Chapter Forty-Three: Seventh Rank!

No sooner had the words fallen than a rustling sounded from within the bamboo grove.

Li Yunjie held his breath, hand gripping the hilt of his sword, prepared to draw at a moment’s notice.

Swish!

Several short blades sliced through the air. Li Yunjie twisted his body, narrowly dodging them.

“Who’s there?” he shouted toward the bamboo.

But what greeted him was a figure in black, descending from above.

The man swung his blade straight down, the force sharp and unstoppable.

Li Yunjie drew his broken sword in a flash, meeting the attack head-on.

Sparks flew as sword and blade collided!

The sheer force scattered the fallen leaves at their feet, revealing barren earth beneath.

Shiyi’s right hand rested lightly on the handle of his kitchen knife, his gaze swiftly scanning the black-clad assassin.

Only after confirming there was no real intent to kill did his tightly knit brows begin to relax.

At that moment, the clash of blades echoed from the direction of the carriage as well.

Li Yunjie’s brow furrowed instantly. He stepped back, ready to assist.

“Death is at your doorstep, and you dare be distracted!” the assassin shouted, pressing the attack with even greater speed.

Thanks to his agile body and the sword techniques left behind by Li Jia, Li Yunjie managed to hold his own, exchanging blows with the assassin.

After probing each other for twenty rounds, the assassin suddenly leapt into the air, toes landing lightly on a broken bamboo stalk.

“Eighth rank,” the assassin scoffed, eyes full of disdain.

Li Yunjie raised his sword in challenge. “Afraid?”

The assassin gave no reply. He simply turned his blade, a glint of cold light flashing.

“With this strike, I’ll sever your sea of qi!”

As the words fell, the blade’s aura swept the fallen leaves, slicing toward Li Yunjie like an arrow loosed from the string.

The overwhelming pressure crashed down upon Li Yunjie’s broken sword, which he held across his chest.

His hands shook uncontrollably.

“Run!”

In that perilous moment, Li Yunjie shouted at Shiyi by his side.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the force slammed him back several meters, sending him crashing into the rattling bamboo behind.

He landed hard, dropping to one knee, struggling to push himself upright.

A metallic taste filled his mouth, and a trickle of blood slipped from his lips.

With a dull thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Mustering the last of his strength, he rasped, “Shiyi, run…”

Shiyi stood rooted, gazing at Li Yunjie’s battered body.

Though all the meridians in his body had been severed, at his core, a faint blue-white glow flickered into view.

“Seventh rank…” Shiyi murmured.

Then his eyes grew cold as he looked at the assassin. “You have wounded my young master. By rights, you should pay with your life.”

“But since you aided him in breaking through his bottleneck, I’ll spare you.”

“You have the span of ten breaths.”

“Ten…”

As Shiyi counted down, his kitchen knife slid slowly from its sheath.

“Retreat!” A rough voice bellowed anxiously from the direction of the carriage.

At that, the two assassins sprang away, vanishing into the bamboo, racing at full speed toward the capital.

“That was close!” the knife-wielding assassin grumbled as they fled, “Why didn’t you warn me there was someone so dangerous at Li Shizi’s side?”

“The moment he drew his blade, I felt closer to death than ever before!”

The sword-wielding assassin chuckled. “If I’d told you, would you have come?”

The other snorted. “So you just wanted me to bolster your courage?”

The sword-bearer only smiled, saying nothing.

Elsewhere.

Shiyi looked at Li Yunjie’s motionless form and sighed. “Did you really have to be so rough just to help the young master break through…”

But when his gaze fell on the blood-stained broken sword in Li Yunjie’s hand, he suddenly understood and smiled.

“So that’s how it is…”

He slid his sword into its sheath and gently lifted Li Yunjie.

Just as he was about to return to the carriage, Su Qingmeng came rushing over, her face tight with worry.

Seeing Li Yunjie in Shiyi’s arms, her heart twisted with anxiety.

“How is he?”

