Chapter 226: You Are a Legacy-Level

Luansheng Linyou flickered out of sight from the rooftop, making straight for Long Dian Long Zhe Xian, the foremost master of the Eastern Region.

"'Hua Yuzi's Flowing Silver Mask is quite high-grade, isn't it? A seventh-grade Hundred-Character Scripture artifact?' asked Li Weiyi."

"'Breaking through over ten formations with a single strike, yes, that must be it!'"

Qi Xiao nodded. 'Hua Yuzi comes from an extremely prominent background,' he said. 'With the bloodline of an ancient immortal beast and exceptional talent, the elder experts backing him would undoubtedly provide him with powerful defensive items.'

On the seventh night, Li Weiyi and Yang Qingxi had initially planned to eliminate Hua Yuzi with their opening move.

Hua Yuzi had used the Flowing Silver Mask to block that most perilous initial strike.

Fortunately, he never got the chance to fully activate the Flowing Silver Mask throughout the encounter.

Even if Hua Yuzi had fully activated it, its power wouldn't have been overwhelming. The previous strike, which truly unleashed the seventh-grade Hundred-Character Scripture artifact's might, required the combined activation of over two hundred Five Seas Realm cultivators.

That strike would compel even a Dao Seed Realm cultivator to retreat.

Zuoqiu Ting projected his spiritual energy into the darkness beneath the city wall: 'Send the signal. Have Zhu Yibai and the others assault the Extreme West Ashlands' headquarters. I'm curious to see if Luansheng Linyou will continue battling the Dragon Gate or return to West City.'

Li Weiyi now understood Zuoqiu Ting's strategy!

Tonight's battle was crucial; Zuoqiu Ting was treating it as a decisive confrontation.

If Luansheng Linyou breached the Dragon Gate, the Zuoqiu Sect would then strike at the Extreme West Ashlands' headquarters.

Should Ge Xiantong breach the Leixiao Sect, another Zuoqiu Sect force would surely assault the Prefectural Manor.

This approach meant that even if the Dragon Gate and Leixiao Sect were eliminated, the strength of the most powerful factions — the Extreme West Ashlands and the Imperial Court — would inevitably be halved.

Only by accomplishing this could the Zuoqiu Sect emerge as the ultimate victor in the following three days.

If they failed...

The next three days would be incredibly arduous.

Victory hinged on tonight.

The Zuoqiu Sect commanded the most precise intelligence network, precluding any strategic miscalculations. The distribution of enemy forces was entirely transparent to them.

"'Long Dian is no match for Luansheng Linyou; he cannot be allowed to die.'"

Zuoqiu Ting's form blurred as he darted away, leaping from the city wall and instantly vanishing into the night.

Li Weiyi inquired, 'Are Zuoqiu Ting and Zuoqiu Hong only rescuing Long Dian and Lu Cangsheng tonight?'

Qi Xiao nodded. 'Once all the factions' headquarters are breached,' he explained, 'the conflict will ultimately hinge on duels between the top masters. The Zuoqiu Sect will only have a chance at victory if they secure Long Dian and Lu Cangsheng as their allies.'

Li Weiyi asked, 'By promising them a certain quantity of Elixirs of Immortality, Dragon Souls, and Dragon Bones?'

"'Precisely!' Qi Xiao affirmed. 'When it comes to upholding promises, none of the other three factions can rival the Zuoqiu Sect.'"

Qi Xiao reopened his top-tier invitation, which held a Dragon Bone ticket. 'More than half of the twenty Elixir of Immortality tickets are now concentrated in East City tonight,' he noted.

"'Ge Xiantong has three, Luansheng Linyou four, Tang Wanqiu four, Long Dian two, Lu Cangsheng one...'"

Li Weiyi then inquired, 'Where is Snow Sword Tang Ting located?'

Qi Xiao indicated a marginal location on the map within the invitation. 'Snow Sword Tang Ting is stationed at the outer city wall,' he explained, 'presumably to prevent cultivators from the Dragon Gate and Leixiao Sect from fleeing Qiuzhou City with their invitations. Ultimately, Snow Sword Tang Ting's strength is still considerably inferior to that of the Extreme West Ashlands and the Imperial Court.'

Shi Shishi pulled out his Class B invitation and sighed deeply. 'Brother Weiyi,' he lamented, 'our invitations are blank, just like scrap paper.'

"'Impatient, are we?' Li Weiyi chuckled."

