by Gore, A. P.
“How did Foundation Realm trash get his hands on a Silver Grade array artifact?” Wen Shang turned his gaze toward Wu Xiodia.
“It’s not Wu Xiodia’s work. He just become an Array Apprentice only a few days ago. He can’t carve a mid-tier Silver Grade array yet.”
Wen Shang stared at Wu Xiodia, rubbing his subtle beard. “I wonder how he became an Array Apprentice. I received no information that he contacted the Heavenly Firmament Sect or any other sect. Without a sect’s support, becoming an Array Apprentice is impossible.”
“There is nothing impossible in this world, Wen Shang.” Tiang Fu snorted. “Didn’t you break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, even with your shitty Spirit Root?”
Wen Shang lowered his gaze. “That was all thanks to senior apprentice brother’s grace.”
“I bet Li Wei had another fortuitous encounter in Ten Beast Valley. There’s something strange about this brat, and I want to find out all his secrets.” Tiang Fu stared at the young man in the sky-blue robe. Surprisingly, he’d remained calm even after seeing him and Wen Shang. What did he possess to remain calm in this extraordinary situation? Tiang Fu was also curious about how he’d entered Ten Beast Valley. There was an energy seal around it, so no one could enter it. Rumor had it that Ten Beast Valley contained a medicinal garden of a very strong being, but someone had sealed it. If someone could get in, they could obtain a fortune.
What did Li Wei get out of that place?
“Senior apprentice brother, should we just cut them all apart?” Wen Shang asked. “Why do we have to participate in this dogshit challenge and waste our time?”
Tiang Fu sighed. “You’re still acting like a naïve young master even after entering the Marrow Cleansing Realm.” His voice became bitter at the end of the sentence.
Wen Shang lowered his head. “Senior apprentice brother, please punish me for my insolence.”
“Did you forget that all mortal matters come under the Imperial clan’s purview? Unless our sect opens a branch inside the State of Zin, we can’t meddle in mortal business. Even then, it would be a grave crime to kill mortal cultivators. Absolutely not when it comes to official business like this. Why do you think I wasted so many pills and three Heart Devouring Worms on the Du clan? Until its necessary, I won’t participate in this challenge. Our goal is to capture Li Wei after the challenge is over.”
“Then why did you help the Du clan? It doesn’t matter if they lose or win.”
Tiang Fu shook his head. No matter what, a frog wouldn’t understand the workings of the heavens. “Do you believe the Du clan could have won these matches without our help? If we don’t torture the Li clan, how could we force Li Wei to step out of the shadows? I bet he was here, watching these events with no plan to come forward. Only after the Du clan pushed the Li clan hard did he show up.”
But why had he shown up when the Du clan had such an absolute advantage? Something was wrong, and Tiang Fu couldn’t see through it.
“Junior understands. Senior apprentice brother’s brain is the most powerful in our M—” He bit his tongue when Tiang Fu glared at him.
“Wen Shang, if you ever say that name out loud, don’t blame me for killing you on the spot.”
“Please forgive me, senior apprentice brother. This lowly one made a mistake. Please don’t kill me.”
“Distribute a few Wood Shield Talismans to the next person going in. We can’t fall for the same trick. And ask them to kill their opponents as quickly as possible. I won’t wait forever. I have to capture Li Wei and tear his secrets from him.” An uneasy feeling rushed through his heart, and he wanted to finish this quickly.
This entire conversation happened in a few breaths’ time.
Then, suddenly, an idiot jumped onto the martial stage.
Chapter 86
Another Blast
When the spear exploded, Du Tenjua’s chest tightened. It happened so fast. Before he knew it, Du Riu was blasted into pieces, not even leaving a single piece behind for burial.
“Riu’er . . .” Fifth elder Du Shui dashed forward.
“W—” before Du Tenjua could say anything, a black spear pierced Du Shui’s back and he too exploded into pieces.
Du Tenjua’s heart almost gave up. Two bright people from the Du clan, dead. Just like that. Seeing the blood splatter all over the martial stage, he couldn’t control his boiling blood, and he attacked Li Wei, who had killed Du Shui.
Li Shua dashed forward, attacking with a sword. Their attacks collided, and Du Tenjua took a step back.
