Chapter 157: Stop Sword, Chen Wenwu

"Are you trying to scare me?" Li Weiyi asked, completely unafraid.

Chen Lian replied, "I'm warning you to know your place when you deliberately provoke someone. Do you think you're safe just because you've befriended a few dandies from Zhizhou and are inside the Sky Pavilion?"

Li Weiyi glanced at the young talents from Zhizhou at the table, and indeed, every one of them looked displeased.

In a place like the Sky Pavilion, the surrounding buildings were almost exclusively occupied by influential figures from the Southern Territory. Countless people were secretly watching the show, and if they couldn't regain their reputation, the humiliation would be immense!

Qi Wangshu was surprisingly calm and advised, "This Chen Lian is a master of the Fourth Realm of Five Seas; he's not simple at all. Brother Chi, if you endure this, things will naturally calm down. Battles and killings frequently occur in the Sky Pavilion. Losing here would not only be embarrassing but could also cost you your life."

Qi Wangshu could tell that Li Weiyi's cultivation wasn't high, at most the Third Realm of Five Seas, judging by the intensity of the spiritual energy he intentionally or unintentionally emitted.

If Li Weiyi acted impulsively and was killed by Chen Lian in the Sky Pavilion, as a companion, should Qi Wangshu intervene? Chen Lian alone was difficult enough to deal with, and who knew if there were other Three Chen Palace masters in that building? Being shamed now merely meant being labeled a dandy, which Qi Wangshu had never denied being anyway.

"Brother Qi, what are you saying? Is it just my face that's being shamed right now? Who among us here hasn't been mocked and humiliated by him?"

With a bang, Li Weiyi slammed the table and looked at Li Ling beside him: "Go teach him a lesson!"

The Zhizhou talents present were dumbfounded. They had all thought his impassioned speech meant he would personally intervene. To their surprise, he was sending his female companion to fight for him. Could she handle it? Some tried to dissuade him, but Li Weiyi brushed them off, confidently stating, "It's just Chen Lian; Ling'er is more than capable of handling him. Don't stop, keep the music and dancing going."

Li Weiyi's serious telepathic message echoed in Li Ling's ear: "Chen Lian's presence in Juze City is certainly not simple. Be ruthless with him and see how many people they've brought and what their intentions are."

Li Ling had already stood up. As a member of the Nine Li Tribe, her hatred and animosity towards the Three Chen Palace far surpassed Li Weiyi's.

Having recently received guidance from Chan Hai Guan Wu, her strength had greatly improved, and she was eager to test her skills.

"Whoosh! Whoosh..."

She removed the mask from her face. Blue light shimmered around her legs as she stepped onto the water's surface, moving as if on solid ground. "Chen Lian, you're right. The Nine Li Tribe and the Three Chen Palace have long been in a struggle of life and death, an unending conflict. Today, right here in the Sky Pavilion, do you dare accept my challenge? Let's not only determine who's superior but also who lives and who dies."

Ripples spread out from her feet in circles, and Li Ling quickly ascended the circular jade platform in the center of the lake.

The pure immortal body dancer from Xianlin seemed to have seen it all before. She gracefully bowed to Li Ling, then floated away, demonstrating exceptionally high martial arts cultivation.

"Ling'er, so it's you."

After recognizing Li Ling, the frost on Chen Lian's face melted away, replaced by a bright, sunny smile. From the six-story pavilion, he stepped onto a bridge of spiritual energy and mist, flying towards the jade platform in the center of the lake.

"And do you have the right to call me 'Ling'er'?"

Li Ling's smooth, jade-like arm abruptly swung out. The nine silver rings on her wrist clashed fiercely, and propelled by the spiritual light emanating from her brow, they transformed into nine silver mists that flew forward.

Within the silver mists were countless dense, circular light patterns, like an endless swarm of silver rings.

"Swish, swish!"

Chen Lian knew Li Ling was a Grand Master of the Skyfire Realm, but he paid it no mind. With a casual, elegant gesture, he drew a circle with his finger, creating a vortex of spiritual energy that swept all the silver rings into his palm.

"Whoosh!"

Above the lake, a shimmering layer of formation light rose, enveloping all the pavilions surrounding the lake.

An elder master from the Sky Pavilion appeared, but did not intervene. He merely said in a hoarse voice, "The cost of activating the formation and any damage caused by the battle will be added to your bill for today."

"Charge it all to me."

