"Patriarch, Du Feng requests to fight!"
"Patriarch, Du Mei requests to fight!"
"Patriarch, Du Shaohu requests to fight!"
"..."
Deafening roars of fervor erupted from the young disciples of the Du family. They were fearless, charging forward without hesitation.
"Good! Excellent! With you all here, how can our Du family not prosper!"
Du Tianen looked at Ge Qingkong and several other Du family powerhouses, instructing them, "No matter what, ensure they are sent out safely. As long as they are here, our Du family still has a chance to rise."
"Yes!"
Ge Qingkong and the others vowed to protect these young disciples with their lives.
"Patriarch, Gong Chen is unwilling to be a deserter, he only asks..."
Before Du Gongchen could finish speaking, Du Tianen directly interrupted him, "Gong Chen, you must remember. Your passion should be hidden within your bones. Before you have strength, you must learn to endure. Reckless sacrifice does not make this passion burn brighter, do you understand?"
Hearing this, Du Gongchen clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness, "I understand!"
"Good!" Du Tianen turned to face the young disciples and said sternly, "Remember, survival is hope!"
With that, a flash of blade light erupted from his hand, directly attacking Feng Zhan.
Currently, only he could barely fend off this Martial Emperor.
"Overestimating yourself!" Feng Zhan sneered, and then commanded the Feng family's ancient martial artists he brought with him, "The rest are your responsibility! Remember, leave no one alive!"
"Yes!"
As the words fell, a fierce battle erupted between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Du Yuemian was facing Feng Ziliu.
If she were at her peak, her opponent would have stood no chance. But now, although her true qi had recovered somewhat, she only possessed thirty percent of her peak strength.
Facing Feng Ziliu, who had just entered the mid-stage of the Martial King realm, victory would be difficult.
"It seems we missed a good show before we arrived!"
Feng Ziliu walked step by step towards Du Yuemian, his true qi circulating within him.
Even now, he couldn't figure out why Du Yuemian had exhausted herself.
But! It didn't matter!
To him, it was a great stroke of luck.
Feng Ziliu gathered his true qi into his palm, shifted his steps lightly, and attacked Du Yuemian directly.
In her current state, Du Yuemian naturally wouldn't confront him head-on. She held the Twin Moons in her hand (only one was present, the other was in the hall) horizontally in front of her, constantly blocking the palm strikes from Feng Ziliu.
Her body was pushed backward continuously.
"My remaining true qi only allows me to unleash one strike," Du Yuemian thought as she defended, constantly strategizing in her mind. "I only have one chance!"
However, Feng Ziliu had no intention of slowly wearing her down.
"You want to go all out? I won't give you that opportunity!"
Feng Ziliu had actually seen through Du Yuemian's intentions.
His movements and footwork became somewhat erratic. Each step Feng Ziliu took caused Du Yuemian to feel intensely dizzy.
"This is the Illusion Step!"
Du Yuemian's expression shifted slightly.
Illusion Step: One of the Feng family's three great ancient martial arts, a mid-tier Human-class movement martial skill.
Martial skills could be broadly classified into three tiers: Heaven, Earth, and Human.
Each tier was further divided into high, mid, and low.
Such profound techniques like martial skills were inaccessible to ordinary ancient martial artists. Even the sect leader of Black Tiger Sect, despite breaking through to the Martial King realm, had never learned a martial skill.
This demonstrated the rarity of such techniques.
Even the Feng family, one of the three major families in the provincial capital, only possessed three such manuals.
Two of them were Human-class martial skills.
Martial skills had classifications, and weapons naturally did too.
Weapons fell into three categories: common artifacts, king artifacts, and spiritual artifacts.
Each quality could reach up to three紋 (lines/patterns), with the lowest being zero紋.
The Twin Moons in Du Yuemian's hand, for instance, was a two-紋 king artifact passed down from the Du family ancestors.
...
Returning to the battlefield, after Feng Ziliu unleashed the Illusion Step, Du Yuemian's vision had begun to blur. To counter this illusion, she had to mobilize the true qi within her body to maintain clarity.
If she did so, she would be falling right into Feng Ziliu's trap.
His goal was precisely to quickly deplete her true qi.
In the moment of Du Yuemian's disorientation, Feng Ziliu's figure suddenly appeared to her left.
Bang!
Before Du Yuemian could react, Feng Ziliu's palm strike landed on her left shoulder. She staggered back several steps before stabilizing her body.
The qi and blood within her stirred restlessly.
It felt as though it could erupt from her mouth at any moment.
After landing a hit, Feng Ziliu did not pursue further but slowly dispersed, once again employing the Illusion Step.
He intended to exhaust Du Yuemian's true qi this way.
"Hoo! I can't rush!"
The previous strike had not thrown Du Yuemian into a frenzy; her mind remained clear.
"Hahaha! Let's see how much longer you can last!"
To disrupt Du Yuemian's thoughts, Feng Ziliu's voice began to emanate from different directions, making his figure even more elusive.
Bang!
Under Feng Ziliu's constant interference, Du Yuemian's back was once again struck.
This blow was clearly heavier than the previous one. Blood began to seep from the corner of her lips.
"No! My head is getting heavier!"
Du Yuemian shook her head; her consciousness was already weary.
Now, she had only two paths to choose from.
One: Exhaust all her true qi, locate Feng Ziliu's figure directly, and deliver a fatal blow.
If Du Yuemian chose this path and failed, her fate would be that of a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
The other path: Preserve her true qi, and at the opportune moment during Feng Ziliu's next attack, find a chance for a surprise victory.
The critical issue was Du Yuemian's current state; let alone sensing Feng Ziliu's location, even maintaining consciousness was a difficult task.
"Yuemian, why put yourself through this? If you surrender now, perhaps I will spare the Du family members!"
Feng Ziliu's voice once again came from all directions, attempting to confuse her.
Yet, Feng Ziliu did not attack.
Du Yuemian waited, and he too waited.
Although casting the Illusion Step consumed his true qi, his current reserves were more than enough to ensure he wouldn't be exhausted before Du Yuemian.
Therefore, he was not in a hurry.
In Du Yuemian's current condition, she was absolutely no match for him.
The only thing he needed to be wary of was Du Yuemian's desperate final struggle.
"I can't go on like this, I'll eventually..."
Just as Du Yuemian was preparing to make a desperate move, a gentle voice suddenly appeared in her mind.
"Yuemian, I hope you haven't forgotten that you are also an immortal cultivator. How can such low-level deceptive tactics blind you."
Hearing this voice, Du Yuemian's heart trembled, and all the fatigue in her body seemed to be purified. Her consciousness gradually cleared.
"I understand, Young Master!"
Du Yuemian smiled with relief.
That's right!
How could I forget, I am still an immortal cultivator.
Du Yuemian followed the rhythm of the "Myriad Qi" and circulated the "Five Elements Source Invocation Technique."
Her heart and mind were calm and serene!
The scarce true qi within her body was slowly transformed. Closing her eyes, any subtle movement in her surroundings appeared in her mind's eye.
At this moment, Du Yuemian had entered.
The Sentient Realm!