Li Sifeng moved with lightning speed. Yue Zhenchuan, renowned throughout Gu Prefecture's martial world and battle-hardened though he was, still couldn't react in time. He instinctively tried to retreat, but Li Sifeng had already grabbed the front of his robe.
In a flash, Yue Zhenchuan raised his knee in a sharp thrust, blocking Li Sifeng's advance.
Mid-air, Li Sifeng hadn't expected such a fast reaction. He slammed his left palm against Yue Zhenchuan's knee.
*Bam!*
Li Sifeng was sent flying backward. He landed stumbling and fell on his rear in the grass. In his right hand, he clutched a strip of cloth stained with blood—torn from Yue Zhenchuan's chest.
Yue Zhenchuan also staggered back a few steps before steadying himself. He looked down. Five bloody scratches marked his chest. A chill ran through him.
He raised his eyes to Li Sifeng, his expression turning savage. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Little brother, you're quite ruthless. When did the Azure Firmament Sect produce a prodigy like you?"
The martial world was full of geniuses, but a child of barely ten who could wound him? Never. Rage warred with astonishment within him.
Li Sifeng shouted, "You two, get up the mountain now! I'll hold them off and catch up!"
Li Sijin started to speak, but Xu Ning yanked her away.
Yue Zhenchuan didn't immediately pursue. Two little girls barely in their teens couldn't cause any trouble. Besides, there was still a long way to the Azure Firmament Sect.
"Do you know who I am? In all of Gu Prefecture, not many would dare speak to me like that." Yue Zhenchuan stared at Li Sifeng, his smile cold.
Li Sifeng drew a dagger from his waist, pointing the blade at Yue Zhenchuan. "Someone else said something similar to me once. First exchange, he was so scared he wet himself, kowtowing and begging for mercy."
Inside, his heart hammered. He could sense this man was different from any opponent he'd faced before. Extremely dangerous.
Yue Zhenchuan snorted and lunged at Li Sifeng. His surging internal energy exploded outward, wrapping him in ribbons of fierce wind. His hands hooked into claws, striking relentlessly. Li Sifeng scrambled to evade.
Since entering the first layer of the Nourishing Origin stage, his reaction speed had greatly increased, his agility sharpened. As long as he wasn't sparring with his third senior brother, he never felt pressured—everyone else seemed so slow.
But now, facing Yue Zhenchuan, his heart pounded. He felt he wasn't fast enough. He could only dodge frantically, unable to counterattack.
Soon, he was backed against an earthen slope, nowhere to retreat. Fortunately, he'd been practicing Gale Skill for a while. He ducked under Yue Zhenchuan's arm and leaped, arching backward like a fish, landing lightly on the slope above.
Yue Zhenchuan turned, didn't see Li Sifeng, then looked back up—there he was, standing on the slope. Humiliation twisted his face into a snarl.
"Ptooey!"
Li Sifeng spat at Yue Zhenchuan, then turned and fled.
Caught off guard, Yue Zhenchuan took the spit right in the face. He froze.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of Seven Peaks martial artists in the forest surged forward. Many had just witnessed Li Sifeng's backward leap over Yue Zhenchuan onto the slope. They blinked, thinking their eyes deceived them—until someone snapped out of it first.
Yue Zhenchuan wiped the spittle from his face. He turned to his disciples behind him and bellowed, "Charge up the mountain now! Raze the Azure Firmament Sect!"
With that, he leaped first, using lightness skill to soar into the forest.
On the other side.
Li Sifeng moved through the woods with the agility of a leopard, swift and nimble. He used both hands and feet to vault over logs and boulders. Ordinary people couldn't keep up—even some beasts would struggle.
But now, a true martial master pursued him.
Li Sifeng glanced back. Yue Zhenchuan bounded swiftly from branch to branch, a single touch sending him flying great distances. At first glance, he seemed to fly through the forest.
The gap was closing fast!
Li Sifeng gritted his teeth and began channeling his spiritual energy. Without realizing it, his control over Gale Skill improved. Maneuvers he'd never dared attempt now came naturally, and he didn't fall.
*Whoosh!*
A fierce wind rushed at him from behind. Li Sifeng instinctively dodged, glimpsing Yue Zhenchuan diving at him like a hawk, iron palm extended.
Too late to evade. The palm struck his back. Li Sifeng spat a mouthful of blood and hurtled forward, crashing into a thicket.
...
Sunlight filtered through the trees. Jiang Zhaoxia sat cross-legged in a clearing, nine long swords floating around him, tips pointing down, faintly trembling. His hands rested on his knees, palms up. His sect robe fluttered gently.
Since focusing on the Supreme Sword Control Art, his progress had been astonishing. Now he could command all nine blades.
Every day, he came here to cultivate alone. This spot was the only path to the Azure Firmament Sect—undisturbed, and perfect for guarding against invasion.
"Third Senior Brother! Something terrible!"
A tearful cry rang out from afar. Jiang Zhaoxia's eyes snapped open. He turned to see his junior sister Li Sijin running toward him, Xu Ning at her side.
Seeing Li Sijin's tear-streaked face, his heart sank.
He raised a hand. The nine swords flew back into the sheaths at his waist. As he stood, the nine sheaths clinked together, heavy and solid.
He hurried toward the two girls, meeting them quickly.
"A bunch of enemies are coming up the mountain! My brother is trying to hold them off! Third Senior Brother, you have to save him!" Li Sijin's words tumbled out in a panic.
Jiang Zhaoxia immediately asked, "Which direction?"
