As the energy within Li Guanyi's body rapidly transformed...
The battle in the skies reached its most intense moment.
Dragon and Tiger energies clashed and fused. Arrows and halberds tore through the air as techniques surged in an unrelenting storm, forcing the hidden powerhouse into full view. A black soft armor, scaled like a dragon, covered his body. In one hand, he held a slender sword, while a dark gold mask concealed his face.
A single slash of his sword—
The owl beat its wings and let out a piercing cry. Black winds surged wildly.
Even the elemental energies of the Dragon and Tiger were torn apart. Yue Qianfeng and Xue Daoyong both evaded the attack.
When Yue Qianfeng saw the dignified dark-gold mask, his expression twisted in fury.
"The Changing Sword, the Wulong Armor, and the heavy golden mask worn by Prince Taiping when he swept across the Western Regions—how did they end up in the hands of a despicable man like you?!"
Armor forged from treasure, a top-ten assassination divine weapon in hand...
Xue Daoyong's gaze turned frigid.
A Martial Cultivator of the Dharma Aspect level, cloaked in the qi-masking Wulong Armor, wielding the near-undetectable Chengying Sword...
A killer like this—if he got close and landed a strike—could be lethal even to him.
The White Tiger paced in the air. The old general laughed and said:
"Good."
"Number ten on the world's assassin rankings—Situ Deqing. Wielder of the Chengying Sword, the third-ranked assassination weapon."
"This old man's life must be worth a fortune."
"Even I feel tempted to collect it."
Before his words faded, the White Tiger roared. Arrows fired like beams of light, shooting madly at Situ Deqing. The assassin's icy gaze swept toward the nearby forest—at the boy fleeing the battlefield on horseback. His brow furrowed slightly.
There was something oddly familiar about that boy's face.
Why… did it stir a faint sense of unease?
Instinctively, he reached up and touched the mask on his face.
A primal irritation and killing intent surged in him toward the boy.
He lifted a hand—and in the forest, over a dozen figures sprang into action.
Some wielded crossbows forged of black-gold, and held massive golden nets inscribed with Daoist talismans, Buddhist relics, and Confucian artifacts—tools specifically meant to suppress Dharma Aspect-level warriors.
Others moved like shooting stars—faster than galloping horses—charging straight at Li Guanyi. In the sky, the old general drew his bow, and with a release, launched a hundred golden beams of light.
Golden streaks rained down, intercepting the killers chasing Li Guanyi. Explosions gouged pits into the earth. Yue Qianfeng raised a hand, and a crimson dragon roared into the sky. Suddenly, it opened its jaws wide.
The dragon swallowed the sea—violently dragging most of the assassins back.
His left hand clenched. Crimson flames gathered, and he swung a mighty punch.
Like a blazing sun slamming into the ground.
A single punch burned the surrounding elemental energy across a thirty-li radius.
It forcibly suppressed all internal energy techniques of entry-level and higher cultivators. Just moments ago, these assassins could sprint through the air like galloping horses. Now, their speed stalled—they were suddenly a step too slow, just as they were about to catch Li Guanyi.
Xue Daoyong shouted furiously, "Back to the city!!"
Yue Qianfeng also bellowed, "Don't look back—keep going forward!"
Situ Deqing sneered coldly.
"Worry about yourselves instead. Without your divine armor and weapons, how much stamina do you two have left after fighting like mad for a whole incense stick's time?"
The owl flapped its wings in sync with the thunder. The remaining assassins rushed off to use the relics and artifacts of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism to suppress the overwhelming auras of the two great warriors.
Li Guanyi galloped desperately. The moment he entered the next realm, the Bronze Cauldron in his body trembled violently.
Yue Qianfeng and Xue Daoyong were unleashing their full might. Their Dragon and Tiger manifestations raged. The Bronze Cauldron buzzed and hummed—its jade liquid began accumulating at shocking speed. Based on Li Guanyi's "research," each acknowledged Dharma Aspect could be seen as a "progress bar." The divine essence it absorbed would be converted into jade liquid, correlated with Li Guanyi's cultivation level.
