Chapter 312

Li Zhuiyuan's reaction clearly exceeded the opponent's expectations. However, the opponent did not reveal themselves, remaining completely concealed.

The next moment, the sand on the ground stirred further, and their Qi locked onto Li Zhuiyuan.

The woman herself began to retreat.

This was a sound crisis management tactic: using a new round of attacks to cover her retreat to a safe distance.

Li Zhuiyuan understood even better why she had risked approaching so closely earlier. She wanted to shrink the array's range and trap Second Master Zhao immediately.

This might be related to the opponent's disguise technique, for instance, Zhao Yi's method required the face to remain intact, while the opponent needed to preserve other aspects.

But now that she was here, leaving wouldn't be so easy.

Li Zhuiyuan rarely had the chance to go up against an excellent array master up close.

The young man raised his right hand, his fingertips moving subtly.

The invisible barrier beneath his feet rapidly extended outwards, covering the trembling sand around them and suppressing it into stillness.

Then, the young man pointed his left hand forward, and this suppressing force surged forward like a burst dam's floodwaters, rushing towards the opponent's position.

The opponent began to dodge, constantly changing her position while also creating several other energy signatures to confuse his perception.

However, Li Zhuiyuan's left hand continuously tracked her, guiding him swiftly no matter how she moved.

The last time, Li Zhuiyuan pointed incorrectly, aiming at an empty spot.

But a breath later, the opponent appeared in that very spot.

At this moment, horror flashed in the woman's eyes. It meant the opponent had seen through her predictions.

"Buzz!"

There was no dramatic destruction, no flying sand and stones. Duels between array masters often began in silence and ended in stillness. Outsiders found it difficult not only to appreciate but even to comprehend what they were doing.

Only a small patch of dust swirled past, revealing the woman's figure in mid-air.

She was "Cui Xinyue," Zhao Yi's fake second aunt.

But at this moment, she discarded her disguise, revealing her true appearance.

She was a woman around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a classic oval face and a cool demeanor. Her long black hair covered half her body, and she wore a flowing red immortal's dress.

She gave the impression of a female clay figurine unearthed from a Han Dynasty tomb.

Although both sides had just engaged in a small-scale array duel, it was like playing Go on an exquisite traditional board versus a mini plastic board bought from a stationery store in Heath Town; the difference in their skill would not be affected.

The woman was utterly defeated.

Yet, it was difficult to kill the woman outright in this manner; it could only cause her body to suffer backlash and her mind to be damaged.

However, the woman's countermeasures made Li Zhuiyuan's eyes narrow.

"Crack..."

A crack appeared between the woman's eyebrows. Then, that piece detached and fell to the ground with a crisp, ceramic-like sound.

Li Zhuiyuan's right palm tingled slightly.

He also possessed this kind of ceramic; it was currently embedded in his flesh, used as an array catalyst.

Back in Lijiang, at Brother Pang Jin's inn, the woman named Xu Yijin, who had shared their room, had clashed with them in a life-or-death struggle, and she had ultimately died.

Xu Yijin's piece of blood porcelain had fallen into Li Zhuiyuan's hands. While studying it, the young man had even seen an illusory vision of a woman holding a red porcelain vase, placed for sacrifice in a sea of blood.

The woman before him was certainly not Xu Yijin's family. Their paths were completely different, and if Xu Yijin had family members of this caliber, she wouldn't have walked the river alone back then.

Most likely, this woman had received a more complete inheritance of blood porcelain.

Xu Yijin had inherited the piece of blood porcelain enshrined by her family, while this woman had obtained more, perhaps even all the remaining pieces. She had even integrated her own flesh and blood into this blood porcelain.

This was "walking the river," and it was why generations of exceptional individuals had eagerly sought it out. The river would propel you towards many unknown secrets.

Either you drowned in the river, or you stood upon its surface, lifted higher and higher.

The cracks on her forehead began to mend.

This tactic was ingenious, concentrating damage that would normally afflict her entire body and mind into a single point.

For an ordinary person, doing this would be fatal, but for her, it minimized the harm.

Li Zhuiyuan's right thumb began to rub his palm.

He was tempted by the more complete blood porcelain on the woman.

Of course, the small piece of blood porcelain on his own body was enough for his use, and the young man would not fuse his own flesh and blood with blood porcelain. To ensure the proper development of his body, he hadn't even started practicing martial arts, so he certainly wouldn't do something even more short-sighted.

But if he could acquire more blood porcelain, he could incorporate it into the "talisman armor" he planned to create next.

If Wei Zhengdao's "talisman armor" designs were reinforced with blood porcelain, the strength of his Zeng and Sun Generals would be further unleashed.

This meant Li Zhuiyuan could carry two top-tier divine general's mediums with him in the future.

It would no longer merely compensate for his weakness in not practicing martial arts; it could become a strong suit of his own.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan genuinely thanked the opponent for her casual attempt to kill him, a "child," earlier.

Killing for treasure sounds truly unpleasant.

Self-defense, coupled with cleaning up the battlefield, sounded much more agreeable.

Many times, when Li Zhuiyuan acted, he had to account to the Dao of Heaven, and his account was different in nature from others'.

For example, when he killed Zhao Yanglin yesterday, he announced his lineage. His companions thought Little Yuan was speaking to a dead man, but in reality, Someone else was listening from above.

After the red thread divination, Li Zhuiyuan's understanding of karmic law and heavenly principles deepened.

Wei Zhengdao's disastrous actions from back then still caused harm today, while the Qin and Liu families, whose Dragon King legacies lacked spiritual power, were trying to restore them.

To put it plainly, it was a power struggle during a political review.

Even the shadow of Emperor Fengdu said that the Dao of Heaven would not allow him to live to adulthood. But regardless, the Dao of Heaven still allowed him to live, and to become a blade in the hands of the Dao of Heaven through tacit cooperation—this must be due to the support of his identity from the two Dragon King lineages.

When Liu Yumei held his initiation ceremony, the river-walking lamp spontaneously ignited without being lit. It seemed meaningless, but was it not also a timely post-hoc justification?

Recalling and summarizing afterwards, Li Zhuiyuan felt that while he was confused at the time, he was also walking on thin ice.

The woman still did not speak. She simply clasped her hands together.

Li Zhuiyuan's earlobe twitched slightly. He heard dense, fine grinding sounds coming from within the woman's body.

The rebar and concrete in the surrounding ruins underwent slight displacement.

Array masters relied on arrays as a medium to borrow the power of heaven and earth. She, however, did the opposite, forcibly mobilizing power using her own body as a medium.

This was mainly because her body was strong enough.

