The Lone Brave Who Charged Against the Tide!

"I said it before: no one above Dark Force may make a move."

Looking at Mo Wuji and the other two who had arrived together, Old Xu spoke calmly.

"Those Dark Force fighters are outsiders. They aren't under our control. You can't possibly treat everyone as one of ours..."

Mo Wuji said in a low voice.

"Have you lived long enough?"

Old Xu looked at him.

"Old Xu, there's no need to scare people."

Zhuang Xiuyuan, the Transformation Strength head instructor who had betrayed the Martial Arts Hall, stepped forward. "I know you still don't dare die! If you die, no Peak Expert will be left to protect those people at Divine Spear Martial Hall!"

"What do those fools have to do with me?"

Old Xu replied indifferently. "The only one I intend to protect is Huo Yuanhong. If the other fools die, then they die. What does that have to do with me..."

Zhuang Xiuyuan's pupils contracted slightly.

One had to know that after Li Shuxing became a Peak Expert, Old Xu, the guardian of the Baji lineage, had effectively become idle.

In their eyes, Old Xu had voluntarily entered that state of accumulated power that could not be interrupted in order to protect the Martial Arts Hall, with Huo Yuanhong merely included along the way.

But now, it seemed that the one Old Xu truly wanted to protect was only Huo Yuanhong?

Not those geniuses who had already reached Dark Force, nor those pillars of the Martial Arts Hall?

Zhuang Xiuyuan found it difficult to understand.

No matter how gifted someone was, it would still take who knew how many years for them to mature. They would not make it in time for this great upheaval. Was it really worth caring so much?

But...

"He won't be able to fight his way out."

Zhuang Xiuyuan said evenly, "A whole group of Intent Harmony and Qi Harmony fighters has gathered over there. No matter how well he can fight, can he kill one Qi Harmony fighter? Or two?"

Wealth and glory moved people's hearts, and Great Medicine did the same. With the news Zhuang Xiuyuan had deliberately released, quite a few experts from other places had already rushed over. Some of those who had developed deviations in their training due to lacking Nourishing Supplements were already running out of time, relying on Great Medicine to save their lives!

Under such circumstances, no matter whom they were surrounding and killing, these people would not have much restraint!

"Whether he can kill his way out is his own business. But whether any Dark Force fighters enter the fray is mine."

"As I said, when people of the same level fight, life and death are dictated by fate. I will not interfere."

Old Xu said coldly.

"Oh? So Old Xu's definition of the same level is...?"

Wu Yankun, who had stepped behind the Wu Family Patriarch, suddenly spoke.

"Anything below Dark Force counts as the same realm."

Hearing Old Xu's words, Wu Yankun immediately smiled.

By that logic, Strength Harmony counted as the same realm too?

Of course, once one reached Strength Harmony, one was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a Martial Arts Grandmaster. They had already begun to cherish their lives.

They were not as easily tempted as Intent Harmony and Qi Harmony fighters.

It was too late to find other Strength Harmony fighters willing to act, but he remembered that a Strength Harmony fighter's illegitimate son was attending the ball. The timing could not have been better!

This illegitimate son had been left behind from an affair he had with a dancer in his youth. Though the family did not acknowledge him because of his birth, he had entered Strength Harmony at only nineteen thanks to his extraordinary talent, and Wu Yankun thought highly of him!

"Since he is not publicly a member of the Wu Family, there is no harm in having him act..."

"Even if he cannot cripple Huo Yuanhong, I will make him watch the people he cares about die before his eyes and shatter his spirit!"

Wu Yankun smiled faintly.

Li Shuxing and Old Xu were one thing, but a tiny little worm who was merely at Intent Harmony dared to oppose him? How laughable!

He would not even need to act personally. His illegitimate son alone could destroy everything the other man cared about!

As for whether he might lose a son in return...

Wu Yankun shook his head with a smile, dismissing that fleeting thought.

With strength more than an entire major realm above his opponent, and attacking a mere Intent Harmony fighter alongside a group of people, if he could still be killed in return, would that not be utterly absurd?

Besides, Wu Yankun would arrange for a Strength Harmony fighter from the Martial Guild to blend in as well. He would not need to act, only watch from the sidelines and save his son at the crucial moment!

That way, nothing could go wrong!

"You are saying that you want me to make a move?"

In a quiet little courtyard not far from the ballroom, the Fang Family Patriarch sat silently with his eyes closed, nourishing his spirit.

"Correct. Although Old Xu is powerful, he is too old after all and may not be able to intervene in time to save a life. I hope that, at the critical moment, Great-Grandfather can make a move and save Huo Yuanhong once!"

Fang Shiyu said respectfully.

"Your reason?"

The old man remained unmoved. There was not the slightest change in his expression, and he did not even open his eyes.

"Because..."

Fang Shiyu fell silent for a moment, weighing his words before he said in a deep voice, "I believe that as long as Huo Yuanhong does not die, he may become a Peak Expert in the future. Perhaps even a true Peak Expert with great spirit, like the first generation of Peak Experts!"

"A genius like that should not die at the hands of those Intent Harmony and Qi Harmony fighters!"

"Oh?"

At those words, the old man finally opened his eyes and gave his favorite great-grandson a deep look.

"The first generation of Peak Experts. Do you understand what that means?"

In the world today, Peak Experts stood behind nearly every top aristocratic family. Yet nearly all of them had been piled up with vast resources and the abundant experience of their predecessors. Compared to the first generation of Peak Experts, who had hacked their way through thorn and bramble, they were like flowers in a greenhouse: beautiful, but useless!

