Chapter 431: Heaven-Earth Reversal Mantra
Chapter 431: Heaven-Earth Reversal Mantra
Xiao Tan’s first move was casting a Curse. By now, this had practically become his instinct—whenever a living target was in sight and his skills were off cooldown, he’d immediately think to unleash it.
Seven Kill, standing exactly fifty meters ahead of Xiao Tan, naturally fell victim to this. Without warning, a sudden tightness gripped his chest and a weight pressed on his shoulders. Instantly alert, he opened his game menu and spotted the word [Curse] glowing ominously in his status bar.
"Hmm… Last time we fought, he never used this move", Seven Kill murmured thoughtfully. "Is this a new skill he learned in this timeframe?" Since he had no idea what effects the "Curse" might have, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
Choosing to temporarily stand his ground, Seven Kill decided to observe. He wanted to see what concrete effects this Curse might produce beyond mere psychological pressure.
"Will it weaken a specific attribute? Or deal damage after a time delay?" From his perspective, he hoped it was the former. If the Curse merely debuffed attributes, its effects wouldn’t last long—every extra second he waited meant the curse’s duration ticked away another second.
Meanwhile, Xiao Tan faced an unexpected development. His [Mark with Cross Curse] had just elevated his Spirit Arts Proficiency to C-Rank.
Accumulating small gains into a mountain, dripping water wearing through stone—after several consecutive days of using this Spirit Arts skill across countless scenarios, he’d finally achieved his original goal.
"This is heaven’s will", Xiao Tan mused. He knew defeating Seven Kill with his current capabilities would be extremely difficult. But now, he’d unlocked a skill normally requiring both B-Rank Martial Arts Proficiency and C-Rank Spirit Arts Proficiency—this could very well grant him the advantage he needed.
"Uh? Is he going to attack?" Seven Kill watched Xiao Tan reach into his satchel, assuming he was about to pull out some artifact for an attack. Instead, Xiao Tan produced a tattered, worn-looking book.
"What trickery is this? The Gu Yuan Secret Manual?" Seven Kill speculated, though the thought felt rather unreliable. (Note: In the film New Crane and Magic Needle, this manual is a consumable item that cures all ailments and boosts power when consumed.)
Xiao Tan retrieved the scroll-like [Heaven-Earth Reversal Mantra] and checked the learning conditions: Martial Arts Proficiency B, Spirit Arts Proficiency C, Level 30+. Then he selected "Learn."
Seven Kill clearly saw the book suddenly dissolve into white light and vanish. "Oh? So it’s a consumable? Could it be a skill?" he pondered. "But why learn it mid-scenario? Could it be some special continuous technique that automatically activates and lasts the entire scenario?" Obviously, he couldn’t guess the truth of Xiao Tan’s situation…
"Speaking of which…" Xiao Tan stared at the skill icon in his skill bar after learning it. "I know I learned it… but what exactly does this do?"
Indeed, the effect description for [Heaven-Earth Reversal Mantra] was practically useless: [Effect: Heaven-Earth reversal, Heaven and Earth inversion. (No cooldown)].
"The background explanation’s pretty vague too", Xiao Tan thought. "‘Reversing the human body’s interaction with the external world’… What does that even mean? Well… since I learned it, I might as well test it once. It only consumes 2% of my stamina anyway."
At that moment, Seven Kill grew impatient. "Tch… This mysterious Curse still hasn’t lifted… The kid’s just standing there performing some bizarre ritual." Fixing his eyes on Xiao Tan, he muttered, "Sure, I’m stronger, but a single Curse held me back for so long. If this is some psychological tactic, then I’ve already fallen for it."
This thought ignited a surge of anger. He barked, "You really think I’ll wait forever!" Like a tiger breaking from its cage, he lunged forward—each step swift, each step startling. Coiling his right fist at his waist, he charged.
But in that instant, something shocking happened…
Though this battle wouldn’t be broadcast to the main screen, it was still a focal matchup watched by tens of thousands. Before this massive audience, Xiao Tan did something… no player in the entire game had ever achieved.
He flew.
This wasn’t like [Moon Step], walking on air, nor a simple leap from the ground. It was like a rocket blasting skyward, straight into the clouds, his body showing no signs of exertion.
"What the hell?!" Seven Kill’s wide eyes reflected the soaring figure as he watched Xiao Tan rocket straight upward. "Is he ascending to immortal realms?!"
