Chapter 632: High-Altitude Pursuit and Escape — A Sudden Surprise

"Not necessarily!"

Zhou You asked Zhu Qinghua, "With the secret treasures stacked on you, how high can you endure?"

He was nearly at his limit, but Zhu Qinghua still had strength to spare — clearly the equipment on her was absurdly thick, almost rivaling the physical defense range of Qiangwu Second or Third Layer. "I can still climb another hundred meters."

Zhu Qinghua gave a number. One could tell she was still holding back.

Zhou You and Xi Niangzi's skin was flushed red, their bodies covered in flaming shattered wind — already pushed to the brink.

But Zhu Qinghua, the weakest among them, could actually hold out longer — worthy of someone who runs a cheat.

The problem was, she couldn't fly. Even if she could endure greater heights, without Zhou You carrying her, she had no way to escape Xi Niangzi's pursuit. If they fled in another direction, don't forget — there were still three other Qiangwu cultivators watching like tigers nearby.

"You can't escape!"

The burly, powerfully built Xi Niangzi shook her body, and a layer of black hair spread across her entire frame.

This was the 'Tingrong' implanted into her body after she advanced to Qiangwu — a form of human body modification, used to assist her primary fist technique, enhancing both defense and speed.

Originally, she was only at Qiangwu Yichongtian, skilled in speed, but at her absolute best her limit was around 1500 meters high.

Using 'Tingrong' at the critical moment, her speed and defense both exploded, adding several hundred more meters, and she leapt up to 2000 meters high with Zhou You and the other.

Watching Zhou You about to reach his limit, the two of them could no longer climb higher, and would fall right into her palm.

Suddenly…

Xi Niangzi's pupils contracted sharply. She saw Zhou You's arms explode with force, hurling Zhu Qinghua above his head like throwing a ball.

The arm strength of Qiangwu Yichongtian was terrifyingly powerful — comparable to a hundred catapults stacked together.

Zhu Qinghua's delicate body shot out like a cannonball, breaking through the air barrier, trailing a long streak of flame.

"What are you doing?"

Xi Niangzi was stunned for a moment, then caught on, and sneered, "What's the use? Once the force runs out, she'll still have to fall — still inevitably landing in my palm."

Zhu Qinghua's strength was thin, her flying ability limited — no matter how high she rose, she would eventually fall.

She was sneering away when she saw Zhou You, paying no heed to anything, turn around and charge at her with both fists — a fighting style that meant mutual destruction.

"Quite the lover-boy! That little wench has bewitched you!"

Xi Niangzi was born coarse and ugly, and despised delicate, charming young women the most. Among the several Qiangwu cultivators, she held the greatest hostility toward Zhu Qinghua. Watching Zhou You fight desperately for her made her anger flare.

"…"

She held two curved blades. Under the infusion of Essence Energy, the curved blades split into countless fine-steel Flying Knives — whoosh — a skyful of flying feathers.

Zhou You gripped his fists around the Divine Goose Snatch, and upon seeing this, executed the defensive move 'Perched Tree'. In an instant, golden light enveloped him beneath the countless Flying Knives.

Ding-ding, dang-dang!

The aftershocks of clashing Qiangwu Essence Energy exploded in the air above 2000 meters.

The Divine Goose Snatch displayed its might, smashing Flying Knives one after another into pieces, iron shards flying everywhere.

It turned out that Xi Niangzi and the other sub-Fifth Layer Qiangwu cultivators were usually strapped for cash, barely scraping by through jointly running auction houses.

Unable to get good stuff, this pair of curved blades had been personally refined by her from Martial Master all the way to Qiangwu.

Though they were also Qiangwu divine weapons, compared to a Divine Goose Snatch forged from a Qiangwu cultivator's lifetime essence, they still fell far short.

By now, Zhu Qinghua had already risen above 2500 meters, still climbing slowly, though her speed had slowed.

Xi Niangzi glanced over, unconcerned. Once she dealt with Zhou You in front of her, Zhu Qinghua would be nothing more than a fish in the bag.

She had long since decided — before killing Zhu Qinghua, she would peel off that bright, ravishing face, making the other a hideous ghost.

