Path of Alchemy Mastery-Chapter 361 - 362 Unlucky Two Brothers

By the time the two assassins realized what had happened, it was already too late; they had been sealed within two massive ice prisons. With their combined attack power, they could do nothing to the ice cages. Despite exerting all their strength, they could only leave a slight mark on the ice walls before giving up resistance completely.

Nonsense, why continue to fight? With Mu Can’s defensive power beyond their reach, and without the advantage of taking the initiative in hiding and surprise attacks, they couldn’t harm Mu Can at all. Thinking of this, the two brothers trapped inside the transparent ice prisons exchanged glances and saw helplessness in each other’s eyes.

Winning two consecutive matches had inflated their confidence, even making them believe they could see it through to the end together. After all, they were well-known assassin brothers in the Mortal World, and this time, they were fatefully paired together. Agreeing almost instantly, they chose cultivation techniques that would maximize their strengths—one a Concealing Technique, the other a Sword Blade Storm.

Both were Basic Level Martial Saint cultivation techniques, far superior to any they had practiced before.

It was with these two techniques that they won the first two battles without their opponents even touching the hems of their clothes. But in this third match, they encountered an abnormality like Mu Can.

Mu Can’s wide-range martial skill attacks, super strong perception and prediction abilities, and his terrifying control over ice attribute spiritual energy allowed him to construct such ice prisons right under their feet without them noticing at all, and completed in an instant no less. Otherwise, given just a bit of time, they could have used their exceptional speed to escape immediately.

Moreover, the man before them had an overwhelmingly strong combat sense. Each step seemed premeditated by him—Mu Can had anticipated their reactions.

First, they were forced to reveal themselves due to the blizzard, then fire attacks were constructed where they vanished, turning them into scared birds. To avoid facing an endless barrage of attacks, they had no choice but to choose close combat with Mu Can.

Thus, they fell right into Mu Can’s trap, as it was his intention to contain the two of them from the start.

As two assassins who lost the preemptive advantage of hiding in the shadows, and being restricted in a cramped space where they couldn’t leverage their speed, they were like powerless children before Mu Can.

For Mu Can, taking care of them was as simple and easy as a father disciplining his son.

With such powerful ice control abilities and meticulous thought, the two were decisively defeated. But they were left with a doubt—if instead of trying to take out Xu Liang in the moment they revealed themselves, they had targeted Mu Can, would the outcome have been different?

"If we had started by attacking you instead of your companion, would things have been different?" The assassins seemed resigned to their fate, casually sitting within the ice prison and asking the question.

After all, losing meant little on Tongshen Mountain, where the mountain’s protective mechanism meant there was no danger to life. Since death wasn’t a concern, they might as well accept the defeat clearly.

"Attack him, I can still find you, and you would lose. Attack me, and I would confine you directly, and you would still lose. Either way, your defeat was inevitable," Mu Can confidently stated.

Indeed, having comprehended the Ice and Fire Glass Lotus, Mu Can had tapped into the many ingenious uses of the Ice and Fire Power. The fire element for offense, ice element for defense—it was simply too useful. Many couldn’t even break through his ice shield, and he was least afraid of assassin-type opponents like these.

They possessed high attack power but couldn’t break Mu Can’s defenses; their high speed was useless against his wide-range martial skills. Even with their concealing abilities, they couldn’t leave this space, rendering the unfortunate assassin brothers completely countered by an opponent.

So their loss was by no means unjust.

"I see, may I ask who you are? Are you the one who obtained the Ultimate Secret Manual?" The assassin brothers came to understand their plight. Although their powers were capped at the peak of the Martial Arts Sect, the person before them surpassed them in every aspect—so their loss was indeed not undeserved.

"I am number seventy-two," Mu Can revealed his identity. If he said he was Mu Can, perhaps they wouldn’t recognize him, but the number seventy-two was as familiar as thunder.

"Damn it, so you’re that freak. Oh no, my apologies, I misspoke. So you’re that divine being, huh?" Mu Can remembered assassins as typically cold characters who would kill from ten steps away, leave no trace over a thousand miles, pluck the enemy general’s head from amidst an army, strike successfully, and then disappear far away. So how could this talkative assassin before him be any different?

"What do you mean ’freak’?" Mu Can, his face lined with black streaks, wondered. Although the things he did were indeed demanding, they surely couldn’t categorize him as a freak.

"You’re amazing; we tried to approach the last bookshelf, but as soon as we touched it, we were bounced back to the starting point, with no way to obtain the secret manual." Perhaps because they had finally met the mythical seventy-two, they immediately became chatty as if they had countless questions for Mu Can.

"What would you think if I told you that if you persevered a few more times, you might also get the Ultimate Secret Manual?"

Mu Can suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, excitement slowly solidified on the faces of the assassin brothers, and their expressions dimmed.

"But with ordinary endurance and persistence, failing twice in a row is already the limit. If luck is not on your side, not getting the appropriate secret manual twice could affect your selection of other cultivation techniques."

Mu Can explained, highlighting the shrewd calculation of Tongshen Mountain, which had also considered people’s choices.

"Are you saying it’s very likely that people who reach the bookshelf several times will be bounced back every time and end up empty-handed?"

"Of course, and I suspect this isn’t uncommon." If Mu Can knew Wang Cai’s experience, he would mention that even a dog failed four times—what kind of determination drove Wang Cai to fall over and over, and rise up again and again?

Of course, it was treasure. Mu Can had no idea of the value of those secret manuals, but Wang Cai saw them differently. In his eyes, the master of Tongshen Mountain was too careless with these secret treasures. If left to Lord Wang Cai, the inheritance spaces created from these could even be reused indefinitely.