Art of the Ancient Dragon Emperor - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Calculated Plot

The murderous aura intensified under the cold and piercing moonlight.

Lin Han sat unperturbed in the clearing. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead while he clutched onto the spirit stone, absorbing the energy it had to offer. He was approaching a breakthrough

“This is it!”

Lin Badao, Elder White Eyebrow and the black robed man searched through the darkness to find Lin Han. Lin Badao was the one that held the deepest grudge against the man. He could see that Lin Han was struggling with his eyes shut tightly, and at that moment, he realized that Lin Han was achieving a breakthrough. Lin Han would not stand a chance if he was attacked now.

“Charge!”

Without discussing with the two men who followed closely behind, Lin Badao sprang out of the dense forest, gripping onto his changdao with an aura that sent chills down one’s spine. He directed a thrust at Lin Han.

As he closed in, he suddenly felt Lin Han’s aura settle. It was definitely not the kind of unstable aura one would have right before a breakthrough.

In that split second, a thought flashed through Lin Badao’s mind.

‘This is a ruse!’

Lin Badao could not react in time and from the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Han’s piercing gaze as he revealed an icy blue bow.

‘No!’

Lin Badao’s expression changed. He had witnessed the terror the ice crystal bow wrought. It was the same bow that killed Lin Wuya, who held the same rank as himself, with a single arrow.

“Too late.”

Lin Han grinned.

Buzz!

Lin Han crouched forward like an enormous dragon and drew the bow into a crescent with his mighty arm.

At this moment, he fused his internal Qi with the Qi in the environment and focused them on the bow as an ice crystal arrow formed

Whoosh!

Lin Han abruptly released his grip on the bow, launching the ice crystal arrow which tore through the air, towards Lin Badao.

“Killing Knife Art!”

“Sea Dividing Blade!”

Lin Badao’s heart turned cold, he only had time to execute his most powerful knife art.

Clang!

The changdao struck and broke the ice crystal arrow in a blink of an eye.

Lin Badao beamed with ecstasy. He could not believe he had struck the arrow.

However, in front of him, Lin Han sneered at him and spat out, “Freeze!”

Boom!

Almost immediately, enormous amounts of ice energy flowed out from the ice crystal arrow. The changdao that Lin Badao was holding as well as his entire body was instantly frozen solid.

All this happened in an instant.

In the dense forest, all the two men saw Lin Badao dashing out of hiding with a fearsome shriek before becoming frozen solid in ice.

“You little brat, how dare you!?” Elder White Eyebrow was furious as he realized what had just happened.

The black-armored man strode out somberly behind him.

The trio were deceived.

With that, the price they paid was the loss of a top Grandmaster – Lin Badao.

Pop!

Elder White Eyebrow lightly touched the ice that encased Lin Badao and it instantly cracked and broke into pieces of bloodied, icy blocks of flesh.

“Tsk!”

Elder White Eyebrow and the black-armored man drew a deep cold breath after they saw what had just happened.

‘How can this kid be so cunning?’

Tap!

On the bare piece of land, Lin Han kept quiet. Little did they know that the arrow he fired had depleted two-thirds of his True Element. He wasted no time and darted towards the dense forest.

When Elder White Eyebrow and the black-armored man spotted Lin Han fleeing in a hurry, it dawned upon them that he was trying to escape.

“That kid has an incredibly powerful weapon, but it’s sure to drain most of his True Element once he uses it. We must chase him when he’s weak!” the black-armored man shouted suddenly.

Elder White Eyebrow nodded. Together with the black-armored man, they headed towards where Lin Han escaped and gave chase.

“Little brat, I didn’t expect you to have so many treasures. Well, they will all belong to me after I kill you…” Elder White Eyebrow glanced at the black-armored man revealing his greed and maliciousness.

Under the pitch-black night sky, a deadly hunt was happening.

Both Elder White Eyebrow and the black-armored man, who are Half-Grandmasters, emitted strong auras and they locked onto the silhouette of the green-clothed young man in front of them.

“How is this kid moving so fast?!” Elder White Eyebrow could not hide his hint of shock.

