Chapter 118: The First War-Mark of the Stunning Blade (Part II)

"Heh, you have quite a few tricks up your sleeve."

Yang Hao’s armor trembled slightly as he descended slowly, coming to a stop before Xiao Mo and Huang Di. "One each. Little Junior Sister, can you handle it?"

Xiao Mo did not turn back as she gazed at the ten-meter-tall tree puppet before her. "Yes. If I cannot even deal with this puppet, I am not worthy of being in the Heavenly Martial Hall."

Her long sword let out a soft hum. Xiao Mo’s expression turned icy, and the power of the wood attribute flickered endlessly in her eyes. Suddenly, she closed her eyes, visualizing the blade that had accompanied her for countless years. The elemental power within her seemed to be guided, flowing slowly into the steel.

Beside her, Huang Di looked on in astonishment. Although this was not his first time seeing Xiao Mo activate the battle runes on her blade, it was always a breathtaking sight.

Xiao Mo seemed to be bathed in wood-attribute energy. Her emerald-green sword grew increasingly vibrant; what started as a faint glow now saw the tip of the blade spitting forth sharp, green light. She radiated a verdant aura, appearing as if she were a child of nature.

Within Xiao Mo’s consciousness, a green sword hovered in a dark void, as threads of green light converged upon it. Under the infusion of her power, flawless, deep-green patterns began to emerge across the blade. They gathered near the hilt, forming a mark that resembled an eye.

"Is this... a bloodline?"

Yang Hao, possessing the strength of a mid-stage Growth-class fighter, felt a tremor in his heart. Every time Xiao Mo activated her battle runes, that closed eye appeared behind her—a phenomenon unique to the bloodline of the Three Kings.

Faintly, a green eye could be seen behind Xiao Mo, appearing neither fully open nor closed. Despite its indistinct form, it exerted more pressure on Yang Hao than the Heavenly Wood King himself.

Xiao Mo’s eyes snapped open. Her phoenix eyes became long and narrow, her dark pupils shimmering as if wearing green contact lenses. Instantly, the surrounding space grew deathly cold.

"Extinguish." Xiao Mo whispered. The emerald sword elongated several times over, saturated with wood-attribute energy. With a sharp *swoosh*, the energy detached from the blade, expanding rapidly in the sky until it matched the size of the tree puppet.

The collision between the wood-attribute blade and the mutated wood-type beast produced no earth-shattering explosion; instead, it was eerily silent.

The blade of energy sank directly into the puppet’s body. At first, there was no change, as if the energy had simply been assimilated by the puppet’s rare, receptive frame. But immediately, the entire puppet erupted in green light.

From the point of impact, the massive tree puppet seemed unable to withstand the concentrated energy. It withered instantly from head to toe. The tree body, known for its ability to absorb, found all its elemental energy devoured by the Foundation-class mid-stage power.

The energy burst outward, scattering onto the surrounding trees and weeds, causing them to wither and rot in an instant.

Yang Hao’s face remained stoic, but he felt a lingering fear at the sheer dominance of that wood-attribute power. If she could unleash Growth-class power while still in the Foundation stage, what would happen when she reached the Growth or Master stages? Would she reach the power of a King? Was this the terror of an elemental bloodline?

Deprived of the wood attribute’s harmony, the puppet became nothing more than brittle clay. A gentle breeze blew, and the ten-meter-tall structure collapsed with a thunderous roar.

"What was that?"

Ye Bai, having just dodged an attack, landed on the ground and felt the earth tremble. He looked toward the guard station; this was the second massive disturbance in such a short time.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, the tree puppet before him let out a sound—a roar of fury. Ye Bai did not know what had happened at the guard station.

However, the puppet contained a pseudo-tree core and could surely sense the events unfolding there. Ye Bai felt the puppet’s rage and realized the battle at the station was reaching a boiling point.

The puppet’s voice was raspy, not issuing from a mouth, but sounding like the friction of grinding components within its frame.

It seemed the situation at the station had triggered the full potential of the pseudo-core. The puppet swelled to over nine meters in height, its body turning a dark, ink-like green.

"Ye Bai!"

Cao Xiaoseng’s voice echoed from the distance as he sprinted over.