“He’ll be fine,” Shiyi replied indifferently. “Just superficial wounds.”

Su Qingmeng frowned deeply, her eyes fixed on Li Yunjie whose meridians had been utterly destroyed.

You call this ‘just superficial’?

“I’ll pass some inner force to him and help stabilize his sea of qi,” Su Qingmeng said, her concern evident.

“No need.” Shiyi waved her off. “Such minor injuries are nothing to the young master.”

Su Qingmeng looked at Shiyi in disbelief.

Are you serious?

Your young master looks like he’s on death’s door!

Shiyi, unconcerned, said, “Miss, you’d best look after Miss Xiyan for now.”

“She seems worse off than the young master.”

Following Shiyi’s gaze, Su Qingmeng saw that Su Xiyan was indeed badly shaken, clutching her head and curled into a corner, shivering.

Back at the carriage, Su Qingmeng busied herself settling Li Yunjie and soothing Su Xiyan, darting between them in a frenzy.

Shiyi took up the reins and drove on, urging the carriage swiftly toward Jiangnan.

The capital was two days’ journey from Jiangnan, but the attack that afternoon had cost them precious time.

So Shiyi found an inn before dusk to rest for the night.

......

Early the next morning.

Gray dawn crept across the sky.

The noise from the stables roused Li Yunjie from sleep.

He opened his eyes wearily and struggled to sit up.

Su Qingmeng, who had stayed up all night, avoided his gaze as he woke.

“The beds in this inn are so hard, it’s impossible to sleep,” Shiyi explained from the side. “So Miss Qingmeng sat up all night in your room, never leaving your side.”

As for whether the beds were actually hard, one only had to look at Su Xiyan, sprawled out in all directions in the next room, sleeping soundly.

“Oh,” Li Yunjie nodded quietly.

He thought to himself that Su Qingmeng was probably worried he might be attacked again.

Otherwise, the excuse was too flimsy.

“Are you feeling any discomfort?” Su Qingmeng asked, her eyes on Li Yunjie, who seemed perfectly fine.

After all, all his meridians had been severed.

An ordinary person would be dead by now.

That Li Yunjie had survived was nothing short of a miracle.

“I am,” Li Yunjie replied after a moment’s thought.

Su Qingmeng’s brows drew together. “Where?”

“I’m hungry,” Li Yunjie said calmly.

Su Qingmeng nearly toppled over.

“That’s all?”

Li Yunjie nodded vigorously.

Still skeptical, Su Qingmeng looked him up and down, then fetched half a baked bun from her pack.

Li Yunjie snatched it up and devoured it ravenously.

Yesterday’s battle had drained him, and he hadn’t eaten since. He was famished.

Su Qingmeng let out a long sigh of relief. If he could still eat, he must truly be all right.

Still, she found it hard to believe.

With such serious injuries, recovering in a day was no ordinary feat.

“But…” Li Yunjie swallowed the last bite, recalling the assassin’s attack. “Yesterday, that assassin aimed for my sea of qi. Why do I feel so full of energy now?”

Shiyi pulled up a stool and sat in front of him, ready to explain.

“The assassin only pretended to sever your sea of qi.”

“In reality, he broke your twelve principal meridians.”

“You protected your dantian in that critical moment, preserving your sea of qi.”

“Once your meridians were cut, old blood burned away and new blood was born, allowing you to advance to the Seventh Rank—Burning Blood Realm.”

“You were unconscious, so you avoided the excruciating pain of the breakthrough.”

Hearing this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Li Yunjie’s lips, and understanding dawned in his eyes.

“So that’s how it is.”

He took a deep breath, grateful in his heart.

“By the way, how are you?” Li Yunjie looked up at Su Qingmeng. “You also fought the assassin yesterday—were you hurt?”

Su Qingmeng shook her head. “The assassin’s moves were quick, but he had no intention to kill—he was just keeping me occupied.”

“So it seems their target was only you.”

“But…” she hesitated, then continued, “who could it have been…”