“You—”
“Du Tenjua, are you a two-faced bastard?” Li Shua shouted. “Your elder killed our fourth elder when he jumped on the stage, and now you want to attack my junior for doing the same?”
Du Tenjua grunted. He was unprepared, so he hadn’t attacked with his full force. If he had, Li Shua couldn’t have defended against his attack.
“Li Shua, are you rebelling against me? I have to kill that brat Li Wei today. How can he kill a person in front of me so openly?” Dan Kuang burst out. His hand moved to his sword.
“City Lord, please give me justice and kill this abomination. He is a killer and a stain on the people of Old Martial City.” Du Tenjua felt remorse for losing his clan members, but he would make sure that Li clan would pay dearly for this.
“Yes, I’ll see justice for your Du clan.” Dan Kuang drew his sword.
Li Wei chuckled. “City Lord, are you, his dog?” He pointed at Du Tenjua.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Du Tenjua refuted. Was this brat a crazy dog?
“Then why are you licking his ass?”
Du Tenjua almost spat a mouthful of blood. What kind of brazen brat was this kid? He was hurling insult after insult, unafraid for his life.
“Li Wei, if I don’t kill you today, I’ll change my name.” Du Tenjua said.
Li Wei smiled evilly. “Then how can you go against your own words? Did you forget what you said when someone killed our fourth elder for the same thing?” Li Wei sneered. “Aren’t you going to reward us a win?”
“I’m going to kill you.” Dan Kuang dashed forward with his sword raised above his head.
Du Tenjua smiled. This was the end for the Li clan.
But just before Dan Kuang struck, Li Wei pulled a golden emblem out and flashed it in front of him.
Dan Kuang pulled his sword back like he’d discovered an evil god, and then he spat a mouthful of blood. Stopping his attack must have caused a backlash.
“How do—”
Li Wei chuckled. “Do you dare, Dan Kuang? This is an imperial item, and whoever kills me, his image will be transmitted to my friend in the royal family. Do you want your whole clan to be annihilated over this mistake?”
Dan Kuang shivered like a lion in a cage, but he couldn’t do anything and turned back.
“Elder Wen, what should we do?” Du Tenjua turned to look at the elder with the mole, and he immediately regretted it. The elder wore an unsightly expression, and Du Tenjua feared he would die by elder Wen’s glare. He was so fierce that Du Tenjua almost pissed his pants.
“Take these Wood Shield Talismans and distribute them to your trash people. That emblem only transmits information on his death, so don’t kill him. Injure him later when he takes part in the battle.”
Du Tenjua lowered his head and took the pouch given by elder Wen. Even standing under elder Wen’s gaze made his heart leap out of his chest. “Junior understands.” In fact, after seeing that golden emblem, his heart was in turmoil. He didn’t know how, but Li Wei had gained a supporter from the royal clan and that meant he could wipe out the Du clan anytime he wanted. But the Du clan was already riding the tiger, so they couldn’t jump off now. Besides, they had support from the Destiny Mirror Sect, so why should he be worried about an imperial family? Yes, it was elder Wen who gave him orders, so he didn’t need to worry about the consequences.
“City Lord, aren’t you going to award us a win?” Li Wei asked loudly, th
en chuckled darkly.
“I declare Li Cang a winner. As Du Shui was Du Riu’s father, I can’t consider this as rule breaking, so the Li clan only gets one win.”
“What?” Wu Xiodia shouted and moved forward, but Li Wei raised his hand and he went back to his seat.
Seeing Wu Xiodia obey Li Wei, Du Tenjua arched his brows. What was the relationship between Wu Xiodia and Li Wei? Why was Wu Xiodia helping Li Wei? Was Li Wei a secret child of Wu Xiodia? That was possible. Li Min had had no integrity, and she had married twice, something taboo for a woman in the cultivator world.
It made sense.
“Du Tenjua, send the next one for sacrifice,” Li Wei shouted, pulling Du Tenjua from his thoughts.
When Du Tenjua compared Li Wei and Wu Xiodia, he didn’t find any similarity between their faces. What was he missing? And there was another thing. Why did the Destiny Mirror Sect want Li Wei, a Foundation Realm brat? Something was fishy about all of this, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what.
