Wu Xu's Near-Death Surge

Zhu Jiaming had underestimated his own importance. In truth, he had always been quite important to Zhe Shouzhao; it was just that Qu Zongyan, who took control of the situation later, had not paid him much heed yet. Zhe Shouzhao also seemed to be keeping things under wraps, unwilling to say it outright. Under these circumstances, Wen Jifei had told him to run—to put just enough distance between them that he could still be pursued, but not easily caught—and then "placed" three Bones of Eternal Life on him, roasting him over the fire. That way, whether Qu Zongyan believed it or doubted it, he would definitely send people after him, and he would make sure they could catch up and win. As for Qu Zongyan himself, he was now basically convinced that, as a super combatant, he had little reason to fear guns. He didn't fear them, but once the suppressing pressure on the battlefield weakened, the top combatants still on the scene began to feel afraid. Terrified of a lethal bullet that might strike out of nowhere at any second, they started fighting timidly. "A bunch of useless trash!" Qu Zongyan cursed, having completely forgotten his own state just moments before. If someone had plotted a heat map of his movements while dodging Han Qingyu's muzzle earlier, anyone looking at it would probably have thought it was a swift-footed spider. "Send more people! All of you, go! Tie him down!" With the order issued, Qu Zongyan pulled his gaze back from the crowd and Wen Jifei, turning his eyes toward Han Qingyu. "Now, as long as I get rid of him, everything here is over." It seemed things could end at any moment. Han Qingyu had completely lost the ability to strike back. He was holding out solely by relying on the properties of the column sword, narrowly escaping Qu Zongyan's lethal attacks again and again by the skin of his teeth. *Qingzi can't win this time.* That thought crossed Rusty Sister's mind, and then Wen Jifei's, He Tangtang's, and Wu Xu's. Accepting this was remarkably hard for them, even though Qingzi was injured and facing a super combatant. That guy had held out through so many predicaments and desperate straits along the way. They had grown accustomed to the fact that he could always win. Yet this time, Han Qingyu truly could not win. Once again, the iron seal swept across and slammed heavily against the column sword. Han Qingyu was hurled back with it... This time, he couldn't keep his footing. He crashed hard onto the ground, struggled desperately back to his feet, and shook his head, fighting to stay conscious. Wu Xu was a man whose eyes wouldn't even redden. Drawing his gaze back, he once more looked at the blond man who had tangled with him since the battle began, and the Greek spear in the man's hands. Spear against spear, the blond man's was longer by nearly a meter. That was an ancient, tedious logic, one that shouldn't matter much at the top tier. The trouble was that he did not attack, made no probes, and showed no flashy tricks. He did only one thing, and seemed to know only one thing: [Counter-thrust.] No matter how many openings Wu Xu feigned, he never overextended. Only in the split second after Wu Xu made a move would he thrust his spear, striking at a spot where Wu Xu could neither advance nor retreat, a spot Wu Xu could not afford not to defend. When a top combatant had no arrogance, fully content to repeat such a dull motion endlessly and hone it to perfection, he was terrifying. Thrusts honed to the pinnacle of speed, mastery, and precision. From beginning to end, hundreds of thrusts, a thousand thrusts... he kept Wu Xu pinned here. "I am not your match, but you cannot leave," the blond man said in clumsy Chinese, meeting Wu Xu's returning gaze. "Watch him die." Wu Xu, in his simple way, actually turned his head and looked at Han Qingyu. He had known them for a little over a year. Looking back on his life, it was as if he had only truly lived during this past year and some. Wu Xu was actually quite afraid of dying now. He really wanted to live—even if, after sobering up, he got tricked by those bastards into gulping down another cup of liquor, or even if he was mocked every day for having no sense of direction... "Do you know what's going on inside your chest?" "No." "Well, not knowing is fine too, so you don't scare yourself seeing it or thinking about it. But remember this: if it manages to heal and knit together this time, you'll live. Just remember never to mess with it again. Touch it again and you're dead. Being afraid to die isn't a bad thing." This was the conversation between Wu Xu and Great-Aunt in the operating room of Research Institute 2 of the Huaxia Front a year ago. Wu Xu had never told Han Qingyu or the others about it, but he remembered. Back then, Great-Aunt had removed the incorrectly installed Generation 3 source energy apparatus from inside his body. Installed incorrectly right in his chest—Great-Aunt said Wu Xu should have