Chapter 64: Battle

Ying Li rinsed himself off first. Then he filled the bathtub with warm water, added a few medicinal solutions beneficial for healing wounds, and finally slid in.

Lying in the tub, he replayed everything that had happened recently in his mind, sorting the events out one by one.

Since his rebirth, he had been extremely cautious in every action he took.

He understood Wu Nian very well.

After his rebirth, Wu Nian would definitely seek out Yu Mingwei, and Yu Mingwei would certainly notice something was off.

By now, everything Wu Nian knew had probably been extracted by the Yu Family.

Luckily, what Wu Nian knew was extremely limited. For instance, he knew nothing about the state of Freedom City.

Thus, the changes in Freedom City wouldn’t arouse any suspicion from the Yu Family. But the emergence of an A-Rank Guide there would definitely draw attention from various factions.

He had wanted Xiang Ye to help the Sentinels of Freedom City, which was why he had arranged for Xiang Ye to appear there as “Elder Ye,” performing Mental Combing for its Sentinels, Ding Hua included.

But an A-Rank Guide was far too precious. The number of eyes watching “Elder Ye” was growing.

The Sentinel who had appeared in Freedom City today was likely targeting Xiang Ye.

And then there was Azure Jade Mountain.

Yu Baiwei rarely left Starlight City. His trip to Azure Jade Mountain was almost certainly due to learning about the Beast Tide from Wu Nian.

That the Yu Family would investigate after finding out about the Beast Tide was something Ying Li had long anticipated. But he hadn’t expected Yu Baiwei to go personally, and alone at that.

What did that signify? It meant that in Azure Jade Mountain, there was someone whose standing was no lower than Yu Baiwei’s!

No—someone who could make Yu Baiwei brave so many beasts alone to meet him had to possess a status even higher than Yu Baiwei’s.

That person was most likely a Sentinel. The Yu Family had never held Guides in high regard. Besides, no Guide could live long-term in a place as dangerous as Azure Jade Mountain.

After all, Azure Jade Mountain truly housed an S-Rank Mutant Beast.

As for how the Beast Tide came about… could there be a laboratory there as well?

Some immensely powerful S-Rank Sentinel from Starlight City had built a laboratory in Azure Jade Mountain?

The thought of how, in his previous life, Xiang Ye had been captured and taken to a laboratory made Ying Li suddenly alert.

Elder Ye needed to vanish from Freedom City for a while.

He also needed to muddy the waters.

Boss Lin, under his direction, had already stirred up tensions between several of the Underground City’s major families, but it still wasn’t enough.

He needed to do something more. For example, expose the Shen Family’s laboratory to the public eye.

Ever since his rebirth, Ying Li had been wanting to expose this laboratory to prevent more people from becoming victims.

But before, he’d been nothing more than a common B-Rank Sentinel from the Upper City District. Without a pass, he couldn’t even enter the Central District, and anything he posted on the network would be immediately flagged and monitored.

He had no way to blow the lid off the matter.

But now, with both Boss Lin and Ding Hua on his side, the number of things he could do had multiplied.

Ying Li soaked in the bathtub, deep in thought.

Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open. Xiang Ye poked his head in from the other side.

Ying Li: “…”

He had been thinking deeply, yet he’d kept his mental power spread out to monitor his surroundings.

But he had been alert for enemies or outsiders. Xiang Ye was outside his alertness perimeter.

So when Xiang Ye came barging in, Ying Li was completely caught off guard.

“Big Brother Ying, are you okay? You’ve been in there for so long. Why aren’t you coming out?” Xiang Ye asked while staring intently at Ying Li.

Ying Li’s body was completely submerged in the water. The water, tinted by some dark solution, was so murky that Xiang Ye couldn’t make out a thing.

Xiang Ye’s face was full of regret.

Ying Li couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry.

Lately, hadn’t Xiang Ye’s behavior become increasingly shameless?

