Chapter 240: Heroes and Brave Men

Yin Shiyi returned to Mingyue Qixing Pavilion to oversee the overall situation there.

Since returning to Zuihuayin yesterday, Qi Xiao had gone straight to the battlefield and not reappeared. Whether for his own future or for the Qi family, he could not bring himself to flee during Zuoqiu Family’s most difficult time.

Dawn was breaking.

A simple carriage drove out of the underground nether market, driven by a martial artist in the Spring Realm.

Li Weiyi, Shi Shishi, and Bai Shu were all seated inside the carriage, each lost in their own thoughts.

Bai Shu, a mind power practitioner, had no obsession with dragon bones or dragon seeds. She only wanted to escape the battlefield and avoid the slaughter. However, as a member of the Earth Wolf King Army, she couldn't shirk her responsibilities.

Shi Shishi secretly glanced at Li Weiyi, unsure how well his injuries had recovered, and sighed dejectedly, "My hidden dragon bone ticket was dug up and taken. I chased after it for two days, but couldn't get it back."

"If hiding tickets was reliable, everyone would do it!"

Li Weiyi smelled blood and pushed open the carriage window.

Cold air flowed in.

On the fog-shrouded streets, martial artists from various factions in the Spring Realm were collecting bodies and cleaning the roads.

Passing a mansion belonging to a powerful individual in the Dao Seed Realm, servants and concubines were joyfully lighting firecrackers to welcome the Lantern Festival. The air was filled with the choking, pungent smell of gunpowder smoke.

No matter how brutal the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival was, it was still just a battlefield for young martial artists in the Five Seas Realm.

"Clatter!"

The carriage wheels rolled onward.

From time to time, they saw traces of battle and the bodies of young heroes exposed on the streets. Whether they were "Pure Immortal Bodies" or stunning beauties, they were all treated like mere blades of grass.

Several days of brutal competition had chilled the city's festive atmosphere to freezing point, with few pedestrians in sight.

Li Weiyi asked, "Have Zuoqiu Hong and the others been defeated and killed? Are Cang Li and Li Ling still alive?"

Shi Shishi shook his head, "I don't know! These past few days, the major factions in Qiuzhou Prefecture have been fighting chaotically, and rumors, both true and false, are flying everywhere. Some even said you died at the hands of Ge Xiantong, and then died suddenly after escaping."

"In any case, Zuoqiu Hong and their allies suffered terrible casualties. The Zuoqiu, Jiuli, and Zhumen families, along with their subordinate forces – dozens of credentialed experts across the entire faction – lost sixty to seventy percent of their numbers. Perhaps only ten or twenty are still alive."

"Yesterday evening, Zuoqiu Hong scattered all the Longevity Pill tickets, dragon seed tickets, and dragon bone tickets among the besiegers. Then, he led the remaining defeated forces to withdraw and hide."

"That's how the news spread, but whether they actually escaped or not is hard to say."

"If they did escape, perhaps they intended to rest for a night, heal their injuries, recover their energy, and use retreat as a strategy to prepare for today's decisive battle."

Out of the two hundred credentialed martial artists in the entire city, only the top few from a prefecture or the foremost experts of a sect or family were qualified to be listed.

Even powerful figures like Dao Di and Mie Di from Coffin Mountain were merely classified as Grade B.

In the Southern Territory alone, there were over a dozen individuals of the 'Inheritor' level. Some were already world-renowned, while others hailed from hidden sects or were concealed masters of major powers.

Everyone had brought out their trump cards!

In the other three territories, there were fewer 'Inheritor' level individuals than in the Southern Territory, but still at least six or seven.

If sixty to seventy percent of the credentialed martial artists from the three-family alliance had died in battle, that meant dozens of experts at the Dao Di and Mie Di levels had perished. Casualties among other Five Seas Realm martial artists and Grand Mind Masters were countless.

Shi Shishi said, "Of the two hundred credentialed martial artists, at most half remain. Fewer 'Inheritor' level figures have fallen, but there are probably still ten of them in total!"

Li Weiyi fell silent, deeply realizing the painstaking efforts of Jiang Ning, Yin Jun, and Zuoqiu Hongting to dissuade him from participating in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival. They had foreseen all of this.

What kind of mindset did they have?

