Beginning with the Ubume Bird - Chapter 133

Chapter 133: Chapter 32: Peak Breakthrough! Hidden Flight

The dazzling wave of energy flipped Dodge Tomahawk along with Li Yan over and out.

There were still droplets of blood dangling from Wushan’s chin as a bold and overbearing apparition rose infinitely high from behind his back.

Pointy ears pricked to the sky, copper green over the shoulders, a crying ghost around the waist, and a crown tied with blue-green pheasant feathers; a five-colored scale flag was inserted behind him.

Three sharp claws protruded, while fine hairs swayed.

General Cat.

In An Nan, there is a temple to General Cat, whose deified form has the head of a cat and the body of a human, known for its eerie wonders. Those from the nation who visit, without fail, pray for decisive exoneration.

– “Cat Garden”

A cobalt blue stream of water wrapped around Wushan’s waist. He spread his hands, with General Cat holding a cobalt blue flag in one hand and a crimson red flag in the other.

Ten Cities Peak.

Under the cloak of night, a Tiger Head Devouring Blade jutted out, with Li Yan hanging upside down midair. The spear swung in a wide arc, cleaving toward Wushan’s head.

Tiger Rises.

As the spear blade fell, the sky filled with red embers, and Li Yan’s body relaxed, landing steadily. The Dodge Tomahawk spun out far away, only stopping when it hit a rock.

Wushan looked at Li Yan, whose face was as still as water, and despite the blood on his clothing, he grinned broadly and laughed.

He stretched out his right fist wrapped in blue-green luminance toward Li Yan, opened his palm, and a bright red blood droplet fell to the ground, shattering into several pieces.

“Your ‘Blood Dip’ damage eruption, this time the damage bonus is a total damage of 0%, ‘Hook Star’ state disabled for one hour.”

The cobalt blue stream receded, and Wushan’s complexion looked much better.

He said with a smile, “A double-edged sword must be wielded with caution. Don’t you agree?”

Li Yan licked the last bit of carrot debris from his gums as if utterly unconcerned, “So-called certainty means guaranteed contact with the body, but it can still be blocked by other legacy abilities. You have indeed given me a heads-up.”

Zhao Xin helped Zhao Wu, who had lost an eye, to sit up.

“Quick, leave…”

Zhao Wu said in a low voice, “We can’t stop this drunkard.”

“Can we even leave?”

General Cat pulled out a white banner from behind, and the flag fluttered in the air.

Out of thin air, seven or eight white chains slashed across, closing all of them in. The chains twisted interminably with blue and purple electric light coiling around them.

“How did he do that?”

Zhao Wu muttered in disbelief.

A simple legacy from General Cat—slaying enemies, healing, sealing, blocking negative skills—all without a single flaw; it was almost despairingly powerful.

General Cat’s Banner·Red Banner (Fire Enhancement) (Mysterious Water Enhancement) (Earth Enhancement) (Precious Wood Enhancement) (Bright Metal Enhancement)

Legacy Awakening Degree: 52%

Ten Cities Peak.

Just like Ren Ni’s confidence in his words back then.

“If it’s you, there won’t be a problem.”

Probably.

Li Yan loosened his wrist, planted the great spear into the ground, and with his freed left hand, he conjured a multitude of legacies glowing with light flames.

Bright Bird’s Eye·Phoenix Pan

Parrot’s Beak·Witch Language

Blood of Bifang – Phosphorus Flame

Mysterious Songbird’s Face· Clean

“You choose to spend an extra 35% Awakening Degree to break through the first peak of Gu Huo Bird Spirit. The success rate of this breakthrough is one hundred percent.”

“Please note! The direction of a legacy’s peak breakthrough is closely related to your basic specialization. Please make sure one of your specializations is above 75% before attempting a breakthrough.”

“The higher the degree of specialization, the better the quality of the legacy skills obtained.”

Li Yan could have completed the breakthrough the night before when he killed the Mysterious Songbird man, but he waited until now.

This was not to say that Li Yan had any issues with breakthrough tactics or pretending to be weak. Playing dead in Li Yan’s view was utterly meaningless.

Moreover, without prior adaptation and training, the speed and strength surge in battle often can’t achieve one hundred percent effectiveness.

The reason Li Yan did this was that during the previous chaos of Renchen, he discovered that an increase in the Legacy Awakening Degree could reset Blood Dip!

In other words, enhancing his Awakening Degree during battle allowed Li Yan to use ‘Blood Dip’ twice in one fight, or at the very least, it could eliminate the ‘Hook Star’ cooldown side effects!

…

Gu Huo Bird Spirit achieved its first peak breakthrough!

Your current Gu Huo Bird Awakening Degree is 47%

Hook Star boosts attack speed and burst strength by 470%

You spent 35% of your Awakening Degree to break through, and the evaluation of this breakthrough is: Great Fortune

Your highest percentage specialization is Ancient Martial Arts at 93%.

