Chapter 803: Battle of the Grandmaster

Deep in the wilderness.

A streak of light cut across the clouds in the sky, then plummeted toward the ground like a meteor.

Such a fierce momentum contained at least several hundred tons of impact force!

Yet, when this streak of light landed, it only stirred up a little dust and left a pair of footprints on the ground.

The light dissipated, revealing a figure in a gray robe, their appearance blurry and indistinct.

It was none other than the newly promoted "Evil Demon," Qi Ming!

He had been tracked all the way by that power of the Dao left by Yun Shu inside Bai Yan, fleeing over a thousand miles deep into the wilderness.

But he still hadn't managed to shake off the pursuit.

Qi Ming looked back at what was behind him, his eyes somewhat gloomy.

Analyzing the Dao rules is too troublesome!

This Dao rule seemed to have no direct offensive or defensive capabilities, yet it was extremely versatile and could be used in every field.

Qi Ming hadn't even attacked Bai Yan directly, only leaving behind a little "tail," yet he was still caught by Yun Shu, chased for an entire night, and nearly locked onto several times!

Now, he didn't dare to leave the Northern Barbarian lands and return to the Great Lan Dynasty.

Once he entered the territory of the Great Lan Dynasty, that power of Yun Shu's could be replenished by the national fortune, becoming even more powerful.

Now, all he could do was play "hide and seek" with Yun Shu's Dao rule power within the Northern Barbarian lands, slowly exhausting it.

But the problem was that Yun Shu could consume national fortune from afar to replenish the energy of this Dao rule power.

So this war of attrition might eventually turn into Qi Ming wearing himself out against the entire Great Lan Dynasty!

Although Yun Shu suffered a great loss by consuming national fortune in this way, if he could completely lock onto Qi Ming, he would surely spare no cost.

Therefore, Qi Ming did not dare to keep dragging it out like this.

But he also didn't dare to attack this Dao rule power directly to crush it, because that would be equivalent to exposing himself, allowing Yun Shu to lock onto him.

If it were the other three "Evil Demons," even if they were locked onto, they would still have a way to survive; it wouldn't be certain death.

But Qi Ming's "Great Dao" was completely contrary to the Great Lan Dynasty's national fortune; once he was locked onto, he would immediately face "Heavenly Punishment" and be "air-dropped" a massive amount of national fortune on his head.

To him, this national fortune was no different from the most terrifying curse in this world!

Not wanting to be locked onto, and not wanting to drag it out for long, Qi Ming only had two paths ahead:

First, find a way to completely shake off Yun Shu's tracking.

Second, let someone else help him break Yun Shu's Dao rule power.

Qi Ming had "contingency plans" for both of these paths.

"Bo'erhu, don't let me down."

Qi Ming adjusted his breath on the spot for a moment. Seeing that the "clone" he had left behind was about to be seen through by Yun Shu's Dao rule power again, he had no choice but to ascend into the air once more and fly in a certain direction.

He was going to find the Northern Barbarian King, Bo'erhu!

Looking across the entire Northern Barbarian lands, only Bo'erhu, who possessed "Prince-level" combat power, had the ability to help him.

He didn't need Bo'erhu to completely crush Yun Shu's Dao rule power; he only needed him to block it slightly, and he would be able to shake off the pursuit!

As for why Bo'erhu would help him.

He had just done the Northern Barbarians a huge favor, perhaps even saving Bo'erhu's life!

The enemy of an enemy is a friend.

Qi Ming believed that Bo'erhu could certainly understand such a simple principle and would certainly be willing to help.

After all, only with a peak expert of the True One Realm like himself secretly restraining the Great Lan Dynasty would Bo'erhu have the opportunity to unify the Northern Barbarians and take that final step.

Qi Ming rushed toward the battlefield where the Barbarian-killing Army and the Northern Barbarian King's personal guards had clashed.

He didn't know how the battle had turned out after he left, but he figured the Northern Barbarian side must have held the advantage.

