Chapter 65: The Slap
Chapter 65: The Slap
Feeling slightly anxious, Li Yi did not lose his reason. Before setting out, he packed his belongings methodically.
On his left and right wrists were the Illusion Demon Bracelet and the Void Clarity Bracelet. On the index and middle fingers of his left hand were the Grip of Serenity and the Sumeru Ring respectively. He wore the Wraith Bottle around his neck and draped the Tree Shadow Cloak over his shoulders. The Samsara Shroud was stored inside the Sumeru Ring. However, the blueprint for the “Snake-Hair Hunter Type II” was instead taken out and fastened beneath the clothes on his chest.
The reason was that he noticed this blueprint was made from the scale-hide of a fierce beast of the flood dragon-mirage kind. Its surface was inconspicuous, but it actually had the effect of absorbing Battle Aura and magical impacts, somewhat similar to the “Storm Fortress”.
He looked in the mirror. One could say he was armed to the teeth. He nodded.
It was better to be safe than sorry!
Dawn Cliff had its rules, but once outside Mount Li, anything could happen.
The Land of Light and Shadow had guards, enough to deal with ordinary ruffians and thugs. The current situation, however, was not ordinary.
Just who were these people?
“Let’s go!”
His toes pressed heavily against the ground. No Battle Aura erupted, but power burst forth. Li Yi’s figure was like a hunting cloud leopard as he sprinted out.
In the night wind, his movements were agile, his steps steady, his breathing even and long. His wind-like speed gave a feeling of unhurried ease.
Mammoth Shakes the Mountain was indeed a kingly way of tempering the body. While running, his endurance was like that of a rhinoceros or elephant, continuous and unending.
…
Land of Light and Shadow.
Li Yi was slightly out of breath, a thoughtful expression on his face.
After that long run, his blood was pumping, his lungs and heart beating, his bones, muscles, and flesh actually felt invigorated, with strength gushing out wonderfully.
It seemed as if something inside him, after being nourished, had sprouted a new bud.
It appeared that apart from the daily routine of “Mammoth Shakes the Mountain,” he had been too busy with meditation, and other physical training was still insufficient.
If he used multiple training methods, the gains would surely be greater.
Realizing this, Li Yi coveted the other four images even more.
As he pondered, his gaze shifted blankly. The chaotic scene that came into view snapped him back to reality, his expression changing drastically.
The words “got smashed” had prepared him mentally, but he hadn’t expected it to be so thoroughly smashed!
When Li Yi last visited, the place was still under decoration, with no tables or chairs arranged. This time, there were similarly very few tables and chairs.
The floor was covered with broken tables and chairs, a complete mess. As for fruits, snacks, and such, needless to say, they were scattered all over the place.
However, the few tables and chairs at the very front were undamaged. Seven or eight young masters dressed in luxurious clothes sat there, continuing to watch the show.
It seemed their status was noble. Even these troublemakers dared not easily offend them.
Boastful curses invaded his ears, particularly grating. Following the sound, Li Yi looked to a corner of the room. Little Stone was there, all smiles, apologizing humbly and meekly.
In front of him was an arrogant and domineering blood-robed youth. Behind the youth followed two attendants.
A glint flashed in Li Yi’s eyes. He had not yet cultivated the Dawnlight Eyes, but the spiritual technique—Focus Mind—also had a decent effect.
“Oh?”
That blood-robed youth was a Lower-Rank Spell Apprentice, but his aura was strange, deeply harboring a bloody, destructive intent, as if a demon or monster lurked within, profound and eerie. Beneath the blood-colored magic robe, several waves of Arcane Energy rose and fell like breathing, resonating with Mana. It seemed he possessed quite a few magical items.
“The School of Communing with the Unseen?” Li Yi thought to himself. “Not the Necromancy faction. The Abyss faction, or the Purgatory faction?”
Within the path of magic, barriers were faint, and distinctions between factions were not obvious.
However, generally speaking, after becoming a full Mage, one would choose a main path of cultivation based on Bloodline Ability, innate bone attributes, Celestial Human Aspect, and such, with other schools serving as supplements.
After all, a person’s energy was limited.
The School of Communing with the Unseen broadly referred to mages related to other planes. Depending on the different planes, there were factions like the Necromancy faction, the Abyss faction, the Purgatory faction, the Star Realm faction, the Behemoth faction, etc. Gu Yanran belonged to the Necromancy faction within the School of Communing with the Unseen.
The youth now noticed Li Yi too. A cold sneer suddenly appeared on his face. He raised his hand and swung out a slap!
Smack!
In the clear sound of the slap, Little Stone spun in place. A bright red finger mark appeared on his pale face.
“You punk, you’re just a dog! Your apology is worthless! Where’s the boss? I want to see your boss!”
Cursing foully, he turned his gaze to Li Yi, his look provocative, a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
“My name is Li Yi. I am one of the bosses of the Land of Light and Shadow,” Li Yi supported Little Stone, calming him with a few words before turning back. “May I ask, in what way has my Land of Light and Shadow been lacking in hospitality?”
