Techniques and Dao

Chapter 186 Deadly Jet Difference
Tianjizi thought the dragon was about to take his life, but to his surprise, the Platinum Dragon spread its wings and kicked down with its two fortress-like golden claws, soaring into the sky with a hurricane.

Tianjizi instinctively covered his eyes with his hands. A gust of wind arose, and Bahamut transformed into golden light that pierced the sky.

When he finally released his hand from in front of him, Platinum Dragon had already vanished.

The once dark and gloomy sky returned to normal, becoming a clear and cloudless expanse.

If it weren't for the ruins scattered throughout the city, it would seem as if nothing had ever happened in this southern European city.

Despite the excruciating pain from his torn and bleeding arm, Tianjizi struggled to breathe through his lungs, which were aching from the intense heat. After recovering slightly, he saw Huasheng and the other two walking towards him.

"You bastard! By the power of the law!" He conjured a sharp sword, but his scarred hands could no longer grip the hilt.

The sword clattered onto the floor tiles.

He tried to pick it up, but his right hand trembled violently, as if the sword weighed a million tons.

He tried several times, but he couldn't pick it up no matter what he did.

Tianjizi covered his trembling right arm with his left hand, trying to stop the embarrassing shaking. The touch on his right arm felt like a burning pain, causing it to tremble even more violently.

He knew that his hand could not possibly grasp the sword at this moment.

"Stop trying, you've already lost!" Hua Sheng said seriously.

Tianjizi glared fiercely at the other party and shouted, "You beast! Even if I, Tianjizi, perish today, there will always be righteous immortals in this world who will one day slay you, you monster!"

Hua Sheng frowned and replied, "I am not a demon. Perhaps my birth was not as good as yours, but I am also a cultivator..."

"Pooh!"

"Although I am a descendant of Saint Pingning, and what you call an ant, I am still wholeheartedly devoted to good..."

"Stop talking nonsense! You monster!"

Seeing that Tianjizi still refused to forgive Huasheng, Master Qingmiao knelt down and lifted Tianjizi's charred arm, saying, "Tianjizi, our positions are different right now. I didn't want to see this situation either. Let me heal you..."

"Go away!"

Tianjizi shoved Qingmiao Immortal Master aside and said sternly, "Qingmiao, as an Immortal Master of the Academy, you should know the most basic truth that immortals and demons are on different paths! Why don't you believe my father Lan Caihe, or Lü Dongbin, but insist on believing him?"

Immortal Master Qingmiao was speechless for a moment.

After a long pause, she said, "Since you are currently in the human world, you should understand that there are no so many truths to be found in this world..."

"You! You aid and abet evil!" Tianjizi's eyes were bloodshot.

"What are you all arguing about!" Jane couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted, "Hey! This guy's been spoiled by good luck!"

She pointed at Tianjizi and said, "At best, you're just a prisoner of the defeated side!"

Tianjizi was somewhat stunned by the French girl's shout. Although he had met her at the Daoist Academy not long ago, he still couldn't understand why this girl named Jane would side with Huasheng.

Jane sighed and squatted down, saying, "But we Allied forces have always treated prisoners of war well. Don't move, or I'll break your hand!"

As Jane raised his arm, Tianjizi was startled by the French girl's action and stared blankly.

After reciting a few white magic incantations, Tianjizi's cracked skin on his arm healed slightly. However, it was still too badly injured by the flames, and only about 20-30% of the skin had healed.

While treating him, Jian said, "Bahamut is also a benevolent dragon. If he hadn't shown mercy, you would probably have been burned to ashes long ago. You are not young either, and you look a few years older than me. You should know how to be grateful."

Hua Sheng looked at Tian Jizi, who was standing there in a daze, and chuckled, saying sarcastically:

"Yes, yes, yes! Registrar, look how benevolent the Red Cross is! Why don't you follow them and believe in God!"

Upon hearing this, Tianjizi looked up and glared angrily at Huasheng.

Immortal Master Qingmiao quickly stepped between the two to stop them, saying, "Hua Sheng is also a cultivator, don't kick him when he's down."

Just then, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, Tianjizi picked up the sword from the ground with his newly recovered right hand and quickly stabbed it at Jian!

Jane had absolutely no chance to dodge!

Surprisingly, Jane didn't dodge at all, barely even raising an eyebrow.

She seemed completely unconcerned about whether Tianjizi would take her life immediately.

Jane's palm continued to emanate a gentle, warm white magical light, relentlessly healing Tianjizi's left arm. Tianjizi's sword hovered in mid-air; although his arm had regained its strength, for some reason the sword still trembled incessantly.