Was it knowing the danger and facing it head-on?

Or being unable to control themselves, having no choice?

"This is not a grand event!" Jiang Ning's warning, uttered by the fishing boat, echoed in Li Weiyi's ears once more.

This was a battlefield... a life-or-death battlefield!

Shi Shishi said, "The Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival is much better than a real battlefield outside. At least there are rules; it's just a competition among the younger generation, and you can retreat or hide."

"What about Tao Yanyan?" Li Weiyi suddenly asked.

Shi Shishi fell silent.

Bai Shu said, "Sister Tao was killed in the wolf's den on the tenth; she couldn't escape."

"Who did it?" Li Weiyi asked.

"I don't know! There are countless factions, big and small, in Qiuzhou Prefecture, and experts come from all backgrounds. Anyone could have done it for Tao Yanyan's dragon bone ticket."

Bai Shu and Shi Shishi forced a smile, both shaking their heads.

Most of the factions in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival had fallen before the seventh day, either destroyed or becoming vassals of the Myriad Gateways. However, in the broader world situation, these factions were still independent entities, each with Longevity Realm giants, or even transcendent, colossal powers dominating a region.

Although the Earth Wolf King Army appeared to have only a handful of members at the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, the Stone Heavenly King, Grand Master, and Second Master Niao behind them, along with the vast Earth Wolf Iron Cavalry, held immense power and influence in Shuzhou.

"My injuries are mostly recovered now! You two go to Changqing Temple in the East City and wait for me. I'll arrive before noon."

Li Weiyi jumped out of the carriage, used his disguise technique, and disappeared into the crowd.

Before the decisive battle, he wanted to see Yin Jun, so he stealthily made his way to Zhuoyuan.

After he knocked, Yin Twenty-Five opened the door.

Seeing Li Weiyi, Yin Twenty-Five was visibly startled. He quickly welcomed him inside, then closed the door and activated the formation.

"Thank goodness, it was all just rumors. We truly thought you had already..."

"What, did you think you wouldn't have to pay me back?"

After entering, Li Weiyi stared at the garden full of corpses, covered with white cloths, and was momentarily stunned. He then released his mind power to sense his surroundings, finding Zhuoyuan desolate. Apart from Yin Twenty-Five, there was no one else there.

"What's going on? Where are they?" Li Weiyi asked in a low voice.

Yin Twenty-Five lowered his head and whispered, "They were just helping to collect the bodies."

"What do you mean 'just helping to collect bodies'? Even the Spring Realm martial artists of the Jiuli tribe know to do it. You are in the Five Seas Realm; if you get involved, you'll die without a burial place!" Li Weiyi's voice thundered.

A quarter of an hour later.

A knock sounded at the door.

Yin Twenty-Five cautiously looked at Li Weiyi, who was sitting on a white stone by the lake.

"Go on, open the door for a few heroes," Li Weiyi said.

The gate and formation opened, and Yin Twenty-Three, Yin Twenty-Four, and Yao Yin, all dressed in night clothes, appeared from their hidden state. They then retrieved bloody spatial pouches and took out the corpses inside, which were all "Pure Immortal Bodies" or female corpses.

Yin Twenty-Four gritted her teeth, clenched her fists tightly, her chest heaving. "It's all your fault for pulling me back! I hadn't even had my fill of killing yet. It's too shameless, too despicable; they don't even spare corpses. They're utterly inhuman!"

"They weren't human to begin with," Yin Twenty-Three said.

"Ahem, ahem..."

Yin Twenty-Five repeatedly gave them meaningful glances.

The three looked into the distance and saw Li Weiyi sitting there like a statue. First, they were startled, then overjoyed, and then apprehensive.

Li Weiyi, expressionless, stared coldly at Yin Twenty-Four: "You're so capable, why don't you go out and kill some more?"

"Alright, shall we go together?" Yin Twenty-Four said.

Li Weiyi was stumped by her reply. He stood up: "Who told you to act without my permission? Who led this?"

"Me!" Yao Yin said.

"Me!" Yin Twenty-Four said.

"Me!" Yin Twenty-Three said.

Helpless, Yin Twenty-Five, who had been guarding the house, also stepped forward and whispered, "Me!"

"Fine, fine, fine, you're all heroes," Li Weiyi said.

