Lan Yan

"Three moves!"

Li Shijie suddenly sheathed his blade and retreated. Seizing the opportunity, Kui Zhao naturally refused to let up, blood light flashing again and again!

Yet Li Shijie held the hilt upside down with both hands, narrowly evading as he calmly asked, "Kui Zhao, what do you see between heaven and earth!?"

Le Yu looked up at the night sky. A curtain of rain.

"What?" Kui Zhao was ruthless and sparing with words. Even as he spoke, he struck viciously, both hands moving like rushing thunder, on the verge of tearing Li Shijie apart!

"The greatest weapon—nature!"

Li Shijie stepped forward with his left foot. In an instant, every raindrop gathered toward the edge of his straight blade. Everyone suddenly realized that the rain around them had stopped; even the ground had become dry. All the water flowed toward Li Shijie like a vortex!

Kui Zhao tried to tear out Li Shijie's throat before he could act, but all he touched was a surging curtain of water flowing against the current!

Li Shijie's blade was like the Dragon King of the sea. With a light swing, it cleaved forth a rushing torrent of silver light!

Water Moon Combat Arts Wave!

"Holy shit..." Chen Fu blurted out.

Watching this supernatural combat technique, as though wielded by ghosts and gods, Le Yu was equally incredulous! If the previous exchange had merely been a duel between experts, then this scene was practically an immortal pointing out the way!

He recognized the origin of Li Shijie's move as well. It was merely one technique of the Water Moon Combat Arts. Though probably fewer than five percent of Water Moon practitioners could use it, it should not have possessed such power!

According to the academy instructors, Severing Wave merely released a sword aura with tangible flowing water. The water formed a line, its damage focused on piercing. How could it be like Li Shijie's, cutting out a water blade over ten meters long, as though he intended to split Kui Zhao in two?

"It's raining." Lan Yan murmured softly.

Le Yu understood as well: Li Shijie's ability to unleash this move was certainly related to his profound mastery, but more importantly, he was borrowing the power of nature and following its course!

Severing Wave used light energy to gather moisture from the air, but now the world was shrouded in rain. Li Shijie could effortlessly gather tons of water, so naturally the result was extraordinary.

"Ha!"

Kui Zhao shouted and raised both hands before him. Blood light covered them like iron gauntlets, yet Severing Wave still cut through them. The torrent instantly tore apart his clothes and surged into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose!

The intense suffocation made Kui Zhao lose control of his body, and he collapsed to the ground in agony. Yet he immediately struggled back up, shielding his vital areas with both hands as he retreated rapidly!

"How to make use of nature is an important field of research at our academy." Li Shijie pressed his advantage, weaving his blade into a net that enveloped Kui Zhao. He even kept talking trash to disrupt Kui Zhao's auditory judgment: "Eighteen years from now, you'll be able to learn this knowledge in the new era after the revolution!"

Kui Zhao was about to go down.

Though the Statistics Department agents wanted to help, Li Shijie's glowing sword curtain distorted the light around the two men in chaos. Those outside could not even accurately make out Li Shijie and Kui Zhao's positions, and they did not dare fire their handguns!

Le Yu was delighted. If the Statistics Department went down, he could return openly to the Anti-Light Rebels. It was dangerous there too, but no matter how dangerous it was, it could not compare to being an undercover agent in the Statistics Department!

Suddenly, a hand reached out from beside him and precisely gripped Li Shijie's wrist.

With a light twist, Li Shijie's right arm was instantly dislocated. Grimacing in pain, he turned his head and shouted in alarm, "Lan Yan!"

Le Yu froze. Only then did he realize that Lan Yan was no longer beside him. There had been no trace of movement; it was as if he had appeared behind Li Shijie in the blink of an eye!

Naturally, everyone else noticed as well. The defecting agents and raincoat-clad rebels immediately raised their guns and fired at Lan Yan, while the Statistics Department agents hurried to engage them. Gunshots erupted throughout the courtyard!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yet amid such chaos, Lan Yan stood motionless in the middle of the courtyard, his right hand gripping Li Shijie's hand like a vise. A wall of water appeared before him. Bullet after bullet entered it, leaving trails behind before finally freezing within the water wall, unable to harm Lan Yan in the slightest!

At the same time, Li Shijie suddenly covered his mouth and nose, struggling and groaning, his expression one of extreme agony.

Countless streams of water converged around him, but this time, they did not become Li Shijie's weapon. They became his prison.

Gradually, the gunfire ceased.

Everyone stopped shooting and stared blankly at the scene before them.

Though the sky remained gloomy and torrential rain still raged outside, the courtyard was like an indoor room. Not a single drop of rain fell upon the ground.

Because all the rain had split into two portions. One gathered before Lan Yan, becoming a water wall that blocked the bullets; the other gathered around Li Shijie, forming a massive Water Prison that forcibly drowned him on dry land!

Li Shijie covered his mouth and nose, trying to escape the Water Prison. Yet Lan Yan seemed to have broken his wrist. Though his right hand held onto Lan Yan, he could not exert any strength at all and could only struggle endlessly within the Water Prison.

Many people had heard of drowning, perhaps even witnessed it or experienced it themselves. But in this era, perhaps no one had ever watched someone drown so vividly—the Statistics Department's bright lamps illuminated every detail within the Water Prison, allowing everyone to see Li Shijie's changes clearly.

First came panic. When water entered the windpipe, whether one was a hero or a coward, all would fall into the same extreme panic.

Then came convulsions. Li Shijie's face turned purple, clearly in excruciating pain, veins bulging across his face!

Gradually, Li Shijie's pupils dilated and his muscles relaxed. He had clearly lost consciousness.

Lan Yan released his hand. Watching Li Shijie float inside the Water Prison, he suddenly smiled. "You were right. Nature is the greatest weapon."

Suddenly, Li Shijie in the Water Prison began to inhale violently. His face twisted as he drew in a deep breath, as though trying to draw air from the water like a fish, glaring at Lan Yan outside the prison with hatred.

Lan Yan cupped his fist in salute. "Lan has learned much."

Long afterward, Le Yu still found it difficult to forget that night.

Rain pattered all around them, yet the open-air courtyard was so dry it felt uncomfortable. The air seemed to contain not even a trace of moisture.

No one spoke. Though they were enemies meant to fight to the death, neither the Statistics Department agents nor the Anti-Light Rebels battled. They silently awaited the end of this cruel drama.

Kui Zhao had caught his breath. The wounds on both his arms were deep enough to expose bone. He hid behind the agents to tend to them. Though Lan Yan had saved him, his face showed no gratitude; he watched the scene before him with a complicated expression.

Lan Yan said nothing. He pushed up his glasses and continued maintaining the water wall and Water Prison, watching Li Shijie lose consciousness completely, his heart and lungs entirely ceasing to function.

When the Water Prison burst apart and Li Shijie's body fell to the ground, one raincoat-clad rebel lowered the light handgun in his hand.

Like a line of dominoes beginning to fall, one traitor after another, one rebel after another, lowered their weapons. Some even fell to their knees, their faces pale.

No one ran. No one resisted.

Because they realized that Lan Yan did not need five moves at all. Since he could drown Li Shijie on dry land with a single move, then his remaining four moves...

Could kill every last one of them in this stormy, rain-lashed night!