Chapter 2424: Chapter 2488: Huaxia’s Counterattack
Li Yifei wasn’t wasting time; after all, standing here without fighting, he could still recover somewhat, albeit very little recovery. The Saintess could also recover, and with just one opponent, neither of them truly needed to worry now. Of course, if new enemies arrived, Li Yifei would immediately turn around and flee with the Saintess.
Li Yifei appeared confident, displaying astonishing strength, which made the Phoenix increasingly uncertain, unsure whether Li Yifei was just bluffing her, or... She found it hard to believe that Li Yifei could possess strength similar to the captain’s. However, those few punches from Li Yifei indeed carried a world-shattering aura, instilling a huge sense of fear in her heart, as if one punch landing on her would make her collapse in an instant.
Thus, the Phoenix recoiled, her body retreating more than ten meters, with an expression of humiliation on her face, she said in grief and indignation, "Golden Eagle, today’s humiliation, I will... How dare you!"
Just as the Phoenix was about to flee, a Black Knife swung toward her; it was Li Yifei suddenly charging at her with explosive force. The Mohist War Blade sliced a magnificent blade’s energy into the air, and Phoenix instinctively sensed the danger. Finally succumbing, her face changed drastically, she turned and fled, a phantom of a fiery phoenix emerged, seemingly boosting her speed, her agility surprisingly faster than Li Yifei’s, within several leaps, she had disappeared without a trace.
Li Yifei did not give chase; instead, he stood with his hand knife poised, sensed for a moment with his eyes closed, and upon determining that no one was around, he returned with the knife. The opponent abandoned Xuanwu and chose to flee, so Li Yifei naturally had no need to waste time with Xuanwu. Holding the knife, he approached Xuanwu, looking at the significantly injured but alive opponent without pity, since they were an enemy, pity had no place.
Xuanwu wasn’t dead, but was close to it. If he were treated immediately, he might survive, but... Phoenix had abandoned him and fled. Xuanwu knew there was little chance of survival, so as Li Yifei approached, he forcefully spurted blood intended for Li Yifei.
Li Yifei understood his intent, swung the knife to end Xuanwu’s life.
The Saintess, her face somewhat flushed with an unhealthy redness, approached with concern for Li Yifei. She was unaware of Li Yifei’s innate vital energy existence, thus worried that his sudden burst of power earlier might have cost him greatly.
"Yifei, are you alright?" the Saintess asked.
Li Yifei shook his head, saying, "I’m fine, this place isn’t suitable for a prolonged stay; we should leave before more enemies arrive. Let’s find a place to rest."
"Alright!" The Saintess slightly relieved, as for those individuals, Li Yifei retrieved a token from Xuanwu, an artifact of unknown material, which seemed like Xuanwu’s token. Li Yifei pocketed it. As for the other items on the others, Li Yifei and the Saintess were truly uninterested, so after Phoenix escaped for a few minutes, Li Yifei and the Saintess also left in another direction.
Half a day later, Li Yifei and the Saintess, working together, took down several top experts from the Noah’s Ark organization. Even when two from the Four Great Beasts were sent to ambush them, they managed to counterattack, killing one and severely injuring the other. This news returned to the country, and even Murong Yuanqing and others, with their extensive experience, were astonished on hearing this, already aware through clues and news that Noah’s Ark was extraordinary.
However... a single organization possessing so many experts could be said to have some of the top experts of the present age, one among the strongest, still four of them, plus the Twelve Holy Beasts and countless top fighters worldwide joining.
Noah’s Ark is indeed a top organization, no wonder they arrogantly challenge the Holy War Organization, challenge Huaxia, and even... they might be attempting to challenge the entire world.
Fortunately, Li Yifei was alright, not only alright but also managed to turn the tables by eliminating one of Noah’s Ark’s top experts—Xuanwu. This achievement was enough to impress; counterattacking against two unparalleled strongmen and killing one likely couldn’t be done by anyone else but Li Yifei.
After understanding the strength of Phoenix and Xuanwu, Murong Yuanqing and others considered if facing an ambush from the two, they might be able to defend themselves, but counterattacking successfully seemed nearly impossible. Even Murong Yuanqing, aware of some insider information, was astounded.
He witnessed Li Yifei grow step by step from knowing nothing to the phenomenal achievements of today, achievements others couldn’t reach even with decades or centuries, yet Li Yifei did it in just a few years.
Cultivation, cultivation, doesn’t necessarily need to span many years, Murong Yuanqing thought. He wasn’t jealous of Li Yifei. As a cultivator, his lifelong wish was to reach another pinnacle, the Indescribable Realm, though he didn’t know if anyone had ever reached it. However, close to the end of his life, he likely wouldn’t achieve it in this lifetime.
