by EkkoTheDemon
Li Sifeng’s movements were incredibly fast. Even though Yue Zhenchuan, whose name shook the martial world of the Gu Prefecture, was a battle-hardened veteran, he was still caught off guard. He instinctively wanted to retreat, but the front of his robes was caught by Li Sifeng.
In a flash, Yue Zhenchuan drove his knee upward to stop Li Sifeng’s advancing body.
In mid-air, Li Sifeng hadn't expected his reaction to be so fast and immediately slammed his left palm against Yue Zhenchuan’s knee.
With a bang, Li Sifeng was knocked back. After landing, he stumbled and fell onto his rear on the grass; his right hand was clutching a piece of cloth stained with blood, which he had torn from Yue Zhenchuan.
Yue Zhenchuan also stumbled back a few steps. He steadied himself and looked down to see five bloody gashes on his chest, which left him with lingering fear.
He looked up at Li Sifeng, his face turning fierce as he gritted his teeth. "Little brother, you truly are ruthless. Since when did the Clear Firmament Sect produce a genius like you?"
Geniuses in the martial world were countless, but he had never seen a child of about ten who could injure him. He was both furious and filled with surprise.
Li Sifeng shouted at the top of his lungs: "You two, hurry up the mountain! I'll catch up after stalling them for a bit!"
Li Sijin was about to speak but was dragged away by Xu Ning.
Yue Zhenchuan was in no hurry to chase them; two girls who had just reached ten could not stir up much trouble, and there was still a long journey from here to the Clear Firmament Sect.
"Do you know who I am? Looking across the entire Gu Prefecture, there are not many who would dare to say such words to me." Yue Zhenchuan stared at Li Sifeng and laughed coldly.
Li Sifeng pulled a dagger from his lower back. He pointed the blade at Yue Zhenchuan and mocked, "Someone said something similar to me before. Once we crossed hands, he was so scared he pissed himself and kept kowtowing for mercy."
He was incredibly nervous in his heart, as he could feel that this person was different from the opponents he had met before—he was extremely dangerous.
Yue Zhenchuan snorted coldly and immediately lunged at Li Sifeng. His surging internal qi exploded, forming trails of sharp wind that swirled around his body. He curved his hands into claws and repeatedly struck at Li Sifeng, who desperately dodged.
After stepping into the first level of the Essence Nurturing Realm, Li Sifeng’s physical reaction speed had greatly increased, and he had become even more agile. As long as he wasn't sparring with his Third Brother, he had never felt pressure, only feeling that others were incredibly slow.
But this time, facing Yue Zhenchuan, his heart trembled with fear. He felt he wasn't fast enough and could only dodge miserably, unable to counterattack.
Soon, he had retreated to the base of a dirt slope with nowhere left to run. Fortunately, he had been practicing the Stormstride Art for some time; he slipped under Yue Zhenchuan’s armpit, leaped, and leaned his body back like a fish leaping from water, landing lightly on the slope above.
Yue Zhenchuan turned his head but didn't see Li Sifeng; when he looked back, he found that Li Sifeng was already standing atop the slope. This made him fly into a rage from shame, and his face became predatory.
"Ptooey!"
Li Sifeng spat at Yue Zhenchuan, turned, and fled.
Yue Zhenchuan was careless and didn't dodge in time, the spit hitting him right in the face. He was momentarily stunned.
At the same time, the Seven Peaks Alliance warriors in the forest all rushed over. They had just witnessed Li Sifeng leaping up from behind Yue Zhenchuan, which left many of them in a daze, thinking their eyes had played tricks on them, until someone finally woke up.
Yue Zhenchuan wiped the spit from his face. He turned to look at the disciples behind him and shouted in a deep voice: "Charge up the mountain now and wash the Clear Firmament Sect in blood!"
With that, he was the first to leap, performing a light-body technique to fly into the mountain forest.
On the other side.
Li Sifeng’s figure was as agile as a leopard as he moved rapidly through the forest. He occasionally used both hands and feet to scramble over fallen logs and rocks in his path; forget ordinary people, even some wild animals couldn't catch him.
