A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm - Chapter 904: Intent to Kill

“Oh? Is there some bad blood between the two of you?” Xu Shun asked with an intrigued expression.

“That’s not something you need to know about, Brother Xu. Just be assured that I’ll compensate you handsomely once the deed is done,” Yi Liya promised with a smile.

“I’m not opposed to the idea, but what am I dealing with here?” Xu Shun asked.

“I just so happen to be in seclusion during the time that Li Feiyu joined the arena, so I’ve never personally seen him in action. However, I’ve heard that he’s only opened fewer than fifty profound acupoints, but apparently, he’s a very capable fighter,” Yi Liya said.

“Fewer than fifty? How is it possible that he’s been selected for the Five City Martial Gathering then?” Xu Shun asked with a skeptical expression.

“Perhaps he’s opened more profound acupoints that he’s displayed, but it won’t be too many more. If you ask me, I think he’s only been allowed to take part in the Five City Martial Gathering thanks to personal relationship with our new city lord. I’ve heard that it was our new city lord that brought him into our city in the first place,” Yi Liya explained.

“Are you referring to Chen Yang? I see. In that case, I can definitely help you out,” Xu Shun said.

“Oh, by the way, the cultivation art that he’s using seems to be primarily focused on his legs, so he may have a speed advantage over you. Make sure to keep that in mind,” Yi Liya cautioned.

“Rest assured, even if he’s opened ten more profound acupoints than he’s displayed, there’s no way he’ll be a match for me. Now then, let’s talk about how you’re going to compensate me,” Xu Shun said with a snide grin.

……

Fifteen minutes quickly passed by, and the first batch of battles commenced.

Han Li, Gu Qianxun, Toxic Dragon, and Xuanyuan Xing were all gathered at the window directly facing the platform that Tu Gang was on, and at this moment, Tu Gang and Duan Tong were already on the platform, facing each other from afar.

Tu Gang was observing Duan Tong with a hint of fear in his eyes, intermingled with hesitation and indignation.

In contrast, Duan Tong remained completely expressionless, and he wasn’t displaying any derision toward his opponent. However, for some reason, Tu Gang felt as if Duan Tong were completely looking past him, as if he didn’t exist, and that was certainly not a good feeling.

A black-robed elderly man was serving as the referee for their platform, and he stood between the two of them as he said, “There are no rules in this battle. You can surrender at any time, and if you don’t, then you’re responsible for your own life.”

Tu Gang and Duan Tong nodded in response, and the elderly man jumped down from the platform.

The two combatants each cupped a fist in a salute toward the other, and the battle commenced.

On top of the elevated platform in between the eight battle platforms, the five city lords and Mistress Liu Hua were conversing casually with one another, seemingly not displaying much interest in the ongoing battles.

All of the profound acupoints on Tu Gang’s body lit up one after another as he seized the initiative, charging directly toward Duan Tong, and each footstep of his was extremely forceful, causing the entire platform to rumble violently.

Thankfully, the ground was fortified using star bones, so it managed to remain intact beneath his thundering footsteps.

After charging forward close to twenty steps in succession, he had built up tremendous momentum, and his aura had been elevated to its peak. His right arm was glowing golden under the light of the sun, and he threw a punch at Duan Tong with all his might.

Duan Tong remained completely still on the spot as he observed the oncoming Tu Gang, and only as Tu Gang began to lash out with his fist did Duan Tong slowly take a step back.

A cold gleam flashed through his eyes as he retaliated with his own fist, and a series of profound acupoints lit up over his arm as the two fists clashed with an earth-shattering boom.

A burst of tremendous shockwaves erupted in all directions, and Duan Tong remained as still as an immovable mountain, while Tu Gang let loose an agonized cry as several of the profound acupoints on his arm exploded in unison.

At the same time, the sound of shattering bones rang out from his arm, and he was sent flying all the way back until he fell out of the platform altogether, and by the time he landed on the ground, he had already fallen unconscious.

A wave of thunderous cheers instantly rang out from the nearby spectators, and the attention of the five city lords and Mistress Liu Hua was also drawn to the scene.

“It seems like Duan Tong has become even more powerful since I last saw him, Fellow Daoist Fu,” E Kuai remarked with a smile.

“He’s made some minor improvements over the years, but he’s still far from being able to match Fellow Daoist Ziyuan,” Fu Jian replied.

“Even though his opponent wasn’t particularly strong, winning the battle with just a single blow is still very impressive,” Qin Yuan praised.

Everyone was praising Duan Tong, but Chen Yang remained silent, and even though his expression remained composed and unchanged, he was clenching his fists so tightly within his sleeves that his knuckles had turned white.

