by Gore, A. P.
Li Qin smiled and pushed a couple of pills inside his mouth. As soon as he ate the pills, a strange aura gushed out of his body, pushing his cultivation to layer three of the qi Foundation Realm.
Du Weng laughed. “Li Qin, do you think increasing your cultivation will allow you to fight against me? I’m at layer seven of the Foundation Realm, and I’ll crush you like an ant.
Layer four.
Layer five.
Li Qin’s cultivation jumped two more layers in less than a breath’s time.
“Impossible,” Du Weng shouted, his eyes flashing with shock.
Layer six.
Layer seven.
Du Weng’s face turned cold. Brandishing his sword, he charged forward.
A glance told Wei what Du Weng was thinking. He wanted to kill Li Qin before he could become a threat. It was good thinking, but not in this situation.
Layer eight.
Layer nine.
Li Qin opened his eyes and an immense pressure burst out of his body, sending Du Weng flying backward.
Li Qin opened his eyes and observed his body, flexing his muscles. He must have felt ecstatic to reach the Bone Baptization Realm in one go.
Wei sent a divine message. “Idiot. Charge and kill.”
By standing there dumbfounded, Li Qin was missing his chance to kill his opponent with a swift strike.
“Yes,” he blurted and charged the bewildered Du Weng.
“Weng’er, move!” someone shouted from the audience, and Du Weng came to his senses.
However, he was too late. By the time he raised his sword to block the incoming attack, Li Qin’s shield had smashed into his sword, pushing it backward until it cut through his own shoulder.
Du Weng wailed in pain, but no one could save him.
Silence blanketed the whole martial arena.
Li Qin raised his shield and smashed it down again, and this time Du Weng couldn’t do anything about it. Even fake Bone Baptization Realm cultivation was still sufficient to smack a Foundation Realm cultivator to a pulp.
Li Qin’s shield crashed into Du Weng’s head, cracking his skull. Blood splashed over the martial stage, some jumping to Li Qin’s robe. It was a bloody mess, yet no one spoke a single word.
“Dan Kuang, aren’t you going to declare the winner? Or do you want someone else from the Du clan to die by my hands?” Wei’s voice reverberated through the martial grounds.
Dan Kuang stared dumbfounded for a moment before regaining his composure.
Wei smirked. This was just the start.
Chapter 88
Sudden change in situation
Tiang Fu frowned when the last Li clan member broke through to the Blood Baptization Realm in one breath. This was inconceivable.
“Wen Shang, did you notice the pills he ate?” Tiang Fu asked, looking at Wen Shang.
“Qi Gathering Pills.”
“So, they weren’t Blood Berserk Pills.” Tiang Fu adjusted his robe’s collar. When Li Qin ate the pills, Tiang Fu had been meditating, so he didn’t see what they were.
“No. If he had eaten Blood Berserk Pills, he would be bleeding from his orifices by now,” Wen Shang replied calmly. “He used an unprecedented technique to break through, but I don’t feel it’s stable. Most likely it will go away after a while.”
Tiang Fu observed the youth who had broken through. His aura wasn’t stable. In fact, it already showed decline. “I don’t believe the Li clan had this technique before, otherwise they would have wiped out the Du clan already. Li Wei must have picked it up somewhere. Most probably from Ten Beast Valley.” Tiang Fu furrowed his brow. “What secrets does this kid hide inside his body?” He couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling gripping his heart. Gut instinct told him if he lingered much longer, he would end up losing here.
Another person from the Du clan hopped onto the stage, and five minutes later not even a finger remained of him. Another layer one Foundation Realm youth from the Li clan had broken through to the Bone Baptization Realm and crushed his opponent.
This time Tiang Fu got a glimpse of the pills he’d eaten, and those were definitely Qi Gathering Pills, but those pills only increased one’s qi absorbing capacity. How could it increase one’s cultivation by a realm? What kind of technique was this? It allowed one to eat two Qi Gathering Pills, and breakthrough for a period. This was inconceivable.
“Wen Shang, we have to take Li Wei back to our secret base. We can’t take him to the Destiny Mirror Sect. If we can secure this bizarre technique, our legion will gain innumerable advantages in future battles against those righteous bastards.
