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Chapter 166 - The Corridor of Time (XXII)

Editors: Humu & Kitty

Why did that happen?!

Xing Yan was sweating as he gazed at the child standing in front of him. The child had been standing here all this time. Since he entered this independent fighting arena, he had never moved at all, not even an inch!

The arena was similar to an ancient Roman bullring with a huge circular platform in the middle, surrounded by spectators high up, although there was no audience in the audience sitting area. The arena was incredibly quiet. There was a dazzling sun in the sky. The sun was too bright and hot. When Xing Yan retreated to a safe distance, he could not help wiping his forehead.

Luo Jian was standing in the middle of the arena. He was no longer holding his red umbrella but held an ordinary short knife. The knife was exactly the same as the blade in Xing Yan’s hand. At first glance, it appeared completely identical.

“I have the same knife as yours.” Luo Jian raised the blade in his hand. It was an ordinary black tactical assault knife. The total length of the blade was only 20-30 cm. The blade was very dark and could not even reflect light.

“But the difference is......” Luo Jian continued: “The knife in my hand is just an ordinary one. It does not have any power. It is ordinary and unimportant. Even in the eyes of many powerful players, it is quite fragile, and it will break when it is folded...”

Luo Jian held the ordinary knife and allowed the weapon to flip flexibly between his fingers. He tilted his head, raised his eyelids, and looked at Xing Yan as if he was mocking someone. He said, “But even so, you still can’t break through into my perimeters.”

“Ah, yes, I have to admit my inferiority in shame...” Xing Yan did not intend to give up. He stepped back half a step as he felt cold sweat emitting from himself. The blade in his hand trembled slightly. When he finished the last syllable of this sentence, his figure disappeared from Luo Jian’s sight.

Luo Jian knew that the other party had once again entered the ‘invisible’ state. No, it should be said that he used his spatial power to create a space door for a short time. Then, Xing Yan could cross through this door and reach another place from one place in just an instant.

It was a bit like Doraemon’s Anywhere door in his childhood memories.

Because it did not take time to cross through space, it might be more appropriate to use ‘blink’ to describe it. And in the process of ‘blinking’, Xing Yan’s body and breath would disappear from the world temporarily. No one knew where he would appear in the next second. It might be on top of your head, behind you, or even under your feet.

It was very difficult to deal with such an enemy because it was impossible to predict his attacks. His behavior and trajectory were completely unpredictable. He might appear directly in front of you and send a knife at you, or he might appear behind you...... but who knew? Most people had already had their throats cut by him in that instant when they discovered where Xing Yan was.

However, Xing Yan found that his attack had no effect on Luo Jian.

No matter where he appeared—behind Luo Jian, above his head, and of course, he had tried appearing head on...... Luo Jian almost instantly perceived where Xing Yan would appear...... No, or before he appeared, he had already known where Xing Yan would attack, so every swing of a knife he waved at Luo Jian would be blocked in time by him.

The battle lasted more than ten minutes, and Xing Yan consumed a lot of mental and physical strength, but Luo Jian still stood in the same place.

No, it can’t go on like this. I have to change my way of attacking.

For the first time, Xing Yan met such an enemy that was so difficult to deal with.

Xing Yan always had a congenital advantage in strength. Since he could first use his spatial ability, he could defeat most of his enemies. Even if some people were more powerful than him, it guaranteed that he could defeat the other party.

Therefore, this was the first time that Xing Yan met a person like Luo Jian. With an ordinary short knife, Luo Jian could build himself into an iron wall to defend against all possible attacks from all directions.

“You have great strength,” Luo Jian said. He felt a little nostalgic, “You let me recall my days on the battlefield.”

“Battlefield?” Xing Yan opened up a distance between him and Luo Jian as he had a standoff with Luo Jian. When he heard the other party speaking, he absent-mindedly answered the other party.

Luo Jian laughed. “Yes, the battlefield. It was a very chaotic place. Everyone around me was my enemy. I never knew what kind of attack would appear all around me in the next second. These attacks were out to kill me or deal with me. Therefore, I had formed a habit—taking up defense became instinctive for me.”

Luo Jian showed the blade in his hand to Xing Yan. He looked at Xing Yan. “I will not guess where you will attack because no matter what kind of attack you use, I am sure I can block it. This is something instinctive for me. Before your attack arrives, my body has been ready to defend against any attacks.”

