“`
Snowflakes were scattered in the high sky.
Li Che’s spirit, like a chessboard brought to life, encompassed the area centered on the small courtyard, his Immaculate Heart Divinity slowly depleting, but Li Che clearly captured the arrival of Zhao Xuanhai stepping into the alley.
With Zhao Xuanhai’s appearance here, Li Che understood that the Xu Family must have sold him out.
They sold him to the City Lord’s Mansion, as Zhao Xuanhai represented the City Lord’s side from the start, wanting to recruit Li Che for wood carving, but at that time, Xu Heli stopped him.
Yet now, not long after Li Che had revealed himself as a Woodcarving Master, Zhao Xuanhai had come to the exterior of his independent workshop.
Was it a coincidence?
It didn’t matter, and Li Che didn’t care.
In fact, he had somewhat anticipated Zhao Xuanhai’s appearance here.
After all, in this world, one must always be prepared for the worst, especially with the Xu Family’s overly abnormal attitude today…
Li Che had some thoughts and calculations, raising his vigilance a bit.
And now, Zhao Xuanhai had indeed come.
Looking up, Li Che felt the bone-chilling cold of heaven and earth, the harsh winter of the twelfth lunar month, severe and biting.
Raising his head, the fluttering snow fell from the high sky, landing on the chessboard woven with divinity by the Dao Fruit of the Chess Saint.
Like flames upon charcoal, it instantly evaporated!
“The Xu Family… our ties have ended.”
Li Che whispered softly.
With the Dao Fruit of the Chess Saint activated, under his observation, every action of Zhao Xuanhai was under his control.
“Zhao Xuanhai, a Divine Cultivator with Cultivation as Riverlike, yet to step into the Divine Base… shall we battle?”
Li Che whispered to himself.
If Zhao Xuanhai came today, then leave he must, for as a master of the Spirit Infant Sect, Li Che would show no mercy. Such an opportunity…
Not keeping him here, he would always become a major trouble threatening Xi Xi in the future.
“Can I keep him here?” Li Che looked down, as if overlooking the chess pieces on the board from high above.
No, he must be kept here…
If it really doesn’t work out, then use the six thousand rounds of “Namo Gatling” Wood Ravens that he had saved over the last half a year… to blast him dead!
As for the trouble that keeping Zhao Xuanhai might bring.
Perhaps some might think of the intricate relationship between the Bull Demon and himself, Li Che…
But what of it?
As long as Zhao Xuanhai could not enter this courtyard, could not open the door of the courtyard.
Separated by a door, divided between heaven and earth.
Whether Zhao Xuanhai lives or dies, what has it got to do with Li Che?
The one who killed him…
It’s the Bull Demon.
Li Che pulled out a cute Cute Bull Mask that he had prepared earlier from his bosom, gently placing it over his face.
A familiar and comforting feeling naturally arose.
Looking up, his black hair whipped about sharply, his eyes abruptly filled with an immense killing intent.
“Zhao Xuanhai…”
“Your Uncle Bull Demon is here again.”
…
…
Creak.
Stepping on the soft snow-covered cobblestones of the alley, a very slight creaking sound was made.
“Li Che, born a peasant, practiced martial arts for three years, now has achieved Bone Tempering Completion, which is quite good—a martial arts prodigy and a woodcarving genius…”
“But merely Bone Tempering Completion is not enough to be feared, becoming a Woodcarving Master might mean some divinity, but according to the information given by Xu Beihu, Li Che has not cultivated the Xu Family’s Xuansi Liu Sword, so his Cultivation isn’t like a lamp.”
“Likewise, no need for fear.”
Zhao Xuanhai’s figure was burly, the heavy blade at his waist weighing eight hundred jins, and swinging it with mere flesh and blood could cause massive damage.
Zhao Xuanhai was not only strong in Divine Cultivation but also in martial practice, having reached the Meridian-Awakening Initial Stage, with python muscles and tiger bones, quite extraordinary.
To subdue and capture a Bone Tempering Completion like Li Che was as easy as capturing something in the palm of his hand.
Even if he was a martial arts genius, he was still just at Bone Tempering Completion; no mishap could occur.
Suddenly.
With a heavy step, the snow in the entire rundown alley burst into a ripple effect smashing against the sides of the roof tiles, turning into numerous flakes of snow powder.
Zhao Xuanhai wore an Angry Vajra mask of a furious child, his black rough hair piercing the air like needles.
Underneath the mask, his eyes crazily swept the surroundings…
Inside his energy center, his Divinity trembled wildly, as if targeted by a terrifying venomous snake!
Each hair on his body stood on end!
Creak…
His ears twitched, his pupils constricting like a snake’s, as he heard an extremely subtle sound—it felt as if it was very far away…
Yet also, as if it were very close.
It was…
The sound of drawing a bowstring!
There seemed to be a Divine Archer, with bow fully drawn, from all directions targeting him, sealing off all his escape routes and paths ahead…
He had nowhere to hide, completely exposed to the Divine Archer’s aim!
The faint friction of the arrows and longbow as they were drawn was like thunder exploding in Zhao Xuanhai’s ears.
“Who?!”
Zhao Xuanhai bellowed, his volatile blood and qi suddenly erupting outward, his Wrathful Maitreya Divinity in that moment thunderously unleashed!
However, the very next instant.
The falling snow was pierced and turned into dust.
A dark luminescent streak, carrying the sound of roaring wind and thunder, moving as fast as dark thunder, tore through the wind and snow from the end of the alley.
Zhao Xuanhai was enraged, his eyes locking onto the incoming arrow!
“`
“This is…”
“Angry Cry Hundreds of Ghosts Wind-Thunder Arrows!”