Wen Shang nodded, his eyes flashing with greed.
Du Tenjua rushed to them and dropped on his knees. “Elder Wen. Please save my Du clan. Please take action, and I’ll remain in your debt for the rest of my life.”
Tiang Fu crossed his arms. What was this fool doing?
“Du Tenjua. Go back and fight. I’ve already given you many benefits. If you can’t win even after that, then you deserve to die,” Wen Shang replied coldly, his eyes practically drilling a hole in Du Tenjua’s head.
Du Tenjua’s face turned grim, but he lowered his head and went back to his position.
When Tiang Fu glanced at Li Wei again, he blinked back. Tiang Fu furrowed. What kind of assurance did this brat have that he wasn’t even worried about the Marrow Cleansing Realm expert sitting behind him? Wen Shang wasn’t even needed. He, Tiang Fu, was strong enough to flatten this entire town, including the so-called city lord. These stray cultivators were like ants in front of sect cultivators.
“Senior apprentice brother, the Du clan is going to lose,” Wen Shang said.
“So what? I only offered them something to lure Li Wei out. Once the battle is settled, we will capture him under the pretext of killing my brother. That’s enough for us.”
Another person from the Du clan mounted the stage and died under the assault of a fresh Bone Baptization Realm cultivator. By this time, the first person who had broken through to the Bone Baptization Realm had dropped back to the Foundation Realm. That meant there was a time limit to this technique, but surprisingly, Tiang Fu didn’t sense any adverse effects from the person’s body.
This technique was definitely a top grade one, and he had to get his hands on it.
Du Tenjua once again ran to them and dropped in front of Wen Shang. “Elder Wen, please save my clan. I will become your servant for life. I’ll clean the Destiny Mirror Sect’s courtyards, but please save my Du clan from annihilation.”
“Are you from the Destiny Mirror Sect?” Li Wei shouted, pointing at them.
Tiang Fu ground his teeth. This bastard Du Tenjua. Was he trying to doom them?
“You stupid ass, what nonsense are you spouting?” Wen Shang shouted on Tiang Fu’s signal and slapped Du Tenjua hard, sending him flying back. That one slap destroyed Du Tenjua’s mouth, so he wouldn’t be able to talk back anymore.
Li Wei moved closer to Dan Kuang. “City Lord Dan Kuang, I request your help. I suspect those two are from the Destiny Mirror Sect, and I want you to apprehend them right away.” He pointed at Tiang Fu and Wen Shang.
Tiang Fu sneered. Did this bastard think Dan Kuang would listen to him? Tiang Fu had already had a good chat with Dan Kuang last night, and after giving him some pills Dan Kuang had been all but licking their shoes.
“City Lord,” Li Wei went on, “they are trying to instigate a war against the State of Zin! You should hurry and restrain them with your unfathomable power.”
Tiang Fu wanted to laugh aloud. Maybe this bastard knew his life’s end drew near, so he was trying to ignite Dan Kuang’s patriotism. But even if dozens of Dan Kuang came, he and Wen Shang could eliminate them in a few breaths.
“Li Wei, shut your mouth. What kind of nonsense is your filthy mouth blurting out?”
“City Lord, you disappoint me.” Li Wei’s aura flared and he suddenly broke into the Bone Baptization Realm.
Tiang Fu’s forehead twitched. Something
was odd about that. What was Li Wei trying to do? Kill Dan Kuang?
Suddenly Li Wei’s hand moved, and a sword slashed at Dan Kuang’s right wrist. Blood streamed out, and his hand dropped to the ground.
Dan Kuang wailed in pain, but before he could do anything, Li Wei grabbed his hand and pulled a ring off it, touching the ring to Dan Kuang’s dripping blood.
“Shit.” Tiang Fu jumped to his feet. “You bastard, you’re calling for reinforcements!” Every city lord had a special talisman engraved on their ring, and they could call for reinforcements by dripping blood on it.
Soon, a team of Bone Baptization Realm bastards from the State of Zin would storm this tiny city.
