Chapter Sixteen: The Tide Turns

Clang, clang, clang...

“Defeated a third-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator, experience +130 points!”
“Experience +110 points!”
“Experience +130 points!”
“+100 points...”
...

“Congratulations, Tianming, you are only 50 experience points away from reaching the second tier of Qi Drawing.”

With each explosion of the black energy shells, the Yuan Qi Cannon in Tianming’s hand vanished in an instant. The prompt explained: he had already used up all ten shells, and Tianming decided not to purchase more—after all, he couldn’t afford them.

“Do you concede?” Tianming laughed aloud, looking at the stunned faces around him.

“We concede, we concede!” Cold Yuan Sheng, snapping out of his shock, gave a thumbs-up, deeply impressed. Had Tianming not mentioned on the road that he was merely in the Qi Drawing realm, Cold Yuan Sheng and his companion would have thought they’d encountered some ancient monster—a cultivator who had reincarnated into a new body—for Tianming’s leap from martial artist to Qi Drawing was simply incredible.

“Courting death!” Seeing the arrogance of the two, the two ninth-tier guards, who had been itching for a fight, rushed forward at once. Earlier, they’d been reluctant to act: if their intervention led to bloodshed, demotion or worse could follow. But now, after Tianming had slain so many guards, they had ample justification. Regardless of the reason, they would not escape punishment. Even if they held back, the City Lord’s Mansion would hunt them down without mercy once the report reached higher ears.

Striking like lightning, two streams of fist energy struck Tianming and Yuan Sheng almost immediately.

Boom!

Four streams of elemental energy swirled across the field. As the two guards’ Yuan Qi grew ever more oppressive, Tianming and Yuan Sheng’s faces twisted with strain. Only now did they truly understand what it meant to be utterly outclassed.

“Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi?” Tianming’s face turned deathly pale.

“No, only half a step into the Spirit Void,” Yuan Sheng replied through gritted teeth, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Their cultivation was simply too low to accurately gauge their opponents’ level; they’d assumed their foes weren’t much stronger, but found themselves utterly outmatched.

They were caught completely off guard.

“Death is at your door, and you still have the mood to chat?” sneered one of the guards, seeing Tianming and Yuan Sheng on the verge of collapse.

“Enough. Send them to the Yellow Springs to meet their end!”

“Let’s do it!”

The two guards exchanged a glance, tacit understanding in their eyes, and struck together with fists wreathed in red and white energy. The collision rang out with a piercing clarity.

Enemy Yuan Qi surged ever stronger. At last, when Tianming’s own Yuan Qi was spent and could no longer protect him, he crumpled backward with a muffled cry.

With a spurt of blood, Tianming was flung away, his arm dropping limply at his side. Yuan Sheng lasted only a second longer before he too was hurled back, twin trails of blood spraying through the air and splattering onto the crowd of onlooking cultivators.

“Die!” The two guards strode toward the fallen Tianming and Yuan Sheng, fists still blazing with Yuan Qi. As they stepped forward, a tremendous force pressed down on the crowd, each movement like a mountain descending.

“So ruthless!”
“Indeed, I didn’t expect these two would be half a step into the Spirit Void realm—truly hiding their strength.”
“This is bad. If Senior Wang Sheng finds out, none of us will come out well.”
“Should we help them out a bit?”

Seeing the two lying helpless on the ground, the cultivators who had been mere spectators now, after a brief discussion, stepped forward to block the guards’ path.

“Move aside!” The guards showed no mercy, advancing with thick Yuan Qi swirling around their fists. If the two on the ground were struck, the crowd guessed, death would come instantly.

“You may not kill these two!” A figure stepped forward, radiating the aura of a sixth-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator, wrapped in white Yuan Qi. Though not as deep as the guards’, he faced their approach without a hint of fear.

“Who are you? Why speak on their behalf?” The guards, noting his determined gaze and fine attire, exchanged glances, then wisely diffused their Yuan Qi, wary of offending someone of status, despite their own higher cultivation.

“Yao Ao. Let me offer some advice: if you value your lives, you’d best stop now. What they said before was no lie.” Yao Ao gently flicked his folding fan, his tone cool.

The guards regarded the young man curiously.

“No need to look. I’m just an unknown wanderer.” Yao Ao spoke casually, seeing their scrutiny.

“Qiao Xiaoming, Du Lu. A pleasure to meet you,” the two guards replied in unison.

“Then why were you so adamant before that they were troublemakers? If you weren’t toying with us, what were you doing?” Du Lu’s face darkened with rage.

Qiao Xiaoming, too, looked on with anger, though he dared not vent it, not wishing to incur the crowd’s wrath.

“Believe what you will. Of course, you can think we’re toying with you. But if word reaches Senior Wang Sheng, who knows what will happen? Remember, not long ago, the Qi family was wiped out in a single stroke, all because they offended this young man—Tianming!” Yao Ao shook his head, regarding Qiao Xiaoming and Du Lu with a mocking smile.

“What?” Du Lu and Qiao Xiaoming both paled, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

A collective gasp swept the onlookers, who stared with mouths agape. Who was this youth, really?

Tianming himself was stunned—he never expected Senior Wang Sheng to destroy the Qi family for his sake!

But thinking further, Tianming felt a chill: he was no woman, so what could possibly make such powerful figures take notice of him? Just who was Tianhao, the man on the boat? He’d spoken little, but every word commanded obedience. How did he wield such power, enough to move Wang Sheng himself? Why would such a figure go to such lengths for a greenhorn like him? The more Tianming pondered, the deeper his confusion.

“Please, sirs, we failed to recognize greatness—we deserve death. Spare our lives, we have families to support! So long as you spare us, we’ll do whatever you wish!” Before Tianming could speak, Du Lu and Qiao Xiaoming both dropped to their knees, slapping their own faces and begging with tearful voices.

“Can we go in now?” Tianming, his face ashen, ignored the kneeling men, his voice low and heavy.

“Yes, yes!” The two guards nodded frantically, kowtowing to Tianming as he passed.

“What are you waiting for? Help us up, cough…” Cold Yuan Sheng called out loudly to the kneeling men. His excitement sent him into a fit of coughing, blood spattering from his lips.

“Brother, I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have left!” At that moment, Leng Zhide, who had been hanging his head, rushed out to help Cold Yuan Sheng up with great care.

“It’s fine. Work hard at your cultivation, and one day you’ll be able to protect us. Right?”

“Yes!” Leng Zhide nodded firmly, dropping the matter and turning his gaze to Tianming.

“Master Tianming, here are Recovery Pills and Bone-Mending Pills!” Du Lu and Qiao Xiaoming hurriedly helped Tianming up as well, feeding him the pills.

With the medicine swallowed, Tianming instantly felt a surge of heat through his body, replenishing his depleted Yuan Qi, and his injuries slowly began to mend. Even the broken bone gradually healed.

“What about my brother?” Leng Zhide called out, eyeing the pills.

“Yes, of course!” Qiao Xiaoming quickly tossed over another pill.

Cold Yuan Sheng glanced at Tianming, saw that he was fine, and then sat down cross-legged to take his own medicine, letting the potent Yuan Qi flow through him.