Fierce Battle

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bang!

After a thunderous boom, countless dense steel needles shot out, bursting into clouds of blood among the many Gui Ling Sect disciples.

"Hidden weapons?"

Fang Yuan's scalp prickled. Already prepared, he lunged forward, and his figure vanished behind a boulder.

Pfft! Pfft!

But the other Gui Ling Sect disciples weren't so lucky.

As the sound of piercing continued, clouds of blood burst one after another through the dense forest. Bodies toppled, blood flowed everywhere, and in the blink of an eye, the place had become a field of slaughter.

Once that wave had passed, Fang Yuan poked half his head out. He immediately saw that the Sun Clan disciple who had mocked and challenged him earlier was sprawled in a pool of blood, his entire body riddled like a wasp's nest.

A tall, slender figure also strolled out of the darkness, something faintly visible in his hand.

"It's Song Zhong!"

Lin Leyue cried out in alarm. She suddenly flicked her sleeve, sending a sleeve arrow soaring into the sky. It let out a shrill whistle, then burst into brilliant fireworks.

"Heh heh... Are you trying to notify Elder Li?"

Song Zhong only sneered at the sight. "There's no need! I've already brought him here!"

He waved his hand. The thing he had been carrying rolled across the ground and came to a stop in front of Lin Leyue and the other disciples.

"Uncle-Master Li?!"

Xiao Qing shrieked, nearly fainting.

What Song Zhong had been carrying was unmistakably the head of an old man, his beard and hair bristling, his eyes wide open in death. Who else could it be but Elder Li?

"How could this be?"

Even Lin Leyue's vision swam at the sight.

"Cough, cough... That old scoundrel Li's Blazing Sun Palm really is formidable. Too bad it still falls short of this old man!"

Song Zhong coughed, spitting out a large mouthful of blood mist, but his face was brimming with smugness. "That bitch Shi Yutong thought I'd already been gravely wounded, so she sent you to pick up an easy win and boost your reputation. To be safe, she also had Elder Li secretly follow you... But she never expected that, by a stroke of luck, I once obtained the Return to Life Pill left behind by the Fate-Defying Divine Doctor. My injuries have long since healed. Cough, cough..."

Lin Leyue pressed her lips together, her heart sinking.

She had read of the Return to Life Pill in the sect's manuals. It was said that as long as a person still had a breath in them, it could bring the dead back to life and restore flesh to bare bones, returning them to health overnight. The catch was that they would inevitably die seven days later!

But during those seven days, a martial artist's Essence, Qi, and Spirit would all be driven to their peak.

Otherwise, Elder Li ranked above Song Zhong in the sect. Even at his full strength, Song Zhong would have been no match for him. How could he have been hunted down so easily?

Cold sweat immediately dripped from Lin Leyue's forehead.

The situation had deteriorated beyond all hope.

Even if the other sect elders saw the signal and rushed over, there was no guarantee she and the others could hold out until then.

After all, the gap between a Two Level Gates Internal Breath martial artist and a Three Dangerous Gates Internal Force martial artist was simply too vast. Even if the other man had suppressed his injuries, slain a formidable enemy, and been gravely wounded by the counterattack, the gap remained just as wide!

"Elder Song, you and I have no enmity. Why go this far?"

Lin Leyue forced herself to remain calm.

"No enmity?"

Song Zhong sneered. "Forget that bitch Shi Yutong expelling me from the sect and issuing a kill order. You, this beauty who brings calamity wherever you go, drove my Jie'er into this state. There's no way I'll spare you today!"

At that, Fang Yuan immediately hunched his neck. When he saw Song Zhong's gaze turn toward him, his scalp prickled.

Although Song Zhong still didn't know that Fang Yuan was the real culprit behind Song Yujie's death, just because he was Lin Leyue's former fiancé, Song Zhong wouldn't spare him and Lin Leyue, this pair of 'adulterous lovers'!

Fortunately, Song Zhong was still focusing most of his attention on Lin Leyue. But Fang Yuan was certain that after dealing with the others, Song Zhong wouldn't mind crushing him to death as well.

What a way to draw his hatred. If Song Zhong knew who the real culprit was, wouldn't he come after me like a mad dog the instant I showed my face...

Fang Yuan felt rather speechless.

With his Divine Essence, he could sense that although Song Zhong was focusing most of his attention on Lin Leyue, he was also keeping half an eye on Fang Yuan, afraid he might escape.

"What are you trying to do?"

As Lin Leyue watched Song Zhong steadily approach, a trace of tension finally appeared on her lovely face.

How could someone who had taken the Return to Life Pill and was doomed to die in seven days possibly take her hostage and break through? There was an eighty percent chance he meant to drag her down with him.

He wouldn't spare anyone—not her, not the brothers and sisters beside her, and not Fang Yuan, who stood some distance away.

Am I going to die...? I haven't even seen that vast, boundless world yet... I can't accept this!

Lin Leyue gritted her teeth. "Everyone, this man has lost his mind. We must stand together to get through this! Elder Li was highly skilled in Martial Arts. That scoundrel must have suffered considerable injuries when they clashed head-on!"

They were all in the same boat now. Hearing Lin Leyue's words and seeing the blood at Song Zhong's mouth and the charred palm print on his chest, they couldn't help feeling a little hope.

"Sharp-eyed, girl... Too bad, even a gravely wounded expert of the seventh stage is far beyond what you can imagine!"

Song Zhong strode forward.

His steps were small and his manner unhurried, yet his speed was strangely astonishing. His body swayed, and in an instant he was in front of a male disciple. With a casual grab of his right hand, the disciple's breath stopped, and he crumpled to the ground.

