Chapter 325: Slashing a First-Step

His heart fluttered.

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

The Earth Immortal had moved!

The terrifying aura made everyone on deck nearly miss a heartbeat.

'Is this the power of an Earth Immortal?'

Although Li Rui had seen powerful cultivators strike before, this was his first time witnessing two Earth Immortals battle so close.

Every movement stirred boundless marvels—truly terrifying.

And it seemed more than two Earth Immortals had acted.

Ning Zhongtian also sensed the commotion and asked in alarm: 'Brother, what should we do next?'

The Blood Spirits on deck had been cornered and posed little threat.

He was asking whether they should go down to the lower decks.

Li Rui fell silent.

Just as he was about to speak.

Suddenly, the Blood Spirits, who had been frenziedly attacking, lost their souls—each froze like wooden statues, collapsing simultaneously to the deck, releasing a suffocating stench that made one nauseous.

'We won!'

Ning Zhongtian's eyes lit up.

The Blood Spirits' condition clearly meant their side had prevailed; otherwise, the experts from below would have emerged onto the deck and slaughtered them all.

Just as the Anning Guard soldiers sighed in relief.

A shadow sprinted out from the dark cabin passage.

His speed was terrifyingly fast.

All they saw was a black blur.

As the shadow was about to leap off the deck into the Chijiang River.

Li Rui broke his usual demeanor and surged forward violently.

Almost in the same instant, he leapt off the deck right behind the figure.

The shadow had not anticipated anyone would follow him overboard—by now, the river nearby had calmed, and both men plunged into the water with a splash.

The river water was icy cold, laced with hidden currents.

But these meant nothing to a martial artist like Li Rui.

Underwater, the two moved as swiftly and freely as fish.

In an instant.

Chasing and fleeing, they had already turned a full li.

The hawk-nosed middle-aged man suddenly leapt from the Chijiang River onto the shore, then dashed into the mountain forest.

Li Rui followed close behind.

As if they were mortal enemies sworn to kill each other.

Moments later.

The two reached a dark, secluded forest.

The hawk-nosed man stopped, turned to face Li Rui, and spoke coldly: 'Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish.'

He had planned this ambush on the Third Princess.

Of course, he had prepared thoroughly.

So he recognized Li Rui.

'A Sea-Viewing martial artist dares to chase me?'

He had fled only because he feared being trapped by Li Rui and then ambushed by Nie Siming.

But now he had run three or five li.

Nie Siming had not followed—there was no longer any reason to fear.

Though wounded, he was still a First-Step cultivator—something a Sea-Viewing martial artist could never touch.

'I heard this Li Rui was once named by the Ancestor as someone to capture.'

The hawk-nosed man's thoughts turned cunning.

If he could capture Li Rui, he could redeem himself.

In an instant, his killing intent surged.

'Die.'

The hawk-nosed man curled his lips into a cruel smile.

He was about to strike.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

Li Rui slowly drew his waist blade—his overwhelming killing intent made every hair on the man's body stand on end.

'Immortal Blade?!'

He sucked in a sharp breath.

A Sea-Viewing martial artist possessed an Immortal Blade?

Is this even possible?!

Li Rui's gaze was cold as he brought down the Dragon-Slaying Blade, its power infused with the terrifying might of the Dragon Immortal dual forms.

In the blink of an eye.

The hawk-nosed man's body twisted violently—his flesh swelled, his skin turned strange bluish-black, and horns sprouted from his head.

It was the Evil God Technique!

The hawk-nosed man was a First-Step cultivator.

When he activated the Evil God Technique, its power was utterly brutal—a violent wind tore through the forest.

Seeing this,

Li Rui's lips curled upward in an unusual smile.

Demon-Slaying Victory.

Triggered!

The killing power of the Dragon-Slaying Blade surged violently, turning into a brilliant white streak, emitting a piercing sonic boom as it cleaved the air.

The hawk-nosed man's Evil God Technique shattered instantly.

The Dragon-Slaying Blade pierced the monstrous form's back in an instant, its killing force erasing the man's life.

No further resistance.

Split cleanly in half!

Slashing a First-Step!

In their exchange, he killed the hawk-nosed man with a single strike—no hesitation, no waste. This was the result of his relentless training.

Li Rui stared at the now-normal corpse of the hawk-nosed man, quickly crouching to search him.

Soon,

He pulled a jade vial from the man's body.

He shoved the vial into his chest.

He had chased the hawk-nosed man for this very item.

With a flick of his sleeve, the corpse vanished without a trace—no sign remained.

Having finished, Li Rui turned and sprinted back toward his original direction without looking back.

When Li Rui returned to the ship,

The Blood Spirit corpses on deck had been cleared away, the reeking stench gone.

Ning Zhongtian and the others saw Li Rui return.

They hurried to meet him.

'Brother, you're back!'

Ning Zhongtian sighed in relief seeing Li Rui unharmed.

