Upon leaving the Blood Mud Space, the words of his Master echoed continuously in Li Weiyi's mind.
“If the mental power breaks through again, what kind of changes will occur with the Shaoyang Star?”
For the next three days, Li Weiyi did not dare to engage in any vigorous activities. Besides consuming medicinal meals, he focused on recovering from his injuries and entered the Blood Woods to cultivate his mental power and refine the luminous fire. The trial participants returned one after another.
Li Weiyi had no idea how many had met their end during this first trial, but the medicinal meal room had become significantly quieter than before. When he spotted Yao Yin emerging from the stone door, he hurriedly stood up, ready to leave.
“Y-you wait a moment!”
Yao Yin feigned calmness and indifference, her small hands clasped behind her back as she walked into the Blood Woods, keeping a distance of about ten feet.
“In the spider cave, why didn’t you kill me?”
This was the first time he had seen her in three days. Li Weiyi replied, “When we entered the cave, didn’t we agree to drive away the other competitors first? So, I was just fulfilling my promise.”
With that, Li Weiyi quickened his pace and left for the medicinal meal room. It was clear that Yao Yin didn't believe this answer and hurried after him while maintaining a distance of at least ten feet.
“Fine, then it’s settled! I owe you a favor, and I will definitely repay it.”
“Repay a favor?”
Li Weiyi asked. A hint of pride characteristic of Pure Immortal Body martial practitioners shimmered in Yao Yin’s demeanor.
“The flesh-rafflesia medicine was given to me by you, right? I turned misfortune into fortune. Over these three days, I have broken through to the Eighth Spring. Among all the competitors, only that Nine Springs person will pose a slight challenge. Here’s the deal: I will eliminate all the other competitors and leave you for last.”
“Last to kill?”
Li Weiyi countered. Yao Yin’s expression turned serious.
“There’s no other way. When the time comes, I’ll give you a fair chance for a duel.”
Li Weiyi nodded, secretly resolving to give her a fair chance for a duel as well.
“By the way! What exactly happened in the spider cave? Why do you have ice fissures all over your body?”
Li Weiyi asked casually. Upon hearing this, Yao Yin fixated on the words “all over,” and some unpleasant images flashed through her mind. Her previously pleasant expression vanished instantly, and coldness seeped into her gaze.
“Shameless! It seems that Hidden Twenty-Four wasn’t wrong at all.”
She huffed, gathering her power, and quickly set off ahead, unwilling to walk with him any longer. Li Weiyi stood bewildered in place, completely confused as to what he had said wrong. He muttered to himself, “It’s her issue, definitely not mine.
Hmmm… what nonsense has Hidden Twenty-Four been spouting? How can a hidden person be so gossipy?” Arriving at the medicinal meal room, Li Weiyi and Yao Yin sat at the farthest ends of the table.
Eighteen survivors of the trial gathered one by one, all present. The reason they arrived in such an orderly manner was that today’s medicinal meal was substantial, serving as a reward for all those who had passed the trial.
“Eight died in the first trial; it seems that even without mutual slaughter, surviving until the last month won’t be an easy task,” remarked a mortal martial practitioner with a cultivation at the Eighth Spring.
One of the four Eighth Spring martial practitioners had died, leaving three. One of the tiger-like mutant Eighth Spring martial practitioners licked his lips with a grin, saying, “If all the competitors could be eliminated beforehand, there would be no need for trials. A direct victory could be achieved.”
The mortal Eighth Spring practitioner’s expression darkened, aware that he wasn’t a match for him. To lose meant death. After finishing their medicinal meal, Yao Yin suddenly shot out like a bolt of lightning, her hand holding a magical dagger aimed straight at Li Qing.
Without any warning. Even Li Weiyi was taken aback, unable to predict that the tiger-like mutant Eighth Spring martial practitioner, who had issued threats, would not act, instead allowing the seemingly delicate Yao Yin to be the first to ambush a competitor publicly. This was undoubtedly also unexpected for Li Qing, who could only react hurriedly.
“Swish!”