Inside the lobby, all of the Green Goat City cultivators were looking on with grim expressions. Even though they weren’t the ones who had been defeated, seeing one of their own being crushed in such brutal fashion was still terrible for overall morale. Everyone began walking away while sighing to themselves and shaking their heads, while only Han Li and Gu Qianxun remained standing in front of the window.

Han Li watched as Tu Gang was carried away, and he asked, “What did you think of that battle, Fellow Daoist Gu?”

“Duan Tong has already become far more powerful since I last faced him. In the face of Tu Gang’s Titan Vajra Arts, he didn’t even use his right arm, only using his left arm instead to defeat Tu Gang with a single blow. It’s clear that in his eyes, Tu Gang isn’t even a worthy opponent,” Gu Qianxun replied with slightly furrowed brows.

“That’s not entirely true. As he unleashed that punch, he borrowed some power from his right arm. Otherwise, Tu Gang wouldn’t have suffered such a crushing defeat. In any case, there’s a huge power gap between the two,” Han Li said.

“Indeed. If only he could’ve forced Duan Tong to reveal more of his tricks,” Gu Qianxun sighed.

“What’s happened has already happened, let’s begin preparing as well. The second batch of battles is about to commence soon,” Han Li said with a smile.

“Let’s go,” Gu Qianxun replied with a nod.

……

Around fifteen minutes later, the first batch of eight battles drew to a conclusion, and unsurprisingly, Sun Binghe was also defeated.

After a half-hour break, during which all of the bets were paid out, the second batch of battles commenced.

Close to half of the Green Goat City cultivators were chalked down to have their first battles, and that included Han Li, Gu Qianxun, and Yi Liya.

All of the remaining Green Goat City cultivators had gone to spectate Gu Qianxun and Yi Liya’s battle, including even Toxic Dragon, so there were only a few White Rock City cultivators watching Han Li’s battle.

Neither Li Feiyu nor Xu Shun were particularly renowned figures, so there weren’t many spectators in the stands near their platform. There were still some people watching, but far fewer than at some of the other platforms.

However, there was a familiar figure seated in the spectator stands, and that was Daoist Xie.

At this moment, Han Li and Xu Shun were standing across from each other on their platform, and a black-robed referee announced the rules of the battle before declaring the battle’s commencement.

However, neither Han Li nor Xu Shun made an immediate move, and the two of them continued to stand still on the spot, observing each other from afar.

Before long, a chorus of boos began to ring out from the spectator stands.

Xu Shun was sizing up Han Li with a peculiar look in his eyes. He couldn’t see anything remarkable about Han Li, but he couldn’t help but lick his lips as he thought of the compensation that Yi Liya had promised.

A cold sneer appeared on Han Li’s face upon seeing this. It was clear that Xu Shun was coming into this battle with intent to kill, so Han Li was not going to be holding back.

Right at this moment, a series of profound acupoints suddenly lit up on the soles of Xu Shun’s feet, and he sprang up into the air before charging directly at Han Li.

Using the momentum of his descent, he sharply elevated his own speed, reaching Han Li in the blink of an eye.

By the time he descended upon Han Li, he had already built up significant momentum, but just like Duan Tong in his battle against Tu Gang, Han Li remained completely still on the spot.

However, right as Xu Shun’s fist was about to strike him, he abruptly vanished from the spot, leaving Xu Shun to look on in bewilderment.

He knew that he was in trouble, and he immediately began plummeting toward the ground even faster, trying to reach the ground below as soon as possible so that he would have some purchase to change directions.

However, before he was about to reach the ground, Han Li appeared before him in a wraith-like manner, and close to twenty profound acupoints lit up over his legs in unison as he aimed a vicious knee strike at Xu Shun’s chest.

Xu Shun was astonished by Han Li’s speed, and he hurriedly crossed his arms in front of himself for protection, but his arms were driven back into his chest by the force of Han Li’s knee strike, sending him flying back through the air.

Immediately thereafter, the profound acupoints on Han Li’s legs began to glow even brighter as he caught up to Xu Shun in mid-air in the blink of an eye, then slammed a fist down onto his spine.

Xu Shun plummeted down onto the ground, then bounced up and down thrice before tumbling away to the side.

All of this had taken in the span of just several seconds, much to the amazement of the nearby spectators.

There was some occasional interest displayed by the people on the elevated platform, but that was only limited to an occasional glance here or there.

After all, the two combatants hadn’t displayed anywhere near enough profound acupoints to truly attract their interest, so it was like watching a fight between children.

Only Chen Yang’s gaze would occasionally linger on that platform for a while, but there wasn’t any concern in his eyes.

Instead of pressing his advantage, Han Li drew to a halt, then asked through voice transmission, “We’ve never even met before, why is it that you displayed clear intent to kill me as soon as the battle commenced?”