Still not conceding, she wanted another round.

She must have notified her companions not to interfere for now.

Encountering an outstanding peer was a blessing; sparring was inherently enjoyable, and more importantly, it could reflect the steps of one's own progress.

The most important reason was that her gaze began to probe downwards. Although she hadn't found any traces yet, she wouldn't naively believe that this young array master, who had arrived before her, hadn't set up arrays beneath the ruins.

In fact, what the opponent had revealed earlier was just the tip of the iceberg of his arrays.

At this moment, rashly letting her companions attack would easily put them in the opponent's trap and cause unnecessary losses. She decided to test the minefield herself first.

A very rational choice, because when array power bore down, an array master's reaction and handling would certainly be better than others'.

It was now almost certain that the woman was the leader of her team.

Li Zhuiyuan, likewise, did not give his companions the order to act.

Since the opponent wanted "king against king" first, he could certainly "catch the leader first to catch the bandits."

After the Fengdu wave, especially after transforming the bitter fruit the Emperor intentionally left for his team into an advantage, Li Zhuiyuan now had the confidence to compete with any team on the river.

"Squeak squeak... squeak squeak..."

At first it was only a part, then it became a whole. Gradually, the debris on the ruins seemed to be imbued with a strange vitality.

The woman's mouth opened, her lips appearing as if sliced, creating a gap, but they quickly healed, then sliced again, then healed again...

With her body as the array, the array's core was within her.

This was even more ruthless than Zhao Yi was to himself; after all, Zhao Yi just liked to dig at his heart's fountain when he was bored.

But this woman could endure the pain of her internal organs shifting to form arrays, even with cutting involved.

A single leaf heralds autumn: it was no wonder that Zhao's outer residence had been completely replaced in this manner. One could see from this woman what kind of elite team the river had brought forth this time.

"Thump! Thump. Thump!"

Dust flew, assaulting from all directions, instantly enveloping Li Zhuiyuan's position.

Tan Wenbin was still on the second floor behind, protecting the female corpse.

On the periphery, Runsheng and Lin Shuyou had not advanced either.

On one hand, it was team discipline; on the other, everyone had absolute confidence in Little Yuan's array mastery.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan's vision was covered by a gray mist, and his other senses were distorted.

A huge shadow appeared behind Li Zhuiyuan.

"Boom!"

The invisible barrier began to twist.

Li Zhuiyuan turned back and saw a concrete giant.

The giant retreated, then charged again.

"Boom!"

The barrier cracked.

The giant retreated again, and another charge came.

Li Zhuiyuan shifted his steps sideways, taking three steps.

"Crack..."

The giant smashed through the barrier, charging straight past Li Zhuiyuan, then disappearing into the gray mist ahead.

After a moment, Li Zhuiyuan moved again and stopped.

The giant reappeared, burst out, and once again brushed past the young man's body.

"Thump thump thump... thump thump thump..."

More footsteps echoed from the gray mist.

Li Zhuiyuan began to advance, not in a straight line, sometimes even retreating.

Concrete giants charged out one after another, yet none managed to hit him. Even when multiple giants charged out collectively, Li Zhuiyuan's figure could still remain in safe blind spots.

Until, on the shoulder of one giant, sat the woman.

As this giant still brushed past the young man, the woman swooped down, pouncing towards Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted his foot and lightly stamped it on the ground.

The previously arranged array activated, and one of the giant's feet was restrained. Its body rotated, and its fist smashed towards the falling woman.

"Bang!"

The punch landed squarely.

The woman's figure was sent flying backward, disappearing into the gray mist.

Li Zhuiyuan spread his right hand, and blood mist permeated the air.

A faint red appeared in the eyes of the surrounding giants.

They no longer charged at the young man but all surged into the gray mist, beginning to trample.

A red figure flickered continuously in the gray mist. Her dodging was not as calm as the young man's had been earlier.

However, Li Zhuiyuan did not press the attack, because the gray mist behind him was changing color, and countless black moths flew out.

Li Zhuiyuan stood still, allowing the black moths to surround and cover him.

The array of the mind could manipulate emotions, leading people to madness and confusion.

The woman's face appeared, huge and reflecting a peculiar luster. She opened her mouth and continuously exhaled towards the young man's position. Those black moths were flying out of her mouth.

Deep within his consciousness.

In the fish pond dug by his true body, new feed kept falling, causing the fish to scramble madly.

In an array master's game, every move was extremely valuable. It could fall short of expectations, it could be countered, but you could not make a useless move. Once you did, it was equivalent to opening up your chest and exposing yourself.

Suddenly, the black moths' wings began to tremble violently, emitting a collective, piercing shriek.

Large swathes of black moths fell, revealing the young man's figure that had been previously enveloped.

Li Zhuiyuan pressed his left fingertip over red mud, drawing a spell on his right forearm. Once the incantation formed, his left fingertip slid down to his right palm, and he joined his right index and middle fingers, pointing directly at the huge woman's face in front of him:

"Shock, Awe, Demolish, Collapse!"

In an instant, all the black moths around him dispersed, turning into black blood-like liquid that fell to the ground.

The woman's large, ceramic-like, crystalline face first twisted, then developed large cracks, letting out a miserable wail:

"Ah!!!!!!!!!"

She tried to escape, to return to the gray mist, but as the young man took a step forward, chains burning with karmic fire shot up from below, binding the large face.

After a brief stalemate, the large face collapsed, the gray mist dissipated, and everything that had transpired earlier vanished without a trace, like a fleeting illusion.

However, with the young man at the center, a large area of concrete blocks around him had turned to dust, and all the rebar had rusted into fragments. The ground seemed to have just undergone a leveling.

The woman knelt on one knee, supporting herself with her ten fingers, head tilted back, struggling in immense pain.

Her face was covered in cracks, like the surface of shattered porcelain.

Compared to the physical pain, her inner frustration was many times greater.

If the young man had engaged her in a proper duel, the win or loss would have been grand, but the truth was, the young man had intentionally put himself in a passive position from the very beginning, allowing her to act freely.

Then, within her own setups, he sought out her weaknesses and counterattacked.

It was like a teacher facing a student.

Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the woman.

The woman still knelt on one knee, her body in spasms, unable to rise.

Yet, despite this, intense grinding sounds came from within her body, and arrays continually formed, their effects constantly activated.

It was a novel sensation; she was completely using arrays as if they were magical spells.

Li Zhuiyuan flicked his right hand lightly, and as blood mist permeated the air, a porcelain-colored array flag appeared in his hand.

The array flag swayed slightly. The array effects that should have afflicted him were pushed aside one by one, unable to even impede the young man's advance.

