r18novel Chapter 11 Yan Kuo
Chapter 11 Yan Kuo
Li Yi said calmly, "You had a good time hitting me just now, didn't you? Now, I'll kick you back."
As soon as he finished speaking, he exerted force with his foot, but it only stopped above Wu Sha's chest. Dark Yuan energy surged under his foot, and runes flickered. If he had gone down three inches, Wu Sha's sternum would have collapsed and his heart would have been crushed.
But the kick didn't land, not because he didn't want to, but because someone wouldn't let him.
A sharp palm strike came from the side, but instead of hitting his body, it struck the ground beneath his feet.
The force of his palm penetrated the stone slab and exploded beneath his feet.
"boom!"
The bluestone slab shattered, and fragments flew everywhere. The ground beneath Li Yi's feet instantly collapsed, causing him to sway to the side. His foot missed its mark and landed beside Wu Sha, creating a half-foot-deep crater in the ground.
Wu Sha escaped with his life, scrambling to the side while letting out a pig-like scream.
Li Yi steadied himself and turned to look in the direction from which the palm strike had come.
A lean figure descended the stone steps in front of the village hall. He wore a black brocade robe, and his face was covered with crisscrossing knife scars, from his forehead to his chin, and from his left cheek to his right jaw. The scars had scabbed over, appearing particularly gruesome in the firelight.
This man was none other than Yan Kuo, the leader of Black Dragon Village.
"Young man," he said, his steps slow and his voice low, but every word clear, "one should show mercy where possible. Wu Sha is my brother; it wouldn't be appropriate to kill him in front of me, would it?"
Li Yi watched him come down, dusted off his sleeves, and said in a flat tone, "So, your sneak attack was appropriate?"
Yan Kuo paused for a moment, then smiled. As his lips twitched, the scars on his face looked like wriggling centipedes. "If you're not satisfied, you can fight me. Beat me, and you can have his life."
Why should I fight you?
"You stormed my mountain, injured my men, and now you ask me why I fought you?"
"I was just passing by."
Yan Kuo's face darkened completely. He had been running rampant in the area around Qingyang Town for over a decade, killing more people than Li Yi had ever seen, but he had never seen such an arrogant young man.
"Just passing by?" He took a step forward, and his Yuan Power, at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Origin Realm, surged out like a tide, causing the bluestone slabs beneath his feet to crack. "Then let me tell you, you can't get through this road today."
Li Yi felt the pressure, but his face remained expressionless. He knew very well that Yan Kuo was far stronger than Wu Sha.
Faced with the overwhelming pressure of Yan Kuo, a mid-stage Tianyuan Realm expert, his robes only fluttered slightly, and his expression remained completely calm.
Wu Sha, cowering to the side, clutched his chest, still shaken. Seeing Yan Kuo personally intervene, his confidence surged, and he roared through gritted teeth, "Big brother! This brat is extremely arrogant; we must kill him!"
A group of Black Dragon Stronghold henchmen gathered around, wielding knives and clubs, their expressions fierce, completely surrounding the open space, clearly not intending to give Li Yi any chance to escape.
Yan Kuo's body surged with Yuan energy, a dark aura carrying the stench of blood that assaulted the senses, unleashing the murderous intent honed from years of licking blood from the blade. He stared intently at Li Yi, his scarred face cold and piercing: "At such a young age, you're full of ferocity, daring to trespass into my Black Dragon Stronghold and injure my brothers just because you have some skills."
"I had no intention of causing trouble." Li Yi slowly raised his eyes, the dark light in his double pupils dimming. "It was your men who took the initiative to block my path, provoke me, and attack me, pressing me relentlessly. From beginning to end, I was only trying to protect myself."
"My territory, my people, so what if they provoke you?" Yan Kuo sneered, his aura rising again. "The strong prey on the weak; that's the rule of the cultivation world. If you don't have enough strength, you should bow your head and be tolerant, but you just don't know your own limitations."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Kuo closed his five fingers, and a thick and refined Yuan energy wrapped around his palm, faintly showing the power to break through the air.
"I don't blame Wu Sha for being unskilled. But for you to try to kill me right in front of me shows that you don't respect Black Dragon Stronghold, and you don't respect me, the leader!"
"Survival of the fittest, well said!" Li Yi nodded slightly, his tone calm and even. "So, you intend to forcibly keep me here?"
"That's right." Yan Kuo stomped his foot again, and the cracks in the ground spread even wider. "Either leave behind your cultivation, sever your limbs, and atone for your sins to Black Dragon Stronghold. Or, bury your bones here today and become withered bones in the mountains."
These words were extremely domineering, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
Wu Sha, standing to the side, was overjoyed and stared intently at Li Yi, waiting to see him suffer a miserable end.
The henchmen also joined in the commotion, shouting and yelling, creating a very oppressive atmosphere.
Li Yi, though at the center of the storm, remained calm and composed.
Yan Kuo, who was standing before him, had been in the mid-stage of the Heavenly Origin Realm for many years. He had a solid foundation, was full of combat experience, and his overall strength far surpassed that of the former.
If a fight breaks out, it will indeed be quite tricky.
But it's just tricky.
Seeing that Li Yi remained calm and composed, Yan Kuo's anger intensified.
In the territory of Black Dragon Village, no one has ever dared to disregard everything in front of him like this. Even the leaders of the surrounding mountain villages have to give him some respect.
"It seems you've chosen the second path."
As soon as the cold words fell, Yan Kuo's figure suddenly moved.
Without any unnecessary probing, the instinct honed by years of battle struck, and the attack was a killing blow. Thick, dark Yuan energy condensed in his right palm, and the palm wind, carrying a chilling killing intent, tore through the air and struck directly at Li Yi's crown.
This palm strike is powerful and heavy; if it lands, an ordinary early-stage Heavenly Origin Realm cultivator would die instantly.
The surrounding henchmen instantly fell silent, their eyes fixed on the battle, each with a sinister grin, convinced that Li Yi was doomed.
Wu Sha leaned against the stone wall, panting heavily, his venomous gaze fixed on Li Yi. He kept chanting in his heart, wishing he could watch the other man's head be smashed open with a single blow.
As the strong wind approached, Li Yi finally made a move.
He neither dodged nor evaded, but leaned back slightly, raising his right hand and lightly clenching his fist with a faint, dark Yuan energy covering it.
There was no overwhelming momentum, no fancy spells or runes, just a simple straight punch, meeting Yan Kuang's palm force head-on.
"Bang!"
A deafening roar erupted as fists and palms collided, unleashing a violent shockwave of elemental energy that spread wildly from the point of their clash.
All the rubble on the ground was blown away, the wooden pillars next to the village hall vibrated and hummed, and sawdust fell in a flurry.
Yan Kuo abruptly stopped, his legs scraping two deep marks on the ground. His hands went numb, and a powerful, domineering force rebounded from his palms, causing his blood and qi to surge slightly.
His pupils suddenly contracted, his face filled with disbelief.
He was a mid-stage Heavenly Origin Realm cultivator, and his full-force attack was actually caught by this seemingly young boy with just one punch.
In contrast, Li Yi remained rooted to the spot, motionless, his clothes only slightly fluttering in the wind, his expression still indifferent, as if the head-on collision just now was nothing more than a trivial matter for him.
"How is this possible..." Yan Kuo murmured, the scar on his face contorting slightly with shock.
He had long recognized Li Yi's extraordinary abilities, but he never expected that the other party's physical body and Yuan Power foundation would be so formidable.