Cao Guang had kept the Advancing Warrior all by himself. While Fenrir, Iron Sand Golem and Giant Thunder Hawk kept one Warrior each busy.
Zhu Li and Yan Liling and Nie Huan fought a Warrior level Growling Earth Ape with difficulty. They weren't the best at individual battles and lacked certain level of experience, required to control the flow of a battle.
More often than not you didn't need to be stronger than an enemy to see their next move, you could predict it with experience or force them to move a certain way again with experience.
Zhu Li's elements were Earth and Lightning while Yan Liling's were Wind and Earth. They both had offensive and movement spells while Nie Huan controlled the environment.
Yao Nan on the other hand spread Ice around to weaken the Apes and take care of the twenty five or so Minions. He used his spirit grade seed of Ice to spread Ice faster. Certain elements needed a some time before they could bloom in a sense.
Ice, poison, shadow, Summoning and Undead were all such elements. Yao Nan happened to have both ice and poison. He could only spread Ice around to slow the apes to begin his attack. Yao Nan connect 49 stars of his newly learned intermediate spell to form a Star Pattern as a dark Purple colour with a tinge of black appeared in his eyes.
Poison Swamp Devouring Wasps.
Poison mages had to ways to cast poison spells. Develop and grow insects and other poisonous creatures and use them for casting spells, the advantage of this method was that it consumed spiritual energy and some time to direct these creatures and had no need to connect the stars.
The Stars only needed to be connected when these insects where being cultivated per se. The second method was casting it as a normal spell using spiritual energy and stars, the advantage was that it didn't make the mage completely dependent on insects.
Insects often had short lifespan and other weakness to balance their insane numbers. It was not unheard of for poison mages to have times when certain insects were hibernating or something else.
Yao Nan was obviously the second type as he connected his stars, insects made of mana appeared and chased the Minion level monsters who had been partially frozen,to death. Another dozen of them fell by the time Cao Guang and Little Flame Belle seperated the first time.
Another attack later the Minions were dust on the ground as Yao Nan drew a deep breath and connected another Star Pattern this time attacking the Warrior level Ape.
Ice Lock
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Cao Guang had fought with his opponent for another two rounds when something turned the battle in his favour. His Meteorite Fist has crushed the Ape's vocal chords, preventing it from singing it's god awful solo.
Cao Guang decisively split from the Little Flame Belle again as he slowly realised a reality. His daughter was as strong as him now, but their combined battle form did not seem to bring out their entire strength.
The Little Flame Belle had to suppress her magic as his inner world might get overloaded. He might need a third tier Nebula to release their full power.
It wasn't just a cultivation thing, their inclination to fire magic differed. Previously Prairie Flames had suppressed Calamity Fire so much that there was no problem, now Calamity Fire was going stronger with the Little Flame Belle and there would soon come a point where couldn't possess her any longer unless he broke through.
Who knew that his daughter had been holding back to protect him. He thought that it should have been the other way around. When he had gotten the Flame Belle, he wasn't that attached to her.
Now a year on from the coaxing and the cooing the little one had grown on him. He would take her out for lunch and dinner everyday.
Now the father daughter duo would show off their prowess seperately.
Cao Guang cast another Star pattern and an intermediate spell towards the Ape who was bleeding from its neck. A silver rhomboid hit the beast and slowed it considerably. His increase in Mental Strength was evident now.
Cao Guang and Little Flame Belle both prepared the same spell in their own way that would make onlookers sigh 'Flame of Bo' in the future.
Fiery Fist Ground Break
Meteorite Fist Explosion
The flames converged near the face of the beast as they pushed a deeper hole towards its neck that oozed blood in litres.