The massive warship bearing the flag with the character "Sui" was only a hundred steps away from the shore. Shi Jiuzhai sat by the window, his cultivation allowing him to clearly see Li Weiyi's face.
A sense of familiarity washed over him, and after a moment of recollection, he remembered that this was the "little wolf cub" he had encountered in Burial Immortal Town. He had misjudged him that day. Who exactly was he?
"This is too interesting!"
Shi Jiuzhai muttered to himself, pondering for a moment before saying, "I agree with Senior An. A grand battle among the top hundred warriors of the Spring Surge Realm, only to have two Five Seas Realm experts barge in—it's utterly ruinous. Why not start a betting pool to see if he can break through and escape?"
A betting pool? Yang Qingxi sneered inwardly. She could tell that the white-robed scholar and Shi Jiuzhai were trying to protect the kid, deliberately creating a path for him to escape.
Perhaps they valued his talent, or perhaps they had their eyes on the magical artifacts he possessed. Maybe they had noticed something she hadn't. But one thing was certain: if that kid managed to escape, both the Coffin Mountain and the Earth Wolf King Army would come after him.
If she insisted on sending Xu Changlin and Tang Yan to deal with him, she would be disrespecting the white-robed scholar and Shi Jiuzhai. If these two continued to insist, or even intervened personally... Things would get extremely messy!
Even though Li Weiyi had displayed extraordinary combat prowess, in Yang Qingxi's eyes, he was still insignificant. She could easily send a Five Seas Realm expert to kill him. But now, not only was the Cang Li Tribe paying attention to him, even the white-robed scholar and Shi Jiuzhai seemed to have some hidden agenda.
Naturally, Yang Qingxi had to take this seriously.
"Since the two of you want to watch the show, I won't spoil the fun. A mere Spring Surge Realm cultivator—in Li Prefecture, the Sui Sect doesn't even need to send a Five Seas Realm expert to turn him to dust."
Yang Qingxi waved her hand, signaling Xu Changlin and Tang Yan to step back. Then she called out, "Xue Zheng!" Standing guard at the entrance of the main hall, Xue Zheng, whose muscles and skin had a silvery metallic sheen, stood with his hand on his sword, his eager eyes fixed on the Nine Springs Sage, Li Qing.
Hearing the call from inside, Xue Zheng retracted his gaze, took two steps forward, and knelt on one knee in the main hall.
"Young Miss, rest assured. This subordinate will go and fetch that man's head. I won't let him harm Young Master Yun."
Xue Zheng stood up and looked toward the shore. He channeled his spiritual energy, which transformed into a misty aura that spilled out of his body. Then, like a cannonball, he shot out from the warship's deck and landed on the water surface dozens of feet away.
"Boom!"
The dense spiritual mist beneath his feet was so thick that even with such an impact, he didn't sink into the water. He ran across the river's surface, his sword in hand, swift as the wind chasing the moon. ... Li Weiyi rushed toward the riverbank where the silver-horned deer carriage had overturned.
He channeled his spiritual energy into the silver-threaded gloves, aiming to end the fight quickly and prevent the pursuers from surrounding him.
"Whoosh!"
Yang Yun, who had been hiding in the shadows behind the carriage, seized the opportunity and leaped out. He thrust his sword forward! Li Weiyi was mid-air, about ten feet above the ground.
His arm turned into a blur as he clashed head-on with Yang Yun.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
A series of clashes followed, their figures shifting and moving rapidly. In an instant, Li Weiyi landed on the overturned carriage, having used the "Spirit Treasure Snatch" technique to reclaim the Yellow Dragon Sword. A sense of joy washed over him, as if he had regained something precious.
Meanwhile, Yang Yun fell awkwardly into the shallow water by the embankment, his body crashing through the roof of a fishing boat. With a loud clang, the boat's lantern fell, and the fishing boat immediately burst into flames.
Suddenly.
Amid the flames, Li Weiyi felt something and turned his gaze toward the massive warship that had been silently anchored in the middle of the river. A streak of silver light shot out from the deck, heading straight for the shore where he stood.
Even from such a distance, he could feel the sharp sword intent and killing aura emanating from the figure. He also sensed that he had been locked onto by the other's gaze.
"Xue Zheng, the fourth-ranked expert of the Seven Springs Hall in Li Prefecture, the Silver Half-Immortal Body, the Undefeated Swordsman."
