The Inverted Dragon’s Scale

Chapter 250: Escape from sea of fire!

Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu and Heart Buddha Ning Xinhai were two skilled masters of the Lu and Cui family, and because each has his own master and neither was going to give way, a battle was unavoidable.

Feeling the frightful presence emanating from them, all the little companions had retreated to a safe distance away from them.

Lu Tianyu tugged at Li Shinian's sleeve, whispering, "Is that your driver?"

"I think so?" Li Shinian replied unsurely.

Lu Tianyu lips formed a sulky pout between those chubby cheeks and said in a rather sullen tone: "Why do you have a driver and I don't? Also, they've arranged such a powerful driver for you, but I don't even have a bodyguard——am I a child of the Lu family or are you a child of the Lu family?"

Li Shinian also felt a slight twinge of guilt, she had thought that the Lu family arranged a driver for her so it would be more comfortable and convenient for her to go to school but she did not expect him to be such a high level master. Even Lu Tianyu, the real young master of the Lu family had not received this degree of protection, so she——indeed was more fortunate than him. No wonder Lu Tianyu felt unfairly treated.

Li Shinian pinched Lu Tianyu's chubby face, speaking softly: "The reason you don't have a driver is because all the drivers of the Lu Family have to listen to your orders. You can use whoever you want, but I can only use this driver. Moreover, you're the young master of the Lu family, no one dares to bully you, so they haven't arranged a bodyguard for you."

"No one dares to bully me?" Lu Tianyu repeated, eyes widening and pointing to Cui Shaofeng and the others. "They often bullied me. If you hadn't come today, I don't know how I would have been beaten up this time."

"It was an accident. After what you've been through today, your family will definitely arrange someone to protect you."

"Humph, I'll go back and ask my mother. I'm going to ask her if I'm her own son——I must have been adopted, otherwise why would they do this to me?"

"——"

While they were whispering and muttering to each other, Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu's and Heart Buddha Ning Xinhai's imposing manner had accumulated to its peak.

Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu firmly gripped his whip like a spear, then thrust it toward Heart Buddha Ning Xinhai.

A gust of violent wind howled, whipping up dust.

As for as the eyes could see, shadows of spear covered the sky, filling the narrow and quaint alley.

One spear surpasses ten thousand spears!

Ning Xinhai had not moved an inch from his position, throwing out a devastating punch with his right hand that was kept hidden in his sleeve.

Boom——

A red ball of light emerged above his head, blinding the surrounding people with its brightness.

At least half of these children more or less know some martial skills, so as the red sun rose high into the air, they had retreated to a safe distance from the fighting and did not look directly at the sun, yet they still staggered back several steps.

The red ball suddenly ruptured, golden light erupting out.

Swish——

When the golden light was gone, the ten thousands of shadow of spear had similarly disappeared.

Heart Buddha Ning Xinhai and Soul Haunting Whip stood motionless in their original place and not moved a single step, as if nothing had happened.

Ning Xinhai looked at Soul Haunting Whip and spoke in a low voice. "One man can hold out against ten thousand, a spear surpasses ten thousand spears, the Heavenly Emperor Spear of the Lu family really deserves its reputation. However, it is the Lu Family's technique, rather than brother Luo's own Soul Haunting Whip skill. If this is the case, I'm afraid you have dissapointed me Brother Luo."

Luo Xu did not like to talk. He shook the spear in his hand, releasing all the essential qi inside and it changed into a long, flexible whip.

Watching this scene, a faint smile surfaced onto Ning Xinhai's face. "Right. This is what you're good at. Although the Lu Family was not stingy with teaching you their 'Heavenly Emperor Spear', but that ultimately is the cultivation technique of the Lu family. If they had not also given you their 'bright moon mental cultivation method', you wouldn't have been able to show the real power of Heavenly Emperor Spear——"

"Your Buddha is born everywhere is also just so-so." Soul Haunting Whip countered. "It's only for self-defense and can't kill an enemy. This is considered as a first-class cultivation method?"