“Du Ming. Take this and go.” Du Tenjua chose a junior with layer five Foundation Realm cultivation and gave him a Qi Expansion Pill and a Wood Shield Talisman. He would not take any chances, and he had to win the next three matches by any means necessary.
“Li Sha, you go.” Li Wei called a small man forward and handed him a black spear. He was only at layer two of the Foundation Realm, and he cultivated in wood qi. In the early layers of cultivation, wood qi was a weak attribute. Only after reaching the Bone Baptization Realm could one make it truly useful.
But one thing bothered Du Tenjua. That brat, Li Sha used a sword for attacks, but Li Wei had changed his weapon to a spear. Was he relying on the same tactic? Did he think the Du clan was full of idiots?
“Du Ming, make sure you don’t touch that spear,” Du Tenjua whispered to Du Ming. “Du Riu died because of his carelessness. As long as you keep a safe distance, you should be fine. After eating the pill, killing that bastard should be child’s play.”
Du Ming nodded and jumped onto the martial stage. As soon as he got there, he ate the Qi Expansion Pill and his cultivation base jumped to layer seven of the Foundation Realm. Dealing with a mere layer two Foundation Realm brat shouldn’t be difficult now.
The battle started and soon turned into a cat and mouse game. Du Ming followed his instructions. He was a sword user, so he couldn’t attack from range, nor had he a Heart Devouring Worm, so he only ran around. If it wasn’t for the exploding spear, he could have killed the Li brat already. Moving in a roundabout manner, he tied Li Sha down, not allowing him to come close. Whenever Li Sha tried to get close, Du Ming would jump away, and Li Sha’s spear only struck the ground. Du Ming preserved his qi while Li Sha exhausted his rapidly.
Du Tenjua felt better after seeing Du Ming handling his opponent perfectly. Maybe he had worried for nothing. That last win must have been a fluke. Li Sha had no skills or courage like Li Cang to trade an injury for an injury.
As time passed, Li Sha’s movements grew sluggish, and his face turned pale. Even his hand holding the spear hung lower.
“Du Ming, now is your time,” Du Tenjua shouted in his heart, and as expected, Du Ming dashed forward.
But when Li Sha tried to attack Du Ming, he met the spear’s body with the flat of his sword, not letting the spear touch him, and when Li Sha was closer, he kicked Li Sha in the stomach, sending him flying back.
Li Sha stabbed his spear tip and flung back at the Du Ming, but without attacking Du Ming, he stabbed the other end of the spear into the ground.
Was he going to self-destruct? But Du Ming was far outside the radius of the previous explosions
Du Tenjua couldn’t guess what was really going on.
Du Ming jumped backward, but suddenly a wooden vine shot out of the ground and wrapped around Du Ming’s leg. Slicing his sword down, Du Ming freed himself and jumped away, but another vine wrapped around his leg, then one more, and then one more wrapped around his hand. In a breath’s time, Du Ming was bound with vines, and Li Sha charged ahead with a smile on his face.
“N—” before Du Tenjua could shout, Li Sha threw his spear at Du Ming, and when the spear collided with a wooden vine, it exploded, taking Du Min’s life.
Du Tenjua grabbed the stone block below his ass to stabilize himself. That was the third person he’d lost. Even if he won now, the Du clan would be weakened for decades.
Chapter 87
Royal Keepsake Emblem
Li Wei smiled in satisfaction when the vines shot out of the martial stage like snakes and wrapped around Du Ming’s legs. Li Sha was a good seedling, and he’d performed his role perfectly. His running behind Du Ming and striking the ground with the spear tip was all part of the plan. He was setting up a Verdant Vine Array Formation by spreading five nicks of metal Wei had attached to the tip. They acted as formation poles, and the formation eye comprised a Verdant Wood Array. By striking it on the ground, he sent wood qi into the ground, activating the poles. It was a high-tier Silver Grade array, and Wei had prepared it to trap his opponent. With the current implementation, it could only trap a Foundation Realm cultivator, but that was enough.
Du Ming entering the trap like a stupid rat proved it.
“I’ll kill you, you filthy motherfucker!” Du Tenjua roared, his robe fluttering. With his right hand, he attacked Li Wei.