Being locked onto by Xue Zheng's gaze made Li Weiyi uncomfortable, but what truly gave him a sense of crisis was the massive warship. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Li Weiyi channeled his spiritual energy into the Yellow Dragon Sword and leaped into the air, slashing toward Yang Yun.
Perhaps the only chance of survival tonight was to capture Yang Yun as a hostage before Xue Zheng arrived. Yang Yun naturally noticed Xue Zheng's approach. Moreover, Shi Chuanyu, Murong Xiao, and others were closing in rapidly.
He only needed to hold off Li Weiyi for a couple of breaths, and the situation would completely reverse.
"Come at me!"
Yang Yun stood in the water, the flames behind him casting a red glow. He laughed loudly, "The eighth spring, Wind Mansion, contains a small sea of spiritual energy. Those who open the eighth spring are also known as minor Five Seas Realm experts.
Today, I'll show you the true strength of someone who has opened the eighth spring." Yang Yun realized that his most foolish mistake earlier was trying to wield the magical sword despite being unable to activate it. He would never make that mistake again.
The spiritual energy from all eight springs in his body converged in his arm as he unleashed the Sky-Shattering Fist, a technique he had practiced for years. The spiritual energy on his fist shone like a star.
"Boom!"
He threw a punch. The spiritual energy in the Wind Mansion's small sea was instantly depleted, surging into his arm and forming a tangible shockwave that caused the air to explode with a deafening roar. This was the trump card of an eighth-spring martial artist!
By depleting the spiritual energy in the Wind Mansion, he could unleash a single attack that approached the power of the Five Seas Realm. Just one move, but it was enough to dominate the Spring Surge Realm. Even though Li Weiyi had mentally prepared himself, he was still sent flying by the force of the punch.
It felt as if he had been struck from a distance, his internal organs aching in pain. Fortunately, he had activated the corpse armor he wore, which greatly mitigated the impact. After opening the sixth spring, his spiritual energy had reached a higher level.
Activating the corpse armor, he could clearly feel a cold sensation emanating from it. The armor released streams of air that swirled rapidly around his body. Of course, in this situation, Li Weiyi didn't have time to take off his outer clothes to inspect it.
Yang Yun's smile quickly froze as he realized that Li Weiyi, who had been sent flying by his punch, had somehow managed to turn around in mid-air without hitting the ground and was now charging back at him. What... what kind of movement technique was this? Li Weiyi swung his sword as fast as chopping vegetables.
Three strikes in rapid succession: the first cut off Yang Yun's topknot, the second pierced through his collarbone, and the third slashed across his thigh.
Finally.
Li Weiyi grabbed the back of Yang Yun's neck with his five fingers, completely subduing him. With just a little more force, he could twist Yang Yun's head off.
"You can't kill me. My sister is on the ship. You won't get away..."
Yang Yun's face was pressed against the water, like a cat caught by the neck. His face was pale, and he didn't dare move an inch, all traces of his usual arrogance gone.
"Li Weiyi, let Young Master Yun go, and I'll let you leave," Shi Chuanyu shouted as he caught up.
Li Weiyi paid no attention to him, his gaze fixed on the silver figure that had crossed the river and entered the fishing boat area.
"Do I need you to let me go? Do you even have the right to say that?"
Li Weiyi crushed the last blood bag on his scripture belt. With one hand holding Yang Yun and the other gripping his sword, he charged toward Shi Chuanyu, Murong Xiao, and the others. A few moments later.
Li Weiyi broke through the encirclement and reached the embankment. His body was covered in new wounds, blood dripping from his cheeks and arms. On the embankment, two more seventh-spring martial artists lay dead.
With a burst of silver mist beneath his feet, he turned into a blur in the night, racing along the riverbank downstream. Yang Yun, held in his hand, seemed to weigh nothing. Since Yang Qingxi was on the ship, jumping into the Sui River would be like walking into a trap.
"Carrying someone and still moving this fast. He must have quite a few magical artifacts on him."
Xue Zheng chased after him, reaching the embankment just as Li Weiyi was already ten feet away. It was clear that if Li Weiyi weren't carrying Yang Yun, his speed wouldn't lose to those Nine Springs Sages, and might even rival some Five Seas Realm experts.
"So fast. No wonder he's ranked in the top five of the Spring Surge Realm in all of Li Prefecture. Anyone who can reach that rank must have something extraordinary about them."
Li Weiyi was racking his brains on how to shake off Xue Zheng, who was hot on his heels, when suddenly, he saw Yao Zhengsheng's four-meter-tall gorilla-like figure standing like a wall in the middle of the road ahead. Yao held a thousand-pound iron rod, exuding an aura of invincibility.
