Chapter 167: 166. Instant Hit

166. Chapter 166: Instant Hit

Li Yi adopted the most stable shooting posture; his sniper rifle had been perfectly calibrated, a special red round already chambered, and the scope had locked onto the Qi Condensation expert a kilometer away, while his mind had already run through the simulation.

To ensure a successful shot, he did not intend to fire just once.

"While shooting, you must also anticipate the target's evasion, and cut off all escape routes," Li Yi's mind raced, his finger already resting on the trigger, his entire body frozen, breath held in absolute stillness.

Any slight tremor could compromise accuracy—after all, the target was a top-tier cultivator, not a stationary target on a training ground.

Yet just as Li Yi executed this sequence of actions,

on the plain a kilometer away,

the Meng family's elite riders all froze. From afar, they saw Li Yi, who had been standing in the pavilion, suddenly drop to the ground.

"What's he doing? Lying down to sleep?" Meng Yuan's gaze flickered with confusion, but then he vaguely spotted an odd device placed where Li Yi had knelt.

It was something never seen before—not a crossbow, not any weapon.

Yet for some reason, Meng Yuan instinctively grew wary; after all, the man had prepared, and wouldn't just stand in the pavilion waiting to die without a trick.

But soon, Meng Yuan decided he was overthinking.

At this distance, across open ground, any movement would be instantly visible—no cause for concern.

He wasn't the only one who thought this; the other Qi Aperture experts all wore confident expressions, utterly unconcerned that Li Yi might have a trick up his sleeve. Li Yi was exposed before their eyes, watched by dozens—they'd spot any move immediately, no threat at all.

Leading them, Meng Kuohai sat astride his horse, his massive frame towering. To him, the enemy in the pavilion couldn't survive a single round—he had no intention of fighting himself. He'd come only to guarantee the mission's flawless completion; later, Meng Cai would simply kill the man.

Meng Kuohai had roamed the Four Seas and Eight Provinces, radiating an aura of invincibility. He had no interest in weak foes—only rivals of his own realm intrigued him.

Unfortunately, since reaching Qi Condensation, top-tier experts all came from powerful clans—he could only spar, never fight to the death. Though commoners sometimes reached Qi Condensation, their foundations were shaky, their strength weak, offering him no real challenge, robbing him of much joy.

Yet as he thought this, his steed had already passed the second flag—and kept advancing.

Within a kilometer, everything the sniper saw was his target.

"Boom!"

In that instant, a thunderclap split the plain.

Before the sound even reached them, a bullet tore through the air at an astonishing speed, flashing toward them—faster than any martial artist could react. The Qi Aperture experts didn't even comprehend what happened before the lethal round arrived at their chests.

"Hm?"

But Meng Kuohai, as a Qi Condensation expert, suddenly sensed a terrifying danger. Every hair on his body stood on end; his powerful frame tensed instantly, and a fearsome protective Qi surged outward, forming unbreakable walls of energy around him.

This mighty, terrifying protective Qi could shatter iron bolts fired from eight-ox crossbows in an instant. To kill him, you'd need a barrage of eight-ox crossbows firing nonstop until his Qi was drained.

Though Meng Kuohai sensed the danger and reacted instantly, it was still too slow—far too slow—for a bullet in flight.

The special round of the Superb M200 traveled at a terrifying two thousand meters per second—meaning, the moment Li Yi fired, the bullet reached the target before the sound even left the barrel. And since Meng Kuohai was less than a kilometer away, he had less than half a second to react.

Within that half-second, Meng Kuohai had to execute a highly efficient evasion to survive the sniper shot.

But martial artists of the Four Seas and Eight Provinces had no experience dodging bullets. Meng Kuohai's first instinct was simply to activate his protective Qi and ensure his safety.

No preparation, no experience, no tradition—combined, these factors caused Meng Kuohai to be struck by Li Yi's sniper rifle.

The bullet's terrifying power effortlessly tore through his massive frame. His body, once impervious to blades, became no different from ordinary flesh—instantly exploding into bloody pulp, shattered bones flying. Even the towering steed beneath him had half its body shredded, then lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground.

A massive shockwave surged; the bullet pierced through his flesh and struck the ground behind him.

