All Retreat, I Walk Alone

Zhao Ming's body completely dissolved, leaving behind a puddle of humanoid black liquid in the center of the ring.

That pool of black liquid did not seep into the stone crevices like ordinary fluid; instead, it writhed and boiled in a grotesque manner, bubbling with spheres the size of fists.

"Glug... glug..."

Every time a bubble burst, a foul stench so thick it made one want to retch would disperse into the air.

The smell was like thousand-year-old rotting corpses mixed with sulfur, drilling into the nose and rushing straight to the brain.

The moment the bluestone slabs at the edge of the Martial Practice Field touched this black mist, they emitted a "hissing" sound, their surfaces quickly corroding into pitted craters as black smoke rose.

"Retreat! What is this thing? It's actually poisonous!"

Someone roared, and the disciples who had stopped to watch the spectacle erupted into chaos again, scrambling and crawling toward the exit of the Martial Practice Field.

However, it was too late.

Several inner-court disciples who were closest to the source stiffened abruptly after inhaling just a few more breaths of the foul air.

The whites of their eyes turned black at a speed visible to the naked eye, and beneath their skin, black veins writhed like living venomous snakes, crawling from their necks all the way up to their faces.

"Roar!"

One of them let out an inhuman howl from his throat, his joints twisting into bizarre angles as he suddenly drew the blade at his waist and turned to hack at his fellow disciples fleeing beside him!

"Splat!"

Blood sprayed out.

The struck disciple looked at the wound on his chest in disbelief before being ensnared by the black mist; his eyes rolled back, and he too became a Living Demon-Men who knew only how to kill.

One turned into two, two into four.

The infection spread like a plague, and in the span of just a few breaths, the Martial Practice Field turned into a living hell.

Screams, the clashing of weapons, and beast-like roars merged into a cacophony.

The Martial Practice Field, which once represented glory and order, was now left with nothing but primal bloodshed and chaos.

"Brother!"

Yunmei gripped Li Pingsheng's sleeve tightly, her body trembling incessantly.

Lu Qingshan shielded her behind him.

On the high platform.

Pei Guang stood up abruptly, his Blood-Qi surging as he prepared to enter the fray and suppress the threat.

"Pei Guang, form the formation!"

Gu Zhenyue, the Hall Master of the Azure Cloud Martial Hall, who had seemed indifferent to everything, stood up from his seat and took a single step forward.

In the next second, his tall figure appeared like a ghost in the very center of the Martial Practice Field, right in front of the puddle of black liquid that was continuously spewing foul mist.

"Boom!"

A surge of Blood-Qi as heavy as the earth itself erupted from Gu Zhenyue's body.

His upper garments billowed without wind, revealing bronze-colored muscles; he looked like a wrathful Vajra stepping out of an ancient temple.

Without any flashy techniques, Gu Zhenyue simply raised his palm, which was as large as a palm-leaf fan, fingers splayed, and slammed it down fiercely against the ground beneath his feet!

"Suppress!"

The word was spat out, ringing with the resonance of a bell.

Where his palm landed, golden patterns visible to the naked eye spread out from him in all directions, instantly covering the entire Martial Practice Field.

The bluestone slabs that had been corroding stopped rotting under this golden light.

The boiling black liquid seemed to be pressed down by an invisible mountain, and its churning momentum faltered.

"Listen to me carefully, all disciples who have not been contaminated, retreat to the east wall! Form the Three Talents Blood-Qi Formation! Quickly!"

Pei Guang received the order and shouted with all his might.

This gave the disciples, who were like headless flies, a backbone to rely on.

The surviving disciples subconsciously retreated to the corner of the east wall, backing against it under the command of several instructors.

They linked their Blood-Qi together, forming a simple yet sturdy defensive perimeter, struggling to hold off the onslaught of their maddened fellow disciples.

The entire Martial Practice Field was divided into three parts.

In the center was Hall Master Gu Zhenyue, suppressing the source of the foul mist all by himself.

At the east wall were the surviving disciples, huddled in their formation for self-preservation.

And between these two, dozens of "Living Demon-Men" contaminated by the foul mist were crazily attacking every living thing.

Just as this stalemate held, a piercing pain suddenly shot through Li Pingsheng's chest!

It was the Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman that Old Qi had given him!

The bronze talisman was terrifyingly hot, and through several layers of clothing, it felt as if it were about to sear his flesh.

Li Pingsheng snatched it out in one motion.

A surge of information flooded into his mind through the Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman.

The center of the map was none other than the Azure Cloud Martial Hall beneath his feet.

Extending from this primary light point, three smaller light points in the Outer City echoed in the distance.

One of them was clearly marked with the small characters "Wealthy District"!

At this moment, the light point representing the Wealthy District had dimmed to the extreme, flickering on and off.

Once it extinguished, it meant the formation node there would be completely breached by the miasma!

By then, his defenseless grandfather, Second Uncle, and countless commoners in the Outer City would be exposed to the miasma contamination, which was even more terrifying than demonic beasts!

At the thought of Yunmei just now, and the tragic fate his family might face, a murderous intent gripped Li Pingsheng's heart.

His eyes were nearly splitting open!

Just then, the voice of Hall Master Gu Zhenyue, who was suppressing the center of the field, reached Li Pingsheng's ears.

"Heh, since that old man gave you the Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman, you are now the Well-Guardian!"

As these words emerged, not only Li Pingsheng, but even Pei Guang and the others nearby, who were directing disciples to form a formation, shuddered and cast looks of disbelief.

Well-Guardian?

That legendary existence who protected the safety of the Qingyun County ley lines, a figure on the same level as the Hall Master?

It was actually Li Pingsheng, this new disciple?

Gu Zhenyue ignored everyone's shock.

"Zhao Ming's demonization triggered the leakage of miasma from the Dragon Locking Well. I must guard the main formation eye, and Pei Guang and the others must protect the disciples; none of them can leave."

"The second formation eye in the Outer City is also failing. Only you, holding the Well-Guarding Bronze Talisman, can channel the formation's power to enter and repair the breach."

"Go to the Back Mountain Stele Forest; that is the path closest to the second formation eye."

Li Pingsheng had absolutely no choice now.

His family was right behind that formation eye about to be breached!

He could not afford a moment of hesitation.

He pushed the still-shivering Yunmei from his arms into the embrace of Lu Qingshan nearby.

Lu Qingshan was stunned by this action.

"Brother Qingshan, I must trouble you this time; please help me protect her."

"If she loses even a single hair, I will hold you accountable!"

Before he finished speaking, he did not look at Lu Qingshan or Yunmei again.

"Brother! You must come back safely!"

"Also, Brother! I will definitely wait for your return!"

"I still need you to teach me how to practice boxing!"

Yunmei reached out, crying and shouting, trying to grab him.

But Li Pingsheng did not look back.

Under the incredulous and awestruck gazes of all the disciples in the arena.

The "trash" who had just used thunderous means to kill the demonized monster on the ring, the "Well-Guardian" personally acknowledged by the Hall Master.

Dragging his arm, which was still stained with purple-black blood, he moved against the flow of people huddled in the corners.

Alone, he charged resolutely toward the Back Mountain Stele Forest.