Chapter 395: Single-Minded Resolve (Requesting Moon Tickets)

BOOM!

A thunderous roar shattered a large portion of the cabbage men around him.

Bao Yingchen stomped twice at Li Banfeng—first a feint, then the real strike.

If Li Banfeng had dodged as he had before, he would have survived, but suffered severe injuries.

But he didn't dodge. He stood still.

Behind him, Bao Yingchen's foot had crushed a massive, deep crater.

Amid shattered stones and sand, Li Banfeng's suit was utterly torn apart, yet no new wounds marred his body.

Bao Yingchen froze—this man seemed to be wearing an excellent suit of armor.

Li Banfeng hadn't used armor. He had used the Technique of the Courteous Heart, absorbing Bao Yingchen's blow directly.

Bao Yingchen had never encountered this technique, for common sense dictated that a Traveler cultivator could never master a Home cultivator's art.

Li Banfeng suddenly spun around, raised his pistol, aimed it at Bao Yingchen's forehead, and fired rapidly.

Click-click-click-click…

He pulled the trigger six times; five shots rang out. Li Banfeng was lucky—but not a single bullet struck Bao Yingchen.

Bao Yingchen had dodged them all.

This was Ling Miaoying's pistol—its bullets chased their targets. Logically, they shouldn't have been avoidable.

But Bao Yingchen had spent a lifetime battling in the martial world; he'd seen countless pistols, and many that fired bullets that pursued their targets.

He knew these pistols had blind spots—areas the bullets could not track.

As he evaded calmly, Bao Yingchen sighed inwardly:

This Li Qi must have gained some extraordinary fortune. Though his face was covered in beard, he didn't seem old—yet he possessed so many spiritual artifacts and treasures, and such high cultivation.

But with such cultivation at his age, it was hard to say whether it was blessing or curse.

High cultivation should be a blessing, but at his age, he simply couldn't control such power.

Youths are unstable. They think high cultivation grants them the right to be arrogant before their elders—that's how disaster strikes.

He used a pistol on me. That was a blunder—a fatal mistake that lost him the initiative.

At the critical moment, he made such a blunder. It proves Li Qi lacks experience—he doesn't even know when to use which technique.

His life will now end here, due to his arrogance and naivety.

After effortlessly dodging five bullets, Bao Yingchen took a swift step forward, closing the distance to Li Banfeng, preparing to use Tread Through Ten Thousand Rivers once more—this time, he would give Li Banfeng no chance at all.

BOOM!

As Bao Yingchen raised his leg, Li Banfeng stomped first—a deafening crash sent a hail of shattered stone crashing into Bao Yingchen's body.

Bao Yingchen froze. Blood streamed from his body, splattering onto Li Banfeng as well.

In terms of technique mastery, Li Banfeng was inferior to Bao Yingchen. If both used the same technique simultaneously, Li Banfeng would always be slower.

But if Li Banfeng had prepared in advance, everything changed.

If Li Banfeng's gunfire had hit, it would have been luck.

But Li Banfeng didn't gamble on luck. In Puluozhou, placing all faith in firearms was sheer stupidity.

Besides, Bao Yingchen was a Traveler—his speed and experience made dodging bullets entirely reasonable.

Li Banfeng had used those five shots to buy himself time. If the bullets missed, Bao Yingchen would charge—so Li Banfeng had already activated Tread Through Ten Thousand Rivers, and delivered him a deadly gift.

Trainmaster had taught Li Banfeng his footwork—Tread Through Ten Thousand Rivers was just as powerful as Bao Yingchen's.

Bao Yingchen wiped away blood. Li Banfeng stomped again.

Bao Yingchen vanished instantly. Li Banfeng shifted his stance and vanished too.

No delay—Bao Yingchen was using Gallop Through the Flowers. A moment's hesitation meant death.

Bao Yingchen couldn't lock onto Li Banfeng, and his stamina began to plummet rapidly.

Li Banfeng used Gallop Through the Flowers with the Trainmaster's Train Step—his stamina drain was minimal.