However, the person currently chasing him was a martial arts expert.
Li Sifeng turned his head and saw Yue Zhenchuan leaping rapidly across the branches; with a tap of his toes, he could fly quite far, looking at a glance like he was flying through the forest.
The distance between the two was rapidly shrinking!
Li Sifeng gritted his teeth and began to mobilize the Spirit Essence in his body. Even he didn't realize that his mastery of the Stormstride Art was improving; moves he didn't dare attempt usually were now being performed without him falling.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind came from behind. Li Sifeng instinctively tilted his head, seeing from the corner of his eye Yue Zhenchuan lunging like a great eagle with an iron palm leading the way.
Li Sifeng had no time to dodge, and his back was hit. He spat out a literal arrow of blood and his body fell forward, slamming headlong into a patch of thickets.
...
The sunlight filtered through the forest. Jiang Zhaoxia sat cross-legged in a clearing. Nine longswords were suspended around him with their tips pointing downward, vibrating slightly. He sat with his hands on his knees and his palms facing upward, his sect robes also fluttering slightly.
Since he began focusing on practicing the Supreme Absolute Sword Art, his progress had been truly phenomenal, and he was now able to drive nine swords.
He came here every day to practice alone. This was the only path to the Clear Firmament Sect, so he could avoid being disturbed while also guarding against enemies for the sect.
"Third Brother! Something's wrong!"
A cry of distress came from a distance. Jiang Zhaoxia snapped his eyes open and turned to see Li Sijin running toward him with Xu Ning.
When he saw Li Sijin’s face covered in tears, his heart sank.
He raised a hand and beckoned, the nine swords returning to the scabbards on his back. As he stood up, the nine scabbards clanked against each other, sounding heavy.
He rushed to meet Li Sijin and the other girl, the two sides quickly converging.
"Many enemies are coming up the mountain for us! My brother is stalling them; Third Brother, go save him quickly!" Li Sijin said urgently.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxia immediately asked, "In which direction?"
Li Sijin turned and pointed. Jiang Zhaoxia immediately charged in that direction, leaving only these words: "You two, hurry up the mountain! Do not stop!"
Watching Jiang Zhaoxia’s figure quickly disappear into the forest, Li Sijin couldn't help but look at Xu Ning and ask worriedly, "With so many enemies, can Third Brother handle it alone?"
Xu Ning did not answer, but instead urged: "Hurry up the mountain and inform Master. I'm going to follow him and see."
"Can you handle it?" Li Sijin asked hesitantly.
Xu Ning glanced at her and said, "Stop wasting time. People will die."
Thinking that Li Sifeng might already be in a desperate situation, Li Sijin gritted her teeth and turned to run up the mountain.
Xu Ning took a deep breath, her eyes becoming determined, and then she chased after Jiang Zhaoxia.
...
Jiang Zhaoxia was anxious and began to consume Spirit Essence to perform the Stormstride Art, rushing down the mountain.
All along the way, images of Li Sifeng as a child kept popping into his head. From the day his master brought Li Sifeng to the mountain, he had disliked the kid; he was always filthy, with a runny nose, and constantly bothered their Eldest Brother.
Such impressions had only improved in the last two years. Now that they were the masters of the Clear Firmament Sect, the decisiveness Li Sifeng showed when facing trouble had completely overturned his view of him.
He felt that Li Sifeng was a talented individual; if nurtured properly, he could help him assist their Eldest Brother.
Now, Li Sifeng might be in danger, and his vision of a bright future was about to shatter, causing his killing intent to become uncontrollable.
He grew faster and faster, to the point where he even ignored the surrounding environment.
After an unknown amount of time, a group of people finally appeared in his field of vision. It was a crowd of martial artists in azure robes scattered among the pine forest like a pack of malevolent spirits waiting for him to enter hell.
His gaze was quickly drawn to one person, and his eyes widened, his pupils filling with blood vessels.
He saw Yue Zhenchuan repeatedly stepping on Li Sifeng’s face. Li Sifeng lay on the ground, his body twitching with every stomp, impossible to tell if he was alive or dead.
"You dare!"