Upon seeing the blood porcelain color, the woman's pupils constricted. She finally spoke.

"Blood Sea Porcelain..."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. He finally knew the name of the small porcelain fragment in his palm, and it truly matched the illusion he had once seen.

The young man walked in front of the woman, gripping the array flag in his right hand.

"Snap!"

The array flag shattered.

Along with it, all the arrays still continuously forming and writhing within the woman's body shattered.

The woman's entire body convulsed, her mouth agape, and her chest heaved repeatedly, causing the sound of porcelain shattering again and again.

"You are Zhao Yi?"

After asking this question, the woman's gaze dimmed, clearly having rejected her own guess.

A genius from the contemporary Zhao family was currently walking the river, having already made a formidable name for himself in the jianghu.

When assessing this "wave" and formulating their plan, they had considered the potential impact if Zhao Yi returned.

If it truly were Zhao Yi, he could indeed cause immense trouble for her team, not to mention that this Zhao family was his home turf.

But the problem was, the age didn't match.

During their earlier confrontation, they could sense each other's Qi. Now that they were closer, she, with her flesh transformed into porcelain, was instead more sensitive to fresh flesh and blood.

She could confirm that the young man before her was not disguised; his presented age was his true age.

So, it wasn't Zhao Yi.

It was an existence... more terrifying than Zhao Yi.

A strong sense of fear welled up in the woman's heart. To be so terrifying at such a young age—if he were to walk the river upon reaching adulthood, with favorable winds assisting his growth, how many could still suppress him on this river?

"You are not from the Zhao family?"

This was a rhetorical question.

A young man with such talent, no matter which family he belonged to, would be cherished as the entire clan's treasure. How could he be led around by Second Master Zhao?

Even if he were born of an outside mistress—no, even if he had no Zhao family blood at all, as long as he was nominally willing to join the Zhao family, he would be sincerely treated by them. The Zhao elders would probably specially issue him a chain, for him to walk Second Master Zhao when he was bored.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "I am not surnamed Zhao."

The young man knew what she was implying.

"The malignant overflow of the Jiujiang Zhao family is intolerable to Heaven and Earth. Upholding the spirit of the righteous path, I shall cleanse the Jiujiang Zhao clan to restore clarity to the mortal realm. If you obstruct me, you will surely face divine retribution!"

River-walkers carried heavy karma. Even if they secretly wished to entrap and kill each other during the same wave, they could not act entirely as they pleased openly.

Last time in Lijiang, the river had revealed shattered jade. With this as an opportunity, those holding shattered jade were regarded as evil spirits, to be slain by anyone. That was a specially opened "official loophole."

The woman didn't know Li Zhuiyuan was also on the river. If she had, she would have spoken with more confidence.

Li Zhuiyuan responded:

"Do you know who you are protecting!"

"Do you know the fate of those who act as a tiger's accomplice?"

"You still have many good years ahead. You should clarify your true intentions, take upholding the righteous path as your responsibility, and only then, when you light your lamp and walk the jianghu in the future, will you receive the protection of Heaven and Earth, and not squander your talent."

The woman's eyes filled with a bloody hue. She finally understood, asking in an extremely suppressed voice:

"You did this intentionally?"

An array grandmaster, even before acting, had deliberately played the role of a frightened, insecure illegitimate child.

The change had occurred when she made her move against him.

At that time, her entire focus was on Second Master Zhao, who was on the second floor, about to commit an impropriety with the female corpse.

Towards this child who was clumsily walking towards her, she had held the mentality of, "he's just a Zhao family bastard anyway, so killing him is fine."

This wave of the Dao of Heaven directed them to uproot the Jiujiang Zhao family. In their eyes, killing any person surnamed Zhao was an act of merit. As for an illegitimate child... even a mosquito's leg is still meat.

Li Zhuiyuan said very calmly:

"I gave you a chance. You chose this."

The young man was waiting for the woman's companions to act, but so far, they had not appeared.

The kite in the sky was still circling, the one in the distant building was still hidden, and those in the outer storm hadn't rushed out.

This indicated that the woman had anticipated his next move.

And what he was about to do would likely be countered by the woman.

But he still had to do it.

If he didn't set this tempo, he wouldn't be able to proceed, and his goal wouldn't be achieved.

Blood coagulated into array patterns on the young man's right palm, and he slapped it onto the woman's forehead.

"Slap!"

His palm pressed against the woman's forehead, then moved upwards.

Li Zhuiyuan intended to extract the Blood Sea Porcelain from the woman's body.

The woman's eyes rolled upwards, showing their whites, and a broken wail escaped her throat. Her body involuntarily rose with it.

"Click-click-click-click!"

Suddenly, the woman's limbs twisted. The hands beneath her flowing immortal's dress retracted and transformed into feet, and when her feet emerged from under the skirt again, they had become hands.

Her "hands" gripped the young man's ankles.

This was the maximum possible maneuver she could make, even with her body suppressed by the backlash.

Immediately after, the woman's head rotated like a glass sphere. The young man felt a sudden slipperiness in his hand; the forehead his palm had been pressed against had turned into the woman's mouth.

The sides of her mouth split open, and all her teeth fell out. Yet, instead of going down her throat, they struck her tongue, forming new sharp fangs on either side.

Finally, her tongue shot out, extending to a length no normal person could achieve, wrapped around the young man's wrist, and began to bite.

If Li Zhuiyuan hadn't, with utmost speed, condensed karmic fire onto his palm to obstruct it, the tongue could have continued to coil up his wrist and wrap around his neck to bite his head.

Blood continuously dripped from Li Zhuiyuan's hand, gathering in a puddle on the ground.

Looking at his injured wrist, bitten and bleeding, the young man's eyes remained calm.

This was a true elite of the river; even when completely disadvantaged, she was still thinking of fighting back.

Engaging such an opponent was indeed a satisfying experience.

It also made up for the regret the Yu family's cat girl had left the young man with last time.

The river was still very exciting; there were still interesting things, and even more interesting people.

The woman's eyes were filled with ruthlessness. Although the karmic fire suddenly released from the young man's hand had turned her killing move into a wounding one, she was still certain that if the stalemate continued, she would win.

Because she had discovered something: this young man... did not practice martial arts.

His skin, his blood, his bones—none showed signs of refinement.

Was he waiting for his body to fully develop?

To cultivate martial arts and temper his body in the most perfect manner, so he could begin his river-walking journey?

The woman felt a deep understanding in her heart. For a child with such outrageous talent, it would truly be a pity, even for bystanders, if he couldn't walk the river in the most perfect manner.

