The West Market of Jiuli City was bustling in the extreme. Not only had the major powers of Lizhou established their flagship shops there, but the shop signs lining both sides of the streets frequently bore the names of million-tier clans and sects from the southern border's six other provinces.
The Cangling Tribe, for example, stood at the tier of a million-tier clan.
That meant the population under their direct sphere of influence could reach a million. Naturally, not every one of the Jiuli Nine Tribes could claim the title of a million-tier clan.
In truth, the Jiuli Nine Tribes had declined long ago. Yet because they had rarely involved themselves in worldly affairs over the past century, no one knew the true extent of their strength, allowing them to barely maintain the dignity of being the sole ten-million-tier ancient clan in the Lingxiao Realm of the Living. They could still be revered by cultivators across the realm on par with ten-million-tier gates like Zuoqiu and Longmen.
Bordering the Blood Sea and facing the You Realm, Lizhou of the southern border had always possessed an aura of mystery.
Fourteen years ago, when the first signs of worldly turmoil appeared, external powers from various provinces flooded into Lizhou to escape calamity, which triggered numerous martial conflicts.
During those six months of fierce clashes, not a single member of the Jiuli Clan's younger generation could hold their own. The first chiefs of all nine tribes were defeated, and even the tribal patriarchs of the Jiuli were bested in a duel in the Mount Mang Range, where the Sui Sect's foremost master, Yang Shenjing, defeated six of them in succession. The remaining three fell to three supreme elders of the million-tier Chen clan.
Across the old, middle, and young generations, each proved worse than the last, and losing face was only the least of their troubles.
More importantly, the battle of Mount Mang thoroughly exposed the Jiuli Clan's fundamental weakness. The title of ten-million-tier ancient clan, hard-won by their ancestors, collapsed with a crash. The core interest of the Jiuli Clan—the Jiuli City Dao Domain—was carved up into several portions, giving rise to the Sui Sect, Sanchen Palace, Tianyi Gate, and Guanhai Pavilion.
Among them, the most powerful was the Sui Sect, which a thousand years ago had been nothing more than a minor lackey helping the Jiuli Clan transport otherworld coffins.
It was during those fierce martial conflicts fourteen years ago that Zhao Zhizhuo's spring orifices and five seas had been crippled by Yao Qian, the current first chief of the Sui Sect.
Sitting in the carriage, Zhao Zhizhuo recounted those past events to Li Weiyi, sighing repeatedly as though a great mountain weighed upon his chest. "In truth, if the tribes of the Jiuli could only unite, our overall strength would be decidedly superior to the Sui Sect. It wouldn't have been so easy for outsiders to crush us. The Sui Sect relied entirely on Yang Shenjing and Yao Qian to overpower the older and middle generations of the Jiuli Clan.
"A thousand years ago, the top-grade dharma artifact symbolizing the grand chief of the Jiuli went missing. Afterwards, no matter who took the seat of grand chief, the other tribes refused to accept it, resulting in unending open strife and covert rivalry. In time, the Jiuli Clan had no grand chief at all, and each tribe governed itself. That we managed to maintain our dignity for a thousand years was already thanks to our deep foundation, which could endure such squandering."
Li Weiyi was deeply intrigued by that turbulent era and asked, "Could someone truly overpower an entire generation of Lizhou through individual strength alone?"
Zhao Zhizhuo nodded, many unpleasant memories surfacing in his mind—especially that figure who had cast a shadow over his heart. "Now do you understand why the young clan chief carries such immense influence? It's because the elders of the Jiuli tribes see hope in him. If the younger generation back then had shown enough promise, even with the older and middle generations defeated, the outside world would at least have praised the ten-million-tier ancient clan for having a promising future, chalking it up to the previous two generations simply not being strong enough."
Neither of them was in the mood to stroll through the West Market. After spending a fortune to purchase spring liquid, they departed the clamorous market district and traveled along Shenlong Avenue, which spanned over a dozen zhang in width and ran north to south through Jiuli City.
Li Weiyi intended to find an inn suitable for a senior expert to reside in, so that he could arrange for Senior Coffin, resting inside the evil camel bell, to help Zhao Zhizhuo rebuild his spring orifices.
He handled the matter with great caution, even wearing a mask when purchasing the spring liquid.
*Someone seems to be watching us!*
Li Weiyi had remained vigilant against being followed, and upon sensing something amiss, he glanced back.
The carriage trailing them was pulled by a five-meter-tall mutant silver-horned elk. The carriage wheels and cabin were cast either from gilded or solid gold, exuding supreme wealth and luxury.
