Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 394 Poetry Turns into Snow, Igniting Anger

"The north wind sweeps across the land, bending the white grass; in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, snow flies in the northern sky. Suddenly, as if a spring breeze has arrived overnight, thousands of trees bloom with pear blossoms..."

Aizen recited the poem in a very elegant and calm voice.

As the poems were recited, a breeze swept through the central hall, bringing with it a chill that instantly lowered the temperature by several degrees.

Tianming shivered: "Why has it suddenly gotten so cold?"

Gao Jianli glanced at him and said to the crowd, "Take Tianming and Gongshu Chou to the secret chamber!"

The group did as instructed, and after leaving two people to guard Gongshu Chou, the others guarded the entrance to the Mohe Secret Chamber.

Gao Jianli plunged his longsword into the ground, and ice spikes burst forth from the blade, forming an ice wall that blocked the entrance to the Ink Core Chamber.

In this way, the temperature exchange between the Ink Core Chamber and the Central Hall can be considered temporarily isolated.

After all, although Gao Jianli's ice was also cold, it was still much weaker than the gust of cold wind blowing through the central hall at this moment.

Even experts at the Innate Realm and above, who protected their bodies with their true energy, could still feel that chill.

At this moment, Zhang Han, who was being attacked by this chilling aura from the clouds, was probably in an even worse situation.

Well... Zhang Han himself probably doesn't think so.

The armor he was wearing was not made of real steel, but of celestial crystal energy, which insulated him from the temperature difference between the inside and outside.

More troublesome than the biting wind was the snow that accompanied it, each flake as large as a goose feather, fluttering and swirling around him in the strong wind.

In the blink of an eye, a snowdrift had formed, trapping his legs and feet.

And this is just the beginning.

"Scattered through the beaded curtains and damp silk screens, the fox fur coat is not warm and the brocade quilt is thin..."

Snowflakes and mist seemed to penetrate everywhere, seeping into the gaps in his armor.

That is to say, he was wearing a Heavenly Crystal Energy Armor. If it were an ordinary armor, it would probably be immediately penetrated by this method.

Zhang Han, of course, did not sit idly by and wait for death. He unleashed purple galactic energy, creating a gust of wind in an attempt to blow away the clouds and snow, but to little avail.

With a wave of his purple longsword, the sword light was chilling, and streaks of sword energy slashed into the wind.

But how can sword energy solve the problems of wind and snow?

"The general's horn bow is hard to control, and the protector's iron armor is too cold to wear!"

The sound of the wind carried the sound of Inazuma reciting poetry, still steady and clear.

But Zhang Han felt his hand movements suddenly freeze.

Something was stuck in his arm, hindering his movement.

Looking down, Zhang Han was shocked!

His arms were covered with a thick layer of snow.

The snow filled every gap in the armor. Although it did not penetrate the armor's defenses, the snow gradually accumulated and piled up together, turning into thick ice.

In this way, every time he swung his sword, it was as if he were carrying this thick layer of ice.

Although the ice at his joints could be easily broken by his strength, it still severely hampered his movements.

In that instant, Zhang Han finally understood what the other party wanted to do.

The cold wind and the chill brought by the flying snow had no effect on him at all, but the constantly accumulating snow would seriously hinder his movements.

But what can he do?

The characteristic of the Purple Cloud Sword is that the power it unleashes gathers like clouds and mist, and does not easily dissipate, but rather accumulates continuously.

What Zhang Han is facing at this moment is actually a concentrated burst of power that Aizen has been accumulating since the start of the war!
What's even more terrifying is that even after such a concentrated outburst, this force will not dissipate!
Of course, it doesn't mean it will never dissipate, but rather that it dissipates very slowly, so that during a short battle, it's as if it won't dissipate at all.

But no matter which one it is, the result is the same for Zhang Han at this moment.

In terms of combat strength, it can be seen from his previous battle with Aizen that the two were evenly matched and on par.

Aizen, however, could utilize the properties of the Purple Cloud Sword to continuously accumulate his power and then unleash it in a concentrated burst.