Unfortunately, such a young genius would fall by her hand.

Child, your talent, after all, cannot compare to the experience on the river!

Li Zhuiyuan estimated that in about a minute, his wrist would be crippled, and then the opponent could continue to gnaw further upwards.

Looking at this gaping, bloody maw, Li Zhuiyuan's free left hand took out a blank book.

His fingertips released, and the blank book fell, landing precisely in the small puddle of blood that had just accumulated below.

The Evil Tome within it, like a drought meeting a timely rain, began to frantically absorb.

It knew that if it didn't absorb now, it would be too late. It had no choice, because every time the young man gave it a sweet date, he would make it immediately spit out an entire jujube tree.

The dripping blood was not wasted and was quickly absorbed completely by the Evil Tome.

The young man's left hand made a downward grabbing motion. The Evil Tome flew up and returned to the young man's hand.

His fingertips slid, unlocking the seal. Then the young man lightly tossed it, and the Evil Tome... landed in the woman's mouth.

The woman's eyes widened sharply. She sensed a terrible crisis descending.

And indeed, it was true.

Li Zhuiyuan had long known that the woman's flesh and blood were highly integrated with this Blood Sea Porcelain. Therefore, trying to extract the Blood Sea Porcelain from the woman's body, not to mention whether it could truly be done, would definitely require immense effort and energy.

But what if he approached it from a different angle?

If he extracted the woman's soul and consciousness from this body, then what remained would all be Blood Sea Porcelain.

Though somewhat cumbersome, still wrapped in much flesh and bone, it didn't matter. It was like people buying leather sofas and then covering them with fabric slipcovers for protection.

In fact, a similar operation could be performed by his small compass. The copper coin within the compass possessed a bizarre power to transmute human flesh into "Tai Sui."

But firstly, the small compass lacked the subjective initiative of the Evil Tome, making it too slow and exhausting to wear down. Secondly, the small compass was currently still with Tan Wenbin.

If he asked Tan Wenbin to toss it over and catch it, it might prompt the woman's companions to enter the fray immediately, disrupting Li Zhuiyuan's rhythm.

The blank book split open, revealing the first page.

Within the Evil Tome's prison on the first page, a large cauldron appeared, and a woman was stirring its contents with a long spoon.

The blank book trembled violently, and the stirring in the Evil Tome's image became even more rapid.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

A desperate shriek escaped the woman's throat. This time, it carried not a shred of theatricality, for her soul and consciousness were rapidly being stripped away and absorbed into the book.

At this moment, she finally realized that whether it was the previous array duel or the recent psychological warfare, the young man in front of her had consistently allowed her to make the first move, only to then counter.

Talent could be innate, and opportunities sometimes fell from the sky, but one's character... could that be cultivated through solitary retreat?

Combining this with the young man's earlier proactive step to let her make the first move:

"You... are... walking... the... river..."

"Yes."

"Rumble!"

The surrounding wind wall suddenly changed. The woman finally gave her companions the order to act.

If they didn't act now, she would die here, and it would be the most tragic death—her soul stripped and extracted, with everything remaining taken by the opponent as material!

Although she knew the young man must have long suspected she had companions, and his consistent calmness indicated he also had backup, she could only now hope that her companions could turn the tide of this situation.

The kite in the sky, at this moment, dropped vertically towards the young man's position.

Its speed was so great that the sonic boom it generated far surpassed the whistling kite Lin Shuyou had flown in Nantong a while ago.

Li Zhuiyuan heard it, but he paid no heed.

King against king, the woman had no chance. Pawn against pawn, she had even less chance.

"Eeyah yah yah yah yah yah yah!"

Waiting outside for so long had given Lin Shuyou ample time to think about and prepare his upcoming entrance.

What to shout, what to chant, he had already drafted several versions.

However, the opponent's sonic boom tore Lin Shuyou's draft to shreds.

Apart from these primal, theatrical ghostly cries, any normal speech would be completely drowned out.

White Crane Child sped forth, wielding twin maces. The innate patterns emerging from beneath his skin now seemed to glow.

Ever since A-You and the Child had re-established their master-servant relationship, A-You hadn't had a proper fight.

Runsheng had received a "beautification" from Three-Eyes, making him afraid to do heavy work for fear of cracking his skin and scaring old Mr. Li, leaving A-You itching for a fight until now.

At this moment, he finally caught an opportunity. His pent-up passion and restlessness finally found release!

"Boom!"

The kite, dropping vertically towards the young man, was struck mid-air and sent flying. Both sides skidded along the ground, carving a clean path through the ruins.

Lin Shuyou didn't move; the kite itself disengaged and retreated first, landing in the distance.

Inside the kite was a man; he had actually been flying with the kite in the sky earlier.

Logically, an adult's weight wouldn't be suitable for such an operation; a child or a person of dwarfish stature might be, but his weight was truly light, for his entire body consisted only of a head and a torso, his limbs cleanly severed.

Black iron wires connected the kite to his person.

With rapid folding, the kite began to dismantle and close.

The man transformed into the appearance of Bai Wuchang, standing on stilts, clad in white, with a tall hat on his head.

He had no relation to Bai Wuchang; it was simply that this folding method somewhat resembled that image, so he had added extra decorations.

Li Zhuiyuan, while refining the woman in front of him, noticed the movement there.

Mechanist arts.

A very ancient secret art.

Li Zhuiyuan had once comprehended a set of "Qi Clan Spring and Autumn" in the Bandit Village. It recorded essential mechanist techniques from ancient tombs throughout history, forming a major branch. There was another branch of this art specifically for individuals.

Seeing the woman's ruthless self-mutilation through folding, it was clear that this woman, like himself, would proactively apply her insights to her companions and help them develop and grow.

Her team-building philosophy was more solid and long-term than Zhao Yi's earlier approach.

Of course, everyone had different strengths. A big reason why Zhao Yi didn't focus on deep team cultivation earlier was his adeptness at deceiving women to live off them.

"Strangers, keep away; I snatch souls and take lives."

Long-term artistic embellishment had become a habit. The limbless figure, encased in mechanisms, had genuinely immersed himself in the identity of Bai Wuchang.

If one hadn't been to Fengdu, this scene might indeed be shocking, but after visiting Fengdu, Lin Shuyou found such an image merely ridiculous.

The mark between his eyebrows flashed, and the aura of True Lord White Crane instantly switched to that of a Ghost Marshal.

Lin Shuyou: "You want to compete with me... on who is more underworldly?"

Bai Wuchang clearly hadn't expected his artistic approximation to meet a true counterpart, but at this moment, he couldn't worry about anything else. Their leader was dying; he had to break the deadlock quickly.

