Immune to Frost Palm, but He Got Away

Seeing Sun Zheng retreat step after step under his attacks, Liu Yan tried to crush his spirit. "If this is all the strength you have, then leave your life here."

Sun Zheng said nothing, because he had nothing to say.

The Snow Demon had entered the Innate Realm fifteen years ago, while he had only broken through in recent years. There was already a gap in their strength. Saying any more would only undermine his confidence.

"Die!"

Relying on his overwhelming strength and his signature Frost Palm, Liu Yan finally found an opening and suddenly struck at Sun Zheng, who was too slow to dodge.

"Don't even think about it, you scoundrel!"

With a shout, Gao Liang suddenly charged in from the side, his saber slashing straight toward Liu Yan.

Liu Yan froze. Faced with this sudden attack, continuing his strike against Sun Zheng would mean trading life for life, so he immediately turned to block.

As the three crossed paths and separated, Liu Yan looked at Gao Liang's right hand, his voice sinking. "You managed to dispel my frost true qi this quickly!"

Sun Zheng looked surprised as well. He had already prepared himself to die.

Ignoring Liu Yan, Gao Liang looked at Sun Zheng. "Let's take him together."

"All right."

Sun Zheng nodded firmly.

Although surprised that someone had dispelled his Frost Palm's true qi, Liu Yan remained confident. "So what if there are two of you? You're merely two early innate martial artists. I reached middle innate years ago, and my Frost Palm is nearing perfection."

In an instant, the three clashed.

Although Liu Yan's strength and Frost Palm still gave him the upper hand, Sun Zheng and Gao Liang's years of practiced teamwork kept him from defeating them anytime soon.

Li Dao was considering how to help them deal with the Snow Demon when he suddenly caught some movement out of the corner of his eye.

Not far away, Shen San and the others' attack had thrown the convoy into chaos.

When the Tamu Eldest Prince saw that they were targeting the betrothal gifts brought for this marriage alliance, he grew especially anxious and hurriedly ordered, "Guards, stop those thieves!"

Some of the guards nodded and charged toward Shen San and the others.

Li Dao's gaze naturally fell on the Tamu Eldest Prince.

He glanced back at the Snow Demon. The man was formidable, but he also had a weak spot: the Tamu Eldest Prince.

As the prince's guard, he would surely suffer if anything happened to the Tamu Eldest Prince.

Rather than find a way to deal with the troublesome Snow Demon, Li Dao might as well capture the king first to catch his bandits.

As for their earlier agreement not to kill the Tamu Eldest Prince, Li Dao did not worry too much about it. He only intended to use the prince to threaten the Snow Demon, not kill him.

But the Snow Demon did not know that. Even now, he believed they were assassins sent to kill the Tamu Eldest Prince.

With that thought, Li Dao pushed off the ground and charged straight toward the Tamu Eldest Prince's guards.

After the convoy came under attack, the guards around the Tamu Eldest Prince had focused their attention, terrified that something might happen to him.

Thus, they quickly spotted Li Dao as he approached without any attempt at concealment.

"A bandit is coming toward the eldest prince! Stay alert!"

Seeing Li Dao charge toward them, the guards immediately went on alert.

The Tamu Eldest Prince promptly ordered, "Send a few men to deal with that bandit."

"Yes!"

At his command, five guards rode straight toward Li Dao.

"Kill!"

One guard took the lead, his saber slashing straight at Li Dao's face.

"Just what I wanted!"

Li Dao snatched up the Black Iron Saber, planted his foot, and swung fiercely.

In an instant, man and horse passed each other.

A second later, a figure flew backward off the saddle and slammed heavily into the ground.

The remaining four guards reached him at that moment.

Working in perfect coordination, they thrust at vital points on Li Dao's body from different angles.

In the past, Li Dao would have considered dodging.

Now, however, he made no attempt to defend against such attacks.

The four guards had not expected their surprise attack to go so smoothly either.

Yet when their sabers struck the man before them, they discovered that the tips merely pressed his elastic skin inward slightly without injuring him at all.

The sight left all four dumbstruck.

Li Dao seized the opening after their attacks and decisively swung back.

