The Silly Alchemist

Fei descended from the skies on her fire clouds. Once her clouds touched the ground, she immediately charged at Ye Lanyu and the princess. She was running at an angle aiming for their sides- a very sneaky tactic indeed.

Ye Lanyu and the princess were now standing back to back, so attacking them from the side was the best. Of course they’d still see her, but when they did, she would be too close and it would be too late to react.

That’s right. Fei was calculating the time they’d need to react in her head and the probability of success. In fact, she was likely going to win if there were only two people in their team.

Right at the most important moment, something happened that caused Fei to stop- or more accurately, everyone present was stunned for a second.

Thump.

The roar of a drum echoed, everyone could feel their bones shaking. Perhaps this was a lot more dramatic than it actually was because they initially had their attention on the fight.

The sound came from the centre of the arena where Ye Lang had already set up a huge drum but never decided on when to hit. He was thinking of a good rhythm to play, and he’d just decided on a tune. This was his first note.

The drum saved Ye Lanyu and the princess’ fight because Ye Lanyu quickly noticed Fei’s position. Taking advantage of Fei’s hesitation, razor-sharp spikes of ice rose from the ground near Lanyu’s feet all the way to Fei.

Fei spun, her sword sending a blade of fire to shatter the spikes.

“Ice Shield.”

Ye Lanyu threw up an ice shield, but this shield wasn’t for defence. She hurled the shield right at Fei so it would throw Fei up in the air.

“Flight of a Hundred Birds.”

The seventh princess cast a powerful spell but it wasn’t sent directly at Fei because she was already on fire. The princess’ fire attack wouldn’t inflict much damage. Instead, the princess was aiming at Edward and Kesha who were already nearby.

Edward and Kesha would never be sitting ducks, and they were also skilled in combination attacks. Although their chemistry wasn’t as strong as Ye Lanyu and the princess’, they were strong enough fighters to cause a headache.

Edward and Kesha’s swords touched, sending a gust of douqi that resembled a sandstorm. It first countered the seventh princess’ magic, then came charging ahead to continue with its destruction.

Fei’s proximity was already a threat to Lanyu’s safety. With the sandstorm nearing, they were now in a very dangerous position. Any mistake would result in them losing the battle.

At this very moment, Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess felt a sense of helplessness. If this went on, they could do nothing other than struggle to defend themselves. They considered giving up.

“Thump...”

“Thump thump...”

“Thump thump thump thump...”

Ye Lang hit his drum again, every thump shaking every person’s heart. There was now an obvious rhythm, a beat that got blood boiling and spirits up.

The sound of drums had always been the sound of passion. War drums were always involved during ancient Chinese wars, it was an important component of the military.

Ye Lang was now beating the most bone-shaking war cry on the drums he knew. With every perfect strike, the audience was filled with awe at every beat.

Even the heavens were shaken.

“Sister, Little Seven, Fight!”

“Alright! Watch me! Your cheers will not be wasted on me!”

Ye Lanyu and the princess’ spirits were lifted upon hearing his cries and his drum.

“YES! MY CHEERS ARE POWERFUL!” Ye Lang continued banging on his drum as if two huge armies were about to engage in warfare. The violence in the rhythm matched Ye Lanyu and the princess’ heartbeats, triggering their true potential.

The opponents suddenly felt like their power was muffled. They didn’t know what it was, but something was suppressing their power.

They didn’t realise that Ye Lang’s drums not only could lift spirits but depending on your attitude towards the fight, it could dampen your spirits too.

Ye Lang unconsciously demonstrated how sound could affect the entire atmosphere of a battle, there was something magical about how it could turn the tables.

Very few people could master the skill of using sound. Ye Lang had learned about the concept of sound and psychology during his time in the martial arts treasury, he’d read about using rhythm to control battle dynamics.

That was also why the rhythm was so impressive. He’d practised some time ago.

He was now a participant, a fighter alongside Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess. He’d officially participated in the fight the first time he hit the drum.

Why did he decide to fight?

Nonsense, would he choose to watch Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess suffer? He would never.

The fight was now favouring Ye Lanyu and the princess, while Fei and her four teammates grew wearier as the fight dragged on. Edward and the rest grew more frustrated but Fei still maintained her composure. Only a small portion of her power was suppressed by Ye Lang’s war drums.

You could tell from only this part that Fei had worked very hard to be this skilled in fighting. There was such a huge difference in skills compared to her teammates.

“You sick bastard, you and your dirty tricks!”

Fei quickly realised where the problem was. Although she wasn’t sure how, she was certain her teammates were reacting to Ye Lang’s drums.

Not bad, this kid was very sensitive to power struggles on the battlefield.

“Ye Lang! So it’s you! ...” Edward glared daggers at Ye Lang. He was now very frustrated with the fight, barely suppressing his rage.

“Huh? Don’t you know me?” Ye Lang responded calmly while still hitting the drum.

“...” Hey, kid. He wasn’t asking about you, he was referring to what you’re doing!

“Can you stop that...” asked Fei although she already knew what the answer would be. They were a team, of course he could hit the drums if he wanted to. He had the right to help his teammates.

“No, I’ve still got to cheer them on,” rejected Ye Lang, increasing his rhythm. Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess grew more and more aggressive in their attacks.

Fei was worried. “We can’t continue like this. We should just surrender.”

While Fei was a stubborn person, she was still reasonable enough to face reality. She didn’t consider physically stopping Ye Lang herself either because attacking a person who wasn’t directly engaged in battle, especially a person who didn’t look like he could fight, was not honourable.

“No, we can’t lose. As long as we are willing to let go of everything, we will win,” Edward refused to give up. He would never admit defeat.

“Then I hope you can do that,” Fei shrugged then continued to fight. With her personality, she was likely willing to lose herself in a battle for victory.