Chapter 194: Chapter 191 Fight
"Boom!"
The Rashamon Ghost King’s corpse plummeted from the sky, raising a cloud of dust upon impact.
An Invisible Power grabbed the long sword at the brow of the corpse, pulled it out, and then returned it to Jiang Li’s hand.
Jiang Li gripped the long sword in his right hand, the blade resting against his back, as Innate Qi circulated within him, refining and dissipating the Yin Spirit Energy that lingered in his meridians.
Facing the complementary close-quarters combat attacks of two Martial Cultivators, even if Jiang Li could win, it would cost him dearly, so upon noticing that Jiang Daoshan had used his Dao Fruit Ability against the Rashamon Ghost King, Jiang Li decided to use a surprising tactic to triumph, slaying both opponents.
As a result, Jiang Li had accumulated a significant amount of Yin Spirit Energy in his body that needed to be resolved.
However, this impromptu idea also allowed Jiang Li to discover another use for Innate Qi. That was to replicate the opponent’s energy with Innate Qi, thereby embracing the opponent’s attack and turning it into his own offensive power.
’The "Qi Tomb" is known as the origin of Qi Dao for a reason. I must explore the capabilities of Innate Qi further in the future.’
Jiang Li noted this in his mind, then did not search the corpses of Jiang Daoshan and the Rashamon Ghost King, nor did he rush to assist Zhong Shenxiu, but instead tread on the wind to come face to face with Ji Chengye.
"Aren’t you going to help Zhong Shenxiu?" Ji Chengye looked at Jiang Li and asked slowly.
His face showed no signs of frustration from the failed attempt to besiege, resembling not a youth slightly younger than Jiang Li but more like an old, weathered, and judicious man.
Jiang Li glanced into the distance and replied with a light laugh, "My presence here has a greater effect than joining the fray, and besides, Zhong Shenxiu might not even need my help."
Zhong Shenxiu and the others were now fighting on the shallow banks of the Fengquan River, where the skies were dark and two shadows moved constantly—one wielding a long saber while the other utilized thunder and lightning alongside the Red Sword Light. Thunder, sword light, and saber shadows flickered intermittently, with fox tails sweeping and Qi Force rushing like a violent storm, making the battle closely matched and difficult to conclude.
Zhong Shenxiu was besieged by Yang Ji and the Red Sword Light, with Xiao Jiuniang coordinating from outside—an extremely unfavorable balance of power, as both Yang Ji and the Sword Cultivator’s power were on par with Zhong Shenxiu’s, and Xiao Jiuniang was also sixth-rank.
Yet, in the battle itself, Zhong Shenxiu had not fallen into a critical situation and was only at a slight disadvantage.
The Gentleman Dao Fruit’s "Poverty and Humility Cannot Be Moved" allowed him to fight without the injury affecting his strength, "Wealth and Honor Cannot Corrupt" enabled him to resist Xiao Jiuniang’s Confusion Technique, even maintaining his Mental State under pressure, while "Unbendable by Force" inspired potential in times of weakness, increasing True Qi explosiveness.
Zhong Shenxiu brought these three Dao Fruit Abilities to their limits. Despite the long battle, no signs of defeat showed. In fact, his vigor seemed to grow stronger, and he hadn’t even resorted to his sixth-grade Dao Fruit Ability.
On Zhong Shenxiu, the Junzi Dao Fruit of Confucianism was like a berserker’s, fighting more fiercely as the battle progressed, growing stronger with each blow sustained.
Jiang Li watched the situation from a distance after defeating Jiang Daoshan and the Rashamon Ghost King. Though he was not involved, his mere observation made Yang Ji and the others feel like there were thorns on their backs, causing them to be continually distracted and vigilant. This, in turn, gave Zhong Shenxiu the opportunity to counterattack.
Compared to helping Zhong Shenxiu, Jiang Li was now more interested in observing Ji Chengye, the Heir of King Lu.
"Quite the ruthless Heir you are, watching your subordinates fall without the slightest intention to assist," Jiang Li said with a light chuckle, shaking his head, "That’s why sometimes, being a dog is harder than being a human. Choosing whom to serve and how to serve requires extreme caution. If you end up with an irresponsible master, like some wastrel who squanders his ancestors’ legacy, it wouldn’t be surprising to find oneself dying miserably at any moment."
His words were blunt, short of directly pointing at Ji Chengye’s nose and calling him the wastrel, stirring unrest in both Ji Chengye and Jiang Zhihuan behind him.
Jiang Zhihuan knew that the so-called dog referred to himself.
With Ji Chengye so indifferent that he wouldn’t even budge at the death of a sixth-rank right before his eyes, how could Jiang Zhihuan not become the next victim?
Besides, being only seventh-rank, even though he was an official appointed by the court and potentially more valuable, his origin from the Jiang Family made him the prime candidate for abandonment if the need arose.
Jiang Li’s words only further shook the already anxious Jiang Zhihuan.
Meanwhile, Ji Chengye felt anger at Jiang Li’s disdainful tone.
"Squander the foundation? Ha," Ji Chengye sneered, "Great Zhou has a millennia-strong foundation; how could it be squandered? The people of Yong Province have always been rebellious, and the Taiping Sect harbors treasonous intentions. It was only a matter of time before they revolted, and detecting it earlier is convenient for dealing with the problem. Jiang Li, you may be talented for the moment, but your short-sightedness prevents you from seeing the depth of the court’s foundation. A few rebels are nothing but easily crushed as flipping one’s hand."
