Chapter 39: Scorched Earth

I suppressed the trembling in my hands and maintained a strong front. Perhaps if I kept up this bluff, Hu Li Jing and Su Da Ji might back off and focus on the real enemy instead.

However, they didn't seem to be buying it. That was fine. Taking a deep breath, I summoned Xiao Hei. The hellhound was still far combat ready, but he would be able to buy me a few more precious seconds.

"You still have more tricks up your sleeve?" Hu Li Jing sneered, staring derisively at my poor Xiao Hei.

"Let's not waste any time," Su Da Ji said and threw a fireball at me. Xiao Hei leaped forward, his jaws yawning to unleash a gout of hellfire at the fireball. Black flames collided against crimson ones before the entire area disappeared in a blinding explosion.

"Ugh!?" Hu Li Jing staggered backward, shielding her eyes. "What the hell was that?!"

"Hellfire," Su Da Ji replied, lowering her hand and studying the scorched crater. Xiao Hei and I were nowhere to be seen. The nine-tailed fox shook her head. "This is going to be troublesome."

After evading the fireball, Xiao Hei and I had managed to link up with Liang Cai Gui, Huang Hong Lin, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. With not many terracotta soldiers left, we could make use of our numbers to fight off Hu Li Jing and Su Da Ji.

Except that I could see the other eight girls under Hu Li Jing converging on her position, having split off from flickering battles and destroyed platoons of clay warriors. Soon they would have the numbers advantage again. And Mu Rong Shu was still engaging the girl from the imperial family in combat.

This was looking a little bleak. We could choose to pull Lu Bu and Yue Fei back to even the odds. In fact, with five spirits on our side, that would more than make up for their advantage in numbers. Even Su Da Ji wouldn't be able to handle that many powerful opponents (not counting Xiao Hei because he was considered weak in comparison).

Speaking of which…

I turned to glance at the Qin Emperor, who had been ravaged by Lu Bu and Yue Fei's strikes. The last of his praetorian guard had somehow managed to reach his side, fighting futilely against the two legendary warriors, only to suffer horrendous casualties. Despite their massive losses, they stubbornly held the ground while their wounded emperor retreated.

The Qin Emperor was far from done, though. He reached down and slammed his hand against the ground.

"That doesn't look good," I whispered, realizing that something was amiss. I could sense a massive surge in qi, particularly that emanating from the crouching Qin Emperor. "Everyone, get down!"

My warning came just in the nick of time. Just when my allies and I threw ourselves to the ground, enormous flames rippled out from the Qin Emperor's location, engulfing the entire city square in an immense inferno. Several cultivators screamed as they were consumed by the merciless flames and burned to ash instantly.

"What the hell is this!?" Liang Cai Gui shouted.

"The Qin Emperor's decree of burning all books and scholars, enacted," I replied, ducking under the flames and cursing under my breath. "I can't believe he even crystalized this into a Divine Treasure."

"It's powerful…!" Huang Hong Lin was covering her head with both hands, burying her face into the dirt so as not to get burned. She had taken out a talisman to erect a glimmering barrier over us, which was probably what saved our lives more than us diving to the ground. Apparently, she had reflexively yanked out the talisman and activated it when she heard my warning. "How are we supposed to fight something like this?"

"Actually, we probably don't have to."

Raising my head, I peered through the glowing barrier. As the flames died own, I saw that the Great Wall was gone, as was the chariot. There were little of what remained of the legions of terracotta soldiers, all of whom were destroyed.

Of the imperial family, none was left. They had escaped during the chaos.

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I sighed in relief, glad that my guess was correct. The burning of books and scholars was a one-time use…or at least he couldn't use it consecutively, otherwise he would have used it from the start…and several times too. It was probably a last resort, a trump card used when left with no other alternatives.

Most likely it was because it consumed too much qi. As powerful as spirts were, they relied on their summoners' qi to use techniques and manifest in the material world. They couldn't exist indefinitely or spam such massive attacks over and over again.

No matter how powerful the imperial family had cultivated Wang Ni Tian to, there was no way he had unlimited qi. Otherwise he wouldn't bother with the whole Spirit War and obtaining access to the Spirit Realm in the first place.

"Shu!"

Scrambling to my feet, I looked for my wife and was relieved to see that she was all right. Evidently, she had been out of range when the Qin Emperor unleashed that final attack. Mu Rong Shu had been occupied with dueling that girl from the imperial family. Even if she had been within range, I didn't doubt that Mu Rong Shu would be able to protect herself or evade the blast.

