Chapter 82: Fight for Life
Chapter 82: Fight for Life
Run! Run! Run!
The shadow of death was close behind. Li Yi gritted his teeth and moved swiftly. His body rose and fell, his steps heavy yet steady, no less fierce than a runaway wild horse!
Leixu’s gravity domain felt like a thousand invisible hammers pounding every inch of his flesh and blood. As he practiced Mammoth Shakes the Mountain, many previously stagnant, awkward, and unconnected parts suddenly became clear.
In one breath, it flowed!
One foot landed, swirling winds coiled around his toes, immense power erupted from his soles. The two forces combined perfectly, increasing his speed by another twenty percent!
At the same time, with his blood surging, the Six Strategies Qi swirling around him became even more fervent and conspicuous, merging into his body with greater efficiency.
His injuries were actually gradually healing.
That newly formed Bloodline Rune was like bathing in sunlight and rain; its rate of evolution exceeded expectations.
Li Yi had no time for joy. The noisy crowd trailing behind him, like an army of marching ants, made his scalp tingle with fear!
“Huh? Weren’t there three other people too? Why are they all focusing on me?”
He was frantic with anxiety.
Fortunately, this group had originally planned to intercept him outside the gravity domain but failed, so they were all following behind. The path ahead, however, was clear.
But was it really clear?
Swish!
A whistling sound tore through the air. A huge Frost-Condensed Snowball, carrying an aura of frost, drew a trail of ice crystals through the sky before crashing to the ground, stirring up a wave of snowflakes.
Its aim was poor, landing over ten meters to Li Yi’s right front.
“Idiot, even if you could hit me, what then?”
“Did you notice? When casting a spell, you need to split your focus, your speed slows down, and you’ll fall behind others.”
“Even if you injure me, you’re in the back while others are ahead. Aren’t you just doing the hard work for someone else’s benefit?”
“Tsk tsk, such a saintly person, wanting to help others succeed?”
Li Yi infused a wisp of mental energy into his voice, making it echo slowly, lingering for a long time.
“Don’t listen to him! He’s trying to sow discord!” someone immediately shouted.
Unfortunately, this unreasonable and baseless rebuttal had little effect.
The pursuing crowd looked left and right, seeing distrust in each other’s eyes.
It was true. What good was using magic and battle skills? If they hit, they’d fall behind and others would profit. If they missed? They’d waste their energy for nothing. In this chase, they’d slowly fall behind, an even greater loss.
Human nature is selfish. Who was willing to harm themselves to benefit others?
After Li Yi’s few sentences, everyone began consciously conserving their mana and Battle Aura, preparing for a long chase.
The three wisps of Six Strategies Qi – even refining just one would take a full day. Right now, it was still very early!
For every person who fell behind, it meant one less competitor. Why not?
After Li Yi’s words, the nature of this chase changed. It became a war of attrition!
“It worked!” Li Yi glanced sideways behind him, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth, inwardly praising himself.
Endurance contest?
Li Yi believed that with his physique robust as a mammoth and his Wind-Walking Boots, he was second to none.
Besides, these people didn’t know he possessed Ancient Alligator Qi, which could strip away and gnaw at that seven-colored aura. He just needed to buy two hours, and that would be enough!
Slowing his breathing, he carefully maintained his speed – not too close, giving others an opening, nor too far, making the pursuers wary.
Ninety percent of his focus was on controlling the Ancient Alligator Qi, letting it run rampant, biting and eroding, tearing that seven-colored aura apart bit by bit.
Leixu’s body was vast, larger than a mountain range. Li Yi could safely run forward along one side of its form.
…
Time passed, bit by bit.
Under the oppressive, omnipresent gravity, more and more people fell behind.
Naturally, no one paid them any mind. With each competitor lost, one’s own chance grew.
Li Yi still led the way.
His lips were pressed tightly together, his steps steady. If anyone observed closely, they would find his stride and rhythm hadn’t changed one bit!
And the Ancient Alligator Qi, in its struggle with the seven-colored aura, held the initiative, growing fiercer.
The seven-colored aura grew less and less. The pillar of light on his body gradually dimmed.
Only twenty percent remained!
Running, chasing, consuming.
Even more people fell behind. And now, someone finally noticed.
A rat-faced warrior couldn’t hold on, stumbling and collapsing to sit on the ground. As he was about to sigh at the sky, his expression changed dramatically. “Look, everyone! The seven-colored light on him has already diminished by more than half!”
“Damn it!” Li Yi’s face darkened.
This exclamation woke up countless people.
“It’s true!”
“There’s something off about him!”
In truth, such a huge change would be obvious even to an ordinary person.
But they were too close, and their minds were too cluttered. They had to be wary of those around them, meticulously conserve their stamina, their minds never resting as they pondered methods to seize the Six Strategies Qi and their plans for after obtaining it. Too many thoughts scattered their attention, so such an obvious change had actually gone unnoticed!
