What the Hell Kind of Special Effect Is This?

"From now on, you are loyal only to yourself." After Yu Xian swallowed the Contract Gem, Niman had no choice but to swallow hers as well. The moment both of them accepted the contract, Zhang Buyao spoke in a swift flurry of words. In that instant, Yu Xian was struck by an extraordinary sensation. He felt as though he had regained complete mastery over his own identity. At the same time, every single thought became crystal clear—as if he were using Super Brain, yet far more potent than Super Brain. "Have you... made enough of a racket?" Feng Laixian looked down at the three people at the bottom of the steps, his voice low and heavy. Had he not hated rainy days, he would have attacked these three baffling enemies the moment he stepped out of the Castellan Manor. Now, with Yu Xian and the others chattering endlessly right in front of him, he could endure it no longer. If it rained, so be it. If he got wet, then he would get wet. Feng Laixian's tail suddenly elongated. The tip ignited with flames, transforming into a massive firebird that hurtled toward the three of them with a roar. *Boom!* Yu Xian sprang into the air decisively, colliding with the firebird midair. Instantly, the flames detonated, and rainwater was flash-vaporized into surging plumes of steam. "Hmm?" Feng Laixian had not expected his attack to be blocked by a complete nobody. He had heard of nearly every prominent powerhouse in Mingzhu City to some extent, so he was certain Yu Xian was no one of note, let alone Zhang Buyao and Niman, whom he dismissed entirely. Had Yu Xian's earlier strike not shaken the Castellan Manor, Feng Laixian's arrogance would not have even permitted him to step outside. Yu Xian landed and spun around in a circle to dissipate the residual impact. Then, looking up at Feng Laixian standing before the manor's grand gates, he said earnestly, "They say great skill resembles clumsiness—now have a taste of my punch!" The next instant, his aura underwent a dramatic shift, and he threw a punch straight toward Feng Laixian. Feng Laixian's eyes flew wide. It was as though he beheld a vast sea of flowers covering the sky, and right in the center of that floral expanse stood Yu Xian. *Boom!* By the time Feng Laixian snapped back to reality, an agonizing pain exploded through his abdomen. His body bent into a C-shape as he flew backward into the Castellan Manor, blasting through three walls in succession before finally coming to a halt. He violently coughed up a mouthful of blood. His internal organs were severely damaged, and his spine was fractured. "What a punch!" Feng Laixian wiped the blood from his mouth. With a faint tremor running through his frame, he touched down onto the floor and muttered to himself. Given his defensive prowess, not a single person in Mingzhu City could grievously injure him with a single blow. Had that punch been just slightly stronger, he likely would have been knocked unconscious on the spot. Yet now, the strike instead ignited his fighting spirit. At that moment, his body began radiating intense heat. The surrounding air abruptly grew scorching, and the oil paintings hanging nearby burst into flames one after another. The injuries on his body healed rapidly; in the blink of an eye, he was fully restored. [Crimson Emperor Undying Physique: The more severe the injury, the faster the healing speed, and the higher the body temperature. When near death, it can unleash Crimson Emperor Flames to instantly heal all wounds.] Feng Laixian exhaled a breath of scorching air, which immediately seared a glowing red crater into the ground before him. He walked back out of the Castellan Manor, but only torrential rain met his eyes; Yu Xian and the other two were nowhere to be found. "Trying to run?" "None of you can escape!" Feng Laixian muttered in a low growl. Looking up at the sky, his body erupted with blistering heat as he roared ferociously toward the heavens. Under this roar, the Castellan Manor behind him shook violently, while above Mingzhu City, the dark clouds scattered in an instant—and the rain actually ceased right then and there. Next came hunting time. Feng Laixian's tail rapidly split apart, propping him upward as he began scanning the entirety of Mingzhu City. * * * Yu Xian and his companions were hiding inside a house several hundred meters away from the Castellan Manor. All three concealed themselves as best they could, keeping their breathing as soft as possible. "Now can you tell us why we ran?" Yu Xian asked, looking at Zhang Buyao. Zhang Buyao whispered, "Although I'm not entirely sure what's going on, Uncle Feng merged with a Tianchang Fox. And if I'm not mistaken, the one he merged with is the king of the Tianchang Fox clan." "A king—is that stronger than a top-tier Awakener?" Niman asked upon hearing this. Zhang Buyao nodded. "Yeah, much stronger. At this point in time, the Tianchang Fox King appearing in Mingzhu City should be the Moon King that my dad killed. It's a Beast King-level existence, on par with human Kings—precisely one tier above top-tier Awakeners." "In other words, facing the current Feng Laixian is equivalent to facing a top-tier Awakener plus a Beast King-level aberrant beast?" Niman asked with a furrowed brow. Zhang Buyao smiled bitterly. "Right, that's exactly it." "Tell us about the Tianchang Fox. What kind of abilities does that thing have?" Yu Xian asked, turning to Zhang Buyao. He was still rather curious about why Zhang Buyao had offered them Contract Gems the moment she recognized the Tianchang Fox; it surely had something to do with the creature's abilities. "The Tianchang Fox's most fundamental ability is called Cognitive Distortion," Zhang Buyao explained. "This ability can warp a living being's cognitive stance and even alter the target's perceptions. For instance, if you were fighting Uncle Feng, once your cognition got distorted, you might turn around and attack me or Niman instead, mistaking us for Uncle Feng." Yu Xian frowned. "That really is a troublesome ability." To be honest, even if he regained all of his original power, he might not be fully immune to such an ability. After all, once one's cognition was warped, one would not realize it was warped in the first place. "Fortunately, this ability is hard-countered by my dad's Contract Gem," Zhang Buyao said with a smile. "After swallowing a Contract Gem, you won't be affected by the Tianchang Fox's powers. So if you want to defeat the Tianchang Fox version of Uncle Feng—or the Uncle Feng version of the Tianchang Fox—you have to eat a Contract Gem." Just then, Feng Laixian's voice echoed from behind the wall: "I see. So the gems you ate earlier had that kind of effect. "Even without using extraneous abilities, though, what odds of victory do you really have?" The instant Feng Laixian's voice rang out, Yu Xian and Zhang Buyao stared at each other with wide eyes. No sooner had Feng Laixian finished speaking than the two shouted in perfect unison: "Run!" All three pulled away from the wall simultaneously. Just as they fled, the wall was smashed apart by a fist. Shattered bricks and rebar flew everywhere, the colliding rebar sparking furiously. Yu Xian deflected a piece of rebar shooting toward Zhang Buyao with a punch, then spun and kicked outward. A broken brick happened to fly toward him, and he cleanly sent it hurtling toward Feng Laixian with a snap of his leg. "Petty parlor tricks." With a flick of his hand, Feng Laixian swatted the brick aside. Then the tail behind him split once more, three tails lunging like spears toward Yu Xian and his companions. "You two go first! I'll hold him off!" Catching sight of the three tails out of the corner of his eye, Yu Xian knew someone had to cover the rear. Shouting his order, he turned and unleashed a punch. The three tails were struck simultaneously; the blow knocked them off course, sending them straight through the ceiling, punching through three consecutive floors before grinding to a halt. *An opening!* Yu Xian's eyes lit up. He pushed off the ground immediately, weaving in a Z-shaped pattern. In the blink of an eye, he materialized right in front of Feng Laixian, his right fist clenching tight. In that split second, Feng Laixian saw that sea of flowers once again. *Dammit.* *What the hell kind of special effect is this?!* Feng Laixian screamed in his heart. The very next second, his face met Yu Xian's straight punch.