Chapter Thirty-Six: Wounded

Liu Lanzhi was astonished that her determined strike had failed to make any impact. This man, Hongshun, did not appear to be very old, yet his cultivation was formidable. No wonder he was so arrogant—he clearly had the strength to back it up.

As Liu Lanzhi and Hongshun were locked in a standoff, Che Wuyou came charging forward, sword in hand, like a tiger descending the mountain. He moved with astonishing speed, arriving before Hongshun in an instant. Without hesitation, he gripped his sword tightly in his right hand and thrust straight at Hongshun's chest. The attack was direct, without any flourish, but all the more effective for its simplicity, aimed directly at a point Hongshun was sure to defend.

Hongshun frowned slightly. For a mere late-stage Qi Refining youth to dare attempt a sneak attack—where had he found such nerve? Did the boy have no regard for his life? If he was so eager to die, Hongshun would oblige him.

Without even glancing at Che Wuyou, Hongshun lashed out with a swift kick. The movement was so sudden and fast that Che Wuyou had no chance to evade; Hongshun’s foot landed heavily on his left chest. Lacking real combat experience, and facing a master like Hongshun for the first time, Che Wuyou was powerless to resist and was sent flying.

Seeing that Hongshun could split his attention to deal with someone else even while dueling with her, Liu Lanzhi snorted coldly. “Courting death.” Her right hand maintained its downward stabbing posture, but secretly she increased her force by another degree. Meanwhile, her left hand slipped into her robes and withdrew a small dart, which she hurled at Hongshun with all her might. The dart whistled through the air with a chilling scream, spinning toward its target.

Liu Lanzhi had been waiting for this very chance—the moment Hongshun underestimated her. She would make him pay dearly for his arrogance, and now her opportunity had come. Without hesitation, she gave her all. She was quite satisfied with her technique; had her master been present, he would surely have praised her, saying this move was truly excellent. A faint smile even appeared on her lips as she awaited Hongshun’s fall...

But Hongshun had not expected Liu Lanzhi to reserve her strength while fighting him. As he saw the dart flying with deadly force, he was about to sidestep, but suddenly felt the strength behind her downward stab surge. If he dodged now, the sword above would become a real threat, perhaps even wounding him. For someone of his status, suffering even a minor injury in front of so many people would be the greatest humiliation, let alone a serious wound.

With a cold snort, Hongshun’s aura surged dramatically. Liu Lanzhi could sense waves of dangerous energy emanating from him, followed by a powerful burst of true essence that swept through her sword like an overwhelming tide. Her expression changed drastically—this was bad. Hongshun was actually at the Returning Origin stage. She had not anticipated that this unremarkable man would have such cultivation. She realized she had underestimated the world after so many smooth victories; today, she had miscalculated and encountered a true master.

Liu Lanzhi grunted, borrowing the force of Hongshun’s upward push to flip backward through the air, landing steadily on the ground. Unbeknownst to her, Che Wuyou had already picked himself up from the ground. Seeing Liu Lanzhi forced back by Hongshun’s palm, his concern for her overrode the numb pain in his chest, and he charged at Hongshun once more, sword in hand.

Hongshun had just sent Liu Lanzhi flying and now hastily swatted at the dart she had thrown. The dart was less than an inch from his chest, but Hongshun was fully confident he could deflect it unharmed. After all, he was at the Returning Origin stage—newly advanced, but enough to dominate the experts of Southern Ji Prefecture.

Yet, Liu Lanzhi’s dart had been thrown with all her strength, and she was at the peak of the Purple Mansion stage. Even Hongshun had to treat her attack with caution. Just as Hongshun’s right hand moved to knock the dart aside, he saw Che Wuyou strike again. He was surprised that Che Wuyou, after taking his kick, was not seriously injured, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to kick him again.

Another lightning-fast kick, identical to the first, aimed at the same spot. Perhaps Hongshun was curious to see how tough Che Wuyou’s chest really was—why hadn’t it shattered yet? This time, he secretly amplified his strength; such a kick should have killed a cultivator at the early Purple Mansion stage. For a mere Qi Refining youth, it should have been fatal.

But once again, Che Wuyou failed to dodge and took the blow in the same place. Yet this time, he did not go flying. In the instant Hongshun’s right foot struck his chest, Che Wuyou’s left arm coiled around Hongshun’s leg like a leather strap, while his right hand, without pause, stabbed stubbornly at Hongshun.