Yao Yin, the youngest, with still-red eyes, was the first to soften. "Those demons, ash spirits, and various wicked scoundrels wanted to force Cang Li, Yin Jiu, and Li Ling to show themselves. They cooked the bodies of the Jiuli tribe's 'Pure Immortal Body' martial artists in cauldrons and stripped the female martial artists' bodies bare, hanging them from the city gates. How could we tolerate such a gross humiliation?"

Yin Twenty-Four lifted her chin, "We didn't do anything risky. We just snatched back the bodies from those low-level martial artists who were collecting them."

"Some things can be endured, but others cannot," Yin Twenty-Three said.

Li Weiyi frowned. The enemy's methods were indeed crude, but they might be surprisingly effective against Cang Li.

This could be considered good news!

At least it meant they were still alive.

Li Weiyi paced back and forth, staring coldly at Yin Twenty-Four: "You're only emboldened because you possess that blood-tempered magical artifact. Hand it over to me."

Yin Twenty-Four clutched the three-headed snake bracelet on her wrist and sneered, "Aren't you also relying on your Blood Handprint Demonic Armor and Violet Cloud Thunder Seal?"

"You dare talk back?" Li Weiyi said.

Yin Twenty-Four said, "We were just collecting bodies. You're so capable, you dared to kill Hua Yuzi, you dared to fight Ge Xiantong. Rumors are flying everywhere outside, saying you died suddenly. Weren't we afraid of finding your body when we were collecting corpses? Weren't we afraid of you being left exposed on the streets, your head gnawed by wild dogs? Li Weiyi, you are a Divine Shadow, and I'm telling you, from now on, even if you are ten thousand li away, or a hundred thousand li away, or even further... as long as we hear of your death, we will definitely go and bring you back. Thousands of li... I will go too!"

"Just keep cursing me, then!"

Yin Twenty-Five had already moved a chair behind the fuming Li Weiyi.

After Li Weiyi sat down, Yao Yin voluntarily came forward to massage his shoulders and back. She whispered softly, "We were truly careful, and we promise not to act on our own initiative again."

"Everyone, swear by the name of the Jiuli God that you will not leave Zhuoyuan a single step today. Also, prepare supper. I will bring Yin Jiu and Yin Shiyi back safely. Whoever is the most obedient will have a chance to obtain dragon bones and dragon seeds." Li Weiyi closed his eyes, enjoying the massage from Yao Yin's soft, jade-like hands.

Hearing this, the Hidden Ones present had a fervent glint in their eyes.

Yin Twenty-Four's pretty face was filled with surprise: "Dragon bones and dragon seeds, we also have a chance to get them?"

"You? You're full of rebellious spirit; you can't refine dragon bones. Just annoy me more in the future."

"You all supervise each other – heroes supervising heroes, brave men supervising brave men – and don't cause any more trouble."

Li Weiyi stood up and only left Zhuoyuan after making them all swear an oath.

As he left, he glanced at the garden full of corpses, his gaze hardening, his resolve firming even more.

Unable to see Yin Jun, he could only communicate and discuss with his three masters.

He said, "If I attempt to break through to the fifth stage of the Five Seas Realm, pushing myself into greater peril, would it be too dangerous? You understand this world better than I do."

"Why are you still so persistent?"

Master Guan strongly objected; three months of Qi tempering was his bottom line.

Li Weiyi said, "I know what I'm doing when it comes to martial arts; I have a way to temporarily stabilize my Dharma Qi. After the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, I will definitely seclude myself for a period of intense cultivation and will not act impulsively again."

"Then fight! It's just the Five Seas Realm; what's there to be timid about? If Zuoqiu Family and the Jiuli tribe can't even handle this minor affair, then it would be better to discard the reputations of the Myriad Gateways and the Myriad Ancient Clans in advance."

It was the voice of Zen Sea Observing Mist.

Master Lingwei said, "Since you have a way to temporarily stabilize your Dharma Qi, then I also support you in proceeding as you wish. Cultivation is like sharpening a sword: normally, you keep its edge hidden, but at crucial moments, you must unleash your most magnificent strike."

"For the Longevity Pill, dragon seeds, and dragon bones, this risk is worth taking. As the Divine Shadow, your first battle can truly demonstrate your spirit," Master Coffin said.