Chapter 513: 512
The City Protection Array of Kuangyun City was left behind by an Array Master. It could attack and defend. During an attack, it could help the person controlling the Array System enhance their strength to a higher level.
The leaders of the four major factions were originally no weaker than Xiahou Jinlun and his companions. With the power of the Array System, they immediately took the initiative.
"The Array System can only last for a 2-hour period, go and kill them!"
Ye Lanzhi’s body turned into a pitch-black color, like a shadow body, weaving through the void. In her hand, she quickly threw out twenty-three silver needles.
Yan Wuwei’s response was swift, yet he was only able to block nineteen of the silver needles. Four of them pierced through his protective Vigorous Air and into his body, causing his blood and Qi to roil.
"Azure Dragon Soaring Sky!"
Yan Wuwei retreated, pounding out with his halberd, and a green brilliance flew down from the sky. However, it only pierced through a shadow body left in the original position.
"I am here."
Ye Lanzhi had a dagger in her hand, and with a malicious smile, she stabbed down fiercely. As her weapon pierced through his body, Yan Wuwei coughed up blood and staggered forward.
On the other side, Mo Changqing was also quickly gaining the upper hand in his solo battle against Yuan Qiusheng. Every time he swung his sword, the opponent had to counter with two or three strikes to neutralize it.
While fighting against his former lover, Ai Wenxiang showed no mercy. The power of his Water Sky Sword Technique was more than twice as strong as Ai Wenqian’s. Each surge of watery light caused the ground to be shaved by a layer.
Bai Xixi’s hands moved quickly, but they were still not faster than the sword light. Her sleeves were torn, and her arms were stained with blood.
Yu He fought against both Xiahou Jinlun and Zhang Jingyi at the same time, his composure was frightening.
His body seemed to turn into a cloud without substance. Zhang Jingyi’s attacks repeatedly hit empty space, and instead, he was forced to retreat. Xiahou Jinlun, already injured, also faced difficulties and could only fight hard.
"Senior, if you do not make a move now, then when will you?"
Xiahou Jinlun retreated twenty steps after another collision and shouted loudly at the surroundings.
"Xiahou boy, as expected, you’ve taken me into account. I must admit I am impressed."
A figure appeared abruptly from inside the City Protection Array, showing incredible flying skill, which caused Ye Lanzhi’s eyelids to twitch violently.
He was a bald old man whose features were all squeezed together, extremely ugly. Wherever his eyes looked, the air seemed to become colder.
"A Lord Level expert!"
Yu He took a deep breath.
The opponent’s cultivation level had reached the peak of the Dragon Gate Realm. The Shadow’s True Intent he just demonstrated had also reached sixty percent, he should be the weakest kind of Lord Level expert.
He should have arrived a long time ago and would not have been able to infiltrate the array otherwise. Only such an expert could have circumvented the perception of the leaders of the four major factions.
"In a battle between two cities, Lord Level experts are not allowed to intervene! Xiahou Jinlun, aren’t you afraid of being punished by the major factions of Xuanwu State by openly violating the rules?"
Mo Changqing’s angry accusation also filled the air.
"Openly? Hahaha, you lot have condensed the power of the City Protection Array for your own use, making its energy extremely dense, and outsiders can’t detect it. As long as I kill you, who will know?"
Xiahou Jinlun laughed confidently.
Lord Level experts are extremely rare in the Martial World, and those proficient in Shadow’s True Intent are even rarer. Luckily, the Shadow Lord was a friend of his grandfather, and that’s how he managed to invite him here.
Of course, he hadn’t told anyone about this.
"Brother Xiahou, you are known for your thorough and careful approach. Today, I completely admit defeat."
Yan Wuwei, who was previously in despair, also began to laugh.
He had been unaware of the existence of the bald old man; however, now was not the time for resentment. Killing Yu He and the others was of utmost importance.
"Mr. Xiahou, you must not go back on your promise."
