Chapter 308 VS Naval Master Xuanwu 3
"—You mean I didn't give it my all?" I asked, puzzled.
"Isn't that right? At first, I thought you used all your strength right away, but I was wrong. Judging from the fact that you can still muster even more power, you seem to be holding back some strength. And..." Shui Shi Xuanwu said, "You should still be hiding some special trump cards, right? After venturing into the strange world, you've already fought quite a few battles and should have accumulated quite a few trump cards. Even against enemies at the Great Completion level, you've already killed at least two."
"Chenlong's 'Comprehensive Enhancement' or 'Shadow Binding,' and the Divine Spear's 'Guaranteed Hit and Penetration'... Why don't you use those moves? Do you think you can defeat me with brute force alone?"
What he said left me completely baffled.
I initially thought his claim that I wasn't using my full strength stemmed from my rapid improvement during the battle, leading him to believe I was holding back. But he actually thinks I can use techniques from those I've killed in the past… Why is that? Where did he get the idea that I'm capable of those things?
Or does he think that as a successor of the Yin-Yang lineage with the fire attribute, it's normal for me to be able to do those things?
It's really strange. In the end, it's not completely confirmed yet that I am the successor of the Two Elements he's looking for. Not only do I lack evidence, but he's probably still in the stage of doubt and testing—no, in fact, I'm gradually beginning to believe that I am the successor of the Two Elements he's looking for.
During the conversation, the naval Xuanwu, along with about a dozen clones around him, once again unleashed a barrage of black water cannons at me. I tried my best to dodge, but there was still one that I couldn't avoid, so I could only counter with a fire cannon. The two attacks collided head-on, and the fire cannon was once again destroyed. Fortunately, the trajectory of the black water cannon was also deflected by the impact.
Watching the black water cannon brush past me at close range, I became even more certain of one thing: the water magic of the Water Master Xuanwu truly and completely restrained my fire magic. Upon closer reflection, this was highly suspicious.
Our magical powers all originate from our own spiritual intentions, which are filled with our understanding of each other's power. They are powers built on our own subjective understanding, and there should not be any completely objective mutual restraint relationships among them.
Take the power of fire, for example. Fire carries different meanings in different cultures and ideologies. In the ancient Zoroastrian worldview, fire is a symbol of the supreme god Ahura Mazda, capable of purifying all things and holding a supreme position. In the phlogiston worldview, phlogiston, as the origin of fire, is even considered the soul of all matter, far surpassing the importance of water.
In the prevailing scientific worldview of our time, flames are simply the light and heat produced by combustion, and there is no antagonistic relationship between them and water. Flames are not afraid of water, but rather of its cooling and oxygen-isolating properties; often, pouring sand or soil onto burning materials can achieve the same effect.
Not only is the understanding of fire diverse, but the understanding of water also varies across different regions and eras. Even within the same region and era, each person's subjective understanding of water and fire can differ to varying degrees.
The reason why the naval master Xuanwu made a judgment without even looking at Mazao, believing that his Divine Elixir could not completely cure Mazao's soul burns, may also be because of that "controversial part".
Given that "water can extinguish fire" is a common stereotype, it wouldn't be surprising if my flames were simply suppressed to some extent. However, the current phenomenon of strong suppression gives me a feeling that it's definitely not that simple. It's as if there's an objective judgment system that has determined that my fire should be defeated by his water.
He seemed to be judging his water element to be able to control fire according to the classical theory of the Four Symbols and Five Elements, while my flames were judging "they should be controlled" according to the same theory. Our powers were clearly under the same ideological framework, which is why the control relationship, which should have been "disputed," became so "unquestionable".
"Are you holding back your true power to conceal the truth that you are the successor of the Yin-Yang lineage from me?"
In the midst of the fierce battle, the naval commander Genbu coldly said, "If I wasn't entirely certain at the beginning, now everything is clear. Don't tell me you don't understand what it means to be so restrained. After all this, do you still want to continue this act?"
“No, I’ll admit it now, I should be the successor of the Two Elements you mentioned…” I said, “but I can’t understand what you’re saying. Why do you think you can use the power of the people you’ve killed?”
