October 25, night!
Eleven days had passed since Ye Li had reached mastery of Clear Force.
Throughout those nine days, he had kept to the same routine, going between two places.
Every morning, he went to Flower-and-Willow Alley to eat a Dragon Tiger Pill, then took two laps around Yunjin Street. Afterward, he ate a Body Tempering Pill and devoted himself to training.
Late at night, when no one was around, he ate two more Dragon Tiger Pills, then trained and went to sleep. And so another day passed.
For some reason, he'd noticed that the core disciples in Spring Return Alley seemed hostile toward him.
Faced with their cold expressions, he'd given up on making friends and thrown himself into training instead.
But after all these days of practice, things had turned out differently than Ye Li expected.
On the fourth day, when he'd pushed the Nine Chapters Fist Manual's experience to 1,000 points, he reached Clear Force perfection and experienced the strange effect of a trait being born.
However, perhaps because this martial art was so ordinary, the only traits Ye Li gained were white.
[White]: When focused, increases thought speed by 10%.
[White]: Slightly increases the speed of martial arts training.
[White Moves]: Makes it easier to spot flaws in the transitions between moves.
The three traits above had emerged after the Nine Chapters Fist Manual reached its limit.
Given a choice of three, Ye Li hesitated briefly, then chose the first trait: [Ingenuity].
Sure enough, once Ye Li possessed both [White] and [Green]—
when he entered a focused state, he could activate both traits at the same time!
That meant that while focused, Ye Li's body speed increased by 15%, while his thought speed increased by 110% × 115% = 126.5%.
Just as he'd expected, the two traits could work together, forming a set that stacked their effects.
Since that's the case, what I need next is a footwork technique, so I can widen my advantage even further, Ye Li thought.
But he'd have to wait until he broke through to the middle stage of Body Tempering.
In the depths of late autumn, after pushing the Nine Chapters Fist Manual to its limit, Ye Li picked up the Azure Dragon Force again and diligently practiced it every day.
Early Body Tempering (762/1500)
Just as Ye Li drew back from his stance, preparing to end his training for the day, his mind relaxing for an instant—
Crack—
A sound so faint it was almost inaudible rippled through the air, like a breeze skimming across a pond!
It wasn't wind stirring dead branches, nor a night mouse scurrying by. It was the sound of a boot sole accidentally crushing frozen mud outside the wall!
"Hmm?!"
Ye Li's brow knitted tight, and every muscle in his body tensed like a drawn bowstring!
Having reached Clear Force perfection, his senses were far sharper than those of ordinary Body Tempering martial artists!
Within a hundred feet, he could pinpoint the position and path of even a falling dead leaf.
If he could sense a leaf so clearly, a person was even easier to detect!
Anyone who could evade his senses and sneak all the way to the outer wall of his courtyard, dozens of feet away, was no ordinary person!
The instant the sound reached his ears, Ye Li focused his mind.
Thanks to spending so much time in a focused state lately, he easily activated both [Ingenuity] and [Swiftness].
In the next instant, the whole world slowed in his perception!
One, two, three... seven!
Seven blurry figures lay in wait beyond his courtyard wall, like ghosts!
They held their breath as hard as they could and moved as lightly as possible, trying to blend into the thick night.
But to Ye Li's ears, their muffled breathing and the scrape of cloth against the wall gave away their positions.
Seven Body Tempering martial artists?
The chill that shot up Ye Li's spine no longer came from the frost-laden winds of late autumn!
These people meant him harm!!!
Ye Li's brow furrowed sharply, but when he saw that the men outside the courtyard weren't making a move, he stayed put as well.
He pretended nothing was wrong and trained for another incense stick's worth of time. Then, as usual, he wrapped up his practice and headed toward the main room.
Only after Ye Li disappeared inside and the crisp sound of the door closing rang out did Lu Xiuyuan, holding a dagger, ask in confusion:
"Why don't the seven of us rush in and kill him outright?"