Ignoring the others, the bald elder only looked at Xiahou Jinlun.
"Senior, don’t worry. If I go back on my word, you only need to expose today’s events, and I will certainly meet my downfall."
Xiahou Jinlun replied.
After nodding, the bald elder turned his eyes to Yu He, looking at him as if he was already a dead man: "Although you are injured, you are the most powerful. Let’s start with you."
Whether it was the sound or the movement that was faster was unclear. All that everyone saw was Yu He taking a step back as the Shadow Lord’s emaciated hand reached towards his shoulder with a penetrating sharpness.
"Gloomy Clouds and Dreary Atmosphere!
He quickly launched his killing technique, both of Yu He’s hands striking at the enemy simultaneously. The surrounding clouds spread out, bringing a sense of tragedy.
"Interesting, but it’s not enough."
The Shadow Lord’s body swayed, first retreating, and then rushing forward again at a faster speed. A faint shadow was dragged out along the way, and his claw hand was heavily drawn, hitting Yu He’s arms that were blocking in front of him.
Yu He’s face turned pale, and he took seven steps back.
Looking at cultivation level, he was two levels lower than the Shadow Lord. In terms of True Intention, he was a level lower, which should not justify such a big gap.
In reality, it was not the case.
The first prerequisite to being considered a Lord was to reach the peak of the Dragon Gate Realm. In fact, it was widely recognized in the Martial World that only by perfecting a first-class, third-tier internal method can one possibly reach the peak of the Dragon Gate Realm.
That is to say, Yu He’s cultivation level, True Intention, and even the realm of his internal skills were one level lower than the opponent’s, and this was the reason for the huge gap.
Not to mention, becoming a Lord meant that the Shadow Lord himself was an extremely rare genius.
"A Lord is indeed worthy of being a Lord, but he will not find it that easy to kill me."
Yu Zhao beckoned, and the others suddenly realized that his aura was rapidly growing. At the same time, most of the array power enhancing Ai Wenxiang and the others was being drawn away.
"Phantom Death Hand."
The Shadow Lord struck with one hand, and his palm shadows attacked from eight directions, making it difficult to distinguish between real and illusory.
"Gloomy Clouds and Dreary Atmosphere!"
It was still a deadly move, but this time, the heaviness of Yu He’s cloudy aura was so strong that it almost affected the spirit of everyone present, instantly overwhelming the palm shadows that had been launched.
The two of them quickly got into a fight.
With the majority of the power from the Array System, Yu He was unmatched in bravery and gradually suppressed the Shadow Lord. But the Shadow Lord was extremely cunning, constantly dodging with his Flying Skills, stubbornly holding Yu He at bay.
"It’s just a stopgap measure, seize the opportunity, and kill them for me!"
Xiahou Jinlun was the first one to rush up, his whole body radiated a golden aura.
" Azure Dragon Emerging from the Sea."
" Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Mountains."
" Xuanyin Condensation."
" Heavenly Gang Palm."
Yan Wuwei, Yuan Qiusheng, Zhang Jingyi, and Bai Xixi were not willing to fall behind.
With the Shadow Lord restraining Yu He, if the five of them couldn’t kill the three, including Ai Wenxiang who had almost no Array System power, they might as well die.
"Damn it."
Ye Lanzhi’s face looked extremely ugly.
Once the City Protection Array was activated, it couldn’t be removed manually and would remain for one two-hour period. He had previously wished for more time, but now he hoped it would pass immediately.
They could only hope to survive after the Array System vanished and people outside could see them clearly. By then, the Shadow Lord would certainly not dare to show himself.
Ai Wenxiang and Mo Changqing wore resolute faces, but they didn’t try to fight to the death and instead opted to stall for time.
...
In the cave.
Shi Xiaole was holding a piece of red rare stone in his hand. Under the flushing heat, impurities in his body were being burned away like dried grass.
After a full four days.