Roughly speaking, the lower his cultivation, the less divine essence the cauldron could draw.
But now, he had entered a new realm.
The cauldron's capacity rose too, and it began drawing divine essence from the Tiger and Dragon manifestations, rapidly filling with jade liquid.
Suddenly—Li Guanyi heard the wind in his ear. He hooked his bow onto the saddle and grabbed the long spear hanging from a side hook.
Without even looking—
He flicked his wrist and swept the spear sideways.
The blade of the spear flashed coldly and collided with a short sword. The weight of the spear, combined with the horse's momentum, created a burst of sparks on impact. The shock left Li Guanyi's palm stinging, but the assassin was knocked back—landing in the trees.
Li Guanyi remained calm. He had achieved his goal—it was time to escape.
A third-party power never acted alone.
He had learned that the very first day Yue Qianfeng taught him.
Yue's massive punch had shattered the ambient qi of heaven and earth. It would take time to recover. And what little qi returned would be immediately consumed by the three in combat. The assassins chasing Li Guanyi were all above entry-level—no weaklings.
But now, they were reduced to using power comparable to pre-entry cultivators.
All their sword auras and mystical techniques were suppressed.
Like trying to cook without rice, or draw water from a dry well—useless.
Yet despite this, the killers didn't worry about catching their prey.
After all, he was just a young boy. Not everyone was like Xiao Wuliang, who at thirteen could charge into battle formations. Even without mystical skills, their physique and experience should easily surpass his.
Another crossbow bolt fired. Li Guanyi moved as if eyes had grown on his back.
He dove forward onto his horse's back, narrowly dodging the bolt.
His spear thrust out in a smooth motion.
A burly killer crossed both arms to block.
His forearms were wrapped in black-iron bracers.
The spear strike was halted—but Li Guanyi squeezed his legs, and the horse reared with a shrill cry, adding explosive force to the spear. The assassin grunted and flung backward. Assassins specialized in subtle qi, not brute strength.
A total of four killers were pursuing him.
Even with elemental energy sealed, their physical prowess still exceeded normal humans. They leaped into the air with terrifying speed. Li Guanyi remained on horseback, having ditched his warblade. Gripping the long spear with both hands, the spear danced like a swimming dragon—spinning, piercing, blocking.
With the strength of his mount, he endured the first wave of attacks.
Another barrage of bolts flew. Li Guanyi swept them aside with his spear.
Then twisted it—its tip intercepted a sword while the butt end knocked away another attacker. His arms surged with power as he blocked a heavy downward slash.
He was holding off four men at once. His brow furrowed as pain pulsed through his meridians.
Yue Qianfeng's disruption had stalled his breakthrough into the next stage. His qi remained locked inside—trapped between realms.
The energy had no outlet to fuse with the world. It stayed in his body, refining it instead.
This internal struggle made his connection between star power and physical body even tighter. Like a volcano sealed just before eruption—pressure built endlessly, the pain worsening with every strike.
But each hit scattered his condensed qi—breaking it down, fusing it into his body.
Unexpectedly—it made him feel good. Free.
The divine essence drawn by the Bronze Cauldron naturally replenished what was scattered.
Any normal person would feel fear when hunted by multiple enemies stronger than themselves.
But Li Guanyi's eyes remained utterly calm.
He had once stood beneath the edge of the world's number one sword. How could these men scare him?
With a fierce shake of his spear, the power swelling inside him burst forth. Whether illusion or reality, his strength surged.
He became one with a horse and weapon. His spear swept out—
"Get lost!!"
The killers stumbled back, faces grim.
What terrifying resilience!
One of them, the oldest, had found Li Guanyi vaguely familiar from the start.
Now, seeing him gallop and fight, hair streaming, eyes sharp, a small mole beneath his left eye…
The killer's expression changed drastically. He blurted:
"It's you!!!"
"It's the boy from ten years ago!!"
His face turned pale—like he had seen a tiger escape its cage or relived a nightmare.
He froze for a moment—then lost all assassin composure and screamed:
"Kill him! Kill him no matter what!!"
Li Guanyi heard it. His heart thumped.
"Ten years ago?!"