“Inst... inctive?” What Luo Jian said turned Xing Yan’s inner world into a spectacular mess. He lowered his voice and asked, “You said you spent your days on a battlefield previously...... Is there such a place in the secret chamber?”

“Who knows?” Luo Jian shook his head. He suddenly threw the knife in his hand and changed it into his red umbrella again. But after that, he placed the umbrella on the ground casually, and thereafter, he said to Xing Yan, “Now, it’s my turn to attack.”

“Attack? Aren’t you going to use your weapon?” Xing Yan inconceivably glanced at Luo Jian. He seemed to be angry: “Are you looking down on me?”

“No, how could I...” Luo Jian cunningly explained: “For a period of time, because I had no weapons, I took away the enemy’s weapons to deal with them, and in fact, my umbrella was not suitable for fighting...”

Xing Yan did not reply immediately. First, he narrowed his eyes a little, and after that, he squatted down to stare at Luo Jian. Luo Jian’s height was much shorter than his. Only in this way could he maintain the same line of sight as the other party, and he tried to understand Luo Jian’s mentality this way.

“You’re smart. You’ll learn from your opponent in combat. Observe, imitate, learn, and master it.”

Luo Jian stared at what Xing Yan was doing. Somehow, his interest seemed to be sparked. Such an interest induced laughter from Luo Jian. He seemed to posture himself into his attack pose, and at the same time, he said to Xing Yan: “Now, let me test your skills.”

“The captain has been in there for more than an hour.”

On A Lone Boat trading ground, the remaining three members of Team Ghost Shadow huddled together to discuss. As they could not see what was going on in the fighting arena, of course it would be impossible for them to know the situation in the arena. However, time dragged on. Almost all the players in A Lone Boat‘s trading grounds had emptied out, and only these three people were left.

“Was it the brat who went in with the captain?” Today’s examiner team member in Team Ghost Shadow started talking. He was only about 1.45 meters tall and was a little shorter than most girls. He could almost be called a dwarf; he was also very thin. His stature appeared like Luo Jian’s because both had a child’s stature. He was wearing a black combat suit that did not match with his body, but he carried a big crossbow bigger than himself on his back.

“Yes, it’s the child who talked to the team captain previously, but he doesn’t look very powerful.” The other party opened their mouth. The person had covered their entire body up tightly, wearing a mask, gloves, and a hat. They only revealed a pair of eyes and even wore goggles.

One would not be able to tell this person’s gender. Their voice sounded rather unisex.

Finally, the last person also spoke. He looked like a very ordinary tall man, probably of European descent. His hair was flaxen, his eyes were brown, and he had distinct facial features, but he appeared more like an Asian. He was 1.9 meters tall. With his tall stature, he appeared rather dashing. He said:

“But a little brat trapped the captain in there for a full hour. We will have to start our next secret chamber escape soon. If they don’t come out, we will be forced to enter the arena.”

“Could it be that an accident occurred?” The short dwarf said, lugging the crossbow on his back.

“Not likely; with the captain’s ability, even if there is any accident, he can easily escape.”

Then, while several people were waiting anxiously, there was a space distortion on the trading ground. Then the door of the fighting arena was opened, and Xing Yan and Luo Jian returned to A Lone Boat.

The arena was a secret chamber for special combat training. There was no ‘death’ in the arena. Even if a player experienced a fatal attack in the arena, the victim would stay on the verge of death and would never truly die. Similarly, any damage you received in the arena would disappear the moment you exited from the arena.

But though physical injuries would be eliminated, it did not mean that the mental injuries would easily dissipate simply if one said so.

A typical example would be the current teenage Xing Yan.

From the moment he came out, he almost had doubts about his strength. His self-confidence was hit to some extent. He was wondering whether he had the strength to continue to lead his team.

“You do possess it.” At this time, Luo Jian seemed to have guessed what Xing Yan was thinking. The child stood beside him and held one of Xing Yan’s hands, used to depending on him. He raised his head and looked at Xing Yan. He uttered, “You have incredible potential.”

“Are you really praising me?”

Xing Yan was deeply frustrated by his ridiculous defeat. He had never lost so thoroughly before, in such a way that he did not even have the time to counterattack. Within mere seconds, he was instantly KO’d by a child.

He did not even see how the other party acted. He felt a pain in his neck, and just like that, he was hit by a hand chop from the enemy. At that moment, he fainted. When he woke up, the child was lying on his body in a strange manner...... Yes, he was lying on his body with his small face on his chest. When he woke up, he was still staring at Xing Yan with his grey eyes.

