This war of sound—maybe, just maybe—we could win!
But just as that thought flashed through her mind, The Fool suddenly slowed down and came to an abrupt halt. On the mental map in his head, the red dot representing Lady Simone was still mindlessly chasing behind, fooled by the sound decoys. But his nose told him something else—don't go into the cave ahead. There was a scent there, a very unique, very recognizable fragrance.
So The Fool spun around, took off, and dashed away at full speed. Meanwhile, a chuckling voice echoed through the cave: "Kid, you’re sharp—really sharp. I’ve never met anyone quite like you. How about we sit down and chat? Swap some tips on Sound Skills?"
Whoosh—a palm strike ripped through the air at his back, but The Fool dodged like he had eyes in the back of his head. Bam! Somewhere in the darkness, stone shattered. Clearly, that palm was not meant for friendly conversation.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! More palm strikes closed in from all angles. This was where The Fool’s quick little shuffle really shined—he weaved left and right, dodging with nimble moves, all while making a full-speed getaway.
With the sound of fluttering robes, Lady Simone pressed the attack, closing in fast. But now, The Fool wasn’t so sure she was really in that spot—just like those fake-out chases earlier, all deliberate misdirection on her part.
Suddenly, he got it: those faint, almost inaudible sounds all around were Lady Simone’s detection net. She could use it to pinpoint their location, so those sound decoys weren’t nearly as effective as he’d hoped.
When it comes to using sound, the gap between them was huge. It wasn’t about skill level—it was about the tools. Like ancient folks with abacuses trying to imagine modern people with computers; it’s a whole different league.
Internal Energy—what a wild thing.
"Kid, you’re a real talent. No Internal Energy, yet you’ve gotten this far. And you’ve got all these quirky ideas I never even considered—today’s been an eye-opener! I’m starting to like you. How about we call a truce? I won’t hunt you down, you don’t treat me as an enemy, and we open up and share what we’ve got?" Her voice was full of sincerity—and a not-so-subtle seductive undertone, making your blood rush south and making you wonder if maybe, just maybe, there’s a better way to ‘fight’ with this knockout.
But even as she closed in, her speed didn’t drop one bit. That faint killing intent brushed past your back like strands of hair, making your skin crawl.
The Fool didn’t answer, just kept sprinting through the maze-like cave. He already knew Lady Simone’s power level from their earlier scuffle—without Princess Embroidered Jade’s help, he couldn’t handle that innate Internal Energy by himself.
"Kid, what are you so afraid of? Me killing you? No need! We fought forever back at the pool and neither of us could do a thing to the other. Plus, Princess Embroidered Jade is one of the Twin Beauties, a world-class martial artist—honestly, she scares me more!" Lady Simone’s voice was all fake pleading and flattery: "Princess Embroidered Jade, please go easy! I can’t beat you—oh wait, I forgot, you’re poisoned!"
Her slow, taunting tone surrounded them from all sides, burrowing into their ears: "Prin~cess~, you can’t use your Internal Energy anymore, can you? Ha ha ha, looks like it’s true—what a pity!"
Princess Embroidered Jade frowned, anger bubbling up. Lady Simone’s voice was so punchable—those school bullies who used to shake down nerdy girls had nothing on her. With a voice like that, she could rule the whole campus without even lifting a finger.
But Princess Embroidered Jade knew she was just trying to mess with her head. Right now, the top priority was to snap out of her unstable state and recover enough strength to fight. But with all this wild jostling, forget snapping out of it—even someone with shaky Internal Energy would get pushed over the edge.
It all came down to being mentally unsettled. Damn that Second Loss of Will—it’s been nothing but trouble for her.
"Kid, why are you so protective of Princess Embroidered Jade, anyway? You’ve only known her a few days. With her whole ice-queen vibe, I bet you haven’t even talked much. What kind of bond could you possibly have?"
A sharp whistling sound cut through the darkness—probably a stone launched with finger force. The Fool used his wind-sensing skills to dodge left and right, but sometimes he’d grunt and stagger. Each time, Lady Simone got a little closer.
The ghostly voice kept drifting over: "Kid, only clueless kids go for ice-cold beauties. I can tell you’re not that naive—you know mature women are the real deal. What’s the point of an ice princess you can only look at but never touch? Stick with me, and I’ll make sure you’re in heaven and hell at the same time—and teach you top-notch skills, too. With your talent and my Sound Skill, the world would be yours! So stop running, take down Princess Embroidered Jade, and you’ll be set for life."
The Fool still ignored her, head down, sprinting full speed.
Lady Simone’s words marked the second phase of the sound war—a battle for the mind. She pulled out all the stops to mess with their heads, but The Fool just tuned her out. He remembered every word, but didn’t care. Her mind games were wasted on him. Princess Embroidered Jade, though, was a little ticked off—especially at that ‘look but don’t touch’ comment, which brought back her earlier moment of rage.