“The Si Family’s remnants?!”
Zhao Xuanhai, having seen and known much, realized who the attacker was the moment he sensed the divinity of the Angry Cry Town Ghost within the Wind-Thunder Arrow!
The Si Family… the surviving Divine Cultivator of the Si Family!
He dares to assassinate me at this very moment?
“The Si Family… allied with the Xu Family? Seeking to assassinate me?! No… that’s not right, the Xu Family wouldn’t do such a thing, they had a hand in the downfall of the Si Family!”
In just an instant, Zhao Xuanhai’s mind raced with many thoughts.
If not for that, who else could have known… he would come to this alleyway?
Without the luxury of further thought, the arrow was already upon him, the sound of a hundred ghosts wailing, the resentment of Angry Cry entwining the arrow, with countless ghostly shadows looming!
Zhao Xuanhai roared, stepped back heavily, and slammed his foot down, his blood and divinity igniting explosively like oil on fire!
Divinity…
Wrathful Maitreya!
His divinity surged like a raging river, wildly coursing around him.
A colossal Maitreya Statue, seeming to be forged from flames, encased him like a Golden Bell.
Dang—
The sound was crisp!
It was as if an ancient bell that had been asleep for a thousand years was struck with great force!
The metal arrowhead seemed to freeze in mid-air, spinning rapidly and striking against the Maitreya Divine Statue, sparking countless flecks of fire!
Zhao Xuanhai’s eyes shone brightly, his left hand red-hot like a branding iron, his entire arm twisted and coiled like an angry dragon snake, blocking the arrow in front of him!
“Angry Cry Hundreds of Ghosts Wind-Thunder Arrows… containing the divinity of Angry Cry Town Ghost, must surely be of the Si Family’s direct lineage…”
“However, this archery skill has barely reached Minor Accomplishment, and the contained divinity is merely Cultivation as Riverlike.”
“Just this one arrow, and you think to kill me?”
Zhao Xuanhai snorted hot breath from his nostrils, his fingers hooking as he grasped ferociously, and in a flash, the arrow burst apart, scattering countless splinters. At that moment, Zhao Xuanhai was suddenly taken aback.
Within the shattering arrowhead…
…there was a pure white, flawless Divine Chess Piece, like the most incandescent star in the universe, floating amongst the debris.
“What is this… Divinity?”
It wasn’t Angry Cry Town Ghost, nor Xuansi Liu Sword!
It didn’t even belong to the Seven Emotions!
Such purity!
Zhao Xuanhai was mesmerized for an instant.
But in the next moment, the white Divine Chess Piece vanished, replaced by…
a Cute Bull Mask, and beneath the mask… those unfathomable dark pupils.
Zhao Xuanhai was shocked, as if the peerless beauty he was admiring suddenly turned into a man picking his nose, startling him so much that his heart nearly seized up!
The Divine Chess Piece that had captivated him transformed into the Bull Demon nightmare that had once bombarded him!
It almost clogged up his nerves in an instant!
“Where is my Divine Chess Piece?!”
Zhao Xuanhai roared without thinking.
Li Che glanced at Zhao Xuanhai in confusion, not understanding why he would have such a ridiculous illusion.
But without wasting words, he clenched his hand and spat out a long iron spear from the cosmos within the Immaculate Heart Dao Fruit!
The Dragon Elephant Vajra’s second stage, Angry Vajra, activated directly!
In an instant, his blood qi erupted violently!
Under the Blood Exchange Nine Shifts Cultivation, the triggered “Angry Vajra” pushed Li Che’s combat power close to the Qi Meridian Peak!
He used the Wind-Thunder Arrow to carry a hidden Chess Piece, and then with the ability of the Chess Saint to move pieces at will, he appeared beside Zhao Xuanhai.
The best opportunity to deal with a Divine Cultivator is up close!
Li Che gripped the long spear, flicked it to explode myriad snowflakes, and commenced with the Xu Family’s Eight Consecutive Bone-Shattering Spears!
Countless spear shadows densely pierced through heaven and earth!
Transformation Realm… Martial Technique!
Zhao Xuanhai’s hair stood on end; the Maitreya Golden Body woven from Wrathful Maitreya’s divinity was unexpectedly broken by this Transformation Realm spear thrust!
Only a Transformation Realm Martial Technique could oppose divinity… this Martial Artist!
That this Bull Demon had mastered another Transformation Realm Martial Technique was beyond belief!
With the Maitreya Golden Body broken, Li Che’s Qi Meridian Peak-level Martial Artist cultivation erupted without restraint, the overwhelming pressure making Zhao Xuanhai’s temples throb, his complexion reddening instantly!
He tried to release his massive Cultivation as Riverlike divinity to repel the fierce Bull Demon in front of him and create some distance!
Li Che had anticipated this, his expression indifferent beneath the mask.
With one hand holding the spear, the other clenched into a fist!
The divinity of Angry Cry Town Ghost, extracted from the Divine Foundation Fragment through the Thousand Analyzing Hands, melded into this Transformation Realm punch!
The Divine Base Level divinity was irresistible… it utterly crushed his Wrathful Maitreya divinity!
The divinity of a Divine Base Cultivator was ranked higher than his, creating an innate, rank-based suppression…
One move after another, seamlessly flowing… it was like a supreme Chess Master had calculated every step with precision, even foreseeing dozens of moves ahead…
Oppressive, stifling, breathlessly tight!
This Bull Demon… had become even more terrifying!
“Damn it!”
“I’m done for…”
Zhao Xuanhai muttered.
Boom!
The next instant, the air exploded, and blood and flesh flew in all directions.
The falling snowflakes were all stained blood-red!