Chapter 96

97. Chapter 97: Terrible News (Bonus for Alliance Leader: Yu Xian Qitian)

"Mr. Li, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

Beneath the Peace Financial Building, Zheng Lan smiled and shook hands with Li Yi, marking the successful negotiation of the deal. Li Yi was also very straightforward, transferring five million immediately, with the remaining five million to be paid after the project was completed.

"Then I'll leave everything to you, Miss Zheng," Li Yi said.

"Give me thirty days, and I guarantee I'll make Mr. Li's financial building look brand new." Zheng Lan's eyes flickered slightly. "Since the business is settled, I wonder if Mr. Li is free at noon? I'd like to invite you to a meal and chat a bit more about the details of the building."

Li Yi politely declined: "I've been busy with my cultivation lately. I specifically made time to come out this morning, so thank you for your kind offer. Next time, after I move into my new place, I'll invite you to dine at the building."

"I didn't expect Mr. Li to be not only young and promising but also so diligent and motivated. I will certainly attend your housewarming celebration," Zheng Lan said with a smile.

Li Yi said modestly: "I'm hardly young and promising; I just got lucky. Miss Zheng, I'll be going now. Let's stay in touch by phone."

Seeing this, Zheng Lan immediately took a few quick steps to catch up. She said hurriedly: "Mr. Li, are you heading home? I happen to have driven here; shall I give you a lift?"

"My home isn't far from here; I'll be there in a few steps. No need to trouble yourself," Li Yi said.

"What trouble is it? Let's go," Zheng Lan said very enthusiastically.

Seeing this, Li Yi didn't push back further: "Then I'll trouble Miss Zheng to drop me off at the Old City District. The roads there are hard to navigate and often congested; I'm afraid you might get stuck if you drive in."

"You're too polite; it's on the way," Zheng Lan remained full of enthusiasm. "Also, calling me Miss Zheng sounds too distant. Just call me by my name, or my nickname Lanlan is fine. Li Yi, wait a moment, I'll go get the car."

After saying this, she left with her car keys.

After a while, an ordinary family car drove up and stopped in front of Li Yi.

Li Yi got into the car. As it started, Zheng Lan, who was driving, said with a smile: "Li Yi, aren't you curious about my relationship with Zheng Gong? Why would he trust me enough to introduce your project to me?"

"I don't really like prying into other people's private affairs," Li Yi said, looking out the car window. "However, today's incident reminded me that perhaps I should buy a car too, so it will be more convenient to get around in the future."

Zheng Lan looked at Li Yi with a very serious expression: "I am Zheng Gong's cousin. We are relatives. I heard about Zheng Gong's mission last time, and I am truly grateful for your help, Li Yi. If it weren't for you, he might not have made it back from that mission."

"He is a good colleague and very responsible; it's only right that we help each other," Li Yi shook his head slightly. "If I were in danger, Zheng Gong would help too."

"But speaking of cars, Li Yi, do you prefer a larger car or a smaller one?" Zheng Lan suddenly asked with a soft laugh.

"A larger one, I suppose," Li Yi said casually.

Zheng Lan smiled without a word, inadvertently puffing out her full chest, a look of self-satisfaction appearing between her brows.

Soon.

The vehicle drove into the Old City District.

The roads here were relatively narrow, mostly one-way streets, and there were many pedestrians, making it difficult to drive and requiring frequent stops.

Zheng Lan was very proactive in chatting with Li Yi in the car, and the two seemed less distant than before.

But just at this moment.

Suddenly.

A sharp, urgent honking sounded on the road. Li Yi was immediately drawn to it, and then he saw a truck on the opposite road driving against traffic as if it had lost control, crashing wildly toward them. Several cars on the road were sent flying, instantly causing chaos.

Zheng Lan also saw this scene. Her face turned pale, and she instantly became flustered, not knowing what to do because there were cars in front and behind, leaving her in a dilemma.

However, just at this moment, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

A strong, powerful arm reached over, grabbed Zheng Lan, pulled her directly out of the driver's seat, and quickly retreated to the side of the road.

"Boom!"

The truck roared, instantly crashing through several cars, and finally plunged into a wall on the side of the road before barely coming to a stop.

Looking at the twisted and deformed vehicles, Zheng Lan was still shaken, only looking at Li Yi beside her.

If it hadn't been for Li Yi just now, she might have already been dead.

"Zheng Lan, are you okay?" Li Yi was very calm at this moment. He frowned slightly, staring at the person in the truck, subconsciously becoming alert.

Was it aimed at him?

Or was it just an ordinary traffic accident?