Hongshun stared in disbelief. After taking his kick, not only was Che Wuyou not sent flying, he wasn’t even injured, and still had the strength to counterattack. Hongshun barely managed to deflect Liu Lanzhi’s dart, but Che Wuyou’s sword was already at his chest—at such close range, evasion was impossible.

He watched, helpless, as Che Wuyou’s sword pierced his body. For a moment, he felt a strange sense of unreality. Could this be happening? He, Senior Brother Hongshun of the Profound Azure Sect, a master of the Returning Origin stage, wounded by a mere Qi Refining youth? It was unthinkable.

Che Wuyou drove his sword at Hongshun’s chest with all his might, but after penetrating about a centimeter, it met immense resistance and could go no further, no matter how hard he pushed. Che Wuyou understood this was the result of Hongshun’s protective true essence. He felt a pang of regret; he had been so close to killing Hongshun, but in the end, a Returning Origin cultivator was not so easily slain. Wounding him was already a stroke of luck, let alone taking his life.

All the disciples of the Profound Azure Sect stared, dumbfounded, at Che Wuyou’s desperate assault. Senior Brother Hongshun, wounded—and seriously—by a mere Qi Refining youth? Was this the legendary leap-frogging challenge? And not just one stage, but two! If a peak Purple Mansion cultivator had wounded Hongshun, they might barely accept it, but for a Qi Refining youth to do so—had the world gone mad?

Liu Lanzhi, too, stared blankly at Che Wuyou. She knew he practiced a body-tempering technique and had reached the Meridian stage, equivalent to the Purple Mansion in cultivation, but this was still astounding—he could actually injure a Returning Origin cultivator. His resilience was equally incredible; after taking two of Hongshun’s kicks, he was unscathed, as if nothing had happened. His physical foundation was truly extraordinary. While Hongshun’s carelessness played a part, there was no denying that Che Wuyou was naturally tough—a born punching bag.

Seeing Che Wuyou pressing his advantage, Hongshun was infuriated. Did this youth really imagine he could kill him? Today’s humiliation was complete; this incident would surely become a lasting joke, and his status in the Profound Azure Sect would plummet.

Hongshun hated Che Wuyou with a vengeance—this was the man who had cost him his dignity, left him unable to show his face in the sect. He prepared to strike back hard; surely the boy’s endurance had its limits. But Che Wuyou would give him no such chance; before Hongshun could react, he retreated swiftly, decisively, with no hint of lingering ambition. Clearly, he knew he could not finish the job, and staying would only bring grave danger.

Hongshun’s upraised hand froze in midair. He looked up at the strange expressions of his fellow disciples, feeling nothing but mockery. They were probably laughing at him in secret; he, a dignified master of the Returning Origin stage, had personally intervened and still failed to subdue even one of these two youths.

Granted, he had not used his full strength, but still—a Returning Origin cultivator, not only seriously wounded by a Qi Refining youth, but then allowing him to escape unscathed. Hongshun could not help but feel dejected; his newfound confidence in the Returning Origin stage was shaken. If he fared so poorly even with such an advantage, what hope would he have against a truly equal opponent?

What he didn’t know was that Liu Lanzhi was exceptionally gifted, only a step away from the Returning Origin stage herself. With Miao Shilin’s careful guidance, her strength far surpassed that of an ordinary peak Purple Mansion cultivator. As for Che Wuyou, though only late-stage Qi Refining, he practiced a nameless manual known as a marvel within the cultivation world, and his true strength could not be judged by appearances.

Hongshun’s expression was bleak, a mix of anger and despair, his posture oddly desolate. The others, seeing that Senior Brother Hongshun remained silent, dared not speak either. Though they didn’t know exactly what was on his mind, they knew he needed a target for his anger, and none wished to be that unfortunate soul.

Just then, as the group stood in silence, a man strode out from the depths of Azure Peak and called out loudly, “Senior Brother Hongshun, the Sect Master says the young lady’s condition has worsened again. He wants to know if the people from Miao Manor have arrived. If not, he instructs you to go there yourself and invite them once more.” Though he addressed him as Senior Brother Hongshun, there was none of the usual deference in his tone; if anything, there was a hint of arrogance.

Hongshun was startled back to his senses by these words, and his face darkened further. Could these two youths truly be from Miao Manor? If so, what was he to do with them now?