One of those men?
He had always believed those people were the Ye Riders.
But now—something beyond his expectations was unraveling. He had charged out full of youthful zeal, only to stumble upon a vital secret from his past.
The assassin who recognized him seemed to realize how important this was.
He immediately abandoned his allies, even ignored Li Guanyi and Xue Daoyong, and fled.
The others exchanged glances, launching attacks to cover his escape.
Li Guanyi turned to pursue. His arrow flew.
The White Tiger Arrow struck the killer in the back.
A spear thrust out, but he suddenly heard a metallic clink near his ear—instinctively he swept his spear in defense, the tip cutting an arc of cold light, knocking away an enemy's blade.
But then—his hand grew heavy.
Chains had wrapped around the spear.
They had flown in from another direction—one end of the chain had embedded into a cliff wall.
An ambush.
If not for Yue Qianfeng suppressing the ambient qi, these experts would've already unleashed more deadly techniques—meant to take down Xue Daoyong himself.
Cold light gleamed—another assassin lunged.
Li Guanyi let go of the spear and vaulted off the horse.
The assassin's strike landed.
The valiant warhorse that had carried him this far gave a final, mournful cry and collapsed, blood oozing from its seven orifices. Its hooves twitched once—then fell still.
Li Guanyi's eyes burned.
A burly killer retrieved his meteor hammer—fresh blood dripping from it.
He had killed the horse, removing Li Guanyi's advantage.
But Li Guanyi had already grabbed his bow while mid-air.
As he spun, he drew it fully. Dragon and Tiger manifestations coiled.
Though ambient qi was sealed, the power of the manifestations remained.
The arrow flared with divine light—
Shot out.
A third-realm assassin tried to block.
Flames exploded, shaking his weapon upward.
The second arrow followed instantly.
It pierced his throat, nailing him to a tree.
But more enemies remained.
Cold light slashed—Li Guanyi had only enough time to raise his bow.
Pain seared his wrist.
The Su Ni Bow—worth over a thousand taels—was split.
A sharp blade slashed downward, its reflection flashing in Li Guanyi's eyes.
He reacted swiftly. His right hand twisted—
The bowstring whipped around the attacker's wrist.
A pull—slice.
The string cut through flesh. Blood spattered. The man screamed, his hand severed.
Only five assassins remained.
Li Guanyi exhaled. Though he had entered a new realm, the blocked elemental flow heated his body. He dropped the ruined bow and lifted an ink-black blade, eyes calm as he faced the five killers.
They were all stronger than him.
Yet, at that moment, the killers hesitated—as if they were being surrounded.
The blade in Li Guanyi's hand hummed.
The man who had killed the horse tried to shake his confidence.
"You can't run anymore. Surrender, and we might spare you."
"Even without our post-entry powers—"
"Our combat experience and physical prowess outmatch you."
"Without your horse, what good is your battlefield martial art?"
He stressed each word—trying to crush Li Guanyi's spirit.
By coincidence—or perhaps instinct—Li Guanyi had run toward familiar terrain.
Not far ahead was the secret area of the Xue family.
He glanced at a stream-fed gorge and knew Yaoguang was behind the cliffs.
His heart steadied.
At least she wouldn't be starving.
He raised his blade, eyebrows lifted like the God-General Xue, and said softly:
"I only learned to ride seven days ago. What I'm best at…"
The enemy never heard the rest.
His words were bait.
The moment they reached that point—Li Guanyi lunged like a tiger. Black hair flew as a savage blade arced down.
"...is infantry combat."
The assassin who recognized Li Guanyi fled, desperate to report what he had discovered.
He was certain—with that boy's face and aura, even if not now, he'd be found eventually.
But fortune smiled on him today.
He was the one who saw him—meaning he could redeem himself.
He sighed in relief.
The arrow wound didn't feel so painful anymore.
The forest—once inescapable—seemed beautiful.
Sunlight beamed. Flowers bloomed. The wind rustled the trees.
The swaying leaves…
They sounded like a zither.
Melodic. Beautiful.
"A… zither?!"
His eyes widened.
He froze mid-stride.
(End of Chapter)