Love Wounds: Battle

"Who are you?" I stared at that shadowy corner. I had noticed the first-grade expert there long ago. At first, I thought he was secretly protecting Rou, but it seemed my guess had been wrong. Hmph, with your mere first-grade realm, you dare act arrogant before me? You must be an old birthday star swallowing arsenic—tired of living. You actually dared stop me from being with my Rou. I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life.

Wave after wave of Killing Intent surged toward the corner. It blotted out the sky and covered the earth, while the leaves around us rose strangely into the air, spiraling toward that dark corner by the wall. The surrounding couples seemed to sense the terrifying atmosphere and fled at top speed. There was no one left around Bright Moon Osmanthus Bridge. Everything was deathly still, still enough to make one afraid.

Heavenly Guard No. 2 felt that Killing Intent, and his heart trembled. Th-this, this is at least a first-grade expert! How could such a young man have reached the first-grade realm? Impossible, absolutely impossible. The first person in history to reach the first-grade realm did so only after the age of thirty. I myself only reached it in my fifties, and even then, it was with Master's help. He must cultivate some martial art with exceptionally powerful Killing Intent. He must!

But how could Heavenly Guard No. 2 be scared away by mere Killing Intent? Besides, even if he wanted to run, whether Zhang Xingfeng would let him was another matter entirely!

"Young man, don't be too arrogant. Miss Yuwen is not someone a brat like you can touch. If you know what's good for you, leave her now. Then perhaps you can still keep your little life!"

I looked at the old man who emerged from the corner, seemingly around fifty years old. His ramrod-straight back and those eyes of his told me one thing: he had undergone harsh training.

My heart jolted. To train a first-grade expert... just how vast was this force? Terrifying. It would be unwise to make enemies of them!

But they actually dared stop me from being with Rou. Hmph, then they could not blame me. Though I had once told myself not to use cultivation methods against the people of Azure Dragon Continent, since they had gone this far, they could not blame me for it.

Killing Intent, as solid as substance, pressed down upon Heavenly Guard No. 2.

Heavenly Guard No. 2's heart shook wildly. Th-this, this... Heavens, heavens! Ah, ah! How is this possible? How could this be possible? How old is he? How old is he? He has actually reached materialized Killing Intent! Doesn't that mean he has already reached the Heavenly Realm? Just how old is he?!

Heavenly Guard No. 2 had gone mad. Both in mind and action, he crazily attacked his surroundings.

But trapped within my near-solid Killing Intent, what could he do? Even if he managed to break free, his strength would surely be greatly depleted! I had no time to wait for him to force his way out.

I condensed my qi into a saber and leaped forward, soaring high into the air. Looking down at Heavenly Guard No. 2 in his predicament, I saw him surrounded by a tightly sealed ring of black Killing Intent. But how could that Killing Intent possibly compare to the Killing Intent on my saber?

"Saber Splits Mount Hua!" I shouted in a low voice. A layer of black light strangely coiled around the white Blade Aura in my hand. A mass of Blade Aura immediately separated from the tangible Blade Aura in my hand and shot at Heavenly Guard No. 2, who was trapped in his predicament. Wisps of eerie black light flickered across its surface.

I spread my arms, and my body drifted lightly down like a swan feather. I looked at the old man and sneered. In my eyes, he was already dead.

Heavenly Guard No. 2 watched in terror as a streak of Blade Aura came hurtling toward him, yet he was trapped by the terrifying, tangible Killing Intent around him. Could he only wait helplessly for the Blade Aura to come and kill him?

Cold sweat streamed down Heavenly Guard No. 2's face. Even though the New Year was approaching and the temperature was low, his sweat would not stop.

Am I really going to fall here? Heavenly Guard No. 2 was torn. He knew of a method that could instantly triple his strength, but afterward, his cultivation would fall to the second-grade realm. More importantly, his cultivation would never increase by even the slightest bit again.

But the situation no longer allowed him to choose. If he did not resist, there was only death!