Finally, he sighed deeply and threw the sword far away.

The cold sword flew far away, turning into a wisp of warm blue smoke.

Jane said slowly, "I've heard that you're someone whose world revolves around you, and you've never suffered any losses. But I think it's good for people to experience some setbacks in life. Nietzsche said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Jane, her white magic flashing, continued, "And I also think that those who destroyed you might make you stronger in your next life. See? Isn't that a good thing?"

Tianjizi was completely confused, but he was full of curiosity about the strange female magician in front of him.

“The injury should be better now, you'll have to recover on your own…” Jane looked up and saw the other person staring at her. Remembering Hua Sheng’s earlier words, she immediately said, “Why are you looking at me? This is humanitarian aid. Even warring countries treat each other’s prisoners of war!”

He then added, "Don't think I'll marry you!"

Startled by these words, Tianjizi, who hadn't spoken to Jian until now, blurted out, "What kind of strange idea is this..."

Jane didn't bring up the topic again. Suddenly, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed as if she had remembered something, "Ah! Ah! Ah! I forgot something important! Oh no! I've made a huge mistake!"

Hua Sheng was startled and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Today! Tonight at 8 PM! Do you have any place in Nanjing called the Dragon Vein? Our Demon School will go and destroy that Dragon Vein!"

Immortal Master Qingmiao's expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "The dragon vein is about to be severed? Tell me quickly!"

"Our Demon School is going to Nanjing to destroy the Dragon Vein! We'll use that to blackmail the Daoist Academy into handing over the Jupiter Silk!" Jian said.

Hua Sheng hurriedly asked, "What do you need Sui Xing Si to do in Nanjing? Shouldn't she go to Shengping Ning?"

Jane then hurriedly revealed the Demon School's plan to force the Magic Academy to surrender the safety of humanity. The Demon School had confirmed that the Jupiter Silk was in the hands of the Magic Academy, and they also believed that Saint Pingning might have guards who would prevent him from entering the Magic Academy. Therefore, they threatened to destroy the dragon vein and sacrifice mortal lives, forcing the Academy to exchange the Jupiter Silk for mortal lives.

Upon hearing this, Hua Sheng hurriedly asked Qing Miao, "What is this dragon vein? Can its destruction cause disaster?"

Immortal Master Qingmiao said urgently, "Of course! Just as Jian said, once the dragon vein is severed, tens of thousands of towns and cities of all sizes around the entire dragon vein will be affected by violent earthquakes, and the number of dead and injured will be incalculable!"

Hua Sheng quickly checked the time and said, "Luckily, we didn't leave too late today! We still have more than nine hours until 8 PM! If we hurry back now, we can still make it to the Academy of Arts and Sciences!"

Qingmiao quickly said, "Time waits for no one! We really need to hurry back, even though it's thousands of miles away. It will still take an hour or two, no matter how fast we go. Then we need to gather people to guard Jinling in case of any unforeseen circumstances! We have no idea how the other side is trying to sabotage us. The lives of hundreds of millions of people are at stake, so we must not be careless!"

"Alright! We'll get right there..."

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

Jane suddenly cried out again.

Seeing this, Hua Sheng asked impatiently, "What's wrong with you now?"

"It's...it's...it's all over! I made a fatal mistake!"

"No way, there can be something even worse than what was just said?"

"There are less than nine hours left!"

"Didn't you just say it was eight o'clock tonight?" Hua Sheng asked.

"When I was at the academy, I gave you a deadline of 8 PM the day after tomorrow. But the actual deadline is noon in France!"

"What?"

Jane jumped up and grabbed Hua Sheng by the collar, shouting, "We're six hours behind Dongfang... no, it's winter time now, a full seven hours behind Dongfang! The Demon School's attacking army must be almost at Nanjing by now! We simply don't have time to get back!"

Immortal Master Qingmiao was also startled by Jian's words and exclaimed, "Hua Sheng, what does she mean by that? Why are there suddenly seven hours less? This means we have no time left, and it will be too late to get back to Jinling!"

Hua Sheng suddenly realized what was going on. He pointed to the large clock on the dilapidated wall next to him and stomped his foot.

"Oh no! Time difference! She forgot to calculate the time difference between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres!"

It was 10:37 AM Monte Carlo time, which was 17:37 PM Nanjing time.

It is now 3:45 PM, Saint Pingning time.

The hands of the clock are flying by!
Only 2 hours and 23 minutes remain until the Jinling Dragon Vein is attacked!

(End of this chapter)