With one sweeping slash, the Black Iron Saber hurtled toward the four with terrifying force.

Crack!

Armor shattered with a series of cracks, and all four flew backward, trailing blood.

Shortly after they hit the ground, the system notification sounded.

[Four enemies killed. Attributes gained: 3.56]

Four men had provided over three attribute points. It seemed these guards had cultivation as well.

Of the five guards who had charged out, four were instantly dead, and the first guard knocked from his horse was not faring much better.

Although his saber and armor had blocked Li Dao's strike, they had done nothing to stop its force.

Four thousand jin of strength, combined with the speed of that slash.

At least eight thousand jin of tremendous force had struck the guard.

He appeared unharmed on the outside, but his organs could not withstand such tremendous force, even if he was a cultivator.

Sure enough, the system notification sounded shortly afterward.

[One enemy killed. Attributes gained: 0.68]

The Tamu Eldest Prince had assumed his guards could easily deal with a lone bandit. He had never expected all five to be slaughtered so overwhelmingly.

Looking at the Tamu Eldest Prince amid his guards, Li Dao raised the Black Iron Saber in his right hand and began approaching step by step.

"What are you waiting for? Get him!"

At the sight, the Tamu Eldest Prince hurriedly gave the order.

This time, ten guards stepped out and charged toward Li Dao.

A few minutes later.

Like the five guards before them, these ten had all become a string of numbers on Li Dao's status panel.

Now the Tamu Eldest Prince could no longer sit still.

Watching the bandit draw ever closer, he could not help shouting into the distance, "Master Liu, save me!"

Elsewhere.

Facing Sun Zheng and Gao Liang as they steadily lost ground, the Snow Demon, Liu Yan, grew increasingly excited. He could almost see them turning into ice sculptures beneath his Frost Palm.

Sun Zheng and Gao Liang, meanwhile, could only suffer in silence.

Even together, they could merely hold out against him a little longer.

Their greatest trouble was the Snow Demon's consummate mastery of Frost Palm.

Sometimes, even when they dodged his attacks, the frost true qi naturally radiating from his Frost Palm made their bodies stiffen involuntarily.

Just then, a shout reached them.

"Master Liu, save me!"

Liu Yan's expression instantly changed at the sound.

Looking back, he saw a man steadily approaching the Tamu Eldest Prince.

The corpses of numerous guards lay scattered around him.

The remaining guards swarmed him, but could not halt his advance.

If Liu Yan did not rush over to help, the Tamu Eldest Prince would likely fall into the man's hands before long.

"Despicable!"

Liu Yan could not help cursing at Sun Zheng and Gao Liang.

Despicable?

Sun Zheng and Gao Liang glanced aside and noticed what was happening in the distance.

Their eyes lit up when they saw Li Dao sweeping through the guards, and they instantly understood his intent.

Gao Liang could not resist saying, "You have the nerve to call us despicable? Why didn't you think of that when you betrayed your sect and later joined the Tamu Tribe?"

"You..."

Whatever Liu Yan said, he had to go help the Tamu Eldest Prince now.

He was already wanted by the Great Qian Dynasty. If anything happened to the Tamu Eldest Prince under his protection, he would have no place among the Northern Barbarians either. After fifteen long years, he had finally become the prince's teacher and might someday become royal tutor to the Tamu Tribe. How could he let all that slip away?

He instantly abandoned the thought of killing Sun Zheng and Gao Liang.

"Just you wait."

Leaving that threat behind, Liu Yan decisively turned and rushed toward the Tamu Eldest Prince.

Before Sun Zheng and Gao Liang could celebrate, their expressions suddenly changed.

"Fuck! If the Snow Demon goes over there, what'll happen to him?"

Gao Liang hurriedly shouted, "Watch out! Liu Yan is heading back!"

Li Dao was enjoying his slaughter amid the guards when a familiar voice suddenly rang in his ears.

A second later, an icy killing intent surged from behind his head.

"You're the one ruining my plans? Die!"

Li Dao turned to see Liu Yan attacking him directly with Frost Palm, and instinctively slashed at him.

"Frost Palm!"

In response, Liu Yan unleashed a great flood of frost true qi from his palm.