“This guy has a method to hide the seven-colored light!”
“This Baxia is just too strange. We can’t delay. Kill him first!”
“Right, kill him!”
In the span of a few sentences, the pursuers instantly reached a consensus!
A hundred people roared, a sound rivaling a Behemoth’s cry. Hundreds of magic and Battle Aura lights surged violently, like an apocalyptic tidal wave!
The hairs on the back of Li Yi’s neck stood straight up.
It was his still-forming Mage’s Intuition, frantically sounding the alarm!
Hundreds of spells and battle techniques erupted at the same time.
They blotted out the sky and covered the earth!
Ice blades, snowballs, water bombs, gales, fire orbs, and Battle Aura of various colored lights descended like the sky turning upside down, crushing down! The roars of fury were like the bellows of thunder beasts. The bizarre, kaleidoscopic brilliance cast a layer of beautiful, dappled light across the entire ground!
“Screw your whole family!”
Li Yi cursed loudly. Precise and nimble Magic Gestures flashed out in the blink of an eye.
Under such widespread bombardment, Thousandfold Strategy, which focused on unpredictability rather than straight-line speed, was utterly useless.
He couldn’t dodge. He could only block!
Dragon-Turtle Qi floated on his palms. The originally black Ink Earth Wall now appeared frost-white. Boom! One after another, nine walls rose up!
Curling his body, Li Yi protected his face. His skin vibrated, dispersing the impact force.
BOOM!
Deafening roars reverberated. Large swathes of ground seemed swept by an invisible giant hand. The entire area sank by a foot, left in complete disarray!
“Did he die?”
“No! Look, the colored light hasn’t dispersed!”
Before the words faded, Li Yi’s figure darted out from among the rubble and continued sprinting forward!
His speed had increased again!
Thankfully, during the long tug-of-war, half the people had fallen behind. The remaining ones were also greatly depleted. As for Li Yi, he not only exhausted his Dragon-Turtle Qi but also relied on Siren Splits the Tide to dissolve the impact and his powerful mammoth-like body to barely survive.
Even so, he was quite injured.
His internal organs felt like they had shifted. The Dragon-Turtle Qi inside him was like an oil lamp running dry!
“What kind of monster is this? He still didn’t die?” Someone was shocked. He believed that under such an attack, he would have died a hundred times over. This guy not only didn’t die, he was still full of vigor!
“Think, everyone, of Yazi’s strength!” someone suddenly said coldly. “This person wears the Baxia Mask, another of the Dragon’s nine sons. And Baxia is known for defense! In other words, as much as Yazi excels in attack, this Baxia probably excels just as much in defense! Don’t give him a chance to catch his breath. The night is long with many dreams. Kill him quickly!”
The group gave chase fiercely, especially those who had personally seen Yazi. Their fighting spirit was particularly intense.
“Faster, even faster!”
Li Yi ran as if flying. He sensed the seven-colored aura outside his body was growing less and less!
The gradually dimming curtain of light only made the killing intent of those behind him boil hotter.
Hum!
The second wave of attacks arrived right on schedule!
Countless beams of light surged. Magic and Battle Aura resonated powerfully, darkening the sky!
“Come out!”
Li Yi flicked his finger. A mighty, massive body materialized before him.
Reverse Halberd Type 3!
The moment Reverse Halberd appeared, it turned its head with a sinister growl. It was still unruly, intending mischief against its master.
But immediately, it sensed the violent fluctuations coming from behind!
Reverse Halberd turned. Endless beams of light poured over it!
Crack! Bang! Thunderous sounds, like hitting rotten leather, continued incessantly.
Li Yi huddled his body, hiding behind it.
When he opened his eyes, the upper half of Reverse Halberd was gone without a trace. That twisted evil spirit absorbed the final bit of impact before dispersing like smoke.
Li Yi swallowed, feeling a pang of heartache.
“He’s still not dead?”
“Hurry up, kill him!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
This time, everyone was both shocked and enraged. No more talk. A third wave of attack began to brew!
“It’s almost done, just a little bit more!” At this life-or-death moment, Li Yi released all his Ancient Alligator Qi and even added his ordinary mana to the assault against the seven-colored aura.
Black and silver lights rolled over his body, but he was almost completely defenseless.
The Myriad Paths Scroll was already clutched in his hand, ready to activate at any moment.
Li Yi knew very well that if he didn’t fully refine the seven-colored aura, the next time it appeared, he’d still be detected. This Myriad Paths Scroll would be wasted!
And Li Yi didn’t have a second one.
Above, endless radiance poured down with overwhelming, thunderous force!
“Come on!”
The torrential radiance engulfed his body. At that moment, the last trace of the seven-colored light curtain faded away, and the Myriad Paths Scroll in his palm began to shine brightly.