Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Reversal of the Five Elements

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The first clash between Jiang Wei and An Zhengqing was evenly matched, neither side yielding an inch.

"This Jiang Wei is quite something!"

"So these are the techniques of the Tongshen Lineage? I've been with the Tianyuan Sect for years, but never have I witnessed their magical arts before."

"Summoning the Golden-armored War God as the Golden Spirit Armor to aid oneself in battle—what a dazzling display of sorcery."

Beneath the dueling platform, murmurs spread among the disciples. Regardless of whether Jiang Wei could defeat An Zhengqing, just from this exchange alone it was clear—Jiang Wei was no mere braggart.

An Zhengqing, too, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Jiang Wei to be so formidable. But he himself was no novice either.

With composure, An Zhengqing manipulated the Five Element Flags in the air with precise gestures.

The Five Element Flags soared from the ground to the sky, spinning above and striking out toward Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei recognized it immediately—this was the Grand Five Elements Formation of the Qimen Divination Arts!

As the saying goes:

"One, two, three, four, five—Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, Earth."

"Zi, Si, Wu, Hai—nine to four; Jia, Wu, Ji, Gui—nine to five."

This formation was orchestrated through calculations involving the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the yin-yang of the Five Elements, the four seasons and directions, combined with the sacred artifact—the Five Element Flags—to unleash a great offensive array.

The practitioner could manipulate the formation and command the power of the Five Elements through careful calculation.

Ever since Jiang Wei had become a disciple under Master Tongpu, the very first thing he did was memorize the essentials of the Qimen Divination Arts, committing to heart the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the Five Elements, and the four seasonal directions.

"Your calculations are all within my expectations!" Jiang Wei declared, his Golden Spirit Armor blazing with light, charging directly into the heart of the Five Elements Formation.

Activating his Celestial Eye, Jiang Wei observed the shifting positions of the Five Element Flags.

He silently recited to himself, "Wu Wu Ji Wei—Heavenly Fire Above!"

Wu is the realm where fire flourishes, and with the rebirth of wood at Wei and Ji, fire ascends and, when meeting its place of rebirth, is known as Heavenly Fire Above.

"Here comes another fire technique!"

Jiang Wei planned to evade the fire by breaking out through the north, the water gate of the formation.

The north governs winter, with Hai, Zi, and Chou belonging to water; escaping through the water gate would dispel the Heavenly Fire.

Jiang Wei charged northward, but to his astonishment, five fire dragons appeared where the water gate should have been, surging menacingly toward him.

"How is this possible?!"

Jiang Wei was shocked. He knew the Qimen formulas inside and out; no matter how the formation shifted, it shouldn't stray from these principles! This was the water gate—why was there fire?

There was no time to ponder. The five fire dragons roared toward him.

Jiang Wei was left with no choice but to meet them head-on, swinging his golden sword, tangled in fierce combat with the fire dragons.

In moments, all five dragons were felled by his blade, but his golden spirit armor had lost much of its original luster.

An Zhengqing smiled faintly, continuing to manipulate the Five Element Flags.

Jiang Wei called out, "Ren Shen Gui You—Sword Peak!"

With the pure positions of Shen and You belonging to metal, the official star at Shen and the imperial star at You, metal is at its peak, rigid and unyielding, hence the name Sword Peak Metal. Rainbow light pierced the void like frosted blades.

"This time, it's the metal technique!"

Fire overcomes metal; the south—Si, Wu, and Wei—belongs to fire, so the fire gate should be the way out.

But this time, Jiang Wei was cautious, wary of another miscalculation. Instead of the fire gate, he turned toward the east, the wood gate.

Boom!

Jia Wu Yi Wei—Metal in the Sand!

Wu is the realm of flourishing fire; where fire prospers, metal withers. Wei is where fire wanes; fire weakened, metal is crowned. Though defeated, it is crowned, unable to conquer, thus called Metal in the Sand.

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Suddenly, several flying swords materialized before Jiang Wei, all hurtling toward him at once.

From behind, waves of heat surged—five more fire dragons appeared, cutting off his retreat!

Jiang Wei was stunned anew. "What secret art is this?!"

The spectators below the dueling platform were equally astonished.

Bai Qiu frowned in confusion, "I know a bit about the Five Elements and the Stems and Branches, but An Zhengqing's formation doesn't seem to follow the usual Qimen calculations. If he isn't adhering to the prescribed methods, he shouldn't be able to command the Five Elemental forces. What secret art is An Zhengqing using?"

Sun Fanbai pondered, glancing up at Master Fengyuan seated above, and murmured, "By rights, An Zhengqing's formation doesn't make sense. However, I've heard that Master Fengyuan possesses a secret technique called the Inverted Five Elements Grand Array."

"Inverted Five Elements Grand Array?" Bai Qiu repeated, "What's that?"

Sun Fanbai explained, "As the name suggests, it's a formation where the Five Elements are reversed. The natural order is Water begets Wood, Wood begets Fire, Fire begets Earth, Earth begets Metal, Metal begets Water—this is called the order of the Five Elements. The inversion is Water begets Metal, Metal begets Fire, Fire begets Earth, Earth begets Wood, Wood begets Water. This contravenes the Five Element theory."

He continued, "If this is the Inverted Five Elements Grand Array, then the chaotic elemental changes within An Zhengqing's formation make sense."

