Volume 1, Chapter 44: Tied Up

Feeling the sharp blade pressed against his neck and the murderous intent in the eyes of the man in black, Shen Nanxing fell silent with extreme reluctance.

A series of whispered murmurs rose in the air, and immediately those dozens of handsome young men resumed what they were doing with completely nonchalant expressions—some playing, others drinking.

There were three monks, and the one leading them had a face covered in fleshy muscles, with a three-inch-long scar across his left cheek. This scar stretched horizontally across his entire left face, resembling an earthworm, making him look exceptionally ferocious and adding a heavy aura of menace to the burly monk.

Some people are always unwilling to admit that they are blind. Even when the facts are placed right before them, they can always come up with various excuses and explanations to brush it off. At such times, their vocabulary becomes remarkably rich, perhaps because they have heard others use such expressions so often that they have memorized all kinds of justifications.

His master, Li Qingzhou, had originally accompanied the previous sect leader into the mountains to cultivate. However, because of his persistent dedication to the study of spiritual communication, which displeased his fellow disciples, Li Qingzhou was ostracized after the passing of the grandmaster and was forced to distance himself from the sect.

Those fellows—Lu Shuangyang was certain they wouldn't dare to kill him right now... No, it should be said that Liang Fei wouldn't dare to kill him. After all, he had a "senior sister" looking out for him; as long as his life was in danger, she would step in. Therefore, Liang Fei could not possibly deliver a fatal blow to him at this moment. Thus, dealing with them shouldn't be too difficult.

The Yin-Yang Eight-Trigrams diagram slammed into Luo An's glabella, striking straight at his soul. The eight symbols transformed into chains that forcibly pushed back all the power emanating from the dark-faced man. Zhang Yue gripped the Yin-Yang diagram and gave it a hard twist, whereupon the dark-faced man let out a shrill, miserable scream before falling completely motionless.

"It seems there is no chance left," Lei Yu muttered to himself. The few of them had set up a formation and formed a circle; no matter which side he tried to ambush from, he wouldn't be able to achieve any significant results. It seemed he had no choice but to face them in a head-on clash.

"I never expected Han Feng to be the future successor of the Cleansing Wind..." Recalling Han Feng's appearance, Lu Shuangyang felt a trace of solemnity. Just like Chen Feifan, Han Feng had not used his full strength during the Douxuan Tournament.

Qianxue was somewhat at a loss in the face of this sudden turn of events, while Rouxue took a moment to compose herself before speaking.

"Dare I ask who Your Excellency actually is, and why you know of this matter?" the old steward asked tentatively.

Hiding in the earthen cave, Liu Yu had observed the battle between the middle-aged man and Zhangsun Xuan for quite some time, and had already figured out the strengths and weaknesses of this man's fist techniques. Coupled with the fact that the man's spiritual beast—a massive "black hawk"—had been slain by Zhangsun Xuan, Liu Yu was confident he could defeat this adversary.

Spring had already arrived, yet a hint of chill remained. Early in the morning, a layer of frost would form over damp patches of the road.

Earlier, when Han Yi and his men were approaching, one of his subordinates had stepped on a landmine and been injured. Judging by Chu Yun's assessment, it was impossible for Han Yi to have brought ordinary people along.

Liu Ning had not expected Leng Hechuan to suddenly strike him and was quite terrified. However, he now held a piece of leverage in his hands, which gave him the upper hand and served as his own life-saving talisman.

"Wife, what do you want?" There was a tacit understanding between him and her, and it seemed he had already guessed her thoughts.

Situ Yuan released his divine sense and discovered that although there were all sorts of fierce beasts in the forest, the strongest among them was only equivalent to a peak Divine Wanderer realm cultivator.

At times a torrential downpour, at times a roaring flood—that was the space of the water attribute. The space emitting a brilliant, dazzling red glow was the space of the fire attribute; merely glancing at it was enough to make one feel the intense heat contained within. Swamps, earthquakes, and landslides—those were the powers of the earth attribute.

Although the empire appeared harmonious on the surface, beneath it lay a profound darkness. After all, this was a world that valued strength above all else; lacking strength, even if one sat in the position of a supreme overlord, one would eventually be assassinated by rivals or disgruntled subordinates.