"You are all right," she said as she joined us, landing beside the flickering barrier. Huang Hong Lin hastily deactivated it, allowing Mu Ron Shu to grab my hands. I nodded, noting that her opponent was no longer present. That made sense. She probably fled the battlefield alongside Wang Ni Tian and his fifty bodyguards.

"That was quite the anticlimactic end," Liang Cai Gui complained, looking around sourly. Yue Fei landed next to him, his spear raised somewhat protectively, but he made no move to aggressively attack others, so I relaxed. Liang Cai Gui sulked. "The bastard attacked us whenever he wanted to, and then ran away whenever he wanted to. I wish I taught him a lesson!"

"How are we supposed to defeat a spirit so powerful?" Huang Hong Lin cried, clutching her head in despair. "He can conjure an entire army of his own, erect a formidable Great Wall to protect himself, and then burn everything to the ground as a last ditch escape move. That guy is a monster!"

Funnily enough, the actual Qin Emperor was historically a monster as well, but I decided not to voice that out. Instead, I turned to the people still on the field.

"Turns out that the battle hasn't ended yet," I said, a warning evident in my tone. Liang Cai Gui tensed and spun around, grinning when he followed my line of sight.

"Ho…?" He chuckled and nodded toward Yue Fei, who stepped forward, his spear lowered in an offensive stance. "Ms. Hu, would you like to continue fighting then?"

Unlike earlier, Hu Li Jing was no longer in a good mood. She scowled at us, ignoring Liang Cai Gui's provocation while checking on her comrades. Of the eight girls she brought with her, at least five seemed burned severely from the earlier flames. They must have borne the brunt of the technique when converging upon their leader's position earlier. One of the eight girls was hurrying around, applying emergency first aid through her healing techniques. Soft, emerald qi drifted from her hands and spread soothingly over the girls' wounds.

Hu Li Jing glanced at her subordinates one last time before glaring at us.

"I'll let you guys leave a little longer," she said. Then with a gesture, she had Su Da Ji lengthen her tails to scoop up her fallen comrades and carry them aloft. In several bounds, Hu Li Jing's group withdrew from the city square.

"Should we go after them?" Mu Rong Shu asked, her eyes narrowed. Despite being occupied with her own battle, she must have seen Hu Li Jing and Su Da Ji attack me and Xiao Hei. However, I shook my head.

"No point pursuing them. We're exhausted and injured too."

"Really? You don't look it." Liang Cai Gui scoffed as he turned to me. I showed him my scorched palms and even he winced when he caught sight of the hideous blisters and burns. "Whoa, what the hell did you do? Plunge your hands into a cauldron of fire?"

"Something like that," I admitted. Evidently he hadn't seen me flinging the gigantic fireballs around with nothing but my bare hands. Maybe I shouldn't do that again in future.

Huang Hong Lin watched Liang Cai Gui warily, as if half-expecting him to turn on us, but he didn't. Instead, he rolled his eyes and spun around to stalk off, clasping his hands behind his head. Yue Fei silently accompanied him.

"We'll have a rematch next time, when your hands are healed!" Liang Cai Gui called out to me. I could only smile wryly.

"Don't get yourself killed before then."

"I could say the same to you!"

After Liang Cai Gui and his spirit left, my friends, wife and I quit the battlefield too. We didn't bother with the other summoners and cultivators still on the square. Some were beyond saving.

As for the rest…well, we didn't know who they were. They also didn't seem like the friendly sort and they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. So we kept our distance and left on our own, leaving them to do whatever they needed to, whether it was first aid or retreat. I wanted to help at first, but Mu Rong Shu shook her head and stopped me.

"If you go to them right now, they'll only stab you in the back."

She had a point. I could feel the hostility in the stares of those cultivators closest to us. If I so much as looked in their direction, they might actually attack me.

"Besides, why are you worrying so much about them?" Huang Hong Lin asked grumpily. "It's not as if we're obligated to save them. And even if we do, they won't be grateful."

I hesitated, but the burning agony in my hands reminded me that I was in no condition to help others. Mu Rong Shu noticed and placed a comforting hand on my arm.

"Let's go home," she said gently. "I'll see to your wounds quickly. It's been a tough fight and you've fought well. It's best to rest for now."

"What about you?" I asked, concerned. Scanning her from head to toe, I tried to see if she was injured. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Mu Rong Shu smiled and raised both of her hands to show me how unblemished they were. "Who do you think I am? Against an opponent of such caliber, there's no way she'll be able to leave even a single scratch on me."