Only one night had passed; that unit of personal guards couldn't have gone far, and in all likelihood, Bo'erhu was still with the army.

Over an hour later, Qi Ming flew above that nameless mountain peak.

Just as he had expected, the Northern Barbarian King's personal guards had indeed not gone far and had already joined forces with the coalition of the Fire Qilin, Flame Heart, and Green Ember tribes.

In the center of the coalition's camp, there was a great formation guarding it, making it difficult for others to perceive the situation inside.

Qi Ming directly used a technique to transmit his voice, startling the great formation below.

Over a dozen Heaven-level experts within the formation were startled at the same time.

This was a great formation composed of the experts of the three-tribe coalition, plus tens of thousands of warriors!

Although the Northern Barbarians lacked the evil weapons and military formations of the Central Plains, the method of using formations to gather the strength of the masses to resist supreme experts had been passed down since ancient times.

It was just that formations were far less flexible than military formations.

At this moment, the great formation below was enough to withstand the attacks of a peak Grandmaster, but it was still not enough in front of Qi Ming.

However, Qi Ming did not break into the formation directly.

He was here to seek cooperation, not to become enemies with Bo'erhu.

Moreover, he was currently being tracked and dared not act rashly, lest he leave behind traces.

"Who goes there?"

"This seat is the leader of the New Heaven Society, Qi Ming."

"..."

This name stunned the group of experts below.

Soon, the voice of the Northern Barbarian King, Bo'erhu, came from within the formation:

"So it is Leader Qi Ming who has graced us with his presence. What is the matter?"

"There is indeed a matter for which I would like the Northern Barbarian King to lend a hand."

Yun Shu's tracking would arrive soon, and Qi Ming didn't have much time, so he got straight to the point and informed Bo'erhu of his situation.

Inside the great formation, Bo'erhu was silent for a moment, then said:

"I am truly sorry, but I am injured and cannot help you for the time being."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Ming's first reaction was that this was an excuse from Bo'erhu.

The other party wanted to hold him for ransom and negotiate terms.

He was pressed for time and really didn't have the luxury of slowly haggling with Bo'erhu, so he said directly:

"You should be very clear that only if I remain alive do you have the opportunity to complete your schemes under the nose of the Great Lan Dynasty. If I die, the Great Lan Dynasty can immediately free up their hands to kill you!"

If not for him hiding in the shadows with uncertain whereabouts, why would Wenren Zheng have been unable to leave Lanling City?

It was precisely because his Dao rule was a curse and he was hiding in the shadows that Wenren Zheng and the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry dared not leave the capital.

After all, defending is always harder than destroying.

If he were to die, the Great Lan Dynasty could simply leave the Sky Blue Iron Cavalry to guard the capital and liberate Wenren Zheng.

Then, the next person to penetrate deep into the Northern Barbarian lands to carry out a decapitation strike might be that "God of War" leading the team!

Qi Ming believed that Bo'erhu could certainly understand these principles.

If the other party wanted to unify the Northern Barbarians, they needed his help to restrain the Great Lan Dynasty!

"Whatever conditions you have, just say them."

Qi Ming said again.

He felt that the clone he had left behind was about to be seen through by Yun Shu's Dao rule power again.

As the other party's analysis deepened, the further it went, the harder it became for him to shake off the pursuit.

An opponent like Yun Shu would only become harder and harder to deal with!

"Since you are so frank, I will be direct as well."

Bo'erhu stopped hiding it; he didn't want to annoy this peak expert who specialized in curses either.

Looking at the whole world, Qi Ming might be the peak expert most skilled at large-scale slaughter of ordinary people and the weak!

Thus, Bo'erhu explained that his origin had been injured and he was temporarily unable to beast-transform.

"How could your origin possibly be injured?!"

After hearing this, Qi Ming's mindset nearly shattered:

"I helped you break Bai Yan's military formation and killed over half of the Imperial Guard Army, and you still managed to lose?!"

And he also knew that Qi Zhou would definitely act at the critical moment.

