Chapter Seventy-Four: Li Hao's Wrath

Chapter Seventy-Four: Lin Xueyou’s Injury and Li Hao’s Fury

Zhenba finally seized his opportunity, unleashing the second form of the Arc Moon Yin-Yang Slash—Yin-Yang Waning Moon Sever. The arc-shaped Yang Slash in his left hand flew from his grasp.

The Arc Moon Yang Slash in Zhenba’s left hand swept toward the neck of the young man on his left. The inner blade of the crescent traced a circle around the youth’s throat, severing it in an instant. After beheading the young man, the blade circled back to Zhenba’s hand; strangely, not a single drop of blood stained its edge.

At that moment, the young man whose neck had just been cut did not realize he’d been decapitated. He only felt a slight sting at his throat, reached up to touch the spot, and glanced at his hand—no blood. He thought to himself, “Such a flashy attack, but no substance. Even with a higher cultivation, this is all he can do.”

He prepared to launch another attack at Zhenba. But as he charged forward, he seemed to see a headless body running ahead of him. His consciousness faded, his head tumbled to the ground, and after three or four steps, the body collapsed, blood gushing everywhere.

Another life seeking its own destruction vanished from this world within a world.

The world bustles for profit; people scramble for gain. Men die for wealth, birds perish for food.

One remained. Witnessing his companion’s bizarre, inexplicable death, he was so terrified he forgot to flee. Zhenba’s right-hand Arc Moon Yin Slash pierced his chest with ease.

By the time he reacted, agony flooded his heart and blood spurted from his chest—his fate was sealed.

The reason neither the decapitated youth nor Zhenba’s blade bore any sign of bleeding was simply the overwhelming speed and sharpness of the attack.

Just after dispatching his enemies and rushing to aid Li Hao, Zhenba was stunned.

He arrived just in time to see Li Hao’s halberd pierce the chest of the purple-robed youth. Zhenba could not fathom how Li Hao had managed to slay an opponent five minor realms higher than himself. It all felt dreamlike, almost unreal. Rubbing his eyes, Zhenba saw clearly: it was indeed Li Hao, with one strike, piercing an adversary five minor realms above him.

Shock and disbelief overwhelmed his heart.

Li Hao, too, still reeled from the domineering force of his first Halberd Sweep the Army technique. Zhenba was equally dumbfounded, lost in how Li Hao had accomplished this feat.

Though Li Hao had overcome his foe, a camel dying of starvation is still bigger than a horse. Even with all his heaven-defying assets, he had pushed his strength to the absolute limit. Especially the last move, Dragon Soars the Plains, which, for all its might, required immense power. Even at his peak, Li Hao could at most execute this technique five or six times—no more.

Before Li Hao and Zhenba could recover, Lu Yao’s anxious voice called out.

They looked up, and both were chilled by what they saw.

The knife-wielding youth, with unstoppable force, brought his blade straight down toward Lin Xueyou’s crown. It was too late for either Li Hao or Zhenba to intervene. If the blade landed, Lin Xueyou would surely die.

Even if Li Hao wanted to use his Phantom Step, he lacked both the time and the strength—he could barely stand, let alone move with such agility.

Zhenba, weakened by a sixty percent loss of power, was also too slow to save her.

Lin Xueyou, exhausted and spent, had seen all her law avatars vanquished by the knife-wielding youth. With nothing left to rely on, even if she wanted to crush her identity jade, there was no time. She faced certain death.

Within the Nine-Dragon War Halberd, Xiao Jiu, its spirit, was powerful but bound only to Li Hao. He wondered, “Should I save Miss Xueyou?” If harm came to Lin Xueyou, and Li Hao later learned Xiao Jiu had stood by, he would never forgive him. Even if not blamed, watching his master’s beloved perish would be unbearable.

Xiao Jiu’s thoughts raced, and just as he resolved to act, he realized he was suppressed by the laws of this world. This was no ordinary suppression, but a restriction set by the masters of Lujia Mountain’s star domain to ensure disciples could not rely on external aid. Xiao Jiu could only wield power equal to Li Hao’s; anything more was sealed. Li Hao would have to resolve this crisis himself.

Sensing the halberd’s agitation, Li Hao immediately understood Xiao Jiu’s intention. Once more overdrawing his strength, he hurled the Nine-Dragon War Halberd with all his might.

With Xiao Jiu’s power empowering it, the halberd became a streak of light, intercepting the descending blade just in time. The two weapons collided, deflecting the fatal blow.

But Lin Xueyou, already depleted in body and soul, could not withstand the shockwave. Blood spurted from her lips as she was sent hurtling from a height of a thousand feet.

