Chapter 9: The Battle Across Ranks, Burning the Boats and Sinking the Cauldrons

  Hong Xi's face was gloomy, he had made a series of misjudgments and had already lost the trust of Wei Hongshan and Lu Zhuo.

  Taking a deep breath, Hong Xi said: "How about this, you divide the disciples into two teams and take turns keeping watch. I'll go out alone to hunt him down! After all, that kid is only in the early stages of Xuan Tu, no matter what he can't stir up any big waves."

  Lu Zhuo and Wei Haoshan exchanged a glance, both of them nodded in agreement. The idea was Hong Xi's, who had made a mistake and now had a scapegoat in front of the master, so why wouldn't they go along with it?

  Hong Xi glanced at the two of them, he knew what they were thinking, but his resentment towards Xu Yang outweighed all other considerations.

  Hong Xi had always been proud of his own cleverness and would never allow himself to be toyed with by a small, mysterious apprentice.

  A faint blue aura erupted from his body, and Hong Xi shot towards Lin Yuan City like a bolt of lightning.

  Xu Yang, who was rushing forward, did not know that Hong Xi had already caught up ahead of time. Even if he knew, he didn't have a better way out, and now all he could do was to keep running non-stop, for returning to Lin Yuan City meant safety.

  "If I had three months, I wouldn't be running for my life like this. Facing a master of the mystic arts, I would have the power to fight back!" In Xu Yang's mind, there were many temporary strengthening secret techniques, but they were limited by his current strength and could not be cultivated or displayed.

  If given three months, Xu Yang should be able to make another breakthrough. By the late stage of Xiantu, he would have strengthened his physical body to thirty jin of strength and after practicing some temporary strengthening Xiantu techniques, he wouldn't fear one or two high-ranking Xianshi experts.

  One night of galloping, the east reveals a shallow white glow.

  Xu Yang's body was somewhat fatigued, yet he had been galloping non-stop for an entire night, a feat of endurance that no ordinary cultivator could match.

  "Huff... huff," Xu Yang slowed down, his legs still moving mechanically for dozens of steps after his brain had given the command to stop, before finally coming to a halt.

  "Gulp... gulp... gulp", Xǔ Yáng took out the water bag, unscrewed the wooden plug and drank freely, until he had drunk more than half of the remaining water in the bag. Only then did he wipe his mouth with the back of his hand and let out a satisfied sigh.

  "Haha!" Xǔ Yáng couldn't help but burst out laughing as he recalled the thrilling events of last night. Those three powerful mystics were no match for him, a mere young mystic apprentice, who had toyed with them and left them unable to utilize their formidable strength.

  "Let's take a break and then hit the road again. Those three Xuan Masters are probably just starting to chase after us now." Xu Yang chuckled lightly, found a mountain valley, turned in, and directly sat down cross-legged, beginning to regulate his breath.

  Time passed bit by bit, after Xu Yang, a middle-aged man with a gloomy face was chasing after him, his face was somewhat pale, and sweat beads were rolling down.

  "You damned bastard, I'll catch you and crush your bones to ashes!" This man was Hong Xi. He had been chasing wildly all along, repeatedly discovering the broken branches and scattered leaves trampled by Xu Yang, but he never saw a shadow of a person. Astonished at Xu Yang's endurance, his murderous intent and impatience grew with each passing moment.

  One night of galloping, the Xuantu realm boundary can't take it at all. They haven't condensed their Xuanli vortex, and the Xuan energy in the starry sea is fundamentally insufficient for long-term squandering.

  Even Hong Xi, a master of the Xuanmen in his later years, felt quite strained. He relied on a surge of anger in his chest to support himself, with his Xuanli turbine constantly rotating and spewing out Xuanli towards all directions. By now, his Xuanli had almost been depleted.

  In the mountains valley.

  "Huu...hooo...huu..." Xǔ Yáng adjusted his breathing, ate a bit more dry rations, and his spirits lifted. This journey of fleeing and running had actually improved his strength, he felt like he could break through to the middle stage of the Mystic Scholar at any moment.

  "At this stage, it's still mainly about accumulation and strengthening the physical body. Once the accumulation is deep enough, upgrading one's realm will be a natural process." Xǔ Yáng stood up, patted off the dirt, took a long breath, and said, "Let's hurry back to Lín Yuān City."

  "Little one, I see you... can't go back!" A sharp voice came from not far away, and then a fierce gust of wind rushed over.

  Xu Yang's warning shout came just in time. A sudden leap allowed him to avoid the strong gust of wind, and all he saw was a dark flash of light. It turned out to be a tree branch that had been propelled through the air by someone's powerful force.

  The branch did not hit Xuyang, but crashed into a tree in front of it, snapping in two with a loud crack.

  Xu Yang followed the sound and saw a pale-faced middle-aged man with a thin build, staring at him with angry eyes.

  "It's coming so fast!" Xǔ Yáng secretly felt a shock in his heart, and then forced himself to calm down.

  "You little scamp, you've made your Uncle Hong Xi search high and low for you!" A venomous glare shot out of Hong Xi's eyes. "I've finally caught up with you, and now I'll make sure you can't live or die in peace!"

  Xu Yang's eyes narrowed, his disheveled black hair fluttering, a pair of eyes like stars in the dark night, shining brightly.

  His feet burst with energy and Xu Yang didn't say a word as he suddenly charged towards Hong Xi.

  Hong Xi's momentum was momentarily stalled, he had just caught up with Xu Yang, the vortex of his internal energy was almost depleted, and he thought to say a few words to delay, in order to recover his internal energy, and then make a move to kill this despicable little boy. Who knew that the opponent would not consider the difference in their ranks and rushed straight up!

