Li Qingqiu hadn't expected to stumble upon such a priceless treasure during this revenge mission. On the way out, his mind was already laying out the Qingxiao Sect's next hundred-year plan.
The priority? Fully invest in Yuan Li!
He had to figure out a way to awaken Yuan Li's physique and let the boy learn anything he wanted. With the Heart of a Grandmaster, Yuan Li was bound to create countless martial techniques and spells for Qingxiao Sect.
'Heaven really does have eyes. Doing good really pays off. If I hadn't gone soft back there, I'd have missed this kid entirely. And if he grew up in the Seven Peaks Alliance, he'd be a huge problem down the line.'
Li Qingqiu thought silently, his mood turning light and cheerful.
In his arms, Yuan Qi was thinking this big brother was amazing—carrying his little brother on his chest, holding him with one hand, and wielding a sword with the other. He looked too cool.
'I want to be like him someday!'
The Seven Peaks Alliance sat atop a mountain, surrounded by cliffs on all sides. No matter how good one's lightness skill was, you couldn't leap to another peak. The only way out was back through the front mountain gate.
Li Qingqiu landed with Yuan Qi and Yuan Li on a rooftop and came to a stop.
Yuan Qi looked around, his dirty little face visibly changing as panic filled his eyes.
Following his gaze, Li Qingqiu saw what he meant—over 100 meters away, along the descending stone steps, training fields were filling up with more and more Seven Peaks Alliance disciples. The sight of a sea of heads and flickering torchlight was suffocating.
Yuan Qi felt hopeless. With so many people, how could they escape alive?
'Are my brother and I really fated to die here in this hellhole?'
Li Qingqiu felt the pressure too. He hadn't expected the Seven Peaks Alliance to mobilize this fast, gathering so many disciples at the mountain gate.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence in his strength—he just didn't want to risk harming Yuan Qi and Yuan Li during a direct breakout.
He stood still, started circulating his energy, and absorbed spiritual energy from the spirit stone tucked in his robe, converting it into vital energy. He wanted to burst through with peak strength.
Yuan Qi looked up at Li Qingqiu. He couldn't tell what the older boy was thinking. Assuming he was hesitating, Yuan Qi whispered, "Big brother, leave us. Escape on your own. No matter what, you've already killed a Seven Peaks Alliance master—whoever it was, we're grateful."
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and said, "Sounds like you've got deep hatred on your shoulders. Once we're down the mountain, you can tell me everything."
Those words left Yuan Qi both moved and confused.
How were they going to make it through that crowd?
He didn't dare interrupt again and just waited quietly.
Li Qingqiu didn't take long. Once his state was adjusted, he picked up Yuan Qi and charged forward.
His steps made no sound on the rooftop, and Yuan Qi was amazed. The wind howled past his ears, and as the crowd up ahead got closer and closer, his heart climbed into his throat.
'He's not really going to charge through… right?'
At the edge of the final rooftop, Li Qingqiu leapt down, landed on the ground, and strode calmly down the stone steps.
His appearance drew the attention of quite a few Seven Peaks Alliance disciples. But seeing his robes, no one got suspicious—just curious about why he was holding two children.
In the crowd, two alliance masters were talking. They were Second Alliance Master Guang Lantian and Fourth Alliance Master Xu Ziheng.
Xu Ziheng was skinny with messy hair. He yawned and asked, "What's with all the noise?"
Guang Lantian, looking about sixty, had a stocky build, a full beard, and a frown as he answered, "Not sure yet, but it seems serious. Might be related to Qing Sect."
"Again with the Qing Sect? Those lunatics are getting out of hand. Ever since they got greedy for our sect's secret techniques, they've been nonstop," Xu Ziheng cursed. Just hearing that name ticked him off.
Guang Lantian shook his head. "The Qing Sect's got court officials backing them now. They're feeling untouchable. We need to be cautious."
Xu Ziheng was about to respond when he heard disciples murmuring. He turned and saw a disciple walking down the top steps carrying two children.
That one glance ignited his rage. He roared, "How dare you! Who said you could touch them?!"
Before his shout even faded, Xu Ziheng launched himself forward. He leapt from disciple to disciple, using their shoulders as steps, then with a final burst of power, flew straight at Li Qingqiu.
His voice boomed like thunder. His aura surged like a tiger, making Yuan Qi tremble in fear.
Xu Ziheng was wrapped in inner energy. As he descended, his speed surged even higher. With one palm extended forward, a powerful wave of force blasted toward Li Qingqiu and the kids.
Li Qingqiu drew his sword with his right hand and slashed upward. A burst of sword qi shot out, and the flash of his blade lit up the faces of several nearby disciples.
Xu Ziheng, midair, had no time to dodge. His palm strike was shattered by the sword qi, which struck him head-on.
"Pfft—"
Xu Ziheng looked like he'd been hit by a battering ram. His body arched backward as he spat a mouthful of blood, flying back even faster than he came.
Below, disciples hadn't expected this, but they instinctively reached up to catch him—only to be knocked down in a heap as he crashed into them.
Guang Lantian's eyes went wide. The other disciples were just as stunned.
Xu Ziheng was an alliance master, ranked fourth on Guzhou's martial heaven list. Aside from those in the "heaven list," no one was supposed to be able to beat him.
Yet what had they just seen?
Such a powerful Xu Ziheng had been utterly crushed by a single sword strike!
Everyone stared at Li Qingqiu, still holding his sword mid-swing. Fear and shock filled their eyes.