Laughing, Li Wei threw the hand away and jumped into the middle of the martial stage, inviting Tiang Fu with his finger.
“Tiang Fu, come and fight. We have a debt to settle, and I’d settle it with your blood today.”
Chapter 89
Mighty Grandfather Shua
From the moment Li Wei had spotted Tiang Fu and the Marrow Cleansing Realm expert behind him, Wei knew things were going to be difficult. Even if he managed to defeat all of the Du clan’s representatives, he would face the toughest battle of this life, so he’d never planned to show his trump cards in front of the Destiny Mirror Sect people. But the future was something no one could predict. Even with his heaven-defying reincarnation, the future was the most difficult thing to predict.
Another thing surprised him when he eavesdropped on Tiang Fu’s conversation with the help of his divine sense. He’d called the Marrow Cleansing Realm expert by his name, Wen Shang. How could a layer six qi Bone Baptization Realm cultivator call a layer one qi Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator by his name? That was inconceivable. One wouldn’t call the other by name, not even their guards. They had to show respect and call them senior. But the strangest thing was how Wen Shang called Tiang Fu “senior apprentice brother.”
What kind of bullshit was that? It could only mean one thing: they were part of some other secret organization where one’s seniority wasn’t determined by cultivation realm. That also meant Tiang Fu was the one in charge here.
One thing was clear: Tiang Fu wasn’t just here to avenge his brother’s death. With Wei’s two hundred years of experience in his previous life, he knew how revenge-driven lunatics behaved. Once someone had slandered Wang Zia, and Wei had charged into a small sect and destroyed it with his array formations. Of course, hadn’t had to fight much as his array formations had done all the work. That was how a crazy, revenge-driven person behaved.
Tiang Fu was too calm for that.
So, Li Wei had set up a small array formation before showing himself in the martial ground.
However, the situation had changed when he’d had to use a forbidden technique to let a Li clan disciple break through into the Bone Baptization Realm. In the moment, he had thought only of turning the tables, but as soon as Du Tenjua had shouted the Destiny Mirror Sect’s name, a plan had formed in his mind to use the messy situation to call for reinforcements using Dan Kuang’s blood sacrifice. The only variable was the Marrow Cleansing Realm expert, so he’d had to ask his grandfather and the other Li clan members to stall him until backup arrived. Considering the proximity of Herb Fragrance City, some Bone Baptization Realm cultivators should arrive in less than half an hour. After all, they were answering a distress call sent by a city lord.
“You motherfucker, what did you do?” Dan Kuang dropped to his knees, looking at his cut wrist and blackened ring.
“Tiang Fu, are you coming or not?” Wei calmly observed Tiang Fu glaring at him.
“Capture him, and then we’re leaving this shitty place,” Tiang Fu whispered to Wen Shang.
Releasing his aura, Wen Shang charged forward. He must have planned to capture Wei in one shot.
However, he underestimated Grandfather Shua. As soon as he charged forward, Grandfather Shua burst with new light, directly breaking through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm using the Barrier Breaking Pills Old Man Wu had brought from the Divine Fragrance Palace. With every new realm, the forbidden technique Wei knew required a higher grade of pills. Breaking into the Marrow Cleansing Realm was still doable, but any further and one would have to use a Gold Grade pill.
“Grandfather, use this sword.” A pitch-black sword appeared in Wei’s hand, and he threw it to Grandfather Shua. It was carved with an Essence Image Array. It was a two-layered high-tier Silver Grade array with a small Essence Accumulation Array at its core and an Essence Releasing Array as the outer layer. The core array continuously absorbed the purest essence energy from the surroundings, and it would be used by the Essence Releasing Array to shoot out sword images whenever the host attacked. Of course, this was a mechanical, a forceful way to release a sword image, and not a genuine Sword Image a sword cultivator would comprehend when their sword mastery reached a very high level. It could still compete with the pseudo sword images released by some Silver Grade martial skills.
Grandfather Shua caught the sword and unleashed a full-strength attack on Wen Shang.
Their attacks collided midair, sending everyone in a hundred-foot radius flying away as if something had exploded. The majority of the people affected were from the Du clan, and Dan Kuang even coughed blood.