In a sure-win situation like this, Bo'erhu still had his origin injured?

Are you trash?!

And you still want to be the Northern Barbarian King?

Qi Ming really wanted to curse, but he restrained himself:

"Tell me about the battle after I left."

Bo'erhu cooperated and told Qi Ming the general situation.

"That brat again?"

After hearing this, Qi Ming's eyes turned gloomy.

This was the second time Li Fei had ruined his plans!

"Order a tribe to activate their protective great formation to temporarily block Yun Shu's Dao rule power for me."

Qi Ming said to Bo'erhu.

The seventeen Northern Barbarian tribes not only each had Heaven-level inheritances, ensuring at least one Heaven-level expert in every generation.

But the headquarters of the seventeen tribes also had protective great formations; once activated, they could withstand the attacks of "Prince-level" experts! (Note 1)

"The Guardian Array consumes a staggering amount of energy every time it is activated; unless we face a calamity that threatens to wipe out our clan, the array will not be opened."

Bo'erhu said to Qiming.

"You have no way to order them to open the Guardian Array?"

Qiming asked sternly.

"It is very difficult."

"Useless trash!"

Qiming finally could not help but curse, then transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.

Only seconds after he left, a star also streaked across the sky, chasing in the direction he had gone.

Bo'erhu walked out from a tent below, looking up at the sky with a calm expression.

In truth, ordering a tribe to open the Guardian Array to block for Qiming was not impossible.

It was just that he did not believe for a second that someone like Qiming would pin all his hopes on others.

The opponent must still have a backup plan!

Since that was the case, why waste the strength of the Northern Barbarians to block disaster for someone else?

Bo'erhu watched Qiming's disappearing figure.

The direction the opponent left in was the same as the one Li Fei and the others had retreated in earlier.

Li Fei slashed, severing the head of a Northern Barbarian warrior.

Yet this headless corpse still maintained astonishing combat power, and was not affected in the slightest!

Its fists, like heavy hammers, swung down toward Li Fei.

Before the fist force arrived, the powerful gale had already crushed the ground within a radius of ten zhang!

A flame giant wheel, hundreds of meters high, appeared out of thin air, spinning at high speed as it crushed toward Li Fei.

As the flame giant wheel appeared, the surrounding airflow spiraled at high speed, and a force of nearly a thousand tons pulled crazily at Li Fei's body!

The surroundings were a sea of fire, the temperature rising sharply, scorching the earth and turning plants to ash.

This flame giant wheel was also a style of Profound Scene-level Dao force!

Li Fei held his blade horizontally to take the hammer-like fists and the flame giant wheel head-on; the rock layer beneath his feet collapsed in a radial pattern, eventually forming a giant pit.

At this moment, his entire body was once again wrapped in the Golden Jade Scale Armor, and his skin shone with a brilliant golden light.

Sword State: Golden Body Jade Marrow was a technique that synthesized all his defensive means, and this layer of golden light on his skin was the symbol of his overall defensive power.

Therefore, when his Flying Sword Body was strengthened, the defensive power of this golden light also rose by a grade.

From the start of the battle until now, this layer of golden light had never been broken!

The headless Northern Barbarian warrior retracted its fists, spun, and kicked repeatedly, seventeen leg-whips exceeding the speed of sound slamming into Li Fei.

At the same time, the flame giant wheel above Li Fei's head also transformed into seventeen smaller flame giant wheels, suppressing every part of Li Fei's body.

Li Fei ignored the opponent's kicks, braced against the suppression of the seventeen flame giant wheels, raised his arm, and swung his blade, the back of the blade shattering the opponent's kneecap. Immediately after, he flicked his wrist, and the blade edge swept across the opponent's waist, breaking through the opponent's protective force like a hot knife through butter, and cutting them in half at the waist!

Only when the body was cut in two did the consciousness that Qi Zhou had placed within it voluntarily dissipate, withdrawing from Qiu Zi'an's Martial Dao Domain.

This was the fourth clone Li Fei had slain.