……
Meanwhile, in Blade Guild’s conference room:
"Are they messing around?!" Long Ao Min shot to his feet, staring wide-eyed at the screen on the conference table, disbelieving what he saw. "This can’t be real…"
The other Blade Guild members around the table also gawked, one muttering, "Brother Long… Are you sure you confirmed his capability was below yours?"
……
In invited player Shiva’s login space:
"Damn… I was curious to see Seven Kill fight someone from Hell Front, but I ended up witnessing something incredible!" Shiva stood before his monitor, talking to himself. "With this ability, just grab your opponent and rocket to high altitude, then let go…" He mused further, "Hmm… Speaking of which, if he enters the Top 100, there’s a chance we might meet. If he uses this on me, what should I do? [Weightless Touch] can’t work on myself…" He was already calculating potential scenarios in the [Butterfly Arena].
……
Back in Hell Front’s conference room…
"I know you’re listening. I can feel it", Feng Bu Jue, still trapped in middle-school syndrome, muttered from a corner of the room. "I understand you. You fear us, fear change. I don’t know what the future holds or how this will end, but I know how to begin… I will hang up this call, so the masses may witness… the real world. A world without you, a world with no rules or boundaries, a world filled with infinite possibilities! Where the future leads… the choice is yours."
After delivering this Matrix-esque monologue, he tilted his head forty-five degrees upward and hopped in place. "Hmm… Why can’t I fly?"
Bei Ling, sitting at the table, facepalmed. "Commander… Show some dignity… Even if there are no outsiders here…"
Si Yu sighed deeply. "If this had happened half a month ago, I’d have cut you off immediately…"
Unmoved, Feng Bu Jue returned solemnly to the table, bracing himself against it as he leaned forward, eyes locked on the flying Xiao Tan on the screen. "I understand… His existence is the sum of all the program’s residual irregularities. He is the final form of the anomaly script. No matter how hard the system tries, it cannot mathematically eliminate him. It can’t guarantee flawless precision or harmony…" He took a deep breath. "He… is the Savior…"
Si Yu circled behind Feng Bu Jue, grabbing his mouth and eyes, stretching his face into a ridiculous grimace.
"Hmm… The guards didn’t stop me…" Si Yu mused. "Looks like even the system supports my actions…"
"Alright, alright… I’ll stop", Feng Bu Jue shrugged.
Si Yu withdrew her hands, casually wiping the saliva from her fingers on Feng Bu Jue’s clothes.
"Back to business…" Feng Bu Jue straightened his expression, sitting back down. "Putting aside the ‘savior’ theory, this must be the [Heaven-Earth Reversal Mantra] effect, right?"
"Of course", Bei Ling replied. "You really think anyone believed all your rambling back there?"
……
Back in the scenario, atop a barren wasteland…
At this moment, only Xiao Tan himself knew—he wasn’t flying. He was falling.
"So this is what they meant by ‘Heaven-Earth reversal, Heaven and Earth inversion’…" Xiao Tan rocketed straight upward at incredible speed, murmuring, "Simply put... it's reversing gravity’s effect on me, right?"
He glanced down at the rapidly shrinking ground. "If I use it again, I’ll reverse back…" He paused. "What exactly am I doing here? This is practically a suicide skill! Either burn up in the atmosphere or crash to the ground, right?"
Of course, he wasn’t completely helpless. If he reversed gravity first, then reversed it twice more as he neared the ground, he could cancel out the accumulated momentum. However… this up-and-down nonsense seemed to waste stamina without achieving much else.
"Hmm… Since I’m already up here, maybe…" A sudden idea struck Xiao Tan.
If his childhood self had bought a "Ruyi Divine Palm" manual from some old beggar, his current thought would’ve been, "I remember learning a descending palm technique from the heavens…"
Unfortunately… that wasn’t the case.
Xiao Tan’s idea was simply [Terrifying Shadow Soul Chase]. He planned to use this high-speed descent to unleash a deadly strike on Seven Kill.
Deciding on his tactic, he firmly focused and activated [Heaven-Earth Reversal Mantra] again. The gravity reversal was sudden but caused him no harm. Like a ping-pong ball bouncing off a racket, he instantly reversed course.
Moments later, Seven Kill, still on the ground, finally saw Xiao Tan’s figure reappear.
"I thought the kid was flying to escape Earth entirely…" Seven Kill spat a sarcastic quip, but seconds later, spotting the approaching figure, his expression shifted sharply. "Wait… What’s he doing now? Sky Cross Fist?!"
(End of Chapter)
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