Chapter 57: Anyone Who Touches Qi Ying Will Die

　　Within a Spirit Martial Stage warrior’s body, True Energy would have already transitioned to become Spiritual Energy. The latter was purer than the former, and provided them with greater speed. They could use the explosive force of Spiritual Energy alone to fly through the air, and the power of their attacks also became incredibly formidable. After awakening one’s Battle Spirit, a First Spirit Martial Stage warrior could defeat hordes of warriors at the Eighth or Ninth Energy Martial Stages. Even the likes of Lu You—who was a Ninth Energy Martial Stage warrior—was unable to fend off even a single attack.

　　Thud!

　　Boom!

　　Lu Zuo and Lu You were sent flying by the Black Tiger Battle Spirit in a flash.

　　Duan Hongxue flew through the air, and his hands transformed into claws as he made a grab for Qi Ying.

　　‘F*ck off!’

　　Qi Ying roared internally.

　　That old fart was a Spirit Martial Stage powerful being! Wasn’t he ashamed to be attacking a kid like him?

　　His left shoulder was dislocated, so he couldn’t use his left arm, thereby giving him no chance against such a fearsome opponent. Thus, he could only pick up Xuan Yu again, before unleashing his Flowing Shadow Strike, and escaping toward the throngs of academy disciples on the other side of the river.

　　“Jinhong, cut him off!”

　　Duan Xilai was in the process of treating Duan Gucheng’s wounds, and he issued a loud command.

　　Whoosh!

　　Without Lu Zuo and Lu You getting in his way, the Ninth Energy Martial Stage Duan Jinhong sprang into the air, and green True Energy appeared over his hands as he extended a palm toward the black shadow that was Qi Ying.

　　Whoosh!

　　About a hundred blades of wind erupted from his palms, instantly encompassing an area of several dozen feet.

　　The individual blades weren’t very powerful, but there were simply too many of them, and Qi Ying was unable to evade in time with Xuan Yu in his arms. A burst of searing pain shot through Qi Ying’s body; he could feel that his left leg had been struck. Blood began to seep out of the wound, and he fell to the ground, tumbling over and over again with Xuan Yu in his arm.

　　“Gasp…”

　　Qi Ying laid on the ground and he felt like his entire body was about to fall apart at the seams. The left side of his body simply refused to move, and he couldn’t even stand up. In the end, Xuan Yu had to help him up into a half-sitting position.

　　Qi Ying forced a smile onto his face and asked, “Mother Yu, are you alright?”

　　“I’m fine.”

　　Xuan Yu’s hair was very disheveled and she replied in a very faint voice.

　　“Hmph!”

　　“That little brat is pretty quick!”

　　“You’re dead now!”

　　Several dozen Duan family warriors surrounded Qi Ying and Xuan Yu, forming a circle with a radius of less than twenty feet.

　　Lu Feifei was starting to panic and she turned to a certain figure on the riverbank before yelling. “Gu Shiwei, a disciple of your academy is about to be killed! Are you just going to stand there and watch?!”

　　The academy elders and disciples stirred slightly upon hearing that.

　　No matter what, Qi Ying was still a disciple of the Celestial River Academy, so the academy had a duty to protect him.

　　A conflicted expression appeared on Gu Shiwei’s face.

　　Lu Feifei then turned toward Zhang Wuleng and yelled. “And you’re the guard leader of the mayor’s official residence; are you just going to do nothing as murder is being committed in broad daylight?”

　　Zhang Wuleng remained completely expressionless, as if he had heard nothing.

　　At that moment.

　　Duan Xilai placed Duan Gucheng onto the ground and stood up. His cloak flapped in the wind around his hulking frame, and his cold eyes scanned the crowd as he let loose an explosive roar, “No one is allowed to intervene! Qi Ying had ruined Gucheng’s cultivation potential, so our Duan family will have his head no matter what! If anyone wants to stand in our way, then prepare to face the wrath of the entire Duan family! Madam Lu, you should stay still there! Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind sending three hundred Duan family warriors to pay your mansion a visit!”

　　Gu Shiwei had just stepped a foot forward, but he withdrew it and the Spiritual Energy that had gathered on his hands had also dissipated.

