Borrowed Time

“Bang~”

Wang Xiang fell heavily to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

His tightly puckered, chrysanthemum-like face was filled with disbelief.

While the old man was flying through the air, Su Xuan quickly fumbled for a black, special-alloy battle saber from the two nearby corpses.

From Wang Xiang’s perspective, Su Xuan was currently brimming with a rich Life Source Energy.

The amount of life force released by the frantic burning of this energy was frighteningly large.

Such a majestic life force was what Wang Xiang craved.

If his plan succeeded, he would obtain a massive amount of Life Source Energy, laying a solid foundation for his own advancement to the Second Form.

The life force that Su Xuan displayed made Wang Xiang jealous, and also confused him.

Because to be able to use Life Source Energy in combat, one had to be at least extremely close to the Second Form.

But Wang Xiang could not sense the slightest aura of the Second Form from Su Xuan.

He didn’t even have the aura of the Initial Form.

Wang Xiang had never seen such a state before, nor had he even heard of it.

Using such a large amount of Life Source Energy, yet his combat power was not that strong.

This “strong” was relative.

In Wang Xiang’s mind, the better a person was at using Life Source Energy, the stronger they were.

But the feeling this person gave him was different.

If Life Source Energy was the catalyst that enhanced the value of energy particles, then Su Xuan had more catalyst than energy particles.

It was like a performance-enhancing drug with no urine to dilute it~

But at this point, Wang Xiang no longer cared about that.

Right now, he only wanted to snatch back the Black Energy Stones, summon the Dark Ones, and plunge the city into chaos so he could take the opportunity to escape.

And if he had the chance, he would capture this very strange boy for research.

Wang Xiang immediately scrambled up from the ground, as agile as a man who was not over a hundred years old.

He held the black longsword in his hand again, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at the faintly glowing Su Xuan.

He walked towards him and asked at the same time, “The Black Energy Stones, did you take them?”

Seeing that his surprise attack had failed to kill the old man in one blow, Su Xuan felt a little disappointed, though he had already expected it.

But he did not give up.

Hearing the old man’s question, Su Xuan frowned but did not reply, instead gripping the special-alloy battle saber in his hand tightly.

“Hmph? It seems you did.”

Wang Xiang muttered to himself, pointing the longsword diagonally at the ground.

Then he swung it up, pointed it at Su Xuan, and said, “Although I don’t know what’s going on with your state, it’s clear you’re no match for me.”

As he spoke, several apertures of light lit up within his body.

Energy particles, like a mist, slowly gathered on the black longsword, enveloping it.

It made the longsword, which already had a metallic luster, appear even brighter.

Su Xuan, however, could only use his energy particles to drive his muscles.

His tensed muscles were like a coiled spring, ready to be unleashed.

But not a single trace of energy particles appeared on his black battle saber.

Compared to the fluorescent longsword, Su Xuan’s battle saber seemed so humble.

Wang Xiang saw this, as if confirming his own opinion, and said as expected, “Is that so? You haven’t even mastered the external release of energy particles? It seems you really are quite special.”

As he spoke, Wang Xiang had already taken his offensive stance and directly began his attack.

‘So fast…’

Even though Su Xuan was fully prepared, and even though a large amount of Life Source Energy was supporting his body’s functions, the lack of foundation and the gap in raw power.

Plunged Su Xuan into an absolutely passive position.

Su Xuan did a rolling dodge, moving towards the altar, clearly intending to use it for cover.

“Ping~”

The two weapons clashed.

Although they were of the same material, one could see that Su Xuan’s saber had been chipped by Wang Xiang’s longsword.

And Wang Xiang’s strength was also far greater than Su Xuan’s.

Su Xuan held his breath and pushed with all his might, but his opponent was like a relentless machine.

His strength continued to increase, and the sound of cracking came from his own blade.

Under this huge disparity, Su Xuan could not last for long.

‘Damn… he’s too strong. Su Xuan’er, do you have any ideas…’

Su Xuan didn’t want to die, but his current situation was extremely dangerous.

Su Xuan’er had not stepped in to help him.

Although he knew she might not be of much help even if she did, he still wanted to grasp at that last straw.

“I can only help you for a few minutes… Remember to feed me a little Life Source Energy after you win.”

A faint voice came through. It was Su Xuan’er’s voice.

A peculiar energy surged forth, accompanied by a large amount of Soul Substance entering his body.

It had a similar effect to Life Source Energy, but together, the effects were greatly amplified.

A massive amount of energy particles was being catalyzed, and his cells were constantly breaking their limits under the effect of the Soul Substance, pushing his energy output higher and higher.

Wang Xiang felt Su Xuan’s strength suddenly increase by a large margin, and the life force emanating from his body grew even richer.

This shocked Wang Xiang greatly.

He had lived for over a hundred years and had never seen someone like Su Xuan.

How could someone use Life Source Energy to fight like this?

Wasn’t he afraid of aging to death immediately after a single battle?

The massive use of energy particles and Life Source Energy created a deficit inside Su Xuan.

The two Black Energy Stones on his chest, following the consumption of energy, also gradually dissolved into Su Xuan’s body.

The Black Energy Stones dissolved, turning into a large amount of Life Source Energy that flowed into his body.

A small amount, however, was intercepted to assist in the body’s growth.

This continuous replenishment gave Su Xuan the capital to contend.

Wang Xiang stared in astonishment at the Life Source Energy continuously erupting from Su Xuan’s body.

The amount of this energy that was dissipating was already enough for a whole person.

Why could he still gush out more?

This battle was redefining Wang Xiang’s understanding of the world.

After he got his hands on the Black Energy Stones, after the Dark Ones descended, he absolutely had to capture this strange fellow.

Perhaps he held some secrets he couldn’t even imagine.

“Crack~”

The saber shattered.

Su Xuan took the opportunity to dodge Wang Xiang’s pursuing slashes and started to run circles around the huge altar.

Although he had never had any specialized training, Su Xuan’s running speed was not slow at all.

At the very least, Wang Xiang, a top-tier Initial Form warrior, could barely keep up.

But Su Xuan clearly didn’t want to fight Wang Xiang head-on, so he used agile footwork to evade the storm-like sword attacks.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, in Su Xuan’s mind, Su Xuan’er suddenly said, “I can’t hold on much longer, you have to keep it up…”

After she spoke, the surge of power that had been augmenting Su Xuan vanished, and his speed immediately dropped by several degrees.

And Wang Xiang, who had been chasing Su Xuan and had also consumed most of his energy particles, revealed a victorious smile.

“It seems you won’t be able to run today~”

Wang Xiang said, hitting Su Xuan on the back with the flat of his sword, knocking him to the ground.

Then he walked towards Su Xuan’s side.

Clearly, he was preparing to search his body.