With things progressing up to that point, anyone could tell that the entire situation had been a meticulous scheme! They even calculated the reactions of a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator!
Unfortunately for them, they failed to account for Yan Qi! That was a true cultivator at the Martial Intent Realm! However, Yan Qi’s presence didn’t seem to matter as Shang Xia charged onwards regardless.
The body of the cultivator who was stabbing the trident towards Shang Xia’s horse froze all of a sudden.
With his cultivation, he was able to regain control of his movements in the next instant. However, it was too late. Shang Xia’s body brushed past him when he was still paralyzed.
Yan Qi followed closely behind Shang Xia but when he arrived beside the cultivator, he noticed something off about the man. Reaching out in surprise, he pulled something out of the man’s body.
With the trident clattering to the ground, the cultivator held his neck with both his hands as his eyes widened in shock. Gurgling sounds escaped his lips and terror filled his mind. He wanted to warn his comrades about the frightening enemy but the blood seeping through his fingers stopped him.
The rope that was supposed to trap Shang Xia descended on Yan Qi instead. At the same time, the pole-wielding peddler smashed his weapon down on Yan Qi’s head.
With a cold snort, a surge of qi surrounded Yan Qi. He waved his right hand in front of him and a faint silhouette flashed in his palms. It disappeared in the next moment, causing everyone to think that they were seeing things.
The rope falling over Yan Qi was sliced in two before anyone could react. With nothing left to restrain him, Yan Qi roared in anger and his divine sense surrounded the area. Two illusory wings seemed to emerge from his back as he sent a fearsome punch flying towards the falling pole.
“Crack!” The wooden pole that seemed to be made from precious materials shattered in two and the peddler was flung backward from the impact. Vomiting mouthfuls of blood, he crashed into one of the surrounding shops.
The miserable neigh of a horse filled the air, attracting everyone’s attention. Yan Qi quickly turned to look at the source of the sound and saw several arrows sticking out of Shang Xia’s Scarlet Cloud Horse. However, the rider was nowhere to be seen.
Slapping the horse he was riding violently, Yan Qi released an enraged cry as his mount surged forward.
His reckless advance was met with a loud roar from the side of the street. “I’ll hold him back! You guys deal with Shang Xia!”
A well-built figure emerged from the shadow and he looked more like a lumberjack than a cultivator. He strolled over to the middle of the street and stopped Yan Qi from moving any further. Facing the charging Yan Qi, he released a cold snort before sending a powerful punch forward.
“Martial Intent Realm!” Yan Qi’s expression changed and he leaped off his mount. His hands formed the shape of claws as he reached for the buff cultivator standing in his way.
Facing Yan Qi’s claws, the buff cultivator punched out with both his fists.
A huge explosion filled the street and the shockwaves blew a few nearby carriages apart. The items contained within were scattered everywhere.
The ground beneath the buff cultivator broke apart and Yan Qi staggered slightly when he landed across him.
“Hmph. Why the hell do you look like a lumberjack? Don’t tell me being a cultivator isn’t tiring enough for you. You’re not someone from our Tongyou City.” Yan Qi growled.
“Hehe, what about you?? You’re not even from our Azure Origin World!”
The only reason behind their exchange of words was to catch their breath. The battle broke out again after the buff cultivator spoke. As the battle between them got more and more heated, the stalls at the side of the street quickly turned to dust.
When the two of them were fighting, Shang Xi was also ambushed.
Her opponent was holding a long silver fishing pole and he looked like some weird fisherman. With his divine sense descending suddenly, a sharp whistle broke through the air as his fishing pole stabbed at Shang Xi.
“Grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm… You guys really think highly of me!” Shang Xi snorted in contempt as her blades drew two beautiful arcs through the air.
Crisp ringing sounds rang through the air as a tiny hook attached to the end of a transparent line was sent flying away.
Seeing as his attacks had been deflected by Shang Xi, his expression turned serious. “Large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm…”
“What’s wrong? You look surprised. Did you guys not make a proper plan before coming or were you fed with some shitty information?” Shang Xi sneered in contempt.
With his eyelids jumping, the old expert who used the fishing pole snapped at her, “Preposterous! Eat this!” He swung his weapon at her after yelling.
With a burst of mocking laughter leaving her lips, blade intent emerged from Shang Xi’s blades. They slowly gathered together to form a giant illusory blade that hovered beside her, blocking off all attacks thrown her way.
From how two Martial Intent Realm opponents appeared to stall Yan Qi and Shang Xi, along with the disappearance of Shang Ke, the target of the attack couldn’t be more clear. It seemed to be a huge conspiracy to capture Shang Xia!
After Yan Qi dealt with the pole-wielding peddler and the rope that aimed to capture Shang Xia, the plan seemed to have changed. Heaven and earth qi started to fluctuate as arrows flew towards Shang Xia’s horse.
From the amount of power contained in those arrows, Shang Xia could tell that they were far from ordinary.
A burst of lightning surrounded him as he appeared several feet away from his horse.
Its miserable neigh rang in his ears as the arrows stabbed accurately into its body.
Shang Miao, a member of the Shang Clan who had reached the Martial Extremity Realm, was supposed to be the leader of the convoy. As Shang Ke was present, Shang Miao’s only job was to follow the old man’s instructions. Now that Shang Ke had disappeared, the responsibility of leading the convoy was thrown back to him. After hearing Shang Xia’s yell earlier, he had already stopped the entire convoy to prepare for battle.
His timely decision proved to be invaluable as several dozen masked cultivators charged out from the alleyways towards them.
Even though they were prepared, one couldn’t say that they were confident in the upcoming battle. As they had chosen to travel with the institution, they didn’t bring many members of the Shang Clan along with them. After splitting up, there were only six cultivators protecting the Shang Clan’s convoy! None of them expected anything to happen as they still had the Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Ke, traveling with them.
Now that the worst-case scenario had happened, all of them could only brace themselves for what was about to come next. Out of the six of them, Shang Miao’s cultivation was the highest at the peak of the Martial Extermination Realm. However, that was far from enough to deal with their enemies! More than half of those charging over were in the Martial Extremity Realm!
Realizing that there was no way out, turning to run would be the stupidest move he could make. The moment he turned to flee, their defensive line would collapse and everyone would be thrown into chaos. Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well drag a few of their enemies with them! That was how cultivators of the Tongyou Institution acted anyway!
The disciples behind him revealed faces of despair, but an incomparable resolution filled their hearts. They got into formation immediately.
Right before the pack of masked cultivators could charge into the Shang Clan’s convoy, another shadow appeared from behind Shang Miao. Before anyone could react, a frightening amount of sword qi tore through the streets. As it rampaged about, clattering sounds rang through the skies. After the chaos finally died down, Shang Miao and the disciples behind him realized that none of the enemies rushing towards them could take another step!