
In an instant, his strength and eyesight surged. His reinforced dynamic vision allowed him to clearly see the trajectory of the bronze "long whip" in its rapid movement.
Crack! Wei Gong actually used the blade held in one hand to precisely insert it into the gap between the chain links!
"!?"
Zhou Yuxuan was greatly alarmed. He saw Wei Gong pull and swing the blade, and he was inexplicably pulled over by the immense force transmitted from the chain, unable to resist. Wei Gong's other katana was steadily raising, and he felt as if he was lunging towards the blade!
Without a doubt, if this blow landed, the outcome of this fight would likely be decided!
Realizing the danger, the golden pupils in Zhou Yuxuan's eyes ignited brightly, and the domain of his Word of Power: Iron Flow rapidly unfolded.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Wei Gong's katana struck the small metal round shield temporarily created by Iron Flow.
Zhou Yuxuan took the opportunity to retract the chain. He looked at the noticeable crack on his shield, speechless.
Wei Gong clearly hadn't used his full strength. With the Alchemic katana in his hand and the sudden surge of power, splitting this temporarily created shield would have been no problem at all.
As for why Zhou Yuxuan determined it was an Alchemic katana? Because his Word of Power: Iron Flow, which could manipulate metal, could not affect Wei Gong's weapon.
Wei Gong's weapon box must have had spare swords, but Zhou Yuxuan couldn't affect any of them. The answer was already very clear: all of Wei Gong's weapons were Alchemic weapons made from regenerated metal!
Only through profound Alchemy, by "killing" the metal, removing impurities, and giving it new life to form regenerated metal, could the weapons made from it escape the control of his Word of Power and possess performance that broke through limitations!
It seems that what Wa Zhu said that day, that Wei Gong's Alchemy was superb, was indeed true.
So, was that technique Wei Gong used to suddenly increase his strength a Word of Power? Or was it what he called Magic?
He needed to probe further.
This time, Zhou Yuxuan no longer swung the chain, but instead raised the heavy, broad, door-panel-like ring-pommeled heavy sword and attacked with immense force.
Boom—!
The heavy mass chopped down, pushing away air currents. Intense sparks erupted between their weapons, and the escalating confrontation caused the concrete ground to groan under the strain.
However, Zhou Yuxuan's mood was not light. Even though he was wielding a massive, imposing door-panel heavy sword, and Wei Gong was using a delicate and sharp katana, their respective situations were completely reversed—
Piercing, sharp blade sounds echoed all around. Wei Gong's swinging Alchemic twin blades formed astonishing silver arcs, but they were not the precise sword techniques of ancient martial arts schools, but rather pure "self-taught" rapid and lethal battlefield killing moves, leaving people unprepared and scrambling.
"Ugh…!"
Even with this impressive Alchemic heavy sword, Zhou Yuxuan was continuously pushed back by the force of Wei Gong's blows. After about ten rounds, his arms were numb from the immense force transmitted along the blade.
He gritted his teeth and persisted, his golden pupils burning even more intensely. In fact, his Word of Power: Iron Flow had another use: to extract metal elements from the opponent's body in close-quarters combat.
The free metal elements in the human body are one of the important components for maintaining life activities. As long as they are extracted, the opponent will lose their mobility.
Zhou Yuxuan felt that this move, apart from the flaw of requiring continuous engagement, was basically impossible to fail due to other factors—
Unless the enemy did not rely on metal elements to maintain activity. Or if the enemy was a moving Alchemic construct, making him unable to interfere at all.
Profound Dragon Language echoed, but there was no feedback.
It failed!?
The metal element content in Wei Gong's body was normal, but he couldn't interfere!
Zhou Yuxuan roughly observed from the perspective of his Word of Power and actually found an incredibly precise array pattern (Alchemic array) composed of metal elements within Wei Gong's body!
These patterns, like a nervous system, spread throughout his limbs and bones, forming an internal domain that resisted external interference.
Distinct and regular stable elemental flows moved along the Alchemic array and were concentrated on his hands and feet. So this is how it's solved, this is the Magic Circuits, the reason for Wei Gong's surge in power! Wei Gong's so-called Magic is activated through this!
To implant such a precise Alchemic array into himself, Wei Gong's Alchemy level… has probably entered the master level!