Chapter 88: Slaying the Five Seas

Li Weiyi felt the opponent's fist was like a metal warhammer weighing ten thousand pounds, with enough force to shatter a city wall. The moment they collided, his entire arm was instantly racked with pain, and he was sent flying backward.

At that moment, only one thought raced through his mind: "Yin Twenty-Four really set me up. Even the first stage of the Five Seas Realm possesses incredible power, surpassing even Yang Shenjing of the Hundred Veins Complete Silver. This Tang Yan is beyond my current cultivation; I have no chance of winning."

Tang Yan was far more disheveled than Li Weiyi. He stumbled backward, crushing tiles underfoot. His face instantly turned pale, and the five fingers that had been clenched into a fist were now too painful to grasp anything.

Who exactly had he provoked? The opponent was undoubtedly in the Five Seas Realm.

After Yin Twenty-Four entered the Changlin Gang's main headquarters, she leaped onto the roof of the three-story main assembly hall. Standing on the glazed tiles, she secured the best vantage point, looking down over the entire compound to locate the formation's core. Seeing Li Weiyi gain the upper hand in the initial clash with a Five Seas Realm expert, she was secretly astonished. Although one was a sneak attack and the other a rushed defense, this was still a leap across an entire major realm! She knew that the Hidden Lord's true trial for Li Weiyi was not about the Changlin Gang at all, nor did he expect Li Weiyi to be able to destroy them.

Although Tang Yan's strength surpassed Yang Shenjing's, Li Weiyi was sure to lose against him. However, Li Weiyi still had artifacts he could use, such as the silver-thread gauntlets he wore on both hands. When activated, they could increase his palm strength by twenty to thirty percent. That previous strike, empowered by the silver-thread gauntlets, was how he managed to overpower Tang Yan.

As his spiritual energy circulated, the pain in his arm instantly vanished. Li Weiyi drew the Yellow Dragon Sword, hidden beneath his invisibility cloak, and, utilizing the Clear Void Cicada Stride, launched an attack toward Tang Yan.

Tang Yan's arm didn't recover as quickly as Li Weiyi's. Seeing the countless sword glints rushing towards him, and unsure of his opponent's true capabilities, he naturally dared not meet it head-on and immediately retreated to evade. Li Weiyi was only afraid of him having strong fighting spirit and tenacious will. As long as fear and timidity were in his heart, then even his Five Seas Realm cultivation would likely only allow him to exert seventy to eighty percent of his strength.

After evading six or seven consecutive moves, Tang Yan noticed that this artifact battle sword seemed somewhat familiar. But Li Weiyi gave him no time to think, striking faster with each sword swing.

"Rip!"

A yellow light flashed, and the sword tip tore a long gash in Tang Yan's clothing across his chest. He was just inches away from wounding him.

"Such formidable cultivation and speed. It seems my realm is still too low if I can't even wound him like this." Li Weiyi's gaze was solemn, his internal pressure growing. He was very worried that Xu Changlin would arrive any moment.

Tang Yan looked at the tear in his chest robe, his heart trembling with fright, and fled even more frantically: "Who exactly are you? Our Changlin Gang has powerful backing; the Yang Clan and Suizong are renowned throughout Lizhou. You'd best consider if you can afford to offend them!"

"Deputy Gang Leader, your memory is terrible. Has it only been two months, and you've already forgotten the Changlin Gang's vile act of seizing my residence?"

Li Weiyi had previously visited the residence where he once lived and found that it had changed owners, becoming a stronghold for the Changlin Gang. Tang Yan had committed many acts of cunning seizure and brazen plunder, so he couldn't immediately recall who this adversary before him was. He was momentarily distracted.

Li Weiyi plunged his sword an inch deep below Tang Yan's collarbone. Sword energy and spiritual power invaded his body, and pain spread throughout Tang Yan.

Tang Yan shrieked as he stumbled backward, roaring, "Someone's killing their way into the headquarters! What are you all standing around for? Everyone, attack!"

"Hoping a bunch of Spring Realm gang members can save you? With such a mindset, how could you ever be my opponent?"

Li Weiyi no longer harbored any fear or reverence for Five Seas Realm cultivators. Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed Grand Unity Opening Sea, a technique of the Heavenly Dao Harmony level. With a single sword strike, he unleashed a ten-foot-long bright yellow light.

Tang Yan let out a long howl, fully mobilizing the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea. He thrust both fists forward, releasing two waves of fist energy blasts. It was a fist technique of the Heavenly Dao Harmony level.

"Boom!"