Ning Xinhai chuckled: "You can try again."

"Then try again."

As Soul Haunting Whip spoke, the whip in his hand rumbled softly.

Pa Pa Pa——

The whip swung out in mid-air, drawing a graceful arc.

The long powerful swish of his whip lashed through the air in a circular motion, producing a series of cracking sounds that lingered in the air.

The series of cracking noises compressed into one very loud sound and the end of the whip flared up in flames.

The flames grew larger as the fire spread, becoming an enormous fireball. It was not clear what material the tip of the whip was made out off but looked it could be burned off at any time.

The fireball continued to grow in size, almost filling the whole alley and engulfing the entire body of Ning Xinhai.

Boom——

Ning Xinhai's body entered into a sea of raging flames.

A foreign body entered into the flames, the fireball burned more ferocious.

Smoke billowed out, as though Ning Xinhai had been refined by fire.

"Uncle Ning——" Cui Shaofeng screamed. He was not close with Ning Xinhai before and it could not be said that there were deep feelings between the two. Just that, today Ning Xinhai, who coincidentally passed by, was his only protective barrier at this time. If Ning Xinhai was incinerated by Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu, then who would protect them?

"Heavens, hurry put out the fire, he's going to burn to death——"

"Help——Somebody help——"

Cui Shaofeng's little friends scampered in confusion. Who would have thought that Ning Xinhai would lose and has been killed before even two rounds of fight.

Hu—

The enormous blazing fireball suddenly rose from the ground like a humanoid fire, shooting through the air toward Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu like a missile.

The fireball was still alive!

Lu Tianyu's mouth formed into a soundless shocked 'O', Li Shinian lunged forward, shielding Lu Tianyu with her thin and weak body, her both hands clenched into tight fists, ready to use all her strength to throw a punch at the fireball.

The fireball hurtled toward them at a very fast speed, swift as a meteor and fast as lightning.

Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu's face stiffened with dismay, swinging out his whip once again to strike the fireball swirling in midair.

Boom——

The fireball dropped from above Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu, smashing into the ground.

"Ahhh——" The miserable voice of Lu Tianyu sounded below the fireball.

Like a dragon fruit, the outer layer of red flames was peeled off one by one, and a glistening golden figure stood where Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu were.

It was Ning Xinhai who was engulfed by the fireball. The fact that he survived unscathed having been in the fireball for such a long time, made people gasped in astonishment.

"Immortal golden shield." The crowd exclaimed.

Luo Xu flicked his wrist and sent his whip coiling around Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu who were flying across mid-air and carefully lowered them to the ground.

Chapter 251: Sister pays brother's debt!

Lu Tianyu touched the tuft of charred hair on his head, his face pale with fear as he asked, "Have I died? Am I still alive?"

"Yes." Li Shinian nodded.

At that split second when the fireball smashed to the ground, it really was a life and death situation. The danger was so great that she felt a suffocating sense of oppression.

The intensity of the heat from the flames could be felt against her face, as if lava fell from the sky that would drown and consume her.

If this had happened before, Li Shinian would have been very scared. She used to be just an ordinary student and the most dangerous thing that she had experience was when she got stopped by senior female schoolmates at the entrance to school because she was so popular——

But people change; since the attack of Assassin Crow and the ugly water ghosts jumped out of the lake, Li Shinian quickly grew and matured. There was nothing that could make her emotionally moved now.

People that have experienced life and death are always more resilient and tougher than ordinary people.

Even though she was just a little girl.

On the contrary, the one accustomed to the 'big world', lived like a prince and had almost not experienced any danger before, Lu Tianyu was much more flustered.

"Is my face ruined?"

Li Shinian examined Lu Tianyu face with a serious look, not saying anything and gently sighing out loud.

