Li Weiyi felt as if the opponent's fist was a metal war hammer weighing ten thousand pounds, powerful enough to shatter city walls. As soon as they collided, excruciating pain shot through his entire arm, and he was sent flying backward.
At this moment, only one thought occupied his mind: "I've been fooled by Yin Twenty-Four, the Five Seas Realm, even in its first stage, is not to be underestimated. Its strength is greater than that of Yang Shen in the Hundred Vessels Full Silver.
This Tang Yan is not someone of my current cultivation level can compete with; I have no chance of victory." Tang Yan was in much worse shape than Li Weiyi. Thud, thud, thud, he stomped and shattered the floor bricks beneath him, his face turning pale.
His fingers, once clenched in a fist, pained him so much he couldn't even grip tightly. Who is this mighty opponent he had provoked? There was no doubt he was from the Five Seas Realm.
After Yin Twenty-Four entered the headquarters of the Changlin Gang, she jumped up to the top of the three-story discussion hall, standing on the glazed tile to occupy the best vantage point, surveying the entire estate to find where the formation's pivot lay.
Seeing Li Weiyi and the first strike against the Five Seas Realm push him back, she couldn't help but feel a sense of surprise. Although one was an ambush and the other a hasty defense, this was still a crossing of a significant realm!
She was aware that Yin Jun’s true trial for Li Weiyi was not the Changlin Gang, nor did he ever expect Li Weiyi could wipe out the Changlin Gang. Although Tang Yan's strength surpassed that of Yang Shen, Li Weiyi would surely lose when facing him.
However, Li Weiyi had magical artifacts he could use, such as the Silver Thread Gloves he wore on both hands, which could enhance his palm strength by more than thirty percent when activated. That last palm strike had relied on the enhancement of the Silver Thread Gloves; that was how he managed to suppress Tang Yan.
With his magical power circulating, the pain in his arm vanished instantaneously. Li Weiyi drew out the Yellow Dragon Sword hidden within his stealth cloak, stepping forward swiftly as he attacked Tang Yan.
Tang Yan's recovery was not as quick as Li Weiyi’s. As he saw a sky full of sword lights rushing towards him, he didn’t know the depths of his opponent and dared not take it head-on; he immediately retreated to avoid the attack. Li Weiyi feared that Tang Yan might be strongly motivated, displaying tenacious fighting spirit.
As long as he held fear and trepidation in his heart, then the combat prowess of the Five Seas Realm would only diminish to seventy or eighty percent. After dodging six or seven attacks in a row, Tang Yan began to notice that this magical weapon sword had some familiarity to it.
But Li Weiyi didn’t give him a moment’s respite; each strike of the sword became quicker than the last. Slicing sounds rang out as the yellow light flashed, the tip of the sword ripping a long tear through the fabric of Tang Yan's chest. It was almost a direct hit, leaving a gash on him.
"What remarkable cultivation and speed! It seems my realm is still too low; even so, I can't wound him," Li Weiyi thought, his gaze growing heavy, feeling greater pressure building in his heart as he worried that Xu Changlin might arrive at any moment.
Tang Yan looked down at the rip in his chest garment, panic filling him, and he retreated in a more flustered manner.
"Who exactly are you? Our Changlin Gang has backers! The Yang Clan and Sui Sect have great prestige in Li Prefecture, you should consider carefully whether you can afford to offend us!"
“Vice Gang Leader really has a poor memory. Just two months ago, have you already forgotten how your Changlin Gang seized my estate?”
Li Weiyi retorted. He had previously visited the estate he used to live in, only to find it had changed owners and had become a stronghold of the Changlin Gang. Tang Yan had carried out many acts of robbery and seizing land, and for a moment, he couldn't recall who this opponent was.
With a slight distraction, Li Weiyi thrust his sword beneath Tang Yan’s collarbone, driving the sword tip an entire inch into his flesh. The sword's aura and power invaded Tang Yan's body, sending waves of pain coursing through him. Tang Yan screamed and fell back, shouting, “Others have infiltrated the headquarters, what are you all doing?
Everyone, join in together!”
"Relying on a group of Spring Surge realm lackeys to rescue you with such a mindset? How could you possibly be my match?"
Li Weiyi had completely shed his fear and reverence for the martial practitioners of the Five Seas Realm. Seizing the opportunity, he launched his attack, unleashing the Dao-level Taiji Opening the Sea technique. A bright yellow light slashed out over a distance of ten feet.