The carriage curtains were made of sheer white gauze, through which the upright silhouette seated inside could faintly be discerned.
Just as Li Weiyi had Zhao Zhizhuo pull over to the side, the silver-horned elk trotted forward, its hooves clattering on the paving stones. It was extraordinarily tall and magnificent, making their sturdy draft horse look like a puny donkey in comparison.
The aura radiating from the beast filled their "puny donkey" with restless anxiety, to the point where it trembled in terror and cowered toward the ground.
The glittering gold carriage cabin, accompanied by a faint fragrance, came to a halt alongside Li Weiyi.
The figure behind the white gauze looked toward him through the fabric and chuckled with playful mockery. "I truly misjudged you that day on the boat. I took you for a mere lowly servant of the Cangling Tribe. Who would have thought you were an expert of dharma and martial arts, responsible for the deaths of even two Seven-Spring martial cultivators from the Changlin Gang?"
It was Yang Yun.
Yang Qingxi's younger brother, the prodigy of the Sui Sect who had opened eight springs at the age of seventeen.
Recognizing his voice, Li Weiyi replied without a ripple of emotion, "I misjudged you as well! That day on the boat, I thought Young Master Yang was an innocent boy. Looking at your posture today, it hardly seems that way!"
Yang Yun loathed the way Li Weiyi showed no fear of him despite having an inferior status and cultivation. "I hear you possess more than one dharma artifact, whereas I don't have even one. That day on the boat, I gifted you a Yongquan coin. How about gifting me a dharma artifact today?"
Li Weiyi replied, "I'm accustomed to being poor, so I can't match Young Master Yang's generosity. Didn't you put on an air of wealth surpassing nations before the Fourth Miss of the Li clan? Why not buy one yourself?"
Yang Yun's tone carried a hint of disappointment. "One shouldn't be too greedy; one must understand the principle of parting with wealth to avert calamity. You just made a fortune of a hundred thousand silver coins from the Changlin Gang, yet you can't bear to part with a single dharma artifact. It seems a bloody disaster is destined to befall you today... Haha... Let's go..."
*Clack, clack!*
The silver-horned elk drew the carriage forward, heading straight ahead.
Li Weiyi gazed at the carriage glittering in the sunlight, his vigilance piqued. Now that Yang Yun had shown himself, he wouldn't have done so merely to deliver those empty words; he was bound to take action.
Li Weiyi asked, "Old Zhao, does the Yang clan dare to commit murder openly in the city streets?"
Zhao Zhizhuo looked somewhat concerned. "Hard to say! Ever since Lingxiao Palace began suffering setbacks on the battlefront over the past two years while the various rebel armies advanced steadily, the clans and sects here in Lizhou have shown less and less regard for the Governor's Mansion and the City Defense Battalion. Of course, the first chief only granted you an audience yesterday. Given the relationship between the Yang clan and the Cangling Tribe, Yang Yun shouldn't push things too far. Otherwise, he would be slapping the first chief's face!"
Lingxiao Palace was the ruler over the twenty-eight provinces of the Lingxiao Realm of the Living, holding supreme authority. The prefectural governors of each province were personally appointed and dispatched by Yu Yaozi.
At least for now, that remained the case.
"Watch out!"
Li Weiyi's ears twitched faintly, and his expression changed abruptly. Grabbing Zhao Zhizhuo's left shoulder, he rolled out with him toward the center of Shenlong Avenue.
Almost in the very same breath, a mutant expert nearly four meters tall leaped down from the rooftop to their right. Resembling a giant ape with silver fur across his back, he wielded an iron staff over two meters long and nearly as thick as a bowl, smashing the spot where Li Weiyi and Zhao Zhizhuo had just been sitting to splinters.
*Boom!*
The carriage shafts snapped, and the frightened horse bolted away.
The carriage cabin behind it shattered to pieces from the shockwave.
The iron staff was impossibly heavy, sinking deep beneath the fractured stone paving.
It was easy to imagine that had Li Weiyi reacted even a breath later, he and Zhao Zhizhuo would have been crushed into a paste of gore.
Li Weiyi only wanted to help the people who had crossed over from Earth secure a stable footing in this unfamiliar world, after which he could focus quietly on cultivating the martial way. He had never actively sought trouble, let alone wished for bloodshed.
Yet just now had been extraordinarily perilous—he had practically brushed shoulders with death.
