The Avalon Of Five Elements

Fatty was carrying two men on his shoulders, but his speed did not reduce. He was like a rapidly rebounding cannon or a leaping… wild boar.

His big body moved surprisingly gracefully.

Only each time he landed, it was as if a terrifyingly powerful cannon had gone off into the earth, causing a layer of it to rise up.

Fatty was gasping for breath, and his whole body was covered in sweat and was misting. His legs felt really heavy, but he dared not stop at all.

He suddenly felt the ground trembling and fear emerged on his face. In the past, such tremblings occurred whenever a group of beasts charged across the field, but how could there by a group of beasts now? That wave motion from earlier would only have scared all of them away. They wouldn’t dare to approach this region.

There could only be one possibility. The enemy’s cavalry!

Fatty exerted even his milk-sucking strength and started sprinting with his teeth clenched.

The vibrations were getting closer and Fatty was about to burst into tears.

Come save me, Ah Hui!

Zu Yan, who was still on his shoulder, regained his senses. He was already severely injured and was very feeble. Initially, he felt somewhat embarrassed for having to be lugged by Fatty, but upon noticing that Fatty could run pretty fast, he realized that Fatty had been bluffing all along. He was just lazy.

Each time they were out, he was the one carrying him along as he flew.

After having considered that, Zu Yan immediately felt at ease. After carrying Fatty so many times, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to allow Fatty to support him this once!

But he regretted it soon after.

Fatty ran jerkily and landed heavily without the least bit of cushioning. This quickly made Zu Yan feel dizzy and nauseated. He felt that the bones in his body were about to fall apart.

The worst thing was that Fatty was sprinting in the forest like a nimble wild boar.

This wild boar had thick and rough skin, so naturally it was alright, but the branches, shrubs, rattans whipped him directly like raindrops. Red slashes continued emerging on his snow white skin in a criss crossed pattern. It was a tragic sight.

He asked weakly, "Can’t you… just… run properly?"

Fatty’s movements chopped his short sentence into three trembling sections, leaving Zu Yan breathless.

Fatty responded in a sobbing tone, "Why do you have so much sh*t to say!? How about you try?"

Zu Yan was stunned. He softened his tone, answering, "What are you crying for? You don’t have to be so anxious. Rest for a little while if you’re tired."

Fatty burst into tears. "How can I not be? The enemy’s chasing us!"

Zu Yan stared blankly for a while, listening with rapt attention. His face changed and he hurriedly urged, "Run, quick! Run, quick! Faster!"

Fatty cried, "I’m trying. Or do you want to do it?"

Zu Yan was very worried by now. He thought about what to do, turned his face around, and saw Zu Chun’s wide-open eyes staring back at him. He immediately screamed, "Why are you still carrying this thing? The enemy is reaching us. Throw it away!"

Fatty stopped crying. "No!"

Zu Yan was shocked. "No? He’s scorched, so why won’t you toss him aside?"

"This is my loot! I haven’t searched him yet." Fatty’s tone was resolute and decisive. "My head can break, my blood can flow, but I can’t lose my loot!"

"..."

The rumbling sounds from behind became increasingly clear. The ground was shaking, and the movement alone was enough to turn Zu Yan’s face white.

Fatty calmed down at this time. "Don’t be afraid. It’s nothing actually. A Hui and I have seen migrating dire beasts during our time in the Wilderness. That is the real deal."

Zu Yan couldn’t read Fatty. Fatty was usually as timid as a mouse and was all kinds of lazy. He was so money-faced that people often wanted to give him the finger. Still unwilling to give up his loot at this point, Fatty was the quintessential foolish guy – willing to give up his life for money. Yet this same fellow had just killed Zu Chun and was the one who had silently modified a Hellfire Pagoda Cannon.

Even at this time of crucial danger, Fatty did not abandon him, and they joked together.

How could there be such a strange and contradicting person in this world?

Zu Yan quickly noticed that Fatty wasn’t running in a straight line but in a zigzag manner, constantly changing directions.

He couldn’t help but ask, "Why not run toward the our camp?"

"Stupid!" Even during this mad sprint, Fatty couldn’t help but roll his eyes and answered in annoyance, "Remember, when you’re fleeing, do not run in a straight line, or the wild beasts can easily catch up to you."

Zu Yan asked automatically, "Why?"

"How can you be so stupid? It’s such simple logic, so simple that it’s difficult to answer. How did you even become a Master? Under the table…?"

Zu Yan was about to retort, but the rumbling sounds were ear-splitting and he could faintly see some silhouettes.

"There!"

Shouts could be heard from behind.

Fatty, who had been full of mettle, was now shrieking, "Oh my God!’

The wind between his legs grew even stronger, like a whirlpool, shuttling non-stop through the forest.

Xing Shan fixed his gaze on the corpse on the shoulder of that faraway figure. His face turned ashen and his eyes were about to pop.

Zu Chun!

Although only a back view was exposed, Xing Shan was certain that he did not make a mistake.

Zu Chun had been following him for years and was a trustworthy assistant. Their relationship was beyond that between ordinary bosses and subordinates. Seeing Zu Chun’s corpse made Xing Shan’s heart boil. He made a long and sharp hiss.

Sensing its owner’s grief and indignation, the ardent flower wolf, too, howled. The fresh, red flowers on its black, shiny fur transformed into flames that slowly separated from its body and floated around. There wasn’t any stray fur on its body. It was pitch black and smooth like satin. With its head high, it hissed in an extraordinarily spirited manner.