Bao Yingchen used the common Traveler's Car Step, which clashed poorly with Gallop Through the Flowers, draining stamina excessively—making the technique impractical for most Travelers.

But Bao Yingchen, with his vast experience, knew how to leverage other techniques to make Gallop Through the Flowers effective.

As Li Banfeng weaved through the crowd, three cabbage men and two San Yingmen disciples suddenly closed in, surrounding him.

This wasn't San Yingmen's tactic—it was Bao Yingchen's technique: Sever Path, Clear Way.

Li Banfeng was used to using Sever Path, Clear Way to find his own route. Bao Yingchen didn't just excel at finding paths—he excelled at blocking others'.

These five men had been forcibly gathered by Bao Yingchen. Once Li Banfeng's escape route was cut, he'd be easily locked down.

Against these five, Li Banfeng had many ways to escape—but Bao Yingchen moved faster.

In an instant, Bao Yingchen had locked onto Li Banfeng—and, using the crowd as cover, was about to vanish from his sight.

As death from Gallop Through the Flowers loomed, Li Banfeng suddenly roared: "Huuu-yaa-yaa-yaa~!"

Technique of the Deep Courtyard!

In desperation, his cry was piercingly shrill—Bao Yingchen couldn't help blinking twice.

Seizing that split-second gap, Li Banfeng used Unimpeded Passage, slipping between two cabbage men.

Bao Yingchen lost sight of Li Banfeng—but Gallop Through the Flowers had already been unleashed.

The three cabbage men and two San Yingmen disciples exploded.

Seeing this, the San Yingmen disciples quickly retreated from the battlefield—they didn't want to die, nor did they want to hinder the Boss.

But the cabbage men had no such awareness. They still waited for Li Banfeng's command.

Li Banfeng had no time to control them. Bao Yingchen pressed too hard—he was barely able to breathe.

He had hoped to borrow a technique from Hong Ying through the Technique of the Deep Courtyard—but no connection formed between them.

Though nominally both Home Spirits, Li Banfeng and Hong Ying lacked any real synergy. Whether due to insufficient closeness or some other reason, the Technique of the Deep Courtyard rarely succeeded when used through Hong Ying without prior coordination.

Fortunately, Bao Yingchen couldn't use Gallop Through the Flowers again for a while—his last strike had drained too much.

But the San Yingmen disciples had withdrawn. Tread Through Ten Thousand Rivers no longer needed restraint.

BOOM! BOOM!

Bao Yingchen unleashed Tread Through Ten Thousand Rivers repeatedly amid the crowd. Minutes later, the cabbage men were reduced to piles of cabbage stalks—but Bao Yingchen still couldn't find Li Banfeng.

"Big Brother!" Third Boss Yang Xingbo charged forward. "Where's that kid?"

"Where?" Bao Yingchen panted, glancing at Yang Xingbo. "You didn't lift a finger the whole time?"

Yang Xingbo hurried to explain: "Big Brother, your fight moved too fast—I couldn't get involved!"

In high-level Traveler duels, outsiders rarely could intervene. Yang Xingbo was a Seventh Layer Joy cultivator, not known for speed. A misused technique might even endanger Bao Yingchen.

But Bao Yingchen didn't think so. He trusted no one. Yang Xingbo's inaction had raised suspicion.

"Take your men straight upstairs. Find Li Qi. Surround him. Wait for my order."

Yang Xingbo pointed at Xiaoyao Weng. "He hasn't escaped? Still here?"

Bao Yingchen narrowed his eyes at Xiaoyao Weng. "He made all these preparations to fight to the death.

He knew we were coming—and yet he didn't flee. That proves he can't."

Yang Xingbo glanced at the cabbage remains. "These were his preparations?"

Bao Yingchen nodded. "These must be a Workshop cultivator's artifact—some kind of puppet.

And Li Qi has Sound cultivator techniques. Whether he's dabbled in Daoist arts or used an artifact, be careful."

