Li Tianji's Unwillingness

Li Tianji knew Xiong Tatian well. He possessed boundless strength and was a battle-crazed madman; the toughness and endurance of his body were beyond what ordinary people could compare to.

Li Tianji was not surprised that Xiong Tatian could last an entire day, but how could Qin Yu, at the Martial Realm Sixth Level, possibly endure for a day? And against the formidable Xiong Tatian at that?

"Something's not right!"

This man had clearly suffered severe injuries. How could he still keep going? And why did he give Li Tianji such a strange feeling, as though the more severely he was injured, the fiercer he became?

"Xiong Tatian must be doing this deliberately. Otherwise, with Qin Yu's strength, he wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch from Xiong Tatian." After turning it over and over in his mind, Li Tianji arrived at this answer. Having lost interest in watching further, he took out an unknown ancient book and began flipping through it.

The next day.

Li Tianji frowned. His handsome face carried a grave expression as he stared at Qin Yu and Xiong Tatian, who were still attacking each other relentlessly, doubt between his brows.

Even if Xiong Tatian was holding back, this man's endurance was far too terrifying, wasn't it? Such endurance at the Martial Realm Sixth Level was already exceedingly rare. Even Gangqi Realm cultivators could not fight without rest for two days and nights straight, much less Qin Yu, whose dantian had not even been opened.

"He must have taken medicinal pills while I wasn't paying attention. Otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago." Thinking this, Li Tianji said impatiently, "Xiong Tatian, how long are you two going to fight? Are we still going deeper or not? End it with one punch."

What Li Tianji did not know was that Xiong Tatian felt both shocked and aggrieved. He was shocked because Qin Yu was growing braver the more he fought; the heavier his injuries became, the stronger he seemed. What aggrieved him was that it was not that he did not want to end things—Qin Yu was like an unkillable cockroach. Every time Xiong Tatian sent him flying, he would come charging back with savage force, not giving Xiong Tatian the slightest chance to catch his breath.

If he had not previously said that he would suppress his cultivation, Xiong Tatian would have liked nothing more than to knock Qin Yu down with one punch.

"Brother Qin, Brother Qin... can you still take it?" Xiong Tatian asked, his breathing slightly hurried. He did not really want to fight anymore. He had suppressed his strength, yet he still had to worry that one careless mistake might kill Qin Yu, so the longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantaged he became.

But Qin Yu was immersed in comprehending Myriad Force and could not hear him at all. Every punch and every movement was an attempt to overlap his strength. The vitality and blood within that gourd was also unimaginably immense, actually supporting Qin Yu for two days and two nights.

Though Qin Yu had created the Myriad Heavens Battle Art, that did not mean he knew how to use it. As the mortal he had once been, he simply could not reach the level of overlapping strength. Now, with sufficient vitality and blood to support him, Qin Yu wanted to find the resonance point of strength and layer that strength together. Then, when he fought Cui Shuo next time, he could use Myriad Force after activating Mad Demon Transformation to kill him in one blow.

The third day.

Qin Yu's aura surged to the heavens. Covered head to toe in blood, he was like a war god, his speed and power incredibly fierce.

After knocking Qin Yu back with one punch, Xiong Tatian panted heavily and shouted, "No more, no more! Brother Qin, I'm not fighting anymore. If you still want to fight, then I'll have to strike back with fifty percent of my strength."

The more he fought, the more alarmed he became. He could clearly feel Qin Yu's strength growing ever stronger, which left him utterly baffled and unable to believe it.

Seeing Qin Yu charge at him again, a spark of anger rose in Xiong Tatian's heart, and his thick fist smashed straight toward Qin Yu.

"Boom!" A deafening explosion suddenly erupted.

Qin Yu's body staggered back nearly thirty feet, while Xiong Tatian also retreated five steps. His eyes widened round as he stared at Qin Yu. He had used fifty percent of his strength in that punch!

At the same time, Qin Yu, immersed in the Myriad Heavens Battle Art, regained clarity in his eyes. He stared blankly at his mangled right fist, enlightenment dawning in his heart, then slowly closed his eyes.