"You——what do you mean by that?" Lu Tianyu's voice trembled, reaching for his face. "I——my face is ruined?"

"Ruined." Li Shinian nodded. "It was ruined when you were born."

"You——"

"Lu Tianyu, you have to be like a man." Li Shinian snapped. "I know you're nervous, I know you're scared. But the people in front of you are the opponents of your Lu family, the enemy of your Lu family——No matter what you think, even if you're scared to death, you still have to pretend that you don't care about anything and continue to act tough. Don't let those people see your jokes and don't let those people think that the young master of Lu Family is a coward."

"I——" Lu Tianyu stared in surprise at Li Shinian, the girl spoke to him in an unprecedented tone of voice.

"You're very clever." Li Shinian said. "But your cleverness is not used in the right place. There is someone who is the opposite of you."

"You mean Li Muyang?" Lu Tianyu asked.

Although situated in a sea of flames, Ning Xinhai remained unscathed and without worry.

Cui Shaofeng went over, asking: "Uncle Ning, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Ning Xinhai replied, his gaze all along fixed on Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu. "The best defense is counter-attack. Now you know Buddhist techniques are not just defensive?"

"Attacking two children is really shameful." Luo Xu said coldly.

"Haha, that makes it hard to accept. Who was it that attacked the kids first? I just followed suit, but now it is shameful?"

"I just gave them a slight punishment."

"If you say a little punishment is to use your whip to mangle his hands——" Ning Xinhai turned to Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu. "Miss Shinian, long time no see.""

"You——" Li Shinian obviously recognised Ning Xinhai. Back when she was in Jiangnan, he was Cui Xiaoxin's bodyguard. When her big Brother was injured when trying to protect Cui Xiaoxin, it was Ning Xinhai who helped him arranged a doctor. Unexpectedly, things stay the same, but people have changed. The bodyguard of the friend back then, has become their opponent today.

Thinking of Cui Xiaoxin, Li Shinian's heart ached a little.

During her long journey to Tiandu, she had dreamed of seeing her close friend again when she arrives at Tiandu. In that case, she wouldn't be completely unfamiliar with the place and the people of Tiandu. At least there was a friend waiting for her here.

It has been a long time since she had arrived in Tiandu, but they still have not seen each other.

"It seems Miss Shinian has forgotten me." Ning Xinhai looked at Li Shinian with a ruminative glance. "It is better this way."

"It is better this way." Li Shinian chewed over these words, thinking that it really is so; it is better to not know than to know. If we know, wouldn't it be more painful and more difficult to face all this?

Luo Xu turned around to say to Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu, "You guys go first."

"Where do you think you're going?" A man carrying a huge sword clattered down the alley on his horse.

Behind him were a group of horses and several skilled masters of the Cui family. They blocked the mouth of the alley, sealing off the escape route of Li Shinian and Lu Tianyu.

Seeing the people coming over, Ning Xinhai, with a sluggish expression on his face, asked with a cupped fist salute: "Brother Gu how come you're here?"

Gu Mo was the personal bodyguard of the grandfather of the Cui family Cui Xichen, and also his confidant. His unfathomable cultivation had earned him the deep trust of the Cui family's old grandfather. He had not expected him to come here.

Because Gu Mo was an important person of the Cui family, his position in the Cui Family was more superior. So even Ning Xinhai, such a skilled master of the Cui family was quite respectful to him.

Gu Mo cupped his hands in greeting at Ning Xinhai. "Master Ning. Grandfather told me to come and see, he said not to let the children of the Cui family be bullied."

Hearing that Gu Mo was personally sent by the grandfather of the Cui family, Ning Xinhai was more puzzled than before.

It was just a conflict between some children, the Cui family made such a big scene. Was that necessary?

"Or——is this a sign that the Cui family is resorting to force on the Lu family?"

With this thought, Ning Xinhai could not help his face deepening into a far more serious one.

It seems that he was lucky to run into such a big event today.