In contrast, although Zhang Han's power was inexhaustible, his personal willpower was limited, and the amount of Heavenly Crystal energy he could extract per unit of time was also limited.

Therefore, all his resistance seemed so weak and useless in the face of this enormous force.

In the end, he could only watch as the snowflakes fell on him, condensing into solid ice that froze his body.

All around, clouds and mist filled the air, reducing visibility to less than half a meter, to the point where it was difficult to see anything clearly.

A chilling wind kept blowing.

Zhang Han was like a traveler walking in the northern wilderness on a snowy day. The wind and snow almost buried him, but he was powerless to resist the power of nature.

Looking around, all one could see was the vast expanse of heaven and earth, with not a single way out.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Han's willpower inevitably began to wane, causing the brilliance of his armor to gradually dim.

However, the scene outside is completely different.

Although the cold wind was howling, the mist that filled the entire central hall gradually shrank and gradually condensed in the core area of ​​the central hall.

That is, the location of Zhang Han personally.

The so-called clouds and mist are actually the power that the Purple Cloud Sword is constantly accumulating.

At this moment, these clouds and mists only surrounded Zhang Han, which means that all the power was used on Zhang Han, with not a single bit wasted.

Therefore, Zhang Han himself was buried by the wind and snow under the protection of his armor, while the others only felt a little cold.

Aizen, who had also emerged from the veil of clouds and whose figure was now visible to everyone, was still reciting poetry: "The vast sea is frozen solid, hundreds of feet thick; the sorrowful clouds gather for thousands of miles... Alright, you don't need to recite the rest."

With a casual wave of his hand, the clouds and mist dissipated.

Zhang Han was completely submerged in snow and ice, transformed into an ice sculpture.

Most of his body was completely covered by ice and snow, making him unable to move. Only the area above his neck was half exposed.

Aizen sheathed his sword and chuckled, "I thought you could hold on for a while longer, so I specially prepared this long poem for you. But now it seems I was overthinking it."

Beneath the transparent mask, Zhang Han glared angrily.

"Your armor is truly formidable. At this level, even a Grandmaster of the Three Flowers would likely be frozen to death by me. But because of this armor, you withstood most of the damage, which is why you survived." Aizen said, "The power of the Heavenly Crystal is indeed quite impressive. But it's a pity that it's fallen into the hands of people like you; it's a real waste."

Zhang Han's eyes seemed to blaze with fire: "As long as my will remains, you will never be able to take the Heavenly Crystal from me."

"Then let's see who can hold out longer, your will or my Purple Cloud Sword."

Aizen seemed completely unconcerned, and said indifferently.

He slowly walked back to the Mo family's side.

The Mo family members clasped their hands in unison: "Thank you for your help, sir."

Aizen accepted the criticism calmly, saying, "No need to thank me. I only intervened because of Mr. Gai. If he hadn't drawn the Azure Light Sword, what would the Mo family's affairs have to do with me?"

Upon hearing this, Gai Nie bowed again: "Thank you for your help, Your Excellency. I will remember it forever."

Aizen smiled and said, "As fellow inheritors of the Seven Swords, helping each other is only natural. After all, we are partners who share the destiny!"

Gai Nie frowned: "Destiny... Could it really be true? What exactly is it?"

Aizen said, "I am also investigating this matter, and so far I have only found some clues. I will inform you once the investigation is complete. However, I can be certain that all of us who wield the Seven Swords have a mission to fulfill."

Gai Nie nodded.

Gao Jianli stepped forward and said, "May I ask your name, sir?"

"This humble one is Aizen."

"Mr. Lan, what about Zhang Han now..."

“I have frozen him and he is completely unable to move. However, the armor he is wearing is made from a treasure called Heavenly Crystal, which has extremely high defensive strength. For the time being, even I cannot break through it and can only trap him.”

Aizen said, "However, I am confident that I can keep him trapped for a long time. You should take this opportunity to gather the Mohist disciples and leave this mechanical city. Otherwise, once the Qin army arrives, there may be no chance."

Everyone nodded.

However, there is still a problem.

What should we do with Wei Zhuang and his group?