The child’s body was soft and squishy. It seemed that he had no strength at all, especially when Luo Jian completely shrank into a ball when he curled up. He looked like some sort of pitiful little animal, and when Xing Yan fought with this child in the beginning, he even had the misconception that he seemed to be playing with a child.

But soon he knew that it was not his misconception.

What was the matter with those thin arms and legs...... that possessed such monstrous power!?

Xing Yan held Luo Jian’s small hand and placed it into his palm, pinching it. After their fight, Luo Jian suddenly became very obedient. If Xing Yan called for him, he would head over. When Xing Yan touched his little hand, the child would not resist. He also stared at Xing Yan incessantly with his big teary eyes, making others feel that he was very obedient and loveable...... Xing Yan did not know where this feeling came from, but he simply felt that.

But when the child fought, he was really like a devil that came from hell. Killing intent and the scent of blood shrouded him completely. When the child stood in front of him, Xing Yan felt like he was facing an army that had been tempered after charging out from a sea of blood.

But when he was not fighting......

Xing Yan picked up Luo Jian and raised him up. The child was very light. When he carried him, he felt that Luo Jian was about the same weight as a kitty. He would hug his red umbrella and curl into a ball. When he was carried, he would look at Xing Yan timidly. No matter how fragile one wanted him to look, he would appear like that. No matter how pitiful one wanted him to look, he would appear like that as well. Compared to the killing god that would kill a buddha when a buddha appeared and kill a devil when a devil appeared...... it was a vast difference!

Could it be that this fellow was acting?

Xing Yan, holding the child in his hands, could not help but deeply frown. He vaguely felt that there was something wrong with the child. However, he thought about it carefully and could not understand what was wrong.

At this time, the child also interrupted his thoughts with a soft voice. The child said, “Now, I am qualified to...... join your team?”

“With your strength, there is no need for you to join a team.”

This was the great truth. Although Xing Yan did not really know what kind of things the child had experienced, his strength and IQ were not comparable to that of a child. The only proper explanation was that the child was not a real child, but a highly experienced player. Only by using a highly experienced player’s props or other methods could he turn into the current appearance of a child.

If this was the case, then there was no need for such a powerful player to join Team Ghost Shadow. Even though Team Ghost Shadow was now the strongest team in name, that was only for now. He knew the strength of his team, and there were countless teams of players waiting to catch up to them.

Moreover, it might not be a good omen for Team Ghost Shadow to be in the first place all the time. Xing Yan was quite clear on the principle that destruction pursued the great. Therefore, in recent years, he also intended to stay low-key. He even intended to find a player who was not particularly powerful to join in to lower the overall level of the team.

Luo Jian seemed to find that Xing Yan was not willing to keep himself within his bags. Luo Jian was in a hurry and crawled up to Xing Yan’s body. He leaned against the other party and said, “I will be an ordinary transparent person.”

Hearing this, Xing Yan found it both funny and annoying: “What is an ordinary transparent person?”

“Well...... Someone not offering their help, not interfering and not participating.” The child replied solemnly, “Your secret chamber escape will be accomplished by you. You can think of me as a passer-by who is just here to buy soy sauce.”

“What’s the point of allowing you to join?”

“There’s some meaning in it!” Luo Jian suddenly narrowed the distance between himself and Xing Yan. He almost stuck his nose onto Xing Yan’s. Grasping his umbrella, he covered himself and Xing Yan. He seemed to see through Xing Yan’s everything, he said—

“Because I know that you want to obtain such strength from me, whether you openly snatch it or secretly steal it.”

Luo Jian was right.

Xing Yan really wanted to gain strength. It was the first time he met such a powerful opponent, but in the face of defeat, he was actually the kind of person who would get braver the more he failed. He did not think that he would fail again and again. Luo Jian’s appearance made him want to defeat Luo Jian......

And the best way to beat your opponent was to learn from your opponent.

Without thinking too much, Xing Yan took out the note in his pocket and wrote a short invitation for Luo Jian to join the team. Thereafter, Luo Jian signed the note with a stroke of a pen. They had officially become team members.

The other members of Team Ghost Shadow were still confused, but they did not have time to ask because their next secret chamber escape was about to begin. A Lone Boat was floating along the sea of clouds as the breeze blew. The last splatters of dusk light disappeared, and night gradually arrived.