“I’m fine.” Seeing Xiang Ye staring eagerly with no intention of leaving, Ying Li could only helplessly say, “I’m not done washing yet. Can you close the door?”

“Sure.” Xiang Ye left as requested, but with extreme reluctance.

Once the door shut, Xiang Ye broke into a grin.

It wasn’t that he was truly trying to take advantage of Ying Li. He just wanted to remind Ying Li of his feelings, so Ying Li would stop treating him like a child.

He felt this approach was working. Ying Li was treating him less and less like a kid now.

He refused to believe that with him sticking by Ying Li’s side, Ying Li could ever go looking for someone else!

By the time Ying Li finished his bath, his wounds had mostly healed.

After leaving Azure Jade Mountain, he had searched everywhere for A-Rank Mutant Beasts. He had found two and slain them.

Fighting the beasts improved his strength. He could feel his mental power steadily growing.

The mushroom he had eaten right after his rebirth was more potent than any Heavenly Treasure currently documented.

In his previous life, splitting it in half with Wu Nian had still allowed him to advance to A-Rank and even brush against the barrier of S-Rank. In this life, it went without saying.

Ying Li could feel his body brimming with power. He just needed some more time.

Suddenly sensing something, Ying Li vaulted from the tub. In the shortest possible time, he pulled on his Combat Suit, rushed out the door, scooped up Xiang Ye, and bolted outside.

As he ran, he fastened Xiang Ye’s visor onto him.

Xiang Ye grasped what was happening immediately. Without saying a word, he pressed himself tightly against Ying Li and shielded himself with his mental power.

The two were outside in moments. And now Xiang Ye could feel the disturbance, too.

Someone was fighting in Freedom City! And the two combatants were incredibly powerful!

He concentrated his senses and realized one of them was Ding Hua.

Who was Ding Hua fighting? That ill-intentioned Sentinel Ying Li had mentioned after returning?

Xiang Ye’s guess was spot on. Ding Hua was indeed locked in battle against the very Sentinel Ying Li had identified.

Freedom City’s population was small. After Ying Li told her a Sentinel had infiltrated the city and described his appearance and clothing, Ding Hua tracked him down quickly.

She hadn’t intended to fight him; she just wanted to ascertain his origins. But the moment she found him, before she had exchanged more than a few words, the man suddenly attacked her.

Ding Hua had never been known for a good temper. If he attacked her, she would certainly attack back. And so they began to fight.

Once the battle was underway, Ding Hua sensed something was wrong.

This mysterious Sentinel was incredibly strong. He was barely any weaker than she was!

If Xiang Ye hadn’t performed Mental Combing on her recently, she might have fallen to him!

She knew every A-Rank Sentinel in Starlight City. This man was none of them. Where the hell had he come from?

The clash between two A-Rank Sentinels—the B-Rank Sentinels and those weaker in Freedom City couldn’t possibly intervene.

They all scrambled to hide.

Conveniently, since Sentinels in Freedom City often went into Berserk states, many Bunkers for sheltering had been built throughout the city.

So when Ying Li arrived, all he saw were Ding Hua and the A-Rank Sentinel locked in ferocious combat, the surroundings completely deserted.

Ying Li did not jump in. He hid in a corner, taking Xiang Ye with him.

He had come out in case Ding Hua couldn’t beat this man, as the man’s strength was on par with hers.

Bringing Xiang Ye along was to prevent someone from using a diversion tactic to kidnap Xiang Ye.

With Xiang Ye present, he couldn’t join the fray directly, but he could assist Ding Hua with his mental power.

Seizing the right moment, Ying Li launched a mental power assault against the A-Rank Sentinel.

He had fought this very A-Rank Sentinel in his past life. He remembered this man’s body being extraordinarily tough, either from consuming some body-enhancing Heavenly Treasure or using certain drugs.

But this man’s Mental Sea, just like Ding Hua’s, was unstable.

In his previous life, he had gone for broke and killed this man with mental power alone.