Without exception, true Peak Experts had fought and killed their way up!

They possessed the grand spirit of, though ten million stand against me, I shall go on; they possessed convictions that could not be shaken!

But such Peak Experts were too few, too rare!

Looking across the entire Celestial Empire, there were only a handful: Li Shuxing, the Aristocratic Family Alliance's strongest expert, and the Martial Prosperity Alliance Leader. Any one of them possessed the strength to sweep aside a whole swath of ordinary Peak Experts!

Li Shuxing dared to split the Aristocratic Family Alliance through his own influence and still lived well. The Martial Prosperity Alliance Leader dared to gather a Commoner Faction and stand against the Aristocratic Family Alliance. It was because they were among the world's only true Peak Experts, each of them fighting his way up step by step like the first generation of Peak Experts!

Old Xu could also be considered more than half a true Peak Expert. Back when Li Shuxing had yet to rise, he had supported the entire Baji lineage alone and withstood countless storms!

He was simply too old now, which was why he was not counted among them!

"I understand. That is precisely why we need to save Huo Yuanhong! If we truly cannot cultivate a Martial Immortal in the future, then one more true Peak Expert means one more vital force!"

"You think that highly of him?"

The old man frowned slightly.

When he had spoken with Li Shuxing before, Li Shuxing had also thought very highly of this disciple, believing that with enough time, he might even contend for Martial Immortal!

But unfortunately, he had started far too late. He would not make it in time for this unprecedented upheaval of the ages. Even if he truly was a Martial Immortal Seed, it would still take who knew how many years before he matured. There was simply no time!

Thus, the old man had not paid much attention to this young man.

Yet he had not expected that his favorite great-grandson, the Fang Family's undisputed next family head, would also give Huo Yuanhong such a high assessment after meeting him only once!

It was not as exaggerated as Li Shuxing's assessment, but having the potential to become a true Peak Expert was already an astonishing talent!

But...

"You are too young. You do not understand what a true Peak Expert truly means..."

The old man shook his head. He believed his great-grandson had been too occupied with trivial matters and had too little contact with truly monstrous prodigies, leaving him unaware of the bearing of a genuine genius!

He would have to arrange for his great-grandson to spend more time around prodigies like Wu Yuanchu!

Moreover, if he intervened now, then at the Autumn Hunt, which would soon be held early, the Wu Family would surely have Wu Yankun's legitimate son, that Strength Harmony peak prodigy, block the Fang Family's younger generation. This would cause the Fang Family's Autumn Hunt ranking to fall, resulting in enormous losses of interest!

The consequences involved were too great. For the sake of saving a young Intent Harmony fighter...

It was not worth it!

As time slipped away second by second, Fang Shiyu's heart gradually sank as well.

He knew better than anyone how many Intent Harmony and Qi Harmony experts were outside. Although Strength Harmony fighters who were about to reach Dark Force had begun to cherish their lives and likely would not join in, so many Intent Harmony and Qi Harmony fighters joining forces were still more than enough to easily surround and kill an Intent Harmony fighter!

If they were too late, it would be too late!

"Great-Grandfather, I am willing to use my one request for aid as the first-ranked heir. Please make a move once!"

Fang Shiyu gritted his teeth slightly and finally said in a deep voice.

For the first time, a trace of surprise appeared in the old man's eyes.

As the Fang Family's first-ranked heir, Fang Shiyu had one opportunity to ask him to make a move. But there was only one such opportunity. Once it was used, it would be gone!

This was a chance to request the aid of a Peak Expert, yet his great-grandson wanted to use it directly for one little fellow?

"Have you thought this through?"

The old man asked lightly.

"I have!"

Fang Shiyu answered with certainty.

The old man frowned, then shook his head slightly.

So be it. He would treat it as a lesson for his great-grandson.

When Fang Shiyu encountered trouble in the future and could no longer ask him for help, he would naturally realize his mistake. He would understand that he should not have wasted such a precious opportunity now.

"I will preserve his life."

The old man rose to his feet and walked outside.

On the street, Huo Yuanhong carried the Carriage Firm owner on his back as he sprinted at top speed. Behind him, figures leaped from eaves and ran across walls, or gave chase in great strides, drawing ever closer and closer!

"This way!"

At the corner ahead, someone suddenly rushed out while pulling a rickshaw!

It was the Carriage Firm's only remaining Manifest Strength fighter!

"Take him and go."

Huo Yuanhong placed the Carriage Firm owner onto the rickshaw, then turned to face the enemies pursuing them.

The Carriage Firm's Manifest Strength fighter hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and did not waste time fussing. He pulled the man away and ran.

Watching the rickshaw leave, Huo Yuanhong took an ape mask from an unattended mask stall beside him and put it on.

The torrential rain crackled like countless people beating gongs and drums, turning this area into a chaotic, frenzied stage! Demons and monsters in green-faced, fang-baring masks charged toward him!

He swallowed the last packet of restorative Nourishing Supplement. Feeling the strength that had already replenished itself during his mad sprint, a smile appeared on Huo Yuanhong's ape-masked face.

"Come. Let me see how many Strength Harmony fighters I can beat to death today..."

Facing the experts rushing after him, he carried the Great Spear across his back and strode forward in great strides! With every step, his momentum surged sharply, like a demon king descending from the mountains, his heart holding nothing but pure killing intent!

Charge! Charge! Charge again!

Alone, he charged against the tide, wielding his spear like a staff and smashing it viciously toward the demons and monsters filling the sky!