Shi Shishi replied, 'Tonight, we need to at least secure one Dragon Bone ticket. That way, we can pinpoint the locations of all tickets throughout the city.'

A brilliant flash!

From the direction of the Dragon Gate stronghold, a brilliant white light erupted.

A Hundred-Character Scripture jade boat soared upwards, enveloped in a swirling mist of white spiritual energy, and shot straight out of the city, passing over Li Weiyi and his companions in an instant.

Below the jade boat, masters from the Extreme West Ashlands, each holding a ticket, unleashed their unique abilities, employing movement techniques to pursue it across the ground.

The trio immediately descended the city wall and concealed themselves.

Qi Xiao opened his invitation. 'On that jade boat,' he reported, 'there are five Dragon Seed tickets and six Dragon Bone tickets. The Extreme West Ashlands cultivators pursuing them on the ground... their combined Dragon Seed and Dragon Bone tickets exceed twenty.'

"'Masters are everywhere!' exclaimed Shi Shishi. 'First, second, third, and Class B cultivators alike—not a single one is weak, yet they're appearing in droves.'"

Li Weiyi remarked, 'This is a rare chance to fish in troubled waters. Tonight, I'll focus on helping you secure Dragon Bone and Dragon Seed tickets.'

Qi Xiao immediately thumped his chest in promise. 'If you can help me secure a Dragon Seed ticket,' he vowed, 'it would be like being reborn. From this day forward, should either of you utter a single word, I, Qi Xiao, will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire to assist you.'

On the outer city wall, six Seventh Sea cultivators from Snow Sword Tang Ting collectively conjured a giant sword, striking down the Dragon Gate's jade boat artifact.

Tang Wanqiu stood atop the city wall, cupped her fists with a smile, and declared loudly, 'Five Dragon Seed tickets, six Dragon Bone tickets! If you leave them here, I, Wanqiu, will grant you immediate passage. The Dragon Gate has fallen; there's no need to fight to the death. We are all righteous forces; the Imperial Court is our shared enemy.'

Realizing escape was impossible, the dozens of Dragon Gate masters aboard the jade boat artifact immediately scattered and fled in all directions.

Tang Wanqiu's expression hardened. 'Pursue!' she commanded.

Li Weiyi surveyed the entire night's battlefield, sensing something amiss but unable to articulate it. He conveyed this intuition to Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi.

Shi Shishi replied, 'Don't overthink it. Tonight, the entire city is engulfed in battle, with factions openly and covertly competing, making relationships incredibly intricate. It's not just us; even the leaders of the major powers who have racked their brains over tonight's conflict can only proceed one step at a time. A clear outcome will only emerge once the fighting concludes.'

'Ah...'

A low, pained cry echoed from the street near the trio.

Li Weiyi stood in the shadows beneath the eaves, his aura suppressed, and peered out at the wide street.

There, he saw.

Yuwen Tuozhen, the Young Master of Night City, mounted on a Night Qilin beast, was relentlessly pursuing a Dragon Gate cultivator. Both the pursuer and the pursued wielded long spears as their magical artifacts.

Each clash of their long spears unleashed vast ripples of energy, sending the accumulated snow from the streets and rooftops swirling into the air.

Buildings lining the street were enveloped in a shimmering veil of formation light, flickering on and off with the intensity of their battle.

The Dragon Gate cultivator was already grievously wounded, a bloody hole marring his chest.

'That's Yuwen Tuozhen, fifth of the Southern Region's Second Tier, and Long Jingsong, fourth of the Eastern Region's Third Tier,' Qi Xiao identified.

Qi Xiao glanced at the invitation in his hand, his eyes gleaming with eagerness. 'One Dragon Seed ticket, two Dragon Bone tickets,' he murmured. 'What an opportunity!'

Splurt!

Yuwen Tuozhen leaped from the Night Qilin beast's back, his blood surging like a dragon's roar. The magical artifact long spear in his hand, tainted with Night Emperor Toad poison, struck with lightning speed, piercing Long Jingsong's neck.

"'The Eastern Region's Third Tier is mediocre at best,' Yuwen Tuozhen scoffed. 'In the Southern Region, he'd only qualify as Class B.'"

Yuwen Tuozhen scoffed, then knelt to search the corpse. The moment he grasped Long Jingsong's invitation, his expression drastically changed. The spiritual energy within him surged into a powerful wave, rushing violently behind him.

