The words Hantian cried out in his unconscious state matched the voice from Lantu's dreams perfectly.
Even the raw emotion, the heart-wrenching pain, were nearly identical.
For a moment, Lantu's vision blurred, her mind in chaos.
'Could he truly be Hongmao? Had he invented the name 'Hantian' just to escape me, to avoid meeting me?'
'But... why would he do that? Is there some hatred between me and 'Hongmao'?' Lantu pressed a hand to her chest, feeling a sharp pang in her heart, 'Why would Hongmao hide from me? What had I done wrong that he would rather use a fake identity than acknowledge me?'
'Wait! Something isn't right!'
Amidst her heartache, Lantu's dazed eyes fell upon Hantian's face, watching his pained, struggling expression.
She suddenly remembered his shy, timid demeanor during their first meeting. That behavior didn't feel like someone who already knew her. Even the most skilled actor couldn't fake the natural, gradual change in his attitude so perfectly.
She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Somehow, realizing there were still doubts about Hantian being Hongmao brought her a sense of relief, as if a part of her was unwilling to believe it.
"Whether Hantian is Hongmao or not is still very much in doubt. But no matter who he is, he saved my life, and I must repay him." Lantu took a deep breath, pushing the complex emotions down.
She gave Hantian one last, long look, a mixture of feelings swirling inside her.
This man, despite saving her life, being handsome, and gentle... Lantu felt no deeper pull towards him.
Her feelings stopped firmly at 'very good friend'. Any thought of going further made her body react with an inexplicable resistance.
It wasn't a matter of memory or soul, but a deep, physical instinct. It felt as if her body had belonged, from a time long forgotten, solely to the man named 'Hongmao'. So much so that even a simple touch from anyone else felt deeply repulsive.
When Hantian had grabbed her hand, her first instinct had been to channel her energy and strike him.
"Wait for me. I will bring medicine and a doctor back to save you. When I do, I will get the truth." Lantu spoke softly but with iron resolve.
Taking two steps, Lantu focused the Ice Soul energy within her. Her right hand formed a palm and struck the heavy door of the arena's secret chamber.
Crack. Crack.
Instantly, a web of fine, ice-blue fissures spread across the door's surface, exploding outwards a moment later into a brilliant, destructive flower of ice.
This was the power of the Ice Soul Sword's master, the Palace Master of Jade Cicada Palace. Even with her memories and techniques lost, her profound inner strength alone could unleash terrifying force.
Three hundred miles from the Coconut Island's fighting arena, Hongmao raced towards it, his Demonic Rainbow Sword in hand, his body wreathed in the thick, savage energy of the Heavenly Demon's Wild Dance.
The journey from Phoenix Island had taken three days. During that time, besides traveling, he had spent his hours killing any beast that crossed his path, using their life force to fuel his demonic art.
"My foundation from mastering the thirteenth level of Fire Dance Cyclone remains. I just need to accumulate enough demonic energy to break through without any bottlenecks," Hongmao muttered, dispatching a viper hiding in the grass with a flick of his sword and absorbing its life essence.
"The Heavenly Demon's Wild Dance's greatest strength is its ability to rapidly amass power by consuming life force." He knew the art's danger… the reason Heixin Hu had grown unstable and manic was partly due to this very technique.
It was peerless in killing, in ferocity, in speed of cultivation, but it carried a terrible price. If one's mind couldn't keep pace with the raging energy, they would succumb to bloodlust and madness, becoming a mindless slave to the demonic power.
But Hongmao had no such fear. His previous mastery of the ultimate righteous technique had given him a mental fortitude and martial foundation that surpassed even the peak Heixin Hu. He could gorge on life force without losing himself.
"It's done."
Half an hour later, after killing a great white-browed tiger, the demonic energy around him surged and coalesced into the form of a ferocious Azure Heaven Demonic Dragon.
"Heavenly Demon's Wild Dance has finally reached the eighth level!" Hongmao breathed deeply, his eyes gleaming.
This ancient Demonic Sect art evolved differently for each master after the seventh level. Heixin Hu's lineage manifested the Tiger, brutal and overwhelmingly destructive.
The power Hongmao had evolved was the Dragon, commanding, agile, ruling the storm.
While slightly less purely destructive than the Tiger path, its versatility and speed were superior. Now, a mere gesture from him, a roar from the Azure Dragon, would be enough to obliterate the Thousand-Handed Guanyin that had challenged him before.
This was the power of an Elder from the Demonic Sect in its heyday.
"Now, no matter what hidden experts lurk in that arena, I have nothing to fear." Hongmao clenched his fist as the outline of the beast fighting arena came into view.
Meanwhile, inside the arena, chaos was unfolding.
"Boss! That woman has beaten ten of our beasts! We still can't gauge her limits! If this continues, the betting pool will be bankrupt!" A sharp-faced arena manager reported, trembling and sweating.
One incense stick of time ago, Lantu had emerged from the chambers demanding a top-tier doctor. The manager had wanted to have her arrested, but the cunning Arena Boss had stopped him with a smile.
He made a deal with Lantu: if she could achieve one hundred consecutive victories, which is an unprecedented feat, the arena would provide a doctor for her friend and reward her with ten thousand gold taels and a hundred divine weapons.
Lantu, pure-hearted and direct, agreed immediately. Now, after just ten fights, she had displayed utterly overwhelming strength.
The crowd wasn't stupid, and after losing a few initial bets, they were now piling their money on Lantu. The sums were staggering. If she kept winning, the arena would be ruined.
"Relax. I don't make moves I'm not confident in." The Boss gave a sinister smile, snapping the fingers of his gold-ringed hand. "Release 'that one'. The remnant from the Demonic Sect ten years ago, the strong one we twisted with hatred. Release Ox Cyclone!"