  "Drink!" Xu Yang exhaled loudly and charged forward, his fist flying out with a loud crackling sound, striking towards Hong Xi's chest.

  Hong Xi stretched out his arm to block, but only felt a shock in his arm and took a step back. He was secretly shocked and hastily shouted: "Youngster, slow down... I just need you to keep your mouth shut and not mention the matter of ambushing Qi Men Song Ren that day, and I can spare your life!" He thought to himself: This youngster's strength is impressive, no wonder those outer sect disciples were killed by him like pigs and dogs!

  Xu Yang's fist, which had been swung with great force, was blocked and pushed back, causing him to retreat two steps. His chest felt stifled, but his mind remained calm and clear. A true master is a true master; even when their spiritual energy is depleted, their physical strength alone can surpass that of a cultivator like himself who has only reached the Xuantu realm.

  Hong Xi's physical strength was as much as 50 jin, three to four times that of Xu Yang! Xu Yang's only advantage lay in the fact that he had the eight combat moves from the "Dynamic and Static Unity Breathing Technique", which could maximize his physical strength.

  "Hmph, your Xuanli is already exhausted, otherwise that one branch just now should have pierced through the trunk, and the force wouldn't be so weak, snapping into two segments," Xu Yang coldly laughed, "If you catch your breath, I'll definitely die!"

  Indeed, the Xuan Shi is stronger than the Xuan Tu. Under the internal force and external release, each punch and kick can add a hundred jin of power, which is absolutely impossible for the Xuan Tu to resist. Moreover, the Xuan Shi can display the advanced Xuan technique, causing destruction far beyond ordinary punches and kicks.

  Hong Xi secretly hated that a single branch had exposed the truth, he knew that this young man in front of him, although with a delicate face, had a resolute heart and was not someone who could be swayed by words.

  "Hmph, old man, my Xuanli is exhausted, but my physical strength is three times stronger than yours! Without using Xuanli, I can still beat you to death!" Hong Xi shouted, charging forward and punching towards Xu Yang with a swift swing of his waist.

  This punch came with a loud whooshing sound, like a heavy hammer, with a force of about 40 to 50 kilograms. The physical strength of Hong Xiyuan was undoubtedly revealed.

  Xu Yang took a deep breath, having just been blocked by Hong Xi's casual swing. As the attacker, he felt stifled in his chest, revealing that the physical gap between them was not small. Seeing Hong Xi launch another attack, Xu Yang's eyes flashed with ferocity, and he didn't dodge or evade!

  In Hong Xi's eyes, he thought his fist speed was astonishing. This kid couldn't even react in time, and he couldn't help but sneer, adding three points of force to his punch as it blasted towards Xu Yang's chest.

  In Hong Xi's heart, he had already thought of various ways to knock down Xu Yang and deal with this kid, a pleased smile involuntarily appearing in his eyes.

  At the moment when his fist was about to hit, Xu Yang suddenly inhaled a mouthful of air, and the muscles on his chest caved in abnormally! Hong Xi was caught off guard by a punch that missed its mark, but he saw Xu Yang let out a loud roar, twisted his waist and pounced forward, with a sharp knife appearing in his hand.

  A chill ran down his lower abdomen, and Hong Xi knew that a sharp blade had entered his body. His heart was both shocked and angry, but he found that Xu Yang had stabbed him with one knife and was not satisfied, and actually used force to rotate the blade, seeking to cause maximum harm! Hong Xi's palm struck out in anger, hitting Xu Yang's shoulder head-on, and the latter instantly flew out like a broken kite.

  This palm was hastily launched, the force was not heavy, but it still hit Xu Yang on the ground for several rolls, and his right shoulder bone made a cracking sound, half of his body numb.

  Xu Yang struggled to get up, still holding that short sharp knife in his hand, with a piece of intestine hanging from the blade! A cruel smile appeared on his face, like a lone wolf in the snowy wilderness, using all his might to bite down on a piece of prey's flesh despite his severe injuries.

  Hong Xi covered his abdominal wound with his hands, a section of his intestines had been severed, the severe pain was self-evident, fresh blood gushed out like it was free, and his strength was rapidly disappearing.

  "You... you..." Hong Xi's other hand trembled as he pointed at Xu Yang, "You little scoundrel... you're ruthless!"

  "If you want to kill me, be prepared to be killed by me like a dog!" Xǔ Yáng didn't give Hóng Xī any time to catch his breath or tend to his wounds, and coldly said this as he pounced on him.

  That knife just now was purely lucky, if Hong Xi had reserved three points of strength, he would not have been able to dodge this knife; if Hong Xi's mysterious power was full and his internal energy was released externally, with the protection of his mysterious power, how could this ordinary sharp knife deeply pierce his vital point?

  But in life-and-death struggles, there is no "if", only victory or defeat!

  In the next fight, Xu Yang showed Hong Xi his "cruel" side, not caring about the punches Hong Xi threw at him. He dodged when he could and took the hits when he couldn't, just to inflict more and heavier injuries on Hong Xi!

  The battle ended quickly, lasting no more than a hundred breaths, but the life-and-death struggle experienced in that short time was beyond count.

  Hong Xizhang's eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the morning sky. He had stopped breathing, his body covered in wounds of all sizes, his blood long since drained away.

  Xu Yang struggled to get up, his whole body had seven or eight broken bones, his flesh was almost shattered, and there was still a thread of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

  With a clang, the sharp knife in Xu Yang's hand fell to the ground, and apart from the bloodstains, there were also large and small notches on it. After this battle, this ordinary short knife was ruined.

  "The physical strength of the Xuan Shi is comparable to that of a rhinoceros or an elephant. Even without the protection of Xuan Li, it's not easy to kill him," Xun Yang thought to himself, and then with some effort, he squatted down and picked up Hong Xi's leather pouch.