Fleeing for His Life

Gu Jianfeng found it hard to believe that he had not even seen clearly the figure that had charged into the cave dwelling earlier.

Such speed required at least the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage to display, unless the person had been aided by a treasure.

"Fast? It was all right. You only got that impression because you were focused on fighting." Yang Lingtian spoke indifferently.

"Tell us what happened inside. Did you obtain some treasure? Hand all of it over." Gu Jianfeng pressed him.

"I did obtain some treasures, but I got them through my own ability. Why should I hand them over?" Yang Lingtian said solemnly.

"Hmph, shameless. While we were holding off the demonic beast, you sneaked inside."

"Everyone should have a share of the treasures you obtained. Hurry up and take them out!"

"If you don't, I doubt you'll be able to leave this place."

The others also began pointing fingers at him. Knowing that Yang Lingtian had obtained treasures, they were all deeply displeased.

"What? You want to gang up on me?" Yang Lingtian remained perfectly calm.

"Hmph, do we need to gang up on someone like you? I'm more than enough on my own. Let me test you." A burly man shouted.

With his enhanced perception, Yang Lingtian could tell at a glance that this man was a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator.

Before Yang Lingtian could reply, the burly man raised the saber in his hand and charged at him without mercy.

Everyone watched the battle intently. They also wanted to know exactly how strong Yang Lingtian was.

Against a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage expert, relying on physical strength alone was no longer enough.

Yang Lingtian had no choice but to use his cultivation power and circulate the Spiritual Power within his body.

Combining it with his physical strength, he gripped his long sword and met the burly man's attack head-on with a bang.

The two were both sent flying backward by the powerful rebound.

Because Yang Lingtian had used his cultivation power, Spiritual Power fluctuations arose, and the aura he released was quickly detected by everyone.

"Foundation Establishment Early Stage? He's only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, yet he's actually this arrogant."

"Still, he managed to withstand a strike from a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage expert. That's no small feat."

The burly man looked at Yang Lingtian with a solemn expression. He had personally felt that his opponent's strength was no weaker than his own.

He was still somewhat shocked. Although they were only one minor realm apart, crossing that gap was generally very difficult.

"Not bad. You have some strength, but you're far too conceited." The burly man shouted.

"Now I'm going to use my full strength. Let's see how you'll block me!"

The burly man's aura suddenly erupted. His powerful presence spread outward, and the surrounding air seemed to solidify.

The two transformed into afterimages, and their weapons collided violently.

With a thunderous boom, the surrounding air churned, and an invisible force spread in every direction.

Their battle grew more and more intense, with the sounds of saber aura and Sword Qi colliding ringing out without pause.

Yang Lingtian held his long sword, his figure moving like a dragon as he attacked the burly man at blinding speed.

His Sword Qi was razor-sharp and swift as thunder, every strike containing terrifying power.

The burly man's pupils contracted. He swiftly swung his great saber, using a blade glint infused with tremendous strength to meet Yang Lingtian's attacks head-on.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At first, they seemed evenly matched. Now, however, Yang Lingtian was gradually gaining the upper hand and had begun suppressing the burly man.

Surprise slowly appeared on the faces of the others. Even the Four Heavenly Talents were moved.

Mu Ling'er watched with great interest. She seemed to be admiring Yang Lingtian more and more.

"For a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator to possess such strength is truly shocking."

"It seems even a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage expert can't take him down. Let's attack together!" a Foundation Establishment expert outside the battlefield suggested.

There were only a few dozen Foundation Establishment experts here, and most were at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage or Middle Stage.

The Foundation Establishment Late Stage consisted only of the Four Heavenly Talents and the bandit chief. They were too proud to make a move.

At that moment, the others began stirring restlessly when Mu Ling'er's voice rang out again.

"You can't beat him one-on-one, so you want to gang up on him? You're utterly shameless."

"Besides, that burly man's cultivation is higher than that kid's, yet he still can't take him down. How embarrassing!"

The burly man, who was locked in fierce combat, felt that he could no longer save face after hearing this.

After the two were forced back from another exchange, he stopped fighting. Then, with a cold snort, he turned and left.

He no longer wanted a share of the so-called treasures. With so many people, he would not get much anyway.

Why bother doing something so exhausting and thankless?

Seeing this, the others did not dare step forward either. Aside from those few Foundation Establishment Late Stage experts, no one else was confident they could defeat Yang Lingtian.

Yang Lingtian swept his gaze around and said calmly, "Everyone, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving too."

He turned around and was just about to leave when a terrifying attack suddenly came from behind.

Fortunately, Yang Lingtian possessed powerful perception and sensed the strike instantly.

The might radiating from this attack had already surpassed the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, and it was incredibly fast.

Yang Lingtian had no choice but to use the martial technique Movement Technique Flowing Cloud Wind Movement. His figure shifted, and he dodged the attack like a phantom.

With a boom, the attack slammed into the ground and formed a massive crater, displaying astonishing power.

Yet this attack had merely been a casual strike from Gu Jianfeng.

"What? He actually dodged a strike from a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator?" everyone exclaimed.

The other Foundation Establishment Middle Stage experts present could also sense the speed and terrifying might of the attack.

If they had been in Yang Lingtian's place, they felt they would have been unable to dodge it and could only withstand it head-on.

