Chapter 170: Rift

"I'm too lazy to explain to you; you're not worthy of hearing."

Dai Mubai's motive is blatantly obvious; even if it were explained, he wouldn't believe it.

He wants to reclaim the arena; in one‑on‑one combat he can't gain the upper hand, so he'll overwhelm the few with the many, but that requires a pretext—Ma Hongjun's lie is exactly what he needs.

"Hmph, since you admit it, pay the price for your actions!" Three ribbons of crystal light fell upon Dai Mubai, an attribute boost from the Seven‑Treasure Glass Tower martial soul.

Dai Mubai swallowed a mushroom‑intestine, unleashing the flight speed of a phoenix‑tail rooster‑crown snake; a White Tiger martial soul possessed him, with the optimal two‑yellow two‑purple Soul Ring configuration.

The First and Third Soul Rings ignited.

At this moment, his state reached Soul King level.

The instant the Zhen Long Chui Spirit appeared, the faces of the two Fenglei Sect disciples hidden in Shilake Academy stiffened.

They don't know Tie Li, but the mark of a legacy disciple makes it impossible for them not to recognize him.

Most importantly, Tie Li now possesses a top‑grade Thunder Attribute martial soul, the Zhen Long Chui.

Two yellow, two purple, one black!

The five interwoven Soul Rings gave everyone at Shilake Academy a tremendous sense of pressure.

The First Soul Ring lit up; the right hand gripping the hammer's handle shifted direction, attacking Dai Mubai's flank from a sharp angle.

If Dai Mubai continues the assault, there is only one outcome: injury for injury.

The aura released by the Zhen Long Chui is overwhelmingly fierce; injury for injury, and Dai Mubai cannot afford the trade.

He immediately controlled his body to retreat; with the flight speed granted by the mushroom‑intestine, he is confident he can dodge.

"Boom—"

Tie Li's hammer struck the void with a sudden blow, stirring an invisible ripple; to the onlookers, it seemed a futile gesture.

Ma Hongjun was about to sneer, but saw Dai Mubai spitting a mouthful of deep red blood.

A booming roar erupted in Dai Mubai's mind like thunder on flat ground; unprepared, he was gravely wounded, blood streaming from his eyes, ears, and nose.

"Ah, Boss Dai."

Ma Hongjun rushed forward immediately to check Dai Mubai's injuries.

"It's the Thunder Dragon Six Tones; has he really mastered it to this degree?"

"Transparent Tone is the hardest to master; during cultivation it easily damages one's spirit sea. The teacher repeatedly warned us not to attempt Transparent Tone before mastering the three tones—Zhen, Po, and Bang."

The two core Fenglei Sect disciples looked on with awe and hope, awed that Tie Li could wield the Thunder Dragon Six Tones, hopeful that his mastery signaled the sect's revival.

With the sect destroyed, the fleeing disciples were like stray dogs; even if some factions offered shelter, it was never their own sect.

"Da Li, you came here—what's the matter?"

Tang San stood in front of Dai Mubai, ready for battle at any moment.

"I'm here to find Zhuqing."

"But Fatty said…" Xiao Wu began, but Tang San cut her off immediately.

He had already seen Fatty's lie, but as a brother he couldn't expose it in plain sight.

Tie Li had no such reservations and recounted what had happened directly.

"Shh"

A sigh rose in the arena; who would have thought the somewhat lewd Fatty was so filthy in private.

Everyone instinctively widened the distance from Ma Hongjun.

Who could have imagined a thirteen‑ or fourteen‑year‑old boy would often go to such places.

"You… you're spouting nonsense."

"Do I need to lie? What benefit does it bring me?"

Others might not know, but how could Tang San and the other Shilake Seven Monsters not know Ma Hongjun?

The Evil Fire issue of the martial soul is one side, but is it truly only to resolve the Evil Fire problem?

Tang San and his companions simply see through it without speaking out.

Back then, under the master's devilish training, why was Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire issue suppressed for so long?

At this moment, Ma Hongjun's clever rebuttal seemed unusually feeble.

"Let's go." Zhu Zhuqing stepped before Tie Li and said lightly.

Compared with Dai Mubai's self‑indulgent decline, Tie Li's impression in Zhu Zhuqing's mind was undoubtedly better.

Or rather, because of Dai Mubai's irresponsibility and self‑perceived decline, Tie Li found an opening.

Even now, Zhu Zhuqing clearly remembers the scene where Dai Mubai dared not face reality and abandoned himself; in the Zhu family, she constantly faced her sister's assassination plots, and a slight slip could have led to a tragic death in some accident.

Living cautiously, daring not the slightest slack, she was only a few years old then yet had to live so hard.

When she needed support, the man the family chose for her abandoned her, opting for self‑indulgent decline; in such circumstances, how desperate she must have been.

She chose to leave the Xingluo Empire and come to the Tiandou Empire; because of her appearance she met misfortune, but fortunately Tie Li appeared.

At the most vulnerable moment of her spirit, Tie Li's figure easily broke into her heart.

At least, during their brief time together, Tie Li became her support, the support she needed most.

Thus, she began trying to understand Tie Li's personality and background.

Only then did she discover that Tie Li bore such a heavy responsibility and had not given up.

When the Fenglei Sect was destroyed by the Spirit Hall, as a legacy disciple fleeing outside, he never abandoned hope and resolutely took on the heavy task of rebuilding the Fenglei Sect.

Ning Fengzhi once spoke of Tie Li before the Shilake Seven Monsters, admiring him while also feeling hope was dim.

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly conceived a bold idea: she could stand behind him and support him.

But the idea was instantly shattered; her family's fate pressed on her like a massive stone, nearly suffocating her.

Tang San, after hearing Ning Fengzhi's account of Tie Li's background, finally cleared his doubts.

At the blacksmith shop in Nuo Ding City, Tang San wondered why Tie Li was there; clearly a noble Soul Master, yet he was willing to humble himself and disguise as the lowest‑rank blacksmith.

It happened to coincide with the time Fenglei Sect was annihilated by the Spirit Hall; with Fenglei Sect destroyed, the escaped Tie Li could only hide, working as a blacksmith in the tiny Nuo Ding City.

Tang San already understands the huge gap between the blacksmith trade and a Soul Master; almost no Soul Master would set aside their lofty bearing to choose the lowliest blacksmith, so this might well conceal his identity.

Watching the two of them leave, Dai Mubai slammed a hard punch into the ground; his angry face, streaked with blood, looked even more ferocious.

"Bastard."

"Boss Dai, why not just drop it? You aren't short of women anyway, no need to fight over a woman…"

Ma Hongjun hadn't finished speaking when Dai Mubai slapped him.

"Slap"

That slap was given by Dai Mubai without any mercy.

"Fatty, if you dare speak out of turn again, watch out—I won't be polite to you."

Beaten, Ma Hongjun no longer dared to speak rashly, but in his heart he still cursed angrily.

"You can't beat them yourself, the woman was taken by them, I kindly warned you, and you took it out on me."

(End of chapter)