Mystic Realm

Ding—ding—ding—

In the blink of an eye, Chen Wu had already exchanged three blows with Yang Yuchun!

Chen Wu pressed forward again and again, while Yang Yuchun retreated step after step.

Chen Wu understood clearly: his opponent was finished!

Yang Yuchun had only reached the Concentrated Spirit Realm; he lacked the ability of a Mystic Realm master to keep his energy alive even when his heart was dead. After suffering heavy injuries, his combat prowess was fading rapidly.

Without further hesitation, he launched a direct strike at Yang Yuchun's Juque Acupoint, intending to finish him off quickly.

Yang Yuchun did not even dare to parry, choosing only to retreat.

With nowhere left to retreat, he flipped upward, leaping to the highest point of the Liaowanghe Tower, where an Octagonal Skylight was located.

Directly below this skylight was the stage of the Wanghe Tower. A massive sheet of glass covered the opening, forming a skylight through which sunlight spilled onto the stage below.

The performers on the stage, unaware of the fierce battle raging outside, were currently playing a Guzi Tune.

"The hero listens, his anger rising, Wishing he could swallow him in one gulp..."

Chen Wu, who had leaped up, heard the tune as well. He thought to himself how coincidental it was; this was the very same "Happy Forest" he had listened to with Shui Ziyi.

It was violent and intense—perfect for sending a Concentrated Spirit master to his grave!

Yang Yuchun did not continue to flee; instead, he occupied a corner of the skylight to regulate his breathing.

His Concentrated Spirit energy boiled like true qi, driving his muscles, bones, and meridians. With every breath, his punctured lungs felt as if countless red-hot knives were slicing through them repeatedly.

The faint dizziness before his eyes told him that his journey was coming to an end!

He could not escape!

And Yang Yuchun disdained to flee any longer!

He, Yang Yuchun, had risen from Sichuan Province, and in all his battles, large and small, he had never known defeat. He was certainly not one to run away!

"Jiang Zhong sees him and grows furious, Determined to decide the victor with the constable, The hero leaps to the center of the street, Unleashing his full, true prowess..."

Chen Wu occupied the opposite corner. He did not attack rashly, but instead silently circulated his profound arts, gathering his true power while listening quietly to the Guzi Tune.

He knew that Yang Yuchun was preparing for a final, desperate struggle!

Suddenly, Yang Yuchun's entire body began to convulse.

A convulsion—it was truly a convulsion!

Every pore on his body began to seep blood simultaneously, turning him into a man of gore.

Hum—

A sword hummed!

Chen Wu made a split-second decision. His dantian boiled, his true power unified, and he swung his precious sword, leaping down from above to strike.

A bloody shadow also surged upward from below to meet Chen Wu. At the forefront of that bloody shadow was a single point of cold light—the tip of a Judge's Pen.

Clang—

The blade and the pen tip collided squarely.

For an instant, Chen Wu felt as if time had frozen. His spiraling qi and the opponent's cold-and-hot qi clashed countless times within that razor-thin gap between their weapons.

Finally, the opponent's cold-and-hot qi could no longer hold on and collapsed completely!

Bang—

Crash—

Yang Yuchun was sent flying backward onto the glass of the skylight. He smashed through the glass and, along with the shards, fell heavily onto the stage, landing right in front of the five Guzi performers.

"And this is, Wu Song drunkenly beats the Happy Forest—"

The five Guzi performers on stage were caught off guard. Relying on muscle memory, they finished the final line of the song before they were startled into a chaotic scramble.

Yang Yuchun lay on the stage, blood pooling beneath him like a curtain, slowly spreading across the boards. His pupils reflected the shadow of Chen Wu above the skylight, and the light in his eyes extinguished completely.

Chen Wu took one last deep look at Yang Yuchun, then leaped away.

The constables swarmed in pursuit of Wu Chengyi, and the Daya Hall fell into a sudden silence, as if the previous intensity had been nothing more than an illusion.

Li Changgeng suddenly felt that something was wrong; this Wu Chengyi had appeared far too abruptly.

Uneasy, he hurriedly retrieved his Golden Melon Hammer and sat firmly in the backyard, his Concentrated Spirit rising.

Through the sensing of his qi, he felt a figure in the northwest carrying the power of heaven and earth, charging directly toward him.

