Chapter 102

102. Chapter 102: Hidden Injury Explodes (Ally Master Bonus: Righting Wrongs)

Wang Jian was killed; Chen Hao was drenched in blood, his life hanging by a thread.

Now only Li Yi remained, struggling desperately, surrounded by ten Qi Mediator cultivators and two who had awakened spiritual insight.

This force was assembled solely to deal with a novice who had cultivated for barely two months.

Should one say the enemy was cautious, or did they overestimate Li Yi?

But Li Yi felt no fear—he was a martial artist who trained fists; as long as he could still swing his fists, he would not retreat. At this moment, he could only fight to the death, to see if he could carve out a path to survival.

“Crash!”

Fist energy exploded. Li Yi roared, bellowed, unleashing all his strength. Every strike was a killing technique, every blow aimed squarely at killing Yang Ye, leaving no room for mercy. He now resembled a mad beast, terrifying to behold.

Yang Ye felt no fear either. Relying on his superior strength, higher physical stats, and mastery of fist arts, he chose to meet force with force.

In that instant, their fists collided, releasing violent energy. The ferocity of their clash even made the nearby Daozi step back, unwilling to be drawn in.

“Li Yi is fighting to the death—I don’t want to get caught in this. Let Yang Ye handle it. If he wins, all’s well; if he falters, I’ll strike immediately to ensure this ambush ends without fail.” Daozi’s eyes gleamed with malice as he observed the battle from close range.

One reason was self-preservation; another was to exert latent pressure on Li Yi.

If Li Yi showed an opening, he wouldn’t mind delivering a fatal slash.

“This kid can’t be treated as an ordinary Qi Mediator. He’s held his own against me this long—his strength is nearly at the level of Spiritual Insight. He just hasn’t evolved his body yet. And in this life-or-death struggle, he’s showing signs of awakening Spiritual Insight.”

After truly clashing with Li Yi, Yang Ye grew increasingly alarmed. Such a man, capable of breaking through in adversity and exploding in despair, was truly terrifying.

“I can’t afford to stall. Even if I get injured or take risks, I must kill him quickly. If he truly uses me as a whetstone and breaks through to Spiritual Insight, it’ll be disastrous.” Yang Ye’s eyes blazed. He roared, adjusted his stance, and launched a fist charged with fist energy straight at Li Yi’s face.

“Cannon Fist.”

Li Yi roared in return, his body taut like a drawn bow. Every sinew, every muscle, every fiber of flesh was squeezed, concentrated, then erupted from his fist.

Only by channeling his entire body’s strength could his fist energy hope to match Yang Ye’s.

Otherwise, he would have been crushed by Yang Ye’s first blow—how could he still be standing here fighting?

“Crash!”

Another collision sent shockwaves through the air. Both men staggered backward several steps.

“I still don’t believe I can’t kill you! You’re just a Qi Mediator—do you really think you can defy heaven and overthrow your superior?”

Yang Ye roared in fury. His fists were caked in blood, his bones cracked from repeated impacts. But he endured the agony and charged forward again.

“I’ll drag you down with me.”

Li Yi was no better off. His fists were shredded flesh and bone, fragments of shattered bones flying outward. The excruciating pain had numbed him. If he didn’t catch Yang Ye’s opening soon, he’d be worn down to death—after all, the gap in cultivation level was real. Even his fist arts could bridge some of it, but Yang Ye knew fist arts too, so the gap remained.

“Good. Then let you see my Yang family’s Guiding Art. Die under two arts—you’ll have enough to boast about in the afterlife.”

Yang Ye roared again as he charged forward. This time, something strange happened—his hair stood on end as if electrified, his blood-stained white shirt billowed outward. An invisible, dangerous aura rose from his body. Ordinary people couldn’t see it, but cultivators perceived layers of radiant halos emanating from him.

That was the cosmic energy hidden within Yang Ye’s body.

Now drawn forth, it surged upward from his feet, converging until it gathered in his fists.

Yang Ye’s fists glowed with an eerie radiance, extraordinary and unearthly. He charged forward, delivering a crushing blow straight down.

“I can’t meet it head-on.”

Li Yi’s face darkened. He sensed, intuitively, that if he clashed directly, he’d be obliterated instantly—no chance of resistance.

“Yang Ye still has hidden power—he’s no ordinary cultivator. No wonder he was so confident he could eliminate them all without fear of exposure.” Daozi’s heart lurched. Even he sensed intense danger from Yang Ye’s current state.

In direct combat, Daozi estimated he’d be killed in a single exchange.

At this moment, he felt a pang of sympathy for Li Yi.

This kid was strong enough to fight ordinary Spiritual Insight cultivators—yet he’d drawn a top-tier one.

He didn’t die unfairly.

That was Daozi’s silent thought.

“I must block it. He’s forcibly combining Guiding Art with incomplete fist arts—his body can’t withstand it.” Li Yi roared inwardly. He raised his arms and took the terrifying blow head-on.