The dagger narrowly grazed the side of Li Qing’s neck, leaving a blood mark at his chin. It was close, very close—Li Qing could have been taken out in one blow.
“Good! Since you seek death, I will send you, the Pure Immortal Body, out beforehand.”
Li Qing touched his chin, blood staining his hand. After the moment of shock passed, a murderous intent erupted in his eyes as he drew his sword and slashed out.
Yao Yin had originally aimed to rely on her superior agility and the fact that her opponent was unaware of her recent breakthrough to take down her strongest competitor by surprise. After all, a month ago, when Li Qing had fought Hidden Nine, she had recognized that his speed was his weakness.
But to her surprise, in just a month, Li Qing compensated for that weakness. The movement he executed to evade her assassination clearly reached the level of the Dao Laws’ harmonization.
“Swish! Swish…”
Both of them displayed extraordinary agility, bursting out of the medicinal meal room and onto the square beneath the mental power stone wall. In an instant, numerous shadows clashed, magical instruments colliding continuously. It was a universally acknowledged fact that a Pure Immortal Body possessed abnormal combat abilities that exceeded a realm, enhancing their fighting prowess.
The tiger-like mutant Eighth Spring martial practitioner watched the battlefield intently.
“Such a pity! So close to succeeding in the assassination.”
Though he spoke of it as a pity, a relieved smile appeared on his face. Li Weiyi said, “You should lend her a hand; you might just send that Nine Springs person packing.”
“And then what? She’ll come after me first.”
The tiger-like Eighth Spring martial practitioner wasn’t foolish; he understood perfectly who posed the greatest threat.
“Puff!”
Li Qing unleashed sword techniques at the Dao Laws’ harmonization level, the sharp whistle of sword energy rang out as his sword broke through Yao Yin’s palm technique. The sword tip pierced through her palm and exited her wrist.
Yao Yin bit her lip, enduring the searing pain as she withdrew her blood-soaked hand, utilizing her agility to disappear into the purple bamboo forest.
“Just breaking through to the Eighth Spring, and you dare to ambush me?! Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”
Li Qing roared, not pursuing. Instead, he gripped his blood-stained long sword, casting a fierce gaze towards the crowd behind him. Especially, his eyes fixated tightly on Li Weiyi.
Earlier, when he was about to pursue Li Qing to slay Yao Yin, he had felt the fluctuation of Li Weiyi’s mental energy behind him. He understood that Li Weiyi was no ordinary individual; he was specifically sent by the Earth Wolf King army to monitor him. However, in the current situation, only one of them could survive.
Just now, Li Weiyi had indeed aimed to follow Yao Yin’s example and launch a surprise attack on him. Once she is injured, this Pure Immortal Body would surely face the pursuit of all the Eighth Spring martial practitioners. But before that, Li Qing feared that all the Eighth Spring martial practitioners would band together to take him down first.
Thus, after much contemplation, he chose not to immediately pursue the fleeing “desperate criminals” but instead decided to frighten the “crowd of inciters” that seemed eager to move.
“Hidden Twenty-Four, Hidden Twenty-Five, that Pure Immortal Body overestimated her abilities and already made a move against me. Can I kill her at any time now?”
Li Qing shouted towards the two hidden individuals standing on the edge of the square. Hidden Twenty-Five replied, “A lower realm individual who makes the first move loses the qualification for protection. If you wish to kill her, we certainly won’t stop you.”
Li Qing’s gaze swept over all the Eighth Spring martial practitioners, including Li Weiyi.
“Did everyone hear that? Life is only one; before making a move, you’d best weigh your own strength.”
Li Weiyi had indeed intended to act just now but was held back by lingering doubts that needed private verification with Li Qing.
“If I were to challenge the mental power mural, could they sneak attack?”
Li Qing prepared to add another layer of intimidation and asked. Hidden Twenty-Four replied, “Of course not.”
“That’s good!”
Li Qing strode toward the mental power stone wall, placing his hand upon it.
“Wham!”
