"Wind!"
A black flash shot out towards Luo Puti, powerful and unstoppable.
*Klang!*
*Klang!*
*Klang!*
The swords that were aimed for Luo Puti's back were repelled; and the blades that had been closer to her were broken in two by Chen Xiaobei.
"Nice one, saber!"
Luo quickly showered her attention on the black saber that just saved her life.
"What about me? I think the guy that used the saber to save your life is a nice guy too!" Chen grinned and gave her a wink.
"Well. It is a nice saber, there's no doubt about that! Its sharpness could very well be on par with the Nine Swords of Domination! It is such a shame that an asshole like you wields it!" Luo retorted, glaring at him.
She was prepared to thank him, but he had to ruin everything by giving her that wink. Unable to tolerate that ego of his, and simply decided to skip showing any gratitude.
"I deserve something better for saving your life!" Chen Xiaobei pouted. "Without an asshole like me, you'd be dead!"
"Fine! This is no time to argue! Go back, this is too dangerous for you! And I don't have the time to babysit!"
"I know you're actually quite sweet. But your tongue can be a little bit sharp sometimes!" Chen Xiaobei smiled, and grasped her hand. "This battle is really nothing to me! Follow me and I'll show you why!"
"Tut! Please stop acting tough! How are you going to win when I can't?!" She rolled her eyes at him coldly. "Let me go! Don't even think of taking advantage!"
"Dummy! You have great combat power, but sometimes a smart brain is better!" Chen Xiaobei said, keeping his grin.
"Are you saying that I'm stupid?" Luo Puti glared at him icily as she snarled. She was the famed prodigy of Dragon City! The Almighty Luo Puti! And he had just called her dummy! There's little wonder that she's ready to explode at his partner.
"They are fighting in the Eight-Doors Golden Lock Formation! It was designed to destroy enemies from eight sides!" The subordinate inspector did not bother stopping to argue with her and simply led her by the hand. "The Eight Doors are Rest, Life, Hurt, Block, Shadow, Death, Shock, and Open!" He explained. "Just like the Taichi Eight Diagram!"
"Eight-Doors Golden Lock Formation? It was described in the Tales of Three Kingdom… I didn't know it was real!"
"Of course it's real! Didn't you notice that the Copper Soldiers have stopped attacking us?" Chen Xiaobei laughed.
Using his Lightning Steps to move around the arena, he trotted along according to the pattern of Eight Diagram, holding Luo Puti's hand all the while.
Despite possessing the skill known as Eight Diagrams of Godly Prediction, Chen Xiaobei rarely used in fear of incurring God's wrath! Still, he had figured out how it worked a long time ago; the secret of breaking this formation was within the Eight Diagram itself!
Within moments, all eight hundred Copper Soldiers turned into a bunch of broken puppets. They began to run around without a direction, and their attacks had stopped for some time.
"Unbelievable…"
Shocked, Luo Puti pursed her lips and asked: "Are you confident enough to break this formation?"
"Of course! Not one to brag, but I'm a master when it comes to the mechanism of Eight Diagrams. Anyone else are thrash!" Chen laughed proudly. "Of the Eight Doors, we would get hurt if we enter the Doors of Hurt, Shock and Rest! And we will die if we enter Block or Death – therefore, Life, Shadow and Open are the answers!"
Chen Xiaobei reached inside his backpack while he explained the solution to Luo Puti. Retrieving a jade thumb ring, he slipped it onto his left thumb.
"That… That's the Cao Family's Duskdawn! How did you acquire it?" Luo Puti's eyes widened as she gaped at Chen.
"You are pretty knowledgeable…" He smiled in reply. "This is a gift from Elder Cao. I didn't want it, but he insisted that I should have it."
"Do you really think I'm some kind of idiot?" Luo Puti rolled her eyes at him. "The Duskdawn is the Cao's family inheritance! It's priceless, so why would he simply hand it to you as a gift? And he insisted, on top of that? Do you really think you are some kind of deity he worships?"
"It's fine if you don't believe in me! I'm going to break the formation now!" Chen Xiaobei laughed evilly and charged ahead.
"Watch out! Stay aware of your surroundings! There are Copper Soldiers around you!" Luo Puti shouted worryingly.
"Don't worry! I have formed a hole in this formation! All I need to do right now is enter the Life Door on the south-east! This formation would then be broken!" Chen Xiaobei replied confidently.
Though many Copper Soldiers stood in his way, Chen Xiaobei, having figured out their movements used his Lightning Steps to avoid them. It was as if he entered a timeless zone! In almost no time at all, he bypassed their defenses, leaving the leader completely exposed. It's his final target!
"Break now!" Chen Xiaobei yelled and swung the saber in his hand. Demonic Dragon Apocalypse appeared, and its unstoppable force splits the Copper Soldier's leader in half! A blue spirit flew out from the corpse, but Chen was ready for it. He lifted up his left fist and charged at the blue spirit!
Through his Netherspirit Battlescouter, Chen Xiaobei could see that his left fist gleamed with golden light coming from the Duskdawn! It was its Yang-Gold attribute – the nemesis of all evil spirits!
*POW!*
A single punch, and the malevolent force was erased from this world.
"Hehe… So satisfying! Right in front of eight hundred Copper Soldiers, I've slayed their leader!" Chen Xiaobei stood and smiled proudly.
"Klang!*
*Klang!*
A hundred of the undead army stopped moving, turned around to face Chen Xiaobei and kneeled!
"I've solved it! Now, all eight doors will be unlocked!" Elated, Chen Xiaobei kept it up and charged at the next leader. With a slash and a punch, another door opened!
Three minutes later, he had unlocked the rest of the doors with the same method.
"This… This brat's pretty good…" Luo Puti was utterly shocked. She never thought that Chen Xiaobei could break a puzzle which she failed to break herself! And he did it as if the formation was a mere trifle!
She was genuinely impressed.
"Dumb Pumpkin! Don't just stand there like a deer! Come and collect the jade pieces!" Chen Xiaobei grinned. Both of them then collected all eight fragments of jade and put them together to form an octagonal jade plate.
*Klank*
Upon placing the jade plate in the middle of the arena, Chen Xiaobei could hear the sound of something unlocking. A secret passage was revealed in front of them, with stairs made of white marble that leading underground.
"Who is that?"
Both him and Luo Puti frowned. A shadow was dashing towards them!