Zhenba and Li Hao both dashed to catch her.

But calamity never comes alone.

The knife-wielding youth, seeing them approach, thought, “This isn’t good—something must have happened to my companions.”

As he struggled against the halberd’s power, he glanced back to see three corpses, one headless, lying behind Li Hao and Zhenba. “That chaotic illusion from Lin Xueyou must have distracted me. I never saw how my companions died.”

Even as he pondered this, he launched another all-out attack.

Earlier in the battle, the black-clad youth with the blade seemed restricted by Lin Xueyou, but in truth had only expended forty percent of his strength, leaving his combat power largely intact. Now, seeing Zhenba and Li Hao charging over, he resolved to avenge his friends.

Even though he fought alone, he had no fear of being slain by Li Hao and Zhenba. He knew well the strength of his own team—even the weaker two were no easy match. Even if Li Hao and Zhenba prevailed, they would be left with little strength.

What puzzled him was the war halberd’s formidable force. Even untethered from its master, he felt nearly unable to suppress it.

As Li Hao and Zhenba neared Lin Xueyou, the knife-wielding youth seized his chance. With a mighty strike, he knocked aside the halberd, then hurled his blade straight at Li Hao, the weakest among them.

Li Hao, utterly spent, could not evade the oncoming blade. At the critical moment, Zhenba threw his Arc Moon Yin-Yang Slash to block the fatal strike, but both were too late to catch Lin Xueyou as she fell.

Just as Lin Xueyou was about to hit the ground, Lu Yao dashed over, leaping to catch her. Lacking the ability to control the laws of the world, Lu Yao tumbled to the ground with Lin Xueyou in her arms. The two landed in a heap, their appearance comical, but in that tense moment, no one could laugh.

After the fall, Lin Xueyou glanced at Lu Yao, unable to utter even a word of thanks before fainting.

Lu Yao saw her companion’s pallor and, after a quick check, found Lin Xueyou had no grave injuries—her organs were merely shaken. Relieved, Lu Yao reached for her healing pills, only to find her storage pouch missing. Helpless, she propped Lin Xueyou up and sat behind her, channeling her own energy to aid recovery.

Meanwhile, Li Hao and Zhenba were driven back by another slash from the knife-wielding youth, who pressed his attack relentlessly. Li Hao, seeing the youth charge, eyes blood-red and face frosted with chill, summoned the Nine-Dragon War Halberd again—only to end up in an awkward, even ridiculous scene. Overdrawn and exhausted, Li Hao could not hold the halberd; as it landed in his grasp, it pinned him to the ground from hundreds of feet in the air.

The task of facing the knife-wielding youth fell to Zhenba alone.

Li Hao climbed to his feet, a cold glint in his eyes. He swiftly activated the fusion array of the Primal Chaos Yin-Yang Array, summoning his Desire Incarnation closest to him.

The Desire Incarnation sensed the call and said to Kui Hu, Li Zhan, and Qin Zhen, “I’ll go ahead—keep moving forward.”

With that, he vanished.

The three were left dumbfounded.

After a moment, Qin Zhen asked, “What high-level movement technique was that? He just disappeared!”

Kui Hu and Li Zhan could only shake their heads and continue on.

Li Hao, having recalled his Desire Incarnation, could not bear the force of its power in his overdrawn state and paled further. Hastily, he activated the decomposition array to separate the Desire Incarnation from himself.

“The Nine-Dragon War Halberd is there—go help Brother Zhenba and kill him,” Li Hao ordered. The Desire Incarnation, able to wield the halberd as Li Hao could, immediately obeyed.

As the Desire Incarnation joined Zhenba in attacking the knife-wielding youth, Li Hao activated the Primal Chaos Yin-Yang World-Cleansing Array, absorbing the surrounding world laws to restore his strength.

This array, named by Li Hao, purified and absorbed the world’s laws through the Primal Chaos Yin-Yang formation.

Seeing a youth identical to Li Hao attack, the knife-wielding youth was briefly surprised, but assumed it was Li Hao’s twin brother and felt at ease.

Noting that the Desire Incarnation had only just broken into the Wandering Realm, he dismissed any threat.

After Lu Yao channeled some of her strength into Lin Xueyou, she awoke after several dozen breaths. Seeing herself weak and powerless, and feeling Lu Yao’s efforts, she was deeply touched. “Thank you, Sister Yao,” she said softly.

Lin Xueyou’s color improved, though she was still pale.

Lu Yao smiled sweetly. “We’re sisters—no need for such formality, Sister Xueyou.”

The two shared a heartfelt smile.

With the Desire Incarnation joining Zhenba, the knife-wielding youth was quickly suppressed and began to show signs of defeat.