Hidden Nine’s half-ethereal shadow stepped out from the stone wall, wielding a gigantic axe, rushing fiercely toward challenger Li Qing. With a loud rumble, the giant axe collided with the long sword in Li Qing’s hand. Li Qing's body slid back nearly four meters, his face growing pale as his grip on the sword trembled uncontrollably.
As Hidden Nine’s second axe came crashing down, he swiftly executed the Dao Laws’ harmonization body technique to evade.
“Boom!”
“Rumble!” …
Li Weiyi gazed at the battlefield where one person faced the shadow, nodding gently. Li Qing had made tremendous progress in just a month! A month ago, with a single clash, he had been sent flying by Hidden Nine with no resistance whatsoever.
Li Qing withstood seven strikes before his long sword finally fell, at which point he immediately surrendered. Hidden Twenty-Five was stunned.
“How could he improve so dramatically? I can only endure four strikes from Hidden Nine right now.”
Hidden Twenty-Four also displayed an expression of awe.
“Someone who can become a Nine Springs person outside is certainly not ordinary.”
Hidden Twenty-Three arrived, his massive figure appearing next to them.
“He obtained an opportunity during the Nine Springs trial; the meridians within him have likely approached complete silver veins. In at most a month, once he reaches complete silver veins, he will truly be invincible among this batch.”
“But even then, he cannot be Hidden Nine’s match! Hidden Nine is the pinnacle of mortals, possessing a hundred silver veins.”
Hidden Twenty-Five remarked. Seeing such a strong newcomer, Hidden Twenty-Four felt pressured, and his gaze unintentionally darted toward Li Weiyi. Li Qing picked up the long sword from the ground, eyeing the other shocked Eighth Spring martial practitioners.
Soon after, he followed the lingering aura of Yao Yin and vanished into the purple bamboo forest. Someone muttered in dismay, “Is there any meaning in our continued trials? I feel that the spot of Hidden Twenty-Six is already impossible for anyone else!”
The tiger-like mutant Eighth Spring martial practitioner suggested, “Shall we all band together to eliminate him first?”
“Band together? And based on what? That Pure Immortal Body hasn’t even taken damage to a single hand. If she teams up with us, we might have a chance. But right now, she has one wounded hand; her combat strength is likely not much greater than yours.” …
Li Weiyi walked across the square, glancing at the distant red mental power stone wall. Not wishing to dampen the spirits of those pitiful souls, he resolved to seek out Li Qing first. Li Qing executed his movement technique, chasing downstream along the blood river.
“Want to escape? Where could you possibly run? Beyond this river valley, ferocious insects are everywhere.”
After pursuing for more than twenty miles, Li Qing suddenly slowed his pace, coming upon three underground river tributaries diverging. He fixed his gaze on the narrowest underground river’s entrance on the far right, a slight smile curling at his lips.
“The scent you carry has been continuously exposing your whereabouts. How can you escape? You wouldn’t dare to go deep inside; you must be hiding at the entrance. Inside, ferocious insects abound, and your flesh will be gnawed bit by bit. That pain is like death by a thousand cuts, worse than death itself.”
“Come out; dying by my sword is far more agreeable than perishing at the hands of ferocious insects.”
Hidden in the shadow at the cave entrance, Yao Yin ripped off a piece of fabric from her clothing, biting her teeth tightly as she trembled while bandaging her continuously bleeding palm, beads of sweat forming on her face from the pain.
When Li Qing’s magical sword pierced her hand, the sword tip carried a formidable force, preventing the wound from healing for a short while.
“Yao Yin, don’t be afraid… sooner or later, we all have to die… don’t be afraid; if you lose, you’ve lost. But hadn’t you already prepared yourself to lose before coming to the Hidden Gate? You won’t be scared… you shouldn’t be… fight!”
She leaned against the stone wall, breathing heavily, striving to overcome her fear of Li Qing and quickly restoring her fighting spirit and state of mind. Gathering her courage, she was just about to leap out when a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside.
“Li Qing, we need to have a serious talk about our matters, don’t you think?” …
Asking for monthly tickets!
(End of chapter)