In the instant the fiery light appeared and the enormous explosion could be heard, Zhang Zhenshan immediately, frantically retreated, not hesitating in the slightest. His Ice Treading Steps were used to the limit, but he was still unable to move faster than the wave of heat that was sweeping towards him from the front! As Zhang Zhenshan frantically retreated, his also crossed both his arms to protect his head.
As the heat wave struck forward, he felt as though blazing knives were slicing past his body. Even breathing became difficult for a moment. However, as he flew backwards, the ‘pushing’ power of the heatwave helped him retreat slightly faster.
“The air waves caused by the explosion are already so powerful…if I were to be struck head-on by it…” This thought flashed through his mind, and cold sweat began to pour down his head and into his robes, wetting them.
The power of this fire explosion was far greater than the power in the past. In fact, even Bai Yunfei himself was stupefied momentarily. Upon seeing Zhang Zhenshan retreat in a sorry manner, a look flashed through Bai Yunfei’s eyes as he once more shot forward towards him! His right hand released its grip around the spear, allowing it to fall into his left hand. He then spun the spear behind him to gather circular momentum, then once more gripped it with his right hand and once more delivered a powerful thrust with it!
Faced with this new attack from the spear, a look of astonishment appeared on Zhang Zhenshan’s face. The trepidation he felt towards this Firetipped Spear was now many times greater than it had been in the past. He filled both his legs with soulforce as he once more frantically retreated, just barely dodging past the spear. However, due to his excessive haste as he moved, his movements became slightly unbalanced. Bai Yunfei charged forward, spinning around and borrowing the power of the centrifugal force to send the Firetipped Spear towards Zhang Zhenshan with a sweeping blow. The spear struck Zhang Zhenshan on the waist, knocking him towards the left.
Agony radiated outwards from Zhang Zhenshan’s waist, nearly causing him to vomit up a mouthful of blood. By the time he had neutralized the power of this blow, Bai Yunfei’s next attack was incoming as well!
The two once more engaged in a flurry of attacks. However, unlike the last time, Zhang Zhenshan was able to launch fewer and fewer assaults; he was almost completely forced on the defensive!
Yan Xi frowned slightly as he watched from outside the dueling grounds. His gaze flickered from the battling Bai Yunfei to the Firetipped Spear in his hands. A look of surprise had flashed through Yan Xi’s eyes when the Firetipped Spear’s strike had turned explosive. As he continued to watch, the look of surprise in his eyes grew increasingly strong, as well as an increasingly and extremely deep level of puzzlement.
“No mistaking it; that’s a high-grade Earth-ranked soul artifact! But…Yu Fei clearly said that it was a low-grade Earth-ranked artifact. Was he lying to me? But he shouldn’t have been; there’s no way he could be so stupid. In other words…previously, the spear was indeed just a low-grade soul artifact…”
Suddenly, Yan Xi’s eyes suddenly lit up, as though he had thought of something that was completely inconceivable. For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on his face. “Was it because of the advancement in power? There’s only one possibility…forging through flame elemental energy! The Crafting School!!!”
Yan Xi’s eyes were flashing. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that his idea was correct. “That’s right. This is the only possibility! Only those of the Crafting School who are advancing the power of their souls are willing and able to lessen the amount of energy drawn forth by their essence fireseed, using it to instead temper and refine their soul artifacts! Only the inner sect disciples of the Crafting School are capable of this!”