"Huh? Something’s off about you two—wait, no way, Princess Embroidered Jade, did you really...? You sure go all out! Now I get why the kid’s so protective, so biased I’m getting jealous. Turns out you’re not just for looking, but for touching too, ha ha ha!" Her voice dripped with mockery, echoing everywhere: "Wow, everyone said Princess Embroidered Jade was cold as ice, never gave men the time of day, but now, to save your skin, you’re throwing yourself into his arms! Kid, you lucky dog, if this gets out, the whole martial world will lose its mind!"
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading the good stuff!)
"Ugh!" Princess Embroidered Jade gritted her teeth. She knew Lady Simone was trying to provoke her, but she just couldn’t help getting mad, and her Internal Energy started to get a little shaky. And honestly, she was a little annoyed at The Fool too—he was wrapped up in this mess from the start.
Mind games—they always work on somebody.
But as The Fool ran, he suddenly stopped. Not a dodge, not a sidestep—he just flat out stopped. He stood still in the darkness, reaching out to feel the wall ahead, but for a whole second, didn’t move. And in this moment, a second felt like forever. Princess Embroidered Jade instantly realized: "Dead end?"
"Ha ha ha, kid, what do you think of my Sound Skill?" Lady Simone’s voice came from ten meters away—even Princess Embroidered Jade could tell they were in a single cave, a dead end. Her face grew serious: Lady Simone blocked the exit, stone wall behind—this was checkmate.
The reason they landed in this trap was probably Lady Simone’s Sound Skill leading them astray.
"Kid, you’ve already lost."
Princess Embroidered Jade had to admit, Lady Simone was right—when it came to martial power and Sound Skill, they were totally outclassed. This war was probably over.
"Kid, I like you, so I’ll give you one last chance. Hand over Princess Embroidered Jade. As long as she coughs up the secrets of the Southern Wasteland Ancient Empire and the Bright Moon Divine Skill, I’ll let you have her. Do whatever you want—heck, I’ll even help you train her as your slave. Just imagine, a princess who once shook the world, now yours to command. Tempting, isn’t it?"
Princess Embroidered Jade nearly fainted from rage, but there was nothing she could do.
Yet, in this dangerous moment, with her mind racing, she didn’t doubt The Fool—not even a little. Rationally, Lady Simone had all the advantages and her offer was hard to refuse. She and The Fool had barely spoken. But somehow, she was sure The Fool wouldn’t betray her now.
Absolutely not.
Just then, she felt The Fool lower his center of gravity, flip his hand and pull something out, then—bang!—a burst of fire shot straight at Lady Simone. At the same time, his other hand pressed against the stone wall. Buzz! Muscles and bones vibrated at an insane frequency, his whole arm shaking like crazy.
"Not a dead end." Four simple words, and suddenly Princess Embroidered Jade felt at ease. The Fool’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm: "No road? Then we’ll make one."
She couldn’t see what was happening up ahead, just heard the constant crackle and bang of explosions, flashes of light like thunder in the night, lighting up the pitch-black cave. In those brief moments of brightness, she saw the stone wall where The Fool struck start to soften, crack, and crumble away.
She didn’t know how The Fool figured it out, but she believed there had to be hope on the other side of that wall!
"Damn it, you ruined my dress—now you’ve really made me mad!" A whistling sound cut through the air as Lady Simone charged in, her momentum fierce. The Fool let out a low growl, swung his right fist at the enemy, and kicked back with his left leg. He cranked his Insight Technique to the max, unleashing the full power of Dragon Elephant: Seventh Level—
Boom! The crumbling wall suddenly blasted inward, opening up a hole just big enough. And through that opening—light! At the same time, a loud smack rang out as fist met palm, and Lady Simone let out a muffled grunt, flying backward, clearly taking a hit. The Fool leaped back, dove for the new tunnel, and his legs landed right in the opening, pulling Princess Embroidered Jade in like a pro.
The tunnel was nearly three feet long, and with two people, it was a tight squeeze. It was rough, jagged, full of bumps. Princess Embroidered Jade felt herself held tight in a pair of arms, clothes scraping and tearing as the two of them pushed through the wall and landed on the other side.
Lady Simone, who’d just taken a punch, rushed back, but stopped dead at the tunnel entrance. Looking through to the other side, she saw a man standing in the glow, staring right back. Backlit, most of his features were hidden in shadow, but his eyes gleamed, fierce and sharp, his whole body radiating fighting spirit.
One man guards the pass, ten thousand can’t break through. The Fool didn’t say a word, but his meaning was clear: You’re not getting through here.