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Luckily, Shawn Young reacted in time and leapt away, but the thunderous crack left his eardrums aching. He was deeply shocked, knowing that the lightning was no natural phenomenon—it was a 'Rolling Thunder Blast' unleashed by a master of Taoist arts! If he hadn't dodged in time, that strike would have left him either dead or crippled!
“Who’s there! Hiding in the shadows—what kind of expert are you?!” Shawn Young braced himself and looked around, but saw no one—only the blood-red, eerie night. He knew he couldn’t let his guard down, because whoever struck just now clearly meant to kill him! He quickly calmed himself and shouted loudly to the surroundings.
Before Shawn Young’s voice had even faded, he heard a sharp whistling from his side. He turned quickly, just in time to see a blue bolt of lightning charging straight at him. It was fast—terrifyingly fast—and Shawn could feel a chilling, murderous aura trailing behind it!
He didn’t hesitate for a second—forget dignity! He had no time to use Taoist defenses; the blue lightning was already upon him. Shawn tensed his body and rolled several meters away. Before he could even stand, the blue lightning, carrying its deadly chill, struck where he’d just been—BOOM! The lightning shattered a solid stone into pieces, and the chilling aura—whoosh—vanished into the ground.
Shawn staggered to his feet, glancing back—and couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath. That chilling aura was actually a steel crossbow bolt, glinting coldly in the night. This type of bolt is used only in special forces operations and packs a deadly punch. If it’s fitted with an explosive tip, it can blast everything within four or five meters—even if it misses! No wonder it’s so effective.
Suddenly, Shawn heard a surprised cry—"Eh—oh!"—from the bushes nearby. His heart sank; there was more than one person out there. He’d walked right into a carefully laid trap!
Worst of all, this trap was set with a spell formation, chosen and arranged with precision. Shawn instantly regretted his reckless intrusion. He knew he was now stuck inside a Mystic Gate spell array—calling for Helen or Minnie Wang at the foot of the mountain was out of the question. If he wanted to survive and escape, he’d have to fight to the bitter end against these hidden enemies!
In Wrathland, the righteous energy and dragon vein power were extremely weak. The enemy seemed to know he relied on Taoist arts, which needed the world’s righteous energy and the power of the feng shui dragon veins! They used Wrathland’s strange, evil aura to set up a Mystic Gate Divination array that would nullify most Taoist techniques and lure him in. From outside the array, they could shatter his fate and soul! Wrathland was perfect for setting up evil formations—anyone who entered would lose their protective luck, and even their inner fire would weaken. And now, it was clear the enemy had laid this trap with one goal: to kill him!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—
Three steel crossbow bolts shot at Shawn from three directions—high, middle, and low! They were viciously fast. Shawn leapt to the left, dodging the lower two bolts, then slapped the third one away from his throat—smack! His palm stung from the force; those bolts were no joke!
“なかなかいいじゃないですか!!” Not bad at all! Another voice called out from nearby. Shawn didn’t understand the words, but he recognized Japanese—and that it was a man speaking.
Shawn instantly rushed toward the source of the voice. He darted under a bush, feeling the air tremble. Without hesitation, he unleashed his Flash Combat Power and struck with a "Heart-Piercing Cannon Hammer" from Xingyi Fist—wham! A scream rang out as blood sprayed into the air. A strangely dressed, masked man collapsed, blood gushing from his neck—Shawn’s blow had snapped it. In the man’s hand was a crossbow for firing steel bolts.
Suddenly, another gust of wind—Shawn swung his leg with full force—BANG! Another masked man fell, coughing blood, his chest bone jutting out. He was done for!
With those two masked men dead, the bushes in front of Shawn suddenly transformed into tall wooden poles, each more than three meters high. Hanging from the poles were huge yellow cloths, covered in ancient runic symbols. Shawn looked around—the small trees had vanished, replaced by these poles draped in yellow cloth and symbols.
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In a flash, Shawn realized the enemy had set up a sinister Mystic Gate Divination array in Wrathland! There weren’t any bushes at all—under the array’s grand barrier and Wrathland’s unique feng shui, those runes disguised themselves as bushes, fooling Shawn and letting the assassins hide. Only a master of Mystic Gate Divination could create such a terrifying spell array!
Mystic Gate Divination was called 'Yin Talisman' during the Zhou and Qin dynasties, 'Six Jia Secret Arts' in Han and Wei, 'Mystic Gate' in Jin and Sui, and 'Divination Armor' in Tang and Song. Only after Ming and Qing was it unified as 'Mystic Gate Divination.' According to records, Mystic Gate Divination was passed down from the Yellow Emperor, perfected in the Zhou era, and has always been a secret tradition. Based on the I Ching, it combines astrology, astronomy, geography, the Eight Gates and Nine Stars, yin-yang, five elements, and more. It’s not only the deepest part of feng shui, but also used in ancient warfare, architecture, and medicine. There are two branches: 'Art Mystic Gate,' which excels at calculation and foresight, and 'Method Mystic Gate,' which is all about formations and strategy. Anyone who can set up such an array is both a battlefield commander and a terrifying enemy.
Mystic Gate Divination has a long history, spreading far and wide—not only in China, but also across Asia. During the Three Kingdoms, it reached Japan, where it became revered by mystical sects and was merged into Japanese arts. Some sects became very powerful, especially the ninja clans. The famous Iga ninja leader, Hattori Hanzo, was a master of Mystic Gate Divination and used it to help Tokugawa Ieyasu unify Japan.
Now, the powerful Mystic Gate Divination array and those two masked men Shawn killed were clearly ninjas. The array was set up in Wrathland by a feng shui master to trap Shawn inside, then the Mystic Gate Divination array was used to hunt him. This was a carefully prepared illusion array! Facing these sudden, formidable enemies, Shawn felt an unprecedented pressure.