Yang Lingtian looked at the enormous crater, then turned toward Gu Jianfeng with killing intent in his eyes.

He actually launched a sneak attack. Fortunately, my Divine Soul is powerful, my perception is extraordinary, and I reacted quickly enough to dodge it.

Otherwise, if I had taken that strike completely unprepared, I would have been severely wounded even if I didn't die.

Gu Jianfeng also looked slightly surprised. Although he had not used his full strength,

he was confident that an ordinary Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator would have been unable to dodge that strike.

Yet Yang Lingtian was only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and had dodged it so easily.

"Could that kid's movement just now have been a martial technique Movement Technique? Otherwise, how did his speed suddenly become so fast?" Gu Jianfeng muttered.

Yang Lingtian glared sharply at Gu Jianfeng and shouted, "You have no martial ethics! You actually launched a sneak attack on someone whose cultivation is far below yours. Good thing I dodged!"

Gu Jianfeng felt that he had lost face, especially since his opponent had dodged the attack. His embarrassment was immense.

"Hmph, I was afraid of injuring you just now, so I used less than ten percent of my power." Gu Jianfeng remained arrogant.

"Leave behind everything you obtained from the cave dwelling. Otherwise, you won't be able to leave."

At that moment, Lei De also spoke. "Kid, you should hand them over."

"You're so young, yet you've already reached Foundation Establishment, and your strength is quite good too. You're a rare genius."

"Don't throw your life away for treasures that don't belong to you."

"That's right. Hand them over. You don't have the strength to protect those treasures." Even Shi Weiran, who rarely spoke, opened his mouth.

With three of the Four Heavenly Talents speaking, everyone believed that Yang Lingtian was about to be completely subdued.

Yang Lingtian looked at everyone with a slightly solemn expression. He knew that he could defeat Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivators.

However, he was still somewhat inferior against Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators, unless he brought out the Mid-grade Spirit Artifact.

With the support of the Mid-grade Spirit Artifact and his martial techniques, he might be able to fight an ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator without losing.

But the Four Heavenly Talents were no ordinary Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators. If they truly fought, he would gain nothing.

Then I'll run. If I can't beat them, can't I still escape?

Once my cultivation breaks through someday, I'll come back and teach these so-called famous prodigies of Qingfeng City a lesson.

Yang Lingtian pretended to give in. "Fine, I'll take them out now."

"That's more like it! He who understands the times is a hero!" Gu Jianfeng said smugly.

He thought Yang Lingtian had been frightened by his aura.

While everyone relaxed their vigilance, Yang Lingtian immediately brought out the Imperial Sky Boat.

He stepped onto the Imperial Sky Boat and urged it with all his strength. It shot toward the horizon like lightning.

Everyone stood rooted to the spot. The speed was so great that they had not even reacted in time.

"A Spirit Artifact! That's a flying Spirit Artifact! He actually has such a treasure!" someone shouted, breaking the silence.

Immediately afterward, all the Four Heavenly Talents except Mu Ling'er chased in the direction Yang Lingtian had fled.

"Damn it, he must have plenty of treasures on him. We can't let him get away!" Gu Jianfeng shouted as he chased.

However, once Yang Lingtian urged the Imperial Sky Boat, its speed rivaled that of the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage.

It was considerably faster than Gu Jianfeng and the others. After chasing for several hours, they lost all trace of Yang Lingtian.

"Damn it, we still let him get away. We were careless before. If we had surrounded him earlier, he wouldn't have escaped even with a flying Spirit Artifact."

"That's right. After all that effort, we ended up making wedding clothes for someone else."

"Don't let me run into him again. Otherwise, I'll make sure to torture him properly."

The three Heavenly Talents complained bitterly. Yang Lingtian's escape had left them gnashing their teeth.

While piloting the Imperial Sky Boat through the air, Yang Lingtian took out a map. He planned to return to Tianchen City.

After all, he possessed the Stone Jade, which could unleash a strike at the Golden Core Peak Stage. With such a trump card, he had no reason to fear the Lei Family.

However, urging the Mid-grade Spirit Artifact Imperial Sky Boat consumed far too much Spiritual Power. Before half a day had passed, the Spiritual Power within his body was nearly exhausted.

Fortunately, the system's gift package of spirit pills contained pills that could restore Spiritual Power. Otherwise, relying on himself to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would have taken more than half a day to return to peak condition.

Looking at the map, Tianchen City was still far away. He had indeed traveled too far.

It seemed he would have to cross mountains and rivers for quite some time. Yang Lingtian put away the Mid-grade Spirit Artifact and planned to walk back.

After all, urging a Mid-grade Spirit Artifact placed a great burden on him. Moreover, if he kept using it,

he might run into trouble if a powerful Golden Core expert discovered him.

With Yang Lingtian's Foundation Establishment cultivation, he had already been walking for more than ten days, yet he still had not reached Tianchen City.

Still, he was close now. This place was already very near Tianchen City.

At that moment, he passed a river. The water was so clear that the bottom could be seen, making people unable to resist the urge to jump in.

Moreover, Yang Lingtian had not bathed for a long time. He had been rushing along the entire journey.

On top of that, the weather was quite hot, so he decided to jump in and cool off.

He first washed his body briefly, then lazily lay down in the river.

He gently closed his eyes, letting the river carry him slowly downstream.