The clones that Qi Zhou controlled using 【Thread Manipulation】 combined with 【Spirit Possession】 could not only burn themselves out at once but could also ignore any fatal wound.

As long as the limbs were not damaged to a certain degree, they could keep fighting.

This made these clones even more troublesome.

It was only because Li Fei dared to ignore attacks and trade blow for blow with these clones that he could do this; if it were any other Martial Dao Master, it would be very difficult to slay the clones so cleanly.

Of course, this was also partly because these clones were heavily suppressed by Qiu Zi'an's Martial Dao Domain.

Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for Li Fei to kill these clones so quickly.

And as Li Fei slew the fourth clone, Qiu Zi'an's Martial Dao Domain had been compressed from its initial hundred-meter range to only thirty meters.

While Qi Zhou was distracted by controlling the clones to attack, he was also clashing with Qiu Zi'an using his Martial Dao Domain, and he held a clear upper hand!

If this continued, once Qiu Zi'an's Martial Dao Domain collapsed, this female Grandmaster would likely die before Li Fei.

"Principal Qiu, do you have any way?"

Li Fei asked via sound transmission.

"I must retract my Martial Dao Domain and spend a few minutes reconsolidating it; only then is it possible to directly break through Qi Zhou's 【Spirit Possession Thousand Shadow Domain】."

Qiu Zi'an hesitated for a moment before offering the solution:

"During this time, I can rely on the Peace Token you gave me to protect myself, but you will have to face Qi Zhou alone."

Letting a Martial Dao Master face a Grandmaster alone sounded like sending someone to their death.

"Fine, let's do as you say!"

Li Fei agreed without hesitation.

"Are you sure?"

Qiu Zi'an looked at Li Fei with concern.

Although the opponent had repeatedly created miracles, he had just experienced a major battle, and his state was not at its peak.

Moreover, the gap between a Martial Dao Master and a Grandmaster was simply too vast!

Once a Martial Dao Domain suppresses you, you cannot use any divine abilities; this is an iron rule.

Under such a relationship of restraint, from ancient times until now, there had never been a record of a Martial Dao Master defeating a Grandmaster!

The difficulty of this was far greater than Li Fei defeating the dual-ability You Ming while at the Dao Foundation realm!

"I am sure, Principal Qiu, just go ahead and do it."

Li Fei's tone was firm.

"Fine, if you die at Qi Zhou's hands, I will pay with my own life to drag him down with me and avenge you!"

Qiu Zi'an was also very straightforward; she said no more and decisively retracted her Martial Dao Domain, her entire body enveloped by a golden sphere of light.

The purple flames dissipated, and a dark red light completely shrouded the entire scene.

Li Fei immediately felt his body sink, as if he were burdened by tens of thousands of pounds, and every movement felt like he was stuck deep in mud.

Not only that, the 'Heaven Gate' he had opened was forced to close, 【Heaven-Mixing Golden Palace】 could not be used, and he could no longer replenish Heaven and Earth spiritual energy from the outside.

【No Distance】 naturally could not be used either, and the newly acquired 【Refining Matter】 was the same.

"Oh, so bold?"

Qi Zhou's voice came again from all directions.

He understood the two's strategy at a glance and could not help but sneer:

"Li Fei, do you overestimate yourself, or do you underestimate a Grandmaster?"

As his voice arrived, thousands of transparent threads appeared, hanging densely all over Li Fei.

These threads even passed through the gaps in the Golden Jade Scale Armor, ignoring this seventh-level divine garment, and came into direct contact with the golden light on Li Fei's skin.

After the thousands of threads appeared, they began to pull in all directions!

Just now, within Qiu Zi'an's Martial Dao Domain, Qi Zhou had only used 【Thread Manipulation】 to control the clones and transmit power; he had not used 【Thread Manipulation】 on Li Fei.

Although that could have interfered with Li Fei's attacks, it would have been easy for Qiu Zi'an to seize the traces and sever these threads, as that was in the opponent's Martial Dao Domain.

