"The Tang clan! The humiliation of those years—today, I will claim it back tenfold!" Wang Jiang's face was twisted with menace as he gave a low roar. His entire body suddenly swelled a size larger, like a black bear, and he charged ferociously at Tang Fang.
Seeing his opponent bearing down with such ferocity, Tang Fang felt a mix of shock and fury—and with it, a fierce resolve to fight to the death.
Pill Fire Gu!
He thrust his right palm forward, and a streak of orange-red flame shot straight at Wang Jiang.
The fire traced a glowing arc through the air, rapidly closing in on Wang Jiang's face. Before it even struck, Wang Jiang could already feel the scorching heat.
But he simply let out a savage laugh and made no move to dodge at all. Instead, he opened his mouth wide.
Gulp!
He opened his mouth and swallowed the Pill Fire straight into his belly in a single bite.
"That's—a Fourth Transformation Fire Swallowing Gu!" Tang Fang's expression changed drastically.
The Fire Swallowing Gu was not an offensive Gu—it was a storage Gu. But when Gu Masters wielded Gu, it all came down to creativity. Who said a storage Gu couldn't be used in battle?
The Tang clan's Gu insects were predominantly fire-path Gu. Wang Jiang had paid an enormous price to acquire a Fourth Transformation Fire Swallowing Gu, precisely so that one day he could use it against the Tang clan.
"Wang Jiang, we're here to help." At that moment, two more Gu Masters arrived on the scene, both at the Third Transformation level.
Tang Fang and the two Tang clan Elders saw their expressions shift. The Fire Swallowing Gu alone was already a devastating counter to them. Now it was three against two—their opponents held an overwhelming advantage.
"Young Master, run! I'll hold them off!" One of the Tang clan Elders stepped forward when he saw how dire the situation had become, buying Tang Fang a chance to retreat.
Tang Fang was no pampered young master. He gritted his teeth, turned, and ran. "Hold on, Elder! I'll bring reinforcements right away!"
"After them!" Wang Jiang and his two companions naturally had no intention of letting Tang Fang escape safely. But they hadn't expected that the Elder who stayed behind was a defensive-type Gu Master, and he possessed a rare Third Transformation Gu known as "Slow Step."
As the name suggested, this Gu could slow down the movements of a Gu Master for a period of time.
Wang Jiang and his two companions were caught in its effect and could only abandon the pursuit of Tang Fang. Burning with rage, they turned their full fury upon the Tang clan Elder.
The Elder was outnumbered and outmatched. Though he had the Slow Step Gu, he couldn't hold against three opponents. First he took a fist from Wang Jiang, then he was struck by a wind blade that shattered his arm. Finally, a snowball hit him squarely, and he was frozen solid into a pillar of ice, dying on the spot.
"Elder!!" Tang Fang's eyes brimmed with tears. By the time he returned with reinforcements, all he could do was collect the Elder's remains.
The flames of vengeance blazed in his chest, but the enemies had vanished into the chaos.
The battlefield was in utter turmoil. Massive wolf packs stampeded and wreaked havoc, and alongside them were fox packs, war crabs, bat swarms, and more. Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, dark—every conceivable type of attack sliced through the sky and slammed into the earth below, churning up soil, igniting blazing flames, spreading creeping frost, or flashing with blinding bolts of lightning.
Gu Masters shouted and roared everywhere. Some pressed the attack, some retreated, some rushed to rescue allies, and some held their ground to the death.
A great battle involving hundreds of thousands raged across a stretch of thousands of li.
Swoosh!
Without warning, a colossal wave of blue water surged forth with overwhelming force, crashing down like a raging flood dragon descending from the heavens.
Vast numbers of wolves and Gu Masters alike were swept up and swallowed by the deluge. The section of the battlefield was cleared in an instant, and several large pools of water collected on the damp, grassy ground. A Gu Master stood proudly in the center of the devastation, laughing uproariously.
"That's Water Devil Hao Jiliu!" Tang Fang's pupils contracted as he recognized the man.
"Fall back! He's a Fourth Transformation High Stage powerhouse—and a notorious old devil!" Many of the surviving Third Transformation Gu Masters wisely chose to retreat at once.
Water Devil Hao Jiliu's wild, wanton gaze swept across the area and quickly settled on Tang Fang, who stood with the largest group.
To the Water Devil, these Third Transformation Gu Masters were nothing more than walking merit points—each one representing a generous post-battle reward.
He licked his dry lips with a scarlet tongue, his face drenched in bloodthirsty killing intent.
"You ran into me—bad luck for you!" The Water Devil threw back his head and roared with laughter, then shoved both palms forward.
Fourth Transformation, Water Cascade Gu!
Boom.
In the span of a heartbeat, a massive torrent erupted forth with incomprehensible force, surging straight toward Tang Fang and his group.
Facing such a devastating onslaught, Tang Fang felt utterly alone—as if he stood before a towering tsunami, with disaster looming and no one to turn to.
"Young Master, we'll hold him off! Get out of here!" The Elders accompanying him clenched their teeth and moved to shield Tang Fang behind them.
Working together, they managed to deflect the Water Cascade.
"Go! Now!" The Elders' desperate urging only filled Tang Fang with frustration and helplessness.
"Hold on—I'll find my father and bring him to save you!" He bit down hard on his tongue, but there was nothing else he could do. In the end, he turned and fled.
Gah gah gah.
The Water Devil laughed maniacally as he clashed with the remaining Tang clan Elders. His attacks were savage and relentless, his water pressure overwhelming, crushing them with sheer force. Though the Tang Elders outnumbered him, they were clearly on the back foot, struggling desperately to hold their ground.
After just a few exchanges, one Elder fell to the Water Devil's hands.
After a dozen or so rounds, only a single Elder remained. All the others had sacrificed their lives.