Drawing out two punishment rods, Bai Wuchang sped towards Lin Shuyou.

Lin Shuyou's vertical pupils opened, and his twin maces swung. He neither dodged nor avoided, meeting the attack directly.

Their figures rapidly alternated and flickered, both pushing their footwork to its limits. For a time, it was difficult to distinguish victory or defeat.

But Bai Wuchang knew he had lost.

Because Lin Shuyou, on the other side, was clearly getting more excited and exhilarated with each strike.

A man was alive, but mechanist art was dead.

This meant that Bai Wuchang's strength was fixed. From now on, his combat power would continuously decrease due to the wear and tear of the mechanisms, while the living person opposite him could rely on mental belief to squeeze out more potential. And if nothing else went wrong, the opponent surely had secret techniques to rapidly enhance power within a short period that he hadn't used yet.

He couldn't break the deadlock. He couldn't defeat this opponent; he could only temporarily pin him down.

"Hahahaha!"

Lin Shuyou laughed loudly as he fought, especially after Little Yuan also used the red thread to tell him there was no need to end the battle quickly and he could play for a while longer.

This was truly a rare and good opportunity. The next time he encountered such a relaxed situation and such a suitable mechanist dummy, who knew when it would be.

As he fought, Lin Shuyou even tried switching and merging between True Lord and Ghost Marshal states.

He wouldn't usually dare to play so boldly, but the Child told him that this "Bai Wuchang" in front of him had reached his limit and couldn't suddenly break through this realm. Only then did A-You dare to boldly try.

"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate!"

From a building diagonally behind, a Taoist priest leaped out, peach wood sword in hand, descending gracefully.

As his shoe soles touched the ground, his sword tip pointed directly at Li Zhuiyuan, and his figure, like a rainbow, rapidly approached.

Taoist Priest: "Evil creature, taste my Flowing Cloud Sword Qi!"

Tan Wenbin: "Ox-nose, the evil creature is here!"

When the Taoist priest emerged, Tan Wenbin also moved, landing directly between the Taoist priest and Little Yuan. As he descended, he also tore off the mask of Zhao Yanglin's face, fearing it might be damaged.

And his true form being revealed completely rewrote the established situation, marking that an entire team had fallen into a trap.

The Taoist priest's expression froze. He looked at Tan Wenbin incredulously.

Bai Wuchang, who was fighting Lin Shuyou, let out a wail of sorrow from his throat.

And the woman, whose soul and consciousness were being extracted by the Evil Tome, had a hint of relief in her eyes.

"You guys... are truly ruthless..."

The unspoken meaning was that they had already secured their identity, yet still dared to proactively attack and eliminate other competitors.

Generally, if one detected signs of other teams active in this wave, the first reaction would typically be to conceal oneself.

Those who dared to proactively seek trouble with other teams were either reckless fools or possessed absolute confidence and power.

The further one progressed in river-walking, the fewer reckless fools one saw, so it could only be the latter.

Li Zhuiyuan: "You've got it backward. Who exactly is making a move on whom?"

Looking at it clearly, it was actually the woman's team that had initiated the attack on his side.

Although Li Zhuiyuan had indeed set a trap, this game was always "those who wish to be hooked will be."

"Aren't you... worried... that this wave... won't be completed... killing each other... so early..."

"You tried to kill me."

Li Zhuiyuan corrected her again.

Of course, from her perspective, this wasn't wrong, nor was she twisting facts.

If Li Zhuiyuan had been willing to reveal his identity as a disguised participant, the woman's team likely wouldn't have attacked forcefully. Instead, they would have cautiously tried to probe other rooms, if they hadn't known those rooms had also been replaced.

Considering the larger goal of completing this wave, if everyone suffered too much attrition fighting each other before entering the old Zhao family mansion in the mountains, it could lead to the final objective of this wave being unachievable, resulting in everyone's loss.

"You are... so... confident..."

"When I chose this wave, I never even considered having help."

The woman's eyes trembled. A word in the young man's previous statement clearly caught her attention: "chose."

If before, it was merely being inferior in skill and suppressed by the young man's strength.

Then now, the woman finally felt a sense of despair.

In the depths of her being, she seemed to realize that the river she and the young man before her were walking... was different.

Tan Wenbin pulled at the corner of his mouth, then rubbed it with his hand, saying, "My own face is more comfortable to use. It seems I'm not destined to be a master."

Taoist Priest: "You're seeking death!"

The sword's edge thrust out rapidly, like the shimmering ripples on a pond surface when it stands on end.

Blood aura permeated Tan Wenbin's body. As the Blood Ape power activated, all five senses heightened to their peak. The fleeting sword qi appeared as if in slow motion to his eyes, and his ears were also keenly listening to the opponent's footsteps.

One continuously thrust, the other continuously dodged.

When a round of engagement ended, and the Taoist priest had to retreat to catch his breath, Tan Wenbin still stood in place.

However, there was a diagonal wound on his chest, scraped by the sword's edge.

His senses were perfectly capable, but his mind's analysis of footwork and countermeasures was a bit slow, leading to a slight disadvantage.

Tan Wenbin knew that while other aspects were fine, he himself was holding them back.

But fortunately, the injury wasn't serious, and he could afford this tuition.

Additionally, although the Taoist priest concealed himself well, Tan Wenbin still heard his heart beating at an accelerated rate.

It seemed the Taoist priest's sword was sharp and struck fiercely, but it wasn't sustained enough.

Tan Wenbin spread his hands, looking at the redness appearing in his palms.

He made a quick estimation: if they continued fighting at the same intensity, he could definitely outlast the Taoist priest.

"No rest, keep going!"

Tan Wenbin leaped like an ape. The Taoist priest retreated. After Tan Wenbin landed in that spot, he bent forward and charged again.

The Taoist priest's original intention was still to eliminate the obstruction in front of him immediately and save their leader, so he first chose to dodge and seek an opening to inflict a heavy blow.

However, Tan Wenbin's perception was extremely acute, giving him no opportunity for clever tricks. The Taoist priest, trying to avoid, almost got injured by the opponent's close-quarters attack.

Although his body was agile, it was also extremely precious and delicate. In the past, when walking the river and riding the waves, he only delivered a precise strike, then swiftly retreated behind his comrades, never lingering in combat.

Therefore, he had to change his strategy and resume his offense.

Seeing this, Tan Wenbin stopped attacking and continued his special training in footwork.

But whenever the Taoist priest tried to retreat for a breather as before, Tan Wenbin would proactively lunge forward, interrupting his rhythm.