Guiding Art merged with fist energy.

At that moment, every bone and sinew in Li Yi’s body seemed to scream.

The monstrous force hurled him through the air, slamming him hard against a concrete slab beside the road.

Dust rose; concrete cracked.

Li Yi clung to the wall, motionless.

“Is he dead?” The Qi Mediator vagrants watching this exchanged uneasy glances.

They wanted to check, but dared not approach.

They’d seen how fierce Li Yi was—just moments ago, he’d fought a Spiritual Insight cultivator to the death. They weren’t his match. If he was still alive and they approached, they’d be next.

“Still alive? What a stubborn bastard—like a cockroach. Looks like that dragon-hide coat Yi Long gave him saved his life.” Yang Ye’s eyes glowed, hair still standing, fists clenched, bloodied, striding forward.

His Spiritual Insight sensed it—Li Yi was still breathing. He hadn’t been killed outright.

Yang Ye’s judgment was correct.

Li Yi had blocked that blow with his arms. He was still alive because of the dragon-hide coat he wore—its incredible resilience had dissipated most of the force, but the remainder still shattered his arm bones, leaving him barely able to lift them.

“One punch didn’t kill you? Then I’ll give you another.”

Yang Ye sneered. His fists glowed again. Cosmic energy surged from within him, channeled through fist energy.

“Come. Let me send you on your way.”

He roared again, charging forward, giving Li Yi no chance to recover.

His fist rose, energy coalescing. To the Qi Mediators’ eyes, it was dazzling and deadly.

Once more, Yang Ye attacked like a lion going for a rabbit—full force, no restraint.

“Looks like I won’t need to help.” Daozi watched coldly. He knew Li Yi was at his end—no chance of turning the tide.

The gap in cultivation level was too great to overcome easily.

Yet just as Yang Ye prepared to deliver the final blow—

Crack!

A sharp snap echoed. Yang Ye’s massive body suddenly buckled as if severed at the waist. He staggered, collapsing downward. A wave of weakness flooded his body—his strength vanished. Agony erupted from his spine.

“How?”

Yang Ye’s eyes widened in disbelief.

But as a Spiritual Insight cultivator, he quickly understood.

One of his vertebrae had shattered under the combined strain of Guiding Art and the flawed fist arts.

“Now.”

Li Yi’s eyes snapped open. All his pent-up killing intent erupted. His body tensed. He launched himself off the concrete wall, ignoring the agony in his arms, gathering every ounce of energy, and unleashed a single punch.

This punch had been planned countless times.

Precise. Ruthless.

His fist shot forward, energy exploding—directly into Yang Ye’s forehead.

“Damn it.”

Yang Ye’s soul nearly fled. His Spiritual Insight reacted with terrifying speed—even now, he twisted his head to avoid the full impact. He didn’t need to dodge completely—just avoid taking the full force. Otherwise, he’d die. Even Spiritual Insight cultivators were flesh and blood—they couldn’t ignore Li Yi’s fist energy.

“Crash!”

The brittle sound rang out. Li Yi’s punch didn’t land fully—but half its force struck Yang Ye’s skull.

“Shit!” Daozi’s face paled. He lunged forward, trying to stop it.

But it was too late.

Everything happened in a flash. No one could intervene.

Even Yang Ye himself hadn’t anticipated this sudden turn.

Only Li Yi understood—he’d been waiting for this exact moment.

The fist art he’d taught Yang Yi long ago was incomplete. Some movements were flawed—especially the spine’s alignment.

He hadn’t expected cultivators’ bodies to be so resilient. Yang Ye had endured the hidden injury despite practicing the flawed form. Only when he added Guiding Art—forcing greater power—did the backlash finally take effect. Otherwise, it would’ve merely weakened his punch.

But in life-or-death combat, there are no “what-ifs.”

Yang Ye lost.

Half a punch to the head—though not direct—was enough. Under Li Yi’s fist energy, his skull could no longer hold. He collapsed, convulsing, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and ears—his brain severely damaged.

But he wasn’t dead.

He still lived.

Spiritual Insight cultivators possessed astonishing vitality.

Yet after such an impact, Yang Ye was utterly incapacitated. He couldn’t even stand—now a lamb awaiting slaughter.

“Won… won.”

Li Yi gasped for breath.

The seed planted that day in the basement, when he demonstrated the fist art to Yang Yi, had finally borne fruit.

This was what they called: evil deeds bring their own retribution.

Had Yang Ye not forcibly taken his fist art back then, none of this—this absurd reversal, this hidden injury exploding—would have happened.

But the crisis was not over.

Daozi was already charging. He sensed danger in this absurd reversal—if Yang Ye fell and Li Yi recovered, today’s mission might fail entirely.

Even as a vagrant, he couldn’t bear the cost of failing to eliminate an investigator.

He must silence them completely—leave no witnesses, no evidence.