The might of a seventh-stage expert was truly extraordinary!

"Moon Condensing Swordplay!"

At that moment, Lin Leyue gave a sharp cry and attacked while her many senior brothers and sisters were still stricken with fear!

Whoosh!

The long sword at her waist gleamed brilliantly, exuding a chill that showed it was no ordinary weapon. As she thrust it forward, the sword move scattered like moonlight falling from Above the Nine Heavens, sweeping around Song Zhong.

"Excellent swordplay! Excellent Internal Breath!"

Song Zhong's expression changed, taking on a hint of seriousness. He extended his right hand and flicked the sword light with his index fingernail.

Clang!

At the clear ring, the moonlight filling the sky abruptly faded. Lin Leyue staggered back several steps. She looked at Song Zhong, whose expression was blank and whose index finger had taken on a lifeless pallor, and her face brightened with joy instead of alarm. "His Martial Arts have fallen a stage! At most, he's at the sixth stage. Don't let him fool you!"

"You brat, you deserve to die!"

Song Zhong's expression shifted, and he lunged forward.

"Swallow Piercing Cloud Strike!"

"Azure Sky Green Palm!"

"Moon Condensing—Frost Bloom!"

Encouraged by Lin Leyue, the remaining Gui Ling Sect disciples all attacked. Sword Qi and palm winds crisscrossed, surrounding Song Zhong on all sides.

"You insignificant clowns—how dare you cause trouble before me, like specks of light from a firefly?"

Song Zhong stood proudly amid the encirclement. His face twisted into a savage expression. "If this old man hadn't already exhausted his Gut-Piercing Bone-Penetrating Needles, would any of you still be alive?"

"Even so, you still don't understand the terror of breaking through the Three Dangerous Gates and becoming a martial artist with Internal Force!"

Song Zhong gazed at his hands. His clothes suddenly billowed as if stirred by a wind, flapping fiercely around him. "Demonic Wind Hand!"

He let out a furious shout. Countless afterimages of his palms filled the air, and astonishing palm power surged in every direction, sweeping through like a storm of wind and rain.

Pfft! Pfft!

Xiao Qing and several others immediately paled. A mighty force surged toward them, and they staggered backward with internal injuries.

They were all martial artists of the fourth or fifth stage. They had only Internal Breath in their bodies, not Internal Force!

After breaking through the Harm Gate, all Internal Breath was condensed into one, tempered a thousand times until it was like unbreakable steel wire. Only then did it become true inner power!

The gap between them was like a heavenly chasm.

That was why even a sixth-stage expert could become an elder and command such awe.

As Song Zhong unleashed his power, everyone in the clearing fell, except Lin Leyue. Thanks to her exceptional talent and the aid of a spiritual pill, she could just barely remain standing.

"Cough, cough..."

After that one move, Song Zhong's face was red as blood. He looked at Lin Leyue, who still hadn't fallen, and seemed a little surprised. "You actually managed to withstand that move of mine. You can die proud!"

Lin Leyue's right hand trembled slightly around the hilt of her sword, but her gaze had never been clearer or more resolute.

The power of the spiritual pill within her was spreading continuously, mending her earlier injuries. If she survived this ordeal, she would have a seventy to eighty percent chance of breaking through the Harm Gate and truly attaining the rank of a martial arts expert!

A genius like her had to be killed with a single decisive blow, without giving her any chance at all. Otherwise, the speed at which she rose again would far exceed anyone's expectations.

But... will I even survive today? Almost all the sect disciples are dead...

Lin Leyue's meridians were blocked. How could she possibly dispel the Internal Force injuries so easily?

Even though Fang Yuan is a Five Stages Warrior, he missed his chance earlier. Even if he strikes now, what good will it do?

At that thought, despair welled up in her heart.

"Wretched girl, I'll send you to see Jie'er now..."

Song Zhong's expression shifted several times. He took a deep breath and finally suppressed his injuries before advancing again.

Clearly, that earlier outburst had been no easy feat for him. But just then, a faint sound arose nearby.

"Hmm... trying to run?"

He spun around, snatched up a pebble, and flicked it with the force of a thousand jun.

Whoosh!

The pebble shrieked through the air as if fired from a powerful crossbow, hurtling toward a shadow.

Thud!

The pebble struck the ground, leaving a small hole. The shadow nimbly dodged it, revealing Fang Yuan.

He rubbed his head and smiled with an almost innocent air. "Old Master, you carry on. I promise I won't go around telling anyone..."

At the sight, Xiao Qing, lying on the ground and spitting blood, was so furious her nose nearly turned crooked.

They were fighting for their lives here, and this little thief was trying to run away? Hmph! He really was a scoundrel. She'd thought he wasn't that bad earlier, too. It was infuriating.

"This old man isn't deaf. You're this brat's fiancé?"

Song Zhong narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Fang Yuan like a knife. "In that case, I have all the more reason not to spare you!"

"Damn it, old bastard! If you're in such a hurry to get reincarnated, just say so!"

Fang Yuan flared up as well.

What was there to say to someone who was trying to kill him?

Riiip!

His expression turned stern. His skin immediately took on a glossy black sheen, his hands curled into eagle claws, and he lunged forward.

"Chirp, chirp!"

As he moved, the wind from his claws scraped against the air, producing cries like an eagle's shriek.

Song Zhong closed his eyes. He felt as if he saw a sky-dominating eagle soaring Above the Nine Heavens, then swooping down with lightning speed!

"Excellent Eagle Claw!"

In an instant, everyone present was shaken to the core.