"Are you still going to pretend you don't know? Or do you think that part of the power is unrelated to the power seed in your soul? Then I'll tell you directly," he said. "The attributes of the power seed of the Mountain Yin-Yang correspond to the power and skills he possessed in the past, and also correspond to the Four Symbols, namely the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger..."
"Among them, what I possess is the Black Tortoise Seed, which corresponds to 'water and alchemy'; while what you possess is clearly the Vermilion Bird Seed, which corresponds to 'fire and weapon crafting'."
"Manipulating flames is merely the outward manifestation of your power. Your true power lies in using flames to kill enemies and then refining their souls into magical artifacts that correspond to their properties, just as I can refine my own soul into elixirs that correspond to their properties... This is what is known as the power of 'killing to refine souls'."
"If your enemy was skilled with a spear in life and could hit and pierce any target, then after refining his soul, you should obtain a spear magic weapon that can absolutely hit and pierce any target as long as you hold it. And as you improve your crafting skills, you can discover more refining directions, or choose materials other than souls for crafting."
"It's impossible for you to be unaware of this power, because you've become a super genius in weapon crafting. And as long as you don't intentionally abandon your magical artifact, the process of refining an enemy's soul into a magical artifact can proceed automatically..."
"So why don't you take out your magic weapons? Aren't you afraid that you'll be killed by me before you can take them out? Or have you given all the useful magic weapons to the people around you... like that girl named Asahi?"
Huh? I don't just kill people; I can also obtain magical weapons from my enemies? I didn't know I possessed such enviable power? How come I didn't know?
They even said that it was impossible for me not to notice, but I just couldn't notice it.
I was completely baffled by what he said, but soon I remembered something.
“Slag”... Every time I kill someone, my flames automatically burn the enemy’s soul into a black, coal-like substance and preserve it within my flames... Could that be the magic weapon he was talking about?
But that thing is clearly not the same as the magic weapon he's talking about, right? And according to him, the result of killing someone to refine their soul should be different every time. It can't be that my flames always make mistakes during the refining process, accidentally turning everything into waste, right? But shouldn't I be a super refining genius now? One or two failures are one thing, but I can't fail so many times that the materials are burned beyond recognition, can I?
I don't believe it's solely because my firepower is too strong that things have turned out this way. It's one thing for the monsters I killed before, but Chenlong and Shenqiang shouldn't have become like that. Admittedly, my flames after fully unleashing my power might be at the level of the Great Impermanence, but they aren't yet. Surely even a soul at the Great Completion stage shouldn't be unable to withstand the automatic refining process that Shui Shi Xuanwu spoke of.
I've already come to believe that I am the successor of the Yin-Yang lineage, but there seem to be some contradictions that cannot be ignored in the details.
"I'm sorry, I can only refine some dark things each time. I don't have the kind of magic weapon you mentioned."
I decided to just tell the truth and see how the naval Xuanwu would react.
But he showed an expression of distrust.
It's not that it's incomprehensible; in battle, one should always be skeptical of what the enemy says.
"...You've already completely exposed your identity, yet you still insist on pretending and saying such nonsensical things... So that's how it is, you want to keep hiding your secrets, don't you?" he said. "Then keep hiding them and take your secrets to your grave."
"Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit... This is especially true in a battle where you are at a disadvantage. If you don't even understand the basics of combat and still try to be clever by using such petty tricks... you will soon pay the price for your actions."
Despite saying that, his movements became noticeably more cautious, and the intense fighting pace slowed down, as if he was afraid of going too far and falling into my "trick".
My ability is really just ordinary manipulation of flames, you don't need to be so careful—although I really wanted to say that, the situation is in my favor no matter what.
Now I have some breathing room, and I can use it as a whetstone to gradually unleash my power. Thinking about it this way, I really do have a "cunning plan." If I can prolong the battle to unleash my full power, even if I am restrained, I will ultimately be victorious.
However, the naval commander Xuanwu is not stupid. He will definitely realize the truth before my power surpasses his, and then unleash the truly decisive blow.
The hope of fully unleashing power may only be placed on Silvermoon.
I had no choice but to completely abandon my plan to unleash the full power of the Navy's Genbu and focus my attention elsewhere. Gradually, I sensed something else within the Navy's Genbu.
That was fire.
But it wasn't my flame; rather, it was a foreign object that invaded his soul, a flame far exceeding my current power level.
(End of this chapter)
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