For the entire 30 minutes, they were not able to close the gap with Lin Han.

They could not believe that no matter which route they took, Lin Han would always manage to dodge them.

It was as though there were eyes watching them and revealing the paths that they took.

Elder White Eyebrow and the black-armored man exchanged glances and caught the shock in each other’s eyes.

“Attack!”

Suddenly, a chilling shout came from the surrounding darkness.

“That kid dares to sneak up on us?” A trace of anger flashed across Elder White Eyebrow’s face as he struck his palm at the direction of the sound.

“Sky-destroying Great Collapse Hand!”

Boom!

A giant palm formed in the air, resembling a huge grinding disc that immediately flew towards the forest where the sound had come from, crushing everything in its path.

Boom!

A huge tree as thick as two people in diameter, shattered into a million pieces.

Clank!

At that instant, a sword flew out from another direction.

“That longsword came from that direction!” the black-armored man sneered. At that instant, a golden-red halberd appeared in his hands and he thrust it toward where the longsword came from.

Clang!

A loud piercing clang emitted from the clash of the golden-red halberd and the longsword.

Bang!

A shockwave erupted from the clash, but the black-armored man did not move an inch. Lin Han was taken by surprise and retreated back into the surrounding darkness.

“Such powerful energy, a seasoned person half a step from Grandmaster indeed!” Lin Han hid in the darkness while he struggled to hold onto the sword.

The force from the golden-red halberd strike was tremendous, comparable to the strength of a seventh-tier Grandmaster.

The black-armored man was almost at the Grandmaster level. Lin Han groaned at the thought of it.

The reason why Lin Han lured both of them into the dark forest was to unleash his greatest strength of Spirit Master Heavenly Eye and kill them when he had the chance.

However, he did not expect the black-armored man to be so powerful.

If it had not been blocked by the black-armored man, his sword strike would have at least severed Elder White Eyebrow’s arm, even if it did not kill him.

While planning for the next move, Lin Han held onto the spirit stone and maneuvered the Art of the Ancient Dragon Emperor which enabled him to fully absorb the essence of the stone. As a result, his true element recovered rapidly.

Lin Han had intended to use the top-grade spirit stone for a breakthrough but in order to kill the two men, he wasted the stone for a speedy recovery.

Out on the barren land, Elder White Eyebrow shuddered in fear. “Thank you.” He kowtowed to the black-armored man.

“No problem, this kid is just too cunning, we must observe our surroundings at all times, otherwise we may die at his hands.” The black-armored man wrapped his fingers around the golden-red halberd tightly, ready for battle.

Snap! A nearby tree branch broke.

“Over there!”

The two men caught a glimpse of a shadow before they followed suit into the dense forest.

However, all they found was the powdery residue from the drained spirit stone.

The black-armored man exploded in fury.

“Damn it! That kid has absorbed all of the energy from the spirit stone, he’s gonna use that obscenely powerful…”

Whoosh!

Before he could finish his sentence, an ice crystal arrow whooshed out of the darkness and went straight for their skulls.

“How is he so accurate even on a dark night like this?!” The black-armored man moved to the side immediately.

Yet, the ice crystal arrow was too quick and it was directed at where they tried to hide.

Prediction!

The word flashed across their minds sending chills down their spines.

How could a young man be a match for them?

Such brutal wit!

Such a seasoned scheming mind!

These precise predictions!

At that point, they felt like they were enveloped by death.

“I’m not gonna die!”

All of a sudden, Elder White Eyebrow struck his palm at the unsuspecting black-armored man pushing him to the direction of the ice crystal arrow.

“You!” the black-armored man was enraged.

Puff!

An icy arrow penetrated his skull. Before he even bled, his body had turned into ice, sucking the life out of him.

In the same spot, Elder White Eyebrow took a deep breath, realizing he cheated death again.

“Is that how you repay your lifesaver, Elder White Eyebrow, by pushing him towards his death?”

A voice echoed.

It was from Lin Han!

He stepped out from the darkness with a cold gaze and smirked at the fearful Elder White Eyebrow.