“Your fruits are all dirty and rotten. Are they meant for feeding pigs?” The youth placed his hands on his hips, acting arrogantly.
“Oh? Such a thing?” Li Yi naturally did not believe his nonsense. “Where is the dirty part? Let me see…”
“You want to see?” The youth sneered and shouted loudly, “Zhang Ping!”
The attendant named Zhang Ping picked up an apple from the ground. The youth took it and stomped on it viciously several times with his foot.
“See? Dirty and rotten. I didn’t lie, did I?” The youth smiled smugly, shamelessly saying, “Speak. How will you compensate us?”
No mistake about it. They were here to cause trouble!
Li Yi’s expression darkened slightly.
“I’m asking you a question. Are you deaf?” The youth took a step closer, moving strangely fast, and swung his hand for another slap. “What are you standing there for? Still not apologizing?”
However, this slap stopped dead in mid-air.
Li Yi’s hand was like an iron clamp. The youth struggled several times but couldn’t break free. He was secretly shocked: This guy has immense strength!
He had bathed in the “Yellow Springs Breath,” making his strength twice that of a normal person, yet he had never been at a disadvantage when competing in strength with a mage.
“Do me a favor. Let this matter be dropped here and now, alright?” Li Yi revealed a smile as warm as spring. Others didn’t know, but when this kind of smile appeared, it was precisely when he was about to lose his temper.
“A favor? What are you? Do you even deserve a favor? Let go of me now!” The youth cursed angrily, a stream of cold, harsh words.
“Oh, not willing to do me a favor…” Li Yi said calmly. “Then, shall I do you a favor?”
Before the youth could understand Li Yi’s meaning, a slap whistling with wind and thunder arrived unexpectedly!
Smack!
The youth spun in a circle, his movement almost a copy of Little Stone’s.
He had indeed been deliberately provoking, but he never expected Li Yi would actually dare to slap him!
“Do you know who I am?” The youth covered his face, his expression ferocious. “I am You Wucheng! You, as in the You of the ‘Black Rope’ You Clan! How dare you hurt me? I’ll personally kill you to wash away this disgrace!”
Before Li Yi could react, the group of nobles in front, attracted by the dispute between the two, began to laugh and mock.
“You Wucheng, making great progress indeed… As a Spell Apprentice, picking a fight with a Half-Step Mage? Tsk tsk, really bringing honor to your You Clan!”
“Exactly, no wonder ever since You Qiushui, the You Clan has actually been going downhill…”
“Such misfortune for the family!”
These few people were indeed, as Li Yi suspected, of extraordinary status. They didn’t even put You Qiushui, one of the Nine Elders, in their eyes at all.
“Zhang Mingshi, this is between him and me. Stay out of it!”
Hearing this, You Wucheng wasn’t embarrassed either. He raised his arm high, and a jade-green cold light shot out from his wide sleeve.
“Animate Ropes?” Li Yi let out a light exclamation, pushing off with his foot to create distance.
Upon reaching the Spell Apprentice Realm, one could manipulate objects with spirit. Animate Ropes was one of those techniques. However, as a mage, one naturally couldn’t manipulate ordinary ropes. Chains were hard to carry, so things like Blood-drinking Thorns, Corpse-devouring Grass, Poison-heart Vines, etc., were often used, either carrying poison or drinking blood, with terrifying lethality.
A sudden sense of warning arose in his heart. Li Yi’s eyes narrowed to the size of pinpoints as he retreated several more steps in succession.
In an instant, that jade-green light split into five ferocious, clawing vines of blue-purple, wrapped in a gloomy, icy, destructive aura, demonically attacking. Their tips actually opened like maws of a Venus flytrap, revealing ferocious appearances as they spat out Bitter Spring Death Qi, corroding life force!
“Bitter Spring Prison Vine?” Li Yi’s voice held endless astonishment.
The Bitter Spring Prison Vine only grew in the Nine-fold Purgatory, a creature of the Outer Realm, extremely formidable. This thing had the potential to grow to level 7 or even level 8, devouring heaven and earth, unpredictable and unfathomable.
“Scram!”
A cold glint flashed in Li Yi’s eyes. Thunder seemed to burst from his tongue, his lips and teeth glowing brilliantly. Golden light gathered on his face, condensing into the form of a lion and erupting forth!
Divine Intent Lion’s Roar!
Light and darkness clashed. A howl of anguish sounded. The Bitter Spring Prison Vine emitted a cloud of black Qi and shrank back to You Wucheng’s arm.
Within the Divine Intent Lion’s Roar, that vast, bright aura was the natural bane of the Bitter Spring Prison Vine.
Li Yi felt fortunate. This Bitter Spring Prison Vine was still in its juvenile stage. Otherwise, it definitely wouldn’t have been so easy.
Just as he was sighing in relief, all around him, streams of crimson bloody shadows suddenly rose, swirling and coiling.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I am a summoner.” You Wucheng crossed his arms, looking extremely pleased with himself.