To hold the Sun family back so thoroughly that they couldn't even intervene in Magic City affairs—the Gu family alone would never stand a chance. There had to be other forces involved.
The mastermind's power base was far more formidable than you'd imagined.
Relieved by this news, Li Yang let out a breath:「That's a relief, then! As long as the Sun family can't make a move, there's no one in Magic City we the Li family have to fear. That damned bastard Ye Fan—how dare he storm our manor, injure the patriarch, and bring shame to the Li name!」
「Heh. But that boy was captured by the Honorable One two days ago. They're torturing his soul to find out about that secret technique. We'll have the results soon enough.」
Ye Fan had been captured!
You were shocked to hear this. You'd never thought the fated protagonist Ye Fan would be seized by someone called the Honorable One and subjected to soul-searching torture.
It explained why you hadn't heard a single peep about him these past few days.
You'd originally planned to seize the Nine Steps of Treading the Heavens from Ye Fan at the first opportunity, but it seemed someone else had beaten you to the punch.
But who exactly was this "Honorable One" the Li father and son kept mentioning?
Curiosity gnawed at you, and you wanted to keep listening, but the Li family pair seemed extremely wary of the topic. After exchanging a few vague words, they dropped it entirely and moved on to other matters.
Li Ge, the head of the Li family, then asked about the target the Ghost Physician wanted dead.
「Father, the target the Ghost Physician wants us to kill this time seems to be a human-ghost hybrid bastard. I've already sent men after him.」
Suddenly, Li Yang changed the subject, pulled a photograph from his pocket, and handed it over.
Hidden in the shadows, you caught a glimpse of the photo out of the corner of your eye.
The "target" in the picture was none other than a young girl.
It was Su Mei!
Your pupils contracted sharply in shock, and you inadvertently let out a faint ripple of spiritual energy.
「Who's there?!」 Li Ge detected it instantly and roared.
BOOM!
Knowing you'd been exposed, you didn't hesitate. You burst out of the shadows in a flash, activating your Dragon Elephant Overlord Body without delay. Two fists shot forward, unleashing a mighty dragon's roar—this was the fully mastered Vast Primordial Dragon Fist.
With the power of two dragons coursing through your veins, amplified by the Vast Primordial Dragon Fist, a single punch was powerful enough to shatter a small mountain.
You struck Li Yang down with one blow before he could even react, reducing him to a bloody pulp with no trace of a whole corpse left.
「No! Yang'er!」
Grief and fury filled Li Ge's voice. He erupted with the terrifying aura of a Sixth Realm Transcendent, throwing a punch of his own to meet yours head-on.
CRASH!
The study room exploded into splinters!
Li Ge was sent staggering back several steps, shouting in disbelief:「An Eighth Realm Celestial martial art?!」
Your face remained impassive as you activated Supreme Mode instantly—but a searing pain shot through your right arm, numbing it completely. Still, you used the recoil from the punch to propel yourself backward, turned into a shadow, and fled without a second's hesitation.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Dozens upon dozens of Thunderlight Talismans flew out of your storage pouch—all the fruits of your labor these past few days—detonating simultaneously inside the Li family manor.
Blinding bolts of thunder illuminated everything, exploding in a deafening blast that sent screams echoing through the halls.
「How dare you intrude on the Li family… ARGH!!!」
「AAAAGH! My eyes! My eyes!」
Fearing that the commotion would wake the comatose Li family patriarch, you merged into the shadows and focused solely on escaping, with no intention of lingering to fight.
You weren't Ye Fan, who could unleash the Nine Steps of Treading the Heavens to surge several major realms in power. When it came to raw strength, you were still at a disadvantage.
Fortunately, under the cover of the thunder and lightning, you slipped out of the Li family manor smoothly and raced back home, desperate to reach Su Mei before the Li family's men did.
You had no idea why the Ghost Physician had specifically targeted Su Mei as his victim.
But you'd promised Su Meng you'd take good care of his sister. You had no intention of breaking that vow.
After all, he'd given his life to shield you, enabling your "escape plan" to succeed.
As long as it didn't put your own life on the line, you were willing to keep your promises.
「I hope I'm not too late. If I am… I'll just have to get stronger and avenge her later.」
You pushed the Thousand Shadows Demon Art to its absolute limit, transforming into a streak of shadow. Combined with your speed and the boost from a Second-Tier Swift Movement Talisman, you were nearly breaking the speed of sound—even Fifth Realm Mountain & River cultivators would be left in the dust.
At that moment, you gained a new insight into the Thousand Shadows Demon Art, breaking through to the Fifth Level in one fell swoop.
You'd unlocked a new ability: Shadow Step Teleportation.
> Shadow Step Teleportation: Merge your will with the shadows to teleport instantaneously. Consumes spiritual energy and mental strength. Can carry living beings or inanimate objects, but the cost increases proportionally with the load.
「Shadow Step Teleportation…」
「I actually unlocked a teleportation ability!」
Sun Qian was overjoyed. He'd never expected to gain such a life-saving skill at this critical juncture.
Truly, his cultivation talent was second to none!
You tested out Shadow Step Teleportation, picturing Su Meng's small apartment in your mind. The world around you blurred and twisted. In the next instant, you found yourself near Magic City University—not quite at your destination, but close enough.
That single teleportation had covered a distance of over five miles in the blink of an eye.
Once your cultivation advanced further in the future, Shadow Step Teleportation would likely be just as effective as a Life-Substituting Blood Escape Talisman.
Your joy was short-lived, however, as a wave of exhaustion washed over you. Your spiritual energy and mental strength were nearly drained dry.
「Damn it—way too much energy consumption. I'm practically empty.」
You quickly pulled out vial after vial of medicinal pills and swallowed them down, barely managing to restore a sliver of your strength.
You proceeded with extreme caution, creeping toward Su Meng's home step by step.
Luck was on your side—by the time you arrived, the Li family's men hadn't shown up yet.
「Looks like fortune is smiling on me. Destiny is on my side.」
You straightened your clothes, transformed back into Su Meng's appearance, revealed yourself, and pushed the door open.
FZZT… FZZT… FZZT…
The TV blared with static, no picture—just a grainy black-and-white screen emitting an eerie buzzing sound.
On the sofa, Su Mei's figure sat with her back to you, the TV on, seemingly snacking…
You strode over to her, grabbed her hand firmly, and kept your voice as steady as possible:「Mei'er, brother found us a new place to stay. I'm taking you away first…」
SPLAT!
A drop of blood fell onto your hand.
Your expression froze instantly. Su Mei's milky-white blind eyes were gone—replaced by two empty, bleeding sockets…
Her face was twisted, like a broken, puppeteered doll. A faint whisper escaped her lips:「…Run… fast…」