The moment the Black Iron Saber approached that freezing palm, a layer of frost formed over it, covering Li Dao's wrist as well.

Clang!

Saber and palm collided, sending countless shards of ice flying in every direction.

Li Dao's gaze sharpened. Liu Yan had actually blocked his slash with the ice on his palm.

As expected of a Xiantian Martial Artist, his methods were beyond anything a Houtian Martial Artist could match.

Opposite him, Liu Yan's expression also turned grave in an instant.

That slash had jarred his palm painfully, nearly breaking through the ice.

Only after glancing at his opponent's frozen right hand did his expression ease somewhat.

"Frost Palm!"

When his first strike failed, Liu Yan decisively struck again with his left palm.

Li Dao frowned and promptly switched hands to meet him with a palm strike.

Bang!

Their palms collided with a tremendous noise.

This time, Liu Yan felt that enormous strength firsthand. It nearly snapped his arm, but he believed his opponent would fare far worse.

After their palms collided, the frost true qi instantly covered Li Dao's entire arm in a layer of frost, which showed signs of spreading toward his body.

"Die."

Liu Yan smiled coldly.

At that very moment, two figures charged to his side and swung their sabers at his arm together.

"Hmph!"

Liu Yan knew perfectly well who had come to ruin his plans and decisively withdrew his hand to dodge their attacks.

When he looked up again, the three had already retreated several dozen meters away.

"Are you all right?"

Looking at Li Dao's frost-covered arm, Gao Liang's expression darkened. Having suffered from Frost Palm himself, he knew just how powerful that frost true qi was.

Before Li Dao could answer, Liu Yan burst into laughter opposite them. "Don't get your hopes up. He's beyond saving."

Gao Liang immediately retorted, "What do you mean, beyond saving? Didn't I just recover?"

Liu Yan sneered. "Only your hand was frozen. His entire arm is."

"Besides, you could temporarily resist my frost true qi with your innate true qi. That's the only reason your hand wasn't crippled."

He looked at Li Dao and sneered. "But he doesn't even have any true qi."

"You don't have true qi?"

Hearing that, Sun Zheng looked at Li Dao in disbelief.

There was nothing to hide about it, so Li Dao simply nodded.

Gao Liang's expression immediately darkened as he looked at that entirely frost-covered arm.

If that was true, then there really was no saving him.

"Haha! Just wait for death."

Liu Yan mocked him.

Sun Zheng and Gao Liang wore bitter expressions. It seemed that really was the case.

"Wait for death? What death?"

Li Dao suddenly spoke.

Liu Yan stopped laughing and asked bluntly, "Your chest should feel cold by now, shouldn't it?"

"To tell you the truth, that's my frost true qi approaching your heart meridians. Once it actually enters them, not even an immortal will be able to save you."

Li Dao frowned. "But my chest doesn't feel cold."

Liu Yan sneered. "Keep pretending. The frost on your arm is formed from my frost true qi."

"You mean this?"

Li Dao raised his left arm and shook himself. With a crack, the frost on his arm instantly split.

A second later, all the frost fell to the ground, revealing a completely unharmed arm.

"It's gone. Now what?"

To give Liu Yan a clear look, Li Dao even turned his arm in several directions and flexed his fingers.

Liu Yan's expression froze. Disbelief spread across his face. "Impossible! You took my Frost True Qi head-on!"

Li Dao shrugged. "But that's what happened."

In truth, only Li Dao understood what had happened.

When the Frost Palm struck him, he had sensed a bone-piercing chill constantly trying to burrow into his arm through the pores of his skin.

But his transformed skin had blocked most of that icy energy, letting only a small amount seep into his body.

Once that energy entered his body, however, his seething Blood and Qi Power washed it away before it could cause any damage.

Combined with his powerful recovery, his arm had completely healed in the brief time they spent talking.

In short, after these encounters, he had made a discovery.

After undergoing one transformation, his skin had maxed out not only its physical resistance, but its magic resistance as well.

Otherwise, he could not have dealt so easily with Liu Yan's Frost True Qi or the Blazing True Qi of that half-step Xiantian Martial Artist from before.

The sight stunned Sun Zheng and Gao Liang beside him.