Qian Luoxin, his face hidden behind a black mask, lowered his voice. "Body Tempering martial artists have a Qi-Blood Network that makes them incredibly hard to kill. Even if you stab one through the heart with a blade, he can still struggle for several breaths before dying!"
"What if he gets away? Ye Li's gone inside to sleep. Let's wait an incense stick's worth of time, until he's drifting off, then block the doors and windows and rush him all at once!"
As he spoke, he sighed inwardly at how reckless his companions were.
They were supposed to kill someone and dispose of the body, yet they'd dragged it out for more than ten days.
He'd found Ye Li's address on the third day and learned that his family had already left the city.
They should've made their move that very day. Instead, these core disciples had put it off with one excuse after another, like students trying to dodge their summer homework.
And Lu Xiuyuan, the man at the heart of it all, was a spineless fool. He did nothing but linger among women or pester others to pick out gifts for Xiao Fang after training.
"Useless. Absolutely useless."
Qian Luoxin shook his head over and over, though his expression didn't change. He said, "Brothers, don't hesitate once we're inside. Cut off his head, take nothing, and pin the killing on the Poison Wolf Gang for murdering a promising talent."
At Qian Luoxin's warning, everyone nodded. But most of them still had a strange excitement in their eyes, mixed with fear.
All seven had only entered the Body Tempering realm within the past six months, and none had blood on their hands. Now that they were suddenly about to murder one of their own, their nerves began to fray.
An incense stick's worth of time later, Qian Luoxin gave a hand signal. The others vaulted over the wall and landed without a sound.
They spread out in unspoken agreement, sabers in hand, backs hunched as they silently crept toward the closed doors and windows of the main room.
But just as they were about to break in—
Bang!
With a tremendous, sharp crash, the gate to the courtyard was kicked open!
"Who's there?!"
"Damn it, we've been spotted!"
"Who the hell is it?"
The seven men's hearts stopped. They hurriedly turned around.
But the figure who should have been sleeping in the main room was striding toward them through the night, head held high!
It was none other than Ye Li!!!
He stood in the shattered doorway, his gaze like a blade as it slowly swept across the seven men, who stood frozen in shock.
"Motherfucker, you robbers have some nerve, coming to my place!" Anger burned in Ye Li's eyes!
After slipping out through the back courtyard, he'd heard every word the seven men said. He hadn't called out or gone to alert the gang. Instead, he'd treated them as common bandits come to rob his home.
Only then could he attack without holding anything back!
Sure enough, Ye Li's opening words gave Qian Luoxin a thrill. He called out in a low voice, "Brothers, we've got a tough one here! Carve this brat up, strip his valuables, and take them back for... us... to... en...joy..."
Before Qian Luoxin could finish speaking, Ye Li had already entered the stacked state of [Swiftness] and [Ingenuity]. The world before him abruptly slowed to a crawl.
The world, which had been flowing smoothly, slipped into a state about 0.75 times its normal speed. Each word Qian Luoxin spoke stretched out, longer and longer in Ye Li's ears.
To the seven men, Ye Li's presence suddenly became overwhelmingly powerful. Terrifying Killing Intent bore down on them, so tangible it felt like a physical force!
The seven men before him had unsteady steps and muddled breathing. Though their eyes held murderous intent, they were drained of vigor!
They spent their days lost in Flower-and-Willow Alley. Even with the gang supplying them with Body-Tempering Pills, maintaining their current realms was already the best they could manage.
And Ye Li?
"An early-stage Body Tempering foundation at 50%... the Nine Chapters Fist Manual trained to Clear Force perfection, letting me control every bit of my strength... and on top of that, a 15% increase in speed and 25% faster thinking..."
Power!
Unprecedented, surging power roared through his veins!
Buzz!
Ye Li moved!
In an instant, his overwhelming Killing Intent slammed into them. The seven men felt that what was charging toward them wasn't a person!
It was a colossal beast from the heavens, bearing down on them!
He smashed right into the seven-man encirclement!
Now—
It wasn't the seven men surrounding Ye Li to kill him.
Ye Li alone had trapped all seven of them in the courtyard!