Its momentum undiminished, it exploded a patch of soil, then plunged deep, vanishing from everyone's sight.

Boom!

Only now did the thunderous sound reach them from afar.

But it was too late.

Meng Kuohai, struck, stared wide-eyed, his rugged face etched with disbelief. Then his bloodied body, half of his horse still clinging to it, crashed heavily to the ground.

At that moment, he felt no pain—only an indescribable numbness.

What had struck him?

"Lord Meng."

"Lord Meng."

"."

Those behind him turned pale with terror. They had just watched a Qi Condensation expert's body explode into half, collapsing into a pool of blood.

The steed reared, neighing in panic, sensing a dreadful danger, desperate to flee—but others quickly restrained it.

"Lord Meng, are you all right?" Meng Cai immediately dismounted, fear still in her eyes, rushing over to check his condition.

Meng Kuohai was still alive. After a brief moment of numbness, a torrent of rage surged through him. He had fought a hundred battles undefeated, born with divine strength, peerless in Qi Condensation—how could he be defeated so absurdly? Without even seeing his enemy, he'd been felled?

What kind of attack was this? Why hadn't he had time to react?

He glanced down at his wound.

His left side—nearly half his chest and waist—was gone, reduced to a pulp of flesh and organs, intestines visible. Countless bones had shattered. Such a wound would kill even a Qi Condensation expert—his survival now was only due to his extraordinary physique and tenacious vitality, clinging to his last breath.

"Boom!"

Yet at that moment, another thunderous blast echoed.

Before the sound even registered, Meng Cai felt something explode beside her. She looked up—her eyes filled with deep terror.

Meng Kuohai had been hit again. His lower body had been obliterated; both legs shattered, scattered somewhere unknown. The air reeked of thick, acrid blood, and all she heard was a deafening ringing in her ears.

"Aaah!"

Meng Kuohai screamed in agony.

"Three breaths—his attack interval is three breaths, and he can only target one at a time. Charge! Force him into close combat!"

But Meng Kuohai was not dead. He roared suddenly, and his pale, bloodless face flushed slightly red.

Since his heart was unharmed, he unhesitatingly unleashed his heart's blood, briefly forgetting pain and injury, restoring his body to peak condition.

With a final roar,

Meng Kuohai's Qi erupted violently, lifting his bloodied, mangled body like an arrow, soaring through the air toward Li Yi—less than a kilometer away—faster than thought, determined to take down his enemy before dying.

"Boom!"

A third shot rang out—a bullet streaked straight for Meng Kuohai.

But this one missed. Meng Kuohai flew low, using Qi to glide, his speed making the shot far harder to land.

"Is this what a Qi Condensation expert is like? Are you even human? This is insane! The first bullet only missed his heart because of distance—half his body was blown away and he's still alive? I wasn't sure, so I fired a second shot—his ass and legs gone—and he still summoned heart's blood, used Qi to charge at me?"

Li Yi's face darkened. Through the scope, he'd seen everything clearly—he'd assumed one shot followed by a second would guarantee victory. He hadn't expected the man to come back from the dead.

If you were going to come back from the dead, you should've said so—I'd have drenched the bullets in my own virgin urine.

Still, stunned as he was, Li Yi kept his scope locked on the Qi Condensation expert charging toward him, and fired again—another bullet, tracking its predicted path.

Meng Kuohai was now a dying man. He roared, unleashing his torrential Qi, and on the edge of death, his spirit broke through—long-stagnant thresholds trembled. A strange perception, inexplicable yet clear, arose within him.

Soul Transformation. This was the Soul Transformation realm. He was elated—but then that elation turned to furious resentment and despair.

Entering Soul Transformation just before death was too late. He hadn't yet formed his Yin Spirit—this death would be final, no lingering existence.

Yet the changes brought by Soul Transformation gave Meng Kuohai the sense of foresight—he could faintly sense danger's direction. He shifted his Qi repeatedly, evading Li Yi's three consecutive, pre-aimed shots.

This evasion of bullets was beyond human reflex.

"Spiritual Sense?" Li Yi's eyes narrowed sharply.

This sight felt familiar.

He'd seen it before in Evolutionists of the Spiritual Sense realm—those who could foresee danger and easily dodge bullets.