Chapter 694: Scholar

All color and vibrancy drained from Li Huowang's body. Looking down at himself, now only in black and white, Li Huowang took out a dagger and cut his palm. The blood that flowed out was not crimson but pitch black.

This was clearly not a simple trick of illusion; it was a bizarre divine ability from some sect.

"Jade Purity Absorbs Elements, Great Brahma Divides Spirits, Primal Qi Evolves, Star Pearls Solidify Realms, Eternal Sun Dispels Yin, Mid-Essence Conceals Shadows!"

As an aged voice echoed in Li Huowang's ears, the blackness on his body gradually receded. His entire being turned a strange white. As the color faded, the contours of his facial features began to waver. Li Huowang turned his head towards the source of the voice and saw an old scholar. He wore a traditional headscarf, a purple long robe embroidered with green patterns, and his black beard swayed in the air.

With one hand poised over a long sword at his waist, another holding a feather fan, and a third gripping a paintbrush, he swiftly painted on a scroll suspended in mid-air, facing Li Huowang. Li Huowang didn't know who this three-handed scholar was or which sect he belonged to, but the black cloth on his shoulder clearly indicated his allegiance. There was no need for further words.

It was evident that the dragon's leyline was guarded. It would have been abnormal if no one had been protecting it.

*Swish!* Li Huowang raised the Spine Sword in his hand and flung it forcefully towards them. A rift sped rapidly in their direction.

*Clang!* A massive Guan Dao, adorned with a black tassel, fell heavily, instantly shattering the rift that was spewing strange water.

It was an eight-foot-tall general, standing imposingly before the scholar. He joined his middle and index fingers and pointed fiercely at Li Huowang.

"Halt! You rogue! You fill me with wrath! A shameless scoundrel! Who told you, a crow, to covet the phoenix's nest? Who told you to relentlessly pursue your crafty schemes?"

Li Huowang initially thought this person was a military immortal, but as the general moved, he realized otherwise. His side profile was as thin as paper, as if he had stepped out of a painting, and his body was only in black and white. Staring at the scholar's paintbrush, Li Huowang seemed to understand where the general came from.

"Sink!" Li Huowang roared. The ground beneath the scholar and the general instantly melted, pulling them down like quicksand.

Facing Li Huowang's assault, the three-handed old scholar remained completely unfazed. He raised his feather fan and powerfully fanned it towards Li Huowang. A gentle breeze blew, and the burly general's feet instantly lifted from the ground, sending him flying. He drifted like a kite towards Li Huowang. When the general floated in front of Li Huowang, he unfurled in the air like a giant New Year's print, raising his Guan Dao to strike Li Huowang's head.

"Fire!!" *Click!* As Li Jiancheng slid the plastic lighter's wheel, an orange-blue flame instantly erupted, reflecting in Li Huowang's pupils.

*Boom!* The general instantly burst into flames. The paper figure transformed into a burning man in mid-air. The next moment, Li Huowang burst through the general's shattered body. The red of the flames imbued his own body with new color, and Li Huowang, like a fireball, hurtled towards the old scholar.

Seeing this, the old scholar knew he had truly encountered a formidable opponent this time. He immediately used his trump card, swiftly drawing on his feather fan with the brush in his hand.

"Supreme above all, Heaven of Heavens! Primal mystery understood, chaos precedes! Brightness reveals three realms, giving birth to all heavens, Great Luo Jade Purity, emptiness natural!"

As his brush continued to draw, the fire on Li Huowang's body rapidly lost its color, fading into a gradient of grey. But soon, even this grey was erased, leaving no color behind. He was on the verge of losing all color from his body, facing complete erasure. Although he didn't know which 'fate controller's' ability this person was borrowing, Li Huowang clearly understood that if he were completely erased, he would likely vanish entirely.

Just as Li Huowang's body was about to turn transparent, he gritted his teeth and furiously chanted in his mind: "I have color! My body has color! My hair is black! My blood is red!"

Li Huowang's body began to rapidly recover, but then quickly faded again under the opponent's continued actions. Just as the two were at a stalemate, Li Sui's voice entered Li Huowang's mind: "My dad has color! My dad's body has color! My dad's hair is black! My dad's blood is red!"

What Li Huowang never expected was that his body actually began to slowly recover. Li Sui was able to help him in such a situation. This was the first time Li Huowang encountered such a situation. No, to be precise, it was the second time; back then, Dan Yangzi had also borrowed the power of his Heart Essence while inside him. In this situation, he couldn't afford to worry about anything else. He had to deal with the opponent first. His own ultimate abilities hadn't even been deployed, and the old scholar knew he was likely to lose.

Just as he raised the Spine Sword amidst the old scholar's desperate gaze, Xuan Pin, appearing from nowhere, arrived beside the scholar. With a flick of their sleeve, they directly enveloped the scholar's head. Watching the old scholar's body go limp and collapse onto the ground, Li Huowang suddenly felt like he was punching cotton. A surge of frustration welled up inside him.

"You go deal with the dragon's leyline; leave the rest to us," Xuan Pin said to Li Huowang.

"What were you doing all this time?! I was almost killed, and now you show up!" Li Huowang seemed exasperated. He was reminded of the time in a game when a classmate stole his kill.

"Don't think I haven't been working. The fact that you could leisurely engage this Mínglún Hall elder one-on-one proves we've already blocked the other troubles for you."

Seeing the chaos all around, Li Huowang had no time for further conversation. He turned and walked directly towards the distant mud pit. With the old scholar's death, the colors near the mud pit gradually returned to normal. Li Huowang wasted no time, pulling out his Copper Coin Sword and flinging it forcefully at the distant stone pillar that pinned the dragon's leyline. The Copper Coin Sword rapidly elongated, coiling around the stone pillar like a long whip.

"Rise!" Li Huowang roared, and the colossal stone pillar restraining the dragon's leyline was forcefully pulled out.

Accompanied by a dragon's roar, the dragon's leyline, largely covered in mud, struggled even more fiercely. Li Huowang saw hope in saving the dragon's leyline and immediately proceeded to pull out the other stone pillars. As each one was pulled out, the first dragon's leyline soon ascended from the mud pit.

Seeing the panicked expression of the obese emperor at the top of the dragon's leyline, Li Huowang paused slightly. Had the Fa Sect failed to control the dragon's leyline as they had the dice before? Was it because they couldn't control it? The dragon's leyline was rescued, and the Fa Sect still hadn't found a way to control it. This was certainly some good news recently. However, Li Huowang was even more pleased by this turn of events, as it meant he wouldn't have to fight the dragon's leyline.

Just as he was about to say something to the obese emperor, he saw the emperor, a look of terror on his face, dragging the long dragon's leyline beneath him, fly directly into the air.