Bai Qiu mused, "The Inverted Five Elements Grand Array... To reverse the Five Elements so thoroughly that their changes can't be deduced—such a secret art, but how does it work? I can't fathom it."

Sun Fanbai glanced at him and said, "Of course you can't. If you understood the principle, you'd be able to reverse the Five Elements yourself."

Bai Qiu muttered, "True enough. Alas, if only Yan Yu were here—his Sevenfold Breaker Banner would be the bane of these Five Element Flags."

Sun Fanbai nodded, "One banner breaks ten thousand arts. That Sevenfold Breaker Banner is indeed not afraid of the Five Element Flags—be they in order or reversed, it makes no difference. It breaks the formation, not the elements themselves."

The two discussed An Zhengqing's Inverted Five Elements Array.

But within the array, Jiang Wei was finding it harder and harder to hold on. He was utterly unable to deduce the elemental changes within the formation. Sometimes he faced mountains of blades and seas of fire, other times thunderous tempests. Though protected by the Golden Spirit Armor, Jiang Wei knew that if he couldn't break the formation, he would eventually be exhausted and defeated.

In his desperation, suddenly, a Life Gate opened to the southeast within the formation. Knowing that his spirit armor wouldn't last much longer, Jiang Wei had no choice but to risk it, charging toward the Life Gate, determined to use the last of his armor's power to break the array.

No sooner had he entered the Life Gate than An Zhengqing smiled faintly, confident of his victory.

An Zhengqing raised his hand, and the five flags returned to his grip one after another.

Biting his finger, An Zhengqing drew blood and painted runes upon the Five Element Flags.

"Rise!"

With the spell complete, he flung the flags skyward, where they spun and transformed into five arrows of different colors.

"Inverted Five Elements Grand Array—Death Gate—Five Element Piercing Heart Arrows!"

He gave a shout, pointing forward.

The five arrows, each a beam of colored light, vanished into the formation, silently homing in on Jiang Wei.

No sooner had Jiang Wei entered the Life Gate than he sensed danger, realizing he'd fallen right into An Zhengqing's trap. With no other option, he summoned all his remaining true energy to defend against the coming assault.

Whoosh!

A green arrow shot from the formation, aimed straight at Jiang Wei's heart.

Jiang Wei reacted instantly, summoning his Golden Spirit Armor and raising his arm to block!

Clang! Screeeeech...

There was a deafening crash as the green arrow struck his left arm, spinning furiously and emitting a tremendous noise.

Forced back by the arrow's force, Jiang Wei could do nothing but withstand it.

After a few breaths, the arrow's power faded, transforming into a small green flag that soared into the air.

Jiang Wei dropped to one knee, gasping for breath. His true energy was nearly spent; his armor would not hold much longer.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Two more arrows shot forth, one yellow, one blue.

"More?!" Jiang Wei cried, barely able to catch his breath. He conjured a giant golden shield, positioning it before his chest.

The two arrows struck with even greater force than the first. The giant shield held for a moment, then was shattered by their impact.

"Ah!"

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Jiang Wei roared, gathering the last of his true energy to sustain the Golden Spirit Armor.

Bang!!

At last, the two arrows' energy dissipated, transforming into two small flags that joined the others in the sky.

Now, the golden spirit armor clinging to Jiang Wei's body was dull and faded; his entire form appeared diminished, only a faint golden glow remaining about him.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Two more arrows tore through the air, one red, one brown, shooting from the formation.

Hearing their approach, Jiang Wei gave a bitter smile, knowing he had lost this match.

The arrows sliced through the air, closing in on him.

Crack!

As expected, the golden spirit armor shattered like thin ice beneath the force of the brown arrow, scattering in every direction.

The brown arrow, too, turned into a small flag and flew away.

The last, the red arrow, shot straight for Jiang Wei’s chest.

Now, drained of true energy, Jiang Wei had not the slightest strength left to dodge; he could only watch helplessly as the arrow pierced toward his heart.

Clang!

The arrow struck the heart-guard mirror at his chest, the force of the blow sending Jiang Wei flying.

He crashed into the barrier at the platform’s edge, then landed heavily on the dueling stage.

The red arrow, too, transformed into a small red flag, soaring into the sky.

The five small flags spun in the air, finally merging into a single white flag, which drifted back into An Zhengqing’s hand.

The result was plain to see.

An Zhengqing had won!

"Bravo!"

"Senior Brother is incredible!"

"Jiang Wei was no match after all!"

"The Tongshen Lineage? Ha!"

Below the platform, the disciples of the Mathematical School cheered wildly for their senior brother.

Master Fengyuan, watching the stage, also smiled.

Jiang Wei lay prone on the dueling platform, listening to the cheers and jeers below, his heart filled with grief and rage.

"Master, I cannot lose... I cannot bring shame upon you, upon the Tongshen Lineage, nor upon the divine!"

"Ah!!!"

With that thought, Jiang Wei somehow found the strength to shakily rise to his feet.

He cried out, "I, Jiang Wei of the Tongshen Lineage, have not yet been defeated!"

The crowd fell silent, astonished to see Jiang Wei standing once more.

An Zhengqing frowned, glancing at Jiang Wei. Had it not been for the heart-guard mirror, Jiang Wei would already have perished from a single arrow.

An Zhengqing asked, "You wish to fight on?"

Jiang Wei spat out a mouthful of blood, formed a seal with his fingers, pointed to the sky, and bellowed, "Battle!"