Chapter 389: The Plum Blossoms Bloom Twice (10/10, Autumn Subscription)

Fang Yue's blood total is only 400 points.

Ma Ling'er's current form can sever my arm with a single slash, dealing 355 damage.

That means, if she swings one more time, I'm dead!

Night's Breath wildly restores my health.

But Fang Yue's palms and back of hands are drenched in cold sweat.

He… has no margin for error.

Previously, except when facing anomalies far stronger than him,

at all other times, he relied on Night's Breath's margin for error and acted without restraint.

But now, facing this insane Ma Ling'er who wants him dead and deals absurdly excessive damage, Fang Yue's margin for error has hit an all-time low.

At this moment, Ma Ling'er slowly turned around.

She said nothing, no longer her previous chatterbox self—only glancing sideways at Fang Yue, extending the blade-bone arm that had severed his limb, spitting out a tongue of bone to lightly lick the bloodstains, then slowly spreading a sinister, alluring smile.

She tilted her head, gazing lazily at Fang Yue, her hair like strands of bone sliding smoothly down her side, exuding an unusual beauty.

"It's over."

It's over?

In this moment, Fang Yue recalled the prophecy on the parchment.

Could it be… I'll die at this thing's hands?

Fang Yue gripped the Fire Blade tightly, forcing his wildly pounding heart to steady.

Fixing his eyes on Ma Ling'er, Fang Yue roared inside: "Parchment!"

【…in】

As if realizing escape was no longer possible, the Parchment reluctantly responded.

"Give me the Silver Stone, then rewind time!"

【SILVER STONE!!】

The Parchment instantly perked up, forgetting its rule against speaking too much.

【Time Rewind!】

Manifesting the Parchment, Fang Yue shoved the Silver Stone into her directly.

Regardless of whether she could absorb it, Fang Yue burned his lifespan.

Time Rewind!!!

Fang Yue's arm was reversing through time!

Against the river of time, the severed arm flew back exactly as it had flown out, perfectly reattaching to his stump, restored as if nothing had happened!

"Hm?"

Ma Ling'er's eyes, though made of bone, used differently colored bones to simulate the whites of eyes.

At this moment, Ma Ling'er's pupils held confusion and bewilderment—she could not comprehend how Fang Yue's arm had returned.

Fang Yue offered no explanation, simply gestured to her.

"Come."

No sooner had he made the gesture than a bone kite burst from the side, its face twisted, mouth gaping wide with flesh, lunging at Fang Yue.

Zzzzz!

A flash of fire—Fang Yue's Fire Blade sliced the bone kite clean in half, its intense heat instantly blackening its bones.

But the bone kite on the ground did not die; it roared "Aaaah!" as its bones reassembled and charged toward Fang Yue again.

Zzz!

Wind.

Fang Yue felt only a gust of wind.

Then the bone kite, mid-lunge, was sliced into a dozen fragments that fell to the ground.

Fang Yue froze for a moment before realizing Ma Ling'er stood right before him.

"How many pieces do you want to be cut into?"

A distinct sound, like bone grinding, echoed with human speech.

Fang Yue gripped the Fire Blade tightly, snarling: "Try it if you dare!"

Flame Heart Method! Starfire Blade Technique!

His entire body surged with power; wild flames erupted skyward.

Under the torrent of wild flame, the Ningtai Ring instantly maxed out its output—the blade's original form seemed to swell by a full circle.

A furious slash aimed at Ma Ling'er beside him—she was cleaved cleanly in half… yet he felt no solid resistance.

As Ma Ling'er's two halves scattered with the wind, Fang Yue realized he'd struck only a clone!

Ma Ling'er's speed had exceeded the range of his dynamic vision!

Ssssh!

As Fang Yue stood stunned, sudden pain pierced his chest.

Ma Ling'er's right blade had pierced Fang Yue's chest.

222!

Night's Breath was restoring health.

But Ma Ling'er's blade kept driving deeper.

333!

Restore! Restore!

Keep pushing deeper! Straight toward the heart!

"I love watching you die a miserable death."

388!

Recovering… HP?

Fang Yue's face was pale as paper. At the critical moment, his hands suddenly grabbed Ma Ling'er's blade, and the magatama-shaped mark on his chest flared up and began to burn wildly.

As if sensing the dangerous aura, Ma Ling'er, who had just been wearing a playful smile, suddenly changed her expression.

But it was already too late.

Let the flames… purify everything!!

"Blazing Explosion!!"

Boom—rumble——!!!!

First came the light, then an incomparable searing heat.

And finally… a mad, earth-shattering explosion!

Fang Yue had nearly become a small sun.

The blinding light made it almost impossible to look directly at him.

The self-destruct skill he had been积蓄 for so long — the other ultimate move of the Blazing Heart Method — erupted completely at this moment.

The entire Gu Yue Cun shook violently, as if struck by a magnitude-ten earthquake; the surrounding ground was even blasted up, the topsoil peeled away.

The already crumbling houses were blown apart by the blast's aftershock, sending out rippling shockwaves that, centered on Fang Yue, swept away everything around him and leveled a clearing.

In the clearing, Fang Yue — his whole body scorched black, giving off the scent of roasted meat — was trembling all over, looking as if he might drop dead at any moment.

But he did not fall; under the Breath of Night, his vitality was rapidly recovering.

And even in this state, his hand was still death-gripping a blade-arm — Ma Ling'er's arm!

Ma Ling'er herself was blasted over a hundred meters away by the force of the explosion. The bone armor that had once covered her whole body was now pitted and pockmarked, like an antique eroded by the passage of time.

Ma Ling'er lay on the ground; her ears were still ringing, and she hadn't recovered yet.

She stared blankly at her severed right hand, unable to comprehend how she, who had held the absolute upper hand, could have had her arm blown off.

When she finally came to her senses, fury surged madly in her heart, and she sprang to her feet in a flash.

"Enough games. I'll cut you down!"

"Cut me down?" Fang Yue let out a savage laugh. "You don't think an explosion like that is something I can only use once, do you?"

Ma Ling'er was stunned. "…What do you mean?"

"I mean… Reversal of Time!"

The river of time acting upon Fang Yue began flowing backward.

The body scorched black by 【Blazing Explosion】, the body bearing severe side effects, reversed along the river of time and rapidly returned to its previous state.

When Fang Yue's skin became clean once more, and when he downed an entire bottle of internal-energy-restoring pills right in front of Ma Ling'er, Ma Ling'er charged at him again.

"Blazing Explosion!!"

A second bloom!!

Without even half a second's hesitation.

Fang Yue detonated on the spot.

Flames flared, the blast erupted.

(End of chapter)