"Alright, let’s lure this puppet over there."

Cao Xiaoseng unleashed a Earth Spirit Pierce, sparks flying from his finger guards as he fired a barrage into the puppet’s massive head. Only then did he notice its increased size. "Is this puppet berserk?"

The attack left only small pits on the puppet’s face—a nuisance that nonetheless further enraged the creature.

"Something must have happened at the station. Perhaps the Mother Tree is in danger, forcing this puppet to frenzy so it can finish us off and return to reinforce the core," Ye Bai theorized. As he turned, he saw the trap Cao Xiaoseng had set and was taken aback. If it worked, the puppet might well destroy itself.

Nearby, two mutant trees, each thick enough to be hugged by several men, were pulled back at forty-five-degree angles by Cao Xiaoseng and Yao Ling using laser ropes. They acted like two massive, tensioned bows, with a laser-rope net strung between them.

Everything was ready; all that was needed was the prey. Ye Bai cooperated with Cao Xiaoseng to lure the creature toward the trap.

In its berserk state, the puppet’s intelligence seemed to have plummeted. The murderous intent within was awakening.

The puppet locked onto Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng, charging at them mindlessly.

"Ling'er!"

The grid was dense and small for a nine-meter puppet, but Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng could easily slip through. Cao Xiaoseng signaled Yao Ling to prepare. He moved to one side while Ye Bai continued running, drawing the puppet in.

Just as the puppet reached the trap, it felt a massive force strike it. Its nine-meter frame was launched into the air. As it hit the trap, Cao Xiaoseng and Yao Ling cut the laser ropes simultaneously. The two mutant trees snapped forward, releasing their stored energy and catapulting the puppet away.

"Boom!"

The puppet’s own weight smashed a massive crater into the ground, snapping nearby trees and causing the earth to fissure.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed. The puppet did not climb out. Cao Xiaoseng and Yao Ling exchanged a glance. *Did we succeed?*

Further away, Ye Bai stared at the trap in a daze. *Using the power of nature to defeat an enemy... making it defeat itself.*

A realization dawned on him. *We all grow under this same heaven and earth; none of us are the masters of this world. Only this world possesses the ultimate power. If I can borrow this power, can I maximize my attacks? Can I combine it with my Qionghong blade?*

The Qionghong blade seemed to resonate with his thoughts. A white light emanated from the steel. The characters "Qionghong" engraved on the blade seemed to melt and flow, forming a new pattern—or rather, it seemed as if the blade itself was carving a new design.

"Ye Bai!"

Cao Xiaoseng’s angry shout snapped Ye Bai back to reality. Before him, dark green vines were thrusting toward his face.

*Boom!* The elemental power within Ye Bai surged. He slashed his blade at the vines. There was no attribute energy, yet the blade glowed with a pure, ethereal white that defied classification. It sliced through the vines with ease.

"What... what is this?"

Ye Bai looked at his blade. Ahead of the engraving, a new pattern had appeared—faint, delicate, and resembling either a flame or a small knife.

"Ugh!" A muffled groan escaped Yao Ling. Caught off guard, she was struck in the abdomen by a vine erupting from the crater. Blood spilled from her lips. She was only at the introductory level and not a combat-oriented fighter. Was the puppet, now berserk, at the peak of the introductory level or the foundation level?

No one knew. Yao Ling felt a sharp, agonizing pain. The force behind the vine was immense, nearly incapacitating her instantly.

Cao Xiaoseng saw this, but he was struggling to protect himself. Each vine possessed strength beyond the high introductory level, and he was surrounded by their shadows. He had been struck several times, but by utilizing the technique of borrowing force, he had avoided fatal damage. Still, more vines were emerging, sealing his escape.

The massive impact had rendered Yao Ling unconscious for a moment, and the puppet did not grant the luxury of recovery. One vine struck, and another immediately lunged for her throat.

In this life-or-death moment, Cao Xiaoseng could not break free to save her. He could only roar at Ye Bai, who was still standing there in a daze.

Cao Xiaoseng had no regrets. He had no time for them. Meeting Yao Ling was his destiny. If he let her slip away, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He would not let her come to harm—for that, he was willing to give everything.