died long ago. This was why, even though Wu Xu was the one who had taught He Tangtang the Near-Death Surge, he himself had never used it once in over a year. In the brief lulls of battle, his eyes unconsciously wandered over everyone again—Qingzi, Plague Chicken, Rusty Sister, Tangtang... Wu Xu was not a man given to sentimental sighs, so he merely looked. In truth, if someone were to speak for him, his thoughts were simple: *Among this group of people, Young Master Shiheng had always wanted to leave. He said his family was rich, that he used to know lots of pretty girls, that he loved the outside world. Not long ago, Qingzi had traveled far to visit his parents, always saying he'd go home once they won. Plague Chicken had a girl he loved and who loved him back, an old classmate from years ago. Rusty Sister's grandfather was said to be an interesting old commander, and her closest cousin was fierce as can be...* *And Wu Xu? Wu Xu only had them.* In the valley under the night sky, the rain had stopped. The ground was muddy, blood staining the yellow earth. Zhu Jiaming's figure, leading away a large force, had already vanished into the night. Rusty Sister stood like a wall before Wen Jifei, with He Tangtang guarding behind him. Elegy of the Square sought Qu Zongyan's trajectory of movement, but it was difficult and constantly interrupted... Wu Xu moved. *Whoosh!* The three-meter-long Greek spear struck out once more on anticipation, thrusting straight toward Wu Xu's chest. *Chrrk!* The spearhead pierced him—not deeply, but pierced him nonetheless. The blond man froze for an instant. Through their fight so far, he had gained a solid grasp of Wu Xu's speed and physical limits. By his reckoning, Wu Xu should have been able to dodge it, yet he hadn't. Inside Wu Xu's chest had once been that Generation 3 source energy apparatus; that place served as something akin to a switch. Lethal agony unlocked a lethal surge of source energy. *Boom!* A deafening roar of source energy, majestic and earth-shattering, swept across the bloody valley like howling wind. Wu Xu was alive! Near-Death Surge! The clash of weapons rang out, then ceased. "...Far too fast!" As the blond man clutched his neck in shock, Wu Xu's figure was already a dozen meters behind him. The three-meter spear clattered to the ground. This time, anticipation had made a fatal error. He excelled at gathering information and anticipating moves, and he died because of the information he held and his previously unerring anticipation. Otherwise, even if Wu Xu's combat strength surged, he shouldn't have fallen so quickly. *** The chain in Qu Zongyan's hand pulled taut as the massive iron seal crashed toward Han Qingyu once more. The column sword rose almost mechanically to parry. But—*Clang!* From the flank, a black spear shot through the air, slamming heavily against the iron seal, knocking it off course even as the spear rebounded. A gray figure snatched the spear midair with his left hand, spinning sideways to sweep backward. *Clatter!* Qu Zongyan had no time to retract the iron seal; with one hand high and one low, he pulled the chain taut to block the spear. Wu Xu kicked the forward shaft of the Binggu Spear, pivoting the spearhead counterclockwise to slash toward Qu Zongyan's throat. Qu Zongyan pulled back. Yet in midair, Wu Xu's right hand was already bringing down a heavy sword right on his head. *Clang!* A sharp crack echoed as the iron seal, finally swinging back, collided with the heavy sword. Qu Zongyan retreated. Wu Xu retreated as well. Flipping through the air to land on his feet, he stood with his back to Han Qingyu, guarding him. The Binggu Spear was thrust diagonally into the ground, a meter in front of him. Sword in his right hand, Wu Xu... didn't turn around, nor did he raise his voice. He spoke to the boy behind him: "Qingzi." "Yeah?" "Um. Don't die." "No shit." "...Mm." "Damn you, you don't even know how to encourage someone..." His voice was weak and slurred. Han Qingyu curled his mouth in a bloody grin. Without trying to be brave, he worked hard to steady his condition. Wu Xu was no match for Qu Zongyan—even with Near-Death Surge activated, he was still not his match. Across from them, Qu Zongyan steadied himself and narrowed his eyes at Wu Xu, then glanced down at the Binggu Spear before him. "You're that Yu clan war slave?!" Wu Xu's combat strength surprised him, but after that clash, Qu Zongyan knew his advantage still stood; his opponent could only resist a little longer at best. *Still, could that other one recover in a bit?!* Wu Xu didn't really want to answer him. After a conflicted hesitation, serious and calm, yet seemingly quite awkward and embarrassed, he said, "It's... Stream Vanguard." In the end, he was too embarrassed to shout "Azure! Stream Vanguard!" before announcing his name, the way Wen Jifei had originally designed it. He didn't state his name, nor did he mention Azure. "You've come to block me?" "Mm."