Gu Mo's gaze swept over Cui Shaofeng and there was not much respect. The Cui family has many children; there are those of the direct line of descent and those of a collateral branch of the family. There are geniuses but also some mediocre. Evidently, Cui Shaofeng was not up to his standard.

He asked aloud, "Who bullied you?"

Seeing Gu Mo, Cui Shaofeng's heart leapt with happiness, he pointed to Li Shinian. "Her, she attacked me from behind——"

He was too embarrassed to point at Lu Tianyu; he really could not say that this little wimpy brat bullied himself?

He then pointed at Luo Xu. "He's a big bully, he injured both my hands——"

Gu Mo's eyes swept across Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu and stopped at Li Shinian, asking: "You're Li Shinian?"

Li Shinian did not know much about this man's identity, but since he knew her name, he presumably must had investigated her before.

So, she answered in a clear and loud voice: "I am Li Shinian. Who are you?"

The corners of Gu Mo's mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "At the foot of the Starry Sky, I could not kill your brother Li Muyang——Sister has to pay brother's debt, today I will behead his little sister first."

He kicked his heels into the horse's stomach and the huge horse speeded toward Li Shinian.

Chapter 252: Kill anybody who puts up resistance!

At the same time of his horse galloping forward, Gu Mo reached and pulled the giant sword behind.

Clang!

The sword flashed out of the sheath and everyone shut their eyes momentarily at the brightness.

"Neigh——"

The fine horse let out a long neigh and leaped.

Sitting atop his horse, Gu Mo slashed his huge sword at Li Shinian who was in an almost frozen state.

Screech—

The long sword split the air, the green sharp edge crackled and exploded, a length of several feet.

If this sword really struck her, then the thin delicate Li Shinian would have been cut into two halves.

Even if she was just struck by the green aura, she would most likely breath her last breath.

Clang——

The clang of metal resonated through the air.

Soul Haunting Whip Luo Xu had already disappeared from his original place. His soft whip again hardened into an incomparably tough long spear.

With his whip as a spear, he tried to block the huge sword slashing down from the sky.

Because of the heavy qi of the sword, Gu Mo's sword was too powerful.

Luo Xu's body was propelled out, stumbling backwards madly, kicking up dust and forming deep pits on the limestone flooring.

"Seeking death." Gu Mo did not think that his sword could be blocked, cursed out loud as he exerted force into his right hand once again.

The broad sword lashed down at the spear, the spear shaft gradually bending.

Kacha——

Luo Xu brought his spear horizontally above his head, desperately clenching his teeth and pushing with force, his body sank straight into the stone floor below.

In an instant, half of his body had been submerged in soil.

Seeing that he could still defend himself, Gu Mo gritted his teeth in fury.

He drew his giant sword back, lifting it high up into the air and slashed down again with greater power.

Clang——

Luo Xu's entire body was pushed down, only his head poked above the ground surface.

Even so, his hands were still held high, desperately supporting it in a defensive guard against Gu Mo's sword.

Soul Haunting Whip was usually nimble and unpredictable, but in order to protect Lu Tianyu and Li Shinian, Luo Xu could only go head-on with Gu Mo.

The 'breaking willow incantation' that he cultivates was a soft and gentle method, while 'raging inferno incantation' that Gu Mo cultivates was overbearing. If the two collided head-on, 'breaking willow incantation' is naturally at a disadvantage.

"You overestimate your ability." Gu Mo smiled coldly, still pouring strength into his sword. "Soul haunting whip Luo Xu, do you really want to destroy the prestige and fame that you had painstakingly built up these tens of years?"

"While working for master, we have to perform our duties. The little Master is in danger. Luo Xu must save him even if I die" Luo Xu stated in a very abstruse voice. Before he had finished his sentence, he spurted a jet of blood from his mouth.

"Then I'll give you a ride to your grave."