　　Zhang Wuleng met Duan Xilai’s gaze and a smile appeared on his face. There was clearly a tacit understanding between the two.

　　“You…”

　　Lu Feifei’s chest heaved drastically with rage. She was angry at Gu Shiwei for being such a coward, and she was angry at Zhang Wuleng for siding with Duan Xilai. She was even more infuriated by the threats that Duan Xilai was directing at her. However, she couldn’t do anything as she was no cultivator herself, and Lu Zuo and Lu You were the most powerful warriors under her command. She had an extremely formidable power behind her, but she wasn’t able to draw upon the warriors there, as they were simply too far away.

　　“Jinhong, kill him!”

　　Duan Xilai commanded.

　　Duan Jinhong emerged from the crowd with a sword in his hand. He wore a cold sneer on his face as he made his way toward the half-sitting Qi Ying. Green True Energy revolved around his sword, making it capable of slicing through iron like a hot knife through butter, so it was a simple task to take an Energy Martial Stage warrior’s life.

　　He was one of the most exceptional young talents of the Duan family, and the fact that Duan Xilai had assigned him with the mission to kill Qi Ying showed that he was held in high regard. With Duan Gucheng’s cultivation potential ruined, there was a very good chance that he would become the successor of the Duan family.

　　“This is what you get for offending the Duan family!”

　　Duan Jinhong wore a cruel expression as he stabbed his sword toward Qi Ying.

　　However, right at that moment, Qi Ying transformed into a black shadow again and sprang up from the ground!

　　Whoosh!

　　The black shadow split into two, and both of them rushed toward Duan Jinhong from different directions. Duan Jinhong hurriedly lashed out at the shadow on his right, only to strike thin air with his sword. His heart jolted with shock, but before he could formulate a defense, a cold objected had been stabbed into his heart from behind. In an instant, all of his vitality faded, and his fantasies for the future disappeared into darkness…

　　Splat!

　　Qi Ying pulled out the Ink Scale Dagger that he had been hiding on his body the entire time, and a geyser of blood spurted forth as Duan Jinhong fell to the ground.

　　Gasp…

　　All of the members of the Duan family that had surrounded Qi Ying took a step backward. He had just killed Duan Jinhong, who was only below the great elder and the family leader in status!

　　“Jinhong!”

　　Duan Hongxue and Duan Xilai roared in unison.

　　From what they could tell, Duan Gucheng would be unable to cultivate anymore. As such, Duan Jinhong had become the only person in the entire family with hopes of becoming a Spirit Martial Stage warrior, but he had been killed by Qi Ying! None of them could accept that outcome. Qi Ying was clearly on the brink of death, but he had just cut down another of the Duan family’s future pillars!

　　Thud!

　　Qi Ying sat heavily onto Duan Jinhong’s body and gasped for air.

　　He really couldn’t move anymore.

　　‘Even if I die, I’m going to make your Duan family pay… You have to pay a heavy price to mess with me!’

　　All of the bystanders, including Gu Shiwei, Lu Feifei, Lu Zuo and Lu You, who were struggling to their feet, Zhang Wuleng, as well as the academy elders and disciples; all of them had been stunned by the bloodstained young man who was down but not out. They were initially all quite confused with regard to how a Second Energy Martial Stage warrior had managed to subdue Duan Gucheng. However, they finally understood how he was able to do so. That was a young man who constantly flirted with death, and to whom fighting was second nature. As such, it was no surprise that capturing Duan Gucheng was an easy task for him.

　　However, he was still destined to fall.

　　“Kill him.”

　　Duan Xilai’s voice had cooled to the extreme.

　　All of the members of the Duan family drew their weapons and pounced on Qi Ying.

　　All of a sudden.

　　Whoosh! Whoosh!

　　Something seemed to fly through the air, upon which cries of pain escaped the lips of many Duan family warriors. All of their wrists had been slit open, as if an invisible knife had sliced into their arms, and all of them dropped their weapons as a result.

　　A loud cry reverberated through the air as several figures emerged!

　　“Anyone who touches Qi Ying will die!”