Tang Yan howled, exerting all his effort to draw upon the magical energy from his air ocean, launching two punches that sent shockwaves towards Li Weiyi. It was a punch technique of Dao level.
"Boom!"
The sword energy cut through the waves of punch energy, but residual force still struck Li Weiyi, causing him to uncontrollably fly backward. The intensity of the magical energy from the Five Seas martial practitioners was beyond what the Spring Surge realm could compare with.
The full force collision shattered a small building atop their heads, causing beams and tiles to crash down all around. The overwhelming force sent Seven Springs level martial practitioners fleeing for their lives, their souls nearly leaving their bodies in terror.
As the two Five Seas practitioners clashed, the residual waves could annihilate ordinary Spring Surge realm cultivators; they dared not intervene. Tang Yan recognized that previous sword strike and locked his gaze on the translucent figure, exclaiming, “It’s you! You’ve broken through to the Five Seas?”
Li Weiyi had just landed on the ground when seven Changlin Gang members wielding heavy crossbows shot out silent flying needles.
“Clink, clink!”
Li Weiyi was now a different individual; how could he overlook such a level of attack? He swung his sword, and the thick magical energy surrounding it formed a spherical energy shield. All the flying crossbow arrows fell to the ground.
With a circular motion of his arm, the tendrils of magical energy surged out from his sleeves, lifting the fallen crossbow arrows, and then they flew out like a torrential rain. With cries of agony, all seven crossbow-wielding gang members fell to the ground, riddled with blood holes.
Once Tang Yan recognized Li Weiyi's identity, the fear in his heart faded; even if Li Weiyi had truly advanced to the Five Seas Realm, he was still a novice, while he himself had cultivated in the Five Seas Realm for over twenty years.
He took out a silver ruler magical artifact, infused it with magical power, and instantly, a blinding silver light illuminated the entire front courtyard. As he swung the silver ruler, a beam of light surged forth like a land-splitting force toward Li Weiyi, cracking the stone tiles beneath it.
“To have such power at the Five Seas Realm using a magical artifact?”
Li Weiyi quickly took out the Ghost Flag, using his arm as a flagpole to whip it in the air, infusing it with Eight Springs magical power. As the Ghost Flag fluttered, a mass of black Nether Fog poured out, transforming the courtyard into an eerie ghost domain.
A towering, armored ghost figure emerged from the flag, wielding a battle spear that exuded an intimidating chill, as if it turned summer into winter. Within ten feet, the ground was covered in frost. Each time Li Weiyi broke through a realm, the power released from the Ghost Flag was different.
This faintly visible armored ghost was the first time being activated, even surprising Li Weiyi himself. The silver beam released by Tang Yan collided with the armored ghost, and it sank without raising a ripple. Just as he found himself suppressed by the ghost figure's intimidating aura, Li Weiyi's sword light reached him.
“Puchi!”
Despite Tang Yan trying his hardest, he could not dodge, and Li Weiyi pierced through his chest.
“Aaahh… if I’m going to die, then let's die together!”
Tang Yan howled pitifully, enduring the pain in his chest as he swung the ruler toward Li Weiyi’s head. They were too close, and no one expected that in this moment of dying, Tang Yan would unleash a terrible fighting spirit. Li Weiyi had no choice but to abandon his sword, rolling to the left to evade.
Before he could rise, a powerful, dominating wave of energy swept in, accompanied by Xu Changlin’s furious roar, slicing down.
"Boom!"
It was a pitch-black, gloomy magical battle knife that chopped into the ground where Li Weiyi had just rolled, creating a gash several meters long.
Though Xu Changlin was also at the first stage of the Five Seas Realm, his combat power clearly exceeded Tang Yan's. The battle knife in his hand was not just a magical weapon but also a dense weighty object, weighing well over a thousand pounds. If it fell onto someone, even iron bones would be crushed to pieces.
Alongside Xu Changlin were over a dozen professionals of Seven Springs level, each radiating magical energy, their vigor strong; they were clearly experienced and formidable individuals. Tang Yan lay on the ground, blood continuously flowing from his chest, wheezing like a broken windbox.
“He… he is Li Weiyi! He pierced through my lung's air sea, ruining my cultivation in the Five Seas Realm... kill him, tear him to pieces!”
Li Weiyi surged forward before Xu Changlin, grabbing the sword hilt, pulling it out, and slicing in a crescent arc.
“Puff!”
Tang Yan's head flew off his neck, soaring towards Xu Changlin, who couldn't evade in time and caught it with his hands. The seated Tang Yan spouted a fountain of blood three feet high from his neck. A Five Seas practitioner had just been decapitated so easily!