Chen Lian, handsome and graceful, floated down to land on the dragon-carved railing at the edge of the jade platform, the nine silver rings suspended in his palm. "Ling'er, you're no match for me! Along the way from Burial Immortal Town to Juze City, five or six young martial cultivators from the Nine Li Tribe have died by my hand. But I could never bring myself to harm you. You should understand my feelings."

"Chen Lian, you're too conceited! Do you truly believe the Nine Li Tribe cultivators are yours for the slaughter?"

No sooner had Li Ling's words fallen than a brilliant light erupted from her brow. She lightly stomped her foot, and the entire jade platform ignited, transforming into a terrifying sea of fire covering a ten-zhang radius.

The lake water boiled, and waves of heat surged towards the lakeside pavilions.

After collecting the nine silver bracelets, Chen Lian still underestimated the young woman before him, just as he always had. But at this moment, a bone-chilling warning of danger appeared. It was clearly too late for him to unleash a combat spell or retrieve a magical weapon from his spatial bag.

Shocked, he reflexively channeled spiritual energy into his Wind-Riding Boots, intending to escape using his agility.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Li Ling cried out. A rune, like a meteor, shot from her brow, exploded above Chen Lian's head, and transformed into a ten-meter-long golden greatsword.

Mental power and sword qi locked onto Chen Lian, leaving him no room to dodge.

"You..."

Chen Lian's eyes widened, filled with terror, and he let out a long cry.

The spiritual energy from his four Qi Seas frantically erupted, condensing into a cloud-like shield seal.

"Boom!"

The golden greatsword, with an unstoppable force, cleaved through the cloud of spiritual energy. Amidst a burst of blood, Chen Lian's body was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, a deep line of blood appearing from his shoulder to his belly.

The wound was very deep.

He mobilized the abundant spiritual energy within him to seal the wound; otherwise, blood would have been gushing out, revealing his internal organs.

The power of the Golden Sword Rune was actually equivalent to a full-force strike from a Fourth Realm of Five Seas martial cultivator. If Chen Lian hadn't underestimated her, he would never have been severely injured by a single sword strike.

Li Ling used her spiritual power to recall the nine silver bracelets, then sent them out again.

"Clang, clang!"

Chen Lian gritted his teeth. His internal organs were damaged, and blood continuously flowed from his mouth. He quickly pulled out his Seven-toothed Vajra, a magical combat weapon, and began to spin and wave it to defend himself. However, most of his spiritual energy was diverted to healing his wound, allowing him to exert only fifty percent of his full combat strength.

The defeat was decided.

If no one rescued him, he would surely die by Li Ling's hand today.

The Zhizhou talents in the Cloud Pavilion were already so shocked by Li Ling's cultivation and strength that their eyeballs nearly fell out.

"Brother Chi... Miss Ling'er is actually a Grand Master of the Skyfire Realm. How old is she?" asked Song Nanying, the only female among the Zhizhou talents.

Li Weiyi replied, "Sixteen, almost seventeen!"

Song Nanying secretly gasped.

Someone else said, "Miss Ling'er truly lives up to her pure immortal body; her cultivation speed leaves us far behind."

Qi Wangshu's eyes gleamed with admiration. "Miss Ling'er's mastery of talismans is extraordinary. I've never seen such powerful runes among Grand Masters of the Skyfire Realm."

"She's just average," Li Weiyi said calmly. "Among all her master's disciples, she's the worst."

Qi Wangshu confirmed again, "Brother Chi, what exactly is your relationship with Ling'er?"

It wasn't surprising that he was suspicious; everyone else present also looked perplexed.

They could tell that Li Weiyi's cultivation was definitely not high; at least, he couldn't be a match for Miss Ling'er. Yet, he had addressed her as "Ling'er," clearly indicating an unusual relationship.

"Our relationship is exactly as you all imagine," Li Weiyi said, offering no further explanation. He scanned for the mysterious hidden person lurking in the shadows, while also keeping a close eye on the adjacent six-story pavilion.

Everyone present was filled with awe.

Chi Yongsheng, as a mere mortal and with inferior cultivation, was somehow able to capture the heart of a pure immortal body genius, making her utterly obedient and compliant.

Such methods...

Were extraordinary!

Immediately, some Zhizhou talents subtly sought his advice, very interested in this art of being a kept man while still asserting dominance.

Li Weiyi suddenly stood up and shouted, "Are you trying to gang up on us?!"

Just then, two figures, stepping on spiritual energy, flew out from the window Chen Lian had jumped from earlier, swiftly darting towards the battleground in the center of the lake.