Dark clouds rolled across the night sky, the moon half-hidden behind their folds. Standing atop the steps, Li Qingqiu held one child in his arm and gripped a sword in the other. His posture was straight and unyielding, his robes whipped violently in the wind. The aura radiating from him alone was enough to make the hundreds of Seven Peaks Alliance disciples below tremble.
An apex master!
That was Guang Lantian's first thought.
He reacted instantly, shouting, "Form ranks! Don't let him escape!"
Then he pulled out a wooden whistle and blew with all his strength. The sharp, shrill sound pierced the night air and echoed into the clouds.
Li Qingqiu moved—charging straight down the steps. In his hand wasn't the Tianhong Sword, but the ordinary blade he had taken from Chen Ye.
The disciples of the Seven Peaks Alliance, though startled, had strength in numbers. Their courage surged with their leader's order. Blades and sabers flashed as they charged up the steps like a tidal wave of steel and bodies.
Li Qingqiu dove into the crowd. His sword danced like lightning, and blood sprayed through the air. His movements were swift, fluid, ghostlike—slipping past weapon after weapon, his blade finding throats with uncanny precision.
Yuan Qi squeezed his eyes shut in fear, clinging tightly to Li Qingqiu's shoulder. The infant Yuan Li, bound to Li Qingqiu's chest, stirred slightly, his small brows furrowing though his eyes never opened.
Step by step, Li Qingqiu cut down one enemy after another. No matter how many came at him, he never retreated. From above, it looked as if a single man was forcing back an army's flood.
Guang Lantian didn't back down. His feet traced mysterious steps—like a dragon weaving through the crowd—as he quickly closed in behind Li Qingqiu.
On Li Qingqiu's shoulder, Yuan Qi felt a sudden gust of killing wind. Instinctively, he opened his eyes—and saw Guang Lantian lunging like a feral beast from the depths of a black lake, his right palm cutting through the air with deadly force.
For an instant, Yuan Qi's mind flashed back to that nightmare—his father's heart being ripped out by Guang Lantian's hand. His pupils quivered, and a wave of cold terror engulfed him.
At that exact moment, Li Qingqiu turned as though he had eyes in the back of his head. His sword slashed out in a blinding arc.
This strike was vicious and fierce, lightning crackling along the blade and tearing away the darkness before Yuan Qi's eyes.
Guang Lantian was shocked by the sudden counterattack. He jerked backward, barely dodging the strike—but before he could recover, Li Qingqiu's foot slammed into his chest.
The impact sent Guang Lantian tumbling across the ground, rolling several times and crashing into his own disciples.
Li Qingqiu retracted his leg, a faint numbness running up his calf.
'His body's stronger now, but that kick against someone like Guang Lantian—charged full of inner force—was still rough.'
He spun around and kept fighting.
His goal wasn't to slaughter. It was to break through and escape.
Just as he turned again, another wave of Seven Peaks Alliance disciples rushed down from above, filling the steps.
At the same time, far off on another mountaintop, a woman in black stood by a cliff, staring into the distance. The mist between the two mountains had lifted, revealing scattered firelights within the Seven Peaks Alliance, spreading rapidly.
She had been sleeping when the intruder horn first sounded.
"He actually caused such a commotion…" she muttered softly, recalling Li Qingqiu's face. Her heart stirred.
After a moment of hesitation, she turned and descended the mountain—she didn't want to get dragged into this mess.
…
Li Qingqiu flung away the broken sword in his hand and drew the Tianhong Sword from his waist.
Behind him, dozens already lay dead. Around him, hundreds more pressed in from all sides, leaving no path to retreat.
He had frightened them, but not enough to make them flee.
Li Qingqiu's eyes sharpened. His right hand released the sheath—and yet the Tianhong Sword hovered in front of him.
The blade trembled, slowly turning on its own until its tip aimed forward. The disciples at the front stared, wide-eyed and frozen.
Boom—
With a sound like the sky itself tearing apart, the Tianhong Sword shot forward. Vital energy surged into a massive wave of sword qi that ravaged everything in its path. Li Qingqiu followed right behind it.
The sound of steel cutting flesh and scraping bone echoed nonstop. Using the Supreme Sword Defense Technique and his mastery of the Nine Extremes Divine Sword, Li Qingqiu carved a path of blood and death straight through the blockade.
Guang Lantian clutched his chest, barely standing. When he looked up and saw the scene before him, his face went pale. He coughed violently, blood splattering from his mouth as fear flooded his eyes.
Under his stunned gaze, Li Qingqiu broke through the formation and disappeared into the night.
The Seven Peaks Alliance disciples didn't dare give chase. With the speed Li Qingqiu had displayed, they knew they'd never catch him. One by one, they turned toward Guang Lantian, faces pale and filled with dread.
Guang Lantian said nothing. He didn't dare pursue either.
Then, a panicked voice shouted from the back, "Bad news! The Grand Alliance Master has been killed!"
A disciple stumbled up the steps, yelling breathlessly. For the hundreds of Seven Peaks Alliance disciples who had just fought for their lives, those words were like a thunderclap.
Guang Lantian's heart sank. He turned and saw Xu Ziheng lying motionless in a pool of blood—completely lifeless.
…
Meanwhile, Li Qingqiu carried the two children swiftly down the mountain. His heart was heavy with urgency. More than half of his vital energy had been depleted—he couldn't afford another prolonged fight.
Then suddenly, a line of glowing text appeared before his eyes:
[Because you have decapitated the enemy sect's leader and escaped unscathed, thereby upholding the prestige of the Qingxiao Sect, you have received one Dao Lineage Inheritance Reward opportunity.]