Chapter 51: Danger

Tie Li looked back and happened to see the two people who had split after the duel.

The black robes on their bodies shattered under the impact of the opponent's soul power, revealing their true appearances.

At that moment, several black‑robed figures appeared, and they coordinated perfectly to surround the gaunt man, preventing his escape.

"You think a few of you can snatch the Meditation Method from my hands? You're overestimating yourselves, aren't you?"

Six Soul Rings manifested beneath him, and countless Lightning Ghost Vine tendrils radiated from him, spreading wildly in all directions.

Three yellow, two purple, one black!

The others, seeing this scene, immediately fled backward, fearing the Lightning Ghost Vine tendrils would touch them.

The lightning released by the Lightning Ghost Vine tendrils not only had a paralyzing effect but also carried toxins.

The bald man who previously duelled the gaunt man was also a Six-ring Soul Emperor.

A Soul Ring Configuration of one white, two yellow, two purple, and one black.

The other Black‑clothed People varied in strength; some were Five Ring Soul Kings, others Four‑ring Soul Ancestors.

But their goal was the same as the bald man's: to seize the Meditation Method.

Don't be fooled by their current cooperation against the gaunt man; once the Meditation Method falls into the bald man's hands, they'll turn and jointly attack him.

From a distance, Tie Li saw this and immediately fled, realizing this matter was clearly beyond what a Second-ring Great Soul Master like himself could intervene in.

Even after running several hundred meters away, he could still hear the fierce collisions behind him.

When passing a dark alley, after confirming no one was around, Tie Li removed his black robe and mask and returned to the inn.

But lying on the bed, Tie Li felt no sleep at all; an inexplicable unease quietly rose in his heart.

……

"Ha ha *pfft*… you think you can kill me?"

The gaunt man twisted off the bald giant's head, and all the black‑robed Soul Masters who attacked him died gruesously on the spot.

But his condition was equally grim; his abdomen had been pierced by a blunt weapon, leaving a blood‑soaked wound that clearly exposed the damaged organs inside.

His head had been sliced off by nearly half, and beneath the blood‑smeared wound the brain writhed.

"Heh heh, there's still one left."

The gaunt man's gaze turned toward a certain direction—the place where Tie Li had gone.

Dragging his severely wounded body, the gaunt man moved like a spirit ape leaping between buildings, having locked onto Tie Li's location.

"This is it."

The gaunt man's face twisted into a snarling grin; he had already appeared outside the inn, his eyes fixed on the room where Tie Li was.

A Lightning Ghost Vine tendril sprouted beneath his feet, lifting him into mid‑air.

Several Lightning Ghost Vine tendrils coiled around him suddenly shattered the window, thrusting toward Tie Li on the bed.

"Cz"

"Fake?"

The gaunt man's tone changed; on the bed was a pillow wrapped in a black robe, not Tie Li at all.

When did he notice that?

At that moment, a blinding thunder spear appeared in his field of vision.

Fortunately, he remained vigilant; the instant he sensed danger, he retracted the Lightning Ghost Vine tendrils, which formed a shield in front of him.

The Thunder Python's single horn could not pierce the shield, but it made the gaunt man break out in a cold sweat.

Tie Li's figure leapt from the shadows, the Forging Hammer already transformed into a Thunder Hammer, gathering fierce Lightning Light.

The First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring lit up simultaneously.

A pure single‑target attack aimed at the gaunt man's head.

Tie Li saw that he was gravely wounded, with the head and abdomen the most severe; as long as those two are hit, even a Soul Emperor would die on the spot.

The gaunt man stayed constantly vigilant, of course not giving Tie Li any opening; he used the same method to block his head, the Lightning Ghost Vine‑formed wooden shield withstanding Tie Li's attack.

"Cz cz"

"You should die now."

The gaunt man's voice was icy; in his eyes, Tie Li was already a dead man.

He would not allow any living mouth that knew his true identity to exist.

The Third Soul Ring beneath him lit up; the remaining soul power only allowed him to use a Hundred-Year Soul Technique, but with his Six-ring Soul Emperor cultivation, was he still afraid to defeat a Second-ring Great Soul Master?

Third soul technique, Thunder Roar Sky‑splitting Spear!

A Lightning Ghost Vine's Lightning Light burst forth, forming a thunder spear over three meters long in the gaunt man's hand.

The spear tip aimed at Tie Li's heart; the gaunt man seemed to have already seen Tie Li's grim death, a snarling smile curling his lips.

The Forging Hammer suddenly shed the Thunder Hammer Form, and the Second soul technique changed from a single‑target attack to a Shock Repel effect.

"Bang"

This sudden change made the gaunt man's complexion shift; the shield formed by the Lightning Ghost Vine tendrils was violently knocked aside by several feet, and that few‑foot gap gave Tie Li a chance to counterattack.

A terrifying beast's phantom loomed behind Tie Li, and at that moment the gaunt man realized the danger.

He intended to wield the thunder spear to kill Tie Li before it dangerously fell.

Right‑leg bone soul technique, Ten‑thousand‑ton Mountain‑shaking Strike!

In the gaunt man's eyes, the thunder spear was instantly shattered by this overwhelming force;

Soul bone—he actually has a soul bone? A Second-ring Great Soul Master actually possesses a soul bone?

Beyond shock, his gaze was filled with resentment; after painstakingly reaching Six-ring Soul Emperor and obtaining a high‑level Meditation Method that matched his attributes, now all of this would become someone else's wedding dress.

"Even if I die, I won't let you have it cheap."

The gaunt man used his last strength to control the Lightning Ghost Vine, shaping it into spikes that surged toward Tie Li.

Boom—

Tie Li shattered the gaunt man's skull with a single kick.

That was close!

Tie Li swallowed a mouthful of saliva; he was only a hair's breadth from the spines formed by those Thunder Ghost vines completely piercing his body.

As the terror in his eyes faded, a hint of greed rose in Tie Li's gaze.

He came to the gaunt man's corpse and groped his own body.

Tie Li found a bracelet set with three gems, each containing a one‑cubic‑meter storage compartment.

The value of this Storage Soul Guide Device clearly far exceeds that of a storage ring.

When his spiritual energy seeped into the storage space, in that instant Tie Li felt as if he had entered a treasure vault, with priceless treasures everywhere.

But what shocked Tie Li the most was this Lei Long Meditation Method; it is a top‑tier meditation method from the Fenglei Sect, and even among the leading SoulMasterForce, it ranks among the best.

After the brief shock, Tie Li had to consider how to deal with everything before him.

Seeing the severely damaged room, Tie Li pondered briefly, left a Gold Soul Coin at the bedside, then lifted the gaunt man's corpse and fled the town overnight.

Once out of the town, he tossed the gaunt man's corpse into a clump of weeds, set the weeds ablaze, and the fierce flames instantly engulfed the body, crackling.

After traveling through the night, when the sun rose, Tie Li arrived at the gates of Geng Xin Cheng.

Geng Xin Cheng gathers the continent's finest blacksmiths, and only in Geng Xin Cheng can blacksmiths earn respect.

Author's note: I've been busy these two days, so it's three chapters for now; tomorrow I'll resume four chapters!

(End of chapter)