"Again!" Xiong Tatian seemed especially astonished that Qin Yu could withstand fifty percent of his strength. He roared and was about to attack again when Li Tianji shouted from not far away, "Xiong Tatian, stop! Don't disturb him!"

Xiong Tatian paused for a moment, looking suspiciously at Li Tianji and then at Qin Yu. Seeing that Qin Yu had closed his eyes, he withdrew his attack and asked doubtfully, "Brother Qin? Are we still fighting or not?"

"Don't disturb him." Li Tianji had already risen to his feet and spoke in a low voice. He walked to Xiong Tatian's side and pulled him aside. "His battle with you has brought him some gains. He is comprehending them now. You absolutely must not disturb him at a time like this, or all his previous efforts will go to waste."

It had to be said that these three days of battle between Qin Yu and Xiong Tatian had completely changed Li Tianji's opinion of Qin Yu. At first, he had thought Xiong Tatian was deliberately going easy on Qin Yu. Yet Qin Yu had fought continuously for three days and three nights, and Li Tianji had keenly noticed that Qin Yu only became braver as the battle went on. That alone earned Li Tianji's admiration.

Especially after hearing that Xiong Tatian had used fifty percent of his strength, Li Tianji was even more shocked. Even he would find it difficult to withstand fifty percent of Xiong Tatian's power, while Qin Yu was only at the Martial Realm Sixth Level. If Qin Yu stepped into the Gangqi Realm, would he not become even more formidable?

Though Li Tianji was proud and arrogant, he was not a blindly conceited fool. His earlier dissatisfaction with Qin Yu mainly came from Qin Yu's low cultivation and ordinary appearance. Furthermore, Xiong Tatian called Qin Yu his brother, making Li Tianji feel that Qin Yu had taken advantage of Xiong Tatian's undeveloped intelligence to exploit him. Thus, he had not held the slightest favorable impression of Qin Yu. But after this battle, Qin Yu had proven that he was qualified to be Xiong Tatian's friend—though he was still not qualified to be Xiong Tatian's elder brother.

Just then, Qin Yu, whose eyes had been tightly shut, suddenly opened them wide. Excitement flashed in his eyes as he said in delight, "So that's how it..." Before he could finish, Qin Yu fell stiffly to the ground.

Xiong Tatian rushed forward in a single stride and caught the falling Qin Yu. Seeing that Qin Yu had fainted, he immediately became anxious and cried out worriedly, "Brother Qin, Brother Qin, are you okay? It's over, Li Tianji, I beat Brother Qin to death."

After examining him, Li Tianji rolled his eyes at Xiong Tatian. "He merely exhausted his strength."

"Really? Brother Qin isn't dead?" Xiong Tatian let out a breath of relief.

"Let him rest for a while, and he'll be fine!" Li Tianji gave Qin Yu's scar-covered body a deep look, uncertainty churning in his heart. Earlier, he had suspected that Qin Yu might have used some secret technique to stimulate his body's potential; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to battle Xiong Tatian for so long. Now that Qin Yu had directly fainted, Li Tianji became even more certain.

But Li Tianji had never heard of anyone overdrawing their potential the way Qin Yu had.

When Qin Yu awoke, the earth was trembling, and Little Black's howls shook heaven and earth. Qin Yu opened his eyes, only for the bright sunlight to sting them. Squinting, he sat up and looked around, discovering that Xiong Tatian was using Little Black as a target while Li Tianji sat cross-legged on the ground, apparently meditating.

Qin Yu did not call out to either of them. Instead, he began examining his physical condition.

"Martial Realm Seventh Level?"

What astonished Qin Yu was that this time, not only did he not feel sore or weak, he instead felt brimming with strength, as though he possessed inexhaustible power.

"Wait!"

"Martial Realm Seventh Level—spiritual energy!" Qin Yu was stunned. Sensing tiny, hair-thin serpents coursing through the meridians throughout his body, Qin Yu's expression shifted constantly—excited one moment, lonely the next; sorrowful one moment, delighted the next.

In the past, because Qin Yu had been born with severed meridians, spiritual energy simply could not remain within them. Back then, he had been stuck at the Martial Realm Sixth Level. Throughout his life, he had never condensed spiritual energy and had remained a mortal until the end.