"I, I'm fine. Thank you, Li Yi." Zheng Lan panted, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

Li Yi didn't answer. At this moment, he saw the driver of the truck acting as if nothing had happened, kicking open the deformed door and stumbling out of the vehicle.

"He's a cultivator," he saw at a glance.

That driver was a cultivator with astonishing physical fitness. To have no issues after such a crash—if it were an ordinary person, their head would have been smashed, and they would have been sent to the crematorium on the spot. How could he be unscathed?

"I don't know this driver. The matter shouldn't have anything to do with me; it's just a coincidence, not a setup," Li Yi thought to himself. He didn't want to watch the spectacle and prepared to leave immediately.

Sometimes, watching a spectacle easily invites trouble, and ordinary people without ability often cannot afford the price of inviting such trouble.

But just as Li Yi was about to leave.

Suddenly, a voice shouted at him: "Is that Li Yi? I am Zhang Zhixiong, an investigator from the Investigation Bureau. Do me a favor and intercept that truck driver. He has committed a crime and cannot be allowed to get away."

A car followed closely behind. A familiar person poked their head out from the passenger seat, shouting with an anxious expression.

Zhang Zhixiong?

Li Yi had an impression of him; he had seen him when he was on a mission two days ago.

"So it's the Investigation Bureau making an arrest. Then there's no choice."

Li Yi, who had just wanted to leave, stopped abruptly. If he, an external combatant, didn't act, it would be hard to justify, after all, he was eating from the Investigation Bureau's bowl.

Thinking of this, a terrifying force exploded under Li Yi's feet.

His body was like a startled rabbit.

He rushed out instantly, his speed unimaginably fast. In just a single encounter, he had already reached the driver.

"You dare to attack me just after opening your Spirit Medium? Get lost!"

That driver, stained with blood and seemingly injured, roared upon seeing Li Yi rush over. He raised his hand and struck, holding nothing back, with the clear intention of killing Li Yi instantly.

The next moment.

Bang!

The forces collided, emitting a muffled sound. Li Yi's fist force exploded instantly.

A technique?

At this moment, the man's expression changed abruptly.

He never dreamed that a mere cultivator who had just opened their Spirit Medium could possess a terrifying fist technique.

This miscalculation cost him a heavy price instantly.

A cry of pain.

Fresh blood splattered as one of his arms was swept by a powerful force and sent flying directly into the air.

However, after one strike, Li Yi retreated rapidly. His expression darkened; his arm felt numb, and his fist was throbbing with pain, with several gashes torn in the skin and blood flowing out. Clearly, he had also suffered some injuries in the collision.

"An Inspiration Realm cultivator?"

If the opponent had also been a Spirit Medium, he would have knocked them down with one punch; it would have been impossible to get injured.

The only explanation was that the opponent's realm was one level higher than his own.

It was just that the opponent was injured and caught off guard by his fist technique, which was why he had seized the opportunity to take off an arm.

After all, Inspiration Realm cultivators were also human, also flesh and blood; it was hard to withstand the explosion of fist force head-on.

"Good, good, good. I didn't expect there to be such a capable person in the Old City District of Tianchang City. Young and not only opened the Spirit Medium but also mastered a terrifying fist technique. It seems I'm truly at the end of my rope; I can run into any kind of bad luck." This cultivator was covered in blood. He endured the pain, his eyes fixed firmly on Li Yi.

"Surrender. Your condition is terrible. If you keep fighting, you will die." Li Yi was vigilant against him, preventing him from escaping or attacking again.

"Die?"

Hearing this, the cultivator burst into laughter: "This world is almost finished; am I still afraid of death?"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Li Yi frowned immediately.

"Oh, right, you've only just reached the Spirit Medium Realm; the things you've encountered are very limited. It's normal that you don't know many things, *cough, cough*." Due to excessive blood loss, the man's face was somewhat pale: "Since I can't escape today, I might as well say a few more words, so I don't lose the chance later."

"The next Heaven-Tilting Event will happen very soon. How many people do you think will die this time?"

The second Heaven-Tilting Event?

Hearing this, Li Yi's body couldn't help but sway.

Ten years ago, Li Yi was only ten years old, his parents were still by his side, and his family was happy and complete.

But on a certain day.

Lightning streaked across the sky, the earth shook, and the firmament tore open. At that moment, the sky tilted and collapsed, and the strange and extraordinary invaded this world along with that disaster.

That disaster was known as the Heaven-Tilting Event, and in that event, no one knew how many cities were destroyed, how many families were broken, and how many were separated.

Even now, when Li Yi recalled it, it was still vivid in his mind, impossible to forget.

"When will the second Heaven-Tilting Event happen?"