The sword energy tore through the fist energy blasts, but residual force still struck Li Weiyi, sending his body flying uncontrollably backward. The spiritual energy intensity of a Five Seas Realm cultivator was absolutely incomparable to that of a Spring Realm cultivator. This full-power clash shattered a small building above their heads; beams collapsed, and tiles and bricks rained down. The sheer destructive power sent cultivators below the Seven Springs Realm fleeing in terror, nearly scared out of their wits. The aftermath of two Five Seas Realm experts fighting could kill ordinary Spring Realm cultivators; they dared not interfere.

Tang Yan recognized the sword strike from earlier, staring intently at the translucent figure. "It's you," he gasped in surprise. "You've broken through to the Five Seas Realm?"

Li Weiyi had just landed on the ground. Seven Changlin Gang members, armed with heavy crossbows, fired silent, needle-thin arrows.

"Clang! Clang!"

Li Weiyi was no longer who he used to be; why would he pay attention to attacks of this level? He swung his long sword, and potent spiritual energy and sword shadows formed a spherical energy shield. All incoming crossbow bolts fell to the ground.

"Whoosh!"

He circled his arm, and strands of spiritual energy surged from his sleeve, sweeping up the crossbow bolts from the ground before sending them flying back like a torrent of rain. Amidst screams, all seven crossbow-wielding gang members collapsed, their bodies riddled with countless bloody holes.

After recognizing Li Weiyi, all fear vanished from Tang Yan's heart. Even if Li Weiyi had truly broken through to the Five Seas Realm, he was only at the initial stage, while Tang Yan himself had diligently cultivated in the Five Seas Realm for over twenty years. He took out a silver ruler artifact, infused it with spiritual power to activate it, and instantly, a dazzling silver light illuminated the entire front courtyard. As the silver ruler was swung, a cascading beam of light surged towards Li Weiyi with overwhelming force, causing the flagstones beneath it to crack inch by inch wherever it passed.

"Such power, wielding an artifact with Five Seas Realm cultivation?"

Li Weiyi immediately took out the Ghost Banner, using his arm as a flagpole to wave it, fully channeling his Eight Springs spiritual power into it. Amidst the flapping sound of the Ghost Banner, a vast amount of black nether-mist emerged, transforming the front courtyard into a chilling and terrifying ghost domain. A ten-foot-tall armored specter stepped out from the banner, holding a war halberd, and unleashed a dreadful coldness that could turn summer into winter. The ground within a dozen yards was covered in frost.

Each time Li Weiyi broke through a realm, the power unleashed when he activated the Ghost Banner differed. This extremely faint armored specter was summoned for the first time, surprising even Li Weiyi himself. The cascading beam of light unleashed by Tang Yan collided with the armored specter and vanished as if a stone had dropped into the sea, without even a ripple. Just as he was stunned by the specter's imposing aura, Li Weiyi's sword light reached him.

"Pfft!"

Tang Yan, despite his best efforts, failed to dodge and was impaled through the chest by a sword.

"Agh... If I die, we die together!"

Tang Yan howled miserably, yet endured the pain in his chest, swinging his ruler at Li Weiyi's head. The distance was too close, and no one had expected Tang Yan to unleash such terrifying combat will in his dying moments. Li Weiyi had no choice but to abandon his sword and roll to the left to evade.

Before he could get up, a fierce and domineering surge of power, accompanied by Xu Changlin's furious roar, slashed down.

"Boom!"

It was a profound black, somber artifact battle saber that carved a several-meter-long trench in the ground where Li Weiyi had just rolled. Merely being grazed by the saber's energy, Li Weiyi's translucent night-cloak couldn't withstand it, developing several tears.

Changlin Gang Leader Xu Changlin, although also at the first stage of the Five Seas Realm, clearly possessed superior combat power to Tang Yan. The battle saber in his hand was not only an artifact but also an incredibly dense and heavy weapon, weighing far more than a thousand pounds. If it landed on someone, even a body of adamantine or iron would be crushed to powder.

Besides Xu Changlin, over ten gang experts at the Seven Springs level also rushed out. Each of them exuded spiritual energy, vibrant in essence and spirit, clearly formidable individuals seasoned in countless battles.

Tang Yan slumped on the ground, blood continuously flowing from his chest, and a wheezing sound like a broken bellows escaping his lips: "He... he's Li Weiyi. He pierced my lung lobes and Qi Sea, crippling my Five Seas Realm cultivation... Kill him, dismember him into ten thousand pieces!"

Li Weiyi dashed over before Xu Changlin, grabbed the sword hilt, pulled it out, and then swung it again in a sword arc.

"Puff!"

Tang Yan's head separated from his neck and flew toward Xu Changlin. The latter, unable to dodge in time, instinctively caught it, holding it in his hand. From Tang Yan's neck, as he sat on the ground, a three-foot-high fountain of blood erupted. A Five Seas Realm expert had been slain just like that!

