Chapter 297

: Silent Strike
Translator: Irene Editor: TYZ/CakeHermit
Although Sha Wuyuan had embarrassed himself somewhat, he had still obtained the result he’d wanted and, compared to victory, a blow to his pride meant nothing.
Ultimately, the Sha family was still a big family. It was absolutely not an easy task to migrate and redevelop the whole family.
Those managing now were only the vanguards.
Sha Wuyuan felt that he had enough power since there was just one person in the so-called swordsman school. If not for the association between Sea Pacific Enterprise and Wang Han, Sha Wuyuan would’ve gone straight to the front door.
He was in a foreign land, so it did not hurt to be more cautious.
After probing came a thunderous fury. Only then would the world be able to witness the Sha family’s power, and only then could the family crush the ingrates’ desire to take them down.
Amidst the steady flow of people moving about the busy streets, a heroic spirit rose suddenly within Sha Wuyuan’s chest.
Having been poverty-stricken for three years, members of Sha family had been indecisive and at a loss, but also held in a certain enthusiasm. The construction of the mini Avalon of Five Elements finally gave them some hope.
The Sha family of the past had been beyond well-regarded. The no-puppet-without-sand, mighty and well-celebrated Sha family had carried an unparalleled influence amongst all wood elementalists. Countless numbers of them had travelled thousands of miles to visit the family to request for a sand puppet. When the Sha family had been about to release a new series of sand puppets, all the business giants had responded instantly by waiting anxiously outside the Sha family’s door.
The current situation was all thanks to that damned Blood of God!
The claim over Yellow Sand Corner had not only caused the Sha family to lose its most important raw material supply, but had also swept away all its power in Yellow Sand Corner. Close to seventy percent of the Sha family’s power had been in Yellow Sand Corner, so its occupation greatly damaged the family’s strength.
Otherwise, the Sha family wouldn’t have fallen into such a predicament!
Sha Wuyuan’s thoughts started to float away.
During the decaying, bleak period of war, the big-scale construction in Peace City was exceptionally attention-grabbing and spirit-raising.
There was an endless stream of people brushing past him, their faces full of urgency but also carrying an unique type of liveliness, just like the Peace City which was full of vigor.
Just then, a warning signal rose in Sha Wuyuan’s chest.
Even before he could react, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his lower back.
A wisp of sharp elemental energy had pierced into his lower back!
Not good! Sha Wuyuan’s face changed completely. The enemy was so good at concealing their odor that Sha Wuyuan wasn’t even able to detect them standing by his side.
The moment the elemental energy invaded his body, the elemental energy within his body started resisting. This wisp of elemental energy was like a sharp awl, however, and broke open his elemental energy to destroy his body effortlessly. Pop, a faintly discernable sound rang in his ears like a clap of thunder.
Clap!
Densely packed cracks started surfacing on a round-headed mini sand puppet that hung on Sha Wuyuan’s neck. Shortly, it shattered into a pool of quicksand and spilled onto the ground.
His stand-in puppet!
Fear and anger flooded Sha Wuyuan’s heart simultaneously. The shattering of the stand-in sand puppet meant that the earlier blow would’ve killed him if not for the puppet. The stand-in sand puppet was the Sha family’s supreme puppet. It was absolutely not for sale and had no combat abilities. Its only use was to help its owner take a blow during a disaster.
Every single one of the ingredients needed to manufacture a stand-in sand puppet was extremely precious, and the secret method used in the production process would overdraft the creator’s life. Even during its peak, the Sha family had not produced many of these stand-in puppets. The one on Sha Wuyuan’s neck was one of the three left in the family.
Sha Wuyuan knew that the most important thing was not to attack the opponent or attend to his injury, but to increase the distance between the enemy and himself. Only then would he be able to unleash his power and gain the opportunity to strike back.
Ignoring the acute pain in his lower back, he suddenly charged toward the side of the street.
Ai Hui felt the elemental energy that he’d released get absorbed by something as a feeling of emptiness came through.
Stand-in sand puppet!
Ai Hui immediately understood because thanks to Lou Lan, he had a rather deep understanding of sand puppets. Why wouldn’t Ai Hui know about the stand-in sand puppet? It was a rare gem among all sand puppets. He was rather shocked that such a precious item would be in Sha Wuyuan’s hands.
Stirred up by the Sha family’s riches and overbearing attitude, Ai Hui attacked more ruthlessly.
Sha Wuyuan’s sudden dash forward sent the streets into chaos.
There were people all around, but that did not give Sha Wuyuan a sense of security. The wisp of faintly discernable odor followed behind him like the undispersed soul of a deceased person. It was like a bone gangrene.
A chill went down his spine and overtook his whole body.
He dared not turn around, but dared not hesitate as well. There was no time for him to open his azure wings since the enemy was a proficient assassinator. Currently, it was as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff. Any mistake would mean a horrible death.
The elemental energy within his body rushed frantically toward his back. A layer of thick, sandy soil armor appeared on his back, growing visibly to the naked eye.
A ruthless expression flashed across Sha Wuyuan’s face as he ran madly for his life. He had no intention to stop. He arched his back, covered with the sandy soil armor, as if he was raising a thick and solid shield and charged backwards with full force!
The next moment, Sha Wuyuan’s face changed thoroughly.
There was nothing but emptiness behind him!
How was that possible?
Wasn’t the opponent following close behind? Had it been an illusion? No! It definitely wasn’t an illusion!
While Sha Wuyuan was feeling bewildered, a sword ray as bright as stars rose high into the air from beneath his feet.
Sword ray!
Sha Wuyuan’s pupils shrank as he realized who the perpetrator was.
Wang Han! Swordsman Training Hall’s owner, Wang Han!
Was this fellow crazy? How dare he…
A fellow he’d never paid attention to, a fellow that was as good as dead to him had actually… actually initiated an attack on the Sha family!
What was the Sha family? A huge monster dominating the food chain. A sneeze by the Sha family would cause many to tremble in fear. Today, however, he had actually been harassed by an insect-like, powerless fellow!
This slight to his dignity seemed to forebode the Sha family’s decline. Disappointment and humiliation flashed past Sha Wuyuan’s heart, accompanied shortly by an intense fury. His rage was so intense that he couldn’t help but shake uncontrollably.
How gutsy! What a daredevil!
Not only did Sha Wuyuan not dodge, he charged toward the sword ray with a bellow.
In front of the ray, the thick, sandy soil armor was like paper. The pain in his abdomen seemed to have turned Sha Wuyuan into a wounded wild elephant as he started acting even crazier.
With a flip of his hand, a yellow glowing ring appeared on his palm.
[Heavy Soil Ring]!
This skill formed a confinement area with a radius of about a hundred feet. Those trapped within would feel their bodies become exceptionally heavy. Sha Wuyuan was particularly skillful with this move. He could make his enemies feel as if their bodies were twenty-six times heavier!
Those confined would be unable to move a single step and their heavy bodies would make even breathing a challenging task.
Unknowingly, a giant arm rose up from the ground far behind Sha Wuyuan. With its fingers spread open, the palm swatted at Ai Hui like a huge web.
A shadow descended upon Wang Han’s head. The giant palm was pressing down towards his head with a horrifying whizzing sound.
An evil grin appeared on Sha Wuyuan’s face.
Let’s see where you’re going to run!
Boom!
The giant palm clapped down fiercely and everything within a fifty foot radius, Sha Wuyuan included, turned into fine powder.
The solid ground rose up like a soft water surface and an intense shockwave carried and blasted the shattered rock pieces in all directions at a shocking speed.