Tonight, Li Rui had acted uncharacteristically by chasing the enemy.

Though unexpected, he trusted Li Rui completely—no doubt crossed his mind; he continued directing the battlefield cleanup without panic.

Li Rui nodded:

No error in any single detail!

'How did things go?'

At this, Ning Zhongtian perked up: 'It was Chen Ming—he resolved tonight's crisis.'

'Chen Ming?'

Li Rui's eyebrows lifted slightly.

Ning Zhongtian nodded eagerly: 'The Blood Shadow Ancestor was formidable—he had cultivated two Blood Spirit clones with Earth Immortal power. He nearly succeeded. At the last moment, Chen Ming intervened and shattered the clones.'

Li Rui was surprised.

He thought even two Blood Spirit clones might not kill the Third Princess—Nie Siming, as Yuan Dingting's adopted son, surely had hidden cards.

The outcome remained unchanged.

Only the process had been unexpected.

Who says Sichuan free knights are all brainless brutes? This Chen Ming is quite clever.

It was clearly a play staged in collusion with Princess Xia Yun.

On the surface, he was at odds with Xia Yun.

In truth, he was hired muscle brought by Xia Yun.

His tactics weren't sophisticated, but precisely because of Chen Ming's reputation in Sichuan, the Ghost Cult's men fell for it.

'What a pity.'

Blood Shadow Ancestor sent only two Blood Spirit clones—truly cautious.

Had he come himself,

he might have provoked a response from someone like Yuan Dingting. He even suspected Yuan Dingting might have already planted a ten-thousand-li killing technique on Nie Siming, waiting for Blood Shadow Ancestor to appear.

Several of Blood Shadow Ancestor's Twelve Blood Disciples have died at his hands.

Taken together, their grudge runs deep.

Though he concealed his killings well, if Blood Shadow Ancestor died, he could rest easier.

Of course he felt it a pity.

As Li Rui pondered, Nie Siming approached.

'General Nie.'

Li Rui quickly bowed.

Nie Siming glanced at Li Rui coolly and nodded: 'Well done.'

Though Li Rui did not join the key battlefield in this battle,

his contributions were obvious to all.

Had Li Rui not intervened, how could the Blood Spirit demon have been pinned down on the deck?

Nie Siming asked: 'Did that man die?'

He had been present when Chen Ming shattered Blood Shadow Ancestor's clone and killed or wounded the Ghost Cult's experts—he had seen the hawk-nosed man flee.

He had just rushed out,

when he heard Ning Zhong had already chased after him.

This time, Li Rui did not conceal the truth but answered honestly: 'He's dead.'

Nie Siming's eyes gleamed with greater satisfaction: 'Excellent. My adoptive father has never misjudged a person.'

Saying this,

he turned and walked toward Princess Xia Yun's cabin.

Li Rui watched Nie Siming's retreating back, lost in thought.

Nie Siming is a clever man; with clever men, the best approach is not to pretend to be cleverer.

He killed—he killed.

If Li Rui had tried to deceive him with some clumsy lie—that the hawk-nosed man escaped, that he couldn't catch him—he would have been exposed, humiliated, and possibly offended Nie Siming.

In his past life, there was a saying: sincerity is the ultimate skill.

As he had expected,

Nie Siming showed no surprise upon hearing Li Rui had killed a Senior Qi Refining cultivator.

To a genius like him, such things were normal.

After all, he regarded Li Rui as one of his own kind.

If you're a prodigy, you must differ from ordinary mortals.

Li Rui didn't kill a full-strength Senior Qi Refining cultivator—just one nearly beaten to death by Chen Ming. In terms of strength, if he retained two-tenths, that was already impressive.

Nothing remarkable.

Of course, that's only true for someone like Nie Siming, a top-tier prodigy.

A Junior Qi Refining cultivator killing a Senior Qi Refining cultivator remains shocking under any circumstances.

Ning Zhong, seeing Nie Siming leave, widened his eyes and asked: 'Big brother, you killed a Senior Qi Refining cultivator?'

He might have been one of the few on the ship who knew the true strength of the fleeing Ghost Cult expert.

Because after Li Rui left, Nie Siming sought him out and told him.

He had overheard Nie Siming and Li Rui's conversation clearly—they hadn't avoided him.

Li Rui nodded:

'Younger brother, don't spread this around.'

Ning Zhong nodded dumbly.

His shock was beyond words.

Good heavens.

That was a Senior Qi Refining cultivator.

My big brother killed a Senior Qi Refining cultivator? No way—I must cling to this thigh. If all else fails, I'll even make him my adoptive father.

Considering their ages, it's perfect!

As Ning Zhong daydreamed,

Li Rui finally turned his gaze to his panel.

A line of small characters appeared before him.

【Congratulations, Host! You have completed the Intermediate Plot Achievement: "Challenge Beyond Your Level 2."】

(End of Chapter)