Chapter 189: The Man of Ten Thousand Forms (End of This Volume)

Huh-huh~

The gale whipped his face; Fang Fang Bao Luo, barely held back from being blown away, felt the scenery blur past too rapidly to take in.

He felt as if a giant dragon had clamped its jaws onto his shoulder, its immense force shattering his balance.

Behind them, a massive trail of dust trailed like a tail.

"S-Senior!"

Fang Fang Bao Luo snapped back to awareness, still stunned.

He knew his junior had a gift for lightness arts, but never imagined his lightness could be this good.

Huh!

Li Yuan instantly halted, effortlessly dissipating the massive inertia:

"Senior Fang, lend me your hammer!"

He snatched the short-handled hammer from Fang Fang Bao Luo's left hand, then turned to look back.

On the Dahe River, the large warship blazed with Xiong Xiong flames, faint glimmers of Qi clashes visible within.

Along the riverbank, a large group of black-cloaked swordsmen surged forward in hot pursuit, among them several Yi Xing experts.

"Senior, you this..."

Fang Fang Bao Luo was deeply shocked, but knew this wasn't the time to ask; he gripped his hammer tighter:

"Don't linger..."

Huh~

Before he finished speaking, Li Yuan had already spun back and charged toward them—someone had come to him willingly for a test, and he wouldn't let the chance slip.

Boom!

Like thunder, Li Yuan's feet struck the ground, sending earth and stone flying behind him; in a single leap, he covered over a hundred meters.

His sinews and bones stretched with a "crack-crack" sound, releasing explosive power.

"You!"

The foremost black-cloaked swordsman saw a blur—next instant, he was lifted off the ground, flung sideways like straw, and before he could hit the earth, his flesh and bones had turned to pulp.

"Too fragile!"

Having struck, Li Yuan felt no thrill of release; the black-cloaked swordsman was as delicate as window paper in his hands—pierce it, and it shattered.

"Kill him!"

Sword blades rang sharp, shadows flashed wildly as the pursuing black-cloaked swordsmen formed ranks and charged forward.

"Combined assault technique!"

Fang Fang Bao Luo, half a beat late, followed close behind; seeing the uniform movements of the black-cloaked swordsmen, his heart tightened.

Is this a military formation?

"Senior..."

Before Fang Fang Bao Luo's warning could land, Li Yuan had already charged into the formation with his hammer, hammer shadows swirling around him like a hurricane.

Instantly, a series of "clanging" sounds rang out as the formation's black-cloaked swordsmen screamed and flew backward.

No technique—only raw power unleashed.

Li Yuan's repeatedly altered root bones, during Yi Xing, granted him immense advantages: centered on the Shan Xuan Whale form, he combined all sixteen forms into one.

In every gesture, the various forms followed him, blending violence with agility, moving at incredible speed with astonishing burst power.

Bam-bam-bam!

Screams and the cracking of bones filled the air; Li Yuan shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, piercing straight through the formation of over twenty swordsmen—crushing them like dry straw!

Fang Fang Bao Luo, right behind him, didn't even get a chance to strike!

"So fierce?!"

Fang Fang Bao Luo's eyelids twitched violently; he knew the better the root bones, the greater the boost from Yi Xing—but this was too much.

Even the Great Dragon root bones weren't this brutal, were they?

Huh-huh~

Around Li Yuan's ears roared the howling wind; he darted and weaved among the black-cloaked swordsmen, hammer shadows swirling—no one could stand against him.

Puff!

Moments later, Li Yuan slowly retracted his hammer; before him lay black-cloaked swordsmen reduced to pulp, and all around, the riverbank reeked of blood.

The pursuing swordsmen had all been scattered—he had two pairs of third-grade boots enhancing him; those who couldn't beat him couldn't escape either.

"Good, good!"

Li Yuan shook his hammer; from the distant woods, an old man with a sheathed sword stepped forward slowly, gazing at the corpses littering the ground with a cold, grim expression.

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had fled first not only to observe the surroundings, but because he had sensed this old man.

Earlier, the old man had lain hidden beneath the water.