Gu Mo was about to administer another strike, to directly end Luo Xu's life, when he felt a sudden attack.

Gu Mo rose into the air, his toes still on the horse's back, and then flew into the distance.

——Chi——

A feather arrow pierced right into the horse's back, the horse reared up and dropped back down again.

"Neigh——"

The horse squealed out loud and collapsed to the ground without any more movement.

On a faraway roof, a man in a white shirt carrying a case of arrow was looking over.

His eyes piercing cold and the tiger bow in his hand could launch a fatal blow at Gu Mo at any time.

Standing high on a wall, Gu Mo looked at the archer in white and then back at Li Shinian, before he said in a hoarse voice: "The last time when I tried to kill Li Muyang someone came to disturb me; this time, regardless of who, don't think of snatching from my hands again——today, you must die."

When she heard Li Muyang's name, Li Shinian's eyes welled with tears.

She missed her brother too much and wanted to know too much about the news of her brother.

However, it seemed as though her big brother had disappeared from the world. Ever since the farewell at Maple Ferry Crossing, there had been no more news about him.

If not for the inexplicable deadly pursuit, if not for the revenge of the Cui family, if she had not knew about her brother's situation from him, they would have suspected that her big brother was dead——Otherwise, why does he not write a letter back? Why did he not contact anyone at home?

"Does he know that everyone misses him? Does he know that everyone is worried about him?"

Now, this stranger had mentioned her brother's name the moment he opened his mouth, and also said that he almost killed her big brother at the foot of Starry Sky ——although this was bad news about her brother, but nonetheless still news about her brother.

Li Shinian glared fiercely at Gu Mo. "My brother angered you? Why would you kill him?"

Gu Mo said with a mocking smile. "Your brother did not anger me, but he angered people that he should not anger. Therefore, do not blame my sword for being ruthless."

Gu Mo did not like Li Muyang and even did not like Li Muyang's sister, Li Shinian.

He was ordered to go after Li Muyang, and the result was that he failed repeatedly.

His ambush at the foot of the Starry Sky was destroyed by Starry Sky student Xie Wuyou and they were also berated by him, demanding them to get lost.

When he came back the Cui family was furious with him, criticising him for his incompetence that he could not even handle a boy.

This humiliation remained deep in his heart and was impossible to eliminate.

Now seeing the sister of Li Muyang, that sense of shame rushed forth again. There was a strong desire for revenge.

Hearing that Gu Mo wanted to retaliate against Li Shinian, Lu Tianyu looked worried, his short and small body rushed in front of Li Shinian and he opened his arms to protect Li Shinian. "Who dare touch the people of my Lu family?"

Gu Mo stood on a high wall, peering down at Lu Tianyu's short and small figure. The little boy had the courage to stand in front of her and shout out 'who dare touch the people of my Lu family' such threatening words.

"Lu Tianyu——" Gu Mo smiled coldly, staring at Lu Tianyu. "Your Lu family dares to attack the people of the Cui family, it's only right the Cui family kills you two——Your little life can be more valuable than Li Shinian. Now that you have the courage to stand in front, let me avenge young master."

As he spoke, Gu Mo leapt down from the high wall, slashing down with with his sword.

Lu Tianyu looked up at the giant fellow, his lower legs trembling, forehead dripping with sweat and his clothes soaked. However, he still gritted his teeth, stood in front of Li Shinian and did not budge an inch.

"The territory of the City Patrol Division, who dares to hurt people?" A loud voice roared.

Before the voice died away, a large number of troops of the City Patrol Division wearing armour and colorful feather helmet were assembling over this side. 

They spread out in a linear defense along the alley, one after another, surrounding the remote and narrow alley and everyone inside.

Bows drawn and arrows set, and spears at the ready.

The General in charge sat astride a muscular brown-red horse, staring at Gu Mo who was standing on a wall glaring coldly at the many skilled masters. He yelled: "Kill anyone that dares to put up resistance."