Seemingly sensing this intention, Wei Zhuang and the others tensed up and gripped their weapons tightly.

Gao Jianli and the others also revealed murderous intent in their eyes.

Just as tensions were about to escalate—click!
"What?!" Aizen exclaimed in shock.

This was the first time anyone had seen a look of surprise on his face, but no one cared about it anymore.

Their gazes were all fixed on the center of the main hall, on the sculpture that was buried in ice and snow.

The cracking sound we heard earlier came from this sculpture.

Everyone could see that the sculpture, which was completely submerged in ice and snow, suddenly developed a crack.

A dazzling purple light burst forth from that opening.

Then, another roar, which sounded completely unlike a human's but more like that of a wild beast, burst forth from the ice and snow.

"Master Yoda, my strength improvement has slowed down significantly recently, and it hasn't improved at all in the last two days. Why is that?"

Inside Xianyang Palace, Zhang Han removed his armor, pulled out the purple crystal, and asked with a hint of worry on his face.

The short-statured Master Yoda sat cross-legged on a futon and calmly said, "The height of a fountain will not exceed its source. The power of armor will not exceed the user's willpower."

When you first obtained this armor, everything was still new. As you mastered the use of this power, your strength naturally increased rapidly, but that was only in terms of technique.

In terms of mental power, you haven't seen any increase. Therefore, when the power of this armor reaches the limit of your mental power, it will naturally be limited by it.

"is that so?"

Zhang Han clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "Then may I ask, Master, how can I improve my mental power?"

“Go to school, understand those principles, or travel around the world and broaden your horizons. Besides that, practicing martial arts is also a good option.”

Master Yoda said, "Intent is not just the power of the mind, but the power of will is even more crucial. There may be some methods in the world that can enhance mental power, but the means to strengthen will are extremely rare. It can only be strengthened slowly through these painstaking efforts."

Zhang Han frowned: "So, my strength won't be able to increase in the short term?"

"Is such that……"

Master Yoda nodded, but then said, "However, I have also thought of some solutions to this problem. There is one method that might temporarily boost your strength."

"Please teach me, Master."

Master Yoda smiled and said, "Do you know the differences between humanity and animality?"

"This... I don't know."

"Human nature has too many emotions. People use the term 'seven emotions and six desires' to summarize them. If you think about it, there are thirteen different emotions in total."

Wild animals, on the other hand, mostly possess only a few survival-oriented desires and have very few emotions; compared to humans, they are clearly much purer.

Master Yoda said: "When a person experiences great joy, great sorrow, or extreme anger, his spiritual power begins to increase. But this is not because he has actually become stronger, but because of this extreme emotion, his other emotions and desires begin to transform into this one emotion."

In other words, thirteen emotions and desires are transformed into a single emotion and desire. Therefore, this single emotion and desire will be significantly amplified in a short period of time!
I call this process the transformation from humanity to bestiality. And the methods I'm about to teach you come from this transformation.

"Master, what should I do?"

Amidst the solid ice and snow, the purple radiance shines even brighter.

"Among all emotions, anger is the easiest to concentrate. Therefore, you must learn to be angry and constantly intensify your anger, thereby transforming your other emotional forces into anger in the process."

By focusing on this one point, you can temporarily enhance your willpower, thereby drawing more power from the Heavenly Crystal!

"Master, I have been following your method, but no matter how angry I get, I still can't improve my strength..."

"That only means your heart is still bound. You need to experience something firsthand to break free from this bondage, to let the anger within you truly erupt, and then..."

Click!Click!
Cracks appeared on the surface of the ice and snow, and my increasingly dazzling purple light burst forth from these cracks, illuminating the entire central hall in purple.

Aizen instantly drew his Purple Cloud Sword, and a purple sword aura was instantly unleashed.

But all the ice and snow shattered completely in that instant, and were then blasted out by a violent force, turning into countless snowflakes that scattered everywhere.

A stream of purple aura, shimmering with starlight, leaped from Zhang Han's body, transforming into the shape of a wolf, which opened its mouth and swallowed the sword aura!
(End of this chapter)