Chapter 82 | The Otherworld Journey That Starts From a Slime

When he saw another Zhang Ye composed of blue lightning-attribute mana, Nan’s first reaction was—how is this possible?!

Zhang Ye had previously released a Tier Ten light-attribute spell, then just now used a fire-attribute combat technique, and now he was using a lightning-attribute movement technique?!

Three attributes?!

Even setting that aside... why did he know the movement technique of the Thunderclap family?!

That was a restricted secret technique never shared with outsiders!

How was this possible?!

But the facts were right before his eyes. Nan was not a person to hesitate; he knew this was a battle and there was no time for him to overthink.

Two Nans collided with two Zhang Yes, and the clash of thunder and fire produced intense sparks.

They separated the moment they touched, both flying backward rapidly before charging at each other again.

Their Lightning Shadow Clones appeared and vanished, appearing and vanishing in the blink of an eye. Blue lightning and purple lightning collided head-on, producing explosive sounds.

Watching this battle, Lina and Renomon were both stunned.

This was truly too strong!

Renomon was certain that if he intervened, he would be seriously injured in no time!

Neither of these two was someone he could handle!

Between the collisions, the ground cracked. The power of the thunder even scorched the earth black, and the flames melted the ground.

“Lightning Light Slash!” Nan suddenly let out a roar, swinging out a flurry of lightning blades.

Zhang Ye was not to be outdone: “Flame Lion Punch!”

Blue flames mixed with blue lightning collided with those purple lightning blades, exploding in mid-air and sending out rolling shockwaves.

Nan used the explosion as cover to instantly arrive in front of Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye was too strong; this was his only chance.

He would exert all his strength into his strongest killing move—one strike to decide the winner!

“Triple Thunder Prison Kill!” he roared. Two clones suddenly leaped from his body, the long blades in their hands flashing with intense lightning.

Three figures charged at Zhang Ye from three different directions.

Seeing this, Zhang Ye suddenly erupted with terrifying blue flames. Fist shadows filled the sky as he struggled to block Nan’s slashes.

Nan’s slashes were too fast. In an instant, the three figures swung their blades hundreds of times. Dense lightning light covered Zhang Ye; in their field of vision, there was only a blur of purple electricity and white light.

Lina held her breath, praying in her heart that Zhang Ye would win.

However, Renomon frowned.

Why... why isn't Brother Ye dodging?

With his speed, it was entirely possible to dodge Nan’s killing move. Moreover, he clearly remembered that Zhang Ye had previously used a skill similar to teleportation, instantly crossing hundreds of meters to flash in front of him and block the Flame Rock Beast’s fire stones.

Therefore, Zhang Ye was fully capable of dodging.

But he didn't do it.

Was he being careless?

Impossible. He had fought Zhang Ye before and knew that Zhang Ye had combat awareness and techniques superior to his own; there was no reason for him to be careless.

So there was only one possibility—Zhang Ye was holding back.

As the lightning light flashed past, Zhang Ye’s figure flew backward, smashing into a distant rock and shattering it.

Nan stood firm on the spot and sheathed his long blade, but his brow was already furrowed.

What Renomon could see, he naturally saw as well. With Zhang Ye’s speed, a successful dodge was highly likely, yet he hadn't done it, choosing instead to take the hit head-on.

Zhang Ye dug himself out of the rock crater, scratching his head with a laugh. “Oops, I lost.”

He stood up, hissing through his teeth from the pain, but he clearly hadn't sustained much damage.

With the protection of Parallel Guardian and the Sunshine Knight magic outfit, he wouldn't take much damage at all. Combined with his previous strategy of using offense as defense, his injuries were even lighter.

However, the force of Nan’s long blade had still penetrated his body. While he wasn't really injured, it truly hurt.

Nan looked at him and finally understood.

Zhang Ye had held back.

For a moment, his hand gripped the hilt of his blade a bit tighter, and he even felt like drawing it to hack this guy until he cried.

But in the end, he held back.

This was Zhang Ye’s goodwill. He could choose not to accept it, and he didn't want to accept it, because what he truly wanted was to defeat Zhang Ye with his own strength, not to have Zhang Ye hand him a victory by holding back like this.