Suddenly, the Divine Goose Snatch stabbed out like lightning, aiming for her chest and abdomen vitals. This close-quarters strike was both treacherous and swift — yet it gave Xi Niangzi a chance to counter.

"Good — come! Snow-mud leaves a claw-print; there are traces to follow."

Xi Niangzi shook her black-furred body, slipped past the Divine Goose Snatch as it veered off course, and forcibly created an opening. A palm of hers rippled with flesh and skin, and in the blink of an eye transformed into a fine-steel iron claw that locked onto a section of the Divine Goose Snatch.

Locked. The opponent's signature weapon was locked by her.

As everyone knew, beyond Lightness Skill, the Bird Fist's grappling techniques were second to none — whether locking onto limbs or weapons, it was unstoppable.

Both sides fell into a stalemate, one above and one below, each gripping an end of the Divine Goose Snatch, wrestling for dominance.

"Xi Niangzi, don't panic — we're here."

Feihong Gongzi and the others had already caught up nearby, loudly announcing their arrival.

A confident smile of having everything under control appeared at the corner of Xi Niangzi's mouth. This was in the bag.

But the next moment, Zhou You on the opposite side instantly released the Divine Goose Snatch, brought his hands together, his fingertips swept rapidly through the air — as if… writing.

The Essence Energy overflowing from his fingertips condensed like beacon smoke into shape, and within a single breath, outlined a rune the size of a water vat.

Read the genuine, error-free version!

If Xi Niangzi recognized Seal Script, she would know that this rune meant 'Yi' — Change.

The distance between them was only the length of a Divine Goose Snatch, and the Divine Goose Snatch was a short weapon. The moment the Seal Script took shape, it was launched out, landing heavily on Xi Niangzi.

Just at this moment, Zhu Qinghua, who had nearly reached 3000 meters, felt a faint sting on her delicate face. Outside her body, only two thin layers of defensive light shields remained — a sign that the secret treasures within her were exhausted.

Climbing higher — no, even maintaining her current altitude — she could not last more than ten breaths, otherwise…

Zhu Qinghua was just picturing her miserable fate when her palm suddenly grew warm, and a Seal Script emerged from it.

This Seal Script was unmistakably 'Yi' — Change.

The two 'Yi' Seal Scripts from different spaces resonated at the same moment, opening some kind of exchange channel.

Whoosh! Zhu Qinghua's vision blurred, and she appeared before Zhou You, her hands still gripping the Divine Goose Snatch. The all-pervading pressure around her had eased considerably. "Master Zhou!"

"Run!"

Zhou You yanked the Divine Goose Snatch, carrying Zhu Qinghua away from the spot at supersonic speed.

High above…

Xi Niangzi suddenly appeared at 3000 meters. Caught completely off guard, the defense formed by her black-furred 'Tingrong' instantly collapsed.

Immense pressure wrapped around her entire body. The flames produced by air friction drilled into her body through her pores and seven orifices.

"Ah!"

From the burly middle-aged woman's mouth came a wretched shriek, as if a pair of invisible great hands were gripping and squeezing her; her Strong Martial Golden Body twisted and deformed like a clay figure, shrinking without cease, the flesh and organs within spilling outward.

She flailed her arms desperately and plunged headfirst downward, landing right in front of Feihong Gongzi and the others who had just arrived.

"Xi Niangzi, how have you come to such a sorry state?"

Xi Niangzi, already gravely wounded by a moment's carelessness, shrieked miserably, "Don't let them get away! I want those two flayed alive!"

At the same time, Zhou You felt a touch of regret — pity the enemy had too many people, leaving him no chance to finish the kill.

But he failed to notice that the look in Zhu Qinghua's eyes as she gazed at him was full of astonishment, shock, and admiration.

She could tell that Zhou You was, at best, at the strength of Qiangwu Yichongtian, yet he had managed to rescue someone and escape under the siege of four Qiangwu cultivators, and even contrived a counter-kill that gravely wounded one of them.

This measure of wisdom, daring, and cunning was something those 'geniuses' he saw in ordinary days could never hope to match.

(End of chapter)