The two, a man and a woman, were both at the Third Realm of Five Seas cultivation.

They were going to rescue Chen Lian.

"Pfft!""Pfft!"

Two more Golden Sword Runes shot from Li Ling's brow, striking down these two young masters. Their bodies were shattered, and blood stained the clear blue lake.

Many hidden onlookers were shocked.

Li Weiyi, holding his Skyflame Saber, rushed to the lakeside and stopped.

Because Li Ling had already used her nine enlarged silver bracelets to bind the heavily injured Chen Lian, rendering him utterly helpless.

The "human log" flew towards the Cloud Pavilion, landing heavily at Li Weiyi's feet and rolling on the ground.

Chen Lian had lost his former grace and arrogance. Blood continuously seeped from the wound on his abdomen, and his face was extremely pale.

Li Ling, holding the Seven-toothed Vajra, returned by stepping on the water. The Zhizhou talents all rushed forward to greet her, showering her with compliments.

Mastering a rune whose power was comparable to a full-force strike from a Fourth Realm of Five Seas martial cultivator was not an extraordinary feat in itself, because, in battle, others wouldn't give you the chance to draw a second rune.

However, the rune Li Ling had mastered was clearly one that could be stored.

That made all the difference!

Who knew how many such runes she had stored in her Spirit Realm? Even a Fifth Realm of Five Seas master would feel uneasy facing her.

Li Weiyi returned from the lake, carrying a mutilated corpse in each hand. He searched the bodies for treasures, placing everything into his spatial bag. Afterwards, he prepared to interrogate Chen Lian, as the large presence of Three Chen Palace masters in Juze City was definitely not simple.

"Whoosh!"

A cold wind suddenly picked up.

Waves on the lake piled up, becoming increasingly turbulent.

A surge of power, chilling everyone in the Cloud Pavilion to the bone, erupted from the adjacent six-story pavilion.

Li Weiyi's entire body tensed uncontrollably, his mind grew solemn, and the hairs on his skin stood on end.

"Clang!"

A piercing sword hum, erupting from an unknown space, resounded throughout all twenty-eight pavilions of the Sky Pavilion. The swords in many martial cultivators' hands trembled along with it.

"As expected of Cang Li's sister, I truly underestimated you before!"

A powerful and exceptional young voice reverberated around the lake, full of imposing presence.

Lanterns swayed, and doors and windows rattled.

"Boom!"

The lake surface exploded without warning, forming a three-zhang-high wave that surged rapidly towards Li Weiyi and Li Ling in the lakeside Cloud Pavilion.

The wave, as high as a city wall, rapidly solidified into white as it rushed forward, transforming into countless ice swords. These ice swords seemed to know how to move, as they advanced onto the shore.

"It's Chen Wenwu!" Li Ling exclaimed in alarm.

How could she not be alarmed? This was the top young master of the Three Chen Palace, wielding the Sword of Cease-Fire, and he had already slain more than a dozen elder masters. Her brother Cang Li held Chen Wenwu in very high regard, claiming that among the younger generation of Lizhou, only he could consistently defeat Chen Wenwu.

This was a figure capable of vying for the second-place spot in Lizhou, though, of course, there were several such individuals.

Li Weiyi, already alert, immediately pulled out his high-grade defensive spiritual artifact, the Azure Shadow Banner, and powerfully thrust it into the ground.

"Boom!"

Azure formation light and armored spirit soldiers rushed out, clashing with the advancing wave of ice swords.

They couldn't block it at all.

Li Weiyi and Li Ling continuously retreated, on the verge of being overtaken by the ice swords.

Suddenly, a powerful spiritual energy dragon surged from underground, empowering the Azure Shadow Banner stuck in the earth, causing it to grow taller and larger. The armored spirits rushing out from within it numbered in the thousands, like an army of shadow soldiers filling the Sky Pavilion.

"Crackling!"

The great wave of ice swords surging from the lake shattered completely.

Inside the Sky Pavilion, spies from the Zuoqiu Family Estate, who had been lying in wait, immediately reported the appearance of the Azure Shadow Banner.

This was a treasure of the Zuoqiu Family Estate; instructions had long been given that its appearance was to be reported immediately.

Chen Wenwu's handsome and composed figure stepped to the window of the six-story pavilion, his hands clasped behind his back. "May I ask which esteemed hero intends to interfere in today's affairs? Would you perhaps grant me, Chen Wenwu of the Three Chen Palace, some face?"