Chapter 463: Counters and Synergies

Zu An watched as the battle continued. It didn’t matter how stunning and intricate the dark elves’ attacks were—the Solitary Eight remained completely unfazed under their protective layers, completely unaffected by the onslaught.

Those dark elves continued their vicious attacks, yet their defenses seemed to take no damage. On the contrary, the Solitary Eight were free to employ their respective elements to counterattack at will. Soon, the dark elves’ formation fell apart.

Sang Hong said in a serious tone, “Everything has a natural counter—nothing is invincible. For example, if the elemental shields of the Solitary Eight were subject to an attack from an opposing element that countered it, that attack would be much more effective.”

Zu An recalled several lectures on this theory back at the academy. Water counters fire, fire counters metal, metal counters wood, wood counters earth, earth counters water. Apart from this, wood also counters wind, while earth counters lightning, fire counters ice…

These elements didn’t only have opposing interactions. There were many with synergistic properties. When used together, they could produce a much greater power than a single element alone could.

It was almost as if Sang Hong’s words had sparked something in the dark elves. They changed their strategy, and began to attack the targets they were stronger against.

In a few moments, the Solitary Eight also began to falter. The elemental armor of the wood element cultivator was the first to be penetrated, and soon, several others had their defenses fail as well. Even Qiu Honglei had to step in to help them out.

Despite this sudden chaos, the Devil Sect slowly regained the upper hand. They were all experts in their respective fields, after all. Even without their protective shields, they still possessed immense strength.

However, their aura of invincibility had been shattered.

Zu An suddenly understood why the academy stressed that cultivators of the sixth rank and higher easily plowed through those of lower rank.

Sixth rank cultivators would have awakened their respective elemental armors. In most cases, this elemental armor could only be broken by an element that countered it. A lower-ranked cultivator could never go up against someone like that if his attacks could not pierce his opponent’s defenses no matter how hard he tried.

Even if one was lucky enough to wield an element that countered that sixth rank cultivator’s, one would only be able to break through their elemental armor. Their ki density and cultivation rank would still be higher than one’s own, resulting in a loss still.

Only at the sixth rank could one slowly whittle down their opponent’s elemental armor, given the similar levels of cultivation and ki density. Then, it would become a contest of cultivation difference and practical strength.

Another thought occurred to Zu An. “Wouldn’t you be able to counter many cultivators if you could simultaneously awaken multiple elements?”

The protagonists of those web novels he’d read were all skilled in every element. Wielding two elements wasn’t considered special at all.

Sang Qian’s mocking voice sounded before Sang Hong could reply. “I guess you can’t expect a nobody from the slums to possess even the most basic knowledge. You only know how to let your fantasies run wild! Different elements can have intense reactions when in contact with each other. If you aren’t careful, they will clash. How can anyone awaken multiple elements at the same time?”

Zu An couldn’t be bothered with him. He put his arm around Zheng Dan’s soft waist. “Honey, come here and give me a hug.”

They were in front of so many people right now! Zheng Dan’s face turned entirely red. She pushed him away, and even hit him a few times with her fist.

Sang Qian was furious. This was preposterous! You dare tease my wife in front of my face?

You have successfully trolled Sang Qian for 1024 Rage points!

He was just about to lose it when Zu An pointed out his and Zheng Dan’s outfits. “You have to be careful of our identities right now! What’s wrong with me hugging my own wife?”

Sang Qian felt his breath catch as he remembered their prior arrangement. To everyone who was looking, he was Zu An.

These two groups of monsters had clearly come for Zu An. Everyone unrelated would definitely be killed. It was probably better to remain as Zu An for a while longer.

Survival was the most important thing, after all! He could endure anything else for now. Let’s see who laughs last…

The one thing that worried him was that Qiu Honglei had recognized him. He didn’t know if any of the dark elves had also recognized his real identity.

Despite this, the rage within him began to boil with greater ferocity as he watched Zu An lazily bring Zheng Dan into his embrace.

You have successfully trolled Sang Qian for 516… 516… 516…

Sang Hong said with a cough, “The world is vast. It is not completely impossible for someone who wields two elements to exist. This humble one, however, still has much to experience. I have not met anyone like this yet.”

If even the old man was saying this, then it seemed to Zu An that the chances of awakening two elements didn’t seem too likely. Sang Hong was already an eighth rank cultivator, after all, and even held an important position in the capital, which meant that he had surely seen a lot of things in his time.

If he could become a master of all elements like those protagonists in the other web novels, he could kill any enemy he ran into in this world.

However, Zu An felt his heart sink as soon as this thought appeared in his head. Forget about being proficient in multiple elements. I didn’t even awaken a single element after reaching the fifth rank… 

The situation on the battlefield took a sudden turn. With a cute laugh, Qiu Honglei produced a lantern that glowed with yellow light and tossed it into the sky. That lantern rose on its own. Although it seemed as though it might be extinguished by the wind, the entire battlefield was bathed in its radiance instead.

The weak yellow light looked warm, yet all of the dark elves immediately felt chills run through their bodies.

A jolt of shock ran through their minds. They were suddenly unable to conceal themselves thoroughly once surrounded by this yellow light! In the yellow light, several blurry figures could just be seen. Even though they weren’t completely clear, this was more than enough for a powerful cultivator.

Even more appalling to the dark elves was that the lantern seemed to be able to restrict their movements! Their strongest attribute was their speed, yet when exposed to this yellow light, they felt as if they were moving through a swamp. Their movement speed was greatly reduced.

The Solitary Eight used this chance to launch a fierce, concerted attack. In the blink of an eye, a dark elf was blasted into smithereens by lightning, while another was frozen into an ice sculpture and smashed to pieces by a powerful fist, all without staining the battlefield with a single drop of blood. A third victim let out a pathetic cry as he was burned alive. Everyone in the carriage shuddered when they heard that blood-curdling scream.

“This lantern…” Sang Hong stared at the lantern in the sky, a pensive look on his face.

Zheng Dan wore a complicated expression. She had been paying close attention to Qiu Honglei the entire time, and had deduced that the courtesan’s cultivation was about on par with her own. With that lantern, there was almost no way for her to win.

Sang Qian was shocked. He just couldn’t picture how a beautiful and delicate courtesan queen was able to possess such power. She was able to restrict so many dark elves all by herself! These dark elves were all at least at the sixth rank—any one of them was strong enough to kill him!

The dark elf leader suddenly took out a bow. The bow looked rather strange, and was entirely dark green in color. An arrow flew straight at that lantern.

The arrows they had fired before were all pitch-black in color, but this arrow glimmered with a layer of blue-green light. It moved through the air even more quickly than the previous arrows! The instant after it had been fired, the arrow had already reached the lantern, which was still floating in midair.

The lantern shuddered. A burst of sparks erupted from it, followed by an ear-splitting grinding noise, almost as if the lantern was groaning.

The light from the lantern grew dim. It could no longer float in midair, and dropped out of the sky.

Qiu Honglei coughed out a mouthful of blood. The lantern was clearly linked to her own life force, and the attack had dealt her a serious blow as well.

One after the other , the dark elves recovered their strength, breaking free from the lantern’s control.

The dark elf leader took aim and fired at the heavily wounded Qiu Honglei. His companions had died because of her just now, so he felt no mercy at all.

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