Lian Li: “…”
Wait, the South Island Master is the one who shut you down, what does that have to do with me!
While grumbling internally, he also braced himself to resist the crushing pressure.
After a long moment, the slip of paper in the South Island Master’s hand suddenly snapped taut, looking as if another invisible giant hand had seized the other end, attempting to snatch it away.
Beneath his mask, the South Island Master frowned slightly. He raised a hand and brushed it over the paper; the slip instantly went limp again. Then, with a light rub of his fingers, the entire note crumbled into fine powder.
Seeing this, the Transcendent expert spoke again: “Why be so stingy?”
This blatant attempt at theft actually made Lian Li feel a sense of relief. It seemed the expert hadn’t overheard their previous conversation.
Otherwise, this Transcendent expert would have already known exactly what was written on that paper.
However, although the opponent had tried to snatch it, he hadn’t been particularly serious. He likely didn’t care much about what was on their note, or perhaps he suspected it contained something Uncle Bei had divined but assumed it was the same information Monk Suixin had already obtained from the Blind Diviner. Thus, the attempt was merely symbolic.
If he could grab it to verify, all the better; if not, it didn’t matter.
The South Island Master did not respond further. Instead, he continued to stare toward the empty space where the voice originated.
The sudden arrival of this group was clearly a sign of ill intent.
However, as long as the two powerhouses didn’t move, the nine people opposite them—no matter how much they wanted to strike immediately—could only restrain themselves.
After a period of stalemate, the South Island Master’s figure flickered and vanished. Simultaneously, Lian Li and Yun Huizhou felt the faint, lingering pressure dissipate.
The two exchanged a glance, understanding that the South Island Master and the Transcendent expert had gone off to settle things one-on-one.
And the departure of the two masters signaled the beginning of the battle on this side.
Neither of them intended to wait for the other side to make the first move. The moment the pressure vanished, they gripped their weapons and charged toward the nine opponents.
Lian Li had no intention of letting Monk Suixin have an easy time, and Monk Suixin harbored no small amount of malice toward him either.
In particular, after they began to trade blows and the monk discovered that Lian Li’s martial arts had progressed with extraordinary speed, the malice in his eyes intensified.
The eleven combatants did not split the battlefield into two sides; instead, they devolved into a chaotic melee.
Although the nine opponents had the advantage in numbers, their martial arts levels were uneven.
The strongest among them was Monk Suixin. While four others were at a similar level, their actual combat prowess could not compare to this former disciple of the Buddhist Sect.
Specifically, after leaving his sect, Monk Suixin no longer restricted himself to Buddhist techniques. He had learned many other styles, many of which could not be considered “orthodox.”
However, the Buddhist Sect was, after all, a top-tier Great Sect, and its internal cultivation methods were of the highest caliber. Therefore, Monk Suixin still primarily relied on Buddhist martial arts.
It was just that his repertoire of various crooked and unorthodox tricks was endless. He hadn’t used these other techniques and petty tricks when he fought Yun Huizhou last year.
Presumably, it was because there were too many onlookers back then. If someone had recognized where those techniques originated, Monk Suixin would have certainly invited a great deal of trouble upon himself.
Monk Suixin repeatedly tried to bypass Yun Huizhou to launch a sneak attack on Lian Li, but Lian Li was no longer the person he used to be.
Though his martial arts were temporarily inferior to Monk Suixin’s, trading blows with him was no longer a problem.
Furthermore, Yun Huizhou wasn’t just standing there like a statue. At most, Lian Li and Monk Suixin would exchange one or two moves before Yun Huizhou’s blade was already at the monk’s back.
Although there was a significant gap between Lian Li and Yun Huizhou’s cultivation, they shared a profound tacit understanding.
Lian Li was no longer a “little rookie”; he was now barely capable of fighting side-by-side with Yun Huizhou.
In less than fifteen minutes, the opposing side had already lost one person.
Lian Li and Yun Huizhou remained completely unscathed.
Monk Suixin and his companions had originally intended to use their numerical advantage to besiege the two. Now that their numbers were dwindling while their opponents hadn’t even been scratched, it looked as though they were destined to lose their lives.
Yet, they showed no intention of retreating. Aside from Monk Suixin, the other five fighters grew even more ferocious.
Their ferocity was such that they seemed willing to disregard their own lives just to land a heavy blow on Lian Li or Yun Huizhou.
Monk Suixin also showed no sign of backing down. Given his usual style of doing things, unless he was hiding some sort of trump card, he should have already been calculating how to slip away and save his skin in this situation.
Lian Li could see a hint of “having nothing to fear” on Monk Suixin’s face, as if he had something to rely on.
This old baldy is definitely brewing some evil scheme.
Moreover, from Qu Tingquan’s disappearance to the death of the Blind Diviner, this old baldy had been moving toward the Demonic Cult’s side. Combined with the plotline of fighting for a treasure, it meant he was certainly no bit player.
In the “plot,” he might even have a very long life—the type who lives until the grand finale before finally dying.
Lian Li already had an old grudge with this old baldy, and now that he knew the monk was likely part of the protagonist’s opposing faction, he naturally didn’t want the man to leave alive.
After killing two more of the opponents, Lian Li couldn’t help but say to Yun Huizhou, “We can’t let this old baldy escape. He is a major threat.”
Looking at what the monk was doing now, Yun Huizhou was certain the man was no good, but he hadn’t actually seen how he was a “major threat.”
After all, in terms of martial arts, Monk Suixin was no longer worth mentioning in his presence.
If it weren’t for the fact that the opponents were numerous and included five first-class experts, he would have killed Monk Suixin long ago.
However, the defeat of the opposing side was only a matter of time. If Monk Suixin didn’t make a run for it now, once he and Lian Li killed two more, the monk wouldn’t be able to leave even if he wanted to.
Yun Huizhou hadn’t planned on letting Monk Suixin go in the first place. Now that Lian Li had specifically mentioned he was a major threat, even though Yun Huizhou didn’t see it, it didn’t stop his killing intent toward the monk from growing even stronger.
Because the enemy’s numbers were reduced, Yun Huizhou and Lian Li’s techniques became even more sharp and lethal.
They didn’t just want to kill Monk Suixin; they wanted to kill all eight people who had come with him.
Yun Huizhou had already figured out the martial arts styles of those individuals. Those whose martial arts were similar to Lian Li’s belonged to the type of people the Demonic Cult mass-produced.
They studied the same internal cultivation and techniques, usually produced in batches.
The cultivation methods and techniques weren’t profound, but they had the advantage of using special methods to allow practitioners to reach this level quickly, with no requirements for innate talent.
Even someone with exceptionally poor talent for martial arts could reach this level within a short ten years.
However, the worse the talent, the more it damaged one’s lifespan.
Therefore, the people assigned by the Demonic Cult to learn this particular martial art were those with poor talent—those who might never reach this level through normal practice, or who would take far longer than ten years to do so.
To put it bluntly, they were a group of consumables.
Yun Huizhou didn’t know if these people were aware that the martial arts they studied had such a drawback, but he didn’t care.
