A Brutal Blood Battle! Li Zhexian in Peril

Zhao Wuji stood amid the torrential rain.

The icy rain pierced through his straw raincoat, streaming freely down his expressionless, rugged face.

The small courtyard before him trembled in the rainy night like a trapped beast.

Like the gasping breaths of prey before death.

"Ma Hongjun was the one I brought to Heaven Dou City."

"He is now crippled and on the verge of death. That is my failure as his teacher."

"Tonight..."

"Teacher will avenge you."

Without the slightest hesitation or mercy.

As the mutter faded, his body surged forward, shooting toward the house window like a cannonball.

His already brawny arms suddenly swelled, muscles knotting like massive pythons coiled around them. Scorching heat rose from him, turning the surrounding rainwater into white vapor.

The pressure of a level seventy-six Battle Soul Sage erupted with a roar.

Behind him, a three-meter-tall phantom of a golden Giant Bear raised its head and roared at the sky.

Zhao Wuji swung his arm in a full arc and slammed a fist at the house with irresistible force.

Before the fist even arrived, the violent gust from it had already torn open the curtain of rain, making the entire house sway on the verge of collapse.

Boom—!!!

The fist landed.

The house exploded like a fragile shell of paper.

The remaining force of the punch smashed a pit several meters wide into the ground beneath the foundation.

If anyone had been inside, there would have been no chance of survival.

"Whew..."

Zhao Wuji slowly let out a breath.

He looked rough and violent, but his mind was meticulous.

His gaze swept over the ruins before him, and a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.

Even if Li Zhexian had been crushed into pulp.

There should have been scattered traces of blood seeping out under the washing rain.

Yet as far as he could see, there was not a hint of crimson.

His brows drew together.

He stepped forward, intending to search through the wreckage carefully.

At that very moment!

A cold blade carrying Starlight silently slashed viciously toward him from behind!

Every hair on Zhao Wuji's back stood on end in an instant!

In his haste, he only had time to raise an arm to block!

"Three Swords of Splendor—Yaoguang!"

Li Zhexian, who should have been buried beneath the ruins, had somehow appeared behind Zhao Wuji.

The Azure Lotus Sword in his hand shimmered with starlight. Carrying an ultimate sharpness capable of tearing through everything, it slashed across Zhao Wuji's hastily raised arm.

Screech—!

His Soul Power held for only a few breaths before being sliced apart.

In an instant, flesh curled back, exposing bone beneath. Scalding blood splashed through the rain.

"Ungh..."

Zhao Wuji grunted and staggered back two steps.

Once he steadied himself, his tiger-like eyes flew wide as he stared fixedly at the hazy white figure several meters away.

The midnight downpour had greatly reduced visibility.

Only that longsword, flickering with cold light, remained clear and eye-catching through the rain.

"You..."

Pain shot through his arm, and Zhao Wuji's expression changed slightly.

He raised his injured arm and only then noticed a faint azure glow clinging to the wound.

Like poison embedded in the bone, it hindered the flesh from healing.

"Li Zhexian..."

Zhao Wuji's low voice chewed over the name, his killing intent so dense it seemed ready to spill out.

Terrifying!

A level seventy-six Battle Soul Sage had actually been injured by a junior!

Even if Li Zhexian had caught him off guard, it was still practically unbelievable!

"Today..."

"Li Zhexian must die."

"If he does not die, then I will be the one who dies in the future."

"He may even bring calamity upon Shrek."

The cold rain drenched Li Zhexian's white robe.

His hair clung to his forehead, droplets rolling down his cheeks.

He gripped the Azure Lotus Sword tightly, his icy gaze piercing through the rain curtain as it locked onto Zhao Wuji several meters away.

"Old bastard..."

Fortunately, he had eaten and drunk too much that day, making sleep difficult.

So he had been drinking alone beneath the awning by the courtyard wall, enjoying the rain.

In truth, the moment Zhao Wuji stepped through the courtyard gate, he had already quietly hidden himself.

That was right.

Li Zhexian had originally intended to hide.

A swordsman should possess the resolve to press forward without fear.

But that was only when the gap in strength was not as vast as a heavenly chasm.

To have a thirteen-year-old boy face Immovable Ming King Zhao Wuji head-on?

That was not bravery!

That was stupidity!

But he had not expected it.

After smashing the house apart, Zhao Wuji had not left.

This old bastard was rough in appearance but careful in thought, insisting on confirming his death.

With that, his escape route was cut off. He could only strike first.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Li Zhexian grabbed the Clear Spring Wine Gourd at his waist and tipped back a large mouthful.