His aura became purer and stronger. At some point, it surged like a tide and suddenly crested a high peak.
Shi Xiaole’s cultivation had broken directly through the sixth level of the Dragon Gate Realm, reaching the late stage of the seventh level!
His eyes opened, and it seemed as if two sword beams flashed and disappeared in the air.
After absorbing Shi Hao’s Vigorous Air at the seventh level of the Dragon Gate Realm, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation should have been higher, but his demand for the quality of Vigorous Air was too strict.
Shi Hao’s Vigorous Air, after all, was cultivated from an inferior internal skill, Shi Xiaole rejected a large part of it.
" I used to have a higher talent for understanding than physical skills. The progress of True Intent and Martial Art Realm was far ahead of my cultivation level, but now it’s almost the other way round."
Shi Xiaole laughed at himself.
Following the Martial World’s standard, the seventh level of Dragon Gate Realm cultivation generally equates to top-notch True Intent of 20 to 30 percent. If it’s a superior True Intent, then it’s 30 to 40 percent.
According to this standard line, Shi Xiaole has lost his genius flair.
Not that his aptitude has worsened, but his cultivation level has improved too quickly, and he didn’t have time to comprehend the True Intent.
Calculating it all, he only had nine years of genuine cultivation since he crossed over at the age of fifteen, advancing from the second level of Hidden Qi Realm to the seventh level of Dragon Gate Realm.
Such speed is even faster than that of a Martial Emperor.
Especially in the past year, he has advanced from the second level of the Dragon Gate Realm to the seventh level, breaking the records in Shuntian Capital for countless years.
However, advancing to this point, it was no longer easy to improve his cultivation with Karmic Conversion Skill.
Shi Xiaole felt a clear sense of saturation from within his body, a sign that his physical foundation could no longer keep up with his cultivation. From now on, he needed to focus on consolidating his foundation, improving his True Intent and Martial Art Realm.
After putting away the red stone, he took out a green robe from his system space, put it on, and flew out of the cave toward Kuangyun City.
With his current power, it wouldn’t take him long to travel several miles.
...
"You’re doomed to die today."
Yan Wuwei’s arms swelled as he swung out spear-like beams to the left and right. After two booms, they were blocked by Ai Wenxiang’s long sword. Almost simultaneously, Bai Xixi’s hand reached down and firmly tore a chunk of flesh from Ai Wenxiang’s chest.
Not far away, Mo Changqing was being entangled by Zhang Jingyi and Yuan Qiusheng. The two of them, one in front and one behind, closed off her escape route, slowly draining her life force.
The situation looked the worst for Ye Lanzhi.
The Shadow’s True Intent inherently counteracts the True Intent of Yang, but his level of usage was far inferior to Xiahou Jinlun. Under his pursuit, the unpredictable Flying Skill was utterly useless, and in less than an hour, she was bloodied all over and looked on edge.
"Is the sky really going to destroy us?"
With a few flashes, all anticipated by Xiahou Jinlun, she took a palm to the chest. A touch of desperation gradually appeared in Ye Lanzhi’s eyes, which quickly turned to mad fierceness.
"If we’re to die, let’s die together! Celestial Spin Kill!"
Her body spun, and Ye Lanzhi’s vitality rapidly declined. Conversely, eighteen acupoints around her body suddenly swelled up, as if something was about to burst out.
"Girl, no!"
Mo Changqing shouted from not far away, with a heart-wrenching feeling.
Although Ye Lanzhi was a bit of an instigator, she was not inherently evil, and had even risked her life to save her in the past. Otherwise, after all these years, why would the other three stick with her?
"Contend with me, are you even up to it?"
Xiahou Jinlun grinned and extended all his fingers, each shooting out a golden beam of light.
After a series of shattering sounds, Ye Lanzhi’s body splattered with blood. Ten of the eighteen acupoints on her body were pierced through, leaving her white as a sheet, collapsing onto the ground.