Left with no choice, the Taoist priest pulled out a talisman paper and roared:

"Flowing Cloud Taoist Art—Ground Prison Formation!"

The peach wood sword pierced the talisman paper, drawing a circle in front of Tan Wenbin.

Suddenly, Tan Wenbin felt everything around him become blurred.

The peach wood sword struck again. This time, it pierced Tan Wenbin's right shoulder.

Tan Wenbin immediately extended his left hand, grabbing the peach wood sword, disregarding the hot white smoke rising from his palm upon contact, and said in a deep voice:

"Nantong Demon Art—Still haven't thought of one yet!"

The whites of his eyes vanished, turning completely black, and the blackness rapidly swirled. Through the blurry vision in front of him, he precisely located the Taoist priest's eyes, forming an intimidation!

"Uh..."

A muffled grunt escaped the Taoist priest's throat. Blood flowed from the corners of his eyes, and his vision turned red.

Tan Wenbin closed the distance with an ape step and smashed a punch.

The Taoist priest's combat awareness was still there. He tapped his toes on the ground, avoiding most of the force as much as possible, but his right shoulder still took the punch.

"Bang!"

The Taoist priest's body spun irregularly in mid-air. Although he landed steadily in the end, his right arm began to swing independently of his body.

One's right arm was pierced with a hole, the other's right arm was fractured.

Tan Wenbin felt he hadn't lost out; he had even gained.

He always kept his self-assessment very low. He felt his power was forcibly "elevated" by Little Yuan, and if he could exchange injuries with an opponent, he wasn't holding them back.

The Taoist priest's gaze shifted to his leader, then to Bai Wuchang, and finally locked onto Tan Wenbin, who reeked of demonic energy, in front of him.

Tan Wenbin: "Your gaze is no longer firm. Do you want to run?"

The Taoist priest sneered, "Run? Our most powerful member hasn't even acted yet."

Tan Wenbin: "What a coincidence, same here."

The figure that had been lingering in the outer wind wall finally moved.

The wind in front of him "extinguished" with his steps.

What walked out was a large man completely shrouded in black clothing.

With a low roar from his throat, the man's clothes burst, revealing his true form.

His face, except for his eyes, was entirely covered in copper coins.

These copper coins extended from his face down to his limbs. They varied in age, some corroded and old, others intact and brand new. In the gaps between the coins were countless talismans from different sect lineages, emanating an ancient, decaying aura.

He opened his mouth, revealing two fangs, and a terrifying corpse qi intensely boiled, causing the surrounding sand and stones to continuously roll.

The last member of this team was a zombie!

Blue-green light emanated from the zombie's eyes. Compared to the rich, ancient aura on its body, its gaze seemed much more naive.

Li Zhuiyuan surmised that under some serendipitous circumstance, another person's soul and consciousness had entered this zombie's body, completing its possession.

As for whether this "serendipity" was purely natural or artificial, it remained to be seen.

But even if it wasn't an ancient zombie awakened from slumber, the aura it now displayed was already terrifying.

The one inside was truly enduring; his soul not only had to suffer the torment and invasion of corpse qi, but he himself became an existence shunned by humans, loathed by ghosts, and intolerable to heaven and earth.

Perhaps only the sharing of merit after each wave could alleviate some of his karmic debts, granting him brief, precious relief.

It was no exaggeration to say that this team's overall level was the highest Li Zhuiyuan had encountered among all teams since he began walking the river.

Even Zhao Yi, before the little Taoist boy Chen Jing rose to prominence, would have no chance against such a team in a direct confrontation.

Its high level was an average high with no weaknesses.

Moreover, despite knowing their leader had been defeated and this place had clearly become a trap, the remaining members of the team still jumped in one after another to fill the void.

The Taoist priest had thought of leaving, but ultimately did not.

Such team cohesion and discipline truly deserved to be called excellent.

Li Zhuiyuan even felt a sense of pity in his heart. If this team hadn't gone up against him, if they had chosen to replace another branch instead of the second branch from the start, they should have been able to go very far on the river.

But "what if" forever remained theoretical and did not exist in reality.

Perhaps in the future, someone would evaluate him with the same sentiment?

The appearance of the zombie bolstered the confidence of Bai Wuchang and the Taoist priest.

In many past team crises, he had been the one to turn the situation around, even seemingly hopeless ones.

However, they soon realized that their opponents showed no special changes.

No shock, no dejection, no panic; in fact, they even became more spirited.

Lin Shuyou swung his twin maces with even greater vigor. Having enjoyed his own fight, he began to anticipate Runsheng's true strength.

Tan Wenbin even consciously diverted a significant part of his attention to observe the new battle that was about to begin there.

The zombie walked towards Li Zhuiyuan. With each step, he left a footprint scorched by corpse qi, and his figure displayed ghostly folds.

When you watched him, he could influence you, even if it wasn't intentional.

At this moment, the woman's consciousness was becoming blurred.

In the painting on the first page of the blank book, a white skeleton had appeared in the cauldron.

When flesh and skin were reattached, it would mean the woman's soul and consciousness were completely absorbed.

The Evil Tome was very active. As the young man's strength continuously grew, it was finally released from his forbidden vault. This was its first time helping the young man in battle.

It had to perform well to earn a second and third chance. Only when the young man gradually became accustomed to and reliant on it would it have the opportunity to rebel, assassinate its master, and turn the young man into its puppet within the book.

Woman: "You... aren't afraid..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "No."

Woman: "How... can there... be someone... like you... on the river..."

Li Zhuiyuan: "It's normal."

Unlike his companions' overflowing confidence, the woman, though she had some hope for the zombie's appearance, it was already minimal.

"Choose... choose... choose..."

This word had lingered in her heart ever since she heard it.

Even the torturous extraction couldn't compare to the shock this word brought her.

The zombie's steps halted.

Corpse qi continuously seeped from its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but instead of aggressively moving forward, it receded.

Because Runsheng appeared in front of him.

The skin repaired by Zhao Yi had not cracked even when killing Zhao family spirit guards last night, but now, it completely separated.

Grooves flowed across Runsheng's entire body. Although he hadn't made a move, this tangible pressure, almost materialized, bore down.

Without needing to think, the "Qin Clan's Dragon-Observing Art" began to operate in an extremely rigid manner.

Runsheng looked down, frowning slightly.

He was dissatisfied with the speed of accumulating power; it was too slow.

It seemed he still needed to fight to accelerate it.

He raised the Yellow River Shovel in his right hand. Its black handle had once been stained with the shared blood of Runsheng and Yin Meng.

For Runsheng, fighting was simple.

If you couldn't knock me down and incapacitate me with the first move, then in the end, you would surely lose.