The blue-red spirit wine mixed with rainwater and ran down his chin.

As if sensing its master's resolve, the Azure Lotus Sword let out a stern hum.

Within the boundless curtain of rain.

Two figures and two nearly tangible killing intents collided across the distance.

In an instant.

Li Zhexian moved.

The twelve azure lotuses engraved upon the blade suddenly bloomed, spewing forth crimson flames as thick as magma.

Flowing fire instantly wrapped around the blade, extending into a blazing tail several meters long.

The high heat violently collided with the icy rain, producing sharp hissing sounds and raising even denser white mist.

Whoosh—!

The white figure tore through the rain curtain, swift as a shooting star!

In the blink of an eye, he had closed to within several meters of Zhao Wuji!

Li Zhexian bent his knees slightly, then suddenly straightened them, launching himself several meters into the air like an arrow released from its bow!

He gripped the crimson flame sword in both hands and raised it high overhead!

"Second Soul Skill—Three Swords of Splendor!"

"Second form of the Azure Lotus Sword Song—Two Forms: Blazing Sword!"

Amid his furious shout.

A dense purple Spirit Ring suddenly wrapped around the blade.

The Crimson Flame Sword, already incomparably sharp, surged with even greater power.

The torrential rain around it seemed repelled by an invisible force field, transforming into rolling white mist that fled in all directions.

With the brutal force of splitting a mountain.

Li Zhexian slashed viciously down at Zhao Wuji's head.

"Li Zhexian, your talent is monstrous, but you are still too green."

Zhao Wuji stomped down with his right foot.

The ground shook three times.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black!

Seven Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet, and vast Soul Power erupted like a volcano!

His Second Soul Ring lit up with yellow light, while his Fifth Soul Ring flashed with suffocating black radiance.

His palm swelled to the size of a millstone. Thick golden fur burst through the skin and covered it.

"Second Soul Skill—Great Strength Vajra Palm!"

"Fifth Soul Skill—Raging Bear Soul!"

Facing the crimson flame sword descending as though it would cleave the heavens.

Zhao Wuji's hand, transformed into a Giant Bear's paw, struck out with overwhelming force.

Where the palm wind passed, even the air compressed and collapsed, letting out an explosive roar under the strain.

Boom boom boom boom—!!!

Sword and palm collided head-on.

Terrifying ripples of energy spread outward from the two of them.

The crimson flames were scattered by the immense force. Upon striking the endless rain curtain, they became rolling steam that surged across several hundred meters.

Li Zhexian had been short on money at the time, so he had chosen this remote place.

Thus, despite the enormous commotion, and with the heavy rain concealing it, no one had yet discovered this fierce battle in the rainy night.

A mountain-like force came through the sword.

Li Zhexian's tiger's mouth split open, and the sword nearly flew from his grasp.

"Kid, train some more in your next life!"

A vicious gleam filled Zhao Wuji's eyes.

His Soul Power boiled, and the strength in his bear paw increased another thirty percent.

Hum—!

The Azure Lotus Sword was violently knocked back by the overwhelming force and slammed into Li Zhexian's chest.

"Puh—!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed into the vast white mist.

Like a kite with its string cut, Li Zhexian was sent flying backward even faster than he had come.

He crashed into the courtyard wall, which collapsed with a thunderous roar.

His figure was buried beneath bricks and rubble.

A savage grin appeared on Zhao Wuji's face. With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the white mist blocking his vision and strode toward the ruins that had buried Li Zhexian.

"Why do I feel so uneasy..."

In the Crown Prince's sleeping chamber.

Xue Qinghe, draped in a pale yellow robe, walked to the window with furrowed brows.

Whoosh—

She opened the window.

The suddenly surging wind and rain blew her outer robe to the floor.

She bent down to pick it up, but her fingertip struck the corner of a protruding stone brick, and a bead of blood immediately welled up.

Dugu Manor.

Dugu Yan studied by lamplight late into the night.

She was not researching cultivation, nor was she studying poison techniques.

Instead, she was earnestly learning how to make soup.

"The soup I made for Little Brother Zhexian yesterday still seemed to lack something."

"The next time I invite him over, I will definitely make an even better soup."

Ye Mansion.

Ye Lingling lay on her side on the bed.

Through the window lattice, she watched the storm raging outside.

In her heart, she was thinking about what Li Zhexian had said to her during the day.

"You do not need to please anyone, including your mother..."

A faint smile curved Ye Lingling's lips.

She drifted into sleep.

In the desolate, ruined courtyard.

Zhao Wuji kicked aside shattered bricks and tiles...