Li Sijin pointed. Jiang Zhaoxia took off, leaving only: "You two, get up the mountain immediately. Don't stop."
Watching Jiang Zhaoxia vanish into the forest, Li Sijin turned anxiously to Xu Ning. "So many enemies. Can Third Senior Brother handle it alone?"
Xu Ning didn't answer. Instead, she urged, "You go warn Master. I'll follow and see."
"Can you manage?" Li Sijin hesitated.
Xu Ning glanced at her. "Don't waste time. People could die."
Thinking of Li Sifeng possibly in mortal danger, Li Sijin bit her lip, turned, and hurried up the mountain.
Xu Ning took a deep breath, her gaze hardening. Then she ran after Jiang Zhaoxia.
...
Jiang Zhaoxia's heart raced. He began burning spiritual energy, pushing Gale Skill to its limits as he sped down the mountain.
Images of Li Sifeng as a child flashed through his mind. When their master first brought that dirty little kid up the mountain, Jiang Zhaoxia had despised him—always filthy, nose running, forever clinging to their senior brother.
That impression had only begun to change in the last two years. Now, with them running the Azure Firmament Sect together, Li Sifeng's decisiveness in a crisis had completely reversed Jiang Zhaoxia's view.
He saw potential in the boy. Properly trained, Li Sifeng could help him support their senior brother.
Now Li Sifeng might be in danger, and that imagined future was shattering. Jiang Zhaoxia's killing intent blazed beyond control.
He moved faster and faster, heedless of his surroundings.
Time blurred. Finally, figures appeared in his vision—a crowd of martial artists in blue robes, scattered through a pine forest like vengeful spirits, waiting for him to descend into hell.
His gaze locked onto one man. His eyes widened, bloodshot.
Yue Zhenchuan was stomping on Li Sifeng's face, over and over. Li Sifeng lay on the ground, body jerking with each impact—alive or dead, impossible to tell.
"How dare you!"
Jiang Zhaoxia's roar split the air. His right hand swept to his waist, drawing a sword. The blade screamed from its sheath, so piercing that hundreds of Seven Peaks disciples turned as one.
Yue Zhenchuan, still wearing his cruel grin, turned to see Jiang Zhaoxia rushing at him. He showed no fear—only smiled wider.
"Perfect timing! That brat's finished. I hope you'll give me a better fight!"
Yue Zhenchuan laughed uproariously, kicked Li Sifeng aside, and charged at Jiang Zhaoxia. The other Seven Peaks disciples drew their weapons, swiftly circling behind to cut off escape.
Suddenly.
Yue Zhenchuan saw the swords on Jiang Zhaoxia's back fly from their sheaths, hovering around him. His pupils dilated as if he'd seen a ghost.
...
In his room, Li Qingqiu was transcribing techniques, recording all the spells he'd acquired. Li Dongyue stood beside him, grinding ink.
"Senior Brother, my handwriting is so ugly. How can I make it beautiful?" she asked softly, anticipation in her voice.
Li Qingqiu replied, "In a few months, I'll have Yuchun invite some scholars up the mountain to teach you all reading and writing."
The cultural level of the Azure Firmament Sect was abysmally low. Teaching his junior siblings to read as children had nearly driven Li Qingqiu mad. The Seven Sons of Azure Firmament, from the village, were equally illiterate.
Even in this ancient world, Li Qingqiu believed scholarship had value. It trained the mind, broadened horizons. Books were symbols of heaven and earth's evolution.
"Can we buy more books? Master and Grandmaster left so few. I've read them all to death."
"Of course."
Li Qingqiu split his attention easily, chatting with Li Dongyue as he wrote.
Suddenly, his brush hand stopped.
A line of text flashed before his eyes:
[For the Azure Firmament Sect's first successful repulsion of an invading force, the Daoist Legacy has transcended a tribulation. You have received one Destiny Selection opportunity.]
Repelled an invading force?
What happened?
Li Qingqiu felt no joy at the reward. His brow furrowed, thoughts racing.
An invading "force" meant many enemies.
He'd heard no commotion—the battle must be far from the sect.
Had something happened down the mountain?
He set down his brush and left with a single instruction: "Something's come up. Guard the room. Don't let any disciples peek."
Before Li Dongyue could respond, he was out the door.
Once outside the courtyard, Li Qingqiu activated Gale Skill and charged down the mountain.
Less than half a mile down, he met a breathless Li Sijin. Seeing him, she grew excited and quickly recounted their encounter.
Li Qingqiu had no time to comfort her. He headed in the direction she pointed.
Along the way, the same dread that had gripped Jiang Zhaoxia seized him. He summoned the Daoist Legacy panel, confirming the disciple count hadn't dropped. That eased him slightly, but he didn't dare relax. He kept checking the panel obsessively.
An incense stick's time later.
Li Qingqiu finally reached a pine forest. He saw Jiang Zhaoxia, Xu Ning, and Li Sifeng. Bodies littered the ground. Blood stained countless trees.
Jiang Zhaoxia was drenched in blood, holding Li Sifeng in his arms as he sat on the ground. Xu Ning slumped nearby, breathing heavily. She was in slightly better shape, hair merely disheveled.
Li Qingqiu's heart clenched. He rushed to Jiang Zhaoxia and pressed a finger under Li Sifeng's nose. Still breathing. He exhaled in relief.
But seeing his two junior brothers—both covered in blood—his fury surged beyond containment.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked up at him, voice weak. "Senior Brother... you were right. The martial world and the battlefield... they're nothing alike. Forget thousands of troops—just a few hundred martial artists, and all my swords are wrecked..."