Xu Changlin's rage soared, his eyes revealing a clear murderous intent. He casually tossed Tang Yan's head onto the ground like a watermelon. "Li Weiyi, the Stone Gang has been searching for you for days. Since you've come to your own demise, I, Xu, will certainly grant your wish."

Surrounded, Li Weiyi showed no panic, but rather sneered, "Has the Changlin Gang changed its name?"

"It just did! Xu Changlin has already passed the gang leader position to me, Shi."

A great many footsteps sounded as Shi Chuan-yu, dressed as a scholar, with the refined appearance of a man in his forties or fifties, appeared behind Li Weiyi, leading another group of people. Li Weiyi naturally recognized him: the Changlin Gang's banner master with Eight Springs cultivation, who had also participated in the pursuit along the Sui River.

"It seems Gang Leader Shi has actually broken through to the Five Seas Realm. A gang truly is a place where strength reigns supreme; breaking through just one realm creates a disparity between subordinates and the leader, to the point where even the gang's name changes because of you," Li Weiyi remarked.

"It's all due to Young Miss's nurturing."

Shi Chuan-yu exuded a strong feminine aura and was also a eunuch. He wore a smile of calculated planning. "Breaking through from Eight Springs to Five Seas is indeed powerful. Even if Xu Changlin and Tang Yan have cultivated in the Five Seas Realm for twenty or thirty years, they still can't compare. What about you? You don't seem to have broken through to the Five Seas Realm; it looks more like you're still in the Nine Springs Realm."

Two months prior, Li Weiyi had publicly slain Xue Zheng, an Eight Springs Pure Immortal Body, with his sword in Yao Pass, causing a stir. Everyone called him a Nine Springs Paragon. Shi Chuan-yu naturally didn't believe Li Weiyi had already broken through from Nine Springs to Five Seas. Otherwise, why would killing Tang Yan have been so difficult? He believed more that Li Weiyi had used extraordinary artifacts and battle treasures. Historically, it was not uncommon for the seeds of inheritors cultivated by myriad sects and families to slay Five Seas Realm experts while still in the Nine Springs Paragon Realm, by borrowing powerful artifacts. Not to mention distant examples, Yang Shenjing, the foremost figure in Lizhou, once severely wounded a Five Seas Realm expert while in the Nine Springs Realm, nearly killing him.

"The Xue Clan has offered a bounty of five thousand Spring Coins for his head. How about we work together to kill him and split the bounty four-six?" Xu Changlin proposed.

Shi Chuan-yu chuckled, "All bounties from the Yang and Xue Clans go to you. His artifacts belong to me."

Li Weiyi surveyed his surroundings. All escape routes were blocked by Seven Springs cultivators, and the two Five Seas Realm powerhouses had him locked down with wisps of spiritual energy and misty traces. The moment he moved, it would immediately draw powerful attack forces from both front and back.

"Is breaking through from Eight Springs to Five Seas very strong?" Yin Twenty-Four's clear voice drifted down from the three-story glazed tile roof. She was sitting there, not invisible, dressed in black.

Li Weiyi called out to her, "The Changlin Gang is gone. Is my mission over? Or do you want to slay this Gang Leader Shi and let Xu Changlin become the leader again?"

Fight two Five Seas Realm experts alone? Li Weiyi would be crazy to face them alone.

Shi Chuan-yu's attention was drawn to Yin Twenty-Four on the roof. He laughed heartily, "Breaking through from Eight Springs to Five Seas is, of course, very strong." As he spoke, Shi Chuan-yu spat out a flying sword condensed from spiritual energy. The sword shone brightly like a streak of light, incredibly powerful and surprisingly effective.

"Bang!"

Yin Twenty-Four struck with her palm, a cloud of spiritual energy in her palm, shattering the flying sword. She stood up, her figure slender and tall, yet possessing an intimidating aura that seemed to rival the heavens. Her tone was icy: "Just now, I went to investigate the backyard and found many young girls and boys imprisoned there. From the gang members' conversations, the girls are to be sent to various brothels and courtesan houses in Jiuli City, while the boys are to be offered to a great demon as its snacks."

"So, whether it's the Changlin Gang or the Stone Gang, they are utterly heinous. We need not show mercy; let us join forces today to eradicate them!"

Shi Chuan-yu realized that the black-clad girl was not to be trifled with. He immediately dispatched two Seven Springs cultivators, ordering them to rush to Suizong and the Yang Clan for help as quickly as possible. The Dragon Gate had sent dozens of crates of important items to the Stone Gang. If danger arose here, the Five Seas Realm experts from Suizong and the Yang Clan would certainly arrive at the first opportunity.