Xu Changlin was furious, his eyes filled with killing intent as he tossed Tang Yan's head to the ground like a watermelon, “Li Weiyi, the Shi Gang has been looking for you for days. Since you’ve come to die on your own, I, Xu, will ensure your demise.”
Surrounded on all sides, Li Weiyi was unperturbed; instead, he sneered, “Has the Changlin Gang changed its name?”
“It was just changed! I have passed the position of gang leader to Shi,” Xu Changlin replied.
The sound of a large group of footsteps erupted, as Shi Chuan Yu led another team, impeccably dressed in scholar robes, his elegant demeanor in his forties, appearing at Li Weiyi's back. Li Weiyi knew him well; he was the banner bearers of the Changlin Gang with Eight Springs cultivation who had pursued him through Sui River.
“It seems like Leader Shi has broken through to the Five Seas, so the gang truly is a place of strength. Simply breaking through a realm creates such a gap between subordinates and gang leader that even the name of the gang has to change due to you,” Li Weiyi commented.
“It's all thanks to the cultivation from the young lady,” Shi Chuan Yu replied, his demeanor full of an air of calculation.
He was also a eunuch, wearing a smile of someone who had it all figured out.
“Breaking past the Five Seas at Eight Springs, even if Xu Changlin and Tang Yan have been honing their skills for twenty or thirty years in the Five Seas Realm, they would still be incomparable to you. And you? You don’t seem like you’ve broken through to the Five Seas; rather, it seems like you are still in the Nine Springs realm.”
Two months ago, Li Weiyi had slashed the Eight Springs pure immortal body of Xue Zheng, causing quite a stir in Yao Pass, garnering him the title of Nine Springs supreme figure.
Shi Chuan Yu naturally did not believe that Li Weiyi had broken through to the Five Seas; otherwise, how could he tire himself out so much to kill a Tang Yan? He was more inclined to think that Li Weiyi was relying on the extraordinary magical artifacts he possessed.
Historically, many seeds of successors cultivated by powerful families could cut through the Five Seas Realm at Nine Springs with formidable magical artifacts. Not to mention Yang Shen, the number one in Li Prefecture, had heavily injured a Five Seas practitioner at Nine Springs, nearly killing him.
“The Xue Clan has offered five thousand Spring Coins for his head. How about we divide the bounty sixty-forty?”
Xu Changlin proposed. Shi Chuan Yu grinned, “The Yang Clan's and Xue Clan's bounties will all belong to you, but any magical artifacts on him will be mine.” Li Weiyi scanned the surroundings; all escape routes were sealed off by Seven Springs realm practitioners, and the two Five Seas level experts were locking him down with wisps of magical energy.
As soon as he made a move, he would surely attract the corresponding overwhelming attacks from both directions.
“Is breaking past the Five Seas really that strong?”
Yin Twenty-Four's clear voice floated down from the top of the glass-tiled roof, where she sat exposed in a black outfit, not concealed at all. Li Weiyi called up to her, “The Changlin Gang is finished; doesn't that conclude my mission? Or would you prefer to slay this Leader Shi and let Xu Changlin resume his position?”
Facing two opponents of the Five Seas realm? Li Weiyi would be insane to engage in a lone battle. Shi Chuan Yu's attention was drawn to the girl in black on the roof and laughed heartily, “Of course breaking past the Five Seas is impressive.”
As he spoke, a blade of magical energy shaped into a flying sword shot forth from his mouth, bright and striking like a beam of light, powerful and unexpectedly cunning.
“Bang!”
Yin Twenty-Four struck with her palm, unleashing a cloud of magical energy to shatter the flying sword to pieces. She stood up, slender yet tall, exuding an imposing aura that compared favorably against heaven and earth. Her tone turned icy: “I just checked the back yard and discovered many young girls and boys imprisoned.
From the conversations of those gang members, the girls would be sent to various brothels in Nine Li City, while the boys would be offered to a great monster, to become its pastry.”
“Thus, whether it was the Changlin Gang or the Shi Gang, both are utterly heinous. We need not show mercy; today we shall join forces to eradicate them!”
Shi Chuan Yu realized how formidable the girl in black was and immediately dispatched two Seven Springs practitioners to request help from the Sui Sect and the Yang Clan.
The Longmen had sent dozens of chests of crucial items to the Shi Gang, and now that danger arose, the Five Seas realm masters from the Sui Sect and the Yang Clan would undoubtedly be the first to arrive.
(End of Chapter)