So your deliberate instigation of rebellion turns out to be an act of loyalty to the court.
It has to be said, the Heir of King Lu really lives up to his status, with more confidence in Great Zhou than anyone.
However, if it was merely to provoke rebellion, Ji Chengye wouldn’t ignore the dying Lu King and play out such a scheme here, would he?
There must be some other plans behind this.
"Pity that the Rain Master Token of the Taiping Sect has fallen into my hands, and the tide of battle is turning. Your plot seems to be on the verge of failure," Jiang Li said mockingly.
As he spoke, Jiang Li’s gaze stretched towards the battlefield, his vision carrying immense weight, landing on Yang Ji and invoking a chill of imminent danger in him.
Seeing this, Ji Chengye’s fingers twitched within his sleeve, hinting at an intent to intervene, but held back due to the alliance’s terms, not daring to make a move.
If he were to reveal his trump card, Ji Chengye indeed could force Jiang Li away or even potentially kill him, but in doing so, Ji Chengye himself would also risk dying, possibly even affecting other members of the Ji Clan.
Jiang Li’s status had changed, he was no longer the insignificant little shrimp of the past.
And if it were just about driving someone away, that wouldn’t be so serious, but in that case, Ji Chengye would have no ace up his sleeve.
"And don’t mention whether you can snatch back the Flood Dragon Pearl, even if you can, it would be futile."
Left with no choice, Ji Chengye could only try to distract Jiang Li with words, "Do you think I was the only one who could have blocked the news of the drought in Yong Province? Even using the Flood Dragon Pearl to solve the temporary drought is just a drop in the bucket, and it will never last until the water resources from the Three States are transported."
The power of the Lu King was certainly not small, but when it involved the land of a province, it was not a minor matter. With just the power of the Lu King alone, it was nearly impossible to make this happen. Not to mention, the Lu King was now cooling off, and the power of the Lu King was now in the hands of Ji Chengye.
There must be other forces helping behind the scenes.
"The Jiang family is already a thing of the past, Jiang Li, even if you integrate the Jiang’s branch family, what can you do? You are nothing but a mere ant," Ji Chengye continued to attack psychologically with words.
"An ant?"
But Jiang Li did not show any signs of being influenced, instead, he took a step closer, looking directly at Ji Chengye, with a faint hint of murderous intent emanating from the sword behind him, "Then use your finishing move to crush this ant."
The distance between the two was now barely two steps. At such a close range, using a killing move would be hard for even a fifth-rank to avoid, let alone Jiang Li.
However, that killing move never came.
The murderous intent grew stronger, and the sword behind Jiang Li even began to produce faint sword sounds, the sign of Innate Qi stirring on the blade, signaling that a strike was imminent—
Suddenly, Jiang Li retracted his murderous intent.
"So that’s how it is, no wonder you wanted to make a move on me."
Jiang Li revealed a smirk, "Just now I had fully intended to kill, but from beginning to end, I didn’t feel my life was threatened. Guess why?"
"Because you daren’t, and because me attacking you does not violate our oath."
Jiang Li had once tested revealing the secret of Feng Manlou and immediately felt a crisis, a chilling sensation of being watched. But now, when he was about to attack Ji Chengye, he felt none of that.
Either the backlash from the oath would come without any warning, or it simply could not affect Jiang Li.
From the moment Ji Chengye’s Qi mechanism revealed fluctuations, it seemed to be the latter.
That’s why Ji Chengye had to make a move on Jiang Li, trying to exhaust all of Jiang Li’s killing moves. Because he knew, between him and Jiang Li, Jiang Li always had the advantage to strike first. Only if Jiang Li struck first could Ji Chengye counterattack.
If Jiang Li were to launch a surprise attack, then Ji Chengye would be completely finished.
And since the hostile relationship between the two was established, Jiang Li would naturally become Ji Chengye’s enemy.
Realizing this, Jiang Li’s smile grew increasingly wild.
"In fact, I forgot to tell you, the Long Prince Consort has also arrived in Yong Province. Guess, if he reports the situation in Yong Province back to the Divine Capital, would the court take action to transport the rainwater in time to save the drought?" Jiang Li said.
Ji Chengye and his party couldn’t cover the sky with one hand; the vast court wasn’t a monolith. If Feng Manlou intervened, indeed, it had the capability to transport rainwater in time to mitigate the drought.
So, all Jiang Li needed to do now was to overcome this immediate hardship, namely, to take back the Flood Dragon Pearl.
When these words were spoken, Ji Chengye finally couldn’t maintain his composure.
"Take the Flood Dragon Pearl and leave!" he shouted.
However, Jiang Li had already once again merged into the wind.
Far away, Yang Ji, hearing Ji Chengye’s words and feeling a sense of crisis, also intended to leave, but unfortunately...
Yang Ji cursed inwardly.
He wanted to leave as well, but Zhong Shenxiu relentlessly entangled him, making it impossible for him to escape.
After realizing that Jiang Li had killed two sixth-ranks, Yang Ji had thought about retreating. But Zhong Shenxiu, the one at a disadvantage, surprisingly clung onto him, blocking his escape. If he wanted to leave, he would either have to use his trump card or gamble with his life.
But Zhong Shenxiu also had a trump card, so in the end, there was only the option to gamble with his life.
Before Yang Ji could sulk about it for long, a gentle breeze swept by the next moment they heard the words, and a faint figure quietly stepped onto the water’s surface, drawing a sharp sword.
Jiang Li had arrived.