Corpse qi gathered in front of the zombie. His arms raised, and ten black fingernails continuously extended, his most relied-upon weapons.

With a roar from the spot, the zombie charged at Runsheng.

Runsheng also met the charge.

But the zombie's speed was faster, its momentum fiercer. Runsheng didn't even have time to swing the Yellow River Shovel before his body was violently struck by the zombie.

The zombie stood in place. Runsheng flew backwards, but very low to the ground, quickly landing. He then retreated more than a dozen steps, using the Yellow River Shovel to brace himself and fully stabilize his stance.

Li Zhuiyuan knew Runsheng would win. Not only did the opponent fail to overwhelm Brother Runsheng, he couldn't even knock Runsheng down—literally knocking him... to the ground.

In fact, even Li Zhuiyuan himself couldn't accurately assess Runsheng's current specific strength.

The "Qin Clan's Dragon-Observing Art," as Dragon King Qin's core technique, contained too many profound mysteries.

From Runsheng, one could seemingly understand why Uncle Qin had managed to survive that encirclement and slaughter back then.

Such an opponent: what kind of shadow of despair could the Qin family's Dragon Kings of successive generations bring to their contemporaries?

A glimmer of light appeared in the weak woman's eyes. In despair, one is more willing to believe in hope, and now, she saw it.

The zombie charged at Runsheng again, and Runsheng met him once more.

The entire ruins seemed to tremble from their collision.

The result of this collision was still Runsheng being at a disadvantage. His Yellow River Shovel blocked the opponent's right fingernails but couldn't stop the raking of the left fingernails.

Only this time Runsheng didn't fly backwards; after retreating more than a dozen steps, he stabilized his stance.

Five claw marks appeared on his chest, flesh torn open, yet it didn't affect the flow of the grooves on his body.

If this sculpture was only superficial, it would have been a waste of the grand spectacle Li Zhuiyuan had created that night.

Corpse qi permeated the wounds, and corpse poison was also invading his body through the openings.

Bai Wuchang began to wail, seemingly cheering on.

Seeing the opponent dared to act so brazenly, Lin Shuyou simply ended his experiment with switching between the two states. His golden mace no longer held back, subjecting him to further brutal hammering.

Soon, some strange noises came from the opponent's body. These were mechanisms continuously stressed and beginning to break.

Taoist Priest: "Let's see how long you can remain arrogant! The righteous path prospers, evil must be defeated!"

Tan Wenbin: "Ox-nose, you have some nerve. Is your righteous path relying on a zombie for support?"

Taoist Priest: "Youngster, don't just wield your tongue!"

Tan Wenbin: "You should show off a bit more. Get your fill one last time."

Runsheng did not tend to his wounds. Moreover, this round, he was the one who initiated the charge.

"Bang!"

Their shoulders collided squarely.

The zombie stood still; Runsheng retreated a few steps.

Logically, the zombie should have pressed the advantage at this point, as the distance between them hadn't widened after this collision.

But the zombie didn't. A flicker appeared in its blue-green eyes.

As the zombie involved, no one understood better than him the changes happening to his opponent after each collision.

After each round, the opponent's strength seemed to grow. It was as if, from the beginning, the opponent had deliberately held back and fought with him, intentionally making things difficult for himself.

Even more terrifying, you didn't know where the ceiling for the opponent's strength increase truly lay.

"Roar!"

This roar came from Runsheng.

Indeed, fighting was the best shortcut to accumulating power. No matter how many times he had circulated his cultivation technique before, it was all superficial.

Runsheng charged forward again. This time, after the initial collision, the Yellow River Shovel clashed with the zombie's fingernails, and sparks flew in all directions.

Then, each delivered a kick to the other, striking them squarely. Both sides retreated three steps.

Stalemate.

The hope that had just ignited in the woman's eyes first extinguished, then shattered.

It extinguished because she saw the ebb and flow. This duel had virtually no suspense left.

That one was not a true zombie; he was one of her first companions. Back in that ancient tomb, to survive, he had no choice but to graft himself into this zombie's body to extend his life.

Therefore, he could only display the zombie's formidable physique. Once he couldn't maintain an overwhelming advantage in this aspect, everything else would be a disadvantage for him.

The reason for the shattering was:

"Qin Clan's... Dragon-Observing... Art... Dragon... Dragon King Qin."

The woman looked at the young man who was constantly bringing about her demise. She desperately wanted to know the answer.

Li Zhuiyuan: "You figured it out?"

Woman: "My ancestor... once... died by... the hand of... the Qin family... Dragon King..."

The woman's family had never produced a Dragon King, but there had been several generations of figures with astounding talent and brilliance. Unfortunately, not everyone could be like Zhao Wuyang, who, despite his humble origins, forcefully gained his position from the Dragon King lineage.

In this wave, when she first entered the Zhao family compound, the woman had even visited the ancestral hall in Zhao's outer residence, paying silent tribute with her gaze to Zhao Wuyang, whose tablet was placed at the very top.

Only forces with deep foundations in the jianghu truly understood the Dragon King lineage's real worth, because in their history, their own ancestors had been suppressed and killed by river-walking Dragon Kings.

The woman had read the family records, written by that ancestor on his sickbed after lighting his lamp a second time and conceding defeat.

The wording was chaotic, descriptions repetitive, and the densely packed pages were filled with words, but it could be summarized in one sentence:

Why isn't he falling?

Her ancestor had calculated every mechanism, mastering the timing, terrain, and human elements. That Qin family river-walker had entered the trap; it was, so to speak, just one final push away from victory.

But that Qin family river-walker, relying solely on his own strength, managed to turn the tide step by step in what could be described as a desperate situation.

His flesh was torn, his bones cracked, beaten beyond human recognition, yet he could still stand up again.

When your opponent never falls, then the one who falls will inevitably be you.

It was one thing to lose a fair duel, but to have a perfectly advantageous situation overturned by the opponent's individual strength! Her ancestor had barely escaped with his life. After lighting his lamp a second time, he could have received treatment and continued to live, but he lost the will to live. Besides leaving behind this chaotic record, he also left a final instruction:

"When he becomes the Dragon King, notify me with a sacrifice."

Her ancestor had been beaten into submission. At that time, he firmly believed that only that Qin family river-walker of his generation could become the Dragon King.

The woman hadn't expected to encounter a similar situation.

For a moment, she couldn't distinguish whether she or her ancestor had lost more miserably.

The kind of tragic state described in her ancestor's records hadn't occurred, because she was being completely suppressed from all angles.

Her ancestor, at least in the first half, had enjoyed the thrill of victory being within grasp.