Smirking, Wei raised the golden emblem Sun Nuan had given him in front of himself. Before separating in Ocean Wave Town, she had given him this Royal Keepsake Emblem. It was given to foreign friends and retained its authority anywhere in the State of Zin. It wasn’t bestowed by the emperor, so he couldn’t use it for anything, but it had its own respect, and people like Dan Kuang had to restrain their fangs in front of it. It also had another purpose. If a person holding it was killed, the royal family would be sent the final scene of the wearer’s death.
However, this wouldn’t deter the Destiny Mirror Sect’s bastard. To them, a royal clan was like an ant. Royal clans cowered in front of huge sects like the Destiny Mirror Sect.
Seeing the golden emblem, Du Tenjua stopped in his tracks like Dan Kuang had. He spat a mouthful of blood and retreated with a sullen expression.
What an idiot. Du Tenjua knew he couldn’t kill Wei, and yet he’d attacked and received backlash. Anyway, it was good for the Li clan. When Wei attacked, Du Tenjua would be a small fry to kill.
“Wei’er, do you really have a friend in the royal clan?”
“A friend indeed.” An alluring lady flashed in his mind. Sun Nuan was more than a friend. She’d been a companion that fought with him. But he had no destiny with her, so he’d pushed her away when he had the chance. Their paths were destined to be separate. Being part of a hereditary clan had its advantages and disadvantages, and the disadvantages were worse than the advantages. They were destined to remain in the Mortal Realm and die like mortals. Something he wasn’t ready to do.
The next youth from the Du clan jumped onto the stage, holding a long sword. He was a big man, and held a sword marked with a Power Enhancing Array. With his layer five Foundation Realm cultivation and a Qi Expansion Pill along with the sword, he could fight with a peak Foundation Realm cultivator. Although Wei hated the Du clan, he had to admit they had some powerful juniors. Even his uncle, Li Tang, was only at layer five of the Foundation Realm while a junior in the Du clan had the same cultivation.
Compared to the Du clan, the Li clan lacked a lot.
“Du Weng asks for pointers from the Li clan,” the Du clan’s latest representative said. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. All I want is a fair fight.”
Wei arched a brow. How could a Du clan member show no arrogance? All the others who came out had shouted how viciously they would kill the Li clan fighters and all sorts of trash. But this man was calm and composed.
But his next actions chased this image from Wei’s mind. Pulling out a Qi Expansion Pill from his pouch, he gulped it down, increasing his cultivation, then slammed a Wood Shield Talisman again
st his chest, covering himself in a dense wood qi shield. It was a common Silver Grade talisman that could prevent a full-fledged early Bone Baptization Realm cultivator’s attacks.
“Shameless. If you want a fair fight, why did you eat that pill and use that talisman?” a tall youth from the Li clan with a brutish build shouted in anger.
“I fear no fight and ask for the strongest senior to come fight me.” Du Wang continued blurting nonsense.
Wei had had enough of these hypocrites.
Wei scanned the youths behind him, then chose the tallest youth that had layer one Foundation Realm cultivation and handed him a huge shield. “Li Qin, activate this technique and then smash him to a pulp.” Wei patted on the youth’s shoulder, imparting the forbidden technique to him. It was always better to touch one’s glabella while imparting knowledge, but for an easy technique like this, Wei didn’t need to touch the youth’s glabella. Doing that would have attracted suspicion from others, anyway.
“Senior Xue Qi, did you wrap the technique in your divine sense? Are you sure it won’t be remembered by the youth after he uses it once?” he asked, using his divine sense. Xue Qi rested in his body near his own glabella. Even with his strong divine sense, it was difficult to notice her position at first, but when he’d used it to probe his own head, he’d found her. The glabella was a place where one’s soul space would be formed, so she might be using it.
“Yes, I’ve done my job,” she replied dryly.
“Thank you.”
“Li Qin asks for pointers from the senior.” He raised his shield in front of him and challenged Du Weng.
Du Weng smirked. “You don’t have an exploding spear with you. Are you using an exploding shield now?” he asked. “But you can’t hurt me anymore. With this Wood Shield Talisman, I can take your attack head on, and then I’ll smash you to a pulp.” Arrogance leaked through every word of him.