Yang Xingbo was genuinely uneasy. "Big Brother, why not burn down Xiaoyao Weng? Force Li Qi out!"

"No!" Bao Yingchen growled. "A big fire will spread, cause chaos. The more chaotic it gets, the more advantage Li Qi gains!"

Yang Xingbo sighed. "Big Brother, should we send men to block the back door?"

Bao Yingchen shook his head. "They can't block it."

Before he finished speaking, Bao Yingchen circled the entire building of Xiaoyao Weng, using Sever Path, Clear Way to seal off the back and side entrances.

Yang Xingbo led his men toward the front gate. Bao Yingchen sealed the front gate too.

Yang Xingbo turned back. "Big Brother, you sealed the front too? How do we get in?"

"Fool!" Bao Yingchen barked. "Walk through the front and step on traps? Go this way!"

He stepped forward and kicked the wall. A square hole opened in it—Sever Path, Clear Way was fully mastered.

And he'd been right: before they arrived, Li Banfeng had placed traps at both entrances. But Bao Yingchen had opened his own door through the corridor wall—rendering Li Banfeng's traps useless.

During the clash between cabbage men and San Yingmen disciples, Li Banfeng had hoped to prolong the fight with Bao Yingchen.

But once the cabbage men began to collapse, Li Banfeng could no longer afford to tangle with Bao Yingchen—otherwise, he'd face not just Bao Yingchen, but also Third Boss Yang Xingbo and the other thirty-odd ruthless men.

Li Banfeng reached the grand dance floor and ordered everyone to hide immediately.

Seeing Li Banfeng covered in wounds, Cao Zhida panicked. "Seventh Master, where can we hide? Let's fight them!"

Fight?

What could they fight with?

A dozen half-trained men. The highest cultivation was Cao Zhida's—Third Layer Wu Xiu. The rest ranged from First to Second Layer. To San Yingmen's elite, they were nothing but meat.

The untrained? They weren't even worth giving away. One stomp from Boss Bao Yingchen would wipe them all out.

At the critical moment, Jiang Mengting's pants had dried, and she grew calmer. She shouted: "Listen to me! Go backstage! Xiaoyao Weng's backstage is huge—and hard to find!"

The backstage entrance of Xiaoyao Weng wasn't on stage—it was through the side door of the grand dance floor.

Everyone rushed backstage. Jiang Mengting asked: "Seventh Master, you won't abandon us, will you?"

Li Banfeng shook his head.

Jiang Mengting said: "If you're here, we're not afraid."

Everyone hid. Li Banfeng pulled out the projector, concealed it beneath the seats, and used its projection to mask the side door on the wall.

He rubbed the key in his pocket—if he wanted to hide, he could enter Suishenju at any moment.

But Li Banfeng didn't return to Suishenju; he pulled out the steel cable.

It was a spiritual item given to him by Ling Miaoying, originally used to suspend actors during film shoots, known in the Outer Provinces as diao weiya.

The steel cable was extremely durable, required no anchor point—just press it once to secure, and pressing a switch inside the box would retract it.

Li Banfeng fastened one end of the cable to the wall near the door, the other to the floor, crossing it repeatedly to form a grid.

The grid clung to the wall at the top and the floor at the bottom, extending over three meters from the wall—if Bao Yingchen used Changxing Wuai to charge through the wall, he would be cut by the cable, and the extent of injury would depend on how much power he used.

His wounds still bled, blood droplets mixing with sweat, occasionally falling to the ground.

The injuries weren't severe, but they hurt—Li Banfeng wiped the blood from his face and silently watched the wall and door of the grand dance hall.

Hold on—every second counted; now he could only hope Ma Wu and the others arrived soon.

Not long after, Yang Xingbo arrived at the entrance of the grand dance hall, unaware of the situation inside.

One of his subordinates was a Kui Xiu and had heard noises within, confirming that Li Qi was inside the grand dance hall.

Yang Xingbo didn't act rashly; he waited for Bao Yingchen's orders.

Bao Yingchen arrived at the door, stood for a moment, then called inside: "Brother Li Qi, come out—our business ends here."