Your legacy is Gu Huo Bird Spirit·Hook Star.

Evolution in progress… Evolution complete.

You have unlocked the legacy skill Hidden Flight (This skill does not consume a skill slot).

[Hidden Flight]: An active state skill that consumes stamina by percentage.

Upon activation, the shadow of a Gu Huo Bird manifests behind, and for every two strikes made, the Gu Huo Bird attacks once, dealing 147% damage of the previous attack.

If the last attack was a skill (limited to skills derived from Ancient Martial Arts visualization), then the Gu Huo Bird’s attack will carry the special effects of the last used skill.

Example: If the last skill used was Tiger Rises, then the Gu Huo Bird’s attack will also carry a high degree of stiffness effect.

When using [Swallow Through the Curtain] (a combo skill), the Gu Huo Bird’s attacks are judged in sequence, but the damage is only 47% of the previous attack.

[Hidden Flight] is also affected by Nine Phoenix Enhancements and Corpse Dog Enhancements.

When the Gu Huo Bird attacks hit the enemy, there’s a chance to inflict “Frostbite” or “Damage to the Corpse Dog’s spirit”.

White feathers drift and scatter on the ground,

Eight lotus buds encircle, awaiting bloom. Only one withers and falls, leaving an empty lotus seat behind.

Hair black as ink, feathers white as snow, arms encircled, the face gentle and beautiful.

She bears the name of a Heavenly Emperor’s maiden.

Gu Huo Bird Spirit·Hook Star

It’s not over yet!

“You used Wind Lian’s Hair!”

“You will randomly obtain an active state skill.”

The Bright Bird woman conceded with a toss of her piece, gifting Li Yan the only fine thing she had.

“You have acquired the skill [Wind Marsh], granting explosive movement speed, dissipating to nothing in two seconds.”

“Your skill slot is full; to delete a skill and return to Yan Fu will require spending points.”

“Activating two active state skills simultaneously will increase the physical strain on the user; please proceed according to your capabilities.”

The towering General Cat and the Gu Huo Bird confront each other.

“Not sure if we are opponents, without A Fleeting Glimpse, fighting feels unfamiliar.”

Likewise, Li Yan thought to himself as a surge of crimson brilliance and apricot-yellow light approached head-on.

Nan Li, Zhong Wu.

The Tiger Head Great Spear angrily devoured the blade, piercing straight between the two trails of silk.

Hidden Flight!

Wind Marsh!

Li Yan moved like a specter, the spearhead targeting Wushan’s chest as it passed between the two silk trails.

Wushan stepped back, one cyan-green silk trail meeting the Devouring Blade, and Li Yan keenly sensed that the apricot-yellow trail he had evaded was quickly withering.

Zhong Wu shifts to Dong Su.

“I can only manipulate two, no, three of the silk trails from the banners at once, but it could also be a show of weakness…”

The Platinum Devouring Blade and the cyan-green silk trail collided head-on, as the crimson brilliance cleverly circumvented and headed straight for Li Yan’s temple.

Li Yan, as if unaware, flicked the great spear with his arm, slicing towards Wushan’s groin.

Having struck twice already, Hidden Flight was assessed. The Gu Huo Bird’s eyes opened slightly, and a white feather shot directly towards Wushan’s face.

Surprised, Wushan grasped the cyan-green silk trail that had been drawn from the banner, wielding it like a long staff, and pushed down with his wrist to catch Li Yan’s spearhead with the end of the staff.

The crimson brilliance dissipated before it reached Li Yan, and the white feather plunged into the cobalt-blue water.

Nan Li switches to Bei Zao.

The cyan-green staff and the Tiger Head Devouring Blade locked together as Li Yan looked up.

Both contenders raised their arms in unison!

Platinum Devouring Blade, cobalt-blue Bei Zao water, and cyan-green Dong Su staff entangled relentlessly, with white feathers shooting into the dirt one after another, frosting over with a layer of frost.

Their footsteps mismatched as spear and staff clashed.

Crack!

The Tiger Head Great Spear shattered the cobalt-blue water, and a chill rushed forward.

The Dong Su staff tapped Li Yan’s wrist.

Both men retreated with heavy steps.

Wushan, looking upward, glanced back at Li Yan.

Li Yan’s great spear hung low, his left hand clutching his right wrist as if in pain.

“Below the Seven Palaces, only those with over 90% Specialization, those like my 93% Ancient Martial Arts Specialization, seem to be not much different from my 89%.”

Wushan said carelessly, while his mind was fully alert.

“This Li Yan had strength above the Ten Cities’ average before but had not yet broken through his first peak, has he? What bad luck.”

Li Yan heard this without anger, not mentioning his own omission of using A Fleeting Glimpse and merely touched his cheek.

A salty taste flowed into Wushan’s mouth; a shallow cut had been drawn on his right cheek.

Wushan casually wiped it off.

Yet a line of text etched into Wushan’s personal status.

Blood Dip