"You really don't have any true qi?"

Gao Liang sounded uncertain as he asked.

He found it hard to believe that someone could block a Xiantian Martial Artist's elemental true qi with flesh and blood alone.

Li Dao shook his head. "Didn't you say I was born with superhuman strength?"

Gao Liang could not help retorting, "Whose natural-born strength works like yours?"

Sun Zheng suddenly asked, "Do you think you can keep holding out against his Frost True Qi?"

"As long as it's not for too long, I should be able to."

At least for now, Li Dao did not feel that the Frost True Qi Sun Zheng and Gao Liang feared like a tiger could do much damage to him.

Sun Zheng's eyes lit up at that. "Good."

Gao Liang's face brightened too. "Perfect. The three of us can join forces."

By then, Liu Yan had also recovered his senses.

The contempt in his gaze as he looked at Li Dao had turned to wariness.

After all, the Frost Palm he took such pride in had suddenly lost its usual effectiveness. Naturally, that made him wary.

Seeing the three discussing matters, he seemed to have guessed their intentions.

If they really managed to join forces, things might not end well for him today.

He glanced at the Guard Team, which had suffered heavy casualties, and the chaotic convoy nearby. After a moment's thought, he leaped over to the Tamu Eldest Prince.

"Master Liu, why haven't you attacked yet?"

The Tamu Eldest Prince looked displeased as he questioned Liu Yan.

"Eldest Prince, our opponents are rather troublesome this time. If I fight with all my strength, I may not be able to keep you safe."

"What?"

The Tamu Eldest Prince's expression changed instantly.

To him, nothing mattered more than his own life.

He had only told Master Liu to attack earlier because there had been plenty of guards to protect him for the time being.

Now that even Master Liu was not confident he could protect him, unease immediately gripped the Tamu Eldest Prince.

He hurriedly asked, "Then what should we do now?"

Liu Yan "hesitated" for a moment before saying slowly, "That depends on what you wish to do, Eldest Prince."

"If you want to continue, I can hold the three of them off, but I can't say how the battle will turn out."

"But if we flee, I am still confident I can protect you, Eldest Prince."

Hearing that, the Tamu Eldest Prince hesitated before asking, "Master Liu, how confident are you?"

"About sixty percent."

Sixty percent?

The Tamu Eldest Prince's face darkened. That meant there was a forty-percent chance of failure. What would happen to him then? Would he die here?

If he died, his younger brother would take over the Tamu Tribe in his place. The throne would belong to someone else, and so would the beauty.

Everything he had would be inherited by someone else.

At that thought, the Tamu Eldest Prince made his decision without hesitation. He had no desire to let his younger brother enjoy life in his place.

"Master Liu, protect me and get me out of here, back to the Tamu Tribe. Forget the marriage alliance. I want to go back."

The Tamu Eldest Prince spoke hastily.

"Very well. Today, I, Liu Yan, will risk my life to protect the Eldest Prince and bring him back to the tribe."

Liu Yan spoke with a look of "righteous resolve."

"Master Liu!"

The Tamu Eldest Prince looked deeply moved.

Ignoring the Tamu Eldest Prince, Liu Yan ordered the surrounding guards, "Everyone, abandon the supplies and retreat! Protect the Eldest Prince and return to the Tamu Tribe!"

"Yes!"

The guards shouted and rode off, escorting the Tamu Tribe's prince.

The sight left Sun Zheng and Gao Liang dumbfounded.

What was this supposed to mean?

Was Liu Yan giving up the fight?

Liu Yan turned back toward Li Dao and the other two and declared loudly, "I'll spare your lives today. Another day, I will take the heads from your shoulders!"

"Hyah! Retreat!"

After delivering his threat, he promptly spurred his horse and chased after the Tamu Eldest Prince's retreating party.

He left Sun Zheng and Gao Liang staring in bewilderment.

What was the point of making a vicious threat, then turning tail and running?

And now that they had driven off the Tamu Eldest Prince, did their mission count as completed?

It should count, right?

After all, with the Betrothal Gifts for the marriage alliance lost and his own party suffering such heavy casualties, anyone would be too embarrassed to show up for a marriage alliance in such a sorry state.