And Li Yifei’s age? A little over thirty; when Murong Yuanqing was at that age, he had barely any cultivation, and Li Yifei had already reached the earthly summit, with over a hundred more years to live according to normal lifespan, who knows what realm he would achieve then. Would he have hopes of reaching the Indescribable Realm?
"We’ve all been playing by conventional rules, but Yifei is unconventional, not following normal logic, so he’s different from us." Murong Yuanqing sighed lightly, seemingly talking to himself.
Beside him, Yao Lingfu smiled softly, gently stroking the small butterfly in her hand, indeed the Worm King Xiaowu, whose lifespan is greatly extended after becoming the Worm King, even if the lifespan ends, it can undergo metamorphosis for rebirth. Yao Lingfu visited the Li family and immediately found Xiaowu endearing, often feeding it spiritual medicine to its liking, making it much friendlier towards Yao Lingfu.
Listening to Murong Yuanqing’s words, Yao Lingfu said, "This time was very perilous; if not for Yifei, others in his place would likely have met a tragic end there."
"Indeed!" Murong Yuanqing put away his sentiments, with a solemn face, scoffed and said, "Noah’s Ark has repeatedly provoked us, not only framing an old friend but now openly ambushing our people, invading Huaxia’s territory. So I will suggest to others to formally declare war on Noah’s Ark, disregarding nationality, any member of Noah’s Ark won’t be recognized by Huaxia and once they step into Huaxia territory, they must be executed!"
Yao Lingfu, mild in nature toward friends and juniors, shows no mercy to enemies. She replied, "I support it, Yifei and others have already laid much groundwork, we must also take significant action."
With Yao Lingfu’s support, Murong Yuanqing nodded, saying, "Good, I’ll go find them now."
Speaking, Murong Yuanqing quickly stepped out the door, with Yao Lingfu following him out. There’s no worry about Li Yifei for now, but he requires significant support domestically; Noah’s Ark has shown formidable strength, if not given a severe counterattack, it won’t be long before the organization grows even stronger.
Actually, Murong Yuanqing isn’t completely confident because he doesn’t know how many Huaxia citizens have already joined the Noah’s Ark organization. Recently, Murong Yuanqing and others have been at the Li family, not only protecting them but also conducting self-checks.
This self-check is difficult due to Huaxia’s lack of extremely stringent organizational methods, increasing the challenges.
Such important matters, Murong Yuanqing himself can’t decide. So he needed to notify the five individuals of the north, south, east, west, and center; however, the center is too mysterious to contact, and in recent years, decisions are generally made by the four masters of east, west, south, and north. Their decisions have a certain command effect.
Therefore, after deciding along with discussions within the Li family, everyone agreed, and Murong Yuanqing notified the other three individuals.
Elder Su and Li Yifei have longstanding ties, despite not being on good terms with Murong Yuanqing, having had no contact for decades, reportedly because of the maiden affair, with knots never fully untied. But realistically, that’s a minor issue; when major matters arise, such disputes can be overlooked. Indeed, Elder Su, despite deteriorating health, has kept an eye on local matters, knowing Li Yifei was currently facing severe trials, and upon hearing Murong Yuanqing’s decision, Elder Su immediately agreed.
Regarding the other two, they also realized the gravity of the situation and successively agreed, while Murong Yuanqing and others received new information—the issuance of a Kill Order by Noah’s Ark to eliminate Li Yifei and the Saintess.
Soon after, Li Yifei and the Saintess, hiding and healing, learned of this news, finally understanding why suddenly top experts like Xuanwu and Phoenix appeared to hunt them. It turns out Noah’s Ark issued a Kill Order; from its literal meaning, it can be understood as a directive to kill both, with no reprieve, heedless of cost.
"Haha, quite bold of them." Li Yifei remarked upon seeing the message on his phone. Murong Yuanqing not only informed him about the Kill Order but also conveyed the newly signed Huaxia command to eliminate any Noah’s Ark members appearing inside Huaxia.
Thus, the two sides officially and publicly declared war. When the Saintess awoke, Li Yifei shared the news with her; she immediately picked up her phone, reporting the situation to several elders of the Holy War Organization. Upon hearing, the grand elder and others swiftly made their decision, declaring war on Noah’s Ark.
Two national super organizations declaring war on one unclear organization operating in the shadows, though not unprecedented, is rare. It shows how significant the potential threat from this organization is.
The core of the war declaration isn’t specifically about Li Yifei and the Saintess; they are merely bullets hitting the enemy’s heart causing pain. Simultaneously, the forces behind them realized how strong the organization was.
A tempest brews outside ordinary life circles, after decades of peace away from war, a new battle arises in another circle.