Qi Xiao, wielding a broad-backed war saber, flew in behind Yuwen Tuozhen and unleashed a bright saber gleam several meters long.

The wave of spiritual energy Yuwen Tuozhen unleashed was shattered by the saber gleam.

Thump!

His long spear lashed out.

Forced to defend in haste, Yuwen Tuozhen was thrown back several paces. Recognizing his assailant, he bellowed coldly, 'Qi Xiao, are you truly risking your life for a Dragon Seed ticket?'

"'When it comes to Dragon Seed tickets,' Qi Xiao retorted, 'who isn't fighting with their life on the line?'"

Qi Xiao delivered a second saber strike, and a five-zhang-tall war-art manifestation shimmered into existence behind him.

Both were Pure Immortal Bodies at the Grand Perfection of the Five Seas Realm, but one held the Southern Region's Second Tier ranking, while the other was Third Tier.

In an instant, they had exchanged dozens of blows.

Seizing the opportunity, Shi Shishi burrowed up from beneath the ground behind Yuwen Tuozhen and landed a punch squarely on his back.

With his strike successful, he immediately retreated a distance.

Yuwen Tuozhen endured Shi Shishi's punch and then Qi Xiao's saber strike, quickly escaping to the right and landing on a rooftop. A trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth as he gritted his teeth and warily surveyed his surroundings.

Shi Shishi was already waiting on the rooftop, blocking his escape, and chuckled, 'Young Master, are you confident in facing two of us alone?'

Yuwen Tuozhen forcibly suppressed his injuries. The crescent moon mark on his brow glowed, and an anomalous war-art manifestation began to emerge.

It was a brilliant five-zhang crescent moon, hovering above and behind him, surrounded by swirling spiritual energy mist, boundless in its mystique.

He let out a low grunt. 'Shi Shishi, you've just broken through to the Seventh Sea, haven't you?' he scoffed. 'Do you and Qi Xiao truly think your combined efforts can stop me?'

Yuwen Tuozhen emitted a sharp whistle. The distant Night Qilin beast let out a drawn-out howl, immediately spreading its broad wings and soaring towards the rooftop.

Down on the street, after thoroughly searching Long Jingsong's corpse, Li Weiyi picked up the Dragon Scale Spear from the ground and hurled it.

Thwack!

The Dragon Scale Spear pierced through the Night Qilin beast's abdomen, passed straight through its body, and soared into the night sky.

Blood splattered as the beast cried out in a tragic howl.

Li Weiyi, the Yellow Dragon Sword on his back and his Taoist robe pristine, looked up at the rooftop. 'I've been here for so long,' he mused, 'and the Young Master didn't even notice me?'

Qi Xiao raised his saber, cutting off Yuwen Tuozhen's other escape route, and laughed loudly. 'Fighting three of us now, are you still so confident?'

Yuwen Tuozhen recognized Li Weiyi, aware that he was a Fifth Stage Five Seas Realm cultivator. Yet, his apprehension toward Li Weiyi far exceeded that for Qi Xiao and Shi Shishi.

He said coldly, 'You've finally shown yourself! Tonight, in East City, those who wish to kill you are too numerous to count on two hands.'

"'Care to guess why I dare to reveal myself?'"

Li Weiyi executed the Clear Void Cicada Chasing Step, his feet leaving trails of green smoke. His body dissolved into countless afterimages as he moved in an arc, instantly appearing before Yuwen Tuozhen from the street below.

He raised his sword, and the divine projection of his war-art manifestation appeared, illuminating all around him.

So fast!

Yuwen Tuozhen was deeply startled. He fully mobilized the spiritual energy within him, and his first-grade Hundred-Character Scripture artifact-level long spear suddenly thrust forward.

On the spear's shaft, one hundred and twenty-seven white scriptures materialized, flowing rapidly like a waterfall of rain towards the spear's tip.

Boom!

Thump! Thump!

Sword and spear met, generating an incessant series of metallic clashes.

After more than a dozen exchanges, all the white scriptures exploded and dissipated.

Yuwen Tuozhen felt an overwhelming force transmit through his long spear. Unable to suppress his internal injuries any longer, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and plummeted from the rooftop.

"'You're... a Legacy-level cultivator...'"

Had he not engaged in combat personally, Yuwen Tuozhen would never have believed Li Weiyi had reached such a pinnacle. No wonder he dared to participate so unreservedly in tonight's chaotic battle.

Every Legacy-level cultivator at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival was a formidable newcomer.