Chapter 50: Return
Chapter 50: Return
Whoosh!
A voodoo arrow flew past Li Yi’s ear—a narrow miss!
Without the enhancement of the Wind Stride Spell, his movements weren’t fast, but his steps were strange and light. With the cover of the Tree Shadow Cloak, his figure shifted like stars, flickering between real and illusory, elusive to grasp.
In just a few steps, the distance between the two closed rapidly.
“The Thousandfold Strategy? To have cultivated it to this level in just a few days?” Zhang Jue was secretly shocked, and the killing intent in his heart surged even more. “This kid cannot be left alive!”
Li Yi’s face was calm, but inwardly, his nerves were taut.
The Thousandfold Strategy progressed from the simple to the complex, born from the infinite, reaching Two Forms, Sancai, Four Symbols, Five Elements, Six Paths, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, and Ten Directions, with endless changes and infinite permutations.
But in such a short time, Li Yi had only deduced about twenty steps.
Using the concealment of the Tree Shadow Cloak, he executed it repeatedly without revealing a pattern. But once the other party detected it, that would be troublesome…
Fortunately, the distance was now almost enough!
Li Yi looked up and, with a few practiced gestures, launched a Mana Missile.
At the same time, a shrieking cold arrow came flying toward his face.
Li Yi intended to dodge by tilting his head, but suddenly, a pain shot through his brow—his intuition was warning him.
He fixed his gaze and saw that on the long arrow, bright flowing-fire runes were glowing—it was an “Inferno Arrow”!
The Inferno Arrow had an “Inferno Talisman Array” carved on its tip, containing the power of thunder and fire. It was as famous as arrows like the “Armor-Piercing Arrow” and the “Changfeng Arrow,” renowned for its immense destructive power.
If Li Yi remembered correctly, its value was probably around three thousand gold coins!
What a deep grudge this was…
He cursed inwardly.
“Die!”
Zhang Jue’s figure flickered several times, avoiding the oncoming Mana Missile—this was the combat skill “Swift Wind Step.”
His wild laughter mixed with the arrow’s shriek was especially piercing.
The sting of using such an arrow was real, but Zhang Jue truly felt a deep-seated fear toward that youth. Moreover, he wasn’t sure how long his Moon-Snatching Blood Macaque could withstand the Inferno.
“Come on!” Unable to dodge in time, a sharp gleam flashed in Li Yi’s eyes as he uncorked the Wraith Bottle.
Boom!
Thunder and fire splashed, shockwaves rolled, and earth and stones flew. A towering giant figure crumbled like collapsing earth, breaking into fragments!
“An earth-stone servant? How does this kid have so many summoned creatures?”
His heart filled with doubt, he suddenly noticed the Moon-Snatching Blood Macaque’s massive body piercing through the Inferno and smashing countless large trees. That Inferno was clearly an empty illusion!
“Come back!” Zhang Jue hurriedly commanded.
“Can you still come back?”
This cold voice was already right in front of him!
Compared to Zhang Jue, the thirteen-year-old Li Yi was slightly shorter. He raised his finger and pointed at Zhang Jue’s chest. A dark watery pellet condensed at his fingertip!
“Water Bullet Spell?”
From amidst the chaotic debris, a dark water column shot diagonally into the sky, like a deep night sky splitting the daytime heavens!
“The second one!”
Li Yi’s expression was somewhat complicated. He muttered to himself, perhaps out of habit, or perhaps because he had personally witnessed this person’s ugly nature—the guilt in his heart was much lighter.
“Your luck is really quite good…” Li Yi clapped his hands, looked back at the two, and said with a smile.
“This has nothing to do with luck. My Mottled Bamboo Physique has a talent—’Soul Link,’” Liu Fangfei said with a slightly flushed face, speaking awkwardly. “When you left, I placed a soul mark on you. Later, when I was injured, I was flustered and unconsciously…”
“No wonder,” Li Yi suddenly understood. No wonder Liu Fangfei had recognized him at a glance. Seeing that their injuries were serious, he asked, “You should have some healing medicine on you, right?”
“Inside the heel of my right shoe, there are three pills,” Wang Ben groaned and said with a bitter smile. “Little brother, could you help me take them out…”
Quite the hiding spot…
Li Yi muttered to himself and did as told, giving one pill to each of them.
“How do you plan to handle the arrows in your backs?”
He looked at their porcupine-like backs and felt a headache coming on. The arrows had to be removed, but something like scraping the bone to heal the wound—he really couldn’t do that.
“Don’t worry, my Wang Clan has the ‘Cloak Shedding’ technique, specifically for arrow wounds. No need to trouble yourself.”
As Wang Ben spoke, veins bulged on his face. The skin on his back actually rippled like a wrinkled robe, rising and falling. Arrow after arrow was squeezed out, clattering to the ground.
“And you?” Li Yi clicked his tongue in amazement, then noticed Liu Fangfei hadn’t moved and couldn’t help but ask.
“Don’t look at me…” Liu Fangfei stamped her foot, her face flushed red, and said in a low voice.
