"Li Dage, are you inside?"
This gentle voice could only belong to An Xuan.
Li Qing did not turn around, still holding the Mi Ying Step Technique in his hands, and replied calmly, "I am."
Creak~
At the entrance of the armory, a slender figure walked in. An Xuan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "I heard from my adoptive father that you are leaving soon."
"Yes, the world is so vast, I want to see it," Li Qing chuckled lightly, slowly closing the manual.
He turned to look at An Xuan, his eyes filled with memories of her childhood.
Time is indeed a miraculous thing; that once timid girl, malnourished and frail, had transformed into such a graceful beauty.
"Can't you stay? The world is in chaos and darkness now; at least in Obsidian City, you wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing," An Xuan gazed intently at Li Qing.
Hearing this, Li Qing sighed softly.
He had to admit that An Xuan's appearance was indeed quite beautiful now; otherwise, she wouldn't have caught the eye of that debauched young master from the Yan family back then.
"Staying would be nice, but my heart is set on martial arts. I want to go to more places and spar with more martial arts experts."
"Life in Obsidian City doesn't quite suit me."
This was not a lie; after all, he could not remain in the Eternal Night World forever and had to return occasionally, disappearing for long periods.
If he stayed here too long, it would inevitably raise suspicions among certain observant individuals.
Although he currently did not regard the Yi Gang highly, it was always better to avoid exposing secrets.
With this, An Xuan understood Li Qing's intentions; he had to leave.
"If it weren't for you back then, my grandfather and I might have starved to death on the streets without anyone knowing."
"This great kindness, Xuan'er has no way to repay."
As she spoke, a hint of mist appeared in An Xuan's clear, bright eyes, almost as if she were about to say the words "I will offer myself in return."
She lightly bit her lower lip, lowered her head slightly, and asked, "Li Dage, will you come back in the future?"
It is the hardest to bear the kindness of a beauty.
Li Qing sighed inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. He replied, "Of course, I am traveling the world, but who knows when I might return to Obsidian City to visit old friends."
"You've been gone for six years; when will you return next?" An Xuan sniffled and continued, "But I understand your meaning, Li Dage. In that case, I wish you success in your martial arts!"
With that, she turned and left.
Whether in the past or present, she had always been so understanding, knowing not to trouble others.
Li Qing watched her departing figure, feeling a slight tug at his heart, but ultimately he resolutely kept his mouth shut, watching her silhouette disappear under the faint glow of the night mushrooms.
About a day later, Li Qing had gathered nearly all the gold, silver, and jewels. He packed all the treasures he had scavenged onto the rice bucket.
On the day of his departure, those who knew Li Qing from the Yi Gang came to see him off.
The tall and robust leader of the Tianlong Gang looked at Li Qing, feeling a premonition that this would likely be the last time he saw him in this lifetime.
"Li brother, no matter when or where, the Yi Gang will always have its doors open for you!"
Tianlong stepped forward and patted Li Qing on the shoulder.
Facing this big brother-like figure, Li Qing felt a twinge of reluctance.
"Tianlong Dage, take care!"
"Li Ye! Take care!" Wei Tian also stepped forward.
Li Qing nodded at Wei Tian, then his gaze swept over the crowd of farewell attendees. Everyone was present, except for An Xuan.
At that moment, Zhao Kou approached with a calm expression, standing straight and looking directly at Li Qing.
"Li Dage, before you leave, can you fulfill a wish of mine?"
Li Qing looked at Zhao Kou in surprise; he had a relatively deep impression of him.
When he first joined the Yi Gang, this guy had been cut by Tianlong, saying that only those with strong lives could enter the Yi Gang.
And Zhao Kou had indeed proven himself; he had a strong life!
Later, during the operation against the Yan family, Zhao Kou's ruthless decisiveness and his disregard for means had made Li Qing look at him with new eyes.
"Speak," Li Qing smiled slightly.
"Before you leave, I want to see Li Dage's strength. Over the years, I have also stepped into the realm of external strength martial artists!"
As he said this, Zhao Kou's gaze became fervent.
That gaze reminded Li Qing of the term "martial arts fanatic."
"Hahaha, a small matter! You can make your move!" Li Qing laughed heartily, not minding showing a bit of his current martial arts strength.
Zhao Kou licked his lips at this and immediately took up a stance, his qi and blood rapidly flowing within his body.
Currently, there were only two external strength martial artists in the Yi Gang: one was him, and the other was the leader, Tianlong.
However, Tianlong practiced external techniques, was older, and his qi and blood had weakened. Given his position as the leader, he naturally did not intend to challenge Tianlong.
Now that Li Qing had finally returned, he was seizing this opportunity to seek guidance.
The crowd gathered around, eager to watch the excitement.
After all, they were all part of the martial world, familiar with the matters of competition and sparring.
Tianlong furrowed his brow slightly but did not intend to stop the two from sparring.
Not only him, but many in the gang who knew Li Qing were also quite curious about his current strength.
Six years ago, he could defeat external strength experts; what level was his martial arts strength at now?
"Li Dage, you don't need a weapon?" Zhao Kou noticed that Li Qing was only carrying that heavy hammer and had no intention of taking it out.
Li Qing shook his head and said, "No need; you can draw your weapon without worrying about me."
What a joke! With his current internal strength expert level, using a weapon against an external strength martial artist would be a bit too much bullying.
Zhao Kou was silent for a moment, then unceremoniously drew the long knife from his waist.
"Li Dage, I apologize in advance!"
"If you get injured, feel free to stay a few more days in Obsidian City to recover; don't blame me!"
With that, Zhao Kou held the long knife at an angle and suddenly burst forth with astonishing speed, charging straight at Li Qing.
In no time, Zhao Kou was upon him, his knife technique incredibly fierce, with angles that were exceptionally tricky.
Yet Li Qing remained standing in place, showing no intention of dodging.
Facing the diagonal slash, his expression did not change, as if he had not seen it at all.
At that moment, as the blade approached, everyone held their breath.
That was a strike from an external strength martial artist! Was Li Qing not planning to evade?
The next moment, a crisp metallic sound rang out.
Buzz!
The bright blade light flashed in the air and Zhao Kou's long knife had vanished without a trace!