A strange smile, one that had never appeared before, spread across Heavenly Guard No. 2's face. This moment was the most brilliant moment of his entire life. Having used the forbidden art, he could possess the strength of the early Golden Core stage for this brief span of time.

Heavenly Guard No. 2 raised both hands high. A wisp of purple light gradually emerged from his body. Bathed in purple radiance, he looked like an immortal. The purple light grew denser and thicker.

My tangible Killing Intent actually showed signs of being neutralized. Seeing him like this, I was slightly startled. This old bastard was going all out. Th-this purple light seemed familiar. Ah! Right. Li Tianxiang. Yes, Li Tianxiang—it was the same art Li Tianxiang used, only this old bastard's cultivation was far higher than Li Tianxiang's! The Li Family again. I had long wanted to deal with you. I let you enjoy ten years of peace, yet you showed not the slightest awareness. Then don't blame me.

"Bang!" Heavenly Guard No. 2 broke free from my confinement and even neutralized the Blade Aura I had fired.

"Brat, I won't let you off! Though your cultivation has reached the Heavenly Realm, that alone gives you no chance of marrying Miss Yuwen. Miss Yuwen belongs to our young master." Having escaped his predicament, Heavenly Guard No. 2 had no intention of fleeing. He knew that the burst of power he had unleashed just now would certainly attract the Divine Guards. As long as one Divine Guard arrived, together with himself—who could temporarily be considered a low-ranking Divine Guard—the little fellow before him would have no chance of escaping.

I looked at him and smiled, a smile full of contempt. Then I said lightly, "With the strength of your Li Family, you think you can contend with me? Hmph."

For Rou, I would not care who stood in my way. Besides, when I cultivated the Vajra Subduing Demon Art during my last closed-door training, I had already formed a plan. Though it had been delayed by my ten years of seclusion, it was not too late to carry it out now, was it? I could already envision the Li Family's future.

Heavenly Guard No. 2 froze. He was not surprised that the young man had discovered he belonged to the Li Family. He was surprised that the other party actually looked down on the Li Family so completely.

Within the Li Family, Heavenly Guards No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 had all appeared in battles fought for the family's interests. Every major power knew that they belonged to the Li Family, and those major powers also knew that the Li Family possessed even more terrifying Divine Guards of the Heavenly Realm—the ones who truly determined the family's real strength.

The so-called first-grade realm was merely something used to fool ordinary people. Before these great powers, the first-grade realm was insignificant. Only the Heavenly Realm decided everything.

But Heavenly Guard No. 2 knew that all the great powers—the Four Great Families, Horizon Sea Pavilion, Shaolin, and the Demonic Sect—had Heavenly Realm experts. In contrast, the imperial court had only one first-grade expert and was the weakest faction. Fortunately, all the major powers had long reached a common understanding: they could not fight the imperial court. If they did, the entire Ming Dynasty would fall into chaos.

Yet the reason the Li Family had remained the foremost family for so long, with its position never wavering in the slightest, was that it possessed the most formidable force of all: legendary Divine Realm experts that the other three great families did not have!

This was something all the great powers knew. More importantly, it was normal for ancient martial powers like Horizon Sea Pavilion, Shaolin, and the Demonic Sect, each with histories spanning thousands of years, to have one Divine Realm expert. But the Li Family had them too—and more than one. That was why every power gave the Li Family a wide berth.

In his eyes, since I had reached the Heavenly Realm and recognized that he was from the Li Family, I had to be an expert from some major power. How could I not know the Li Family's true strength? No matter who it was, no one would dare fight the Li Family.

And yet I had spoken such contemptuous words about the Li Family. How could he not be shocked?

"Brat, impressive cultivation! What arrogance!"

A deep, powerful voice rang out from the eastern sky.

My Spiritual Sense swept through the area within nearly a thousand meters around me.

"An early Golden Core expert." I smiled faintly. The Li Family truly was powerful. But what did that amount to in my eyes? Calmly, I looked toward the eastern sky.