This little girl is quite shy…
Li Yi chuckled inwardly and simply turned around, walking toward Zhang Jue’s corpse to search it.
This search turned up a full seven Beast-Blood Fruits!
Besides the Beast-Blood Fruits, there were also some coins, spare clothes, and many bottles and jars that looked like poisons.
Additionally, there was a manual with three characters written on it—“Dragon-Stealing Technique.”
Unfortunately, what Li Yi wanted most—“Jungle Eyes”—was not found.
Eye techniques were greatly beneficial for drawing runes and magic arrays. Although mages had powerful mental senses, the eyes were also an extremely important aspect.
“Seven Beast-Blood Fruits—how on earth did you get them?” Li Yi was extremely curious and couldn’t help asking. “That’s the habitat of level 5 magical beasts. With your strength, how did you get through?”
“We didn’t need to get through!” Wang Ben laughed heartily, a sly look on his face. “The magical beasts at the Beast Gate don’t attack each other. We just used the Prison Spirit technique to control the Moon-Snatching Blood Macaque to go pick them directly. Only, we didn’t expect the will of the inferno to be so unreliable…”
Making deals with a plague god—of course you’d get the short end of the stick?
Li Yi thought to himself.
“Um… Could these seven Beast-Blood Fruits and the Dragon-Stealing Technique be given to me?” At this point, Wang Ben looked somewhat embarrassed and gave a bitter smile. “Sorry, it seems I really don’t have anything to exchange for them…”
“Dragon-Stealing Technique? What is this technique for?” Li Yi flipped open the manual and asked.
“Beast-Blood Fruits, after fifteen steps of processing, can be refined into ‘Beast Seeds,’ randomly obtaining a lineage of an exotic beast. But using the ‘Dragon-Stealing Technique,’ you can refine ‘Rainforest Seeds,’ which can yield one of three lineages: ‘Treant,’ ‘Marsh Spirit,’ or ‘Green Dragon’!”
Li Yi immediately understood—this item was for Liu Fangfei.
The “Sword Robe” lineage excelled in prolonged battles, bloody fights, and fierce combat. It was a top-tier warrior lineage, but it offered no benefit to the “Mottled Bamboo Physique.”
The three lineages mentioned above were different. Rainforest species favor green bamboo, which could produce various wonderful meanings with the “Mottled Bamboo Physique.”
“If you want them, take them!” Li Yi said with a carefree smile. “However, I’d like to study this ‘Dragon-Stealing Technique’ first. It might be useful to me in the future.”
“Of course,” Wang Ben was overjoyed, even his speech becoming stuttered. “Thank you!”
Li Yi gave a faint smile.
It wasn’t out of kindness, but in his view, this act of goodwill was more precious than the elusive “Green Dragon” lineage.
The “Sword Robe” Wang Clan was a behemoth not inferior to the “Green Lotus” Zhangsun Clan. Moreover, its influence was mostly concentrated in the military, awe-inspiring in might!
Li Yi might not have opportunities to deal with the military, but building connections, in the long run, had a hundred benefits and no harm.
After memorizing the incantation, Li Yi handed all the Beast-Blood Fruits and the Dragon-Stealing Technique to Wang Ben.
“This is the second time you’ve saved me. If I don’t show some gratitude, it really wouldn’t be right!” Wang Ben looked grateful, thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and handed something over. “This item, I give to you!”
Li Yi fixed his gaze and couldn’t help but be stunned.
It was a bronze waist token. Viewed from the front, he could see a powerfully carved character “Wang.” But from other angles, that “Wang” character transformed into the shape of a Sword Robe Dragon Rider, as if about to soar into the sky.
“I am the legitimate second son of the Taiyuan Wang Clan. If you take this token to any Taiyuan Wang Clan business, you can contact me.” Wang Ben’s voice was firm, and he patted his chest. “Anything within my power, I will not refuse!”
Li Yi was overjoyed in his heart. Just this token alone had uses far beyond what the “Green Dragon” lineage could compare to.
“With your status, why did you need to risk your lives like this?” However, he became even more puzzled.
“My clan’s teaching is—the edge of a divine weapon comes from thousands of temperings and strikes. Therefore, before adulthood, the clan’s young members must rely on themselves for training!” Wang Ben gave a faint smile and explained.
“Can you tell me your real name?” Liu Fangfei stared at him with a deep gaze and asked softly.
“Li Yi!” Li Yi actually blushed and felt embarrassed. “Not from a great clan, just a nobody…”
…
On the tenth day, the Beast Gate collapsed with a great rumble. Li Yi also activated his mark, bid farewell to the two, and returned to Dawn Cliff.
“Brother, do you think we’ll see him again?” Liu Fangfei looked at the disappearing figure and asked somewhat dreamily.
“I have a feeling, four years from now, definitely!” Wang Ben’s eyes gleamed brightly as he said with a smile.
“Four years? You mean…” Liu Fangfei’s face suddenly became as hot as fire.