Li Yi quickly calmed down. He was no longer the little boy from ten years ago; he was now the pillar of his family, having long since shouldered the entire household.

"Heh, who knows? Maybe in half a year, maybe in a year, maybe in two years." The cultivator sneered: "But does it matter? The broken world is counting down to its demise. If one cannot become a Cross-Dimensional Traveler, death for everyone is just a matter of time."

"Han Fei, shut up."

As Zhang Zhixiong's car came to a stop, a figure rushed over with sharp killing intent, wanting to stop this cultivator from revealing key information.

"Let him continue."

Li Yi, however, stopped this strange cultivator without hesitation.

The Heaven-Tilting Event concerned everyone's life and death, and also his own future survival; he couldn't pretend he hadn't heard it.

"What are you, daring to stop me?" That person roared, showing no respect for Li Yi, and struck directly with a punch.

The fist wind whistled, powerful and heavy.

"Also an Inspiration Realm cultivator?"

Li Yi felt this fist wind, and his expression changed instantly, but then a violent killing intent rose in his heart.

It wasn't as if he hadn't fought Inspiration Realm cultivators before.

"Heart-Piercing Elbow."

A killing move of the combat technique was unleashed. Li Yi's fist force used the elbow as the point, exploding instantly, meeting the attack head-on.

Bang!

The forces collided, and the wind whistled.

That person was forced back repeatedly by Li Yi's killing move, his body's Qi and blood surging, and his fist was directly dented, clearly suffering no small injury.

This was still because he had come prepared; if he had held back just now, one of his hands would have been crippled.

"Good fist technique, kid. What's your name?" This person's expression turned cold, and he stared at Li Yi, asking.

Only after a head-on confrontation could one understand just how terrifying this guy's fist technique was. No wonder Han Fei had been relieved of an arm after clashing with him earlier. He had thought it was because Han Fei was injured that he had flipped his car, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Tianchang City, Li Yi." He stated his name; there was no need to hide it.

This person had come with Investigator Zhang Zhixiong, so his identity was likely not simple, and checking his own identity information would be easy.

"My name is Chen Xiangxi. Li Yi, is it? Remember this today: meddling in other people's business comes with a price." Chen Xiangxi said, walking over with large strides again, seemingly not wanting to let Li Yi go.

"Afraid of you?"

Li Yi's martial artist blood was ignited. He set his stance, daring to punch the heavens, showing no intention of backing down.

"Calm down, calm down."

At this moment, Investigator Zhang Zhixiong rushed over immediately, blocking the two of them: "Li Yi is an external combatant hired by our Investigation Bureau. Chen Xiangxi, the higher-ups only said to let me assist you in capturing Han Fei. If you dare to lay a hand on Li Yi, you are making an enemy of our Investigation Bureau. You can weigh the consequences yourself."

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Xiangxi's footsteps stopped instantly.

Previously, he had thought this Li Yi was just someone Zhang Zhixiong knew; he hadn't expected him to be from the Investigation Bureau as well.

"Just an external combatant. Zhang Zhixiong, you alone cannot represent the entire Investigation Bureau. It would be more like it if Zhang Lei came."

Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded, then the car door opened, a long, slender leg stepped out, and a tall, sexy, and beautiful woman with big wavy hair appeared before everyone with a smile.

"Xu Qiu Mei, be a bit more polite when you speak." Zhang Zhixiong's expression also turned somewhat ugly.

"Polite? That requires the strength to make me polite. A Spirit Medium Realm cultivator in a small place dares to be so unscrupulous in attacking us; giving a little lesson is considered light." This woman named Xu Qiu Mei locked her eyes directly onto Li Yi.

"Kneel!"

She shouted softly.

The voice echoed instantly in Li Yi's ears, as if a strange magic had drilled into his mind at this moment, causing his expression to instantly become dazed, and his body was even controlled by a force.

Li Yi moved involuntarily, as if he were truly going to kneel before this woman and kowtow to admit his mistake.

But just at this moment.

A figure instantly appeared in Li Yi's mind—it was his own appearance. At this moment, he was sitting on a lotus throne as before, his hands forming a precious seal, but now his expression was not peaceful; instead, his eyes were wide open in anger, like a Jin Gang subduing demons, opening his mouth to roar, causing his head to buzz.

And with this Jin Gang roar, Li Yi instantly sobered up.

He broke free from the control of that strange force.

"Hmm?" Xu Qiu Mei's expression changed slightly, feeling that her bewitchment technique had failed.

But, how could that be?

Her bewitchment technique shouldn't have failed against a Spirit Medium Realm cultivator.