Li Weiyi was already covered in wounds, both physically and mentally exhausted. Facing Yao Zhengsheng, who was born with immense strength and had mastered the rod technique to the level of Dao Harmony, he felt as if the heavens had abandoned him.
Moreover, even if Yao Zhengsheng could only delay him for a couple of moves, Xue Zheng would be upon him in an instant. How could he escape then? Yao Zhengsheng's Mountain-Splitting Rod Technique, combined with the Dao Harmony state, was impossible to dodge once unleashed.
It seemed like a dead end. But if he didn't get past this obstacle, how could he find a way out? Li Weiyi took a deep breath and charged straight at Yao Zhengsheng, who stood in the middle of the road.
The light from the Yellow Dragon Sword in his hand shone brighter than ever, and his eyes grew more determined. No matter how difficult the obstacles, he would overcome them. If a mountain stood in his way, he would split it.
If the heavens blocked him, he would tear them open. Eight feet, seven feet, six feet... The distance closed rapidly.
Li Weiyi's blood boiled, his pores opened wide, and his fighting spirit reached its peak. Four feet, three feet. At the last two feet, Li Weiyi let out a roar that echoed across both banks of the Sui River.
He leaped into the air, his eyes like blades, scrutinizing every tiny movement of Yao Zhengsheng—his breathing, his pores, his muscles... Yao Zhengsheng, though well-rested, knew how formidable this young man was. He focused entirely, his spiritual energy spilling out of his body as he swung the thousand-pound iron rod, instantly entering the Dao Harmony state.
The iron rod came down like a collapsing mountain. The wind howled from all directions, the momentum overwhelming.
"Whoosh!"
Li Weiyi, mid-air, no longer saw Yao Zhengsheng. Instead, he saw an endless ocean, entering a state of unity with the world. He swung his sword downward, the blade's light tearing through the ocean, reaching toward the horizon.
"Thud!"
Behind them, Xue Zheng, who was only four feet away from the battlefield, clearly saw the life-and-death clash between the two Dao Harmony experts. In the end, Li Weiyi was just a fraction faster, but that fraction decided the outcome. With one strike, he cleaved off half of Yao Zhengsheng's head.
Li Weiyi, still holding Yang Yun, leaped over Yao Zhengsheng's corpse as a fountain of blood erupted from the severed head. Xue Zheng stood four feet away, the spiritual energy from his Wind Mansion surging into his arms.
His entire body glowed with a bright silver light, waves of energy radiating outward, causing the ground to tremble and the stone slabs beneath his feet to shatter. He raised his sword above his head and slashed through the air. A domineering sword light tore through the night like a black cloth.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Where the sword light passed, a deep groove appeared in the stone slabs, extending all the way to Li Weiyi, who was four feet away. Li Weiyi landed and seemed completely unaffected, dashing into the night at full speed. Xue Zheng's eyes filled with confusion.
He couldn't believe that someone in the Spring Surge Realm could withstand his strongest sword strike and still escape at full speed. Even though the sword's energy had weakened significantly after traveling four feet. ...
"You're bleeding non-stop. Put me down, and you might still have a chance to escape," Yang Yun said, feeling his hair being soaked by the blood continuously dripping from Li Weiyi's mouth.
"You're getting slower. They'll catch up soon. Not just Xue Zheng, but also the Five Seas Realm experts..."
Li Weiyi silenced the babbling Yang Yun with a slap, knocking him out. After running for over ten miles, the houses in the outskirts became sparse, replaced by vast fields in the darkness. On the other side, the sound of rushing water grew louder.
The massive warship on the Sui River was no longer visible. Li Weiyi's vision was growing dim. The corpse armor had protected him from Xue Zheng's sword strike, but he had suffered severe internal injuries.
Combined with his external wounds and the extreme exhaustion from continuous battles, he was only holding on through sheer willpower and unyielding fighting spirit. Without hesitation, he took out the Evil Camel Bell and activated it with his spiritual energy, causing it to ring.
"Ding! Ding!"
"Whoosh!"
A three-to-four-meter-tall, semi-transparent giant camel appeared in the eerie wind. Li Weiyi mounted it, feeling as if he were sitting on a cloud. He laid the unconscious Yang Yun across the camel's back and, under the cover of the ghost flag's nether fog, sped away into the distance.
Xue Zheng, who had caught up, only heard the faint sound of a bell fading into the darkness.
(End of Chapter)