The wolf’s forelimbs stomped onto the ground, causing flames to splatter everywhere. Carrying Xing Shan on its back, it soared into the sky and toward that faraway silhouette.

Hunting was an inherent ability of the wolf. It locked onto his sprinting prey.

But as if that fat target had anticipated this ability, he jerked his body to the side and borrowed a big tree to obstruct its line of sight before changing directions constantly. The wolf noticed that its prey had managed to break free from its focus.

Boom!

The Chieftain Wolf was like a small mountain, crashing onto the ground heavily and spraying flames from its hoofs. The flames mixed with the earth with a whizz, as if a broad axe had been raised up. Every tree within a thirty meter radius was chopped in half and instantly turned to ashes. The mountain rocks shattered and the fragments shot into the woods, fast and powerful as arrows while emitting "pu, pu" sounds.

Leaving a burnt, deep pit of a few meters radius on the ground, it soared into the sky once again.

Its deep red, ruby-like blood eyes were burning. It had been angered by its prey.

That large prey was exceptionally sly, its body unceasingly moving around like a slippery loach. One moment it was on the left and the next moment it went to the right. Sometimes it used trees to cover itself and other times it drilled into the dense shrubs.

The prey could always sense that it was being locked onto. The Chieftain Wolf had never met such a crafty prey.

Xing Shan had calmed down by now. He had always been an ambitious and ruthless character, so the more angry he got, the more he calmed down. He was extremely cool-headed now, and his body was emitting cold air into the surroundings.

People who were familiar with Xing Shan would definitely run far away upon seeing this. They knew how terrifying a raging Xing Shan was!

Xing Shan looked coldly at that slippery figure. He couldn’t help but admit that this was the most deceitful scouter he’d ever seen. It was true that one shouldn’t judge a person by his appearance. It was unbelievable that such a fat figure could actually be this agile!

It was his first time seeing a scout with this physique, and one so powerful at that!

But no matter how capable he was, he was just a scout.

He grinned coldly and grabbed hold of a black hatchet that was hanging on the wolf’s body.

Fatty felt completely different. His whole body was flush red, as if he was drunk. His pouring sweat was no longer visible and the veins behind his neck were popping. He opened his eyes wide in fear. His breaths were becoming coarser and red flames could faintly be seen coming out of his mouth.

Zu Yan could hear Fatty’s drumming heartbeat and feel his tensed muscles. Flaming breaths were a sign that a fire elementalist was nearly exhausting his elemental energy.

Fatty…

Zu Yan felt indescribably moved, and his nose started feeling sour. He was simply too grateful for being able to survive the ice seal and to meet such a good companion.

He called out, "Toss us aside, Fatty!"

Without a sound, Fatty was focused on spriting, his bulky body trembling all over like a frantic wild boar.

Zu Yan raised his voice and shouted, "Toss us, quick, Fatty!"

Again, Fatty made no sound, as if he hadn’t heard him.

Zu Yan sensed something amiss and struggled to look at Fatty’s face. He received a jolt.

Fatty’s eyes were hollow-looking and only white flames were flowing within.

…..

Central Pine Valley.

The sword operators’ embroidery training had become something everybody watched during training intervals. It was a joy to observe those manly hands holding a delicate embroidery needle, cautiously attempting to create a pattern while sweating buckets.

Ai Hui’s stern criticism could be heard occasionally.

"Slow down. Why are you going so fast? Are you holding a sword or an axe?"

"Focus. Stabilize your state of mind. Do you know what stability means? It means that you’re able to complete your embroidery unruffled, even if someone behind you is trying to slice your ass with a knife."

Someone from the crowd shouted, "Then what about the butt situation, Boss?"

"Butt?" Ai Hui tilted his head to think. "Mend it after completing the embroidery."

"Hahaha…"

Everyone was rolling on the floor and forgot at that moment that they had been the butt of the joke too when they were training in the Metal Basket Sword Pagoda.

Shi Zhiguang fixed his eyes on the embroidery needle with all the focus he could gather. The audience’s laughter fell on deaf ears. It must be said that this was a totally new experience since he had only been training at a rapid speed in the past.

The faster the speed, the slower he felt time was moving.

But embroidery required slowness, and when a certain speed was reached, he realized in surprise that time seemed to move increasingly faster.

He wondered if others felt the same way.

But as time went by quicker, he felt a different and indescribable kind of "slowness". His heart was exceptionally calm, like a rock amidst the long river that was time. Time was like a river brushing across the stone’s surface, yet every detail was so crisp and clear.

It was a very peculiar feeling, and he was engrossed in it.

He had found his talent. He was extremely sensitive to speed. He felt different sensations toward the lightning speed sword and the slow and focused embroidery. He was unclear of the uses of these sensations.

He had seeked guidance from Boss, and after some thinking, Boss told him to spin silk from cocoons.

As compared to embroidering, spinning silk required an even slower speed, and the sensation Shi Zhiguang felt was even more intense.

Ai Hui looked at Shi Zhiguang, his heart singing praises.

Shi Zhiguang was the most talented out of the three sword operators and had been the quickest to enter that state of mind.

Eh? As if he felt something, Ai Hui looked toward Shi Zhiguang and was emotionally moved.

The thread in Shi Zhiguang’s hand lit up faintly, buzzing and trembling.