Master of Kaidan
Chapter 187: Is This the Experienced Kaidan?

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Is This the Experienced Kaidan?

"Feng Xue considered the five-minute prep time and realized a complete gear swap was out of the question, only a slight tweak to the accessories was feasible."

Feng Xue, maintaining his appearance as a skeleton-suited man with empty hands, was caught off guard by the cowboy dressed in the Kaidan outfit who seemed utterly at ease waiting for the start, even standing about ten meters away from Feng Xue.

"Aren’t you taking this too seriously, cowboy?" Feng Xue sneered, eyeing the flamboyantly colorful flames almost bursting through the tight-fitted vest beneath the filter, unable to gauge the cowboy’s thoughts.

However, considering the unscientific concept of a "Power," Feng Xue reckoned the cowboy might possess an ability similar to "enforcing a duel."

As someone whose childhood was filled with channels like the Dragon Club and Starry Sky TV, Feng Xue’s youth wasn’t only about Japanese anime; it also included plenty of American cartoons, naturally featuring some cowboy showdowns.

But since the man had secured the most sought-after property on the first floor, Feng Xue could only think of two possibilities: either the cowboy was extremely skilled in that regard, or he had some especially sneaky tricks up his sleeve.

With this in mind, Feng Xue immediately shed his complacency from the Arrow Avoidance Protection, reached into his waist bag, and took out a small gadget, waiting in silence for the countdown to hit zero.

4, 3, 2...

A second before the countdown ended, Feng Xue’s Arrow Avoidance Protection abruptly activated; the trajectories of six bullets were crystal clear in his perception. Yet, when he tried to react, the bullets’ paths shifted along with his consciousness.

"Lock-on? Tracking? Telekinesis? Doesn’t matter!"

Several thoughts flashed through Feng Xue’s mind, and as the countdown finally hit zero, he tossed the silver coin in his hand—

"I’ll bet your gun is empty!"

"Click!" The cowboy pulled the trigger, but no bullet fired; however, without any hesitation, she flicked the hammer with her hand and fired off five consecutive shots at an incredibly fast pace.

Yet, no bullets fired, as if they all vanished the moment the gun was shot.

Feng Xue, who already knew the bullets wouldn’t fire, had already flicked out the Sleeve Sword from his hand, and with a snap of his fingers at his waist—

"Duang—" A sinister and ominous bell tolled, and a purple-red Pardon Mark appeared before Feng Xue’s eyes.

Seeing the mark, Feng Xue simultaneously deployed a foggy field, covering a fifty-meter radius completely, making it difficult for the uninitiated to not associate this mist with the bell.

Although the home-field advantage of the Combat Space had removed the cover of night, the Suffocation Blade, doubly buffed with the sharpness of the Holy Mother, could declare the end of the battle with a single hit under the power of the Pardon Bell.

The only regret was that before the countdown ended, any ability aimed at the opponent couldn’t activate, preventing Feng Xue from locking onto the target through eye contact; otherwise, a series of instantaneous teleports leading to a piercing attack could have been decisive.

The Silent Boots eliminated the sound of movement, and the Pardon Mark guided the direction. In the dense fog where not even an arm’s length was visible, Feng Xue advanced without a sound, thrusting out the Sleeve Sword.

Life-Taking Thirteen Swords!

An exquisite move flashed from within the fog, the sword’s edge leaving no room for dodging. The moment it came within Feng Xue’s perceptible range, the blade had already penetrated the cowboy’s bun.

"Is it really this easy?" Feng Xue felt a hint of surprise as he pushed his arm forward, seeking assurance in the sensation of breaking through fat and penetrating the heart muscle. But the next moment, a fierce palpitation struck through his chest...

...

"The Phantom Objects on you aren’t bad, but still too green," the cowboy sporting a denim outfit said, tossing away the corpse that had turned to sand. He regretted that the Challenge Space prevented the plundering of the opponent’s Phantom Objects. Just then, he suddenly realized something was amiss. He looked up and saw the vast desert still had not disappeared.

"Not dead?" The cowboy immediately became vigilant. While he had immense faith in his own abilities, hadn’t all those guys who had died by his hand been just as confident about killing him in the Illusion Realm?

"Want a power of the same type, do you? That really is..." The cowboy diffused his spirit, trying to find a flaw in this "Illusion Realm," and at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out—

"I surrender!"

In an instant, time froze, the desert scenery vanished abruptly, and Feng Xue and the cowboy found themselves in front of the villa once more. Feng Xue, with a lingering fear, took a deep breath while touching his chest, his face filled with bewilderment. He didn’t even know how he had died. In fact, he had used "Resurrection Tomb" for the first time and, upon realizing that this thing had worked, rather than climb out of the coffin, he had immediately conceded defeat. Otherwise, had he jumped out from the grave, he might have actually been dead.

"Dude, that was impressive! What exactly was that coin? My gun is an Inheritance Level Companion Phantom Object. How did you manage it?"

While Feng Xue was still annoyed by his prior defeat, the cowboy with the big hair buns came over quite familiarly, slung an arm around his shoulder with no awareness that he had just taken a life from Feng Xue.

Feeling the cowboy’s intrusive proximity, Feng Xue calmly pushed him away, but subconsciously reached into his pocket. After confirming the coin he had thrown was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Name: Phantom Object - One Silver Coin

Elements: [Currency], [Gambling], [Chip], [Tool]

Description: An ordinary silver coin. When you have a gun pointed at you, you can activate its effect and gamble with your opponent, randomly triggering one of two effects:

① The opponent insists on shooting, but the bullets in the gun will directly disappear.

② The opponent loses the will to fight, gives up shooting, and the coin moves to the opponent’s hand.

Note: Do not use it when you are surrounded.

...

This silver coin was a Phantom Object unintentionally created by Feng Xue while practicing his Money Printer ability. Unlike the "Libra coins" that could be produced in a stable quantity, this silver coin was a random product. He had also tried to make similar coins with silver, but they didn’t undergo any transformation.

It exerted considerable suppressive power against firearm users. Although losing the gamble would transfer the coin to the opponent, it wasn’t difficult to take it back from an enemy who had lost the will to fight.

Of course, he wouldn’t voluntarily reveal this. Keeping a polite and slightly awkward distance, he then coldly asked:

"Are you going to tell me how you killed me earlier?"

"Sure, it was just an Illusion Technique. What’s there to hide?" The cowboy slouched casually at the entrance, mysteriously producing a beer and guzzling it down.

Feng Xue was momentarily baffled by this character, but thanks to the "Heart of Bright Mirror," Feng Xue could tell the guy was actually speaking the truth, which led him to say somewhat helplessly:

"Think of that coin as a gambling chip for a bet-based ability."

"So that’s how it is. There really is all sorts of Kaidan out there!" The cowboy laughed heartily, then slapped the table and said:

"Haven’t seen someone as honest as you in a long time. Come on, have a drink with me, my treat! Don’t worry, no violence is allowed inside the Tower of Babylon, and all these drinks are Phantom Objects too. You can drink them without concern!"