Drawing the Yellow Dragon Sword from his back, he cast his gaze toward the silver-horned elk carriage that had paused in the distance. A hundred paces away, the carriage had turned around to face Li Weiyi, its occupant adopting the posture of a spectator settling in to watch a show.
"Roar!"
Having missed with his first strike, the ape-like mutant hoisted his staff without hesitation. Taking a single stride, he arrived before Li Weiyi and swung the staff downward with crushing force, like Mount Tai collapsing.
Li Weiyi had never encountered such a terrifying opponent.
Though the iron staff was exceptionally cumbersome, in the creature's hands it moved with astonishing nimbleness.
The strike was crafted to perfection, stirring violent gale-force winds as it swung, as if intent on blowing him away entirely.
Against past opponents, even if Li Weiyi were outmatched in strength, he would have found a way to evade. Yet the staff bearing down upon his head gave him the inescapable feeling that evasion was impossible.
He knew neither where to attack nor where to dodge.
*His combat technique surpasses mine. His mastery over the staff borders on the Dao.*
The thought flashed through Li Weiyi's mind, and then all stray thoughts vanished. He swung his sword, meeting the iron staff in a direct collision.
It was like having a mountain crash down upon him.
An overwhelming, earth-shattering force surged from the Yellow Dragon Sword into his body.
*Boom!*
Li Weiyi was forced back several zhang, the skin of his palm web tearing open, his fingers barely able to maintain their grip on the hilt.
"Old Zhao, get out of here first!"
Knowing he could not match his foe in raw physical power, Li Weiyi immediately mobilized the five springs within him. Surging Dharmic power poured through sixty trace veins across his entire body before rushing into his right arm. The stinging pain in his palm and fingers dissolved, replaced by a vigorous, ceaseless well of strength.
His fighting spirit erupted.
Before the ape-like mutant could attack again, a layer of radiant brilliance finally surfaced along the edge of the Yellow Dragon Sword.
"Taiyi Cleaves the Sea!"
Without holding back in the slightest, he slashed forward with his blade.
The sword energy severed the howling wind, leaving behind a decisive arc that seemed truly capable of cleaving an entire ocean in two—or so Li Weiyi felt at that moment.
Never before had his mental focus scaled to such heights!
As monstrous power transmitted back through the blade once more, Li Weiyi was forced back three steps.
Yet the sheer might of that strike stunned every spectator present. The iron staff in the ape-like mutant's grip, nearly as thick as a bowl, was cleanly severed into two pieces. The residual wind of the sword slash left a foot-long bloody mark across his chest, successfully freezing him in place, unable to take another step forward.
In the distance, inside the silver-horned elk carriage.
"Is that his dharma artifact? What a splendid strike, what a razor-sharp artifact. If only it were mine."
Dressed in a cloud-satin robe, Yang Yun sat upon a seat draped in white fox fur. He was using a foot-long blue whetstone to hone a three-inch dagger. Its blade had already been sharpened until it shone like a mirror, capable of reflecting a face clearly.
Yet the dagger he had always prized most now appeared utterly ordinary the more he looked at it.
He seemed not to fancy it quite as much anymore!
The tiger-like mutant driving the carriage said, "Young Master, the City Defense Battalion is arriving soon."
"Then let us go! He's merely a Seven-Spring martial cultivator after all, but wielding a dharma artifact provides no small boost to his combat strength. Now that we have tested his mettle for them, the assassins from the Five Burials Temple should know what to expect."
Yang Yun slipped the dagger back into the concealed sheath inside his boot and asked, "Tell me, did we show sufficient face to the Cangling Tribe?"
The tiger-like mutant replied, "The one who took action was the Silver-backed Ape, Yao Zhengsheng, recruited from the Seven Springs Hall. The ones carrying out the kill are from the Five Burials Temple. What does any of this have to do with us? Young Master worries overmuch!"
"Between you and Yao Zhengsheng, who is stronger?" Yang Yun asked.
The tiger-like mutant said, "In the Seven Springs Hall, I rank seventy-second, while he ranks eighty-second. We are both among the Top Hundred Martial Artists of Lizhou, practically on par with each other!"
"The application for your second Wuhai Pill is already in progress. This time, do not disappoint my elder sister again!" Yang Yun said.
The tiger-like mutant's eyes shone with immense joy. Having failed to break through after taking his first Wuhai Pill, he had already resigned himself to his fate. Who would have thought he would be granted a second chance?
"Lu Can will gladly lay down his life for Eldest Miss and Young Master!"
Chapter 54