Hahaha…

Wild laughter sounded from underground. Sha Wuyuan was still in one piece as he emerged from the sandy giant palm, looking as if he were floating up to the water’s surface. The fresh blood oozing out of his abdomen was a horrible sight, but he did not care at all.
Earth elementalists usually disliked air warfare because their elemental energy became thinner once they left the ground. As for earth elementalists in the realm of elemental externalization, they were like a firm fort, difficult to destroy as long as their feet did not leave the earth.
The weakening effect was stronger in the city because he was unable to control as much elemental energy as when he was in wild areas. To Sha Wuyuan, however, this was sufficient.
He felt very clearly that he’d managed to trap the opponent!
The power of the devilish, giant elemental energy palm could pulverize all living things!
The passers-by observing from afar were all terrified and in awe, making him laugh uncontrollably. That was all. He had thought that Wang Han had powerful tricks, but that was all.
His laughter spontaneously came to an end as he suddenly felt danger from somewhere below. He spread his azure wings hurriedly and charged toward the sky.
A sharp, curved sword ray shot out from the giant elemental devilish palm.
The palm was like a lump of soft dough, splitting into two around the ray.
Sha Wuyuan opened his eyes wide, his expression stiffening up. His giant palm wasn’t just an earth elementalist’s inheritance, but also a sand puppet. It was just that this sand puppet had a unique form. It was in the shape of a giant’s arm. It possessed unmatchable power and force, and was exceptionally solid. Even a diving, high speed javelin would not be able to damage it at all.
Yet, it had actually split because of a sword ray…
What kind of sword ray could possible have such formidable power?
Fear overtook Sha Wuyuan like an oncoming darkness, abrupt and boundless.
Ai Hui’s body and bones were about to fall apart as his limbs went weak and his forehead started buzzing. He had suffered greatly from that hit by the giant elemental devilish palm.
But thanks to One Thousand Yuan lady!
If not for the remodeling effect the blood plum blossom had on his body, the fact that his body was much stronger than others and that he had the protection of the blood bandage, that hit would’ve sent him to his last breath instantly.
The elemental energy within his body recovered faster than his flesh and shortly after he lost control, his speed returned to normal, allowing him to execute [Crescent Moon]!
The [Crescent Moon] today was more powerful than it had been when he was still in Central Pine City.
Be it his understanding of swordplay or the vigorousness and purity of the elemental energy within his body, both had improved tremendously and incomparably.
Ai Hui thought about how to claim victory with his weakened limbs. His body was numb and he could only utilize elemental energy. This was undoubtedly the most dangerous moment.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a change in Sha Wuyuan’s expression. His eyes lit up.
Perhaps…
Ai Hui’s heart shook as the sky palace between his brows started operating.
His body jolted and a devilish glow lit up in his eyes.
A few fine threads appeared within Ai Hui’s field of vision like floating fishing lines in water. Each ‘fishing line’ tip was connected to a mini Dragonspine sword that swam silently like a fish and vanished in mid-air.
Fear overtook Sha Wuyuan’s last wisp of fighting will and so he turned around to flee.
Just then, the silent strike happened.