Li Changgeng was shocked. Which Mystic Realm master was this, acting with such high-profile arrogance, not even bothering to conceal the power of heaven and earth surrounding them? Even from such a great distance, he could sense it.

Could it be that the master of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower has come to seek revenge?

He immediately ordered his servants, "Go quickly! There is danger, call those patrolmen back!"

From the River-Viewing Tower to Daya Hall, a carriage would take two quarter-hours.

But Chen Wu saw the main gate of Daya Hall in less than one quarter-hour, simply because Chen Wu did not need to wind through the streets like a carriage; instead, he pushed his light-body technique to its limit, vaulting over eaves and scaling walls to head straight for Daya Hall.

Such urgency was necessary because this borrowed Mystic Realm power could not be maintained for long.

According to the description in the Heaven-Intercepting Dao-Exposition Method, he should have been able to borrow it for an hour.

However, Chen Wu dared not trust this secret manual completely, so he had discounted it at the time, calculating based on only half an hour.

Therefore, Chen Wu had waited until Yang Yuchun was about to arrive before activating the secret technique to borrow the power of heaven and earth, all to buy himself more time.

Counting the time it would take to kill Yang Yuchun, Chen Wu still had over two quarter-hours left.

The patrolmen in front of the gate were indeed gone; it seemed they had been lured away by Wu Chengyi.

Chen Wu charged straight into the backyard, where Li Changgeng was staying in the best room.

Under Li Changgeng's aura sensing, that person vaulted over the courtyard wall at high speed, charging straight toward the backyard where he was located.

What a bold thief; he had truly come for revenge!

Li Changgeng assumed a stance and turned to face the direction from which the person was coming.

A figure arrived as expected, revealing itself atop the courtyard wall.

Hum—

The sound of a sword ringing out echoed repeatedly, charging straight toward him!

"How bold!"

The moment he saw the intruder, Li Changgeng was not alarmed but delighted; it was the very assassin who had held him hostage before.

He was merely at the Concentrated Spirit Realm; he, Li Changgeng, was more than capable of stalling until the patrolmen returned.

Thunderous sounds erupted as he swung his Golden Melon Hammer, slamming it fiercely against Chen Wu's longsword.

Bang—

Upon the first exchange, Li Changgeng secretly thought that things were amiss; a violent vibration traveled through his hands, and the overwhelming force from the opponent's longsword shook his unstable wounds.

How could this be the Concentrated Spirit Realm?

There was no time to think, as Chen Wu attacked with another sword strike!

Chen Wu knew that he was not a true Mystic Realm expert; if he were to truly compete in martial arts techniques, he, a fake Mystic Realm practitioner, would be no match for Li Changgeng.

But Li Changgeng was still suffering from severe, unhealed injuries, so he intended to collide with his true energy and detonate those wounds.

Bang, bang, bang—

Although Chen Wu used a longsword, he fought as if he were wielding a hammer, just like Li Changgeng; every strike was heavy and powerful, attacking where the enemy must defend, clashing head-on with Li Changgeng.

If anyone were watching the battle, they would only think the two were clumsy, like novice martial artists sparring.

Yet, the two caught in the middle knew the danger; whoever showed the slightest weakness would immediately be crushed by the immense force.

Under the collision of true energy, the force scattered in all directions.

Snap—

The locust tree in the courtyard could no longer withstand it and was snapped by the shockwaves.

Under this collision of true energy, Chen Wu's body vibrated; his Bronze Skin, Iron Tendon, and Jade Bone felt as if they were being hammered, and he did not know when they might fall apart.

Li Changgeng was in an even worse state; although he could borrow the power of heaven and earth to circulate his energy, he was still suffering from unhealed wounds. His Jade Bone was fracturing, his wounds were slowly splitting open, and blood began to seep from his neck.

Chen Wu felt encouraged; his tactic was working.

The servant, panting heavily, finally caught up to one of the patrolmen.

The patrolmen had varying levels of martial arts, and the one lagging behind was the weakest of them all.

He grabbed a patrolman and said, "Quick! Go back quickly!"

The patrolman kept his eyes fixed on Wu Chengyi ahead, his footsteps not slowing.

"What is the matter?"

"My master is in danger!"

"Your master..." The patrolman was about to brush him off when he suddenly realized, "Li Changgeng is in danger!"

Following that, he shouted toward the front while running, "Li Changgeng is in danger! Go back quickly—"