The sword-wielding old man stared fixedly at Li Yuan, his eyes filled with venom:

"Does Han Han Chuijun have such a skilled expert? Eighty thousand li tall, nearly one zhang—you're Fang Fang Bao Luo?"

"..."

Fang Fang Bao Luo, arriving hastily, twitched his face, a flicker of wariness in his eyes: "Tong Mai? Who are you?"

"Qian Jun Cave, Min Ling."

The old man slowly drew his sword, his gaze cold and cruel: "If I kill you two, won't that old devil Han feel some pain?"

"A Tong Mai from Qian Jun Cave."

Li Yuan felt a surge of eagerness; after Yi Xing, his stamina had exploded, and his capacity to withstand Zhi Yu enhancements had risen dramatically.

Tongmai — he wanted to have a taste of it too.

Still, he took a moment to sense the Soldier Register.

Apart from two pairs of third-rank boots and the Chen Shan Zhong hammer, there were also three fourth-rank heavy hammers, including the Hun Jin Da Xi Yi Hammer.

For now, this was his best loadout — able to fight, able to run.

"Junior brother…"

Fang Fang Bao Luo read Li Yuan's thoughts and sighed inwardly.

He had thought his little junior brother was as steady as himself — who would have guessed that once the fighting started, he'd get fired up too.

Still, after a quick scan of the surroundings and finding only this Min Ling, he tightened his grip on the hammer.

"Die!"

Min Ling suddenly erupted. A slash of fierce, ruthless blade-light rose from his waist and arms.

In an instant, he had swept across a dozen zhang; the ring of the blade rang out as he hacked straight down.

"Blade Qi!"

Li Yuan saw the blade Qi clearly — a streak of dark yellow light surged from that long saber, reaching three zhang, cutting through metal and jade.

"Now this is a long weapon."

Li Yuan muttered to himself. Once inner Qi is formed, there's no distinction between long and short weapons.

Inner Qi coating blade or sword becomes light, freely shifting from a few chi to several zhang. Any longer weapon holds no advantage at this stage.

Unless it's a bow.

Thinking this, he shifted his body, dodging that bone-chilling blade Qi, and stepped in to close the distance — his inner force hadn't yet transformed into Qi, so he had to get in close.

Hiss!

Min Ling slashed sideways with his saber, the blade-light stretching over three zhang.

Having seen the youngster strike and knowing his terrifying strength, how could he possibly let him get close?

But soon, his expression changed.

"How is this kid so fast?!"

Ferocious blade-light swept across, leaving mark after mark on the ground. Li Yuan wove through the blade-light — it looked dangerous, but in truth he had plenty of room to spare.

Every time this happened, he couldn't help wanting to get a few more pairs of boots — the benefits of lightfoot skill were just too great.

At only third-rank, even Tongmai couldn't catch up. If it were fifth-rank, what then?

Clang!

Raising his hammer to block a slash of blade-light, Fang Fang Bao Luo had no choice but to halt — he didn't have that kind of lightfoot skill.

"This kid…"

Li Yuan had room to spare; Min Ling's heart had already turned cold. When the clash of blades and weapons on Dahe faded, his face changed drastically.

Without a second thought, he turned and fled.

Whoosh!

The next instant, Li Yuan exploded forward — a short-handled hand hammer actually struck with the terrifying might of a siege hammer.

"Impossible?!"

Min Ling was shocked.

The hammer's speed was beyond belief — the air actually carried a wave of searing heat, as if something had been violently burned!

Boom!

Min Ling crossed his saber to block, but the surging force was blasted apart in one strike. Then, the arm he'd raised to intercept, along with his chest cavity, caved in and shattered.

"Ah!"

Just one hammer blow, and Min Ling's eyeballs nearly popped from their sockets.

That hammer's force ran through his arm and chest, and shockingly even cracked his spine.

But even taking such a hammer blow, he still didn't die — coughing blood, he flew backward and hit the ground, yet still managed to turn and flee.

"Inner Qi?"

Li Yuan shook out his arm, stepped out, raised the hammer and brought it down, blasting his left arm and half his body into a pulp of flesh.