Now that he had entered the Martial Realm Seventh Level, countless emotions welled up within him. His heart was filled with loneliness and bitterness. If he had not been born with severed meridians back then, he would surely have achieved no small success by now, and the Tian Qi Sect would not have been destroyed because of it...

Qin Yu let out a long sigh, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his heart as he continued to inspect the condition within his body. What astonished him beyond measure was that he had no idea what kind of blood had been in Xiong Tatian's gourd, but the power it contained was truly terrifying. He had used Mad Demon Transformation for a full three days before exhausting the strength in that blood. Moreover, after it was expended, the power in the blood had actually been absorbed by every muscle and bone in his body.

Qin Yu could clearly sense that his vitality and blood were roughly ten times more abundant than before. Whether it was his strength, bodily toughness, or defense, all had increased by more than threefold.

"If I had taken that blood when fighting Cui Shuo, I could probably have killed ten Cui Shuos." A faint smile appeared on Qin Yu's lips. Then he closed his eyes and once again sensed the Myriad Force unleashed by that final punch.

Qin Yu did not notice that Li Tianji had opened his eyes at some point. Li Tianji stared at Qin Yu, confusion between his brows. Qin Yu's changing expressions had all entered his sight, but what puzzled him was that Qin Yu had given him a weathered, ancient feeling at that time.

Was that my imagination? Forget it. I'll use you as my target for practicing divination. Let me... see your future...

After glancing at Xiong Tatian, who was still fighting Little Black with great gusto, Li Tianji rolled his eyes and looked around. Then, sneakily, he took out a piece of white silk cloth from his Void Storage Ring and spread it flat on the ground. He took out another strand of hair and placed it atop the cloth. Afterward, Li Tianji began muttering under his breath, his hands constantly shifting as if forming some kind of hand seals.

After a long while, Li Tianji pressed his hand onto that strand of hair.

In an instant, the white cloth emitted a faint glow. Dense patterns abruptly emerged across its surface, while the strand of hair suddenly turned to ashes.

"Heaven and earth have a beginning; all things have an end. Reveal the cause that opened heaven and earth, behold the fruit of all things. In the name of Immortal Calculator's ninth-generation disciple, I open the Eye of Heaven and Earth to observe the fruit of all things!" Li Tianji suddenly murmured. Two rays of light burst from his eyes and fell upon the white cloth covered in dense patterns.

At the same time, Li Tianji's overlapping pupils slowly separated, making it seem as if each of his eyes contained two pupils. It was an extraordinarily eerie sight.

Li Tianji stared fixedly at the white cloth and waited quietly. Based on his past experiences, he should have been able to see Qin Yu's future. Though he could not be sure what point in time he was seeing, and could only see it for the span of a single breath at most, he could always glean something of Qin Yu's future from it.

After waiting for nearly thirty breaths, Li Tianji became puzzled. Aside from patterns, there were only more patterns on the white cloth. There was nothing else at all.

Li Tianji felt his face burn as he muttered inwardly, Failed again? How many times has this been already? How is that possible? Could it be that I, Li Tianji, am truly unsuited to inherit Immortal Calculator's legacy?

"I, Li Tianji, believe in fate, but I will never accept it!" Determination appeared on Li Tianji's handsome face. He abruptly took out an object and poured out a drop of purplish-red blood. This blood radiated an indescribable power, and Li Tianji directly pressed it onto the white cloth.

Then Li Tianji bit through the tip of his tongue and sprayed out a mouthful of essence blood onto the white cloth.

"Appear!" Li Tianji growled.

But what left Li Tianji utterly dumbfounded was that the white cloth still showed no reaction whatsoever. Li Tianji was so enraged that he nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. He had performed divinations many times, failed many times, and even reached incorrect conclusions many times, but every time, some phenomenon had appeared. Yet this time, he could see nothing at all.

"Am I, Li Tianji, really fit to be an Immortal Calculator? Why? I refuse to accept this!" Li Tianji's face twisted savagely, and in a surge of rage that struck his heart, he fainted on the spot.