Without anyone to intervene, Niu Chang went all out to quickly take care of Huang Zhi, unsure if he lived in a ridiculous story. One thing he believed was that prolonging the battle would only lead to unwanted development for him.
Huang Zhi appeared older than she looked, and who knew what kind of backup plans she had in her hands.
'I want to end this fight as soon as possible, but the problem is that I really don't have an offensive method to do it. My only destructive skill is Impact, but it's clearly an auxiliary skill used to increase the lethality of an offensive skill,' Niu Chang thought, feeling troubled.
To buy some time for himself, Niu Chang kept activating Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red, incapacitating Huang Zhi from taking any action. But by doing so, he also slowly immersed himself in the presence of the shrine maiden inside his mind, who had already manifested her full body but remained blurry in detail.
Observing Huang Zhi standing in mid-air, Niu Chang discovered two problems in killing her. The first was their distance, with Huang Zhi positioned high above the ground. If Niu Chang wanted to reach her, he would need to boost himself with qi.
The second problem was the invading red qi surrounding Huang Zhi's body. Niu Chang discerned a natural protection made of qi, similar to a natural qi circulation rather than a martial skill or technique. Perhaps it was something that occurred after reaching a specific cultivation stage.
Niu Chang tried to recall the strange natural protection around Feng Ning's body and compared it to Huang Zhi's. Despite their different forms, Niu Chang determined that they were the same in essence.
After understanding the obstacles, it was time to come up with a plan. However, time continued to tick, and Niu Chang couldn't find a suitable method to end Huang Zhi's life.
The shrine maiden in the back of his mind became more detailed and lifelike, causing Niu Chang's calm heart to grow uneasy. His thoughts, once smooth, now encountered friction, leading to lag in his thinking. His forehead grew moist, though not enough for a drop of sweat to roll down.
Despite the panic and urgency creeping in, Niu Chang effortlessly pushed them away, realizing they were no longer necessary and only a hindrance.
As someone who always stood on the other side of stories, Niu Chang was mesmerized by the intense battles of the characters, feeling a sense of envy. He longed for a spectacular battle, experiencing the danger of walking on a thin line where life and death were only separated by a second.
'I thought that after becoming a reincarnator myself, I would be able to replicate that feeling from back then, where electricity ran through my spine, my hair stood on end, and I had endless inspiration as if I held the world in my palm. But sadly, I can't feel any of that,' Niu Chang admitted.
With his plan for an epic comeback failing, Niu Chang casually dismissed the panic and urgency in his heart, as they were no longer needed and only brought disadvantages.
Being both a spectator and an actor played a crucial role for Niu Chang. He never considered himself someone who merely satisfied others and followed the hidden arrangement of fate. He was also one of those spectators who wouldn't experience the danger the same way an actor would.
In his heart, he was aware that the so-called danger was nothing more than a method used by the director to intensify the situation, allowing the main character to make a satisfying comeback for the spectators.
Once again, Niu Chang marveled at the fragile nature of the human mind. Even though they knew it was a theatrical play, they still wanted to immerse themselves in the story, despite knowing the good ending awaited the characters in the end.
Feeling a bit envious of the main character, backed up by the power of fate, Niu Chang decided to move on to his next plan.
'Since the world didn't help me, I can only rely on myself,' Niu Chang concluded.
With a calm heart, he observed the current situation to prepare his next plan on how to deal with Huang Zhi, not as an actor but as a spectator in this world.
Unrestricted by anything in front of his eyes, Niu Chang stepped away from the stage and approached the seat where the spectators sat. He chose a comfortable chair for himself and looked back at the stage, smiling as he put his own fanfiction into play within this story.
"What I want to do is..." Niu Chang murmured under his breath, casually glancing at the shrine maiden phantom on Huang Zhi's back.
The shrine maiden phantom appeared as a mere shadow without any spirituality. Then Niu Chang shifted his gaze to the dazed Huang Zhi, a smile forming on his face.
"Little Zhi, your acting is so good that I'm unable to discern it," Niu Chang said softly, not looking at Huang Zhi's face but searching for something on her body.
The dazed Huang Zhi didn't respond and stood silently in the air.
Suddenly, her battle armor, fused with the yellow dragon, moved. The dragon accessories appeared, and a dragon head made of yellow qi emerged on the back of her head, staring at Niu Chang.
The dragon head phantom possessed the same intelligent gaze as Huang Zhi.
Opening its jaw, the dragon head phantom spoke. "Little brat, do you think you can kill me with this half-baked technique of yours? It may be profound, but you still can't use it properly."
In response, Niu Chang maintained his Captivating Smile Under the Shade and Red.
Unfazed, the dragon head phantom fixed its reptilian yellow pupils on Niu Chang, only to hear him speak. "No need to try to hide it. You're stalling for time, aren't you? You've already started countering my technique, but you chose to delay it until it's ripe and break it in one move."
Initially, the invading red qi from the shrine maiden phantom spread unhindered, and the only method Huang Zhi used to deter it was by sacrificing her yellow qi to push it back.
After a moment of silence, the dragon head sneered, and the yellow qi around Huang Zhi's body began eliminating the red qi, albeit not very effectively. Out of ten yellow qi, only one red qi was eliminated.
"You're not like the others. You don't bother with things like grudges and hatred. How about we end our conflict here?" the dragon head phantom spoke in a monotone voice without any fluctuations.
"Indeed, I don't care about such things, but what about you?" Niu Chang smiled as he used his skill. "Can you forget this 'misunderstanding'?"
The dragon head phantom fell silent, pondering the question. After a while, the yellow qi began to change, and the ratio increased from ten to one to ten to four.
"You see," Niu Chang said compassionately, "you never intended to let me go. Our current conversation is nothing but a stall tactic. I can't leave because I need to restrict your body's movement, and you need time to crack my technique. We are not the same."
"Hur hur hur," the dragon head phantom laughed with its peculiar sound. "So what if you know? Can you do anything about it? Like you said, you need to use that weird beguiling technique to restrict my physical body and arouse the invading red qi around me, but that's all you can do."
The dragon's eyes gleamed with coldness. "Don't tell me you're also stalling for time."
Niu Chang didn't respond immediately, waiting for Huang Zhi's reaction. Then, both of them burst into laughter simultaneously.
"Hur hur hur."
"Hahaha."
"Because you're my first friend, I'll give you another chance, Little Zhi. If you choose to back off now, I'll let you go," Niu Chang said warmly, speaking like a close friend.
The dragon head phantom had limited facial expressions, but its eyes blinked twice.
Huang Zhi could sense the sincerity in Niu Chang's words but was unsure of what to do. 'This human is a lunatic that I can't comprehend. He may speak kindly now, but who knows if he'll change his mind shortly? After all, with his eccentric ways, life and death mean nothing.'
Niu Chang noticed the yellow qi transforming once again, increasing the ratio to ten to nine.
He sighed in pity.