She was beaten down the entire time.

The two fighting the mechanist thunder and the flowing cloud Taoist priest—she had long seen that they weren't engaged in a life-or-death struggle; it was more like honing their skills, a real combat exercise.

Including her team's greatest reliance...

"Boom!"

After two more rounds of collisions, Runsheng stood still while the zombie was sent flying backward.

The situation was forcibly turned around just like that, and this was not the end.

When, in the next collision, Runsheng executed an over-the-shoulder throw, slamming the zombie heavily onto the ground and creating a terrifying indentation, it completely declared the winner and loser. What followed was just garbage time.

Bai Wuchang stopped wailing.

The Taoist priest's face showed a crying expression.

The woman raised her neck, the blank book lodged in her mouth, absorbing her last vestiges of soul and consciousness.

With a "splat," the woman's left eyeball burst.

The outer wind wall changed, beginning to compress inwards.

She no longer intended to escape, knowing it was futile, but she was actively buying her companions a final chance to flee.

You pledged yourselves to me for river-walking. It is my failing; I cannot lead you to the position of Dragon King.

A gathering, exchanged for a good parting.

Go on, save yourselves, each of you.

The zombie, Bai Wuchang, and the Taoist priest, all pressed to the ground, perceived this change. They did not hesitate, nor did they have time for sorrow. Not wanting to betray their leader's final goodwill, they struggled with all their might to break free and save their lives.

However, before they could act, the expected scene of the four wind walls closing in to create chaos did not materialize. The wind walls had barely moved inwards before they all retreated.

Circles appeared on the ground, reflecting onto the wind walls, transforming the originally gray and chaotic surfaces into vibrant green sections, like exquisite spirit screens.

They became more stable and more unfeeling, making everyone in the woman's team feel unfamiliar with them.

Their leader's grand array, set up at the beginning, had changed hands.

Li Zhuiyuan calmly stated, "There's no chance now."

Wretchedness appeared in the woman's remaining eye.

Even if one didn't mention that the array she had set up earlier hadn't been fully utilized, after standing there for so long, the young man couldn't possibly have just watched the Evil Tome extract her soul without doing anything else.

He had been given so much time, and the array controller was suppressed by him. If he couldn't seize control of this array now, he would not agree, and even the gates of the underworld wouldn't agree.

"Can I... beg... for mercy...?"

"You tried to kill me."

"Heh... heh heh... heh heh heh..."

"I don't like leaving future trouble for myself."

"I... understand... this is... walking the river..."

"You are qualified to be my future trouble."

"Thank... thank you..."

She was not a good person; from the moment she tried to casually kill that "child," she could not be classified among traditionally good people.

But she was indeed a qualified opponent. She was, and her team was too.

This time, the river had truly thrown a powerful challenge at the Jiujiang Zhao family.

A team that was behind the average pace and only managed to complete the replacement late was already of this caliber. What level were those teams that had replaced and lain dormant much earlier?

Now, besides the deeply hidden secrets of the Zhao family, Li Zhuiyuan also felt more interested in the other teams in this wave.

Without a doubt, he would certainly encounter a team... or even an individual... that was evenly matched with his own side next.

"If... I hadn't been reckless... chosen... a team fight... would there still... have been a chance..."

When she asked this, her single eye showed a hint of guilt.

Li Zhuiyuan: "In that case, you would have even less of a chance."

The woman completely let go.

After a moment of silence, her voice suddenly became high-pitched and sharp:

"We lost, we're defeated. Everyone, let's die with dignity!"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Give them a dignified end."

When Lin Shuyou became serious, Bai Wuchang's situation worsened. Especially when he saw no hope of winning or escaping, even the mechanisms within his body seemed to subjectively accelerate their shattering.

Their respective leaders had given their commands.

Signaling that this duel was coming to an end.

Bai Wuchang created distance. His damaged mechanical body unfolded again. There was no need to linger on; what was required next was a dignified death.

"Lei Buque, the sixteenth-generation successor of Mechanist Thunder, may I ask your esteemed name!"

Lin Shuyou took out a talisman needle and pricked his chest. In an instant, his aura rapidly increased.

Now, with only one talisman needle, he would only experience temporary fatigue afterwards, without other effects.

Then, Lin Shuyou first held his twin maces horizontally, then crossed them over his chest, saying in a deep voice:

"The First Protector True Lord under the Dragon King Lineage—White Crane Child!"

Lin Shuyou did not utter his own name.

He was grateful that the Child had willingly become his ghost general, so he bestowed this title upon the Child.

Even though A-You himself deeply longed for such grand displays and this scene perfectly matched the scenarios he had simulated countless times in his dreams.

Lei Buque lowered his body and sped towards Lin Shuyou.

His speed was much slower than at the beginning, while Lin Shuyou's condition had improved even further.

Therefore, Lin Shuyou could easily avoid him while first plunging one mace into his damaged mechanisms, pinning him to the ground, then raising the second mace.

As it smashed down, Lei Buque fully exposed his mechanisms, revealing his extremely damaged body.

If he continued to protect himself and endure the blows, Lin Shuyou would have to strike at least seven or eight more times. Now, his intention was clear: he wanted to die completely with a single blow, leaving no fragmented remains in this world.

Lin Shuyou granted his request. With one mace strike, his body exploded into a blood mist, utterly disintegrated.

Pulling out his mace, Lin Shuyou exhaled, feeling both a sense of loss and a surge of heroic pride.

Then, he immediately turned to look at Brother Bin.

It would certainly be impolite to help now.

But A-You was quite concerned about Brother Bin's safety.

However, after looking, he found that Brother Bin's situation... was a little strange.

That Taoist priest's mental state had clearly collapsed, partly because he truly couldn't outlast Tan Wenbin—fists feared the young and strong—and he happened to be a Taoist swordsman.

Of course, whether he could outlast him was meaningless now; the overall situation was lost. But he genuinely feared death.

Taoist Priest: "I truly don't want to die. Can you plead for me again?"

Tan Wenbin: "When others begged you for mercy before, did you ever show any?"

Taoist Priest: "Of course not."

Tan Wenbin: "There."

Taoist Priest: "Can't we negotiate a bit more?"

Tan Wenbin: "If you have any last wishes, and you trust me, you can tell me. Like disciples or illegitimate children."

Taoist Priest: "So ruthless? You even want to root out the evil?"

Tan Wenbin: "Then there's nothing to discuss."

Taoist Priest: "I have an enemy."

Tan Wenbin: "That's good."

Taoist Priest: "The Abbot of Wenqing Temple on Mount Xiluan, who has a grudge of matric