Grandfather Shua was forced back too, stopping about twenty steps away.
However, Wen Shang wasn’t well off. His shoulder was pierced by a sword image.
“You filthy cheater. How dare you injure me?” Wen Shang howled and pushed a pill inside his mouth, healing his injuries, but his unsightly expression revealed his internal struggle.
“Wei’er, this is a good sword.” Grandfather Shua swung his sword in satisfaction. Every time he swung the sword, a white sword image flashed out of it.
“Grandfather, you may keep it as a gift from me.” Wei chuckled. This old man was a sly fox. With a few superficial words, he had asked for the sword. But what could Wei do? The old man was his grandfather, so he had to give him face.
“Then I’ll use it with my heart’s content.” Grandfather Shua charged forward. “Fire Beast Sword.” Fire enveloped the sword, and it shot a fiery sword image at Wen Shang at a rapid pace. It was so fast that Wen Shang couldn’t dodge aside. He threw up a hasty arm to block it instead.
The fiery sword image tore through his arm, and a small smoky hole appeared on Wen Shang’s arm.
“You filthy bastard. Today I’ll kill you, or I’m not the son of my father.”
“I knew it. You’re the son of a beast.” Wei chuckled. “Tiang Fu, are you one too? If not, come and fight. What are you waiting for?”
Tiang Fu’s eyes flashed with fire, and he drew a long, slender sword. “Bastard, you’ve brought this on yourself. Today I’ll kill you and capture your soul, and no one can save you today.” He leaped in the air, landing on the martial stage in a short breath.
“Let’s fight to our heart’s content then.” A strange emotion surged through Wei’s heart. It was his fighting will, ready to battle. Suddenly he felt his connection with his Physical Root restored a little. He still couldn’t use the full power of his physical cultivation, but he could at least sense it now.
Was it because of his fighting will?
Chapter 90
Thousand Momentum Sword
A sword appeared in Li Wei’s hand, giving him a familiar feeling as he firmed his feet on the martial stage. It was one of the sword he had grabbed from the storage ring he’d found in the Ancient Ruins. He kept one, and gave the other to Fei’er. He had carved a Strength Expanding Array on it originally, but he had wiped that way to carve a different array on the sword during his downtime in Ten Beast Valley, a better one that would match his current cultivation level. Surprisingly, the sword hadn’t crumbled but remained steadfast. And after going through a few life and death battles with him, the sword had gained the faint scent of blood, and it aroused his fighting will.
Cold air brushed against his face, but it carried a thin sce
nt of blood too. That blood belonged to his clan members. It steadied his thoughts, and he focused on one thing: Tiang Fu.
“Come. I’m waiting for you,” Wei roared.
Tiang Fu leaped forward, leaving a small cloud of dust behind. His movement skill was exquisite, and if Wei’s memory served him right, he’d used the Lightstep Movement Art, a high-tier Silver Grade movement skill quite famous in many sects.
With his divine sense spread around, Wei watched every small movement of Tiang Fu’s body. Having a divine sense was like an overpowered cheat when fighting with cultivators below the Houtian Realm. While other cultivators used their senses and perception to guess their opponent’s movements, Wei just had to watch with his divine sense. Even if Tiang Fu farted while fighting, Wei would notice it.
It was so gross to think about that.
Wei’s mind shuddered, pulling him back to the battle. The attack was a normal chop, so a moment before it landed, he flicked his wrist and parried it away. A great physical force struck his arm, but his physical strength handled it with ease.
But before Wei could counterattack, Tiang Fu leaped backward with his sword held in front of him. Pushing his feet against the martial stage, he charged again. This time he used a different sword stance. But right before he attacked, he flipped his wrist and his attack pattern changed from a chop to a horizontal slash.
Wei smirked. His divine sense had long since sensed the slight tension in Tiang Fu’s arm. Even before his wrist flipped, his forearm had tightened, and it gave away his attack so Wei could move his sword a moment before the attack came.
Tiang Fu’s eyes flashed with complex emotion, and he quickly retreated. The moment of unease vanished, and calm occupied his face.