bookcurios Chapter 290: Master Meng
Chapter 290: Master Meng
This made him feel particularly heavy-hearted, and he looked at the two people behind him seriously!
He wanted to retreat. If he continued to fight like this, would he still be able to survive when the competition between princes came?
But he had no choice. Even if he didn't want to fight, the people behind him would push him forward!
"Your Highness, don't panic. Leave this battle to me!" An old man with a goatee and dressed like a scholar stood behind the Eighth Prince. Seeing Li Xingfeng's hesitation, he stepped forward with a faint smile and spoke in a resonant voice.
"Master Meng!" Li Xingfeng called out the old man's name, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, but in the end he could only nod to show his agreement.
"Take care!" Li Xingfeng nodded slightly and didn't say anything else.
After receiving Li Xingfeng's approval, Master Meng took a step forward without hesitation. Surprisingly, his foot landed firmly on the void, as if he were not standing on empty air but on solid, flat ground. Then, he leisurely walked along the void, heading towards the arena.
At this moment, the woman who had just finished a fierce battle on the ring—Tan Lan, a Youzhou native under the Second Prince's command—seemed unaffected by the intense fight. She remained calm, as if nothing had happened. She saluted Master Meng, who was approaching slowly, and introduced herself, "Tan Lan from Youzhou, under the Second Prince's command, is here! Greetings, sir!"
Upon seeing this, Master Meng hurriedly smiled and returned the greeting, saying in a gentle voice: "Miss Tan, you are too polite. My surname is Meng. I am grateful for your kindness and you all call me Master Meng. As for my real name, haha, it has been so long that I have forgotten it!" After that, he stroked the long and thin goatee on his chin.
After greeting, Tan Lan folded her arms across her chest, stared at Master Meng with a cold gaze, and said politely, "Master Meng, I hope you will show mercy in today's battle."
Master Meng simply shook his head. "The arena is merciless. Miss Tan, just give it your all." As soon as he finished speaking, a green brush materialized from thin air in his hand, its tip gleaming with a cold light. Tan Lan, unwilling to be outdone, drew the whip from her waist and swung it with force. The whip instantly straightened, like a sharp sword!
"Miss Tan, I've picked it up!"
At that moment, Master Meng flashed and rushed out as swiftly as lightning, the brush in his hand instantly dancing. As he moved, lines of ink, seemingly tangible, appeared in the air. These lines intertwined like incredibly flexible ropes, sweeping straight towards Tan Lan with fierce momentum.
Faced with this sudden attack, Tan Lan showed no sign of panic. Her sturdy body moved lightly through the densely packed black ropes like a ghost, and the whip in her hand flew up and down, each swing accurately severing the ink marks that approached her.
However, Master Meng was an experienced master after all. Seeing this, he suddenly turned the tip of his brush, and the broken ink marks automatically reassembled as if they had life. In the blink of an eye, they turned into a group of pitch-black flying birds. They opened their sharp beaks, let out shrill screams, and swooped down towards Tan Lan.
Tan Lan remained calm in the face of danger. With a simple tap of her toes, she leaped into the air as gracefully as a fluttering butterfly. Simultaneously, the whip in her hand swiftly whipped out several dazzling, colorful patterns in the air. With a crisp sound, a powerful burst of Qi shot out from the tip of the whip, directly scattering the flock of black birds flying towards her.
But before Tan Lan could even catch her breath, Master Meng's attack resurfaced. He wielded his brush like the wind, and after a few strokes, the ink marks transformed again. This time, they transformed into an enormous hand, which slammed down on Tan Lan in mid-air with overwhelming force.
Because the incident happened so suddenly, it was impossible for Tan Lan to completely avoid it. Although she tried her best to dodge sideways, she was still swept by the powerful palm wind. With a muffled "puff", Tan Lan couldn't help but spurt out a mouthful of blood, and her face turned pale as paper.
"Haoran Dao is really unpredictable. Compared with other practitioners, there are many more changes!" Li Xingyun commented while watching the two people fighting on the stage.
Master Meng is very strong, otherwise he would not have volunteered to fight after seeing Tan Lan's methods, but he is not strong enough to easily crush Tan Lan.
The main reason for being able to achieve this was the unpredictable nature of Haoran Dao. It was just catching Tan Lan off guard. Once Tan Lan got used to it, the real fight would begin!
However, even after suffering such a severe blow, Tan Lan's eyes still showed no sign of retreat, but instead became more determined. She endured the severe pain in her body, took a deep breath, and began to circulate her inner energy with all her strength.
As she moved, a layer of faint blue light slowly emanated from her body, growing brighter and brighter until it completely enveloped her. Against this backdrop of faint blue light, the whip in Tan Lan's hand also emitted a chilling aura, clearly indicating she was about to launch a more violent counterattack.
Tan Lan clutched the longsword transformed from a whip in both hands, raising it high above her head. She closed her eyes tightly, her red lips parted, and muttered something. Though her voice was low, it sounded like an incantation, imbued with mysterious magic.
In an instant, the calm air around them suddenly froze as if under a spell. Then, countless crystal-clear, gleaming ice spikes emerged from thin air like mushrooms after a rainstorm. These ice spikes varied in size, but all were incredibly sharp. They spun rapidly around Tan Lan, forming a massive and terrifying vortex.
Master Meng, standing not far away, saw this scene and couldn't help but frown. He held a brush tightly in his right hand, the tip of the brush waving in the air. With his movements, the inky light grew increasingly dazzling, like a black sun rising. Clearly, he was unleashing his full power, attempting to withstand Tan Lan's impending fierce attack.
"Thousands of arrows fired!"
Tan Lan let out a cry, a clear and melodious sound laced with unwavering murderous intent. Simultaneously, the soft sword in her hand slashed downwards like a bolt of lightning piercing the night sky. With her movement, the rapidly spinning ice spikes instantly transformed into arrows, shooting towards Master Meng at astonishing speed. The swiftness of the attack was blinding, leaving him no time to react.