It was just that... he needed those points.

He needed to use the first-place rank among the freshmen to tell his clan that he was working hard.

Therefore, this was the first time he went against his own heart.

Because of Zhang Ye.

Zhang Ye nodded and smiled. “You won, so the points are yours. Um... I’ll keep a little to secure fourth place, that’s fine, right?”

Hearing this, Nan gave a slight nod. After a long silence, he whispered, “Thank you.”

Zhang Ye was taken aback. “What did you say? It was too quiet, I couldn't hear you.”

A vein popped on Nan’s forehead.

How powerful was Zhang Ye’s perception? How could he possibly not have heard?

Nan ignored him and turned to walk toward the place where they had just eaten the BBQ. Zhang Ye quickly ran to his side, chirping away with a grin.

“What was it? What did you just say?”

“Say it again, won’t you?”

“Were you trying to thank me?”

“Were you?!”

The veins on Nan’s forehead throbbed violently. Finally, he couldn't help but draw his blade. “I said, I’m going to hack you to death!”

“Holy crap!” Zhang Ye hastily dodged a blade light, exclaiming in shock, “A-Nan, you’re for real?!”

“If you call me A-Nan again, I’ll kill you!”

“Okay, A-Nan. I got it, A-Nan. No problem, A-Nan.”

Nan: “...Lightning Light Slash!”

Zhang Ye: “Oh my god!”

Watching Zhang Ye being chased and hacked at while yelping, Lina suddenly burst into laughter. Renomon also couldn't help but let a smile curl his lips.

With Zhang Ye around, the atmosphere always seemed to stay joyful.

After hacking for a long time without landing a single blow on Zhang Ye, Nan grew even more furious.

With this kind of evasion ability, he still took the killing move head-on. Was that just holding back? He was holding back an entire ocean!

What a hateful guy!

However, he didn't notice that at this moment, the original hostility and resentment he felt toward Zhang Ye had completely vanished.

After fooling around for a while, the group sat together to chat.

“Hmm... I still have about three hundred million points worth of essence. Let me see...” Zhang Ye muttered.

Upon hearing this, even though he had heard Zhang Ye mention hundreds of millions of points before and was somewhat prepared, Nan’s eyes still couldn't help but twitch.

Over three hundred million... Did you slaughter half the Rock Beasts in the secret realm?!

“Brother-in-law, I’ll give you some more to make it eighty million.”

“Lina, take another thirty million.”

Hearing this, Renomon and Lina hastily shook their heads. “No, that’s too much...”

This time, Zhang Ye’s attitude was firm. “No, you have to take it no matter what you say this time. Since I’m dropping out of the top three, you two must take second and third place for me. That’s the only way to make me look good!”

“Brother-in-law, if you don't take it, we’ll fight another round so I can test your strength again!”

Renomon let out a series of bitter laughs. Even if he said that, he would still have to take the points in the end, so he simply nodded. “Fine. I only want the rank; I’ll give all the ranking rewards to you.”

Lina also nodded. “Mhm, I don't want the ranking rewards either. I’ll give them all to Brother Ye!”

Zhang Ye laughed heartily. “We’re all friends here, but since you put it that way, I’ll accept them gladly!”

Only then did Renomon and Lina grin.

Zhang Ye sighed inwardly.

Brothers, you might not know how much I gave up to make this decision... Big Nana’s kiss!

I’m sorry, Big Nana, I can’t let you kiss my handsome face...

Oh right, I also have to wash my hair while doing a handstand...

“Then I’ll take seventy million for myself to secure fourth place, and I’ll keep sixty million to return to Samanra and the others later. That leaves one hundred and forty million, which will all go to Nan. Any objections?” Zhang Ye continued.

Everyone shook their heads, indicating they had no problem with it.

In reality, the essence distributed to them would be worth even more than those point values.

Actually, Zhang Ye could have taken even more essence to absorb, but his mental strength had already reached the Saint-tier. Tier Eight and Tier Nine essence no longer had much effect on him.