"Ends here?" Li Banfeng laughed. "If it's this easy to end, why did you go to such lengths to find me?"

Bao Yingchen replied: "The Chu family hired us to handle this, so naturally we must complete it—that's the rule of Bangmen."

"But how far we go is up to us. Tonight, both sides have suffered losses—we've fulfilled our duty, and the Chu family can't fault us. Brother, you should understand what I mean."

This sounded reasonable—three years ago, when San Yingmen sent Qin Xiaopang to disrupt Ma Wu's film set, they'd stopped at a warning—consistent with San Yingmen's usual style.

But Li Banfeng didn't believe Bao Yingchen; the current situation was clearly different.

Bao Yingchen added: "I truly want to be friends with you. To be honest, since my clash with the Lu family three years ago, I've never met an opponent like you."

"I lost to the Lu family, but I became friends with them. Today's fight ends in a draw—I want to be friends with you too."

Bao Yingchen was distracting Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng was happy to engage—he wanted to buy time.

"Big Boss, how did you lose? Did you lose to Lu Dongliang? Tell me the details."

Bao Yingchen laughed: "I didn't lose to Lu Dongliang. To be frank, my cultivation base isn't lower than his."

"I lost to Lu Dongjun. Everyone says he's clueless, but on the battlefield, his cunning and tactics are terrifying—I lost fairly and fully accept it."

"Brother Li Qi, fighting you today, I also accept defeat wholeheartedly—we're definitely becoming friends!"

Li Banfeng stayed silent, as if swayed.

According to Bao Yingchen's plan, if he could persuade Li Banfeng, he'd lure him out and kill him—his men were all elite fighters of San Yingmen, and he didn't want heavy losses.

But if persuasion failed, he'd sacrifice losses—he'd order his men to storm in, absorb the first wave, then seize an opportunity to kill Li Banfeng.

Now that Li Banfeng hesitated, he couldn't let his men interfere—this was the perfect chance for a swift, decisive strike.

Seizing the moment, Bao Yingchen used Changxing Wuai to enter the grand dance hall directly.

In truth, Li Banfeng hadn't hesitated—he knew Bao Yingchen would never make peace with him.

Danger surged suddenly; Li Banfeng didn't reach for his key, abandoning the idea of returning to Suishenju.

If he returned to Suishenju, over a hundred people in Xiaoyao Wu would die, and his key might not even stay hidden.

Knowing the danger, he pressed forward anyway.

Li Banfeng decided to fight.

He prepared Tapo Wanchuan, using Yi Yi Gu Xing to elevate his level, aiming for one strike to kill Bao Yingchen.

But Bao Yingchen was still shrewd.

He broke through the wall and saw the steel cable before him.

He activated Changxing Wuai again, passing through the cable, suffering only minor injury.

After passing the cable, Bao Yingchen didn't rush Li Banfeng—he knew Li Banfeng was ready to strike. Instead, relying on his speed advantage, he circled behind Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng spun around, trying to use Zhai Xin Ren Hou to block again.

But Zhai Xin Ren Hou could only be used once per day—he'd already used it. Could he use it again?

One more try! His level had risen—maybe he could use it again.

Li Banfeng imagined the appearance of Suishenju, imagining himself as unyielding as Suishenju.

The thought failed—Zhai Xin Ren Hou didn't activate; instead, Li Banfeng suddenly felt searing pain, his steps slowing.

This was fatal!

His slowdown delighted Bao Yingchen—he stepped forward, passing through a halo of light, arriving right before Li Banfeng.

Wait.

What was this halo?

Bao Yingchen shuddered—his flesh was stripped away, leaving him critically wounded.

He glanced at the halo behind him, stunned, and realized the nemesis of Daoist sects.

Was this Guan Men Bi Hu?

Was this the eighth-level technique of Zhai Xiu?

How could he possibly possess a Zhai Xiu technique…

PS: Li Banfeng was wracked with pain—he had no idea what had happened.

(End of Chapter)