With the boost of four heavy hammers, even a short-handled hand hammer in his hands was comparable to a giant siege hammer.

"You…"

Min Ling's breath was a gossamer thread. His eyes were full of unwillingness and venom, but his life was fading fast.

Even a Tongmai master, suffering such grave wounds in succession, could not possibly survive.

"Hah!"

Li Yuan shook out his arm. The backlash of inner Qi had left his arm somewhat numb, but that was all.

After the Body Transformation, his physique had undergone a further metamorphosis.

"Dead… dead?"

Fang Fang Bao Luo hurried over, his expression somewhat dazed — he'd almost forgotten he was here to protect Li Yuan.

"Probably won't survive."

Li Yuan returned the hand hammer to him, then nimbly set about clearing the battlefield. Min Ling, along with the other black-clad saber-wielders he'd killed, numbered over twenty in total.

Clearing the battlefield took longer than the fighting itself.

Fang Fang Bao Luo's face was wooden; he felt this scene was strangely familiar…

"Hah!"

After a long while, Li Yuan swept the battlefield clean, bundling up a great armful of sabers and swords. Then he looked out over Dahe.

That large warship had already burned to ash. In the night, no one could be seen fighting — the battle seemed to be over.

"Old Han won?"

Li Yuan squinted his eyes, somewhat envious.

That set of Crimson Flame Flood Dragon Armor, though its grade was far inferior to the Sea-Splitting Mystic Whale Hammer, was something Old Han could actually use.

Clad in that armor, Old Han could even cross blades with a great master who had achieved Marrow Refining.

"Hoo!"

A moment later, the sound of rushing wind came from the Dahe. Li Yuan and Fang Fang Bao Luo, hiding in the shadows, saw it was Han Han Chuijun, and only then stepped out.

"Mm?"

Seeing the corpses strewn across the ground, Han Han Chuijun flicked the bloodstained sleeve of his robe, somewhat astonished: "You've undergone Shape Transformation?"

"Your disciple was fortunate."

Li Yuan came over carrying a bundle of weapons: "What about that Marrow Refining expert?"

"Didn't take him down."

Han Han Chuijun shook his head.

This wasn't the Shan Xuan Bing Mi Jing; even with the Crimson Flame Flood Dragon Armor, taking down Huang Fu Kun was easier said than done.

Moreover, even if he could have, he had no intention of doing so.

Li Yuan still wanted to ask — the moment he had woken up he had gone into closed-door cultivation to break through to Shape Transformation, and hadn't had time to inquire about what had happened in recent days.

"Let's go."

Han Han Chuijun flicked his sleeve and turned; the two quickly followed.

……

An hour later, in a dense forest far from the riverbank.

Li Yuan lit a bonfire. Fang Fang Bao Luo, beside him, skillfully peeled off a bear hide, washed it, and set it over the flames.

"Qi-Blood, Internal Force, Body Tempering, and Internal Strengthening are the foundations of the martial path. Shape Transformation is the true threshold — only when a martial artist reaches this step can he be called a master."

Han Han Chuijun sat cross-legged, the smell of blood still lingering on his body. Li Yuan suspected he might be injured, but with the iron mask in the way, he couldn't tell.

The gap between practitioners of Shape Transformation was also vast.

Fang Fang Bao Luo glanced at Li Yuan, his heart quite complicated, once again feeling the unevenness of the world.

His own talent wasn't bad either — how had it come to this…

"Regarding Shape Transformation, this old man has a few insights."

By the bonfire, Han Han Chuijun began instructing his disciple.

Li Yuan concentrated. Only after Shape Transformation could one sense Old Han's terror. He was merely at Yi Bai Xing — killing ordinary Shape Transformation practitioners was like killing chickens for him; Yi Bai Xing was simply monstrous.

"Many years ago, this old man and Jing Jing Shuhu were traveling abroad, and by chance entered the burial place of a predecessor…"

Han Han Chuijun's voice was unusually solemn:

"The master of that tomb had once undergone Yi Wan Xing, and was known as the Daoist of Ten Thousand Shapes!"