Jiang Zhaoxia let out an explosive roar. His right hand swept to his side and pulled out a sword. The sound of the blade leaving its scabbard was so loud that the hundreds of Seven Peaks Alliance disciples all turned to look.
With a predatory grin on his face, Yue Zhenchuan turned his head. Seeing the rapidly approaching Jiang Zhaoxia, he did not panic but instead laughed even more terrifyingly.
"You've come just in time. This kid is already ruined; I hope you can play with me properly!"
Yue Zhenchuan laughed loudly and kicked Li Sifeng away, then lunged at Jiang Zhaoxia. The other Seven Peaks Alliance disciples all drew their respective weapons and quickly moved to flank him, preventing Jiang Zhaoxia from escaping.
Suddenly.
Yue Zhenchuan saw the swords on Jiang Zhaoxia’s back flying out one by one to encircle him. This sight made his pupils dilate as if he had seen a ghost.
...
Inside the room, Li Qingqiu was writing a manual. He planned to write down all the spells he had obtained, while Li Dongyue stood beside him grinding ink.
"Brother, I've found my handwriting is so ugly. How can I write beautifully?"
Li Dongyue asked softly, her tone filled with expectation.
Li Qingqiu replied, "In a few more months, I'll have Yuchun invite a few scholars to the mountain to teach you all how to read and write."
the Clear Firmament Sect’s cultural level was extremely low. Back when they were children, just teaching his siblings to recognize characters had nearly driven Li Qingqiu to a breakdown. And the Seven Sons of Clear Firmament were from a mountain village, so they also hadn't learned to read or write.
Even in this ancient world, Li Qingqiu felt that reading was very useful. Its utility lay in nurturing one's thinking and broadening one's horizons—books were a symbol of the world’s evolution.
"Then can we buy more books? The ones left by Master and Grandmaster are only so many, and I've long since grown tired of them."
"Naturally."
Li Qingqiu focused on two things at once, conversing calmly with Li Dongyue.
Suddenly, the hand he was using to hold the brush stopped.
This was because a prompt jumped up before his eyes:
[In light of the Clear Firmament Sect repelling an attacking force for the first time, the Sacred Heritage has passed a tribulation. You have gained one Fate Token draw.]
'Repelling an attacking force?'
'What happened?'
Li Qingqiu felt no joy at the reward before him. He frowned, his thoughts moving like lightning.
To be called a "force," the enemy must have many people.
He hadn't heard any commotion, which meant the battle was happening far from the sect grounds.
Could something have happened down the mountain?
He immediately put down his brush and left after saying one thing: "I have some business. Guard this for me; don't let the disciples peek."
Before Li Dongyue could even reply, Li Qingqiu had already rushed out the door.
After charging out of the courtyard, Li Qingqiu directly performed the Stormstride Art and rushed down the mountain.
Less than a li down the mountain, he encountered a panting Li Sijin. She was incredibly excited to see him and quickly told him what they had experienced.
Li Qingqiu had no time to comfort her and rushed in the direction she pointed.
All along the way, Li Qingqiu experienced the same state of terror as Jiang Zhaoxia. He called up the panel and, after confirming the number of disciples had not decreased, he felt slightly relieved, but he did not dare to be careless, checking the panel from time to time.
A stick of incense's time later.
Li Qingqiu finally saw Jiang Zhaoxia, Xu Ning, and Li Sifeng in a pine forest. Looking around, there were many corpses on the ground, and many trees were stained with blood.
Jiang Zhaoxia was covered in blood, sitting on the ground holding Li Sifeng. Xu Ning was slumped nearby, also panting for breath. Her condition was slightly better, though her hair was somewhat disheveled.
Li Qingqiu’s heart sank at the sight. He hurried to Jiang Zhaoxia’s side and placed a finger under Li Sifeng’s nose. After confirming he was still breathing, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But looking at his two blood-stained junior brothers, his fury became uncontrollable.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked up at Li Qingqiu and spoke with failing strength: "Brother, it turns out you were right. The martial world and a battlefield are completely different. Forget thousands of troops—just dealing with a few hundred warriors, my swords were all hacked to pieces..."