Now that Qiu Zi'an had retracted her Martial Dao Domain, Qi Zhou had no more concerns.

A terrifying pulling force of several thousand tons came from these transparent threads, instantly pulling Li Fei from the ground into the air!

Under the blessing of the Martial Dao Domain, several divine abilities fused together, and the power of 【Thread Manipulation】 was further enhanced; not only did the force increase, but it could also continuously dissolve and absorb Li Fei's power.

Including physical strength, Qi and blood, force, and even consciousness!

The harder Li Fei struggled, the more his power would be absorbed by these threads from one end to the other, thereby making the force with which the threads pulled him even greater!

Moreover, within the Martial Dao Domain, all Heaven and Earth spiritual energy was controlled by Qi Zhou; let alone using 【Heaven-Mixing Golden Palace】 to absorb Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, Li Fei could not even do so using his own Dao Foundation.

Therefore, the power within his body was depleted with every use, and he could not get any replenishment.

Divine abilities were banned, Heaven and Earth spiritual energy was banned, while the opponent could use divine abilities at will, combine them to form enhanced killing moves, and receive the power blessing of an entire small world.

This was the fate of a Martial Dao Master facing a Grandmaster!

Therefore, even a Martial Dao Master as strong as one with seven divine abilities was destined to be toyed with when facing the weakest Grandmaster; there was no suspense in the outcome!

Seeing Li Fei pulled into the air and unable to move, Qi Zhou, who was hiding in the shadows using 【Shadow Concealment】, smiled slightly.

He had previously chatted specifically about Li Fei with Qiming, and Qiming felt that the opponent possessed the legendary Dao Body!

To be born possessing Dao principles—such a constitution was too shocking.

But then Qiming added: "Even if it truly is a Dao Body, it is very difficult to break the shackles of the realm before it has completely grown."

"The Dao principles within Li Fei might be related to defense, but even a top-tier powerhouse with defensive Dao principles cannot continuously trigger the power of Dao principles, let alone a mere Martial Dao Master?"

"While his Dao principles are still taking effect, it is indeed difficult to kill him. But once his power is exhausted and the Dao principles can no longer take effect, he can only be slaughtered!"

Qi Zhou naturally believed in Qiming's judgment.

And he did not believe that Li Fei, a Martial Dao Master, could sustain the power of Dao principles for long.

When it came to killing power, he was far inferior to Qiu Zi'an. But when it came to control, this was his specialty.

Even if Li Fei truly possessed defensive Dao principles and could block his attacks, he could not block his control.

At this moment, within his own Martial Dao Domain, Qi Zhou could perfectly control Li Fei and then continuously wear down the opponent's power.

Once Li Fei's power was exhausted, would he not just become his puppet?

In the air, thousands of transparent threads pulled with constant force in all directions.

Cracks began to appear in the golden light on Li Fei's skin, his defensive power was being continuously 'dismantled', and the power of the Golden Body Jade Marrow was being steadily worn away!

He did not fear the kind of head-on attacks from before, but Qi Zhou's current method was indeed very targeted.

Qiu Zi'an, whose entire body was wrapped in a golden sphere of light, could not help but sigh at the sight:

"As expected, still... Hmm?!"

She suddenly widened her eyes, revealing a look of astonishment.

Snap, snap, snap, snap—

It was as if many steel cables were snapping in succession in the air, creating waves of shock.

In the air, Li Fei, who had been controlled by thousands of threads, suddenly began to move; the transparent threads hanging on him snapped by the hundreds in an instant!

Qi Zhou, hiding in the shadows, sensed the abnormality immediately.

He felt as if a sun had suddenly appeared inside Li Fei's body.

And then, this sun—exploded!

Note 1: I forgot to write about the protective array when destroying the Dream-Extinguishing Lion clan; it has been modified in Chapter 32 of this volume. This type of fixed array is not as flexible as a military formation, nor is its upper limit as high. Military formations are the pinnacle of arrays in this era.

(End of chapter)