Gravely Injured

Ye Wudao knew he was no match for the four members of the Four Blade Sect.

There was no way he could run, either.

He had seen Hu Lianfeng's strength. There was no way he could escape from a Houtian Realm martial artist.

Even if these four were only in the Body Forging Realm, they were still far faster than an ordinary person like him.

So he had only one option: run down the hillside and hope to catch Hu Lianfeng and the others' attention.

That way, he might have a slim chance of survival.

However, he had overestimated himself.

The slope was far too steep for anyone to run down safely.

Although he had entered the Martial Path and undergone a complete cleansing of his sinews and marrow,

he was not much stronger than an ordinary person—at most, he had the physique of an athlete.

The moment he stepped forward with his right foot, his whole body pitched forward beyond his control.

"Shit..."

He shouted, and then the world spun around him.

Then came the pain of his body hitting the ground.

The middle-aged man from the Four Blade Sect on the cliff raised his blade and started after him, but the old woman behind him grabbed him and held him back.

"Don't chase him! With his mortal body, a fall from this height will kill him for sure!"

"Hu Lianfeng is here. We need to leave at once."

"If he finds out we forced his disciple into the gorge, the four of us might not be a match for him."

The old woman glanced at Ye Wudao tumbling down the slope and spoke quietly.

"Yes, Sect Master!" The middle-aged man nodded, sheathed his blade, and followed the other three into the night.

"Look, what's that?"

"Looks like... a person?"

"What a talent. He can even roll down a slope?"

Meanwhile, the commotion caused by Ye Wudao tumbling down the hillside drew the attention of some people.

Their reaction, in turn, drew the attention of others to Ye Wudao.

At that moment, Hu Lianfeng was locked in combat with an Armored Wild Boar. When he followed the others' gazes toward the hillside, he immediately recognized the prison uniform of Haicheng First Prison.

There were other prisoners from Haicheng First Prison in the Rift World.

But they were all in the Body Forging Realm and wouldn't come anywhere near the gorge.

The gorge was full of second-order monsters. Anyone in the Body Forging Realm who came here would be throwing their life away.

So there was no need to guess who the person tumbling down the hillside was.

"Ye Wudao!"

Hu Lianfeng shouted, flung off the Armored Wild Boar, and charged toward the slope.

His shout also caught Qin Tianlong's attention.

When Qin Tianlong saw Ye Wudao tumbling down the hillside, he planted his right foot firmly and shot into the air.

A moment later, he stepped on empty air and flew toward the hillside in defiance of the laws of physics.

Five seconds later, Qin Tianlong had crossed over a hundred meters and caught Ye Wudao at the foot of the slope.

By then, Ye Wudao had lost consciousness. His prison uniform was in tatters, and beneath it, his body was covered in severe abrasions.

Qin Tianlong placed a hand against Ye Wudao's back. After a moment, his brow furrowed.

Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang arrived just then.

"Elder Qin, how is he?" Hu Lianfeng asked anxiously.

Qin Tianlong glanced back at Hu Lianfeng and said gravely, "He's unconscious, with multiple broken bones, his qi and blood in disarray, and several damaged meridians."

As he spoke, a dense cloud of white mist suddenly rose from his palm.

The mist streamed along Ye Wudao's back and seeped into his body.

A few seconds later, Ye Wudao slowly woke up.

The instant he regained consciousness, pain shot through his body, making him grimace.

"Disciple, what happened? How did you fall down the hillside?"

Seeing Ye Wudao grimacing, Hu Lianfeng asked softly.

It took Ye Wudao a long while to recover before he slowly replied, "I ran into four people who called themselves members of the Four Blade Sect. They said they were going to kill me to avenge their junior brother."

"I had no choice but to run down the hillside."

"I didn't realize it was so steep. I'd only taken two steps when I fell."

At that, Hu Lianfeng narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Were there three men and one woman?"

Ye Wudao didn't dare move, so he answered in a muffled voice, "Three middle-aged men and one old woman."

Hu Lianfeng narrowed his eyes and gripped his blade tightly. "Damn it! I'm going to kill them."

Elder Qin glanced at Hu Lianfeng and snorted. "You made this mess. Isn't it only right that your disciple pays for it?"

"Enough of that. The two of you, take him to the treatment room at the encampment first."

"At this rate, he won't recover for at least two or three months."

Hearing Qin Tianlong say that, Hu Lianfeng could only let it go for now.

The Rift World was so vast. Who knew where those four from the Four Blade Sect had gone?

They might even have already left the Rift World.

He carefully lifted Ye Wudao off the ground and said softly, "This is partly my fault. I should've told you not to go around mentioning my name."

"I've roamed the martial world for years and made plenty of enemies. I have a lot of people who want me dead."

"I only meant to bring you here to broaden your horizons. I didn't expect this to happen."

Ye Wudao gave a bitter smile but said nothing.

Qin Tianlong looked at Hu Lianfeng and Ye Wudao, then said to Zhang Hankuang, "Xiao Zhang, take Ye Wudao to the encampment first."

"Old Hu, stay behind. I need to talk to you."

Hu Lianfeng froze for a moment, then handed Ye Wudao to Zhang Hankuang.

Zhang Hankuang nodded to the two men, picked Ye Wudao up, and bounded up the incredibly steep slope, springing upward with a quick "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

After they were gone, Qin Tianlong looked at Hu Lianfeng and asked quietly, "I know why you took Ye Wudao as your disciple, but with your Houtian Great Accomplishment, even if you succeed, you'll only advance to Houtian Peak."

"Even if you reach Houtian Peak, you probably still won't get out of prison, let alone take your revenge."

"That kid has decent talent. He's bound to surpass you one day."

"Why not look at it from another angle? Let the kid take revenge for you. That might be better."

"And haven't you noticed? He seems to have figured out what the Northern Dark Divine Art is for!"

"Of course, this is between you and your disciple. I have no place interfering. I'm only giving you a suggestion."

Hearing Qin Tianlong, Hu Lianfeng narrowed his eyes and asked quietly, "Elder Qin, are you saying Ye Wudao has the potential to reach the Xiantian Realm?"

Qin Tianlong smiled. "I didn't say that! Reaching the Xiantian Realm isn't easy. But he does have a chance."

Hu Lianfeng fell into thought at Qin Tianlong's words.

In truth, he had also seen that Ye Wudao was talented.

He had hesitated several times over whether he should absorb Ye Wudao's power.

Hearing Qin Tianlong, his thoughts began to change.

He looked at Qin Tianlong and said, "Elder Qin, I'll give it some serious thought."

Then he clasped his fists toward Qin Tianlong. "I'll go check on the kid first!"

Qin Tianlong nodded. "Go ahead!"

Hu Lianfeng turned and left. He took just a few steps up the steep slope, each footfall leaving a shallow dent.

Watching Hu Lianfeng go, Qin Tianlong shook his head helplessly. "What a tangled fate!"

Then he turned and headed toward the monsters.

He needed to kill as many monsters as possible. At his current pace, he could get out of prison in another two or three years.

He had enemies waiting for him outside, too. He had to get out as soon as possible!