Chapter 154: Death to Those Who Stand in My Way

A faint red glow flickered in Li Yuancheng’s eyes. The golden-red patterns on his face suddenly swelled, spreading across his neck and arms like a living tapestry.

His figure grew taller by nearly a third, reaching an imposing height of two meters and thirty to thirty-four centimeters.

With a fierce roar, he bellowed, “Stand in my way and you die.”

Without sparing a glance at his followers who had fallen under the arrowstorm behind him, he faced Zhang Yi’s tiger-headed blade with a slight lift of his sword.

A piercing howl cut through the air as a pale golden sword light slashed forth, cleaving the very atmosphere.

Crash—

A tremendous explosion rang out.

In an instant, Zhang Yi’s long blade shattered into millions of fragments, scattering like a torrential downpour behind him.

His towering frame seemed to have collided with an iron wall, hurtling backward through the air.

A deep, crimson gash stretched from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, nearly slicing him in two.

Perched atop the tree canopy, a middle-aged woman’s eyes burned with anxiety. She gasped sharply and intensified the volley of arrows.

This time, the assault was aimed directly at Li Yuancheng.

A slender, short-statured figure darted forward and caught Zhang Yi. Seeing him utterly limp and powerless, the figure hastily produced a vial and forcefully poured the medicine into his mouth, desperate to keep him alive.

Arrows struck Li Yuancheng, sparks flying as they bounced off, but he remained standing despite the exertion.

The Li family head merely scanned his surroundings coldly, sneering, “They must be in the grove. Don’t linger—charge straight in.”

The latter command was directed at Li Shaoyun and the others behind him.

Though some sensed something amiss, there was no choice but to follow blindly.

At this dire juncture, retreat was no longer an option.

“How could this be?”

Tang Zhixuan and her companions were all stunned as they took in the unfolding battle.

Although Zhang Yi had only recently broken into the fifth rank, his innate talent and constitution were formidable, and his strength considerable.

Moreover, having led the city’s hunting team for years, he was seasoned in life-or-death combat against ferocious beasts and infiltrating barbarians within Yuanjiang City.

His blade technique was polished and his experience vast—enough to hold his own against sixth-rank experts.

Charging ahead, spearheading the first wave of attack with the city hunting team was the safest tactic.

Yet, to everyone’s shock, Zhang the big-bearded man was overwhelmed before he could even land a single move, blood spurting from his body, his combat power extinguished.

Li Yuancheng’s condition was anything but normal.

In fact, anyone who laid eyes on him could see the changes.

His physique, strength, speed, and mental state all seemed distorted.

A surging, immense force of blood energy nearly crystallized into a protective blood cocoon around him.

“Blood condensation into a core… He forcibly condensed the core, sharply increasing his strength. Be careful.”

Tang Zhixuan had been probing the Li family’s capabilities for some time and naturally understood Li Yuancheng’s original level of power.

Detecting something wrong, she shouted a warning.

But it was already too late.

A flash of red light flickered before them. A figure, borne on winds and thunder, appeared right in front. His greatsword hung in the air, golden radiance crackling like lightning.

“Tang Tang…”

Nearby, Yun Luo had been watching indifferently, waiting to strike at the critical moment.

He had regarded this as mere trouble from a minor family in a small city, nothing worthy of much concern.

At most, one or two sixth-rank fighters…

Among the strongest graduates of Qingning Academy, he was confident he could handle them all.

Yet now, tension gripped him. At once, he unleashed his signature Blue Lake Sword Style, forming an impenetrable barrier around himself.

His reflexes were swift, his long sword striking with full force, blood energy surging to create a shimmering blue sword veil.

But merely sensing the oppressive sword intent of his opponent chilled him to the bone.

Chen Yuexia’s curved blade swept low like a spinning wheel, sending out waves of light rings. Her movements were as light and graceful as a swallow skimming the water’s surface.

Tang Zhixuan exhaled sharply, her long hair flowing as she struck with a crescent moon arc toward Li Yuancheng’s chest and abdomen.

The clustered stabs that could block lethal arrows proved the Li family’s Golden Body Jade Skill was strong.

Yet Tang Zhixuan did not believe he could withstand the full force of her explosive sword style.

Seeing Li Yuancheng advance, the three immediately combined their moves—a coordinated two attacks and one defense.

“Get lost!”

Li Yuancheng’s form flickered in place, becoming a phantom to their eyes.

A gentle breeze swirled around him as if he passed effortlessly through the crescent moon slash. Simultaneously, he evaded Chen Yuexia’s low sweeping curved blade.

A line of golden light stretched across the blue sword veil, tearing a gash through it with an explosive surge of energy.

Tang Zhixuan and Chen Yuexia’s attacks, hindered by their Wind Walking technique, failed to strike true; while Yun Luo’s forward defense, though formidable for a sixth-rank warrior, was shredded as if made of paper.

The Dragon-Slaying Sword Technique’s single slash tore him apart.

He cried out, flying like a bouncing ball, spitting blood wildly.

Su Yuqing darted through the midst of barbarians, mainly to entangle the towering three-meter beast-headed hammer warrior, but even she barely had time to glance his way.

Seeing the crisis, she couldn’t help but shout loudly, “Why aren’t you attacking yet?”

At that very moment, a tiger’s roar thundered out.

Wild winds swept fiercely through the surroundings.

Tiger Roar Wind, Tiger Spirit Blade.

A blade shimmered through the woods, growing ever brighter as it surged forward.

Along the path, barbarians fell silently, cleaved into fragments.

The three-meter-tall beast barbarian wildly swung his hammer in frenzy, only to be severed in two by the radiant blade.

But it did not end there—the blood-red blade light surged forward like a great wave, gradually forming a fearsome tiger’s head with gleaming fangs.

With a flash, its momentum intensified, biting fiercely toward Li Yuancheng.

The transformation was swift.

Li Yuancheng had only just broken through the combined assault of Tang Zhixuan and her two companions without much effort. With a smooth return of his sword motion, he aimed to kill the two bothersome women.

Before departing, he had consumed a highly concentrated spirit-clearing elixir, bolstering his confidence.

Seeing a rare opportunity, he directly forced the blood condensation breakthrough.

Though his core was not yet fully solidified, it had preliminarily reached the state of core condensation.

His strength had initially stepped into the grandmaster realm.

He felt the flow of qi coursing through him, every move accompanied by immense power.

Even more unusual, the surrounding elemental energy boiled with his attacks and defenses, absorbed seamlessly into his sword intent, making his strikes overwhelmingly fierce.

He sensed that none present could withstand even one or two of his moves.

“Kill that brat! Avenge Shaohua’s blood feud! Seize the empty crystalline stones! Take the natural water from the barbarians!

Then I shall transcend the inner energy barrier and step into the great grandmaster realm.”

Though pressed into a trap and exposed for trading with the barbarians, Li Yuancheng felt no fear.

Instead, his path ahead seemed radiant and boundless.

If he missed this chance today, his strength would surge, and the sky and sea would be his to roam.

One day, with grandmaster power, he could rebuild a clan of his own.

Why waste effort struggling for mere profit and fame any longer?